WHY ARE RIVENS SO TOXIC?!

Valkyrous·10/4/2016, 9:27:50 PM·4 votes·4,193 views

Riven players are still getting getting so much hate from the community, why is that exactly? Well it may have to do with her playstyle but still, you need to have a good mentality, as a Riven main, I know a few people out there that are pretty nice Riven mains and they don’t flame. I’d like to change how the community views Riven. Many people already are making fun and creating memes for the infamous toxicity of Riven players. YouTubers such as HuzzyGames and Brofresco already despise Riven mains, thinking that every single one of us are toxic. Why Toxic Rivens? Sit back, and I will tell you of the Exile's Curse. Many champions are resource-gated, cooldown-gated, game-length-gated (looking at you, Nasus) - SOMEthing that imposes a weakness on them to limit their power in-game. Riven and possibly Zed are exceptions to that rule: Riven (and maybe Zed) are limited only by the mechanical skill of the person playing them. Riven CAN 1 v 5, get kills, and get out alive because with appropriate cooldown reduction and lifesteal, she can continuously spam abilities and keep herself going. She CAN dive two people and double-kill. She CAN single-handedly carry a game, and the only limitation is the player's mechanics. You can interrupt Katarina's ult; you can hard-cc Akali; you can Zhonya's or QSS Zed; you can catch up to Irelia; but Riven will hard-cc you back, her threat is far too continuous for Zhonya's, her mobility is unparalleled (except maybe Nidalee (but fuck Nidalee)), and if you make a mistake while chasing her, she will kill you, no questions asked. For these reasons, Riven players are actually trapped. They're all aware of this... this skill-gated condition. Every death they experience isn't "Well, they piled on me in a one v five I didn't want - obviously I died" like a Cassiopeia or a Vayne. Instead, they know - they KNOW, deep in their hearts - they could've survived and won if they'd been more skilled, faster, smarter. Every time they DO survive and get kills? Fuck yeah, man. They did it RIGHT. They have the reins on this god-tier champion and NO OTHER CHAMPION could have done what she just did - these other plebs and their Leblanc point-and-click, Ahri Foxfire bullshit couldn't've done that with all their "free" damage. So, it is a curse. They're cursed by twenty to fifty minutes of constant, roiling inner turmoil, experiencing at all times the highs and lows of self-loathing and self-adulation; self-righteousness and self-chastisement. "Fuck I missed a minion THERE'S NO REASON TO MISS A CREEP SCORE" "chunked half that fucking Gnar's health in one combo and he didn't touch me I AM A GOD." Pity the Riven player and revere her. She has given herself to the sword-that-was and to the Exile; being an asshole to the rest of the world is not the only outlet remaining to her for the maelstrom that has hence consumed her, but it is the quickest. Forgive her, if you can; let not her flaming weather your thicker shell, for hers is broken, and for her choice, she can only forge onward to seek the respect of her peers... and redemption.

10 Comments

55976771DEL210/5/2016, 3:04:28 PM2 votes

I would say that Vayne mains are more toxic lol

FioraWillCarry10/4/2016, 9:38:42 PM2 votes

Yi mains are the worst. Riven mains don't come close.

Tychusfindlay91910/4/2016, 9:30:48 PM2 votes

"Riven CAN 1 v 5"

Fucking joke.

She either builds damage and lacks the durability or builds beefy and lacks the damage.

The majority of her damage is also single targeted (review her passive) or otherwise has an incredibly small AOE, her ult being the only exception.

Ozag the Mighty10/5/2016, 3:19:20 PM1 votes

I only see toxic Rivens when they enter a game thinking they're gonna hard carry the game but in the end as a supp, I end up doing better....I like riven but I'm not a god teir with her so I only play her when I feel like playing her. Some times I do good others I get curb stomped.

It's not the toxicity of Rivens it's just most (that I've seen) think riven is unbeatable in lane, but unless you have the skill required to play her, it's not going to go well and they start blaming everyone else for their mistakes. For instances keeping their lane pushed to the enemy tower being open for ganks. So they go and blame their JG or mid lane. Hell I've had one blame me, playing supp for not roaming to the top.

In the end it comes down to like the OP said, skill. If you aren't a god mode riven, don't act like you are. Just play the game and learn her more, eventually you'll end up a good riven and later a great riven. Just don't be toxic...thus goes for vayne and fiora players as well (I've seem some real ass hole fiora lol)

DeadlyStalker10/4/2016, 9:29:49 PM1 votes

It comes down to percentages.

If my last 20 of 25 rivens were toxic, then in my mind all Riven mains are toxic.

BastionKross10/5/2016, 3:35:42 PM1 votes

There was a chart circulating a couple years ago that ordered all the champions based on how often they ragequit. Riven was number one with almost twice the number of ragequits of second place. Certain champions or roles also tend to attract a certain kind of player.

That's not to say all Riven mains are douchebags; however when someone in your game is being toxic, you tend to remember them much more than if they were nice or neutral. The exceptions help enforce the rule.

specter42410/4/2016, 9:36:16 PM1 votes

because they think they are the best player ever spamming abilities with no cost

Asayake 5150glow10/4/2016, 10:56:55 PM1 votes

Yo.

You're wrong.

You see, there are certain champions who counter those Yasuo's, those Riven's, those Vayne's. Let me give you an example. Or a few.

Amumu Annie Braum Diana Fiddlesticks Galio Irelia Kennen Leona Lissandra Lulu Malzahar Maokai Nautilus Pantheon Rammus Renekton Ryze Skarner TwistedFate Udyr Urgot Volibear Warwick

In other words, anyone with targeted hard CC.

Although it does suck when you go in for a combo and then realize you could've gotten the kill if only you'd ulted before :/ ^Shamelessly stolen from the Rivenmains subreddit.