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Does Riven have any actual counters?

YumaS2Astral··4 votes·4,060 views

People say that Riven is easy to counter and is balanced, and that there are some hard counters to her... But playing them, I came to the conclusion that none of them are actual counters.

For example, as Malphite - It's quite easy to beat Riven during the lane phase, she can't all in me, I can reduce her attack speed and even kill her. Then I stack armor and Riven can't kill me at all. BUT... As the game progresses, Malphite loses his damage potential. At late game I just can't deal enough damage to kill her before she is able to kill my allies, and Malphite doesn't have enough disruption to stop her... Without his ult, it is hard to peel Riven off an ally, and Malphite's ult can be avoided with a single Banshee's Veil. Using Q will not help, as Riven has her dashes to be able to reach her targets.

That's always the problem that I found with most of the so called counters to Riven:

They are either too squishy (Kennen Lissandra Fiora Jayce), fall off during the late game (Darius Garen Irelia), are reliant on skillshots (Chogath) or they are just plainly outscaled by Riven during mid/late game (Pantheon). Or in case of Malphite, they have issues trying to stop her during mid/late game.

Is there any consistent way to deal with Riven and ensure that she is unable to become effective at any phase of the game?

44 Comments

MarkedOfKane2 votes

Trundle

Sorgklaan1 votes

In my experience, trundle can be a pretty hard matchup for her.

7ha7guy7771 votes

Is randuin's rush a good idea? The last time i played trundle against riven ended horribly because i literally couldn't step outside of turret range without being jumped on. On top of that, his pillar does nothing to stop her since she can dash and hop over it

insaiyanbacca1 votes

you mainly use the pillar displacement to mess up her third q, and randuins rush isnt a good idea normally bortk or hydra rush is better, trundle outscales riven if he doesnt die to her and hes pretty good at not dieing to her

Sorgklaan1 votes

Plus his ult and Q wreck her.

metaworldpeace102 votes

Renekton shits on riven so hard. Riven has a great late game, her counters are meant to help her never get to late game status. Sounds like a counter to me.

YumaS2Astral1 votes

Then you are saying that Riven is an hypercarry?

JustMyBassCannon3 votes

Not "hyper," just a carry.

ItsStout2 votes

There are no hypercarries in league. Only DOTA and DOTA 2.

RumblesMeatballs1 votes

that's a lie.

Jax, Yi, Vayne, Jinx, Twitch, maybe Morde if you go full damage

and while they aren't as OP as the hyper carries in DOTA(2) they're still hyper carries

RumblesMeatballs2 votes

Rumble , Ryze , Trundle , Renekton , bruiser Ekko from what i've seen, JarvanIV (especially full AD outscales her so hard), a proper Singed can fuck with her and keep her from being able to do anything in lane even with a gank, Yorick , Vladimir , full AD XinZhao can outscale her i'm pretty sure, i've never lost to a Riven as him anyways.

all i can think of. also the ones you mention up there keep her from reaching late game status anyways especially Darius and Irelia

YumaS2Astral1 votes

I don't know why people says that Vladimir beats Riven. I have over 1000 games with him on my main account, and I must say, Riven is the hardest possible matchup for Vladimir, even harder than some so called hard matchups such as Fiddlesticks or Xin Zhao.

The reason for that is because Vladimir is extremely weak to all-ins and Riven is the master of all-ins. The fact that she does not have sustain is not a problem since she can just jump on him everytime she wants and deliver massive damage. Vladimir does not have the CC or the mobility needed to stop her, and he is short ranged.

The only way to survive against her (not to win) that I have found is to run armor quints (I hate being forced to not run mov speed quints, they are too good but using them against Riven is asking to lose lane), farm from a distance, rush Seeker's Armguard and then build spellvamp. Then if you somehow survive the early game and manage to not die to her too many times, then and only then, you can outscale her during late game. But even then... Vladimir does not have the CC needed to stop her from slaughtering his team during teamfights.

I main Vladimir, and for those reasons, I always ban her. She is too much of a hard counter.

Another way to win against Riven as Vladimir is if Riven is bad or inexperienced. I have actually won against some Rivens that way. However, this is not a practical way as you can win against any champion using any champion if the enemy is bad or inexperienced with that champion

NemeBro1 votes

{quoted}

I don't know why people says that Vladimir beats Riven.

Yeah, neither do I. She counters him badly.

Also, have you tried Tryndamere against Riven?

YumaS2Astral1 votes

No, but I am not experienced with Tryndamere. Thus I am sure that I would lose.

NemeBro1 votes

{quoted}

No, but I am not experienced with Tryndamere. Thus I am sure that I would lose.

He's fairly easy to learn and pickup.

It is possible to kill Riven in lane at level 2, and even if you don't if you just stay equal in farm you will end up being way stronger due to how you scale. She will also be forced to hang out top or bottom lane with you while you splitpush, and you're better at it than she is.

RumblesMeatballs1 votes

well ik he can't really win lane in normal circumstances but if you just freeze lane near your turret then she can't get farm and can't do anything to your poke which keeps her from doing anything and if she tries to get ballsy and all in you under turret at lvl 6 you'll have pool and sustain and she will either die or have to go back to base. that's how i play against the matchup anyways

true his teamfighting isn't as strong as hers but that's why its a teamfight its not up to him alone to deal with her

that's why i put him up there simply because its about how you play the matchup

Lugg1 votes

I agree with the SInged counter. I have never had problems with a Riven when I play him. She can't snowball the lane on him and doesn't become a beast.

Sire Hippington2 votes

Depending on teamcombs, garren and darius scale quite well into late and can 1v1 riven at any point, malph is a beast and you probably built him far to tanky and thus fall off later, cause if used right, he doesn't/(http://matchhistory.euw.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/EUW1/2146258443/21733237?tab=overview) Irelia is one of the best lategame champs out there... and whats the problem with jayce or liss beeing squishy? if they win th lane, they win the lane, and both scale really well into late if used correctly.

Also, ever considered not letting the game darw out into the late if you go with an earlygame pick like darius? I know that's easer said than done in soloQ, especially at lower elos, but the game isn't balanced around low elo soloQ.

ModKnightsKemplar2 votes

It sounds like what you want is a free win. Every champion has drawbacks, and you aren't taking advantage of your strengths. Malph, for instance; OF COURSE HE CAN'T DUEL HER LATE. The whole point of Malph is to set up a good engagement for your team! Not to duel!

When people talk about counters, they are USUALLY talking about lane phase, in my experience. Can it apply to late game, too? Yes. But I would say that she doesn't have "hard counters" out of lane phase. If Riven gets fed, she'll be strong. If she doesn't, you should be able to lock her down and kill her. Simple as that.

Pick that malph, and just understand that EVEN IF YOU WIN LANE, you team has to show up for you to win. That's true pretty much no matter who you play.

YumaS2Astral2 votes

No, what I want is a way to consistently deal with Riven, no matter which champion I am using.

For example... Against Zed. He counters a lot of champions. I have problems against him if I am using Lux, or Xerath, or Ziggs, for example. However, there is still a hope for them against Zed. Rushing Zhonya's Hourglass, playing safe and then waiting until teamfights start to happen so that I can fire off my powerful spells.

Against Nasus: The moment I realize that I can't deny his farm, I just go help my team, force teamfights, force Nasus to risk losing the game if he continues to splitpush.

Against LeBlanc: I purchase item 3102

Against Hecarim: I pick a champion that has amazing 1x1 potential and/or is ranged and/or have slows. That and/or I purchase Randuin's Omen.

The problem I have with Riven is that I still don't have a consistent strategy to be able to deal with her everytime I face her.

darkdill2 votes

Chogath is actually good vs Riven. Don't initiate with Rupture, initiate with Feral Scream. She can't dodge that. Then it's easy to land Rupture.

Volibear is also good. Voli can interrupt Riven's 3rd Q with Rolling Thunder, trades favorably with her in slugouts, and can stop minion aggro with Majestic Roar (which is a big advantage). Riven also can't burst Voli down easily because of his passive.

tonzillacrayon1 votes

how to beat ryze, beat him early he is weak early. super simple to beat yet everyone forgot.

DropFill1 votes

Only garen is able to deny her through the entire game because of the silence. Even though chogath can silence her, he can't actually duel her in laning phase that well if she is any good

Byakuya Kuchiki1 votes

{quoted}

Only garen is able to deny her through the entire game because of the silence. Even though chogath can silence her, he can't actually duel her in laning phase that well if she is any good

any good riven will shit on any garen throughtout the entire game

JustMyBassCannon1 votes

The biggest thing about countering Riven is you can't rely on beating her 1v1 every time.

Sure, she has harsh laning counters, but if you let her make a come-back and you don't work with your team to kill her, you're going to have a bad time. She's a duelist champion, and she does best when she's allowed to focus on fighting one person at a time without interruption.

You either need a stronger duelist keeping up/ahead of her, or you need teamwork.

rtbf2211463931 votes

"they are too squishy" LOL. 3/4 of the champions you listed should never be in her melee range or they should force her to use Q twice in order to reach them so they can win trades, since they have so much cc/mobility. Liss counters Riven because Riven is forced to play really aggressively in order to have a chance to snowball so its very easy to gank her and liss is really good at setting up ganks. Irelia falls off late game?????????????? Cho gath is skillshot reliant? its so hard to use your Q under yourself when Riven engages or just silence her with your impossible to miss W? And why is Hecarim, Renekton, Maokai, Nasus, Rumble and Rammus and every TP+smite user not on the list? (all of them win lane unless they suck)

Also Jayce is not a counter. It's a skill matchup.

YumaS2Astral1 votes

Renekton is indeed a counter to Riven, but I just forgot to list him. The other champions that you said aren't counters to Riven at all.

rtbf2211463931 votes

{quoted}

Renekton is indeed a counter to Riven, but I just forgot to list him. The other champions that you said aren't counters to Riven at all.

I think I know what counters Riven after 1k+ riven games.

FalconPawwwwnch1 votes

She has no counters when she's overtuned

Riven's shield and stackable hard CC's let her deal with any matchup if she's good

That's why she has like a 54% win rate in diamond

Pæan1 votes

I have had good luck with Shen . Start Cloth 5 and armor seals/quints, even some armor marks if you really hate riven. You'll have so much armor that she cant kill you, and with the Q sustain, ki-strike, and clever minion wave usage you will win trades. And if she roams because she cant kill you then just ult whomever she targets and cleanup for a double kill.

YumaS2Astral1 votes

I have tried Shen, and indeed, he works very well as an early game counter to Riven... Until she starts to stack armor penetration (item 3035 item 3071 item 3142 - not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily all those items at same time) - then Shen loses the ability to 1x1 her. Even if I build full tank Shen and Riven builds full damage, I can't 1x1 her... This is just ridiculous. The only way to stop her then is to CC her during a teamfight - But E is a skillshot. And you know, skillshots are skillshots, you are not always going to land them. And even if you land them... Riven still has item 3111 ways item 3140 to deal with CC.

ItsStout1 votes

The game isn't about 1v1's though. That's the thing. It is at the begining, but you have to learn how to adjust what you'e doing as a tank.

Pæan1 votes

Gnar can kite her decently with Q slows and his Hyper speed boost. Especially if you get a frozen mallet, then you should be unreachable in mini gnar. And in mega gnar with some tankiness you can perma-CC and your base damage is nothing to laugh at so you might be able to burst her down.

Espy Psyche1 votes

Try Quinn. You can just harass from range and Vault off her if she tries to all-in you. Plus you have a blind, which negates her passive and messes up her farm.

ItsStout1 votes

Irelia doesn't really fall off that hard, and she won't be reaching mid/late for a while against Pantheon. Trundle WRECKS HER SHIT, and so does Shyvanna. Tryndamyre can go either way, and Jax is weaker untill 6, sure, but then he starts winning. Gnar murders her from my experience, and

Ryze, even post nerf, is a good counter as well.

Also, including Malphite, you don't have to beat her damage to have a big impact. Malph can CC her and she'll probably die.

Also, no champ is ever 100% ineffective, and it takes more than counters to make someone weak.

NemeBro1 votes

{quoted}

People say that Riven is easy to counter and is balanced, and that there are some hard counters to her... But playing them, I came to the conclusion that none of them are actual counters.

For example, as Malphite - It's quite easy to beat Riven during the lane phase, she can't all in me, I can reduce her attack speed and even kill her. Then I stack armor and Riven can't kill me at all. BUT... As the game progresses, Malphite loses his damage potential. At late game I just can't deal enough damage to kill her before she is able to kill my allies, and Malphite doesn't have enough disruption to stop her... Without his ult, it is hard to peel Riven off an ally, and Malphite's ult can be avoided with a single Banshee's Veil. Using Q will not help, as Riven has her dashes to be able to reach her targets.

That's always the problem that I found with most of the so called counters to Riven:

They are either too squishy (Kennen Lissandra Fiora Jayce), fall off during the late game (Darius Garen Irelia), are reliant on skillshots (Chogath) or they are just plainly outscaled by Riven during mid/late game (Pantheon). Or in case of Malphite, they have issues trying to stop her during mid/late game.

Is there any consistent way to deal with Riven and ensure that she is unable to become effective at any phase of the game?

Can't really comment on Malphite. I didn't actually have too much trouble killing him in lane as Riven, and I'm honestly not a very good Riven.

You say that the first few champions are squishy. Well, so is Riven, lol. That shield isn't up for the entire fight, and Fiora can outduel her at any point of the game. Lissandra and Kennen are much better at team fights, and if played well Riven will not be getting close enough to do any real damage (mostly talking about Liss here, don't know if Kennen actually counters her).

You say Darius, Irelia, and Garen fall off late game. Well... so does Riven, lol. Only, if they were not worse than the Riven, they will be ahead for most of the game. And all three can duel Riven at full build.

Calling Cho'gath's W a "skill shot" is sort of misleading. It's pretty much impossible to miss, and once Riven is silenced she has no way of escaping your Q. Cho also sort of severely outscales her.

With Pantheon, get better at snowballing other lanes and closing the game out. It's his job. He's immensely BS early game to make up for his pretty crappy late game.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure that Shen can duel Riven as the game goes on, but I've never tested it myself. I have, however, easily dueled a Jax and Udyr as Shen.

khorney1 votes

quinn rapes her in the face. teemo if your good and i like to use taric thats more of a even match. blind blocks rivens q. riven dives in e off her quinn can beat alot of top laners

Wînter Fox1 votes

item 3143

She's probably one of the easiest champ to counter. All you need to do is rush armor, and she can't kill you in lane unless you're retarded or Vlad.

Lugg1 votes

If you rush armor, then you don't deal any damage and she kills you anyway, just takes a couple seconds longer is all.

Wînter Fox1 votes

Every other top champion can and usually does fit Randuin's in their build. Riven is the only one who's useless even with one defensive item.

Lugg1 votes

She doesn't need defensive items, her shield is pretty strong.

YumaS2Astral1 votes

She may not need defensive items, but I have seen some Rivens building at least one resistance item such as Frozen Heart (yes, despite the mana), Randuin, Malmortius, and even GA. They are a lot harder to take down than those Rivens who build full glass cannon because the resistances make it much harder to break her shield, especially when combined with her lifesteal.

Lugg1 votes

Yeah, a Riven with a GA is no fun to fight against.

stealthfox941 votes

Alistar Darius Fiora Garen Jax Leblanc Lulu Malzahar JarvanIV Olaf Renekton Rumble Ryze Swain Tryndamere boom counters.

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