The Ultimate Riven Thread

I'd like everyone to think about just what exactly she does, what she can't do, then compare it to other champions - especially top-lane match ups.

First of all, let's get this out of the way; Riven is far from the strongest champion after laning phase, unless she gets fed and can abuse an item advantage. The problem is that her lane is so strong, a Riven player that knows what they're doing can easily get fed.

1. Runic Blade - Everybody loves to complain about her active abilities, but I think her Passive is a big source of power and frustration. It's a whopping 20% additional Attack Damage on her next auto, after /every/ ability cast. It's also designed with a stacking mechanic, so Riven can casually use abilities however she pleases, then have up to 3 huge auto-attacks ready to go.

2. Broken Wings - This is the partner in crime to your passive. Because of your passive and this single ability, Riven is probably one of the most powerful solo-laners at early levels. First, it procs your passive multiple times. This will amount to a butt-load of extra AD that nobody else can match, even if their level 1 ability scales well and they bring Doran's Blade. Second, it's an auto-attack cancel, allowing you to actually auto-attack faster than normal for multiple attacks.

This ability has multiple jumps that allow Riven to create a large amount of pressure on certain champions, zoning them away from CS and possibly hitting level 2-3 first. And finally, this ability is a knock-up.

So with one active ability and her passive, Riven practically has a complete kit, at least it does more for her than the whole kits of many champions in the game. Things don't get much better at lvl 2 - 5, but enemy laners are getting their other spells and can put up more of a fight now. This point in the game can easily seperate good rivens from bad Rivens, using your shield at the wrong time, your stun, feeling cocky just because you have all 3 abilities, etc. And then...

3. Blade of the Exile - Things absolutely spiral out of control. Even the worst Rivens can derp their way to a kill or two in lane after Level 6. The best rivens, practically don't know the enemy tower exists anymore. What does this extremely powerful ability add to Riven's already extremely powerful kit?

20% more Bonus AD - A further CHUNK of ATtack Damage is added to her auto-attacks and abilities. Please note that with this, and her passive, we /are/ talking about her total AD. So you come back to lane with a Pickaxe maybe... yeah.

+75 attack range - Just in case you're having a hard time sticking to your opponent...

Increased Broken Wings / Ki Burst radius - JUST IN CASE YOU'RE HAVING A HARD TIME...

Wind Slash - Riven throws out a huge AOE cone that deals damage. The damage scales with the opponent's missing HP. Excuse me, what? Riven has the kit and the AD steroids to easily burst people and push them out of lane, why is she also allowed to execute?

Now, the longer the game goes on, the further and further that unskilled or average Riven players fall off, while skilled Riven players (usually with an item advantage) rocket into 1v3s, triple kills, and 1000+ HP shield potential with an AD scaling shield on a 6 second or lower CD. Her shield is probably the only reason why she stays relevant in the mid-game. Not because it scales with AD... but because of that cool-down. You can survive some ridiculous situations that pure-offense characters normally shouldn't be able to.

However, Riven is still Melee and still vulnerable to even a small breeze worth of CC. With her ult down, her bonus AD only comes in auto-attacks. Slow her and she has to use Broken Wings / Valor just to try to catch up. The point is, she is about average in the mid to late game...

So why is her lane allowed to be SO good?