Riven DOES have a hard counter

IllllllIIIIlllll·Sep 3, 2015·3 votes·440 views

It's called "draft pick ban".

8 Comments

Maximum ZileanSep 3, 20154 votes

But what if i'm not playing draft pick and in teambuilder or something?

LadyRenlySep 3, 20153 votes

Filthy unranked casual! Everybody on G&B doesn't take any opinion on balance seriously unless you play ranked or draft. Heaven forbid you actually want to play a perma banned champ like Katarina.

OP:Yeah, I'm sorry but that doesn't work. Banning isn't supposed to be just "blanket ban all current OP champs", it's to ban what you are not comfortable playing against. For me, it will always be Heimerdinger, no matter how balanced he may be. But I am also expected to insta ban Skarner, Darius, Garen, Mordekaiser and Blitzcrank. It's not practical.

Live2LetDieSep 3, 20153 votes

its called anyone with a silence haha she needs buffs to be real

DeadlyQuestionSep 3, 20152 votes

Problem is so few champions have silence; they've practically removed silence from the game. New Garen might give her some hell, thankfully, since they're both top, but otherwise silence is hard to come by.

LuggSep 3, 20151 votes

There are 6 champions in the game with silences, and 3 of them have zero chance beating a Riven.

NemeBroSep 3, 20152 votes

{quoted}

There are 6 champions in the game with silences, and 3 of them have zero chance beating a Riven.

So what you're saying is that two supports and a super squishy jungler that can't solo lane effectively can't beat Riven?

Well you don't say.

DeadlyQuestionSep 3, 20151 votes

I have mixed feelings about Riven. I've seen a good Riven blatantly hop into a 1v5, kill two champions outright, igniting a third, and hopping out with low health after taking the brunt of spammed abilities, but not low enough that several winion ranged autos still didn't kill her; the ignite then killing the third champion of our group. She definitely takes skill to play, though, so maybe that balances out her power. Still, I've looked into arguments also claiming that you don't see her in high plat ranks and beyond because everyone is willing to pick a handful of hard CC champions in favor of their preferred champions/roles to keep her worthless. Whereas, in lower ranks, while some players might move to counterpick concerning enemy champions, many just lock in who they want to play regardless of who they're against.

Every champion is rough to deal with when fed early, though. I think it's just her post-six early game is such a surprising power burst, especially after she completes Brutalizer and Tiamat, that for those of us not used to dealing with her end up feeding her early when it could have been prevented if we knew better/played smarter. So, maybe no champion should be able to 1v5 and live (even if they kill a champion or two in return) and that's why she's seen as freelo, but then again maybe every/most champions are capable of similar feats in the right hands, and everyone who complains about her should just focus on mitigating her strengths while taking advantage of her weaknesses instead of concluding she's just too powerful to play against. But personally, and I am by no means good, I find it difficult to do that when she can Q>Q>Q rush me when I'm trying to farm. Even if she never kills me early, she's always 50+ CS ahead at minimum (unless I'm ranged, which usually puts late game at a serious disadvantage), and then there's always her roaming and your teammates not as prepared as you are.

I don't project this attitude on my team in case we pull off a win beyond Riven's ability to carry, but for me, seeing Riven during a match on Summoner's Rift is like seeing Ziggs during a match on Howling Abyss.... that team is probably going to win. Can they lose? Sure, seen it happen dozens of times. But do they usually? No.