Riven Help Needed, and Some Champion Opinions Requested

Howldoom·Jan 14, 2015·1 votes·861 views

So I got Riven and I love how she handles in top lane. Won the first two games nicely.

But then I get crushed by Udyr in one game (http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/1696475671/203289894?tab=overview) and Alistar in another (http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/#match-details/NA1/1696603899/203289894?tab=overview).

Am I playing her wrong, or are those two just hard counters to her?

And just for good measure, what should I be building on her exactly, when do I switch between offense and defense, and what should I do if I'm behind as her? I'd say farming and roaming for the latter question, but there weren't necessarily many opportunities to gank in either of those games.

And expanding that question even more, I'd appreciate it if anyone would look further into my match history and help point out the champs that I usually do well with and win more games on. Not that I can't do that myself, mind you, but external opinions and viewpoints can be helpful. Trying to find people I can main roles with for the season.

9 Comments

redniwediSJan 14, 20153 votes

If you play correctly for the matchup there are no counters, however getting to that point is a long process. Here's a video that should help get you in the right mindset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdCyGjFH-4g

Aww KatJan 14, 20151 votes

uhm i love riven also, she has a lot of mobility and you should be able to escape rather easily from both of those champions. I'm not sure if you know but you can jump walls all the third Q and you can dash with your E. And always buy boots first :D

But she has a lot of people that can do hard damage to her, so you just have to learn how to play against every champ. tbh i would get wrecked by both of them aswell haha, and when you face a fiora? ffs gg unless you really know how to play her. But I LOVE RIVEN.

That's about it fellow riven player and hope this helped in some way.

Leti the YetiJan 14, 20151 votes

From the perspective of a top/jungle udyr player I can say that I havent found Riven to be a hard match up

Its real easy cuz she has no sustain as you noticed And everytime She tries to trade with me, I hit turtle for the shield, bear to stun you MID COMBO, and phoenix to take some of your hp I lost very little from that trade and what I did lose can be regained with turtle stance while Riven is forced to live with those injuries

I think its a really big deal for Riven when the othere guy has high sustain/ damage mitigation AND is able to interrupt your combo I havent played alistar but I can make the assumption that he is strong against you cuz... high sustain(heal)... damage mitigation(ult)... and interupts your combo(knock up/knock back)

Ever faced Garen? armor buff, silence, hax health regen sound familiar? its the same 3 traits that really butcher Riven

OkamikaziJan 14, 20151 votes

CC is her worst enemy thats why Udyr is a hard counter. Alistar does have CC but worse he can heal where Riven cannot, well udyr has some life steal as well. Thats called being out sustained. Never pick Riven early in draft because of countering. Riven tends to do well against assassins like Yasuo because most assassins are squishy and cant heal.

Learning many champs attack patterns can really help when it comes to dodging with her E. If an enemy has skillshots then you can bait them out by making it look like youre going into your minion pack for farm but jus move in the other direction before you get into your minions. Then once the enemy have exhausted their skills then go in and kick their ass.

The most common counter for Riven is Teemo because he has a blind and all of his attacks are locked on meaning theres nothing to dodge. To help in defense against other ranged ad champs I suggest the item combination: Dorans shield and Ninja Tabi. This should help mitigate the damage from ranged normal attacks.

A really good combo you should get used to doing is summoner spell Flash with her W then R. Because R actually has a cast time and if your not careful it can be interrupted.

Hope this helps and good luck.

HowldoomJan 16, 20151 votes

Additional context: I have been playing Riven in Team Builder, so it's kind of difficult to know who I lane against before the fact, apart from the general meta.

Drunk RummateJan 16, 20151 votes

riven is sorta weak versus naturally tanky champs. especially if they have CC and sustain. so yeah, ali and udyr are pretty good versus her. you can still outplay them because riven has an awesome kit, but you can't really afford any mistakes.

HowldoomJan 16, 20151 votes

The general conclusion I've reached is that if her opponent is tanky/self-sustaining, or has CC, or both, then Riven flat out does poorly against them unless super fed. As a relatively new Riven player, I either want tips to help Riven cheese her lane, or a more reliable top laner than her. I'm planning on going into ranked, and I don't want a champion that I lose lane on 5 out of 7 times >:(

Drunk RummateJan 16, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dakka Downpour,realm=NA,application-id=WEuoGbmp,discussion-id=kf7w8LEX,comment-id=0006,timestamp=2015-01-16T22:50:25.779+0000)

The general conclusion I've reached is that if her opponent is tanky/self-sustaining, or has CC, or both, then Riven flat out does poorly against them unless super fed. As a relatively new Riven player, I either want tips to help Riven cheese her lane, or a more reliable top laner than her. I'm planning on going into ranked, and I don't want a champion that I lose lane on 5 out of 7 times >:(

riven flat loses to a lot of bruiser and tanky champions if you just ram your face into them, but if you use your mobility and CC properly you can trade with your opponent and get out of the lane on equal terms, or ahead, even if the matchup is in their favor. there isnt a matchup for riven in champ select where riven says "crap i lost." it all comes down to how you play the lane and whether you can roam successfully, which riven does better than almost any other top except for maybe rengar.

if you dont like the sound of that and you want an solid champ that you will win lane with almost every time, try Jarvan.

HowldoomJan 17, 20151 votes

I want to play as Riven because I like the concept of getting extremely fed with her; she's also thematically fun to utilize. It's for the fun of it that I got into playing Vi for jungle.

But I'm still having issues in top lane with her. Like a LOT of issues; namely the aforementioned concern and experience that a fair amount of top laners are really tough for her to take down. She also suffers a LOT from being even slightly behind IMO. This is why I feel more comfortable playing Garen top when I go into ranked this season. He can at least back out and regen in lane, and also still wreck face while building tanky.

You're* (i.e. any potential responses) probably going to advise that I stick with Garen for top lane and stay away from Riven if the skill needed for her to snowball lanes is too demanding. But I don't want to just play Garen or similar tanky/bruiser champions for wins because that'd be boring IMO. I want someone that can lane and snowball very satisfyingly, but also play well and stay relevant on the back foot; Riven currently doesn't seem like that kind of champ.

Any advice, then, on what to do if I'm ever behind as Riven (which, currently, is frequently)? This isn't a "Don't get behind" question, because there really isn't any guarantee of that never happening. Or are there better and equally enjoyable champions for this circumstance?

In terms of my own playstyle: I refrain from going too ham, because I don't want Udyr/Warwick/etc. jumping on me and ruining my day. I'm more of a "safe" laner that, in terms of bot lane at least, may annoy supports when they get too aggressive and die while I back off and continue farming (not that I don't go for the kill when it appears safe, but if I see the jungler come storming down/hiding in wait, or they really start fucking up the support, I'd rather retreat than risk giving the double kill). But if it's all clear, I push and either damage the turret or back for more items/regen.