Riven Guide - Matchups 🧂

Aatrox

Skill Matchup
If he rushes Tabis, prioritize farm and platings.
When he gets Dirk, he's a different champion!
Take short trades into him; once Conqueror kicks in, his healing gets crazy.
Don't get hit by any of his empowered Qs, getting hit by his non-empowered Q is fine
Use your Qs to jump behind Aatrox to dodge his first two Qs.
When disengaging, have at least one Q or E up to avoid getting hit by his empowered Q.
Play with your Q extension; this will help you a lot with dodging and trading.
A good Aatrox will try to predict your E.

Level 1 all-in.
Bully him early game and bait his W/E.
Get push priority.
Abuse his high cooldowns after he uses his 3rd Q.
Use all your abilities to dodge his abilities.
Go for short trades.
Stand close and don't Q on the spot.
Chip him down to 50% HP then all-in with ult.

Don't underestimate his Dirk spike.
Don't underestimate his healing.
Don't all-in him when he is at 100% HP.

Akali

Skill Matchup.
Cheese at level 1.
Get Red Trinked if you struggle with her W
Play around her high cooldowns on E and W.
Start with ignite and stand in the last bush near her tower to run her down with ignite when minions clash.
Early magic resist helps.
It's okay to get hit by one Q, but avoid the second.
Avoid getting hit by her E when disengaging to prevent taking unnecessary damage.

All-in at level 1.
Take short trades.
Dodge her Q and then trade.
Don't waste spells while she's in shroud
Use E to dodge her Q or Q-empowered auto.
Let her push you in and keep the wave close to your turret.
All-in at level 6 when she's around 70-80% HP.
Bait out her W/E cooldowns before going for extended trades or all-ins.

Don't use all spells when wave is shoved in unless you're out of her all-in range.
Avoid all-ins when her W and E are up.

Ambessa

Skill Matchup
Most of her abilitys can be dodged
Most players dont know what they are doing, just run her down pre 6 and after that she cant handle ya
Shes quite strong but easy to be outplayed

Respect her damage and selfhealing
Get her Boneplating

Engage her blindly
Fight her with bone plating up
Engage her after 6 near tower, she can just ult u under it

Akshan

Skill Matchup
Most of the time he will try to Q, AA, AA you
You can block his ult with E and Minions/Tower
His poke can be really annoying.
You can maybe kill him early if you can cancel his E
Play safe early, pre-level 6 you are weaker; prioritize saving HP for later
Your level 6 spike is much stronger than his.

Try to proc his bone shielding with Q extends -> After that, you can all-in him
Stand really close to him so he can't E away

Dive him; his spin makes it annoying
Tank his ult; just hide behind something

Aurora

Ranged AP lane. Treat her like a poke matchup until you know her cooldowns.
Her mobility makes blind all-ins risky, so look for trades after she uses movement or waveclear.
Early magic resist can make the lane much easier if she gets push.

Start Doran's Shield if you expect constant poke.
Keep the wave close to your side and punish her when she steps up too far.
Use short trades first, then all-in once her escape tools are down.

Don't waste all dashes just to reach her if she still has space to kite.
Don't fight in a long wave while getting poked for free.
Don't greed damage over staying healthy for level 6.

Briar

Briar heals a substantial amount, especially in prolonged fights.
Many Briar players can be taken down after you've completed your second item. If she uses her ultimate on you, immediately stun her and burst her down.
Understand her cooldowns, especially her healing abilities, and exploit windows when they're on cooldown.

Go for short trades and aim to all-in when she's vulnerable. Use your stun (W) effectively to interrupt her abilities.
Consider purchasing Executioner's Calling early to apply Grievous Wounds and reduce her self-healing significantly.
Utilize your mobility to dodge her skillshots and position yourself advantageously during trades.
Communicate with your team to focus Briar in team fights, as her healing and sustain can make her difficult to deal with alone.

Never underestimate Briar's healing capabilities, especially if she manages to stay alive during a fight.
Avoid extended trades unless you're confident in your ability to burst her down quickly.
Don't engage when her abilities are off cooldown, particularly her healing abilities.

Camille

Skill Matchup
Focus on removing her Bone Plating and passive shield (18s CD) when the wave crashes at level 1.
Abuse Camille's high cooldowns.
Avoid trading at level 1 until her passive shield or Bone Plating is down.
Bait Camille's passive and break Bone Plating before looking for short trades.
Riven's early game is slightly stronger than Camille's.
Riven's level 6 is significantly stronger than Camille's.
CC Camille before using Windslash (R2) to prevent her from dodging it with her R.
Use your mobility to dodge Camille's Precision Protocol (Q2).
Cancel Camille's E with CC as soon as it connects to a wall (e.g., stun her while she's flying).
Most Camille players run Ignite/Teleport to compensate for the lack of Flash.
Use your W or third Q to break Camille's E (Wall Dive).
You can all-in Camille around 60-70% HP at level 6, especially when her E is down.
You can W her E2 with proper timing
Respect her Shield

Level 1 all-in
Hold your E to dodge her E
Short trade and tank her auto with E to burn her passive
Bait Camille's passive by letting her hit you once (optimal with your E).
Trade when Camille's passive is on cooldown.
Cancel Camille's E with your W or third Q.
Hold Windslash (R2) to bait or counter Camille's ult.
All-in Camille at 6 when she's at 60-70% HP.
Use mobility spells to dodge Camille's Tactical Sweep (W).

Attempt short trades after Camille hits her E on you.
Trade when Camille's passive is up.
Stand too close to a wall when Camille's E is up.

Cassiopeia

Cheese at level 1.
Bait her Q (keep your E up to dodge it).
Hard to win early; try to deplete her mana or wait for level 6.
Secure lane priority to prevent easy punishment from her.
Avoid her Qs; use your abilities. You can dodge her ult by sidestepping backwards as she uses it.
Save your E to disengage when needed.
Focus on avoiding her abilities.

Dodge everything and predict her W and R.
Push for lane priority to avoid punishment.
Use spells to avoid her Qs.
Take short trades.
Utilize Q extension for all-ins (possible after Warhammer purchase).
Try to sidestep her ult like Faker.
Bait her W.

Get hit by anything.

Cho'Gath

Farm matchup.
Respect his passive sustain; freeze early and deny him minions.
Try to harass him early and force him to push so you can punish.
Go for extended trades and all-ins when his Q is down.
Riven's mobility handles Cho'Gath's kit well.
Cho'Gath wins through sustain; look for hard all-ins when possible.
Difficult to beat a good Cho'Gath; he wins early with E start and silences later.
You should generally win unless standing in his minion wave.
Walk away from him when hit by silence.

Gain push priority.
Level 1 all-in.
Take short trades.
Use Qs to jump behind him to dodge his W or Q.
At level 6, all-in when he's at 55-65% HP.
Predict your E on his silence due to its reaction time.

Take trades where you take more than 50% of the damage you output.
Build full lethality or full AD unless extremely ahead.

Darius

Skill matchup; success depends on managing cooldowns and positioning.
Consider a level 1 all-in if Darius starts with Q.
Be cautious of overextending with your cooldowns, as Darius can easily run you down with Ghost.
The matchup becomes harder if Darius builds Ninja Tabi.
Prioritize early lane control and punish him at level 6.
Avoid using Q3 when Darius has his E (Apprehend) available, as skilled Darius players may use E to cancel your Q3 instead of using it as a gap closer.
Prioritize quick trades to bait out Darius' E, then follow up with an all-in.
Riven's level 6 is stronger, but prevent Darius from stacking his passive bleed.
If Darius takes Ghost/Ignite, avoid all-ins unless he misses his E.
Darius with Teleport makes the lane easier due to reduced kill pressure.
Avoid being baited at level 1; look for an all-in at level 6 when Darius is around 50% health.
At level 1, if Darius starts with Q and both have Ignite, consider an all-in where you dodge the outer part of his Q.
If not near your tower, Darius can chase you down with Ghost and Nimbus Cloak.
Before you have CDR, avoid close engagements after using all your spells.
Once you have Black Cleaver, you should have the advantage.

Use E or Q to interrupt Darius' healing from his Q.
Look for short trades when Darius goes for CS or misses his E.
Move inside Darius when he uses his Q to avoid the outer damage.
Engage in short trades: W -> AA -> EQ out.
Use your abilities wisely; don't use them all in quick succession.
Wait out Darius' bleeding (passive stacks) before committing to a longer fight.
Let Darius push and freeze the lane near your tower for safety.

Don't get caught by Darius' E; skilled players will use it to cancel your Q3.
Avoid prolonged trades where Darius can stack his passive and run you down with Ghost.
Avoid fighting Darius when he has 5 stacks of his passive.

Dr Mundo

Cheese at level 1.
Focus on farming and denying Mundo CS in the early game.
You can look to run him down at level 6.
It's a farm matchup overall.
Similar to the old Dr. Mundo matchup, but with a more annoying passive.
Many Mundo players play passive early; zone him from wave and deny CS by blocking cleavers with your shield.
Avoid catching every skillshot or getting hit by his minion throw to prevent losing the matchup.
Mundo's W heals him extra if it hits a champion.
Stand behind minions to dodge Mundo's Qs.
Mundo is considered one of the weakest level 1 top laners.
Chip away at him with short trades and deny farm by blocking cleavers with your shield.
Bait Mundo's passive before engaging; if you pick it up, he can't heal as much.
Consider early Executioner's Calling to reduce his healing and increase kill pressure.

Get early Executioner's Calling to have kill pressure after his level 6.
Win every trade early, especially when you proc his Immune to CC first.

Avoid all-ins when his Immune to CC is up, as he might be able to escape.

Fiora

Skill matchup.
Get level 1 priority.
Play close to your minions early and punish her if she engages.
Position yourself close to the turret for safety.
Leaving her vision range changes the placement of your vital.
If Fiora misses Q, the cooldown is increased to 16 seconds at level 1, so fight her.
Riven can win this matchup, but if Fiora gets a kill, it could turn the game against you.
Fiora scales harder and can outplay even if you're ahead.
Your level 6 is stronger, so all-in her if she's low enough and/or her W (Riposte) is on cooldown.
Fiora must predict your W to stun you, but can read your 3rd Q; ensure your E is up to dodge her W when 3Qing onto her.
Riven struggles in trades where Fiora lands her W due to the auto attack speed slow.
Land a 3Q to prevent Fiora from using W while knocked up; combo with your W immediately.
Try to bait her W out; without it, she is easier to kill and it has a high cooldown.

Let her shove in early.
Freeze the wave near your tower.
Level 1 all-in.
Short trades.
Bait her W by positioning yourself to avoid the Riposte.
Hug a wall when she ults to deny her vital procs.

Trade after getting stunned by her W.

Gangplank

Cheese at level 1. (be careful about his barrel setups).
You can track the number of barrels he has under his health bar.
Pre-level 6 is easier if he doesn't have Ninja Tabi.
After level 6, it becomes more favorable for Riven.
Skill matchup.
Start level 1 with Doran's Shield and E to block his poke. Wait until level 6 to remove his Bone Plating and then go for an all-in.
If he starts with E, start with Q.
Jump in with CC when he is next to a barrel and try to last hit it.
As soon as you get 30% CDR, the matchup should favor Riven.
If you chunk him down and the wave is pushing to him, consider diving him under tower.
Use E to block his Grasp Q's and prioritize autoing his barrels in trades.
Autoing his barrels is worth it as it denies him damage and movement speed bonuses.
Abuse poor positioning and look to all-in with ult and CDR items. You can win fights at 40-45% HP.
This is a tough matchup if the GP is skilled because he can poke you down and good GPs will take Plated Steelcaps against you.

Start with E at level 1.
Use E to block almost every Q poke.
Go for short trades.
You can potentially one-shot him at level 6 if he goes Sheen first.
Try to dodge his barrels; if he comes close, execute a full 3 Qs trade and attempt to force his Flash.

Walk up when your E is on cooldown.
Stay close to bushes; there might be a barrel set up inside.

Garen

Play to freeze the wave near your tower and punish him with short trades.
He will most likely Q you when you 3Q him. His Q cooldown is higher, so if you extend the trade, you can trade well.
Bait his W (Courage) and then use your ult to burst him down.
Farm matchup.
Trade when his Q (Decisive Strike) is on cooldown, but only use one full Q rotation and then back off.
It's a favorable matchup if you know how to play around his straightforward kit.
Your winning condition is to avoid trading when he has silenced you with his Q.
When trying to E his Q, you can also use E + W doublecast to stun him.
Garens usually follow up Q with E, so be ready to kite it out after you E.
Q extending works nicely in this matchup; you can push him to the edge with your 3rd Q when he is running at you with Q.
Riven wins at level 1; don't hesitate to trade into him after he has used Q.
Go for short trades: Q, AA, W, then E away. Try to bait out his W (Courage).
Many people mistakenly think Garen is a threat to Riven; it's actually quite straightforward.
E his Q and perform a quick trade like auto-attack, W, Q, and then disengage.
You can only all-in Garen to kill him if he has no W (Courage).
Many people just pick Garen as Counterpick, so maybe you can just run him down due to his lack of knowledge
No all-ins, only short trades
E her Q, or EW if I have the reactions
Play the freeze and wave control from the start

Level 1 all-in (With his damage and attack speed itemization, you can win early trades).
Always use your E to block his Q.
When trading, stay in your minion wave since his E will deal less damage.
Always wait out his shield (W - Courage) before using Windslash (R).
At level 3, you can bait his W (Courage) or perform a quick trade if he doesn't use it.
Prioritize wave control
Look for short trades: Q3 - W - AA - E out

Trading when he has his shield up (W - Courage).
Going for extended trades (he can outsustain you).

Galio

hes more Magic Resist based, so its quite doable
may W-E + Q to escape his taunt

keep at least 2 dashes to dodge his taunt

get Poked by his Q
let him channel his W

Gnar

Cheese at level 1.
Respect Mega Gnar's all-in potential.
Becomes challenging when he gets Trinity Force; he can easily space/poke you with it.
Best to look for kills between your level 6 and his Trinity Force power spike.
Skill matchup.
Don't use more than 1 Q to gap close, and if possible, save your E to disengage.
Gnar has a short AA range, so you can walk up to him.
Becomes easier once you get Black Cleaver.
Rush Plated Steelcaps to help mitigate his damage; try to space well so he can't kite you easily.
If Gnar's spacing is good, he can be a nuisance.
Abuse his long E cooldown with your shorter cooldowns.
You win past level 6 if even.

Aim to get push priority if possible.
Take short trades.
Don't jump behind him or he will get his second hop (E).
Wait until level 3 before trading aggressively.
You can cancel his jump (E) with your 3rd Q (Broken Wings).
Try to proc his Bone Plating with extended Qs.

Avoid fighting him in Mega Gnar form unless you can dodge his spells effectively.
Avoid all-inning him next to a minion wave, as he can easily escape with his mobility.

Gragas

Get Mercury's Treads to reduce the duration of his stun (E).
You can potentially kill him early if he gets low; otherwise, focus on farming and contesting minions.
Farm matchup.
At level 6, you have kill pressure, but be aware that he can escape easily with his abilities.
You cannot cancel his empowered auto-attack once the animation has started, so don't attempt to block it; let him use it on minions first.
As soon as he misses his E, you can look to all-in him.
His auto-attacks deal low damage, forcing him to use mana to trade effectively; capitalize on this to build a gold lead. Avoid getting ulted into his tower.
His W hitbox can be unusual; be cautious.
This matchup can be really tough if the Gragas player is skilled because his dash (E) has high priority. Avoid using your 3rd Q if he still has his E available.

Establish lane priority as soon as possible to push minions under his tower.
Try to bait out his E or block it with your shield (E) before committing to trades.
Respect his W (Drunken Rage); don't stand too close to minions when it's up.
Position yourself behind minions before trading to potentially get a free trade unless he reacts quickly.
Always have a minion wave next to you to block his E in case a trade goes wrong.

Avoid trying to short trade when his E (Body Slam) is available.
Do not take trades without minions nearby to block his E.

Graves

Fight aggressively, dodge his abilities, and then go all-in. If he uses his dash (E), let him escape.
Early game, try to camp in a bush; you can easily 1v1 him with Flash and Ignite.

Start with Q (Broken Wings).
Take Ignite as your summoner spell.
Build Eclipse as your first item.

Don't follow Graves when he dashes away; instead, wait for your Q (Broken Wings) to come off cooldown.

Gwen

You have more damage in the early game.
Gwen players often run Ignite or Teleport.
Respect the resistance from her W (Hallowed Mist); she can also dodge your R2 (Wind Slash) with it.
Go for short trades.
Riven wins before Gwen finishes her first item. Abuse her as much as possible until then.
Free lane starting from level 3 onwards.
If you're even, avoid looking for an all-in where both of you are at full health.
Executioner's Calling is needed but not too early (can buy it after your mythic item).
Most Gwen players run Ignite or Teleport.

When Gwen is fully stacked, keep your distance from her Q-E combo and wait until she uses it.
Every time she wastes her Q (Snip Snip!), it's a window to trade with her.
Her only gap closer is her E (Skip 'n Slash). Play around it during short trades; jump out of her range to avoid punishment.
All-in opportunity if she uses her E and Q and ends up standing close enough that you don't need to Q to gap close.
Initiate a trade to bait out her W (Hallowed Mist), then follow up with an all-in using Ignite and your ultimate.

Tank her ultimate (Needlework); always move around with your Qs to avoid being hit in the same spot repeatedly.
Go all-in at levels 1-2 if she has Ignite and you don't.

Hecarim

His kit is pretty easy to outplay; the problem is his sustain and stats which make him quite tanky and hard to catch.

Let him shove in and wait until you reach level 3, then go for safe short trades.
Respect his healing capabilities.
Don't waste your abilities trying to chase him after he uses his E (Devastating Charge); he can easily turn the fight around if you do.

All-in at level 1 when he has Corrupting Potions and Ignite.
Engage in extended trades when his W (Spirit of Dread) is up.

Heimerdinger

Cheese at level 1. (in Bush)
Similar to Cassiopeia, avoid taking damage and wait for an opportunity.
Look to kill him at level 6.
He will constantly push; ask your jungler for help.
Farm matchup.
Typically runs Ignite/TP.
Avoid all-ins at full HP.
Get your jungler's help early due to his pushing towers.
Focus on hitting his towers.
Dodge his stun to win trades and skirmishes.
At level 6, juggle Qs and all-in when he mispositions.
You win the scaling; just survive the lane.

Get your jungler's help; towers make it hard early.
Bait his W with a trade, then all-in with Ignite and ult.

Engage with three towers shooting at you.

Illaoi

In early levels, she's weaker; bait her E and go in.
Freezing the wave is powerful here because her E doesn't travel through minions.
Avoid putting the wave too close to terrain.
Farm matchup.
This matchup is essentially a minigame of sidestepping. If you get hit, you lose.
Dodge her E to win the lane. That's crucial.
If she misses her E, you can hard trade; if she hits it, you lose.
In late game, she can easily kill you even if you are fed, so capitalize on your early/mid game advantages.
Riven has the mobility to deal with this matchup and also outscales Illaoi.
Try not to let her one-shot the wave with Q, or you'll be farming under tower and dodging her E for the next 10 minutes.
This matchup can swing between very hard and very easy; you can dominate her in lane due to your high mobility to dodge her spells, but one mistake can make it tough to deal with.
Early Executioner's Calling is not necessary but could help; get it if you're having trouble.

Level 1 all-in if possible.
Wait for level 3 and permanently dodge her abilities before trading.
It's winnable at level 6, but try to get her down to 60-70% HP first.
Dodge her E and aim to all-in her when she's around 60% HP.

Trading after getting hit by her E.

Irelia

Punish her with W when she jumps on a minion.
Dodge her E with your E/Qs.
You outdamage her; she only wins if you mismanage the wave.
Skill matchup.
Works when she does not have 5 stacks; make sure she cannot get them after your combo.
Slightly a Riven-favored matchup. Her win condition is her passive and hitting her stun.
She can run you down with only one item.
A good Irelia will try to poke you a lot by Qing onto nearby minions when the wave is pushing into your tower.
Riven can get outplayed easily now, and Irelia's first spike is a lot cheaper than it used to be.
Aggress level 1 if she started E, but be careful not to overtrade. If she gets her passive up, she hard wins. Use your E to dodge her E.
It's a skill matchup depending on the wave. If the wave is pushing towards her, you win the trades and all-ins.
If the wave is pushing towards you, you lose the trades because she has minion advantage and can one-shot your minions to stack her passive.

Lvl 1 all-in.
Go for short trades when she last-hits a minion with her Q.
Don't hesitate to use your abilities to dodge her stun.
She wins extended trades, so position your wave close to your tower or avoid going for long trades when pushed in.
Don't burn all of your abilities at once.
Wait to throw your R2; she will try to dodge it with her Q.

Trade after she hits her stun.
Use your combo/R2 when she is in her W.

Jax

Skill matchup.
Extend your Q: Extended 3rdQ on him, he will channel stun so use your W and run. The will jump on uns with stun, thats bad.. BUT we will have Q back up and can trade him while he got full CD.
W Start is viable.
When u started Q and both hit level 2 at the same time, take E at level 2
Use E-W whenever he jumps on you with Q.
Play around his R (Ultimate) and E (Counter Strike) cooldowns, as he becomes very tanky with them.
Try to bait his E and then poke him when he goes for last hits.
Riven can safely trade at level 3. Lead with Q, auto, W, auto, and disengage.
Jax loses trades heavily after his E is down.
Keep the wave near your tower to deny Jax engages, quick trades to bait his E, then go for an all-in.
When Jax jumps on you, he will either take the trade or use Q and E, which you can mitigate with your E or look to all-in.
Build early advantages; Jax becomes strong with items.
Prioritize CDR to avoid his all-ins.
Be cautious when his E (Counter Strike) is up or when his ult is activated.

You can E+W his Counter Strike + Leap combo.
Level 1 is winnable if he wastes his E.
Let him shove you in and freeze the wave near your tower.
Always keep your E available to mitigate his jump.
When he tries to jump on you, E-W backwards to prevent his follow-up.
Respect his ultimate as it makes him tanky.
If Jax Q+E, you can try to all-in or go for a trade (Q + AA + W+E-out)
Play around cooldowns, especially bait his E for a winning trade

Avoid extended trades.
Don't walk up when your E is on cooldown.

Jayce

Cheese at level 1 (if no Phase Rush) or catch him off guard facechecking the brush.
Play carefully pre-6.
Once you reach level 6, look to run him down.
Farm matchup.
Don't underestimate his lethality spike.
Main window for all-in is when he changes from Hammer to Cannon form, denying him the use of Thundering Blow (E ability).
Riven has a strong advantage in an all-in, but positioning to deal damage is crucial.
After your first buy, Q juggle and bait him to use Hammer Q on you; this is a prime opportunity.
Farm until level 6 and try not to fall behind.
At level 6, you gain a combat ultimate while Jayce does not.
Focus on fighting past level 6.
Jayce is vulnerable to ganks and dives if he pushes too far.
Pre-level 6, survive with Doran's Shield and Second Wind runes.
At level 6, bait his E and force an all-in.
Jayce becomes killable once you have 30% CDR.
Use abilities to avoid his Q.

Let him push you in.
Only last-hit when your E or Q is available to dodge his Q.
Stun him when he jumps on you and trade quickly.
Exploit the short window when he swaps from Hammer to Range form.
Use Q extending to poke him down.
Jayce's early game damage is manageable due to mana constraints.

Avoid all-ins when he is in Hammer form and his E ability is available.

K'Sante

Cheese at level 1.
Wait until he uses his W and abuse its high cooldown afterward (without it, he can't effectively stop you from trading).
If you space well early, he will struggle to play aggressively.
Once he gets his core items (Tabis + Iceborn Gauntlet), it becomes difficult to kill him.
He will naturally build armor, making it challenging to out-duel him.

Go for short trades to chip away at his health.

Avoid all-ins, especially once he has defensive items.

Karma

Cheese at level 1.
You have no kill pressure on her unless she makes a mistake
Profane and Ravenous rush are good here
At level 6, you can kill her if she makes a mistake
You outscale her, so try to farm and roam
Farm Matchup

Look for opportunities to punish her mistakes, especially after level 6
Play safe and focus on farming; look for roaming opportunities to impact other lanes

Don't waste your resources trying to force kills on her; she's hard to kill without a mistake

Kayle

You need to get your early lead
Cheesing her level 1 is really good
Get her to use her W often and waste her mana, so you can all in or she misses CS
You can snowball quite well
She becomes a monster later in the game
Farm Matchup
Kayle is not even a champion early. Just AFK farm and get your 20-30% CDR or one-shot her as soon as you hit level 6. Her ult has a long CD, so trading ults is fine because yours will be up before hers.
At the start of the game, you can use the same strategy as with Akali, but be careful and execute your fast combo a little bit later.
You can take Ghost instead of Ignite and run her down when she tries to poke you near your tower
No real threat in lane but obviously Kayle scales really well.
Try hard to get a big lead pre-level 11.
Once you have 45% CDR, you should be able to kill her with 2 rotations. Look for missteps.
In lane, she takes lots of damage if you can get on her.
The secret to this matchup is pushing early waves and making it bounce back, then freezing it, and you can pretty much deny her from farming.
At level 6, you can't do quick trades; just go all-in on her.

Your ult CD comes earlier than hers, if both of you ult at the same time, take advantage of that
Whenever she walks up, punish her

Getting hit by her empowered AA (E) or Q; use your E to block it whenever you can

Kennen

Cheese at level 1.
If you manage to play early well, you can try to run him down at 6
Can only kill if he doesn't know how to use W passive or E
Farm Matchup
Don't go for last hits when his empowered AA is up.
Can be annoying but doesn't really have kill pressure. You win if even at 6, rush tenacity.
This is one of the toughest matchups for Riven because Kennen has a lot of stuns and can just E out your trades.
Here you need to go for Mercurial Boots and Hexdrinker early if you want to get a chance to kill him.

Q extending can help you poke him a little bit
You can only trade against him if you manage to save your E to disengage and don't have to use more than one Q to gap close
At lvl 4 you can go for all-in trades but they are only worth it if you get at least 50% of his hp
Decent Kennen players are not killable pre 6
Depending on his items you can one-shot him at 6

Go in when you have more than 1 stack of Kennen passive on you
Go for even trades

Kled

Dodge his Q at all costs, wait for him to waste W on creeps
You can play for kill early since you win level 1
Or you can play save and outscale him
If he wastes his Q, you can try all in
Remember his W cooldown, so he doesn't get to mount up again
Skill Matchup
Kled's win condition is him hitting his Q (Yoshi form)
Dodge his Q at all costs, disengage immediately if he hits it. Try E his W damage.
Don't get baited into overchasing once he's dismounted, Kled can turn the fight really easily.
You outscale, go even/survive lane and you're sweet.
This matchup is basically dodge his Q, and make quick trades.
You should all in level 6 when he has his E on cooldown.

Lvl 1 all in him when he misses his Q
Let him shove in and play close to your turret unless you are confident in your sidesteps then you can play with push priority
You win every trade if he misses his Q
Save your CDs before fighting his mini form

Go for extended trades when he has his E up
Fighting with AAs only against his mini form

Lillia

Lillia players will call this a "Hard matchup", so as long as you don't give her any chance she shouldn't have an easy time.

Focus on avoiding her skill shots and kiting around her movement speed advantage.
Look for short trades and burst damage opportunities to avoid extended engagements where her kiting abilities excel.
Coordinate with your jungler for ganks to capitalize on her lack of mobility.
Build items that can mitigate her magic damage and movement speed advantages.

Overextend in trades or fights where she can kite you effectively.
Underestimate her burst damage potential if she lands multiple hits with her abilities.
Ignore her passive movement speed bonus; be mindful of her positioning to avoid unnecessary damage.

Lissandra

Play rather safe early in the laning phase.
Consider purchasing magic resist items such as boots or Hexdrinker to mitigate her poke.
Aim to engage and all-in after reaching level 6 or with Eclipse and Mercury's Treads to overpower her.

Engage in fights before level 6; her poke and crowd control can easily punish you.
Underestimate her ability to slow you down or deny your engages with her root.

Playing safely early is crucial; Eclipse and Mercury's Treads can shift the matchup in your favor.
Consider using magic resist runes to reduce her poke damage.
Be prepared for her to root you whenever you engage; early engagements can be risky due to this.

Malphite

In my optinion this champ is the definition of brain damage.
If he rushes Tabis, it gets hard to trade.
Punish him hard at levels 1 and 6.
Play for an even lane; if you fall behind, he will run you down.
Focus on farming; not worth trying to kill.
If he presses E, disengage due to the attack speed reduction.
Trade using AA -> E-W out or E->AA-W-Q ->AA.
Farm matchup; boring but necessary.
If he starts Q, it's free; if not, bait it out first.
Malphite has mana issues; try to get him OOM and block his abilities.
Free matchup and farm lane; win by roaming like in every tank matchup.
Most of the lane will be farming or roaming; avoid fighting after he gets Steelcaps.
Unflinching rune helps; go for health as adaptive stat in runes.
Depending on Malphite's build and runes, this matchup varies in difficulty.
Common build is comet and a mix of tank/AP items; take Doran's Shield/Second Wind to outsustain his mana. Once he's low on mana, he's easy to kill.
Malphite should go Grasp against Riven; if he goes Arcane Comet, get Mercury Boots and try extended trades with Conqueror.

Level 1 all-in.
Get push priority.
Starting level 3, you outtrade him easily.
At level 6, get him below 60% to one-shot him.
Malphite players tend to E when you walk up; engage with E first or Q out immediately.
Consider Ignite for a level 1 kill.
Bait his W by Qing into him, then W, AA, E out.

Go for AA trades when he hits his E (attack speed slow).
Tank his empowered AAs.

Maokai

Bait out his Q to avoid being pushed back.
Focus on last hitting; he becomes unkillable if you don't get an early lead.

Level 1 all-in.
His main damage is his Q; from levels 2-3, use your shield first to trade.
When short trading under tower, save your E for his W to make him leap outside of tower range.

Spam your abilities, as he gains free passive stacks.
Get early Executioner's Calling; he heals out of fights and procs it only once or twice during fights.

Mordekaiser

Dodge his abilities.
Avoid extended trades due to his passive.
Kill potential at level 6.
Save your ult until after he ults you (he can dodge it with his ult).
Fight in your minion wave; his Q does less damage if it only hits one target.
Get a full rotation before he procs his passive and then walk away.
Similar to Illaoi; a minigame of sidestepping. You win trades if you dodge well. Use Qs to jump behind him.
Early boots for sidestepping or kiting are optional.

Do short trades.
He wins level 1 because of his passive.
Play safe until level 3.
Avoid every Q with sidestep > Q > E.
All-in at level 6 when he is around half HP.

Fight him when his passive is procced.
All-in when his W is fully charged.

Nasus

Cheese at level 1.
Freeze lane to prevent him from stacking.
Becomes a threat at level 6 or with a lot of armor.
Zone him early and run him down at level 6.
If you push too much, expect a jungle gank.
If he doesn't walk up, he loses gold. He only wins if you mismanage the wave.
Farm matchup; abuse him before he outscales you.
Pushing the wave is bad; he can free stack under tower and heal with his passive, plus it's easy for the jungle to gank.
Do decent damage, push the next wave, and dive with your jungle if he comes.
Assert pressure level 1 by walking up and forcing him to last hit with Spirit Fire.
Deny stacks and passive healing; many don't execute this properly.
Avoid attacking him; your Q's AOE will push the wave. Use Spirit Fire's AOE to push the wave to your tower.
Set up a freeze and hard trade when he tries to Q the wave or deny him stacks.
If he's low on stacks at level 6, you win. If his CS is even with yours, you're in trouble.
This matchup is not free; it's easy to let Nasus scale if played incorrectly.
He outscales you around 2-3 items unless you're significantly ahead.
Like Kayle, push the wave to bounce and freeze it. You need to kill Nasus before level 6 or you'll lose lane and possibly the game. Get Executioner's Calling.
He's hard to gank and dive.

Freeze the lane if possible.
Proxy farm if possible.
Punish him every time he walks up.
Early dives with jungle.
Early lane priority (freeze if possible).
He eventually outscales you (proxy farm if possible).

Don't use auto attacks when withered; only use spells until it runs out.
Don't tank his E explosion damage unnecessarily.

Neeko

Doran's Shield + Resolve lets you survive her auto poke.
Use Q extension to last hit minions.
Oracles can easily spot her when she goes invis.

Use your dashes to dodge her E.

Don't all-in her randomly; her E or ult can easily destroy you.

Olaf

His level 1 is stronger.
Destroy him at levels 1 and 6 (Riven's ult is stronger).
Skill matchup.
Bait his Q into your minions at level 1 so he pushes the wave. Start trading at level 3 near your tower with quick trades until you can all-in him.
If you have problems, get Executioner's Calling and Plated Steelcaps.

Do short trades.
Get Executioner's Calling if he outdamages you.
Fight him after level 6 without ult.

Don't underestimate his damage.
Don't fight him in his ult if he's not low.
Don't run away when he's low; just fight, you won't escape anyway.

Ornn

Punish him early before he gets armor.
His W marks you only if the last tick hits, so dodge it by dashing into him.
Freezing the lane is effective since he can only farm with Q.
His main damage threat is his W; avoid the last tick to prevent extra passive damage.
Once he gets enough armor, focus on scaling rather than killing him.
Farm matchup.
E his Bellows Breath damage or the brittle auto for best results.
Anticipate Q placements in the wave and avoid standing near walls or his pillar to prevent a stun.
Start Doran's Shield and look to kill before his first base. After he buys armor, it will be harder.
Remove his Bone Plating and go for extended trades. Keep your E to dodge his W. Try to crash the third wave on his tower, recall, then freeze the lane and bully him when he tries to farm.
Abuse his weak early levels before he becomes too tanky to kill.

All-in at level 1 when he does not have W.
Cancel his empowered W auto attack with your stun or third Q.
Deny his R2 with a CC when he is about to knock it back.
Short trade after he uses his W.

Don't try to CC him while he uses his W (he becomes immune to CC).
Don't stand next to a wall or his pillar when trading.

Pantheon

Cheese at level 1, rather risky but when he facebecks you
Wait for level 3 and go for short trades.
Your level 6 is stronger than his.
Use E to block his spears.
Skill matchup.

Go for short trades after level 3.
All-in him at level 6 for a stronger engage.

Don't engage in extended trades before level 3.
Don't underestimate his burst damage.

Poppy

Cheese at level 1 (but works only when shes bad)
Ask for jungle ganks.
Use Q to proc her W if needed.
Play safe and focus on scaling.
Favorable farm matchup.
Aim to stay even until your second item to gain an advantage.
Riven has an advantage early; becomes skill-dependent later.
WARY of her W!
Similar to Renekton matchup; focus on outplaying at level 1, engage when her passive and Bone Plating are down.
Doran's Shield is recommended.
Avoid getting hit by her Q; it's easy to dodge by clicking away.
Use your shield to block her passive ranged attack and deny her shield from picking up her buckler.
Stay away from walls to avoid being stunned and avoid using Q/E while she has her W active to prevent being grounded.
Trade aggressively at level 1 and continue with short trades thereafter.
Level 6 is strong for Riven due to her combat ult compared to Poppy's utility ult.
Instead of trying to cancel Poppy's ult, focus on dodging it.
Be cautious of potential dives set up by Poppy and her jungler; manage wave position and health.
Adapt to Poppy's passive and W cooldowns for effective trading.
Poppy is straightforward to play but counters Riven effectively with tankiness and W ability to negate dashes.

All-in at level 1 but avoid her ranged auto and shield.
Using your shield during her W still grants you protection, so use it if it can save your life.
Secure kills in early levels to prevent Poppy from becoming unkillable.
Engage after she uses her Q preemptively with your E.
Punish her when her W (Steadfast Presence) is on cooldown.

Stay too close to your tower or walls, which allows Poppy to stun you.
Attempt to cancel Poppy's ult; instead, focus on sidestepping its channel.

Quinn

Focus on farming early and minimize damage taken.
Wait until level 6, then aim to consistently burst her down.
Difficult to beat in early levels; prioritize farming and stacking CDR for later kills with Q extensions.
Recommended starting items: Doran's Shield and Second Wind for sustain.
Becomes winnable once you reach 25+ Ability Haste.
Quinn is generally a challenging matchup for Riven.
She counters engagements with her blind and vault.
Her passive poke is annoying; try to farm evenly and utilize Q juggling.
All-in at level 6 when you gain a combat ult versus her roaming ult.
Consider using CC to cut off her escape path after vaulting.
Ping missing calls post-level 6; Quinn likes to roam.

When going all-in, aim to jump behind her to limit her escape options.
Only trade at a distance where she can't use her knockback to interrupt.

Allow her to freely proc her passive during trades.

Rammus

Focus on farming and surviving; capitalize on mistakes.
Start with Doran's Blade and Refillable Potion; aim for Vampiric Scepter on first back.
Use E to escape Rammus's taunt effectively; he typically can't kill you.
Avoid trading with Rammus due to his defensive capabilities.
Ensure Rammus's taunt doesn't interrupt your third Q.

Farm safely and look for opportunities if Rammus makes a mistake.
Start with Doran's Blade and Refillable Potion; aim to buy Vampiric Scepter on your first back.
Use E to escape Rammus's taunt effectively.

Don't engage in extended trades with Rammus.
Avoid fighting when his Defensive Ball Curl (W) is active.

Renekton

Cheese at level 1, especially when he got no experience
Respect that putting him below 50% HP accelerates his Fury generation.
Focus on small trades and trade when you have a minion wave advantage.
Lower his health to set up a level 6 all-in by baiting his E and W when they are on cooldown.
After Renekton's W buff, this matchup has become one of Riven's toughest.
Renekton can exploit Riven's weaknesses with his kit.
Try to use E to mitigate his Q damage; consider taking Bone Plating to mitigate his W.
Control the wave to prevent him from building Fury, which can give you an advantage.
Abuse Renekton's longer E cooldown.
Consider taking Ignite for a level 1 all-in advantage; play passively until level 6 if necessary.
At level 6, look for an all-in opportunity with Ignite if he misuses W or Q.
It's one of the toughest matchups for Riven.
Winnable with careful play, but respect Renekton's early game strength.
Riven outscales Renekton as the game progresses.
Consider Flash + Ignite with Resolve secondary for an easier lane.

Level 1 all-in is winnable if he starts with Q; be cautious if he has W, as he can easily disrupt your engage.
Go for safe, short trades until Renekton is low enough for an all-in.
Position well after trades to avoid Renekton using Slice and Dice to punish you.
Typical trade pattern: E to block his Q; if he delays Q, use Q -> AA -> W -> AA -> E out or continue the trade.

Avoid using your dash next to Renekton when his fury bar is stacked, as it can stun you and remove your shield instantly.
Don't forget about Renekton's sustain; factor it into your trading decisions.

Rengar

Go for short trades early in the matchup.
Position the wave to make it risky for Rengar to jump or reach the brush.
Keep track of his W cooldown and respect his double W healing, which mitigates all damage.
It's a skill matchup.
Do not let him lure the minions into the bush.
Lure the minions away from the bush to force him to jump from maximum range, allowing you to trade effectively.
If you survive his level 2 all-in attempt, you should win the lane, especially if you have Exhaust.
After level 6, the lane should become easier.
He can outdamage you if he uses his empowered W well, so avoid fighting him when he has stacks.

Try to get into the bush early and catch him off guard.
If he jumps on minions to last hit, position at the creep, W him as he jumps out, shield, and use Qs on him.
If he has a high amount of Ferocity, avoid fighting him unless you are confident in shielding his Q.

Do not fight him when his Ferocity is stacked before level 6.
Avoid early fights when he plays with Exhaust; he can easily win the level 2 all-in.

Rumble

Cheese at level 1. If not possible, aim to hit level 2 first and trade aggressively with E+auto+Q combos to gain an advantage.
Farm Matchup.
Good Rumble players can give you a hard time, consider starting Doran's Shield.
Initiate trades carefully to avoid his flamethrower; consider using E to engage and stun him when he turns.
Doran's Shield is optional but helpful against experienced Rumble players.
At level 6, be cautious of his ult; try to dodge it with your E to win the all-in.

Level 1 all-in if you can engage without using Q as a gap closer.
Punish him when he is overheated.
At level 6, you can potentially one-shot him if he doesn't have armor.
Prioritize getting CDR early.
Focus on short trades to avoid extended engagements.

Don't waste all your spells in a short trade; save some for disengagement.

Ryze

Ryze can output significant burst damage with his combos, especially when he spreads Flux with E and then uses Q.
He is mana-dependent early on; consider trading when his mana is low.
Be cautious of his W (Root) which sets up his combo; try to dodge it or use your mobility to avoid getting caught.
Ryze scales well into the late game with his spell flux interactions, so try to gain an advantage early.
Be mindful of his ability to roam with his ultimate (R), as he can quickly impact other lanes.
Consider building early magic resistance to mitigate his burst potential.

Look for short trades when his abilities are on cooldown, especially his W (Root).
Coordinate with your jungler for ganks when Ryze overextends, as he lacks mobility early.
Use your mobility to dodge his skillshots and engage when he's vulnerable.

Avoid extended trades when he has Flux spread on multiple targets, as his Q will deal increased damage.
Don't engage in close-quarters fights where Ryze can easily land his W (Root) and follow up with his full combo.

Sejuani

Sejuani is a tanky jungler with strong crowd control and engage potential.
Her passive allows her to stun you after applying four stacks of Frost, so be cautious of extended trades.
Sejuani's ultimate (Glacial Prison) is a powerful AoE stun that can turn fights around; be aware of its cooldown and positioning.
She can clear camps quickly with her abilities, allowing her to impact lanes frequently.
Building early health and resistances can help mitigate her burst damage and crowd control effects.

Abuse your early game strength to pressure Sejuani before she becomes too tanky.
Look for short trades where you can quickly disengage to avoid getting stunned by Sejuani's passive.
Save your mobility spells (Q and E) to dodge Sejuani's Q or to escape if she manages to engage on you.
Build early damage items like Black Cleaver to shred through Sejuani's health and resistances.

Don't engage in prolonged trades where Sejuani can stack her passive and stun you.
Avoid fighting Sejuani head-on if she has her Glacial Prison ultimate available, as it can turn the fight in her favor.
Don't underestimate Sejuani's early game damage; respect her burst potential especially if she catches you off guard.

Sett

Play to remove his bone plating at level 1.
From level 3 onwards, bait out his E and bone plating by using W - AA - EQ to trade effectively.
His E and W have long cooldowns.
Skill Matchup.
You can dodge his W effectively with E or Q; consider dashing into him.
Be cautious of Sett's ability to channel W and Flash simultaneously.
When he goes to last hit minions, use W to stun and auto; ensure Q and E are available to disengage and avoid his retaliation with E.
Sett typically wins this matchup outright, so focus on short trades. Q, auto, W auto, then EQ away immediately to avoid Sett's E.
Save at least one mobility spell to dodge his W damage and avoid overcommitting on trades.
You can only trade effectively after level 3; bait his E and dodge his W with your dashes to set up an all-in.
Tricky matchup due to Sett's sustain and ability to disrupt your combos. Avoid extended trades early on and focus on short trades when his abilities are up.
If you survive the lane phase without dying, you outscale Sett significantly.

Engage in short trades until he's low enough for you to potentially kill him with your ult up.
Level 1 is only winnable if he starts W and wastes it; otherwise, avoid the level 1 all-in.
When pulled by Sett's W and not stunned, stun him back and disengage.
Bait out his E by positioning at the edge of his hitbox; pretend to walk in, then quickly disengage.
At level 6, look to all-in when Sett is around 60% HP and his W is on cooldown.

Avoid trading immediately after he procs his E stun on you.
Avoid trading when his E is off cooldown.

Shen

Skill Matchup.
Avoid long trades as Shen will use his Spirit's Refuge (W) to block your passive autos.
Short trades are most effective against Shen.
His main threat is using his Q (Twilight Assault) through the wave to grasp and auto-attack you, or using it after taunting you.
Manage your wave correctly post level 6 to punish him if he ults bot lane.
Always chase Shen if he's walking away to a fight he wants to ult to.
You can interrupt his ult channel with your 3rd Q or W.
Focus on dodging his E (Shadow Dash) and play around his Q. If his Q doesn't hit you and he has no shield, you'll have an advantage. You also outscale him hard after level 6.

Go for short trades to avoid his W blocking your passive autos.
Manage your wave post level 6 to keep him from ulting freely.
Chase him when he tries to walk away to ult into a fight.
Interrupt his ult with your 3rd Q or W whenever possible.
Play around his Q and dodge his E to maintain an advantage.

Don't engage in long trades, especially when his W is up.
Don't let him use his Q through the wave to grasp and auto-attack you.
Don't ignore his positioning when he's likely to ult into another fight.
Don't waste your abilities if his Q hits you and he has his shield up.

Shyvana

Win early game and run her down at level 6.
She needs lots of items to become effective.
Farm matchup.

Abuse your early game strength; look for favorable trades before Shyvana scales.
Track her item progression; consider aggressive plays once she falls behind in gold or items.
Coordinate with your jungler to deny her jungle camps or contest objectives to delay her scaling.

Overextend without vision; Shyvana can punish with her high damage and mobility in dragon form.
Underestimate her burst potential at level 6; her ultimate transforms can catch you off guard.
Allow her to freely farm minions; deny her gold and experience to delay her power spike.

Singed

Farm matchup.
Riven has all the mobility necessary to engage/disengage against Singed.
Keep at least half your kit up for after he flings. You win at 40-45%.
Easy matchup if you play around his E and get Executioner's Calling.
Punish him when your wave is close to your turret; he risks walking into tower range to poison minions.
Punish him with short trades when he goes for last hits.
Focus on getting CDR early.

Freeze the wave near your tower to deny Singed easy farm.
Predict his flip (E) and use your mobility (E) beforehand.
Use W to initiate short trades and avoid being flipped.
Respect his ultimate's healing and avoid chasing him.
Look to engage when Singed is around 50% HP at level 6.

Don't start a short trade with Q, as Singed can react and flip you.
Forget about Singed's resistance boost when he ults; adjust your damage accordingly.

Sion

Zone him early and deny him minions.
Try to freeze the wave near your tower.
Only kill him if he won't get lots of minions with his passive; timing is crucial to deny XP and gold.
It's a farm matchup initially but punish him before he becomes too tanky.
Hard trade level 1 before his passive has stacked.
Combo in and break his Q channel with your W.
Push leads in lane as Sion outscales easily.
You can cancel Sion's Q with your stuns, denying him crucial damage.
Avoid letting him hit his fully charged Q; the damage is significant.
Bait his E out before going for a significant chunk of his HP.
Be cautious if he gets kills; Sion can become very powerful.
Crash the third wave, recall, and freeze near your tower to pressure him.

Level 1 all-in can be effective.
When cancelling his Q, be mindful of its reduced cooldown; save abilities to disengage safely.
After getting hit by his E, immediately disengage to avoid his guaranteed Q hit.

Don't walk up too close to bushes where Sion can surprise you.
Avoid getting hit by his E after trading or using Q aggressively.
Remember his passive; don't underestimate his potential to revive.

Skarner

Focus on scaling, as Skarner is stronger early.
Until level 6 or Black Cleaver, there's little you can do; let him push you.
Remember that Skarner can extend his Q similarly to Riven.
It's a farm matchup; play patiently.
Skarner will poke you with his Crystal Spires.
His shield deals damage, be aware of its impact.
Be prepared for his ultimate; consider building QSS later.
Skarner will outdamage you in later stages of the game.

Look for opportunities to kill him early if possible.

Allow Skarner to poke you freely.

Smolder

Ranged scaling lane. Early lane is about not bleeding HP while denying free stacks when possible.
He wants to farm safely and scale; your windows are when his movement spell or waveclear is unavailable.
Once he has levels and items, chasing him through waves can get awkward fast.

Take Doran's Shield and play around brush to reduce poke.
Crash waves cleanly before resetting so he cannot stack and poke for free.
Punish him hard when he wastes his escape or walks into Q3 range.

Don't let him poke you down before you ever get a real engage window.
Don't dive him without tracking his escape and summoners.
Don't ignore his scaling; force tempo before he becomes too comfortable.

Swain

Swain tends to avoid fighting early; exploit this to gain an advantage.
When Swain ults, disengage briefly to interrupt it, then re-engage.

Exploit Swain's weak early game to establish lane dominance.
Purchase Executioner's Calling to reduce Swain's healing from his ult and passive.
Coordinate with your jungler to capitalize on Swain's early vulnerability.

Engage Swain while his ult (Demonic Ascension) is active; disengage until it expires or is interrupted.
Underestimate Swain's sustain from his ult and passive, especially in prolonged fights.
Allow Swain to scale comfortably into mid-game where he becomes more impactful.

Sylas

Sylas actually can't win versus Riven in lane.

Zone him off the wave at level 1 and play off that lead.
Abuse your early game strength to deny him CS and experience.
Trade aggressively whenever your abilities are up and he is in range.
Coordinate with your jungler to capitalize on your early dominance and set up kills.

Overextend without vision or knowledge of enemy jungle position.
Underestimate his burst potential if he manages to land his chains (E).
Allow him to free farm or scale into mid-late game where he can become more impactful.
Waste your abilities on trades that don't result in significant damage or pressure.

Tahm Kench

Dodge his Qs to deny damage and healing.
Go for trades at level 1.
Farm matchup.
He may outscale you eventually, consider fighting him as a duo or trio or avoid him.
His shield strengthens as he loses health.

Take short trades.
Use your E to block his Q.
Bait his Q or E abilities.

Engage when he has stacks on you.

Teemo

Play for level 6.
Get Sweeper early!
Free matchup at level 6 or with 20+ Ability Haste to start Q extending (ensure he's near your turret for lane advantage).
Outscale him significantly if you maintain CS.
Past 30% CDR items (like Caulfield's Warhammer and Kindlegem) is when you can look to trade effectively.
When blinded, walk next to Teemo until it wears off; save E/W to avoid free damage.
Consider Edge of Night against shrooms or for eating a blind with the passive.
Prefer waiting for level 6, bait his Q, then all-in.

Start with Doran's Shield.
Short trade before his blind.
Extended trades if you close the gap without using all spells.
Play cautiously before level 6 against skilled Teemos.
Use Sweeper during all-ins at level 6+.
Prioritize Sweeper for clearing mushrooms.

Take short trades when blinded; disengage instead.

Trundle

Focus on short trades to avoid his sustain and trading advantages.
Look to get Trundle low and burst him with Ignite at level 6.
Farming-oriented matchup; play safe and look for opportunities.
Trundle counters Riven early; consider jungler assistance.
With good laning, Trundle can be killed before and after level 6.
Trundle's passive grants health regeneration near dying enemies.
If Trundle splits, coordinate with your team rather than trying to stop him alone.

Play defensively and wait for jungle or mid lane assistance, especially if Trundle builds armor.
In teamfights, focus on bursting Trundle down with your team to neutralize his impact.
Bait out Trundle's abilities (pillar, W, Q) to deplete his mana and reduce his effectiveness.

Avoid getting bitten by Trundle, as it slows you and grants him additional attack damage.
Refrain from fighting Trundle when his W (Frozen Domain) is active, as it provides significant boosts.
Avoid prolonged battles with Trundle while his ult (Subjugate) is active, as it steals your stats.

Tryndamere

This is a skill matchup where Tryndamere's crit RNG can heavily influence trades.
Rushing Tabis can mitigate a lot of his damage.
Once Riven has 45% CDR, space out your abilities and kite Tryndamere when he ults.
Go for short, quick trades after level 3.
When Tryndamere spins on you, use W, auto, E away, and continue to Q auto as you kite back to avoid extended fights.
Avoid fighting him at level 1 and 2; after level 3, you can trade more effectively.
Keep the wave frozen near your tower to deny him trading opportunities. Consider Plated Steelcaps if needed.

Take Exhaust to reduce his damage during his all-ins.
Look for a level 1 all-in to establish dominance early.
Maintain the freeze near your tower to safely farm and deny him CS.
Always keep your E ready to match his engage when he spins towards you.
Bait out his Mocking Shout (W) before committing to a trade or all-in.

Avoid using your 3rd Q directly in front of Tryndamere, as good players will punish this by engaging immediately.
Refrain from extended trades, as Tryndamere's sustained damage and crits can quickly turn the fight against you.

Twisted Fate

Twisted Fate can be annoying with his global pressure, but he's vulnerable to all-ins.
Punish him whenever his Pick a Card (W) is on cooldown.
Watch out for his roaming potential post level 6 with Destiny (R), and ping when he's missing.
Farm Matchup
A smart TF will roam, then he will just R out
Riven can hard win all ins, that how hard they play on this point of the game.

Freeze the wave to deny his roaming opportunities.
Punish him with short trades whenever he uses Pick a Card (W).
Use your mobility to dodge his Wild Cards (Q) and avoid ganks.
Play aggressive when his ult is on cooldown, its not that they can both him and me, just avoid this matchup.

Udyr

Play aggressively at level 1 and look to all-in him at level 6.
Short trades can be effective, but be mindful of his sustain.
Respect his shield (Turtle Stance) and healing (Phoenix Stance).
Farm Matchup

Focus on winning level 1 trades to establish lane dominance.
Use your mobility to dodge his abilities and kite him.
Look for opportunities to burst him down when his defensive abilities are on cooldown.
Ward well to avoid being caught out by his jungle presence.

Don't underestimate his sustained damage and dueling potential in prolonged fights.
Avoid extended trades when he has his defensive stance or healing available.
Don't overextend without vision, as Udyr can capitalize on positional mistakes.

Urgot

You have a lot of kill pressure from level 6.
If he uses his E (dash), you can trade and win.
The one who initiates the trade usually loses, so try to bait out his E.
Farm Matchup
Be prepared to dodge and sidestep to beat him; you won't win the all-in if he hits his dash.
When trading, stick to one side of Urgot to avoid his machine gun legs.
Use your E to avoid his E (dash); Urgot players often cast it when you Q towards them.
If you get flipped by his E, he can easily burst you down, so be cautious.
It's a challenging matchup but not unwinnable; focus on small trades and look to all-in at level 6.

Level 1 all-in works best when he doesn't start with his dash.
Abuse his short auto-attack range; walk up for a short trade instead of using your Qs to close the gap.
Use your Qs to dance around to avoid his ultimate or dash.
Prioritize getting push priority in the lane.

Don't trade after getting hit by his dash or Q; Urgot's machine gun will deal significant damage.

Varus

Ranged AD/poke matchup. Very annoying if he controls the wave and keeps you at max range.
He can punish failed engages hard, especially if you burn all mobility before reaching him.
His ultimate can stop your all-in, so track it before committing.

Start Doran's Shield and use bushes to break auto spacing.
Look for all-ins after he uses Q/E on the wave or misses poke.
Plated Steelcaps are usually valuable if he is AD/on-hit focused.

Don't eat free poke while waiting for a perfect engage.
Don't all-in through a big enemy wave.
Don't forget his ult can completely flip an otherwise good engage.

Vayne

Edge of Night nullifies her E ability.
Request ganks early.
Respect her early game potential to kite and trade.
Force Vayne to use her tumble (Q) with a 20s cooldown at rank 1, then exploit this.
Consider taking a haste shard for lower cooldowns on your E and gap-closers.
Avoid standing near walls to prevent getting stunned by her E.
Use E ability to disrupt her Silver Bolts passive.
All-in at level 6, conserving spells to close gaps after her tumble.
Vayne is squishy but dangerous with Blade of the Ruined King.
Build Edge of Night second or third to block her E and for useful lethality.

Bait out her E ability before committing to fights.
Let Vayne push and coordinate with your jungler for ganks.
If no jungle help, wait for Vayne's health to drop below 40% for an easy kill.

Avoid positioning near walls where Vayne can stun you with her E.
Don't flash after Vayne when her E is available to avoid getting stunned.

Viego

If you don't fall behind, you should win easily at level 6+.
Consider getting early Executioner's Calling to deal with his sustain.
When going all-in, don't hesitate to use Flash to avoid his ultimate damage if needed.

Consider starting Doran's Shield to match his sustain, especially before Viego nerfs.
After a short trade, position yourself where he can't easily stun you, such as behind minions, or have your spells ready to dodge his stun.
Go for short trades where you minimize the amount of damage you take.

Take even trades as he will outsustain you.
Underestimate his Q poke.
Engage in long trades when he is in his invisibility (Possession).

Vladimir

Remember that his W cooldown at level 1 is 28 seconds, so try to bait it out to set up all-ins.
Farming matchup where aggression can be effective.
Start with Long Sword + 3 Potions and constantly pressure him. Riven can burst him down in one rotation.
Consider Doran's Shield if you're not confident in the matchup.
At level 6, you're free to all-in as long as you're not low on health.
Early healing reduction is crucial; anticipate his Q with your E and focus on farming until you have 2-3 items like Death's Dance and Maw of Malmortius.
Similar strategy as against Kayle and Nasus: push and bounce the wave to freeze near your tower.
Bait out his W (pool) ability before attempting an all-in.

Try to all-in him if you're close enough (use no more than 1 Q to gap close).
Abuse his 30-second pool cooldown whenever possible.
Take short trades when he walks up to farm, and use E to disengage.
When you have 20%+ CDR and he's near your tower, go for an all-in with a Q extension.

Don't rush Executioner's Calling as your first item; get it as your second or third item instead.

Volibear

If you manage to stay even, you outscale him at the second item buy.
Stunning him when he charges his Q cancels it but does not put it on cooldown.
Executioner's Calling is optional but can be effective against his healing.
Avoid getting hit by his W2, as it heals him significantly and deals extra damage.
Don't be scared at level 1; apply pressure early because he wins levels 2 and 3.
Be cautious of him layering his W onto his Q for added burst.
His E shield, W2 heal, and damage can auto-win trades; be mindful of these abilities.
In this matchup, either bait his Q and then go for an extended trade, or make quick trades like Q+W+AA+E-out.
Once he's at half HP and his E or Q is down, you can look to all-in.

Go for a full Q rotation if he wastes his abilities.
Bait his stun (Q) by walking close to him and then E or Q out.
Flashing to avoid his ultimate damage is worthwhile.
When his stun (Q) is up, the only short trade you should do is W + AA and then instantly Q or E out.
If his Q is on cooldown, you can look for other short trade patterns.

Trying to trade after he hits his stun (Q); wait for it to expire.
Trading when his mark is on you, as it enhances his abilities.

Warwick

Never Q3 into Warwick as he will always cancel the CC with his Q, play to set up waves for your jungler, and play off ganks more than anything.
Respect the fact that he has crazy sustain even in early levels without R.
You outscale Warwick very hard, so it is not crucial to get ahead in lane.
Consider taking exhaust against him, as it helps throughout the game, especially in the early stages.
Warwick is strong with significant healing and becomes stronger as he gets lower in health.
Executioner's Calling is optional but can be effective against his healing.

Try to bait out his barrier (E) before committing to a trade.

Fight him early (level 1) when he has his barrier (E) available, as it can mitigate your damage and turn the trade in his favor.

Wukong

Q-Extend into getting his bone plating and then all-inning
Do not overextend with abilities on cooldown or on his side of the lane
Skill matchup
Effective when he starts Corrupting Potion and you have at least a Long Sword
Cannot avoid his two knockups, so be cautious before engaging
Riven's level 6 is stronger for 1v1 fights, but falling behind can be detrimental
Wukong wins level 1 with E start
Try to use E to mitigate his Q or E damage

Level 1 all-in
Use your E+W to disengage when he jumps on you with his E
Purchase an early Oracle's Lens to reveal his decoy
Use E to gap close during short trades to prevent him from landing a free Q
Go for short, sharp trades and then all-in when he's at 40-50% health
At level 6, you can win if he hasn't purchased armor; otherwise, chip away at his health first

Engage in extended trades due to his passive granting him too much armor

Yasuo

Go for short trades
Cancel his Q with both your W and Q3
Utilize bushes to make it difficult for him to punish you
Your level 6 is superior to his
Skill matchup, but generally better for Riven
Sidestep his Q and remove his shield before going for an all-in
Engage when he has 0 stacks or risk punishment with tornado and free AAs
Consider getting plated steel caps if you're having trouble
Outscale him if you wait patiently; his dominance is mainly pre-6

Level 1 all-in
Hover your mouse over him when using the 3rd Q so it follows him even if he dashes
Stun him before R2 to prevent him from using Wind Wall effectively
Only go for short trades in early levels
At level 6, you can potentially one-shot him
Dodge his Qs in close range by moving unpredictably (jiggling)

Go for extended trades in early levels
Carelessly waste all your spells when pushed in
Fight in your minion waves (he can use them to kite you)

Yone

Skill Matchup
Riven favored matchup overall
Losable if he gets a couple of kills or if he has hands

Dont let him "poke" you
One-shot him at level 6
Look for free trade windows when his E is down and he has no Q stacks
If his E is up and you are trading, expect him to chase you down afterward; chunk him down before he can retaliate
Dodge his Qs in close range by moving unpredictably (jiggling)

Overcommitting after trading with your entire kit, as you may be punished by his E
Underestimating his power spike with Berserker's Greaves (full build)

Yorick

Zone him so he can't get minions for his ghouls
As long as he doesn't hit E, it should be an easy lane
Farm Matchup
Look to trade level 1, you beat him hard
Healing reduction is good here after maybe the second base
This matchup is similar to Illaoi in that you can fight if you dodge his E; if not, wait it out
If you dodge his E (the ability he throws at you that makes his ghouls jump on you), you can trade freely
Try not to fight when his maiden is up; look to kill it before all-inning him
You should just one-shot him when he's at 50% HP, but he scales pretty well
You can 3Q out of his W ability (the box)

Get his barrier out before committing to a fight

Fight him early (level 1) when he has his barrier up

Zaahen

Newer fighter matchup, so manual notes are still sample-light.
Expect extended trades to matter more than one tiny poke trade.
Watch for healing/sustain patterns and avoid giving him free long fights when your cooldowns are down.

Test short trades early and adjust once you see his cooldown pattern.
Keep ignite pressure for all-ins and healing reduction windows.
Use Riot sample data as support here until more manual matchup testing is added.

Don't assume the matchup is solved yet; treat the notes as early guidance.
Don't keep fighting after using all Q/E charges if he still has his main damage window.
Don't skip anti-heal if his sustain becomes the lane problem.

Zac

You win level 1 very hard (Make sure to Q extend as your passive AA should one-hit his blobs)
If you see him using Q on a minion, make sure to wait until it runs out
Farm Matchup

Abuse your level 1 advantage; look for opportunities to trade aggressively
Use your mobility to dodge Zac's abilities and position yourself advantageously

Overcommit to extended trades when Zac has his abilities ready
Underestimate Zac's crowd control and sustain in prolonged fights

Champion	Infos
Aatrox	Skill Matchup If he rushes Tabis, prioritize farm and platings. When he gets Dirk, he's a different champion! Take short trades into him; once Conqueror kicks in, his healing gets crazy. Don't get hit by any of his empowered Qs, getting hit by his non-empowered Q is fine Use your Qs to jump behind Aatrox to dodge his first two Qs. When disengaging, have at least one Q or E up to avoid getting hit by his empowered Q. Play with your Q extension; this will help you a lot with dodging and trading. A good Aatrox will try to predict your E. Level 1 all-in. Bully him early game and bait his W/E. Get push priority. Abuse his high cooldowns after he uses his 3rd Q. Use all your abilities to dodge his abilities. Go for short trades. Stand close and don't Q on the spot. Chip him down to 50% HP then all-in with ult. Don't underestimate his Dirk spike. Don't underestimate his healing. Don't all-in him when he is at 100% HP.

Akali	Skill Matchup. Cheese at level 1. Get Red Trinked if you struggle with her W Play around her high cooldowns on E and W. Start with ignite and stand in the last bush near her tower to run her down with ignite when minions clash. Early magic resist helps. It's okay to get hit by one Q, but avoid the second. Avoid getting hit by her E when disengaging to prevent taking unnecessary damage. All-in at level 1. Take short trades. Dodge her Q and then trade. Don't waste spells while she's in shroud Use E to dodge her Q or Q-empowered auto. Let her push you in and keep the wave close to your turret. All-in at level 6 when she's around 70-80% HP. Bait out her W/E cooldowns before going for extended trades or all-ins. Don't use all spells when wave is shoved in unless you're out of her all-in range. Avoid all-ins when her W and E are up.

Ambessa	Skill Matchup Most of her abilitys can be dodged Most players dont know what they are doing, just run her down pre 6 and after that she cant handle ya Shes quite strong but easy to be outplayed Respect her damage and selfhealing Get her Boneplating Engage her blindly Fight her with bone plating up Engage her after 6 near tower, she can just ult u under it

Akshan	Skill Matchup Most of the time he will try to Q, AA, AA you You can block his ult with E and Minions/Tower His poke can be really annoying. You can maybe kill him early if you can cancel his E Play safe early, pre-level 6 you are weaker; prioritize saving HP for later Your level 6 spike is much stronger than his. Try to proc his bone shielding with Q extends -> After that, you can all-in him Stand really close to him so he can't E away Dive him; his spin makes it annoying Tank his ult; just hide behind something

Aurora	Ranged AP lane. Treat her like a poke matchup until you know her cooldowns. Her mobility makes blind all-ins risky, so look for trades after she uses movement or waveclear. Early magic resist can make the lane much easier if she gets push. Start Doran's Shield if you expect constant poke. Keep the wave close to your side and punish her when she steps up too far. Use short trades first, then all-in once her escape tools are down. Don't waste all dashes just to reach her if she still has space to kite. Don't fight in a long wave while getting poked for free. Don't greed damage over staying healthy for level 6.

Briar	Briar heals a substantial amount, especially in prolonged fights. Many Briar players can be taken down after you've completed your second item. If she uses her ultimate on you, immediately stun her and burst her down. Understand her cooldowns, especially her healing abilities, and exploit windows when they're on cooldown. Go for short trades and aim to all-in when she's vulnerable. Use your stun (W) effectively to interrupt her abilities. Consider purchasing Executioner's Calling early to apply Grievous Wounds and reduce her self-healing significantly. Utilize your mobility to dodge her skillshots and position yourself advantageously during trades. Communicate with your team to focus Briar in team fights, as her healing and sustain can make her difficult to deal with alone. Never underestimate Briar's healing capabilities, especially if she manages to stay alive during a fight. Avoid extended trades unless you're confident in your ability to burst her down quickly. Don't engage when her abilities are off cooldown, particularly her healing abilities.

Camille	Skill Matchup Focus on removing her Bone Plating and passive shield (18s CD) when the wave crashes at level 1. Abuse Camille's high cooldowns. Avoid trading at level 1 until her passive shield or Bone Plating is down. Bait Camille's passive and break Bone Plating before looking for short trades. Riven's early game is slightly stronger than Camille's. Riven's level 6 is significantly stronger than Camille's. CC Camille before using Windslash (R2) to prevent her from dodging it with her R. Use your mobility to dodge Camille's Precision Protocol (Q2). Cancel Camille's E with CC as soon as it connects to a wall (e.g., stun her while she's flying). Most Camille players run Ignite/Teleport to compensate for the lack of Flash. Use your W or third Q to break Camille's E (Wall Dive). You can all-in Camille around 60-70% HP at level 6, especially when her E is down. You can W her E2 with proper timing Respect her Shield Level 1 all-in Hold your E to dodge her E Short trade and tank her auto with E to burn her passive Bait Camille's passive by letting her hit you once (optimal with your E). Trade when Camille's passive is on cooldown. Cancel Camille's E with your W or third Q. Hold Windslash (R2) to bait or counter Camille's ult. All-in Camille at 6 when she's at 60-70% HP. Use mobility spells to dodge Camille's Tactical Sweep (W). Attempt short trades after Camille hits her E on you. Trade when Camille's passive is up. Stand too close to a wall when Camille's E is up.

Cassiopeia	Cheese at level 1. Bait her Q (keep your E up to dodge it). Hard to win early; try to deplete her mana or wait for level 6. Secure lane priority to prevent easy punishment from her. Avoid her Qs; use your abilities. You can dodge her ult by sidestepping backwards as she uses it. Save your E to disengage when needed. Focus on avoiding her abilities. Dodge everything and predict her W and R. Push for lane priority to avoid punishment. Use spells to avoid her Qs. Take short trades. Utilize Q extension for all-ins (possible after Warhammer purchase). Try to sidestep her ult like Faker. Bait her W. Get hit by anything.

Cho'Gath	Farm matchup. Respect his passive sustain; freeze early and deny him minions. Try to harass him early and force him to push so you can punish. Go for extended trades and all-ins when his Q is down. Riven's mobility handles Cho'Gath's kit well. Cho'Gath wins through sustain; look for hard all-ins when possible. Difficult to beat a good Cho'Gath; he wins early with E start and silences later. You should generally win unless standing in his minion wave. Walk away from him when hit by silence. Gain push priority. Level 1 all-in. Take short trades. Use Qs to jump behind him to dodge his W or Q. At level 6, all-in when he's at 55-65% HP. Predict your E on his silence due to its reaction time. Take trades where you take more than 50% of the damage you output. Build full lethality or full AD unless extremely ahead.

Darius	Skill matchup; success depends on managing cooldowns and positioning. Consider a level 1 all-in if Darius starts with Q. Be cautious of overextending with your cooldowns, as Darius can easily run you down with Ghost. The matchup becomes harder if Darius builds Ninja Tabi. Prioritize early lane control and punish him at level 6. Avoid using Q3 when Darius has his E (Apprehend) available, as skilled Darius players may use E to cancel your Q3 instead of using it as a gap closer. Prioritize quick trades to bait out Darius' E, then follow up with an all-in. Riven's level 6 is stronger, but prevent Darius from stacking his passive bleed. If Darius takes Ghost/Ignite, avoid all-ins unless he misses his E. Darius with Teleport makes the lane easier due to reduced kill pressure. Avoid being baited at level 1; look for an all-in at level 6 when Darius is around 50% health. At level 1, if Darius starts with Q and both have Ignite, consider an all-in where you dodge the outer part of his Q. If not near your tower, Darius can chase you down with Ghost and Nimbus Cloak. Before you have CDR, avoid close engagements after using all your spells. Once you have Black Cleaver, you should have the advantage. Use E or Q to interrupt Darius' healing from his Q. Look for short trades when Darius goes for CS or misses his E. Move inside Darius when he uses his Q to avoid the outer damage. Engage in short trades: W -> AA -> EQ out. Use your abilities wisely; don't use them all in quick succession. Wait out Darius' bleeding (passive stacks) before committing to a longer fight. Let Darius push and freeze the lane near your tower for safety. Don't get caught by Darius' E; skilled players will use it to cancel your Q3. Avoid prolonged trades where Darius can stack his passive and run you down with Ghost. Avoid fighting Darius when he has 5 stacks of his passive.

Dr Mundo	Cheese at level 1. Focus on farming and denying Mundo CS in the early game. You can look to run him down at level 6. It's a farm matchup overall. Similar to the old Dr. Mundo matchup, but with a more annoying passive. Many Mundo players play passive early; zone him from wave and deny CS by blocking cleavers with your shield. Avoid catching every skillshot or getting hit by his minion throw to prevent losing the matchup. Mundo's W heals him extra if it hits a champion. Stand behind minions to dodge Mundo's Qs. Mundo is considered one of the weakest level 1 top laners. Chip away at him with short trades and deny farm by blocking cleavers with your shield. Bait Mundo's passive before engaging; if you pick it up, he can't heal as much. Consider early Executioner's Calling to reduce his healing and increase kill pressure. Get early Executioner's Calling to have kill pressure after his level 6. Win every trade early, especially when you proc his Immune to CC first. Avoid all-ins when his Immune to CC is up, as he might be able to escape.

Fiora	Skill matchup. Get level 1 priority. Play close to your minions early and punish her if she engages. Position yourself close to the turret for safety. Leaving her vision range changes the placement of your vital. If Fiora misses Q, the cooldown is increased to 16 seconds at level 1, so fight her. Riven can win this matchup, but if Fiora gets a kill, it could turn the game against you. Fiora scales harder and can outplay even if you're ahead. Your level 6 is stronger, so all-in her if she's low enough and/or her W (Riposte) is on cooldown. Fiora must predict your W to stun you, but can read your 3rd Q; ensure your E is up to dodge her W when 3Qing onto her. Riven struggles in trades where Fiora lands her W due to the auto attack speed slow. Land a 3Q to prevent Fiora from using W while knocked up; combo with your W immediately. Try to bait her W out; without it, she is easier to kill and it has a high cooldown. Let her shove in early. Freeze the wave near your tower. Level 1 all-in. Short trades. Bait her W by positioning yourself to avoid the Riposte. Hug a wall when she ults to deny her vital procs. Trade after getting stunned by her W.

Gangplank	Cheese at level 1. (be careful about his barrel setups). You can track the number of barrels he has under his health bar. Pre-level 6 is easier if he doesn't have Ninja Tabi. After level 6, it becomes more favorable for Riven. Skill matchup. Start level 1 with Doran's Shield and E to block his poke. Wait until level 6 to remove his Bone Plating and then go for an all-in. If he starts with E, start with Q. Jump in with CC when he is next to a barrel and try to last hit it. As soon as you get 30% CDR, the matchup should favor Riven. If you chunk him down and the wave is pushing to him, consider diving him under tower. Use E to block his Grasp Q's and prioritize autoing his barrels in trades. Autoing his barrels is worth it as it denies him damage and movement speed bonuses. Abuse poor positioning and look to all-in with ult and CDR items. You can win fights at 40-45% HP. This is a tough matchup if the GP is skilled because he can poke you down and good GPs will take Plated Steelcaps against you. Start with E at level 1. Use E to block almost every Q poke. Go for short trades. You can potentially one-shot him at level 6 if he goes Sheen first. Try to dodge his barrels; if he comes close, execute a full 3 Qs trade and attempt to force his Flash. Walk up when your E is on cooldown. Stay close to bushes; there might be a barrel set up inside.

Garen	Play to freeze the wave near your tower and punish him with short trades. He will most likely Q you when you 3Q him. His Q cooldown is higher, so if you extend the trade, you can trade well. Bait his W (Courage) and then use your ult to burst him down. Farm matchup. Trade when his Q (Decisive Strike) is on cooldown, but only use one full Q rotation and then back off. It's a favorable matchup if you know how to play around his straightforward kit. Your winning condition is to avoid trading when he has silenced you with his Q. When trying to E his Q, you can also use E + W doublecast to stun him. Garens usually follow up Q with E, so be ready to kite it out after you E. Q extending works nicely in this matchup; you can push him to the edge with your 3rd Q when he is running at you with Q. Riven wins at level 1; don't hesitate to trade into him after he has used Q. Go for short trades: Q, AA, W, then E away. Try to bait out his W (Courage). Many people mistakenly think Garen is a threat to Riven; it's actually quite straightforward. E his Q and perform a quick trade like auto-attack, W, Q, and then disengage. You can only all-in Garen to kill him if he has no W (Courage). Many people just pick Garen as Counterpick, so maybe you can just run him down due to his lack of knowledge No all-ins, only short trades E her Q, or EW if I have the reactions Play the freeze and wave control from the start Level 1 all-in (With his damage and attack speed itemization, you can win early trades). Always use your E to block his Q. When trading, stay in your minion wave since his E will deal less damage. Always wait out his shield (W - Courage) before using Windslash (R). At level 3, you can bait his W (Courage) or perform a quick trade if he doesn't use it. Prioritize wave control Look for short trades: Q3 - W - AA - E out Trading when he has his shield up (W - Courage). Going for extended trades (he can outsustain you).

Galio	hes more Magic Resist based, so its quite doable may W-E + Q to escape his taunt keep at least 2 dashes to dodge his taunt get Poked by his Q let him channel his W

Gnar	Cheese at level 1. Respect Mega Gnar's all-in potential. Becomes challenging when he gets Trinity Force; he can easily space/poke you with it. Best to look for kills between your level 6 and his Trinity Force power spike. Skill matchup. Don't use more than 1 Q to gap close, and if possible, save your E to disengage. Gnar has a short AA range, so you can walk up to him. Becomes easier once you get Black Cleaver. Rush Plated Steelcaps to help mitigate his damage; try to space well so he can't kite you easily. If Gnar's spacing is good, he can be a nuisance. Abuse his long E cooldown with your shorter cooldowns. You win past level 6 if even. Aim to get push priority if possible. Take short trades. Don't jump behind him or he will get his second hop (E). Wait until level 3 before trading aggressively. You can cancel his jump (E) with your 3rd Q (Broken Wings). Try to proc his Bone Plating with extended Qs. Avoid fighting him in Mega Gnar form unless you can dodge his spells effectively. Avoid all-inning him next to a minion wave, as he can easily escape with his mobility.

Gragas	Get Mercury's Treads to reduce the duration of his stun (E). You can potentially kill him early if he gets low; otherwise, focus on farming and contesting minions. Farm matchup. At level 6, you have kill pressure, but be aware that he can escape easily with his abilities. You cannot cancel his empowered auto-attack once the animation has started, so don't attempt to block it; let him use it on minions first. As soon as he misses his E, you can look to all-in him. His auto-attacks deal low damage, forcing him to use mana to trade effectively; capitalize on this to build a gold lead. Avoid getting ulted into his tower. His W hitbox can be unusual; be cautious. This matchup can be really tough if the Gragas player is skilled because his dash (E) has high priority. Avoid using your 3rd Q if he still has his E available. Establish lane priority as soon as possible to push minions under his tower. Try to bait out his E or block it with your shield (E) before committing to trades. Respect his W (Drunken Rage); don't stand too close to minions when it's up. Position yourself behind minions before trading to potentially get a free trade unless he reacts quickly. Always have a minion wave next to you to block his E in case a trade goes wrong. Avoid trying to short trade when his E (Body Slam) is available. Do not take trades without minions nearby to block his E.

Graves	Fight aggressively, dodge his abilities, and then go all-in. If he uses his dash (E), let him escape. Early game, try to camp in a bush; you can easily 1v1 him with Flash and Ignite. Start with Q (Broken Wings). Take Ignite as your summoner spell. Build Eclipse as your first item. Don't follow Graves when he dashes away; instead, wait for your Q (Broken Wings) to come off cooldown.

Gwen	You have more damage in the early game. Gwen players often run Ignite or Teleport. Respect the resistance from her W (Hallowed Mist); she can also dodge your R2 (Wind Slash) with it. Go for short trades. Riven wins before Gwen finishes her first item. Abuse her as much as possible until then. Free lane starting from level 3 onwards. If you're even, avoid looking for an all-in where both of you are at full health. Executioner's Calling is needed but not too early (can buy it after your mythic item). Most Gwen players run Ignite or Teleport. When Gwen is fully stacked, keep your distance from her Q-E combo and wait until she uses it. Every time she wastes her Q (Snip Snip!), it's a window to trade with her. Her only gap closer is her E (Skip 'n Slash). Play around it during short trades; jump out of her range to avoid punishment. All-in opportunity if she uses her E and Q and ends up standing close enough that you don't need to Q to gap close. Initiate a trade to bait out her W (Hallowed Mist), then follow up with an all-in using Ignite and your ultimate. Tank her ultimate (Needlework); always move around with your Qs to avoid being hit in the same spot repeatedly. Go all-in at levels 1-2 if she has Ignite and you don't.

Hecarim	His kit is pretty easy to outplay; the problem is his sustain and stats which make him quite tanky and hard to catch. Let him shove in and wait until you reach level 3, then go for safe short trades. Respect his healing capabilities. Don't waste your abilities trying to chase him after he uses his E (Devastating Charge); he can easily turn the fight around if you do. All-in at level 1 when he has Corrupting Potions and Ignite. Engage in extended trades when his W (Spirit of Dread) is up.

Heimerdinger	Cheese at level 1. (in Bush) Similar to Cassiopeia, avoid taking damage and wait for an opportunity. Look to kill him at level 6. He will constantly push; ask your jungler for help. Farm matchup. Typically runs Ignite/TP. Avoid all-ins at full HP. Get your jungler's help early due to his pushing towers. Focus on hitting his towers. Dodge his stun to win trades and skirmishes. At level 6, juggle Qs and all-in when he mispositions. You win the scaling; just survive the lane. Get your jungler's help; towers make it hard early. Bait his W with a trade, then all-in with Ignite and ult. Engage with three towers shooting at you.

Illaoi	In early levels, she's weaker; bait her E and go in. Freezing the wave is powerful here because her E doesn't travel through minions. Avoid putting the wave too close to terrain. Farm matchup. This matchup is essentially a minigame of sidestepping. If you get hit, you lose. Dodge her E to win the lane. That's crucial. If she misses her E, you can hard trade; if she hits it, you lose. In late game, she can easily kill you even if you are fed, so capitalize on your early/mid game advantages. Riven has the mobility to deal with this matchup and also outscales Illaoi. Try not to let her one-shot the wave with Q, or you'll be farming under tower and dodging her E for the next 10 minutes. This matchup can swing between very hard and very easy; you can dominate her in lane due to your high mobility to dodge her spells, but one mistake can make it tough to deal with. Early Executioner's Calling is not necessary but could help; get it if you're having trouble. Level 1 all-in if possible. Wait for level 3 and permanently dodge her abilities before trading. It's winnable at level 6, but try to get her down to 60-70% HP first. Dodge her E and aim to all-in her when she's around 60% HP. Trading after getting hit by her E.

Irelia	Punish her with W when she jumps on a minion. Dodge her E with your E/Qs. You outdamage her; she only wins if you mismanage the wave. Skill matchup. Works when she does not have 5 stacks; make sure she cannot get them after your combo. Slightly a Riven-favored matchup. Her win condition is her passive and hitting her stun. She can run you down with only one item. A good Irelia will try to poke you a lot by Qing onto nearby minions when the wave is pushing into your tower. Riven can get outplayed easily now, and Irelia's first spike is a lot cheaper than it used to be. Aggress level 1 if she started E, but be careful not to overtrade. If she gets her passive up, she hard wins. Use your E to dodge her E. It's a skill matchup depending on the wave. If the wave is pushing towards her, you win the trades and all-ins. If the wave is pushing towards you, you lose the trades because she has minion advantage and can one-shot your minions to stack her passive. Lvl 1 all-in. Go for short trades when she last-hits a minion with her Q. Don't hesitate to use your abilities to dodge her stun. She wins extended trades, so position your wave close to your tower or avoid going for long trades when pushed in. Don't burn all of your abilities at once. Wait to throw your R2; she will try to dodge it with her Q. Trade after she hits her stun. Use your combo/R2 when she is in her W.

Jax	Skill matchup. Extend your Q: Extended 3rdQ on him, he will channel stun so use your W and run. The will jump on uns with stun, thats bad.. BUT we will have Q back up and can trade him while he got full CD. W Start is viable. When u started Q and both hit level 2 at the same time, take E at level 2 Use E-W whenever he jumps on you with Q. Play around his R (Ultimate) and E (Counter Strike) cooldowns, as he becomes very tanky with them. Try to bait his E and then poke him when he goes for last hits. Riven can safely trade at level 3. Lead with Q, auto, W, auto, and disengage. Jax loses trades heavily after his E is down. Keep the wave near your tower to deny Jax engages, quick trades to bait his E, then go for an all-in. When Jax jumps on you, he will either take the trade or use Q and E, which you can mitigate with your E or look to all-in. Build early advantages; Jax becomes strong with items. Prioritize CDR to avoid his all-ins. Be cautious when his E (Counter Strike) is up or when his ult is activated. You can E+W his Counter Strike + Leap combo. Level 1 is winnable if he wastes his E. Let him shove you in and freeze the wave near your tower. Always keep your E available to mitigate his jump. When he tries to jump on you, E-W backwards to prevent his follow-up. Respect his ultimate as it makes him tanky. If Jax Q+E, you can try to all-in or go for a trade (Q + AA + W+E-out) Play around cooldowns, especially bait his E for a winning trade Avoid extended trades. Don't walk up when your E is on cooldown.

Jayce	Cheese at level 1 (if no Phase Rush) or catch him off guard facechecking the brush. Play carefully pre-6. Once you reach level 6, look to run him down. Farm matchup. Don't underestimate his lethality spike. Main window for all-in is when he changes from Hammer to Cannon form, denying him the use of Thundering Blow (E ability). Riven has a strong advantage in an all-in, but positioning to deal damage is crucial. After your first buy, Q juggle and bait him to use Hammer Q on you; this is a prime opportunity. Farm until level 6 and try not to fall behind. At level 6, you gain a combat ultimate while Jayce does not. Focus on fighting past level 6. Jayce is vulnerable to ganks and dives if he pushes too far. Pre-level 6, survive with Doran's Shield and Second Wind runes. At level 6, bait his E and force an all-in. Jayce becomes killable once you have 30% CDR. Use abilities to avoid his Q. Let him push you in. Only last-hit when your E or Q is available to dodge his Q. Stun him when he jumps on you and trade quickly. Exploit the short window when he swaps from Hammer to Range form. Use Q extending to poke him down. Jayce's early game damage is manageable due to mana constraints. Avoid all-ins when he is in Hammer form and his E ability is available.

K'Sante	Cheese at level 1. Wait until he uses his W and abuse its high cooldown afterward (without it, he can't effectively stop you from trading). If you space well early, he will struggle to play aggressively. Once he gets his core items (Tabis + Iceborn Gauntlet), it becomes difficult to kill him. He will naturally build armor, making it challenging to out-duel him. Go for short trades to chip away at his health. Avoid all-ins, especially once he has defensive items.

Karma	Cheese at level 1. You have no kill pressure on her unless she makes a mistake Profane and Ravenous rush are good here At level 6, you can kill her if she makes a mistake You outscale her, so try to farm and roam Farm Matchup Look for opportunities to punish her mistakes, especially after level 6 Play safe and focus on farming; look for roaming opportunities to impact other lanes Don't waste your resources trying to force kills on her; she's hard to kill without a mistake

Kayle	You need to get your early lead Cheesing her level 1 is really good Get her to use her W often and waste her mana, so you can all in or she misses CS You can snowball quite well She becomes a monster later in the game Farm Matchup Kayle is not even a champion early. Just AFK farm and get your 20-30% CDR or one-shot her as soon as you hit level 6. Her ult has a long CD, so trading ults is fine because yours will be up before hers. At the start of the game, you can use the same strategy as with Akali, but be careful and execute your fast combo a little bit later. You can take Ghost instead of Ignite and run her down when she tries to poke you near your tower No real threat in lane but obviously Kayle scales really well. Try hard to get a big lead pre-level 11. Once you have 45% CDR, you should be able to kill her with 2 rotations. Look for missteps. In lane, she takes lots of damage if you can get on her. The secret to this matchup is pushing early waves and making it bounce back, then freezing it, and you can pretty much deny her from farming. At level 6, you can't do quick trades; just go all-in on her. Your ult CD comes earlier than hers, if both of you ult at the same time, take advantage of that Whenever she walks up, punish her Getting hit by her empowered AA (E) or Q; use your E to block it whenever you can

Kennen	Cheese at level 1. If you manage to play early well, you can try to run him down at 6 Can only kill if he doesn't know how to use W passive or E Farm Matchup Don't go for last hits when his empowered AA is up. Can be annoying but doesn't really have kill pressure. You win if even at 6, rush tenacity. This is one of the toughest matchups for Riven because Kennen has a lot of stuns and can just E out your trades. Here you need to go for Mercurial Boots and Hexdrinker early if you want to get a chance to kill him. Q extending can help you poke him a little bit You can only trade against him if you manage to save your E to disengage and don't have to use more than one Q to gap close At lvl 4 you can go for all-in trades but they are only worth it if you get at least 50% of his hp Decent Kennen players are not killable pre 6 Depending on his items you can one-shot him at 6 Go in when you have more than 1 stack of Kennen passive on you Go for even trades

Kled	Dodge his Q at all costs, wait for him to waste W on creeps You can play for kill early since you win level 1 Or you can play save and outscale him If he wastes his Q, you can try all in Remember his W cooldown, so he doesn't get to mount up again Skill Matchup Kled's win condition is him hitting his Q (Yoshi form) Dodge his Q at all costs, disengage immediately if he hits it. Try E his W damage. Don't get baited into overchasing once he's dismounted, Kled can turn the fight really easily. You outscale, go even/survive lane and you're sweet. This matchup is basically dodge his Q, and make quick trades. You should all in level 6 when he has his E on cooldown. Lvl 1 all in him when he misses his Q Let him shove in and play close to your turret unless you are confident in your sidesteps then you can play with push priority You win every trade if he misses his Q Save your CDs before fighting his mini form Go for extended trades when he has his E up Fighting with AAs only against his mini form

Lillia	Lillia players will call this a "Hard matchup", so as long as you don't give her any chance she shouldn't have an easy time. Focus on avoiding her skill shots and kiting around her movement speed advantage. Look for short trades and burst damage opportunities to avoid extended engagements where her kiting abilities excel. Coordinate with your jungler for ganks to capitalize on her lack of mobility. Build items that can mitigate her magic damage and movement speed advantages. Overextend in trades or fights where she can kite you effectively. Underestimate her burst damage potential if she lands multiple hits with her abilities. Ignore her passive movement speed bonus; be mindful of her positioning to avoid unnecessary damage.

Lissandra	Play rather safe early in the laning phase. Consider purchasing magic resist items such as boots or Hexdrinker to mitigate her poke. Aim to engage and all-in after reaching level 6 or with Eclipse and Mercury's Treads to overpower her. Engage in fights before level 6; her poke and crowd control can easily punish you. Underestimate her ability to slow you down or deny your engages with her root. Playing safely early is crucial; Eclipse and Mercury's Treads can shift the matchup in your favor. Consider using magic resist runes to reduce her poke damage. Be prepared for her to root you whenever you engage; early engagements can be risky due to this.

Malphite	In my optinion this champ is the definition of brain damage. If he rushes Tabis, it gets hard to trade. Punish him hard at levels 1 and 6. Play for an even lane; if you fall behind, he will run you down. Focus on farming; not worth trying to kill. If he presses E, disengage due to the attack speed reduction. Trade using AA -> E-W out or E->AA-W-Q ->AA. Farm matchup; boring but necessary. If he starts Q, it's free; if not, bait it out first. Malphite has mana issues; try to get him OOM and block his abilities. Free matchup and farm lane; win by roaming like in every tank matchup. Most of the lane will be farming or roaming; avoid fighting after he gets Steelcaps. Unflinching rune helps; go for health as adaptive stat in runes. Depending on Malphite's build and runes, this matchup varies in difficulty. Common build is comet and a mix of tank/AP items; take Doran's Shield/Second Wind to outsustain his mana. Once he's low on mana, he's easy to kill. Malphite should go Grasp against Riven; if he goes Arcane Comet, get Mercury Boots and try extended trades with Conqueror. Level 1 all-in. Get push priority. Starting level 3, you outtrade him easily. At level 6, get him below 60% to one-shot him. Malphite players tend to E when you walk up; engage with E first or Q out immediately. Consider Ignite for a level 1 kill. Bait his W by Qing into him, then W, AA, E out. Go for AA trades when he hits his E (attack speed slow). Tank his empowered AAs.

Maokai	Bait out his Q to avoid being pushed back. Focus on last hitting; he becomes unkillable if you don't get an early lead. Level 1 all-in. His main damage is his Q; from levels 2-3, use your shield first to trade. When short trading under tower, save your E for his W to make him leap outside of tower range. Spam your abilities, as he gains free passive stacks. Get early Executioner's Calling; he heals out of fights and procs it only once or twice during fights.

Mordekaiser	Dodge his abilities. Avoid extended trades due to his passive. Kill potential at level 6. Save your ult until after he ults you (he can dodge it with his ult). Fight in your minion wave; his Q does less damage if it only hits one target. Get a full rotation before he procs his passive and then walk away. Similar to Illaoi; a minigame of sidestepping. You win trades if you dodge well. Use Qs to jump behind him. Early boots for sidestepping or kiting are optional. Do short trades. He wins level 1 because of his passive. Play safe until level 3. Avoid every Q with sidestep > Q > E. All-in at level 6 when he is around half HP. Fight him when his passive is procced. All-in when his W is fully charged.

Nasus	Cheese at level 1. Freeze lane to prevent him from stacking. Becomes a threat at level 6 or with a lot of armor. Zone him early and run him down at level 6. If you push too much, expect a jungle gank. If he doesn't walk up, he loses gold. He only wins if you mismanage the wave. Farm matchup; abuse him before he outscales you. Pushing the wave is bad; he can free stack under tower and heal with his passive, plus it's easy for the jungle to gank. Do decent damage, push the next wave, and dive with your jungle if he comes. Assert pressure level 1 by walking up and forcing him to last hit with Spirit Fire. Deny stacks and passive healing; many don't execute this properly. Avoid attacking him; your Q's AOE will push the wave. Use Spirit Fire's AOE to push the wave to your tower. Set up a freeze and hard trade when he tries to Q the wave or deny him stacks. If he's low on stacks at level 6, you win. If his CS is even with yours, you're in trouble. This matchup is not free; it's easy to let Nasus scale if played incorrectly. He outscales you around 2-3 items unless you're significantly ahead. Like Kayle, push the wave to bounce and freeze it. You need to kill Nasus before level 6 or you'll lose lane and possibly the game. Get Executioner's Calling. He's hard to gank and dive. Freeze the lane if possible. Proxy farm if possible. Punish him every time he walks up. Early dives with jungle. Early lane priority (freeze if possible). He eventually outscales you (proxy farm if possible). Don't use auto attacks when withered; only use spells until it runs out. Don't tank his E explosion damage unnecessarily.

Neeko	Doran's Shield + Resolve lets you survive her auto poke. Use Q extension to last hit minions. Oracles can easily spot her when she goes invis. Use your dashes to dodge her E. Don't all-in her randomly; her E or ult can easily destroy you.

Olaf	His level 1 is stronger. Destroy him at levels 1 and 6 (Riven's ult is stronger). Skill matchup. Bait his Q into your minions at level 1 so he pushes the wave. Start trading at level 3 near your tower with quick trades until you can all-in him. If you have problems, get Executioner's Calling and Plated Steelcaps. Do short trades. Get Executioner's Calling if he outdamages you. Fight him after level 6 without ult. Don't underestimate his damage. Don't fight him in his ult if he's not low. Don't run away when he's low; just fight, you won't escape anyway.

Ornn	Punish him early before he gets armor. His W marks you only if the last tick hits, so dodge it by dashing into him. Freezing the lane is effective since he can only farm with Q. His main damage threat is his W; avoid the last tick to prevent extra passive damage. Once he gets enough armor, focus on scaling rather than killing him. Farm matchup. E his Bellows Breath damage or the brittle auto for best results. Anticipate Q placements in the wave and avoid standing near walls or his pillar to prevent a stun. Start Doran's Shield and look to kill before his first base. After he buys armor, it will be harder. Remove his Bone Plating and go for extended trades. Keep your E to dodge his W. Try to crash the third wave on his tower, recall, then freeze the lane and bully him when he tries to farm. Abuse his weak early levels before he becomes too tanky to kill. All-in at level 1 when he does not have W. Cancel his empowered W auto attack with your stun or third Q. Deny his R2 with a CC when he is about to knock it back. Short trade after he uses his W. Don't try to CC him while he uses his W (he becomes immune to CC). Don't stand next to a wall or his pillar when trading.

Pantheon	Cheese at level 1, rather risky but when he facebecks you Wait for level 3 and go for short trades. Your level 6 is stronger than his. Use E to block his spears. Skill matchup. Go for short trades after level 3. All-in him at level 6 for a stronger engage. Don't engage in extended trades before level 3. Don't underestimate his burst damage.

Poppy	Cheese at level 1 (but works only when shes bad) Ask for jungle ganks. Use Q to proc her W if needed. Play safe and focus on scaling. Favorable farm matchup. Aim to stay even until your second item to gain an advantage. Riven has an advantage early; becomes skill-dependent later. WARY of her W! Similar to Renekton matchup; focus on outplaying at level 1, engage when her passive and Bone Plating are down. Doran's Shield is recommended. Avoid getting hit by her Q; it's easy to dodge by clicking away. Use your shield to block her passive ranged attack and deny her shield from picking up her buckler. Stay away from walls to avoid being stunned and avoid using Q/E while she has her W active to prevent being grounded. Trade aggressively at level 1 and continue with short trades thereafter. Level 6 is strong for Riven due to her combat ult compared to Poppy's utility ult. Instead of trying to cancel Poppy's ult, focus on dodging it. Be cautious of potential dives set up by Poppy and her jungler; manage wave position and health. Adapt to Poppy's passive and W cooldowns for effective trading. Poppy is straightforward to play but counters Riven effectively with tankiness and W ability to negate dashes. All-in at level 1 but avoid her ranged auto and shield. Using your shield during her W still grants you protection, so use it if it can save your life. Secure kills in early levels to prevent Poppy from becoming unkillable. Engage after she uses her Q preemptively with your E. Punish her when her W (Steadfast Presence) is on cooldown. Stay too close to your tower or walls, which allows Poppy to stun you. Attempt to cancel Poppy's ult; instead, focus on sidestepping its channel.

Quinn	Focus on farming early and minimize damage taken. Wait until level 6, then aim to consistently burst her down. Difficult to beat in early levels; prioritize farming and stacking CDR for later kills with Q extensions. Recommended starting items: Doran's Shield and Second Wind for sustain. Becomes winnable once you reach 25+ Ability Haste. Quinn is generally a challenging matchup for Riven. She counters engagements with her blind and vault. Her passive poke is annoying; try to farm evenly and utilize Q juggling. All-in at level 6 when you gain a combat ult versus her roaming ult. Consider using CC to cut off her escape path after vaulting. Ping missing calls post-level 6; Quinn likes to roam. When going all-in, aim to jump behind her to limit her escape options. Only trade at a distance where she can't use her knockback to interrupt. Allow her to freely proc her passive during trades.

Rammus	Focus on farming and surviving; capitalize on mistakes. Start with Doran's Blade and Refillable Potion; aim for Vampiric Scepter on first back. Use E to escape Rammus's taunt effectively; he typically can't kill you. Avoid trading with Rammus due to his defensive capabilities. Ensure Rammus's taunt doesn't interrupt your third Q. Farm safely and look for opportunities if Rammus makes a mistake. Start with Doran's Blade and Refillable Potion; aim to buy Vampiric Scepter on your first back. Use E to escape Rammus's taunt effectively. Don't engage in extended trades with Rammus. Avoid fighting when his Defensive Ball Curl (W) is active.

Renekton	Cheese at level 1, especially when he got no experience Respect that putting him below 50% HP accelerates his Fury generation. Focus on small trades and trade when you have a minion wave advantage. Lower his health to set up a level 6 all-in by baiting his E and W when they are on cooldown. After Renekton's W buff, this matchup has become one of Riven's toughest. Renekton can exploit Riven's weaknesses with his kit. Try to use E to mitigate his Q damage; consider taking Bone Plating to mitigate his W. Control the wave to prevent him from building Fury, which can give you an advantage. Abuse Renekton's longer E cooldown. Consider taking Ignite for a level 1 all-in advantage; play passively until level 6 if necessary. At level 6, look for an all-in opportunity with Ignite if he misuses W or Q. It's one of the toughest matchups for Riven. Winnable with careful play, but respect Renekton's early game strength. Riven outscales Renekton as the game progresses. Consider Flash + Ignite with Resolve secondary for an easier lane. Level 1 all-in is winnable if he starts with Q; be cautious if he has W, as he can easily disrupt your engage. Go for safe, short trades until Renekton is low enough for an all-in. Position well after trades to avoid Renekton using Slice and Dice to punish you. Typical trade pattern: E to block his Q; if he delays Q, use Q -> AA -> W -> AA -> E out or continue the trade. Avoid using your dash next to Renekton when his fury bar is stacked, as it can stun you and remove your shield instantly. Don't forget about Renekton's sustain; factor it into your trading decisions.

Rengar	Go for short trades early in the matchup. Position the wave to make it risky for Rengar to jump or reach the brush. Keep track of his W cooldown and respect his double W healing, which mitigates all damage. It's a skill matchup. Do not let him lure the minions into the bush. Lure the minions away from the bush to force him to jump from maximum range, allowing you to trade effectively. If you survive his level 2 all-in attempt, you should win the lane, especially if you have Exhaust. After level 6, the lane should become easier. He can outdamage you if he uses his empowered W well, so avoid fighting him when he has stacks. Try to get into the bush early and catch him off guard. If he jumps on minions to last hit, position at the creep, W him as he jumps out, shield, and use Qs on him. If he has a high amount of Ferocity, avoid fighting him unless you are confident in shielding his Q. Do not fight him when his Ferocity is stacked before level 6. Avoid early fights when he plays with Exhaust; he can easily win the level 2 all-in.

Rumble	Cheese at level 1. If not possible, aim to hit level 2 first and trade aggressively with E+auto+Q combos to gain an advantage. Farm Matchup. Good Rumble players can give you a hard time, consider starting Doran's Shield. Initiate trades carefully to avoid his flamethrower; consider using E to engage and stun him when he turns. Doran's Shield is optional but helpful against experienced Rumble players. At level 6, be cautious of his ult; try to dodge it with your E to win the all-in. Level 1 all-in if you can engage without using Q as a gap closer. Punish him when he is overheated. At level 6, you can potentially one-shot him if he doesn't have armor. Prioritize getting CDR early. Focus on short trades to avoid extended engagements. Don't waste all your spells in a short trade; save some for disengagement.

Ryze	Ryze can output significant burst damage with his combos, especially when he spreads Flux with E and then uses Q. He is mana-dependent early on; consider trading when his mana is low. Be cautious of his W (Root) which sets up his combo; try to dodge it or use your mobility to avoid getting caught. Ryze scales well into the late game with his spell flux interactions, so try to gain an advantage early. Be mindful of his ability to roam with his ultimate (R), as he can quickly impact other lanes. Consider building early magic resistance to mitigate his burst potential. Look for short trades when his abilities are on cooldown, especially his W (Root). Coordinate with your jungler for ganks when Ryze overextends, as he lacks mobility early. Use your mobility to dodge his skillshots and engage when he's vulnerable. Avoid extended trades when he has Flux spread on multiple targets, as his Q will deal increased damage. Don't engage in close-quarters fights where Ryze can easily land his W (Root) and follow up with his full combo.

Sejuani	Sejuani is a tanky jungler with strong crowd control and engage potential. Her passive allows her to stun you after applying four stacks of Frost, so be cautious of extended trades. Sejuani's ultimate (Glacial Prison) is a powerful AoE stun that can turn fights around; be aware of its cooldown and positioning. She can clear camps quickly with her abilities, allowing her to impact lanes frequently. Building early health and resistances can help mitigate her burst damage and crowd control effects. Abuse your early game strength to pressure Sejuani before she becomes too tanky. Look for short trades where you can quickly disengage to avoid getting stunned by Sejuani's passive. Save your mobility spells (Q and E) to dodge Sejuani's Q or to escape if she manages to engage on you. Build early damage items like Black Cleaver to shred through Sejuani's health and resistances. Don't engage in prolonged trades where Sejuani can stack her passive and stun you. Avoid fighting Sejuani head-on if she has her Glacial Prison ultimate available, as it can turn the fight in her favor. Don't underestimate Sejuani's early game damage; respect her burst potential especially if she catches you off guard.

Sett	Play to remove his bone plating at level 1. From level 3 onwards, bait out his E and bone plating by using W - AA - EQ to trade effectively. His E and W have long cooldowns. Skill Matchup. You can dodge his W effectively with E or Q; consider dashing into him. Be cautious of Sett's ability to channel W and Flash simultaneously. When he goes to last hit minions, use W to stun and auto; ensure Q and E are available to disengage and avoid his retaliation with E. Sett typically wins this matchup outright, so focus on short trades. Q, auto, W auto, then EQ away immediately to avoid Sett's E. Save at least one mobility spell to dodge his W damage and avoid overcommitting on trades. You can only trade effectively after level 3; bait his E and dodge his W with your dashes to set up an all-in. Tricky matchup due to Sett's sustain and ability to disrupt your combos. Avoid extended trades early on and focus on short trades when his abilities are up. If you survive the lane phase without dying, you outscale Sett significantly. Engage in short trades until he's low enough for you to potentially kill him with your ult up. Level 1 is only winnable if he starts W and wastes it; otherwise, avoid the level 1 all-in. When pulled by Sett's W and not stunned, stun him back and disengage. Bait out his E by positioning at the edge of his hitbox; pretend to walk in, then quickly disengage. At level 6, look to all-in when Sett is around 60% HP and his W is on cooldown. Avoid trading immediately after he procs his E stun on you. Avoid trading when his E is off cooldown.

Shen	Skill Matchup. Avoid long trades as Shen will use his Spirit's Refuge (W) to block your passive autos. Short trades are most effective against Shen. His main threat is using his Q (Twilight Assault) through the wave to grasp and auto-attack you, or using it after taunting you. Manage your wave correctly post level 6 to punish him if he ults bot lane. Always chase Shen if he's walking away to a fight he wants to ult to. You can interrupt his ult channel with your 3rd Q or W. Focus on dodging his E (Shadow Dash) and play around his Q. If his Q doesn't hit you and he has no shield, you'll have an advantage. You also outscale him hard after level 6. Go for short trades to avoid his W blocking your passive autos. Manage your wave post level 6 to keep him from ulting freely. Chase him when he tries to walk away to ult into a fight. Interrupt his ult with your 3rd Q or W whenever possible. Play around his Q and dodge his E to maintain an advantage. Don't engage in long trades, especially when his W is up. Don't let him use his Q through the wave to grasp and auto-attack you. Don't ignore his positioning when he's likely to ult into another fight. Don't waste your abilities if his Q hits you and he has his shield up.

Shyvana	Win early game and run her down at level 6. She needs lots of items to become effective. Farm matchup. Abuse your early game strength; look for favorable trades before Shyvana scales. Track her item progression; consider aggressive plays once she falls behind in gold or items. Coordinate with your jungler to deny her jungle camps or contest objectives to delay her scaling. Overextend without vision; Shyvana can punish with her high damage and mobility in dragon form. Underestimate her burst potential at level 6; her ultimate transforms can catch you off guard. Allow her to freely farm minions; deny her gold and experience to delay her power spike.

Singed	Farm matchup. Riven has all the mobility necessary to engage/disengage against Singed. Keep at least half your kit up for after he flings. You win at 40-45%. Easy matchup if you play around his E and get Executioner's Calling. Punish him when your wave is close to your turret; he risks walking into tower range to poison minions. Punish him with short trades when he goes for last hits. Focus on getting CDR early. Freeze the wave near your tower to deny Singed easy farm. Predict his flip (E) and use your mobility (E) beforehand. Use W to initiate short trades and avoid being flipped. Respect his ultimate's healing and avoid chasing him. Look to engage when Singed is around 50% HP at level 6. Don't start a short trade with Q, as Singed can react and flip you. Forget about Singed's resistance boost when he ults; adjust your damage accordingly.

Sion	Zone him early and deny him minions. Try to freeze the wave near your tower. Only kill him if he won't get lots of minions with his passive; timing is crucial to deny XP and gold. It's a farm matchup initially but punish him before he becomes too tanky. Hard trade level 1 before his passive has stacked. Combo in and break his Q channel with your W. Push leads in lane as Sion outscales easily. You can cancel Sion's Q with your stuns, denying him crucial damage. Avoid letting him hit his fully charged Q; the damage is significant. Bait his E out before going for a significant chunk of his HP. Be cautious if he gets kills; Sion can become very powerful. Crash the third wave, recall, and freeze near your tower to pressure him. Level 1 all-in can be effective. When cancelling his Q, be mindful of its reduced cooldown; save abilities to disengage safely. After getting hit by his E, immediately disengage to avoid his guaranteed Q hit. Don't walk up too close to bushes where Sion can surprise you. Avoid getting hit by his E after trading or using Q aggressively. Remember his passive; don't underestimate his potential to revive.

Skarner	Focus on scaling, as Skarner is stronger early. Until level 6 or Black Cleaver, there's little you can do; let him push you. Remember that Skarner can extend his Q similarly to Riven. It's a farm matchup; play patiently. Skarner will poke you with his Crystal Spires. His shield deals damage, be aware of its impact. Be prepared for his ultimate; consider building QSS later. Skarner will outdamage you in later stages of the game. Look for opportunities to kill him early if possible. Allow Skarner to poke you freely.

Smolder	Ranged scaling lane. Early lane is about not bleeding HP while denying free stacks when possible. He wants to farm safely and scale; your windows are when his movement spell or waveclear is unavailable. Once he has levels and items, chasing him through waves can get awkward fast. Take Doran's Shield and play around brush to reduce poke. Crash waves cleanly before resetting so he cannot stack and poke for free. Punish him hard when he wastes his escape or walks into Q3 range. Don't let him poke you down before you ever get a real engage window. Don't dive him without tracking his escape and summoners. Don't ignore his scaling; force tempo before he becomes too comfortable.

Swain	Swain tends to avoid fighting early; exploit this to gain an advantage. When Swain ults, disengage briefly to interrupt it, then re-engage. Exploit Swain's weak early game to establish lane dominance. Purchase Executioner's Calling to reduce Swain's healing from his ult and passive. Coordinate with your jungler to capitalize on Swain's early vulnerability. Engage Swain while his ult (Demonic Ascension) is active; disengage until it expires or is interrupted. Underestimate Swain's sustain from his ult and passive, especially in prolonged fights. Allow Swain to scale comfortably into mid-game where he becomes more impactful.

Sylas	Sylas actually can't win versus Riven in lane. Zone him off the wave at level 1 and play off that lead. Abuse your early game strength to deny him CS and experience. Trade aggressively whenever your abilities are up and he is in range. Coordinate with your jungler to capitalize on your early dominance and set up kills. Overextend without vision or knowledge of enemy jungle position. Underestimate his burst potential if he manages to land his chains (E). Allow him to free farm or scale into mid-late game where he can become more impactful. Waste your abilities on trades that don't result in significant damage or pressure.

Tahm Kench	Dodge his Qs to deny damage and healing. Go for trades at level 1. Farm matchup. He may outscale you eventually, consider fighting him as a duo or trio or avoid him. His shield strengthens as he loses health. Take short trades. Use your E to block his Q. Bait his Q or E abilities. Engage when he has stacks on you.

Teemo	Play for level 6. Get Sweeper early! Free matchup at level 6 or with 20+ Ability Haste to start Q extending (ensure he's near your turret for lane advantage). Outscale him significantly if you maintain CS. Past 30% CDR items (like Caulfield's Warhammer and Kindlegem) is when you can look to trade effectively. When blinded, walk next to Teemo until it wears off; save E/W to avoid free damage. Consider Edge of Night against shrooms or for eating a blind with the passive. Prefer waiting for level 6, bait his Q, then all-in. Start with Doran's Shield. Short trade before his blind. Extended trades if you close the gap without using all spells. Play cautiously before level 6 against skilled Teemos. Use Sweeper during all-ins at level 6+. Prioritize Sweeper for clearing mushrooms. Take short trades when blinded; disengage instead.

Trundle	Focus on short trades to avoid his sustain and trading advantages. Look to get Trundle low and burst him with Ignite at level 6. Farming-oriented matchup; play safe and look for opportunities. Trundle counters Riven early; consider jungler assistance. With good laning, Trundle can be killed before and after level 6. Trundle's passive grants health regeneration near dying enemies. If Trundle splits, coordinate with your team rather than trying to stop him alone. Play defensively and wait for jungle or mid lane assistance, especially if Trundle builds armor. In teamfights, focus on bursting Trundle down with your team to neutralize his impact. Bait out Trundle's abilities (pillar, W, Q) to deplete his mana and reduce his effectiveness. Avoid getting bitten by Trundle, as it slows you and grants him additional attack damage. Refrain from fighting Trundle when his W (Frozen Domain) is active, as it provides significant boosts. Avoid prolonged battles with Trundle while his ult (Subjugate) is active, as it steals your stats.

Tryndamere	This is a skill matchup where Tryndamere's crit RNG can heavily influence trades. Rushing Tabis can mitigate a lot of his damage. Once Riven has 45% CDR, space out your abilities and kite Tryndamere when he ults. Go for short, quick trades after level 3. When Tryndamere spins on you, use W, auto, E away, and continue to Q auto as you kite back to avoid extended fights. Avoid fighting him at level 1 and 2; after level 3, you can trade more effectively. Keep the wave frozen near your tower to deny him trading opportunities. Consider Plated Steelcaps if needed. Take Exhaust to reduce his damage during his all-ins. Look for a level 1 all-in to establish dominance early. Maintain the freeze near your tower to safely farm and deny him CS. Always keep your E ready to match his engage when he spins towards you. Bait out his Mocking Shout (W) before committing to a trade or all-in. Avoid using your 3rd Q directly in front of Tryndamere, as good players will punish this by engaging immediately. Refrain from extended trades, as Tryndamere's sustained damage and crits can quickly turn the fight against you.

Twisted Fate	Twisted Fate can be annoying with his global pressure, but he's vulnerable to all-ins. Punish him whenever his Pick a Card (W) is on cooldown. Watch out for his roaming potential post level 6 with Destiny (R), and ping when he's missing. Farm Matchup A smart TF will roam, then he will just R out Riven can hard win all ins, that how hard they play on this point of the game. Freeze the wave to deny his roaming opportunities. Punish him with short trades whenever he uses Pick a Card (W). Use your mobility to dodge his Wild Cards (Q) and avoid ganks. Play aggressive when his ult is on cooldown, its not that they can both him and me, just avoid this matchup.

Udyr	Play aggressively at level 1 and look to all-in him at level 6. Short trades can be effective, but be mindful of his sustain. Respect his shield (Turtle Stance) and healing (Phoenix Stance). Farm Matchup Focus on winning level 1 trades to establish lane dominance. Use your mobility to dodge his abilities and kite him. Look for opportunities to burst him down when his defensive abilities are on cooldown. Ward well to avoid being caught out by his jungle presence. Don't underestimate his sustained damage and dueling potential in prolonged fights. Avoid extended trades when he has his defensive stance or healing available. Don't overextend without vision, as Udyr can capitalize on positional mistakes.

Urgot	You have a lot of kill pressure from level 6. If he uses his E (dash), you can trade and win. The one who initiates the trade usually loses, so try to bait out his E. Farm Matchup Be prepared to dodge and sidestep to beat him; you won't win the all-in if he hits his dash. When trading, stick to one side of Urgot to avoid his machine gun legs. Use your E to avoid his E (dash); Urgot players often cast it when you Q towards them. If you get flipped by his E, he can easily burst you down, so be cautious. It's a challenging matchup but not unwinnable; focus on small trades and look to all-in at level 6. Level 1 all-in works best when he doesn't start with his dash. Abuse his short auto-attack range; walk up for a short trade instead of using your Qs to close the gap. Use your Qs to dance around to avoid his ultimate or dash. Prioritize getting push priority in the lane. Don't trade after getting hit by his dash or Q; Urgot's machine gun will deal significant damage.

Varus	Ranged AD/poke matchup. Very annoying if he controls the wave and keeps you at max range. He can punish failed engages hard, especially if you burn all mobility before reaching him. His ultimate can stop your all-in, so track it before committing. Start Doran's Shield and use bushes to break auto spacing. Look for all-ins after he uses Q/E on the wave or misses poke. Plated Steelcaps are usually valuable if he is AD/on-hit focused. Don't eat free poke while waiting for a perfect engage. Don't all-in through a big enemy wave. Don't forget his ult can completely flip an otherwise good engage.

Vayne	Edge of Night nullifies her E ability. Request ganks early. Respect her early game potential to kite and trade. Force Vayne to use her tumble (Q) with a 20s cooldown at rank 1, then exploit this. Consider taking a haste shard for lower cooldowns on your E and gap-closers. Avoid standing near walls to prevent getting stunned by her E. Use E ability to disrupt her Silver Bolts passive. All-in at level 6, conserving spells to close gaps after her tumble. Vayne is squishy but dangerous with Blade of the Ruined King. Build Edge of Night second or third to block her E and for useful lethality. Bait out her E ability before committing to fights. Let Vayne push and coordinate with your jungler for ganks. If no jungle help, wait for Vayne's health to drop below 40% for an easy kill. Avoid positioning near walls where Vayne can stun you with her E. Don't flash after Vayne when her E is available to avoid getting stunned.

Viego	If you don't fall behind, you should win easily at level 6+. Consider getting early Executioner's Calling to deal with his sustain. When going all-in, don't hesitate to use Flash to avoid his ultimate damage if needed. Consider starting Doran's Shield to match his sustain, especially before Viego nerfs. After a short trade, position yourself where he can't easily stun you, such as behind minions, or have your spells ready to dodge his stun. Go for short trades where you minimize the amount of damage you take. Take even trades as he will outsustain you. Underestimate his Q poke. Engage in long trades when he is in his invisibility (Possession).

Vladimir	Remember that his W cooldown at level 1 is 28 seconds, so try to bait it out to set up all-ins. Farming matchup where aggression can be effective. Start with Long Sword + 3 Potions and constantly pressure him. Riven can burst him down in one rotation. Consider Doran's Shield if you're not confident in the matchup. At level 6, you're free to all-in as long as you're not low on health. Early healing reduction is crucial; anticipate his Q with your E and focus on farming until you have 2-3 items like Death's Dance and Maw of Malmortius. Similar strategy as against Kayle and Nasus: push and bounce the wave to freeze near your tower. Bait out his W (pool) ability before attempting an all-in. Try to all-in him if you're close enough (use no more than 1 Q to gap close). Abuse his 30-second pool cooldown whenever possible. Take short trades when he walks up to farm, and use E to disengage. When you have 20%+ CDR and he's near your tower, go for an all-in with a Q extension. Don't rush Executioner's Calling as your first item; get it as your second or third item instead.

Volibear	If you manage to stay even, you outscale him at the second item buy. Stunning him when he charges his Q cancels it but does not put it on cooldown. Executioner's Calling is optional but can be effective against his healing. Avoid getting hit by his W2, as it heals him significantly and deals extra damage. Don't be scared at level 1; apply pressure early because he wins levels 2 and 3. Be cautious of him layering his W onto his Q for added burst. His E shield, W2 heal, and damage can auto-win trades; be mindful of these abilities. In this matchup, either bait his Q and then go for an extended trade, or make quick trades like Q+W+AA+E-out. Once he's at half HP and his E or Q is down, you can look to all-in. Go for a full Q rotation if he wastes his abilities. Bait his stun (Q) by walking close to him and then E or Q out. Flashing to avoid his ultimate damage is worthwhile. When his stun (Q) is up, the only short trade you should do is W + AA and then instantly Q or E out. If his Q is on cooldown, you can look for other short trade patterns. Trying to trade after he hits his stun (Q); wait for it to expire. Trading when his mark is on you, as it enhances his abilities.

Warwick	Never Q3 into Warwick as he will always cancel the CC with his Q, play to set up waves for your jungler, and play off ganks more than anything. Respect the fact that he has crazy sustain even in early levels without R. You outscale Warwick very hard, so it is not crucial to get ahead in lane. Consider taking exhaust against him, as it helps throughout the game, especially in the early stages. Warwick is strong with significant healing and becomes stronger as he gets lower in health. Executioner's Calling is optional but can be effective against his healing. Try to bait out his barrier (E) before committing to a trade. Fight him early (level 1) when he has his barrier (E) available, as it can mitigate your damage and turn the trade in his favor.

Wukong	Q-Extend into getting his bone plating and then all-inning Do not overextend with abilities on cooldown or on his side of the lane Skill matchup Effective when he starts Corrupting Potion and you have at least a Long Sword Cannot avoid his two knockups, so be cautious before engaging Riven's level 6 is stronger for 1v1 fights, but falling behind can be detrimental Wukong wins level 1 with E start Try to use E to mitigate his Q or E damage Level 1 all-in Use your E+W to disengage when he jumps on you with his E Purchase an early Oracle's Lens to reveal his decoy Use E to gap close during short trades to prevent him from landing a free Q Go for short, sharp trades and then all-in when he's at 40-50% health At level 6, you can win if he hasn't purchased armor; otherwise, chip away at his health first Engage in extended trades due to his passive granting him too much armor

Yasuo	Go for short trades Cancel his Q with both your W and Q3 Utilize bushes to make it difficult for him to punish you Your level 6 is superior to his Skill matchup, but generally better for Riven Sidestep his Q and remove his shield before going for an all-in Engage when he has 0 stacks or risk punishment with tornado and free AAs Consider getting plated steel caps if you're having trouble Outscale him if you wait patiently; his dominance is mainly pre-6 Level 1 all-in Hover your mouse over him when using the 3rd Q so it follows him even if he dashes Stun him before R2 to prevent him from using Wind Wall effectively Only go for short trades in early levels At level 6, you can potentially one-shot him Dodge his Qs in close range by moving unpredictably (jiggling) Go for extended trades in early levels Carelessly waste all your spells when pushed in Fight in your minion waves (he can use them to kite you)

Yone	Skill Matchup Riven favored matchup overall Losable if he gets a couple of kills or if he has hands Dont let him "poke" you One-shot him at level 6 Look for free trade windows when his E is down and he has no Q stacks If his E is up and you are trading, expect him to chase you down afterward; chunk him down before he can retaliate Dodge his Qs in close range by moving unpredictably (jiggling) Overcommitting after trading with your entire kit, as you may be punished by his E Underestimating his power spike with Berserker's Greaves (full build)

Yorick	Zone him so he can't get minions for his ghouls As long as he doesn't hit E, it should be an easy lane Farm Matchup Look to trade level 1, you beat him hard Healing reduction is good here after maybe the second base This matchup is similar to Illaoi in that you can fight if you dodge his E; if not, wait it out If you dodge his E (the ability he throws at you that makes his ghouls jump on you), you can trade freely Try not to fight when his maiden is up; look to kill it before all-inning him You should just one-shot him when he's at 50% HP, but he scales pretty well You can 3Q out of his W ability (the box) Get his barrier out before committing to a fight Fight him early (level 1) when he has his barrier up

Zaahen	Newer fighter matchup, so manual notes are still sample-light. Expect extended trades to matter more than one tiny poke trade. Watch for healing/sustain patterns and avoid giving him free long fights when your cooldowns are down. Test short trades early and adjust once you see his cooldown pattern. Keep ignite pressure for all-ins and healing reduction windows. Use Riot sample data as support here until more manual matchup testing is added. Don't assume the matchup is solved yet; treat the notes as early guidance. Don't keep fighting after using all Q/E charges if he still has his main damage window. Don't skip anti-heal if his sustain becomes the lane problem.

Zac	You win level 1 very hard (Make sure to Q extend as your passive AA should one-hit his blobs) If you see him using Q on a minion, make sure to wait until it runs out Farm Matchup Abuse your level 1 advantage; look for opportunities to trade aggressively Use your mobility to dodge Zac's abilities and position yourself advantageously Overcommit to extended trades when Zac has his abilities ready Underestimate Zac's crowd control and sustain in prolonged fights

Riven Guide - Matchups

Matchup Overview

Could not find any Champion with that Name

We've baked some cookies for you! 🍪

Customize Cookies

Riven Guide - Matchups

Matchup Overview

Could not find any Champion with that Name