My thoughts on Riven in High Elo as a challenger Riven main
Hey there fellow Riven enjoyers.
I am currently both the highest w/r challenger player and the person with the least amount of games in challenger on euw. (Not to brag, i am tho. But Hey at least it's a fellow Riven main).
I did this playing 76 out of 90 games on Riven. With a 76% w/r on Riven.
The account had a mmr of Grandmaster last season (ended in master). I have only played solo ranked this season and the placement games consisted of master players.
My current opinion on Riven Toplane:
I personally think that Riven herself is in a fine and healthy spot.
I think she is really good (S/A+) on red side (Since she doesn't get counter picked).
I think she is average (A/B) on blue side.
I think the reason why Riven seems weak and high elo players such as Adrian and Viper are "boycotting" her is because the state of toplane is slightly weird atm and not because Riven is weak. (Viper isn't really boycotting, he loves the champ too much).
Ill list some of the problems with toplane that affects Riven:
As a consequence of the damage nerf in the game (not just top). It have made sustain more important, if not somewhat broken. What this means for toplane is that champions that are made with high sustain intended for jungling are currently somewhat dominating toplane. Champs such as Zac, Rek'sai, Gragas. You could say Gragas is a toplaner, but i think he was made to jungle. I think it's unhealthy for the game that a champ made with sustain intended to jungle can be played toplane. I do however think that riot agrees and that they will nerf/remove it.
The sustain picks are hard(almost impossible) for Riven to win against. But i don't think they can beat Riven as well. In my opinion the Riven player should just go for a full scaling setup and avoid trading for the most part and she will be more useful around 25 min.
Another problem is Ranged matchup. It has become harder to kill ranged champ again as a consequence of the damage nerf. Riot have nerfed Vayne and TF because of this. But ranged champs are still a problem in toplane.
I think what riot could to do to make ranged vs melee match up more playable for melee champs could be one of these 2 things:
- They can add more damage back into the game, which i don't think they want to.
- They can change the rune "Bone Plating" for ranged champions. It's currently way to strong for ranged vs melee. I think a 2x cd for ranged champs would work (might be too much, might be too little, hard to say before trying to play vs it.)
I think these are the main problems Riven have in the current meta.
Then there are her bad matchup in general, such as Renekton and Poppy. I think it's fair and healthy for the game that there exist counters. It doesn't make it less annoying to play against however. But i wouldn't say its a problem. Or that Riven needs changes because of it.
And of cause it's annoying to play against the S+ champs, but they change from patch to patch. Except Rumble god forbid that champion, he have been overturned since the durability patch in season 12.
So in conclusion i don't think Riven needs changes. (Not saying a buff wouldn't be nice).
I think sustain champs intended for jungling should be removed from toplane/nerfed.
And Bone Plating should be change for ranged champions.
And lastly i wish you all luck with your climb and your mental health.