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Riven vs Locke

Riven
You
VS
Locke

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Who Wins

  • Pre-6, you win most extended trades if you can close the gap before Locke stacks Q onto you — at level 1 Locke's Q slow makes it hard to stick, but once you hit level 3 with your full combo available you can burst through his W healing if you trade aggressively and force him to use W reactively rather than proactively.
  • Post-6, Locke's R execution threshold becomes a serious problem since your all-in pattern naturally drops him low, meaning a mismanaged dive can flip into a kill for him if you're also low — you need to respect the R zone and avoid fighting inside it.
Confused by a term? Check the Glossary

How to Trade

  • Your best trade pattern is to use Q dashes to close distance and absorb Locke's Q slow stacks on your shield, then immediately commit with E-Q-Q-W burst before he can stack more Q charges and activate W — the goal is to deal your damage and disengage before his W true damage and passive missing-health scaling punish you for staying in a prolonged fight.
  • Never let him freely stack three Q charges on you before engaging, as that bonus magic damage on your E arrival and subsequent attacks will shred you faster than you expect.

Wave Control

  • Push the wave early to deny Locke the safe distance he needs to stack Q on you — a shoved wave forces him to last-hit under tower where his E mobility is less threatening and his Q poke is riskier.
  • However, avoid overextending post-6 without vision because Locke's R can cut off your escape routes and his E reset on takedown means a jungler collapse with Locke becomes extremely lethal.

Mistakes to Avoid

  • Do not fight inside Locke's R totem zone when you're below roughly 40% health — the execution threshold scales up permanently with sealed souls, so what felt like a safe health margin earlier in the game may no longer be safe later.
  • Also avoid burning your E escape tool to engage, because if Locke uses his E to reposition mid-trade you'll have no mobility to chase or disengage, leaving you exposed to his full passive missing-health burst.
Created on 07/06/2026
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