How to win lane as Riven against Gnar · 52.09% win rate over 1,100 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gnar | Mini-Gnar's ranged boomerang (Q) pokes before you have W or E to answer — he zones you off cs and builds GNAR! meter for free at Level 1. |
| Level 2 | Gnar | He can still poke with auto-range and boomerang while his hop (E) gives him an escape your Level 2 kit cannot reliably close — he maintains the range advantage. |
| Level 3 | Riven | Full Q-W-E online: you catch him mid-last-hit in mini form, W-stun prevents his hop, and your Q chain trades favourably before his boomerang returns. |
| Levels 4-5 | Riven | GNAR! meter resets after a spent Mega and he is locked into a weak mini form — keep the wave near your side and enforce trades during that punish window. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | His Level 6 is as dangerous as yours: GNAR! transform plus R AOE stun can cancel your combo mid-cast; neither side has a clean edge without reading the bar. |
| First item | Even / skill | Immortal Shieldbow passive layers on your E shield for a double-absorb window, but his first item sheen-powered autos and boomerang damage also scale — neither side pulls clearly ahead. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | Both of you are strong side-laners at full build; the lane resolves to execution — who lands W versus who lands GNAR! into a wall — rather than a hard stat advantage. |
At Level 1 Gnar is a ranged bully and you have nothing to reliably close the gap — his boomerang (Q) return-hit hits harder than it looks, and he will auto-harass every time you step up to last-hit. Respect it; use the tip of your Q to shove a cs without giving him a free poke trade. At Level 2 you have W but no E yet, so still avoid committing hard — he can hop away and you have no repositioning safety. The game starts at Level 3.
The full Riven vs Gnar report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Gnar vs Riven guide →
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