How to win lane as Riven against Heimerdinger · 50.12% win rate over 413 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Riven | Heimer has no turrets down at Level 1 — your Q-auto weave wins the first trade before his kit is assembled. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | His W rockets are slow projectiles you can Q-dash through, but his grenade comes online at 2 and changes the risk profile — probe rather than commit. |
| Level 3 | Heimerdinger | Three placed turrets plus CH-2 Grenade make his Level 3 nest nearly unkillable; you cannot run a full Q-chain inside it without eating the stun and three turret volleys. |
| Levels 4-5 | Heimerdinger | Levels 4-5 he cycles turrets faster than you can destroy them and W-pokes you back to half HP between your dash cooldowns — trade small or not at all. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | His UPGRADE!! grenade at Level 6 covers a huge area and stuns long enough for three turrets to unload — he wins any all-in you force without his R confirmed spent. |
| First item | Heimerdinger | His turrets still shred you through Eclipse's shield on first item if they are pre-placed; he controls the fight by controlling terrain, not by dueling. |
| Two+ items | Riven | At two completed items your burst combo is faster than his turret reaction time on a fresh patch of ground — side-lane against him here and cash the lead you built. |
Level 1 is your only clean window — Heimer has no turrets placed yet and his W rockets have a long travel time you can Q-dash through. Crash the wave hard and look for a short Q-auto trade before he gets all three H-28G emitters down. The moment he hits Level 2 and places his nest, the calculus flips: three turrets track your every move, and stepping into their range while he has CH-2 Grenade up is a death sentence. At Level 3 he has full kit — turrets, W poke, and a stun grenade that locks you in place long enough to eat every turret shot. Do not all-in at Level 3 unless his grenade has already been burned on a minion or a previous trade attempt.
The full Riven vs Heimerdinger 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? Heimerdinger vs Riven guide →
All Riven top lane matchups →