Prestige Valiant Sword Riven (2022)

First time I saw Prestige Valiant Sword Riven pop up in the 2022 Mythic rotation I had to do a double take. The original Prestige from 2019 already existed and honestly I thought Riot was just recycling content. Played maybe 40 games with the original version. This updated 2022 edition though? Different energy. Not sure if it’s just me but the gold tones feel warmer, less washed out than the first pass. Riven mains noticed immediately.

The gold treatment and what it actually changes

So the base Valiant Sword Riven is already an Immortal Journey skin with the whole celestial warrior aesthetic. The Prestige version cranks the gold up everywhere. Her broken blade fragments shimmer with this warm amber VFX on Q combo that I think reads better in teamfights than the standard blue-white particles. Each Q slash leaves trails that catch the eye without being distracting. Clean stuff.

W stun has a golden burst that pops nicely. Not groundbreaking but it feels satisfying when you proc it on two or three people in a skirmish. The E dash leaves a brief golden trail behind Riven and honestly its one of those subtle touches that makes the skin feel premium. Her R activation, the Blade of the Exile, gives her sword this radiant glow. Wind Slash fires out a golden crescent that looks sharp on the Rift.

Recall animation carries over the Immortal Journey theme. Riven reforms her blade in this ceremonial pose with golden particles swirling around. Voice lines stay base, no new VO for this one. Standard for Prestige skins at this tier. The model itself has white and gold armor plating with ornate detailing on the shoulder pieces and leg guards. Hair flows with a slight golden tint that separates it from the original Prestige version.

Been running this in Diamond for a couple seasons now and the auto attack animations feel identical to base Valiant Sword. Smooth cancels, no weird timing on the fast combo. That matters more than people realize. Had a terrible experience with another Riven skin back in season 11 where the animations felt slightly off and it messed with my muscle memory for weeks.

Immortal Journey and the 2022 Prestige rework

Prestige Valiant Sword Riven (2022) dropped April 1, 2022. Not an April Fools joke, actual release date. This came during that period where Riot was updating older Prestige skins to the new Mythic Essence system. The 2022 version replaced the original event-locked Prestige with something acquirable through the revamped Mythic shop rotation.

Zuoan Dong and Kudos Productions handled the splash art. They captured this ascending warrior energy, Riven mid-leap with fragments of golden light breaking around the blade. The Immortal Journey line is one of Riot’s more cohesive skinlines. Think Fiora, Irelia, Shen, Yi. Real talk though, Riven fits the xianxia theme naturally because her kit already revolves around a broken blade being reforged. The fantasy writes itself.

No chromas on this one. Prestige skins dont get chromas which makes sense since the whole point is the exclusive colorway. Mythic tier, Special pricing through the Mythic shop rotation. You’re spending Mythic Essence, not straight RP. Currently sits in the vault, so you’d need to wait for it to rotate back or get lucky with Hextech crafting.

How it stacks against other Riven skins

Riven has a deep skin catalog. Dawnbringer exists. Spirit Blossom exists. Battle Bunny Prime exists. Where does Prestige Valiant Sword land? Somewhere in the upper third I’d say. Kinda feels like it occupies this niche for people who want something flashy but not over the top. Dawnbringer Riven still has the edge on raw VFX spectacle and Spirit Blossom wins on thematic cohesion.

(Random aside: my duo partner is a Riven one-trick with every single skin and he ranks this third behind Dawnbringer and Spirit Blossom, for whatever thats worth.)

The gold and white palette is distinctive enough that you won’t get confused with any other Riven skin in champ select. Last Tuesday in a ranked game someone in lobby chat said “oh Prestige Riven, this guy’s serious” which was funny because I proceeded to int the lane phase against a Renekton. Sometimes the skin carries more confidence than actual skill.

Should you chase Prestige Valiant Sword Riven?

Verdict time. If you main Riven and you’re collecting every skin, obviously yes. The Mythic Essence cost is what it is. For everyone else? It depends on how much you value the gold aesthetic over what the standard Valiant Sword already offers. The VFX differences are noticeable but not massive. You’re paying for exclusivity and the prestige factor more than a gameplay-feel upgrade.

Vault rotation skin, so availability is limited. Could be wrong here but I think it rotated through the Mythic shop twice already in 2022 and 2023. If it comes back and you have the Essence sitting there, Riven mains should grab it. For the casual Riven player who picks her up in ARAM sometimes, skip this and grab Dawnbringer or Spirit Blossom instead. Those give you more bang for actual RP. This Prestige is for the dedicated, the one-tricks grinding ranked with Riven through every meta shift. Top pick for Riven collectors, decent flex for everyone else.