Do Riven mods make that big of a difference?

[Mbr1665]

I was thinking about getting one for a favorite weapon of mine but just curious if the difference in stats make much a big impact when it comes to PVE?

[nerfinator6]

Really depends on the weapon, with a good riven you can double, triple or even quadruple the damage you do. Other weapons you might only get a 1.5-2x increase.

[(XBOX)Skippy575]

Not really. We already do absurd amounts of damage as is, adding rivens to the game just ramped up the overkill we do.

[uxx0]

Sometimes they do. Especially when you use high dispo weapons. Most times they also allow you to add QoL to your weapon, like reload speed, projectile speed, range, etc. when your build wouldn't otherwise allow it. Keep in mind that anything below 3/5 dispo is almost not worth it, but that depends on the weapon and Riven.

[(PSN)Hikuro-93]

It's pretty much what others have said. They aren't a necessity, yet they are, because it truly depends. Elaborating on it rivens are meant as a crutch for bad weapons (hence the disposition system benefiting unpopular weapons), or a small support or QoL for "good" weapons. So a riven is a must on a very unpopular weapon, it's just a complement on normal popularity weapons, and mostly unneeded on popular meta weapons, apart from very specific stuff.

[_Mannaroth_]

That depends on what your favorite weapon actually is.

The values depend on the disposition - the higher it is for a particular weapon, the stronger Rivens for it can be.

Galatine has a disposition of 1 and a Riven for it is not worth the slot at all - on the other hand there are (mostly unpopular) weapons like Embolist which have a disposition of 5, which can easily lead to boni of something like +400% damage.

[(XBOX)Thang Hung]

7 minutes ago, Mbr1665 said:

I was thinking about getting one for a favorite weapon of mine but just curious if the difference in stats make much a big impact when it comes to PVE?

Short answer yes. Take my Plague Zaw riven for example, I don't know the exact stats but it's something like 155% melee damage, 80% electric damage, and 80% sliding crit chance. I am essentially getting Pressure Point, Shocking Touch, and Maiming Strike in one mod slot. Which frees you up for more range or attack speed mods or whatever you like really.  

Just make sure you look at the weapons riven disposition before investing a bunch of Kuva into rolling it. Some weapons rivens are not worth it. 

[evilChair]

Riven mods can turn a weapon into a different weapon sometimes. I have an afuris riven that turns my dex furis into an armor stripper because it has guaranteed proc but almost no duration. On the other hand, they're useful when a favorite weapon is simply not strong enough for high-level play (Lato Vandal). The third type of riven is the kind that gives you just enough of an edge on a weapon (as is the case with me and my guaranteed-crit stradavars vanilla and prime) to make it into a definite mower/focus siphon.

And the fourth is the "god riven", which I exchange for vaulted primesets, cause the riven market is poisoned with risk of bad plat, and I'm not spending 60p on additional slots when I don't need more rivens than i already have.

[(PSN)Ozymandias-13-]

20 minutes ago, (XB1)Skippy575 said:

Not really. We already do absurd amounts of damage as is, adding rivens to the game just ramped up the overkill we do.

Exactly this.

They make almost no noticeable difference in most content in the game because with standard mods we can already easily clear all content there is.

[Arkennstar]

As others have said before, depends on the disposition.. anything with a disposition of 3/5 or above, it just supercharges the weapon a lot. 2/5 dispo is kinda sorta worth rivening.. especially if you get lucky with the rolls.. 1/5 disposition is the only one where the riven doesnt affect a whole lot. Still worth using if you get a riven which can add even a lil bit to your weapon. I use rivens even on my Akstiletto Prime, which is a 1/5 dispo wep coz its one of my fav secondaries and I got a good one with some damage and utility (reload speed) rolled into one.

Edited July 2, 2019 by Arkennstar

[Arkennstar]

23 minutes ago, (XB1)Skippy575 said:

Not really. We already do absurd amounts of damage as is, adding rivens to the game just ramped up the overkill we do.

Lol not really.. I mean if we're talking star chart, yeah rivens arent needed most times.. keyword being most. But if you can have your weapon kill enemies in one shot instead of three, why not.. :)

[Urlan]

With a good disposition, and a roll you can use; yes a riven will make a good difference to a weapon you already like to use.

[Sloan441]

44 minutes ago, Mbr1665 said:

I was thinking about getting one for a favorite weapon of mine but just curious if the difference in stats make much a big impact when it comes to PVE?

Depends. 

A high disposition weapon with a good riven roll can be very powerful. A low disposition weapon with any roll might not be worth the trouble. Mid-level dispositions (3) will depend how good a roll you get; some might be worth it, some not. 

Rule of thumb: if you can replace a mod card with a riven (same stats) and gain significant other useful stats, then it's worth it. If not, then it's crap and needs rerolled or otherwise disposed of. 

Of course, we got along fine for years without rivens and there are a goodly number of weapons that can do anything you can reasonably ask from them as they come out of the box. Also, keep in mind that rivens eat up a lot of mod energy and many use the hated D-polarity. If forma are used just to get the riven in, then you lose modding flexibility. If it's good enough you might not care...until something else changes. 

So. Are they necessary? No. Can they be interesting to fiddle with. Yes. 

[(PSN)Ozymandias-13-]

10 minutes ago, Arkennstar said:

But if you can have your weapon kill enemies in one shot instead of three, why not.. 🙂

You can already 1-shot the star chart with standard mods maxed out with most weapons. Why have Serration, for example, be 10 ranks to sink resources into if the rivens make it redundant? 

They should either lower the max rank of other mods to encourage Riven use, or rework rivens. Min/maxing serves almost no function in this game since we're overpowered, and "build diversity" potential from rivens doesn't exist since the pure dps goal of this game currently means there's no reason to deviate from the easily obtainable metas. 

Rivens were initially described to be intended to let low tier weapons keep up with high tier weapons. It should've stayed that way. Now, even with a low disposition, you're usually still better off with a riven for the already good weapons.

[Arkennstar]

17 minutes ago, (PS4)Ozymandias-13- said:

You can already 1-shot the star chart with standard mods maxed out with most weapons. Why have Serration, for example, be 10 ranks to sink resources into if the rivens make it redundant? 

They should either lower the max rank of other mods to encourage Riven use, or rework rivens. Min/maxing serves almost no function in this game since we're overpowered, and "build diversity" potential from rivens doesn't exist since the pure dps goal of this game currently means there's no reason to deviate from the easily obtainable metas. 

Rivens were initially described to be intended to let low tier weapons keep up with high tier weapons. It should've stayed that way. Now, even with a low disposition, you're usually still better off with a riven for the already good weapons.

Keywords being "most" of the star chart with "most" of the weapons. Agreed that some weapons really dont need rivens.. but as I said, it just makes things easier.. for that moment when a bombard eximus shows up with a Nox or something. Not to mention by the time you start investing in rivens, you have already gotten past more than 3/4th of the star chart. So youre prepping for something slightly harder.. like Sanctuary Onslaught, some endless runs for farming relics, etc.. Might as well have your favorite weapon prepared for it.

Not to mention talking about favorites, minmaxing is more for personal pleasure sometimes.. to show that your favorite weapon can take out level 150s in the simulacrum even tho we rarely encounter those while playing regularly.

[Graavarg]

No and yes.

No, as there is a lot of weapons already dishing out quite enough damage (to handle any enemies in the game).

Yes, as (depending on the disposition) rivens + arcanes produce the leading META-weapons in the game (like pushing some weapons to 100% crit chance/100% status chance etc.). Some players like that, others need it and most don't really care. Despite bragging rights and showing off (which gets old quickly), it only really matters in a few specific instances (like tridolon hunts). But of course higher damage output also makes your killing more efficient...

Yes, as in that rivens is the only way to increase or add capabilities to weapons (when you already have all mods). One example would be wanting to achieve "insane range melee" (otherwise you only have Reach/Primed Reach and, questionably, Spring-Loaded Blade). Another would be to use the riven as an additional status chance mod, achieving 100% status chance without being forced into the two combo damage types you get putting the four standard 60/60 mods in (like gas + magnetic, or blast + corrosive).

Yes, as in that some "special" weapons are not really quite good enough without the extra buff from a riven. This is when you (for some reason) really want to use that specific weapon (for style, for a gimmick or simply because you just like it).

Edited July 2, 2019 by Graavarg

[-TSA-warramssie]

Yes they do and we all want them not for their power but for the diversity they bring in accompanying the frame you will bring along  ..  its really difficult to get the hang of it ... even when the dispo is as low as 1 or 2, the riven can still be a winner if it gives me Qualitly Of Life or transforms a weapon into something it couldnt do with normal building or when it doesnt need a special warframe to make that weapon shine. 

no need to give any examples 

[Graavarg]

27 minutes ago, -TSA-warramssie said:

... Qualitly Of Life or transforms a weapon into something it couldnt do with normal building ...

Around MR12 I got a Gorgon riven with 260% crit chance and 290% damage. Yes, it made Prisma Gorgon into a total beast, but it still wasn't really fun to use.

Until I figured out that I could use it as a (semi-)auto (semi-)sniper with approx. 800 damage per shot, 100% crit chance, 6.4X crit multiplier (which gives a final 5000 damage per shot + headshot multiplier if you can aim). This with 120 rounds in the mag, you can just plink away and drop starmap enemies all day long.

The thing is, while the Gorgon jumps around like crazy when auto-firing, the first shot is pinpoint accurate. If you use "manual" semi-auto firing and single shots, you hit where you aim. I even occasionally put Eagle Eye in, for easier "headshotting" with the additional 40% zoom.

Totally unexpected, using Prisma Gorgon as a sniper. But made possible by a riven, and because of this Gorgon is still one of my all time favourites, the riven-enhanced Gorgon cleared the starmap with me, it was the ultimate "multi-tool weapon". I still use it every now and then (and still get comments like "Gorgon... are you serious?"). 

Edited July 2, 2019 by Graavarg

[Mbr1665]

Thanks for all your answers. The weapon in question is "Tipedo Prime" and the riven I was going to add is +140 Melee/+89 status duration/+90 Crit. No Negatives.

[Infirito]

It strongly depends on a weapon itself and a disposition:

Akzani - pretty bad secondary on it's own (lategame-wise), but with a riven, goes through Sorties easily.

And then there's Kraken...

Just now, Mbr1665 said:

Thanks for all your answers. The weapon in question is "Tipedo Prime" and the riven I was going to add is +140 Melee/+89 status duration/+90 Crit. No Negatives.

Imo, Tipedo is already very good even without a riven (even non-prime), but if you get the stats to enhance your playstyle, riven will noticably improve it.

[Lutesque]

2 hours ago, Mbr1665 said:

Thanks for all your answers. The weapon in question is "Tipedo Prime" and the riven I was going to add is +140 Melee/+89 status duration/+90 Crit. No Negatives.

Well since this is your Favourite Weapon.... it really doesn't matter how big a difference it makes....I say get one just to cement the relationship between weapom and wielder....