Hi, as a result of the feedback garnered in this thread, I made a new guide: http://www.solomid.net/guides.php?g=6727

I'll leave this original guide here, but the updated one is MUCH better, I promise!

Cheers,

Xpecial

This is meant to be a quick guide targeting players who have not played Riven or have played but are confused as to how to play her efficiently. This guide will show both the obvious and the non-obvious aspects of Riven.

Riven has zero viability in competitive play. The lack of burst and tiny CC combined with poor laning makes her one of the worst champions in the game. However, she can be fun to play and that's about it.

My preferred masteries on Riven is 11/18/1 being that 21 in offense does not benefit her much due to her very weak early game damage and general squishiness. Riven is much more of a mid and late game champion, which can be hard to get to without some early beefy stats.

My runes maximize her mid-game damage while also buffs her early game lane squishiness. This allows you to survive your rather weak early game and still assists you in mid and late game.

I prefer Exhaust over Ignite on Riven due to her weak damage from her skills early game. There won't be opportunities to nuke down an enemy champion due to Riven's damage coming from multiple spells and by constantly spamming them.

For the same reason, chasing is difficult for Riven and Ghost allows you to cover more ground than Flash. This is only a personal preference, so feel free to make your own choice.

Riven's abilities charge her blade, causing her basic attacks to deal 5/11/15 (+50% of BONUS attack damage) bonus physical damage. Riven's blade may be charged up to 3 times and expends one charge per attack.

Riven's passive is amazing. While early game, the passive doesn't seem to do much, but when combined with her ultimate, the passive allows Riven to do a LOT of damage. The goal is to have one autoattack in between each spell cast as to maximize the passive's effect. The passive lasts for five seconds and the timer will reset after an autoattack.

Also, the passive gives bonus damage, it increases the amount you heal from any lifesteal.





Riven strikes out in front of her in a short line. This ability may be reactivated 2 additional times.

1st Use: Slashes forward, dealing 30/50/70/90/110 (+60% of BONUS attack damage) physical damage to all units she comes in contact with.
2nd Use: Slashes forward, dealing 30/50/70/90/110 (+60% of BONUS attack damage) physical damage to all units she comes in contact with.
3rd Use: Leaps into the air and slams the ground dealing 30/50/70/90/110 (+60% of BONUS attack damage) physical damage and knocking nearby enemies away from the point of impact.

Cooldown 13 seconds


Broken Wings has three parts. The first two parts are a small dash forward that deals damage in a tiny AoE, but the last hit is a small dash with a knock-up.

There is a three second time interval in which you are required to cast the next use or it will be wasted.







Riven's sword emits a burst of runic energy that shocks nearby enemies, dealing 50/90/130/170/210 (+100% of BONUS attack damage) physical damage and stunning them for 0.5 seconds.

Cooldown 11/10/9/8/7 seconds


Ki Burst is a very tiny AoE stun that stuns for only .5 seconds. At first glance, this is a very mediocre skill, but when combined with Valor for the dash and Broken Wings' knock-up, it isn't too bad.







Riven does a quick dash in the direction of your cursor and becomes shielded, blocking up to 40/70/100/130/160 (+100% of BONUS attack damage) incoming damage for 2.5 seconds.

Cooldown 11/10/9/8/7 seconds


Valor is a very short dash that gives Riven a small shield. Feel free to use Valor to escape or as a gap closer for reaching a target.







Riven's weapon surges with spiritual energy for 15 seconds, granting her 20% bonus attack damage, increased range on her damaging spells and attacks, and the ability to use Wind Slash once.

Wind Slash: Riven fires a shockwave that deals from 80/120/160 (+60% of BONUS attack damage) to 240/360/480 (+180% of BONUS attack damage) physical damage to all enemies hit, increasing based on how much health they are missing.

Cooldown 75/60/45 seconds



Blade of the Exile increases the AoE on Ki Burst and Broken Wings while also giving you 20% more AD and 75 bonus range on Riven's autoattack.

Wind Slash can be used once at any time during the 15 second during of Blade of the Exile. Using it when the enemy is lower on HP does more damage.

Riven has no sustain, making early lifesteal crucial for lane staying power. Because all five of Riven's spells scale well on AD, stacking as much AD as possible maximizes damage and gives decent survivability in the form of a shield.

Items typically found on bruisers, such as Brutalizer, Hexdrinker and Phage are all excellent on Riven.

Trinity Force, on the other hand, is actually not very beneficial on Riven due to the proc actually not giving Riven as much damage as straight AD.

Also, because Riven's spells all scale off AD and physical damage, Last Whisper helps a lot by increasing overall damage from Riven's many AoEs.

Start: or

Rush a

Afterwards get a and

Eventually, work towards , and or

Keep in mind that survivability through and is always important.

Due to no sustain, Riven must start defensively, with as many HP potions as possible. It is difficult to be too aggressive early without sustain, making it much more beneficial to be defensive and farm up as early game is when Riven is weakest.

At level 6, Riven's damage with her ultimate is fairly impressive and it is viable to go for kills at this stage of the game. However, you should still prioritize farming as Riven scales much better with items than most champions. Getting a Wriggle's Lantern at this point will help immensely in your lane and allow you to farm with ease.

Late game is where Riven shines. With low CDs on her spells and amazing scaling, you will be able to constantly stick on targets and do immense damage.

Riven is very weak to heavy burst, making it extremely important to avoid the early burst damage in a teamfight. She can NOT engage first as her kit is not meant for a bruiser role. Instead, she works better as the role of an assassin, running in from the side and doing damage to the main threats.

Riven will likely be buffed in the next patch, but as she stands, she is a very squishy champion with many shortcomings. Riven will not be strong in Ranked games, so I do not suggest purchasing her if that is your goal.