In Noxus, any citizen may rise to power regardless of race, gender, or social standing strength is all that matters. It was with committed faith in this ideal that Riven strove to greatness. She showed early potential as a soldier, forcing herself to master the weight of a long sword when she was barely its height. She was ruthless and efficient as a warrior, but her true strength lay in her conviction. She entered battles without any trace of doubt in her mind: no ethical pause, no fear of death. Riven became a leader amongst her peers, poster child of the Noxian spirit. So exceptional was her passion that the High Command recognized her with a black stone rune sword forged and enchanted with Noxian sorcery. The weapon was heavier than a kite shield and nearly as broad perfectly suited to her tastes. Soon after, she was deployed to Ionia as part of the Noxian invasion.

What began as war quickly became extermination. Noxian soldiers followed the terrifying Zaunite war machines across fields of death. It wasn't the glorious combat for which Riven trained. She carried out the orders of her superiors, terminating the remnants of a beaten and fractured enemy with extreme prejudice. As the invasion continued, it became clear that the Ionian society would not be reformed, merely eliminated. During one bitter engagement, Riven's unit became surrounded by Ionian forces. They called for support as the enemy closed in around them. What they received instead was a barrage of biochemical terror launched by Singed. Riven watched as around her Ionian and Noxian alike fell victim to an unspeakably gruesome fate. She managed to escape the bombardment, though she could not erase the memory. Counted dead by Noxus, she saw an opportunity to start anew. She shattered her sword severing ties with the past and wandered in self-imposed exile. Now she seeks atonement and her own way to serve the pure Noxian vision in which she believed.

Riven passive is Runic Blade.
Riven's abilities charge her blade for 5 seconds, causing her to do 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 45 / 50 % of her attack damage as bonus physical damage on her next basic attack. Riven can store up to 3 charges, and can only expend one at a time.


Broken Wings

The first skill, or Q, is Broken Wings.
Description: Riven steps forward and lashes out in a series of powerful sword slashes that will damage all enemies nearby for 10 / 30 / 50 / 70 / 90 (+40/45/50/55/60% total attack damage) physical damage. This ability can be activated a second time within 4 seconds, and a third time within 4 seconds of that. On the third activation she will also knock up nearby enemies and have a larger radius of damage. All three strikes will deal the same amount of damage. It means that it is a 3-hit skill, which you can use 3 times. Be aware that the third hit of this skill knocks up the enemy. Have in mind that:

-Broken Wings does NOT proc on-hit effects
-Can be used to cross walls with its third hit.


Ki Burst


The second skill, your W, is Ki burst.
Description: Riven deals 50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 (+1.0 per bonus attack damage) physical damage and stuns nearby enemies for 0.75 seconds. This skill hasn't got much to say about, so let's go to the next.


Valor


The third skill, your E, is Valor.
Description: Riven dashes towards the cursor and gains a 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 / 210 (+1.0 per bonus attack damage) shield for up to 1.5 seconds. Have in mind that:
-Valor cannot be used to dash through impaivene terrain or walls, but does go through temporary terrain such as Anivia's Crystallize, Jarvan IV's Cataclysm, or Trundle's Pillar of Ice.


Blade of the Exile


The fourth skill, your ult (R) is Blade of the Exile.
Description: Riven's sword reforms, gaining 20% bonus attack damage, extended range on her damaging abilities and autoattacks for 15 seconds. She is also granted the ability to use Wind Slash once for the duration.

Riven can activate the ability to emit a shockwave in a long cone in front of her that deals a minimum of 80 / 120 / 160 (+0.6 per bonus attack damage) and a maximum of 240 / 360 / 480 (+1.8 per bonus attack damage) physical damage to all units hit based on their missing health. This means that when she ults, her sword gets big, and you get an enormous AD bonus and 75 range in your autoattacks and in Broken Wings for 15 seconds. After 1 second of the first cast, you can throw a shock wave in a cone that deals damage based on your AD and in the enemy's missing life.

Riven is build as a high damage assassin-type champion. In the top-lane, Riven is incredibly snowbally. She can win every matchup if played well, and when Riven wins lane, she wins lane hard. On the other hand, Riven can be shut down badly if she performs poorly in lane.

She has great mobility, and all her abilities scale very well with AD. Her CC abilities and dive potential may make it seem appealing to build her as a tanky bruiser. However if she is built tanky, her otherwise amazing ultimate will be ineffective without the high AD. If you want a frontliner, there are better options.

Pros


+ Deals tons of damage
+ Extreme mobility
+ Can hard-carry games
+ Very good with AD
+ Great kill potential
+ Snowballs very hard


Cons

- Not effective when behind
- Squishy in the late game
- No sustain in her kit.
- Easy to shutdown with CC
- Not a single ranged ability
- Squishy, prone to being focused

These two summoner spells are mostly recommended.
The best summoner spell. Can be used for escaping, or (hopefully) aggression. In teamfights, Riven can Flash onto the enemy backline, and kill them easily while bypassing enemy tanks.

Flash




Ignite adds tons of kill pressure onto the lane, a huge thing for Riven. Make sure to pop this when you go in for the bonus AD you receive from the Summoner's Wrath mastery.

Ignite

Riven should take AD in Marks and Quints, because of the high scaling on her abilities. Armor Pen is good, but on Riven AD will help her more. Seals are Armor not only for tanking enemy AD champions, but for help with towers and minions.

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage



+2.25 attack damage



Greater Mark of Attack Damage



+0.95 attack damage




Greater Seal of Armor



+1 armor



Greater Glyph of Magic Resist



+1.34 magic resist

This is after the starting items:

The Brutalizer

Ravenous Hydra

Ionian Boots of Lucidity

Youmuu's Ghostblade


Last Whisper

The Black Cleaver

Guardian Angel


Greater Stealth Totem

Once you get into the lane, just farm. Harassing won't be necessary. Since majority of people start with boots and pots you will have far greater sustain on lane. If you get attacked on melee range, feel free to hack away though. Stun, hit and dash away. You can also mix in a q if you find it necessary. Even if you won't come on top in the trades you have all those pots so no need to worry. Just focus on getting as much farm as possible. Also remember to never harass when the enemy has a creep advantage. All the minions will start attacking you once you hit the enemy champion. Only if you're certain you can get a kill, should you engage head to head when the enemy has more minions in the vicinity.

On your first call back you should try to finish The Brutalizer. This will increase your damage output drastically. After this you have couple of options.When it comes to skill order I start of with q,w,e. After that I max q if I am winning fights and getting fed. Otherwise max stun first. Remember never to stun right after you have shielded. I see a lot of riven players dash in and the stun, wasting the shield completely.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Riven is one of the best lvl 1 dualers in the game. Her q gives mobility, insane dmg (thx to passive) and it has cc. Getting a dorans and going for a lvl 1 duel turns out in your favor majority of the time. But do this ony if you're confident in your skills.