Riven Build Guide by Perplex

Introduction

// This is my first guide, about one of my favorite Champions Riven. She is extremely fun to play, but takes some getting used to to adjust to her skill sequence. She has a lot of burst damage, can stick on a target, and has insane mobility. Even though she has a ton of utility and brings a lot to the Fields of Justice - right now there is not much room in the current "Meta" for her. However, she can solo top, jungle, go bot with a support, or even solo mid if need be.



// If you're looking for an extremely fun character, with tons of mobility, that can fit almost any role. Look no further - Riven is the obvious choice.

// Credit to jhoijhoi for the template, which you can find here.

Pros / Cons

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Pros + // Rarely Banned + // Extremely Fun + // Good Harassing + // No Mana/Energy + // Excellent Mobility + // Battle Bunny Riven Skin

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Cons - // Item Depedent - // Squishy Without Items - // Passive Requires Timing - // Can't Faceroll Keyboard/columns]

Masteries

// 22/7/1 Provides a very good amount of sustain while also letting you get the reduced cooldown for Flash. This is the best setup for most top lane match ups. The only time I would switch it, is if you are against heroes that dominate the early game such as Garen or Renekton you should move 9 into defense for the extra Health.

Runes

Greater Quintessence of Attack Damage: // You will feel weak early if you don't use these. Don't change them.
Greater Mark of Attack Damage: // These will help your early game harassing and last hitting. All of her abilities scale off of Attack Damage so these are a must have. You could also run Armor Penetration.
Greater Seal of Armor: // These are typical solo top Seals. Don't change them.
Greater Glyph of Magic Resist: // You can use flat Magic Resist or Magic Resist per Level. Your choice really, I have 2 pages that I use depending on match ups.

Viable Summoner Spells

Ignite: // A lot of solo top heroes tend to have healing abilities that will make or break an early game fight. On top of that this can prevent them from using Heal and can help secure a First Blood.

Exhaust: // If your team already has plenty of Ignites or the enemy team has a lot of Auto Attackers feel free to take this. This will help you shut down their AD carries and will also provide a slow to help pickup kills.

Flash: // This is your get out of jail free card. You already have excellent mobility so Ghost is not needed. There is not much more to say about this skill except you should always have it.

Ability Sequence & Explanation

// You max Blade of the Exile each time you can take it, like most other heroes. A lot of people that first pick up Riven max her Broken Wings first which is a big mistake. It doesn't do that much damage, and is mainly just used to activate your passive and help stay on a target. You want to max Ki Burst first because it does more damage, has an extremely low cooldown, and is your main source of CC. Take Broken Wings last because it's amainly used for mobility and to proc your passive.


Runic Blade
// Riven's abilities charge her blade, causing her to do bonus physical damage on her next auto attack.
// Learning how to master this passive is what will separate good Riven players from bad ones. To get the most out of this passive make sure to use it after every ability. Do NOT let it max out at 3 stacks. Spread your attacks out like so: Blade of the Exile -> Valor -> Auto Attack -> Ki Burst -> Auto Attack -> Auto Attack -> Broken Wings -> Auto Attack -> Broken Wings -> Auto Attack -> Broken Wings -> Auto Attack- > Blade of the Exile.

Broken Wings
// Riven can activate this ability up to three times to deal damage and move forward.
// This skill is what will make your enemies hate you. It allows you to have so much mobility it's insane. you can use it to chase a target, jump into combat, or even run away. You want to make use of your passive with this ability by spacing out your auto attacks.

What to do:
Broken Wings -> Auto Attack -> Broken Wings -> Auto Attack -> Broken Wings -> Auto Attack

What not to do:
Broken Wings -> Broken Wings -> Broken Wings -> Auto Attack -> Auto Attack -> Auto Attack

Ki Burst
// Riven does physical damage and stuns nearby enemies for 0.75 seconds.
// This is by far your best ability. It has a 1.0 Attack Damage ratio, low cooldown, and a CC. When you get down with your build (40% CDR) this will be a THREE second cooldown. No one will be able to escape you.
Valor
// Riven dashes towards your cursor and gains a shield for 2.5 seconds.
// This is the one shield in the game that doesn't have an Ability Power ratio, and instead goes off of Attack Damage. You can use the dash to initiate a team fight, to chase an enemy, or mix it with Broken Wings to run away. This is why I do not build Warmog's Armor. Stacking Defense and Magic Resists yield a more effective shield, and make you far more tanky than stacking Health. Your shield has an Attack Damage ratio, take advantage of it!.
Blade of the Exile
// Riven's sword reforms turning her into a bad ***. She gains 20% attack damage, all her abilities gain range, and can use Wind Slash once. Wind Slash will emit a shockwave in a long cone in front of her that will deal physical damage to all units based on how low their health is.
// This ultimate is extraordinary when used correctly. You want to activate the first part of it at the start of a team fight and then WAIT to activate Wind Slash until they are low health and trying to run away, or they all get grouped up. You want to use it as an execution type move (like Demacian Justice.) Just make sure you watch the timer and don't let it end before activating it a 2nd time.

Core Items

: // Usually if I'm laning against an Attack Damage Champion I will buy Ninja Tabi and sell them for Mercury's Treads later on. I don't suggest buying these until later in the game when team fighting starts, but they are good against teams with a lot of Crowd Control.

: // Two or three of these will give you extremely high Attack Damage and Health that will help you snowball into the late game. I usually only buy two buy you can choose to buy three if you have the extra gold and are doing well. Never buy more than three of them though.

: // You want to try and buy the B.F. Sword before the Vampiric Scepter. You will fall in love with this item while playing Riven. You should try to rush your 40 stacks as soon as you buy this item. Once you get this you will start wrecking people and have absurd sustain.

: // Always, always, always, build this item after your The Bloodthirster. This item is so powerful in a good players hands. It gives a ton of resistances and a revive competent. This makes it so you can basically suicide all over their carries in team fights and come back alive.

Luxury Items

: // Always build this if the enemy team has an Aegis of the Legion, Taric, or Soraka. You should also build this if any of the enemies have starting building Armor items.

: // After testing this item for awhile, I've realized it's incredible on Riven. It works very well with her playstyle and the scaling AD makes her an extremely strong duelist. This item is a requirement vs double Ability power teams.

: // I actually found out how good this item is from building it on Irelia. It helps give you a bit more Health while also giving a bit more Resistances. On top of it already being a good item for you, it also buffs your entire team and saves your support from having to buy it.

: // Sometimes Ki Burst isn't enough to keep them from getting away. Build this if your team needs some more Crowd Control. This item has a lot of utility and makes you extremely tanky.

: // ONLY build this item if you built a Frozen Mallet or Warmog's Armor. Without either of those this item is useless and shouldn't even be bothered with. This item is pretty good against heavy Attack Damage teams, but I usually don't build it.

: // I very rarely build this, but it's a good item if you are literally being Crowd Controlled to death. Heroes like Malzahar, Warwick, Skarner, Veigar, Fiddlesticks, and Rammus.

Matchups

// The skill priority is still R > W > E > Q. This just shows the skill order for levels 1-3.


// Akali
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Boots of Speed, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Cho'Gath
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Fiora
Difficulty: I can't beat her without help.
Start With: ??
Skill Order: ??


// Gangplank
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Garen
Difficulty: Hard
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Ki Burst -> Broken Wings


// Irelia
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Jarvan IV
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Jax
Difficulty: Hard
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Kennen
Difficulty: Hard
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Lee Sin
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Malphite
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Nasus
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Nidalee
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Olaf
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Pantheon
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Poppy
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Renekton
Difficulty: Hard
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Ki Burst -> Broken Wings


// Rumble
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Ryze
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Shen
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Shyvana
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Singed
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Teemo
Difficulty: Hard
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Trundle
Difficulty: Hard
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Ki Burst -> Valor -> Broken Wings


// Tryndamere
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Ki Burst -> Valor -> Broken Wings


// Udyr
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Ki Burst -> Valor -> Broken Wings


// Vladimir
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Volibear
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Warwick
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Valor -> Broken Wings -> Ki Burst


// Wukong
Difficulty: Medium
Start With: Cloth Armor, Health Potion
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor


// Yorick
Difficulty: Easy
Start With: Doran's Blade
Skill Order: Broken Wings -> Ki Burst -> Valor

Gameplay

// Here are some of my most recent games with Riven. Notice these games are all in a row and not sporadic. If you try the build out feel free to send me a picture of your most recent Match History and let me know how it worked for you! :D

Summary

// Can't write a summary until I get done with the guide ;P

// Support Bunnygirl Riven here.

// Credit to jhoijhoi for the template, which you can find here.

// Credit to Stonewall008 for the jungle route/runes, which you can find here.

Change Log

11/29/2011
// Guide Released. Not 100% completed. Still needs work.

11/30/2011
// Updated Jungling section after the Jungle remake. Also added a Gameplay section.

1/16/2012
// Riven was hit was so pretty harsh nerfs this patch. Will update the guide to tweak the build a bit if needed.

• Base movement speed reduced to 320 from 325
• Base health regen reduced to 10.4 per 5 seconds from 12
• Health regen per level reduced to 0.9 per 5 seconds from 1
• Broken Wings base damage increased to 30/55/80/105/130 from 30/50/70/90/110
• Ki Burst base damage reduced to 50/80/110/140/170 from 50/90/130/170/210

1/18/2012
// Tweaked both builds a little bit and put the Laning Guide as the first build and the Jungling guide as the second. Removed Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Youmuu's Ghostblade from the build. CDR stacking is not very viable because you can be CC'd and focused to easy.

4/2/2012
// Removed The Brutalizer from the build and deleted the Jungling build / section. I never jungle her and can't keep up with a section I don't actively play anymore.

4/7/2012
// Battle Bunny Riven skin has been added to the game!

4/9/2012
// Added a "Matchups" Section.