Pros
+ High Damage
+ High Mobility
+ Snowballs very hard
+ Strong Laner
+ No costs on any ability
Riven's Strengths
Riven is a very high damage, high moblity champion that is a very strong and safe top laner. If she starts getting ahead she can snowball games really hard and force entire teams to come try and deal with her. If she is left to do her thing in a teamfight, she can wipe out entire enemy backlines in mere seconds.


Riven's Shortcomings
While Riven is a strong and safe laner, she doesn't have any built in sustain she can fall back on like many bruisers do. If she starts falling behind she can become quite useless. Her great scaling also cause some issues. Even when behind she cannot afford to build defensively as she'll simply do no damage and won't be able to do her job.
Cons
- No Sustain
- Tricky Playstyle
- Can be shut down by CC
- Predictable Movement
- Difficult to Master

These runes are optimal on Riven as they give a lot of early damage and defense. Running the cooldown blues can be great as it allows you to Q more often and can be great when dueling because you can trade harder than the enemies. The armor is also great in early duels if you stack it along with the cloth armor because you can fight enemies while taking less punishment.
An alternative to the cooldown blues are magic resist blues as they can be beneficial when fighting champions who deal lots of magic damage.Better don't take Lifesteel Quins because they got nerfed.

Abilities


This is the skillbuild that is often used on Riven but W can be maxed second if your team is really far ahead. Having W at level 2 is really good because it can let Riven all in on the lane opponent or can be used to fight the enemy jungler. Maxing E second is great because it can often save y our life because of massive amount of damage this shield can absorb since it scales off AD.

This is your savior/wallhack/initiate. Use it when you're being ganked and your spells are on cooldown. Another use is to suprise your opponent and flash combo him to the face. Never swap it for anything else, it's just way too useful on Riven.






Use this to fnish off your opponent. You'll need this if you want to go for first blood. It also shuts down healers ( Dr. Mundo , Swain ...) and when timed a little after Tryndamere used Undying Rage , he'll die when he tries to spin away for safety.

Last hit as much as possible. Harass as much possible but be careful for ganks, and counterharass.
If they can counterharass harder than you can harass them, don't bother and try to farm at your turret. To keep the minions there, you can "tank" them with your Valor . This way you avoid the turret hitting your minions, which will freeze your lane.

When you did push too hard, you can go kill their/your golems/wolves. But do not forget to buy Stealth Wards !!!

Aim for a minimum of 170 CS in 20 minutes. Try to reach more every game.
LEVEL 6:

Try to hit 6 before your opponent. If you do, go all in instantly or, wait for the right moment. don't be afraid to burn your flash on the initiate.

There are 2 right moments.

The enemy initiates on you. HIT YOUR ULT, Q AUTO STUN Q AUTO Q (KNOCK HIM BEHIND YOU) Ignite AND USE YOUR WIND SLASH (R) WHEN HE'S LOW ENOUGH.
You're in the brush and he comes too close for a lasthit. HIT YOUR R AND USE VALOR TO GO IN. JUST COMBO AS BEFORE AND GG.

If you don't hit 6 before your opponent, don't panic, you can probably still own him, but be more careful, and make sure you are healthy enough.

After you hit 6 just farm as much possible, try to push your lane and farm wolves or gank mid.
Freeze your lane when your jungler wants to gank. Towerdiving past 6 is fairly easy as well.
Get fed, that's your job.


Champs you don't want to towerdive without a straight advantage:

Renekton : Stuns and uses Dominus
Nasus : Slows, cripples, and uses Fury of the Sands and he will kite around the tower, throw a Q in your face and say "nice try Bunny" in all chat.
Kennen : Just don't. Unless he used his ult 8 seconds ago and you're full health.
Garen : Dat silence. Dat ult.
Cho'Gath : He will silence you, knock you up, and eat you alive before you even know what happened.