This guide is unfinished. A ton of work still has to go into it, and I'm hoping I can get it done within the next few days.

This is my 4th guide, please leave a comment and rate, and certainly feel free to check out my other guides! I haven't had much time to ply Riven yet, so this is mostly theoretical, but I tend to have a pretty good understanding of builds in general, so we should be fine.

Build 1 is the build I'd suggest for normal use, I think it should be at least comparable to a standard Yi build.

Build 2 is an offtank build, with this you're a lot tankier since your job is to initiate and kill their carry. the build/skill order is only viable assuming you're laning 1v1 against an AD carry.

Build 3 is a rough idea of a jungle build. It is completely un-tested, however I'm predicting that she will find a place on competitive teams as a jungler, and this is what I came up with. Now, I'll be completely honest, I know next to nothing about jungling. I know about item choices, and I can recognized champions that are good for the job, but I have no clue how to do it. If you're looking for a jungle guide, this isn't the one for you.

9/15/11: Build created/published

If there's a spell I don't mention, that's because it's worthless on Riven(or at all) for some reason.

Saves lives/gets kills in each and every game. This is a very useful spell on basically everyone, and I rarely don't get it.

You should get this if you're playing as an offtank. I wouldn't advise it otherwise, but it's one of the better picks on a carry.

Your spells and build should give you plenty of mobility, so you shouldn't really need this. If you have to choose between this and Flash, just remember: Flash can go over walls, which is something you're lacking.

Smite is virtually only good if you're jungling, in which case you must take it.
Note: Make sure no one else on your team is jungling before taking Smite

This can good, mainly on solo lane, but I consider other things to be higher priority.

I'd definitely suggest this if you don't get Merc's, and maybe even if you do. Riven is a very squishy champ, and if you get caught in a teamfight you'll be dead within seconds.

Riven has amazing chasing potential. You shouldn't need this.

This is one of the better(ish) passives in the game. It's damage isn't great, but damaging passives aren't exactly common...


This ability doesn't do very much damage. It just doesn't. Phreak lied. However, paired with Ki Burst, you can take out minion waves in quite a speedy manner, so getting some early points in it isn't a bad thing for some roles. Apart from getting you some nice farm, it's usefulness is in charging up your passive. I'll go over this more later.


The stun isn't actually worth using as a stun, but it is a nice interrupt (i.e. Nunu's ult), and the damage is pretty decent. And, of course, it puts another charge on your passive.


This is reeaaally short-ranged. It's good for pretty much grabbing a last-hit without getting harassed too much or dodging out of the way of a skillshot, and, once again, it puts a charge on your passive. Get a couple points in this early on a solo lane so you have a decent amount of staying power.


Nice, short CD, lots of bonus damage, and a AoE Garen-like nuke. This is, in my mind, what sets her ahead of the competition.
Use this at the begining of a fight for maximum DPS, and make sure you use Wind Slash before it ends. You pretty much want to use it at the last possible moment, or when these things happen (ordered from most important to least important; use your judgement) :

1: There are multiple targets
2: You could get at least one kill
3: You can get someone low enough to at least get a couple assists

And of course if no one is left and you still have it, destroy a minion wave.

So, I see Riven as kind of a cross between Master Yi and Irelia..Yirelia, if you will. She can build as kind of a tanky DPS or offtank, like Irelia, but she can also build as an AD carry, and with some practice, possibly be one of the best in the game. I think her role in the jungle may be similar to Nunu's due to her chasing potential and high early-game damage. This could be accomplished by starting your route with Red Buff, because of her lack of a natural slow or (useful)stun.

An offtank is not a tank.
Tanking as an offtank against a high-damage team will result in failure. It's the offtank's job to cripple or kill the carry, usually by use of Exhaust and Trinity Force. A couple good examples of viable offtanks are Malphite and Blitzcrank. For more information, read Dufftime's guide to offtanking. It's really quite informative.