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Riven Build Guide by

Riven The Fly Swatter [top laner]

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Riven Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion More Riven Guides

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Items

starting[pick one]

Core Build

rush guardian

Decide weather you need power or defense

Ability Order

Riven Passive Ability

riven cosplay

Matchups for : RIVEN

Matchups

Orange=moderate difficulty RED=bad matchup(dont play against them) Green=easily countered

TEEMO , moderate= Alright so this lane is the most annoying thing EVER. I feel bad because whenever I get the chance, I personally counterpick by playing . He's very hard to deal with. He's mobile, he has incredible, DPS, and it's just unfun all around. His blind hinders your DPS since it disables your passive, which is a big part of . His poison can completely wreck you. Just try to keep up by purchasing Oracle's Elixir when you can, and after you hit level 6, you can easily win all duels

DARIUS : is rather tough to deal with, but you will probably win your lane if you’re smart. He is a bit more tanky than you are, and his burst is about the same as yours. is quite the bother, as well. is stronger than you 1v1, so it's smart to only engage when your jungler comes around. The best thing to do is to dash around and avoid his and . It is best to keep him pushed up to your tower while you farm under the turret. If he steps within range, use to stun him and then dash away with or , with autoattacks if you feel comfortable. Playing passively and relying on your jungler are the keys to winning your lane. Play it safe and tower hug.

JAX Fighting Jax can be a little tricky, but the key to winning is to make sure he doesn't land Counter Strike. If you engage on him at all when his stun misses, he won't be able to compete. Try to make him waste mana if he spams Leap Strike and Empower. Be careful, though, because Jax can deal a lot of damage. It's smart to Valor away from Counter Strike, so keep that in mind. Get him down below half-health before you decide to really engage for a kill.

Jarvan IV Jarvan IV is a relatively normal lane. Don't be TOO aggressive; be patient, unlike most lanes. Go ahead and poke to get his health down, but don't go all-out in engages each time to you want to deal damage. Luckily, Cataclysm is useless against you. You can use Valor and Broken Wings to escape it.

LEE SIN The thing about Lee Sin is that winning your lane is incredibly dependent upon the player's skill. One thing to keep in mind is that you need to dodge his Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike. His dash and Dragon's Rage are pretty annoying in-lane. Just be sure not to engage when he has the debuff from Tempest / Cripple active, and you can probably win the lane. If you're asking for a jungle gank, ask them to come after a minion wave so that Lee Sin can't use Safeguard / Iron Will to shield away.

MALPHITE All you need to worry about with Malphite is shielding his harass. If you do, he can't do much to you at all. Don't engage when his attack speed debuff is on you. Post-level 6, you should begin to be careful. He can burst for a LOT, surprisingly enough, with his ultimate. Keep these things in mind, wear down his shield, and you will be good to go.

OLAF Olaf can be a very strong enemy. You mainly have to dodge his axes with Valor and Broken Wings and you'll be good to go. He has mana and you don't, so this is a great advantage. Don't get too close to him or he'll cast Reckless Swing (you can normally guess when he's about to do this because he runs towards you), but if he does, shield his true damage with Valor. You should also be careful about fighting him while Vicious Strikes is active; in other words, DON'T DO IT. Using all of these strategies, Olaf will ideally blow all of his mana, and then you have the clear advantage.

POPPY While you might find it hard to kill her, you can definitely win the lane. Valor is an important skill to utilize properly in this lane, so you need to practice with it or have a good idea of how it works before going into this matchup. Your main harass is this: Valor up to her and then stun her with Ki Burst, using autoattacks between these skills. She's probably going to activate Devastating Blow to get back at you, but hopping away with Broken Wings leaves her with wasted mana. Keep an eye out for when she uses her Q on minions, and then fully engage on her since she doesn't have as much damage as she should. Riven is very, very mobile, so it's unlikely that Poppy will land Heroic Charge on you. If it is going to happen, however, a cute thing to try is to use Valor towards/into her as she charges. You won't be smashed against the wall and it'll catch her off guard.

SHEN Shen is more annoying/beefy than anything else. He probably won't leave his lane, but he probably won't kill you, either. Therefore, you should mainly focus on farming: denying and out-csing him. He can stack armor against you, which really sucks, but that's all he has against you. Basically you should just ask for early ganks for an advantage, then stick to small harass and killing minions.

AKALI Akali is a relatively easy champion to deal with pre-level 6. As Riven, you are able to deal more damage to her early on, so harassing at the beginning of the game is key. Her Twilight Shroud is essentially useless against you because you can stun her in it. As a tip, Akali normally travels to the outer edges of her circle, so avoid attacking the center. Make sure to use Valor to dash and negate the early harass from Mark of the Assassin. Post-level 6, however, you should be careful. Akali can effectively burst you down once she gets her ultimate. A way to counter this is to stun her with Ki Burst as she uses Shadow Dance and then Valor away.

JAYCE Jayce is just annoying. His mix of abilities is bothersome, and his Thundering Blow / Acceleration Gate in hammer form is what can kill you. The knockback is hard for you to deal with, and you will have problems if he maxes this first. It's just best to play it safe and rarely engage unless you have some sort of CLEAR advantage or jungler around. His ranged attacks are annoying. You should make sure to dodge To the Skies! / Shock Blast when he is in cannon form. Use Valor or Broken Wings to avoid it.

KAYLE Kayle can be hard to deal with because she has ranged abilities and you don't. The best way to deal with this is to let her push as hard as she can early on, but then retaliate against her once you get all of your skills at level 3. Hard. Harass her by using your combo and then immediately retreating into the bush so that she can't hit you back with Reckoning or Righteous Fury. Just abuse the bush and you can win the lane. Only ask for a gank when you're level 3 or above, because otherwise, you probably won't do much. Once you’re on her, though, she won’t be able to handle it if you go in for the kill.

MORDEKAISER Mordekaiser gets increasingly harder to fight against as time goes on, so the best chance you have is to abuse him early game and try to get first blood. Do not take too much damage, though. At levels 2 and 3, commit to fighting him. If he starts with Cloth Armor, wait until level 3 to begin engaging on him. Ganks are crucial, because post-level 3, Mordekaiser becomes insanely hard to deal with and pumps out incredible amounts of AoE. Be smart and safe against him if you're getting into the middle of the game.

NASUS Main concern: deny CS. This lane is one where you should put a lot of pressure on your enemy constantly so he can't farm up his Siphoning Strike. I wouldn't roam around too much in this lane, even though Riven is great with this. You cannot let him catch up to you or get any CS. The only other thing you really have to worry about is Fury of the Sands, so be careful when diving since his ult gives him some HP. Soul Eater gives him passive lifesteal, so buy potions if you need to to keep up in sustain. Wither shouldn't be a problem for you; you have 4 gap closers.

RUMBLE Rumble can be really annoying, but you can use your mobility to your advantage and win the lane. You are very powerful against him in early levels, so like Akali, you really need to abuse his advantage. You should constantly dash around him with Valor and Broken Wings to avoid damage from Flamespitter, since he won't be able to really hit you with it. Also: when he uses his ult, immediately dash (with Valor or Broken Wings) or flash behind him and keep on trucking. His DPS will not be as much as he needs and you will most likely win your duels. Ask for ganks to shut him down in the earlier levels.

SINGED This lane is relatively easy for Riven to compete with, although many would beg to differ. As always against a Singed, your main focus is to shut him down pre-level 6 and to deny cs. With Riven's abilities, you're able to compete with him throughout all stages of the game, unlike most people. You have high mobility and great scaling, so he shouldn't be able to punish you all that much unless he stacks armor. Be sure to bait his Fling, countering it by using Ki Burst and an autoattack before using Valor or Broken Wings to escape. Valor is really important here: it's incredibly powerful against his poison. Always ask for a gank to shut him down.

SHYVANA You can only really start dealing damage to Shyvana once you reach level 3. You can let her push until then, but you should begin to retaliate afterwards. Punish her as hard as you can from levels 3 to 6, because once she hits 6, she has a surprising amount of burst and is a very strong duelist. Ask for ganks at this point in time (between levels 3 and 6) to really shut her down.

VALDIMIR Alright so Vladimir really isn't all that bad. I prefer this matchup to most others, honestly. Wait until level 3, shielding his harass the whole time, and then engage on him. You'll probably be surprised by your vastly superior DPS. Don't let him bait you with his pool, and NEVER use your ult on him while he's pooled, and you should be okay.

WARWICK Fighting against Warwick is a relatively straight-forward matchup. He's very keen on sustain, so you need to punish him as much as you can with harass and try to keep up in sustain yourself. Try reaching level 6 before he does to secure a kill, but otherwise, be careful of diving when he hits 6. You can get first blood against him, especially with the help of your jungler.

YORICK Yorick is one of the most annoying poke champions that you can fight. He has very strong sustain, so harass isn't really much of an option here. You need to go all out on him during each engagement, but make sure you don't take too much damage from his poke beforehand. Wait until level 3 to do much of anything to him. Once you hit 6, he really can't compete with you. Just keep up your combo and be sure to abuse him 1v1 in duels.

NOW THE CHAMPS YOU DONT WANT TO LANE WITH

CHO'GATH Cho'Gath has becoming increasingly harder for Riven to deal with. In this lane, you should be hyper-aggressive, but extremely mobile. You can deal a lot of damage to him level one with your Broken Wings and autoattack combo. All you have to do in this lane is dodge Rupture and Feral Scream with your Valor and Broken Wings and you can easily take him down. Try to keep him from gaining too much sustain, so punish him. But dodge his abilities.

FIORA Beating Fiora in-lane comes from valuable ganks and EARLY harass. As time goes on, Fiora becomes harder and harder to deal with. She also has a far greater sustain than you. The best way to fight her is to avoid engaging while she has Riposte up. After it's on cooldown, you can reengage to deal some damage. Whenever she activates Burst of Speed, use Ki Burst and then Valor away to waste the time she has on her E. Be mindful of using your ult whenever she has Blade Waltz up, too. Activating Wind Slash while she is invulnerable is a very costly mistake. Don't use Ki Burst on her when she ults, either, for the same reasons. Ganks from your jungler are very precious because she has no secure escapes.

GAREN Unfortunately, Garen is kind of hard to deal with when you're playing Riven. 1v1s will almost never go in your favor if he knows how to play, so you need to rely on your jungler for ganks and help. The way to win the lane is to try to outfarm him and dodge his skills with Valor while stunning him at opportune points with Ki Burst. It's a great idea to get out of Judgment at all times. Use Broken Wings and Valor to do so. The way to win is to get ahead in CS and with assistance from your jungler.

IRELIA The only problem Riven faces with Irelia is her true damage. It's best to not engage on Irelia when she has Hiten Style active. The good part about this lane is that Riven outshines her in every way. The lane will be easier early on, but around level 9, it becomes increasingly more difficult. Just make sure you don't get stupid when she has Hiten Style up and honestly, you should be alright.

KENNEN The best way to win against Kennen is to be safe and patient. Farming and turret hugging are your two biggest concerns in this matchup. Post level 3, you can start harassing him, but only if he messes up by getting under tower range or something like that. Make sure you use his energy and cooldowns to your advantage. You should engage on him if his energy is at half or lower so that he's unable to use Lightning Rush to get away from you. Do the same if that skill is on cooldown. Ganks should help under the same circumstances when he can't get away.

NIDALEE Dodge Nidalee's spears. That's all you really need to succeed here. Use Valor to dash out of the way if you need to. Let her push up to your tower, then begin pushing back once you reach level 3. You have an advantage on her 1v1 once you reach level 6. The best way to get a lead on her is to reach level 6 first, then engage on her as soon as you reach 6. She won't be able to deal nearly as much damage as you and she won't be able to take the punishment. Also, keep in mind that the best way to dodge the spears is running to the left or right of them, NOT AWAY.

PATHEON Valor is a pretty key skill here since you have a lot of spears to dodge. Open your combo at him after you've shielded his and you'll do very well. Always ward against the jungler when laning against Pantheon. His stun makes him strong for ganking. You also have greater scaling than he does, and you will do more and more damage against him as time goes on.

RENKENTON is really annoying because he has almost the same kit as you do, but with more sustain. Watch his rage and NEVER engage on him when it's in the red. But you should ALWAYS engage when he has low rage or after he's blown his combo, which is a combination of his Slice and Dice and Cull the Meek/ Ruthless Predator and Slice and Dice back to safety. Play more defensively than offensively and zone him out of cs. Try to freeze the lane under your tower. Be careful of his ult: it's more powerful than yours, but all of your other skills outscale his. Try to bait out his skills by shielding Cull the Meek, and lure him into activating Ruthless Predator before jumping away with Broken Wings. Ganks are really precious here, but ask for them when his ult is down. Otherwise, you probably won't get the kill.

SION Keep him in-lane and away from creeps. That's your only concern here. He really can't do much while his shield is down, so use this to your advantage, and abuse him early on before his shield gets very strong. If you keep him punished in the smaller levels, he'll be crippled later on.

TALON Talon excels in bursting down squishies, which is something you aren't. You can outdamage him 1v1 since your damage is more sustained and his is burst, plus you have Valor to negate some of the damage he does. All you really have to worry about is dodging his Rake with your Valor and you should be good to go. Early ganks (pre-level 6) will be very productive as he'll only have Rake as an escape. Cutthroat is a huge struggle for you, though. Silences suck.

TRYNDAMERE Punish him as hard as you can before he hits level 6. (This is a recurring theme for most champions, isn't it?) Keep in mind that you should fight him when his Fury bar is next to empty, and never engage when it's full. Early ganks are also your best friend. Once he hits level 6, just remember his ult's cooldown, which is 130 seconds. Your main focus, post-level 6, is to pop his ult and then use those 2 minutes of its cooldown to your advantage. Your ult comes off cooldown almost a whole minute before his does, so go all out, waste his ult, and then come back before it comes back up to beat him down. Be sure to mind his crits, though. They can get out of hand.

WU KONG this annoying monkey will stealth and waist your q w and ult with ease... he is deadly with his knockup ult...He can do a surprising amount of damage, so you need to watch out for that. His ult is similar to yours in that he has a very, very short cooldown. The best way to win the lane is to bait his Crushing Blow and then running away from it, using your mobility to your advantage. After his Q is wasted, engage on him. You should win most duels this way. If you want a gank, make sure it is EARLY before he takes Decoy. He will have a higher damage output and will shred your armor.