Welcome to my Riven guide!

Riven is a champion that I believe to be best played as a tanky dps. She has a good early game with decent harass from her skills and a strong shield, a good mid game with her excellent team play capabilities, and late game functionality as a survivable damage dealer or initiator.

I should note that "tanky dps" doesn't mean "offtank". It means a dps dinner with a side of tanky. I tend to play her as a skirmisher. She darts in and out of the fight, disrupting enemy champs and taking focus off the carry. She can't do this if she gets bursted in one rotation. She has to live through damage while also doing enough damage herself to help land a kill on the biggest threat.

My playstyle allows her to usually live for about 4-6 seconds under heavy fire and do decent damage for the carry to run cleanup. Riven does need another tanky champ to help her hold focus, and she has a good chance of dying if she is under heavy CC focus. However, that's CC not directed at your carry. By "carry" I mean "ranged AD carry" or "AP carry". Riven can carry games, but she isn't what most consider a "carry" in strict game terms.

This Riven build requires you to be fairly aggressive. However, "aggressive" does not mean "stupidly charge opponent". It means making fights happen. Smart, calculated fights. Under this playstyle, you have a decent chance of dying under focus fire, but if you are smart about it, your one death will mean four of theirs.

Her gameplay flexibility is what I've come to appreciate about her, and it will be the focus of this guide. I will update this guide as I come to learn of new combos and item strengths and weaknesses on her.

Later in the guide I will present a section on jungling with Riven. I will be as in-depth as possible, covering her route, counter jungling, ganks, etc. I like to be thorough.

Greater Mark of Strength - These will give you a good early game boost, and with the ArPen masteries and strong scaling on Riven's skills, these are the strongest choice.

Greater Seal of Resilience - Standard runes. These will help keep you alive early before your Valor shell really kicks in. Armor seals give you the early game defense until you've leveled up Valor enough. Scaling armor seals or HP seals can both serve as suitable replacements, if you prefer.

Greater Glyph of Shielding - Scaling MR. Equal benefit at around level 6, I believe. These make an excellent substitute for your CDR glyphs. These are generally better than flat MR, unless you are laning against a magic dealer top. Even then, these are probably still better than flat. Your call.

Greater Quintessence of Strength - Once again, Riven's scaling makes these the best choice. The same rules of the marks apply to the quints.

This is her passive. It gives her an extra punch to her abilities, and it is one that takes good timing to fully utilize. Each activation of her abilities gives her a charge on her blade that deals bonus damage (in the form of attack damage) to the target. Each swing of Broken Wings, a Ki Burst, a Valor dash, or her Blade of the Exile activation will give her a charge, up to a maximum of three.

This is something that should not be ignored. Each charge can eventually mean over 100 (almost 200 late game) bonus damage per hit. Make sure that you use them as you chain your skills, or else you will end up wasting stacks. However, if you aren't close enough to hit with your blade as someone is running, keep up the chase and let the stacks be. If you can't hit, you can't hit.

Be aware that your passive is going to be your main source of early game damage (levels 1-6), and it will continue putting a large amount of hurt on your targets. Knowing when to hit with this will make all the difference in the world. Hit as much as you can with it, but you don't need to kill yourself to get a hit in.



This is your basic damage skill. However, it does much more than that for you. Depending on your timing, you can surprise an enemy by knocking him into your tower or push him away from an ally, disrupt a team's positioning, hack your way to an enemy support or carry, or chase down a fleeing enemy.

You will almost always want this first. This skill will keep you mobile, while being able to give you the most charges on your passive.

This ability is leveled last because it has a static cooldown. No matter what rank the skill is, the cooldown does not reduce, and as I have stated before, CDR is critical to Riven. Leveling this reduces how often you can perform other abilities without increasing the number of times you use Broken Wings. I don't care how much damage it does, I don't see a reason to max it first.



This skill is almost disgustingly useful. A half second of stun may not seem like much, but it is a fantastic interrupt on any champs that rely on combos or channeling. Katarina Shunpo'd to you and popped her Death Lotus? Nunu's Absolute Zero about to make a mess of your team? The enemy's tank is initiating? Ki Burst. Often it will be just enough of a stutter to throw things out of balance, and it cancels channeled spells outright.

This skill is learned at level 3 because it is much easier to use after learning Valor. If the enemy champ is constantly in your face, or you are laning with a hard hitting carry, Caitlyn or Miss Fortune for example, consider skilling this at level 2. Keep in mind it will put you at very close range without a way to soak damage, thus making it easier for your enemies to harass you.



I sometimes max this first. Why max this skill? It gives you more mobility for early game harass, as well as a shield that will keep you alive in lane and during ganks. Leveling Valor allows you to use it more often with greater shield strength. It lets you use her short dash very frequently, helping to chase down enemies or prevent damage. Riven does not have much early survivability, and this covers that nicely. Also, it lets you position yourself well for Ki Burst and Broken Wings, which is why I put a point in it at level 2 and wait until 3 to learn Ki Burst. The combination of Broken Wings and Valor gives you roughly the range of Flash at Ghost speed. I like being that mobile early.

Having the shield at a high strength with a lower cooldown will keep you alive through more than you thought possible. It's biggest impact is early game, when you can Valor into a tower, kill both champs, and then Valor away, with turret aggro and Ignite on you. Nothing is more annoying to me than knowing I would have lived if I had a .5 second lower CD on Valor.

Lastly, I feel that maxing out Valor early streamlines her transition into midgame. Being able to soak about 200-250 dmg (depending on items) will block a majority of the laning harass, especially on a 4-5 sec cooldown (with runes, masteries, and The Brutalizer). Being able to block this much damage, combined with building her fairly tanky, makes her so survivable it's not even funny. However, if you find yourself up against a very passive lane opponent, feel free to keep this at a low level until later.

Use it. Seriously. It is your edge in 1v1 fights, team fights, ganks, jungle, counter-initiations, tower-dives, and more.



This is essentially an AD steroid with some icing on top. Increased damage, increased range, and the ability to use the ranged Wind Slash. This skill will sizably buff all of your moves in some way. It increases the damage from your passive and gives you more range to hit with your autoattacks. It gives more damage and range to Broken Wings and Ki Burst. Valor will also get a shield boost.

Wind Slash is a difficult skill to use properly. It is mostly meant to be a ranged finishing blow. If you know how to use Garen's Demacian Justice, you will understand when to use this skill. The lower the target's health, the more damage it will do. Not only is the the base damage increased, but also the AD scaling. It is very damaging to targets at low health, but lackluster on full health targets.

Keep in mind that this skill is a very effective finisher, but that comes with some caveats to keep in mind. If your Ashe is hammering away on a target with frost arrows and can clearly get a kill, don't Wind Slash that target. If a low HP enemy is targeted by Caitlyn's Ace in the Hole, don't Wind Slash them. Kill them if your carry can't, but don't be abusive by grabbing kills that they will probably need more.

Situational Builds

Here I'll cover various builds to give you an idea on some variations to the Riven builds above. These are only meant to be examples. They may or may not work for you depending on who or what you are up against. Build what you need. That's what it means to build situationally.

Also, build order is not meant to be exact. These are only example sets to give suggestions on how to alter the build to suit the enemy team. The key point to remember is to build DAMAGE. Riven needs damage to be effective. Crit and attack speed are NOT effective stats on her. Damage, health, and resistances are key.



BALANCED TANKY DPS BUILD


This is the main build I focus on, with some variations depending on the opponents. I'll go over specific situational items in detail later. This will give you very good HP, decent Armor and MR, and utility, while still maintaining decent amounts of damage. It is a good build for balanced teams.



AD HEAVY BUILD


This is mostly meant as an example, in case you come across a team mostly dealing AD. This isn't really a highly recommended build; simply an example of what to do if you come across lots of AD (4/5 or something). Randuin's Omen will really punish any AD autoattackers, so always keep this in mind if they are a problem. If there is VERY little CC to go around, you can consider buying Ninja Tabi or Ionian Boots of Lucidity. The Tabi will give you some early damage reduction from AD and autoattacks. CDR boots are CDR boots. Up to you.



AP HEAVY BUILD


Upping the HP a bit will help you tank your way through burst fire, and the regen provided by warmog's and FoN, along with lifesteal, will get you through mage burst fire and heal back enough to survive another wave.

It will be very strange if you are fighting a bunch of mages and there's no CC. Merc treads are not optional. They also will give you some good early MR. I kinda hate how few MR items are actually any good for Riven. Best solution seems to be to just stack HP. Maw of Malmortius is a good item, though, so definitely get that to deal with AP.



BURST DAMAGE BUILD


Put on your rageface and hurt some people! Not sold on the whole "tanky dps" deal? Team comp needs some solid, hardcore PAIN? Try something like this on for size.

Yeah, I know I said I play her as tanky dps. I still believe that to be her core role. However, with crazy good AD ratios like she's got, it's tempting to go this route. It may even be the right thing to do. Riven can snowball pretty hard if she gets a good early lead, so why not hammer it home? Her Valor shield gets buffed from AD, so it's almost a case of "the best defense is a good offense".

Her crit will be a sight to behold, and her ult will cut a swath of destruction. Just remember that she will be fairly squishy if you go this route, but hopefully Valor will get you through the worst of it. If not... well, don't say I didn't warn you.

If the enemy team starts stacking hardcore armor, consider (once again) Last Whisper. Find a spot for it.

So why am I still using Merc Treads? Well, you could always put on some Ionian Boots of Lucidity, but if you're going to be this squishy, you're going to get focused. Start with CDR boots and swap for Merc's later, if you like, but don't be insane and run around late game without tenacity. I also would stick with atma's for the armor. You're building high AD, not high stupid. Plus, it works with the IE and FroMal.



DORAN'S STACKING


First off, your finished build when using Doran's Stacking will not look like this. You will sell most of these for other items, and you shouldn't ever build this many anyway. It's only meant to be an example on this subject. (Please don't ever stack this many Doran's items. Kittens will lose homes.)

The strategy behind stacking Doran's items is that since each item is INCREDIBLY cost effective, you can use it to recover from a bad early game or give yourself a severe early game advantage. They sell for very little and lose their cost effectiveness over a long game, but if you can get the money, you just sell each item one at a time until you get back on track with stronger items.

Situational Items

REMEMBER ALSO THAT ALL BUILDS ARE SITUATIONAL. THIS IS FOR THOSE WHO WANT SOME DIRECTION, NOT A PERFECT BUILD.

SURVIVABILITY ITEMS

Probably the single most cost-effective item in the game. HP, armor, and magic resist, along with some lovely stats shared with the entire group. Usually a tank will get this. It isn't a bad idea for you to get it. It does up your damage slightly, too. If you're roaming a bit or getting into teamfights, this item might be fairly solid. It won't help you as much lategame, though. Get it fairly early if you're going to buy it.

What? Mana on Riven? *Gasp* As amusing as it is for Riven to have 375 mana, the HP and MR will keep you alive, and the bubble of safety is a godsend. It blocks a single enemy skill every 45 seconds. This ranges from Ashe's Volley to Morgana's Soul Shackles. A caster's nightmare. With this and your Valor bubble, you'll be amazed what you can live through.

This is the single highest magic resist item in the game. It gives insane HP regen, especially if you've got something like Warmog's Armor. Never ignore the movespeed buff this item gives you. It's a big deal. Few champs will be able to escape you.



Okay, before you get on my case about this item being situational, let me explain why it's here. 99 armor, 20% CDR, and reduces AS of surrounding enemies by 20%. They don't have to attack you; you don't have to pop an active. It's like Thornmail but much better. You can ignore the mana on this, and it is still a solid defensive item. If a lategame Vayne or Tryndamere is wrecking your face, consider getting this item. It might just save your team.

Health, armor, HP regen, and slight CDR, with a nice slowing effect both in the passive and active. This item is very nice for when you need some more tankiness, or Thornmail isn't what you're looking for to stop the AD champs. It can slow the entire enemy team if you time it right, and that will really pay off.


Health, CDR, MR, and increased healing. I'd never given this item much thought on Riven until it was brought to my attention recently. Not a single stat is wasted, and it boosts lifesteal by 15%, as well as her already insane HP regen. This is a surprisingly fun defensive item for her. Especially if you have, say, two fully stacked BTs. Give this a try sometime.


It's really fun with Riven. Getting in the thick of things and hammering away while doing bonus magic damage. Stunning a few enemies with Ki Burst and doing damage just for them standing near you, never mind the hits of Broken Wings. The health and armor are nice benefits, but it really becomes almost useless late game. A decent midgame alternative if you're in more of a tanking role.


40% slow and some real solid HP to go with your Atma's Impaler. I think Warmog's Armor is a better item overall, but if you have the gold after you get your Atma's, go for it. It's not a bad item, and I used to use it more before I just started using warmog's more often. Give it a shot and see if you like it.



DAMAGE ITEMS

If you don't get Ignite, this item could potentially hold high value to you. If you're laning against a champ with high healing abilities, the active on this will help tremendously. The passive gives you just a little bit of an extra hit to all of your attacks. The total damage added is 32 each hit, so it will really start to hurt after a while.


Damage, MR, and a mini Blitzcrank passive. Zilean bombs making you rage? Karthus ult becoming a problem? Problem no more! Build Hexdrinker early and upgrade it later. It only triggers on magic damage, though. Keep that in mind.


It's pretty hard to ignore the highest non-stacking damage item in the game. It's expensive, but can be worth it if you really want to pile some hurt late game. I much prefer the lifesteal from BT, since Riven's passive counts for lifesteal, but if you're not sold on two BTs, then pick this up instead of one of them.


Core item and situational item? Yep. Want to know why? Because sometimes, you want two. Or maybe even three. You know, in case you have the money and are just rolling people around. They are wonderful on Riven.


I should probably make sure to include this item. AD, armor, and lifesteal, plus a free ward. It's good, and it makes a strong recovery item, especially if you're in an AD lane. It's also a great jungling item. I tend to get The Bloodthirster, but if you are having trouble ganking or need a good recover item, then pick this up.



UTILITY ITEMS

Cooldown boots. Usually you will want Merc Treads. However, for those times that you don't, try these. Seriously, though, these things will go a LONG way towards getting you to that CDR cap. And who doesn't love Ki Burst every 4.5 seconds with %40? You can hammer out some spells pretty hard with this.


Armor on your feet. They're pretty cheap, and if your opponent does a lot of autoattack damage (Tryn/Olaf) or you need that early armor, this is a decent item to get. I don't usually get them, but they help in some situations.



When you don't have Cleanse or it just isn't enough, there's QSS. This removes ALL debuffs, including suppresses, Ignite, Mordekaiser's Children of the Grave, and Vladimir's Hemoplague. If you find that you need it, get it. Don't forget it also has good magic resist at a fairly cheap price. This could just as easily go into survivability because of the high magic resist, but it's primary use is the awesome active. It's fairly cheap for what you get, too.





NOTE: Remember to buy wards and elixirs as necessary. Vision Wards should be purchased occasionally for warding Dragon and Baron. Sight Wards should be purchased occasionally over the course of the game. Generally, you will buy Elixir of Fortitude, but don't ignore Elixir of Brilliance (lots of CDR).


Guide Top
Early Game

Riven can handle solo top or jungle. Good survivability and mobility, combined with high damage, gives her an edge in top lane. However, her complete lack of range makes her susceptible to being zoned.

Start with Boots of Speed and a set of HP pots. Grab cloth armor instead, if you prefer. Lots of AD champs go top, so it's very handy. When you can, get any other components you feel necessary for your lane. If you recall and can't afford a B. F. Sword, grab a Doran's Blade or two. Don't get more than three, though. Always get what you can afford, of course. If you can afford the whole item you're looking for, consider if it's worth getting the parts or the whole. Also, don't neglect HP pots if you need them.

If you are doing extremely well, feel free to attempt to pick up an early The Bloodthirster. It will give you a stupid good opportunity to snowball. However, don't force this item. If you aren't doing well enough to make this an easy purchase, don't worry about getting it early.

If you're up against a particularly AD heavy or strong counter lane, you might want to consider getting a Wriggle's Lantern. It's particularly helpful against that kind of lane. Otherwise, stack a couple Doran's Blades until you can get that B. F. Sword.



Harass with your Valor + Broken Wings combo or the safer Valor + Ki Burst combo. Use Broken Wings as an escape mechanism for the second combo. If you get the chance to do some real damage, such as when they've overextended or are just at low health, Valor into a Ki Burst, then unleash a full Broken Wings combo. Hit with your autoattacks between each part of the combo when you can.

Keep yourself alive. That's the main goal here. Early kills mean early levels and early ganks. Valor is your main tool for survival. Watch out for champs with absurd ranges or multiple CCs. Knockbacks, snares, and silences are Riven's biggest problems. It's hard to close the gap, and you take a lot of damage without Valor.

Situational Items

REMEMBER ALSO THAT ALL BUILDS ARE SITUATIONAL. THIS IS FOR THOSE WHO WANT SOME DIRECTION, NOT A PERFECT BUILD.

SURVIVABILITY ITEMS

Probably the single most cost-effective item in the game. HP, armor, and magic resist, along with some lovely stats shared with the entire group. Usually a tank will get this. It isn't a bad idea for you to get it. It does up your damage slightly, too. If you're roaming a bit or getting into teamfights, this item might be fairly solid. It won't help you as much lategame, though. Get it fairly early if you're going to buy it.

What? Mana on Riven? *Gasp* As amusing as it is for Riven to have 375 mana, the HP and MR will keep you alive, and the bubble of safety is a godsend. It blocks a single enemy skill every 45 seconds. This ranges from Ashe's Volley to Morgana's Soul Shackles. A caster's nightmare. With this and your Valor bubble, you'll be amazed what you can live through.

This is the single highest magic resist item in the game. It gives insane HP regen, especially if you've got something like Warmog's Armor. Never ignore the movespeed buff this item gives you. It's a big deal. Few champs will be able to escape you.



Okay, before you get on my case about this item being situational, let me explain why it's here. 99 armor, 20% CDR, and reduces AS of surrounding enemies by 20%. They don't have to attack you; you don't have to pop an active. It's like Thornmail but much better. You can ignore the mana on this, and it is still a solid defensive item. If a lategame Vayne or Tryndamere is wrecking your face, consider getting this item. It might just save your team.

Health, armor, HP regen, and slight CDR, with a nice slowing effect both in the passive and active. This item is very nice for when you need some more tankiness, or Thornmail isn't what you're looking for to stop the AD champs. It can slow the entire enemy team if you time it right, and that will really pay off.


Health, CDR, MR, and increased healing. I'd never given this item much thought on Riven until it was brought to my attention recently. Not a single stat is wasted, and it boosts lifesteal by 15%, as well as her already insane HP regen. This is a surprisingly fun defensive item for her. Especially if you have, say, two fully stacked BTs. Give this a try sometime.


It's really fun with Riven. Getting in the thick of things and hammering away while doing bonus magic damage. Stunning a few enemies with Ki Burst and doing damage just for them standing near you, never mind the hits of Broken Wings. The health and armor are nice benefits, but it really becomes almost useless late game. A decent midgame alternative if you're in more of a tanking role.


40% slow and some real solid HP to go with your Atma's Impaler. I think Warmog's Armor is a better item overall, but if you have the gold after you get your Atma's, go for it. It's not a bad item, and I used to use it more before I just started using warmog's more often. Give it a shot and see if you like it.



DAMAGE ITEMS

If you don't get Ignite, this item could potentially hold high value to you. If you're laning against a champ with high healing abilities, the active on this will help tremendously. The passive gives you just a little bit of an extra hit to all of your attacks. The total damage added is 32 each hit, so it will really start to hurt after a while.


Damage, MR, and a mini Blitzcrank passive. Zilean bombs making you rage? Karthus ult becoming a problem? Problem no more! Build Hexdrinker early and upgrade it later. It only triggers on magic damage, though. Keep that in mind.


It's pretty hard to ignore the highest non-stacking damage item in the game. It's expensive, but can be worth it if you really want to pile some hurt late game. I much prefer the lifesteal from BT, since Riven's passive counts for lifesteal, but if you're not sold on two BTs, then pick this up instead of one of them.


Core item and situational item? Yep. Want to know why? Because sometimes, you want two. Or maybe even three. You know, in case you have the money and are just rolling people around. They are wonderful on Riven.


I should probably make sure to include this item. AD, armor, and lifesteal, plus a free ward. It's good, and it makes a strong recovery item, especially if you're in an AD lane. It's also a great jungling item. I tend to get The Bloodthirster, but if you are having trouble ganking or need a good recover item, then pick this up.



UTILITY ITEMS

Cooldown boots. Usually you will want Merc Treads. However, for those times that you don't, try these. Seriously, though, these things will go a LONG way towards getting you to that CDR cap. And who doesn't love Ki Burst every 4.5 seconds with %40? You can hammer out some spells pretty hard with this.


Armor on your feet. They're pretty cheap, and if your opponent does a lot of autoattack damage (Tryn/Olaf) or you need that early armor, this is a decent item to get. I don't usually get them, but they help in some situations.



When you don't have Cleanse or it just isn't enough, there's QSS. This removes ALL debuffs, including suppresses, Ignite, Mordekaiser's Children of the Grave, and Vladimir's Hemoplague. If you find that you need it, get it. Don't forget it also has good magic resist at a fairly cheap price. This could just as easily go into survivability because of the high magic resist, but it's primary use is the awesome active. It's fairly cheap for what you get, too.





NOTE: Remember to buy wards and elixirs as necessary. Vision Wards should be purchased occasionally for warding Dragon and Baron. Sight Wards should be purchased occasionally over the course of the game. Generally, you will buy Elixir of Fortitude, but don't ignore Elixir of Brilliance (lots of CDR).


Guide Top
Early Game

Riven can handle solo top or jungle. Good survivability and mobility, combined with high damage, gives her an edge in top lane. However, her complete lack of range makes her susceptible to being zoned.

Start with Boots of Speed and a set of HP pots. Grab cloth armor instead, if you prefer. Lots of AD champs go top, so it's very handy. When you can, get any other components you feel necessary for your lane. If you recall and can't afford a B. F. Sword, grab a Doran's Blade or two. Don't get more than three, though. Always get what you can afford, of course. If you can afford the whole item you're looking for, consider if it's worth getting the parts or the whole. Also, don't neglect HP pots if you need them.

If you are doing extremely well, feel free to attempt to pick up an early The Bloodthirster. It will give you a stupid good opportunity to snowball. However, don't force this item. If you aren't doing well enough to make this an easy purchase, don't worry about getting it early.

If you're up against a particularly AD heavy or strong counter lane, you might want to consider getting a Wriggle's Lantern. It's particularly helpful against that kind of lane. Otherwise, stack a couple Doran's Blades until you can get that B. F. Sword.



Harass with your Valor + Broken Wings combo or the safer Valor + Ki Burst combo. Use Broken Wings as an escape mechanism for the second combo. If you get the chance to do some real damage, such as when they've overextended or are just at low health, Valor into a Ki Burst, then unleash a full Broken Wings combo. Hit with your autoattacks between each part of the combo when you can.

Keep yourself alive. That's the main goal here. Early kills mean early levels and early ganks. Valor is your main tool for survival. Watch out for champs with absurd ranges or multiple CCs. Knockbacks, snares, and silences are Riven's biggest problems. It's hard to close the gap, and you take a lot of damage without Valor.

Late Game

No one is really staying in their lane anymore, team fights are breaking out, towers are falling, and Baron is just waiting for some champs to make his day. Welcome to late game.

If you don't have The Bloodthirster yet, now would probably be a really good time to get one. You should be pretty tanky by now. If you aren't tanky enough, then there might be more than just items you need. However, if you're looking to turn a game around, do your best to find out what your team needs and work with them. Riven's tools are attack damage, short CC, and mobility. Find out what your team needs you to do most.




In every game, consider getting Last Whisper. Everything Riven does is physical, so any armor gets in your way. This is the best fix. Any champ building two or more armor items means you will need Last Whisper to do the most damage. You can get some CDR buying an Elixir of Brilliance. It's a cheap item that gives the same CDR, and you won't be as reliant on the small amount of gold late game. Yeah, the AP is pointless, but I have no problems buying 10% CDR for 250G. Worth it if you get to this point.



ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS BUILD FOR THE SITUATION AT HAND. IF YOU ARE DYING, GET ITEMS THAT LET YOU LIVE. IF YOU ARE LIVING BUT NOT DOING DAMAGE, GET SOME DAMAGE. DO NOT JUST BLINDLY FOLLOW BUILDS.

Runes

Jungling Runes

Runes

Greater Mark of Desolation
4
Greater Mark of Strength
5
Greater Seal of Resilience
9
Greater Glyph of Shielding
9
Greater Quintessence of Strength
3

Greater Mark of Strength - Best AD runes at the moment. Take them.

Greater Mark of Desolation - You need about 10 Armor Pen or more for smoother jungling. Because of Sunder, I pick up about 4 of these. You choose the best balance between AD and Arpen that you like, or you can just use mine. But it's fairly easy to enter a custom game by yourself and practice jungling a bit. Toy around with it and find what works best.

Greater Seal of Resilience - These are arguably the only seals you want for jungling. Scaling seals won't do enough, since they only reach the effectiveness of flat seals by level 4, and you won't need them by then.

Greater Glyph of Shielding - Scaling MR glyphs. She doesn't need the MR as early as she needs the armor, and these catch up to the flat MR pretty quick. You'll be jumping into mid and bot lanes, and sometimes the opposing jungler does magic damage as well. MR helps quite a bit.

Greater Quintessence of Strength - AD to give your autoattacks and skills a boost. These give the most balanced long-term benefits overall. It is not recommended that you change these.

Some alternative runes are greater marks of desolation and Greater Glyph of Warding. These are suitable for swapping with the ones mentioned above.

Masteries


Masteries are the same as her laning build, but you won't have Summoner's Wrath. You'll have a point in Butcher instead.

Defense will be maxed out Resistance and Hardiness, and then you take Tough Skin and Bladed Armor. This speeds up your jungle rapidly.

That's all I have to say on that.





Summoner Spells

Choose Smite and Flash. I can't really see a reason not to get Flash. And don't you dare think of not taking Smite.

NOTE ON SMITE
IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE. TAKE THIS.
Riven is a good jungler. Not one of the best, necessarily, but she has excellent ganks from her mobility and CC, and her jungle times are fairly quick. TAKE SMITE IF YOU JUNGLE. Why? It's for securing Baron, Dragon, and buffs. Oh, and killing blue wraith. Because that jerk said nasty things about your mother.
TAKE IT.

Masteries


Masteries are the same as her laning build, but you won't have Summoner's Wrath. You'll have a point in Butcher instead.

Defense will be maxed out Resistance and Hardiness, and then you take Tough Skin and Bladed Armor. This speeds up your jungle rapidly.

That's all I have to say on that.





Summoner Spells

Choose Smite and Flash. I can't really see a reason not to get Flash. And don't you dare think of not taking Smite.

NOTE ON SMITE
IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE. TAKE THIS.
Riven is a good jungler. Not one of the best, necessarily, but she has excellent ganks from her mobility and CC, and her jungle times are fairly quick. TAKE SMITE IF YOU JUNGLE. Why? It's for securing Baron, Dragon, and buffs. Oh, and killing blue wraith. Because that jerk said nasty things about your mother.
TAKE IT.

Credits

Special thanks go to all those who have looked over and reviewed this guide, offered their time and knowledge, and gave an unknown person like me the time of day. Thank you so very much. It means a lot to me.

Jhoijhoi
Bryun
Calibern
Symphunny
SirSpankALot
Adonikam
PsiGuard
Luther3000

Thanks to all those who commented and voted on this guide. Everything that's been said has made its way into the guide in some form or another. Your effort has been tremendously beneficial.

Thanks to Jhoijhoi for the line dividers. She was nice enough to let me use them. ^_^
Also, she did the top banner for me (OMG still excited).

Update Log

5/24/11: Build changes, small fixes, and more.

3/19/11: Build changes, skill changes, and overall guide updates. Added some material for the jungle section; I'll finish it in the next few days.

2/23/11: Riven got nerfed, and I fixed multiple sections of the guide to account for mastery changes and decisions on playstyle.

11/8/11: Build reposted at the suggestion of other Moba members after making significant changes since it's initial creation.