by RobJobs

[2.6a] The Only Riven Guide You’ll Ever Need

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Due to an extensive amount of combos and animation cancels, video demonstrations are uploaded via Imgur and not YouTube for faster page load speed, which may result in some users being unable to see thumbnails and/or loading videos of lower quality. If that's the case, you can instead check the 4 minutes YouTube video linked to this guide in the sidebar or at the end of the guide for mobile users.
Patch 2.6a
March 08, 2022 13:17
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The Only Riven Guide You’ll Ever Need

Learn how to outplay and outthink your opponents with this in-depth Riven guide. Designed for seasoned players, it will teach you everything there is to know about the highest skill cap champion of League of Legends.

Pros

  • Riven has one of the highest skill ceiling in the entire game. If fully mastered, she is nearly unstoppable.
  • Riven is an all-rounder that can engage, splitpush, peel, assassinate, and so on and so forth. While she may not excel in one aspect in particular, she is extremely versatile and can adjust her playstyle to fit her team’s needs.
  • Riven’s kit allow her to stick to targets and chain cc them with little room for counterplay while still dealing massive damage. This makes her a very deadly threat, especially when she has Flash up and has the potential to instantly AoE stun multiple enemies.
  • Due to her massive skillcap, Riven has a lot of outplay potential. At the highest level, she can win even against her known counterpicks with perfect play. None of her matchups are straight up unwinnable.
  • She has very good AD scaling and will become hard to deal with once she gets high AH. She also has one of the strongest level 1 and level 5 powerspikes.
  • Riven counters every assassin and can be used as a strong counterpick in the midlane.

Cons

  • Riven’s high skill ceiling requires an extensive amount of practice to reach. While she seems to have a very simple kit, Riven has the greatest amount of unique combos and creative ways to deal damage out of every champions. It is therefore impossible for a new Riven player to make full use of her potential.
  • Since half of Riven’s abilites are dashes, she is vulnerable to just about every form of cc there is.
  • Riven has no built-in armor penetration or true damage. Since she relies entirely on AD and does not benefit from AS and on-hit items such as Botrk, she can easily get countered simply by stacking armor. In fact, rushing Plated Steelcaps alone can prevent someone from getting one shot during the early and middle game.
  • Nearly all of Riven’s Baron Lane matchups are skill dependent and require prior experience. She can easily be punished if she mess up, get behind or doesn’t make use of her powerspikes.
  • She can get countered easily especially if both players are at equal skill level. As per stated above, Riven often needs to outplay mechanically just to stay on equal grounds. Securing a lead requires very accurate play, something that isn’t achievable for casual Riven players.
  • Despite having bruiser itemizations, Riven is one of the squishiest Baron laners with no innate sustain and poor base defensive stats. This makes her very easy to shut down if she ever get cc’d and can’t use any of her dashes.

Riven Build

Best Build Guide for Riven

Bruiser Build
Black Cleaver
Death's Dance
Mercury's Treads
Sterak's Gage
Serylda's Grudge
Guardian Angel
ER Build
Essence Reaver
Black Cleaver
Mercury's Treads
Death's Dance
Serylda's Grudge
Guardian Angel
ER Ghostblade Build
Essence Reaver
Youmuu's Ghostblade
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Death's Dance
Serylda's Grudge
Guardian Angel
Crit Build
Essence Reaver
Infinity Edge
Mercury's Treads
Death's Dance
Navori Quickblades
Serylda's Grudge
Lethality Build
Black Cleaver
Youmuu's Ghostblade
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
Serylda's Grudge
Edge of Night
Guardian Angel
Glass cannon build
Essence Reaver
Infinity Edge
Gluttonous Greaves
Navori Quickblades
Bloodthirster
Guardian Angel

Item Build Description

Additional information on the items

STARTER ITEMS

  • Long SwordLong Sword : Grants bonus AD and should always be purchased over any other items. Your level 1 all-in will be much stronger with Long SwordLong Sword compared to the alternative starting options. Ruby CrystalRuby Crystal which builds into Black CleaverBlack Cleaver isn’t enough to tank even one ability, and therefore should not be picked even against poke matchup. 

FIRST RECALL

  • Caulfield's WarhammerCaulfield's Warhammer : Along with its bonus AD, it also gives bonus AH which will helps you use your abilities more often and allows you to use extended Broken WingsBroken Wings easily in the early laning phase. This item builds into both Black CleaverBlack Cleaver and Essence ReaverEssence Reaver , depending on which build you’re going for.
  • Serrated DirkSerrated Dirk : You can rush this item even if you don't intend to buy a full lethality item. For only 1000 gold, you get 20 AD and 10 armor penetration. This can make your early all-ins much stronger and help you secure a strong advantage. If you don't want to buy Youmuu's GhostbladeYoumuu's Ghostblade or Duskblade of DraktharrDuskblade of Draktharr , you can sell this item later on once the 10 armor penetration is no longer relevant. 
  • Boots of SpeedBoots of Speed : Buy this if you have an extra 500 gold and can’t spend it toward your first item.

EARLY BOOTS

After getting your second item, you should always buy a mid tier boots before going for your third item. Not only are they cheap, but they also have excellent passives that can be used to counter the enemy team. 

  • Ionian Boots of LucidityIonian Boots of Lucidity : Only buy this if you’re snowballing very hard and do not need armor or tenacity, or if you’re building crit & lethality. Otherwise, the two other options are usually far better.
  • Mercury's TreadsMercury's Treads : Since RivenRiven is very weak to cc and relies on dashes to fight, having 35% tenacity is extremely helpful. 
  • Plated SteelcapsPlated Steelcaps : If you’re against an AD matchup or if you’re against an AD heavy team, you should always buy this for the much needed 15% reduced damage from basic attacks. If the enemy team has mixed damage and doesn’t specifically favour AD, Mercury's TreadsMercury's Treads becomes a better option since it also reduces the amount of cc you receive.

After you get your core items, or if you need to counter a certain champion, you can then purchase an enchantement.

CORE ITEMS

  • Black CleaverBlack Cleaver : Staple item for RivenRiven . Since RivenRiven relies heavily on AD and does not have any built-in armor penetration, having up to 25% armor penetration is a must have. Additionally, it gives an entire 25 AH which is very important for an ability reliant champion such as RivenRiven .
  • Death's DanceDeath's Dance : Another must have item. Being able to delay damage is huge for melee champions and will allow you to survive in fights you would have otherwise died. While it may not gives as much AD or lifesteal as BloodthirsterBloodthirster , its passive and extra AH makes it a much better choice, especially at the highest level. 
  • Serylda's GrudgeSerylda's Grudge : Very powerful for the same reason as Black CleaverBlack Cleaver . While its passive isn’t too impressive, the stats it provides is exceptionally good. Used alongside Black CleaverBlack Cleaver , you will be able to shred a huge amount of armor and deal damage even against tanks.
  • Essence ReaverEssence Reaver : This is the other item that gives both high AD and high AH. With a whooping 25 AH, you can immediately reduce your cooldowns by 20% while still enjoy big damages. Unlike Black CleaverBlack Cleaver , it does not give any armor penetration, which makes it viable only against team that have few tanks.
  • Youmuu's GhostbladeYoumuu's Ghostblade : Strongest first item for RivenRiven . Gives an enormous 50 AD as well as 10 armor penetration. With its movement speed passive, you will be able to roam very efficiently and deal huge amount of burst damage. Should always be considered when you’re snowballing.

ITEM POOL

  • Guardian AngelGuardian Angel : Its passive is a huge boost for RivenRiven ’s teamfight capability, while also giving a generous amount of AD and armor. Should always be included in builds where you’re neglecting defensive items.
  • Mortal ReminderMortal Reminder : Gives a flat 30% armor penetration, as well as applying grievous wounds for 3 seconds. Since it doesn’t give AH, it should only be chosen over Serylda's GrudgeSerylda's Grudge if you need to reduce enemy healing.
  • Sterak's GageSterak's Gage : Heavily increases RivenRiven ’s sustain and make her last much longer in extended teamfights, while also giving a great amount of AD. Best bought if you’re also running Black CleaverBlack Cleaver to make full use of its Lifeline passive.
  • Infinity EdgeInfinity Edge : Staple item for any crit builds. Gives a massive amount of AD while also increasing your crit damage by 30%. Can be included if you build Essence ReaverEssence Reaver and are against a squishy team with little armor.
  • Navori QuickbladesNavori Quickblades : A crit item with a very interesting cooldown reducing passive. It relies on having high crit chance to work, which makes it viable only in Essence ReaverEssence Reaver builds with multiple crit items. The reason this item isn’t considered a "core item" despite its perfect passive is due to the fact that it shouldn’t ever be rushed, and is simply a late game bonus for the already powerful Essence ReaverEssence Reaver + Infinity EdgeInfinity Edge combo.
  • BloodthirsterBloodthirster : As of patch 2.4, this item is now a crit item, which can become an interesting alternative to Death's DanceDeath's Dance if you’re going for a full crit build. However, Death's DanceDeath's Dance 's passive is still an absolute powerhouse that should never and will never be overlooked. 
  • Edge of NightEdge of Night : A lethality item that provides HP and a periodic spellshield. This allows you to increase your damage output against squishy targets while simultaneously having a bit more sustain. Note that the passive can easily be triggered by poke or aoe damage, so you will need to be careful as to not waste it before a key teamfight.
  • Duskblade of DraktharrDuskblade of Draktharr : If you’re going lethality or playing as jungle, this can be a decent choice for additional burst damage and AH, plus a powerful slow. Committing to a full lethality build will require a lot of skill and a different playstyle to perform accurately, so it is not recommended for new RivenRiven players. 
  • Umbral GlaiveUmbral Glaive : If you’re going full lethality, this item can provide a lot of utility alongside the extra damage and AH, allowing you to locate and remove wards. Since you will be building Youmuu's GhostbladeYoumuu's Ghostblade , having this item will increase your influence.
  • HexdrinkerHexdrinker & Maw of MalmortiusMaw of Malmortius : Buy this if you’re against an AP heavy team where Mercury's TreadsMercury's Treads isn’t enough. If the enemy team has a fed AP assassin early on, rush HexdrinkerHexdrinker . Note that both Maw of MalmortiusMaw of Malmortius and Sterak's GageSterak's Gage share a Lifeline passive, so make sure that you do not get both since Lifeline will only trigger once every 90s.
  • Adaptive HelmAdaptive Helm : If the enemy team has a multiple fed DoT mage building Liandry's TormentLiandry's Torment , this item can heavily reduce the damage you take from them. If they don’t have DoT effects, Maw of MalmortiusMaw of Malmortius is a much better choice, since Adaptive HelmAdaptive Helm does not give any AD at all.
  • ThornmailThornmail : Build this if the enemy has multiple fed AD champions with high DPS. Otherwise, the armor you get from Plated SteelcapsPlated Steelcaps and Guardian AngelGuardian Angel are usually more than enough. ThornmailThornmail does not give any AD, and shouldn’t be considered in other scenarios.
  • Randuin's OmenRanduin's Omen : An alternative to ThornmailThornmail if the fed enemy carries also build crit items and has high AS. Otherwise, ThornmailThornmail would be better as it gives much more armor.


APPEALING ITEMS THAT YOU SHOULD AVOID

  • Trinity ForceTrinity Force : Unlike common beliefs, RivenRiven does not benefit from Spellblade passives. In a normal rotation, Spellblade will proc at most 2 to 3 times. RivenRiven should not be playing around Spellblade, as it makes her DPS significantly weaker. Additionally, Trinity ForceTrinity Force is very expensive and gives only a meager 20 AD. The 40% AS it provides is completely wasted, since RivenRiven does not benefit from AS, especially if you also want to use Spellblade, since your Fast Combo will be faster thus giving even less windows to proc said passive.
  • Blade of the Ruined KingBlade of the Ruined King : Since RivenRiven does not benefit from AS, on-hit effects are almost completely useless. Not to mention that this item also grants only 20 AD.
  • Phantom DancerPhantom Dancer : Crit item that does not give AD but instead a useless 35% AS. Its passive does seem like a good choice for full crit no defense builds, but other than that 90s CD shield all you’re really getting is 25% crit chance for 2800 gold.
  • Solari ChargebladeSolari Chargeblade : Doesn’t have AD. However, it does give 25 AH and has an interesting passive that seemingly work perfectly with RivenRiven , but in reality the amount of damage you get from it is abysmal the longer the game goes. No longer gives true damage as of patch 2.4b.


ENCHANTMENTS

There are only 3 enchantments that you should ever consider:

  • Teleport EnchantTeleport Enchant : A staple enchantment for Baron laners. Depending on the state of the game, you can get it as a third item for early cross-map plays. Since the Baron lane is pretty far from the biggest teamfight area, the Dragon pit, having Teleport EnchantTeleport Enchant will let you fully enjoy wave management techniques before coming to the rescue.
  • [stasis enchant]: If Teleport EnchantTeleport Enchant isn’t needed, you should always be going for [stasis enchant]. If used correctly, you can dodge powerful abilities and cc chains, which can often make it a game changer in many fights.
  • Quicksilver EnchantQuicksilver Enchant : Only go for this enchantment over [stasis enchant] if the enemy team has powerful single cc abilties. Otherwise, the option to become untargetable for 2.5s is just that much better.

Other enchantments:

  • Protobelt EnchantProtobelt Enchant : This enchantment seems interesting but is in reality very unnecessary. There is no reason you should pick an extra dash when you already have 4 over game changing actives.
  • Gargoyle EnchantGargoyle Enchant : A very situational enchant that gives you massive sustain for a short duration in exchange for decreased damage. Some players have found decent use for this item, but it shouldn’t be constantly picked over RivenRiven ’s more powerful alternatives.

FULL BUILDS EXAMPLES

The proposed 6 builds should only act as examples and should not be slapped every games without situational modifications.

  • Bruiser Build: This is the standard conventional RivenRiven build and can be used universally against any type of comps. It makes uses of AD items with defensive stats to make RivenRiven a teamfight powerhouse. With the ability to shred huge amount of armor, countering RivenRiven by stacking armor won’t as efficient, and Plated SteelcapsPlated Steelcaps alone will not be enough to defend against RivenRiven ’s damage output.
  • ER Build: This build replaces Sterak's GageSterak's Gage with Essence ReaverEssence Reaver as a first item for extra damage and early game powerspike. With the first and second item both giving 25 AH, RivenRiven can get 50 AH by the second item which is equal to 33% CDR. With the help of Hunter GeniusHunter Genius , you can easily get 40% CDR very early into the game.
  • ER Ghostblade Build: This build takes the ER build itemization but replaces Black CleaverBlack Cleaver with Youmuu's GhostbladeYoumuu's Ghostblade for an even stronger early game powerspike. With two of RivenRiven ’s strongest early game items combined, you can turn a lead into a very devastating snowball. It also uses Ionian Boots of LucidityIonian Boots of Lucidity to further boost your strength and abilities. I personally prefer rushing Essence ReaverEssence Reaver for a higher early AH, but buying Youmuu's GhostbladeYoumuu's Ghostblade first is also an equally good option for stronger roams.
  • Crit Build: While most RivenRiven builds have Essence ReaverEssence Reaver , few of them actually build crit items other than Essence ReaverEssence Reaver as it isn’t necessary nor consistant due to the lack of defensive items and armor penetration. However, building several crit items will make RivenRiven ‘s AA deal damage equal to JhinJhin ’s 4th AA against any champions without armor, which can be a powerful option if you face a squishy team with low cc.
  • Lethality Build: This build uses two lethality items with Black CleaverBlack Cleaver and Serylda's GrudgeSerylda's Grudge to have an enormous damage output. Since you will be having four items that remove armour, you will be able to deal with both tanks and hypercarries. Unlike crit builds that mostly increases the damage from your AAs and [riven:passive], lethality items also apply to physical damage from abilities, thus boosting the power of your instantaneous one shot combos.
  • Glass Cannon Build: This builds goes for 100% crit chance at the cost of early defensive items. It replaces the almighty Death's DanceDeath's Dance with BloodthirsterBloodthirster for enormous amounts of damage output in exchange for reduced defenses. Since 4 crit items are required to reach 100% crit chance, and at least one defensive item is needed to stay alive, this build has zero armor penetration and will not work against teams with more than one tanks. Since every AAs will deal an insane amount of damage, you can use Hunter VampirismHunter Vampirism as well as Gluttonous GreavesGluttonous Greaves to heal back to full health whenever you attack. You can also swap Guardian AngelGuardian Angel with Spirit VisageSpirit Visage if the enemy team deals more AP than AD while giving yourself even more lifesteal.


OTHER SITUATIONAL BUILDS

  • Engage Build: After building Black CleaverBlack Cleaver and Death's DanceDeath's Dance , you can rush Guardian AngelGuardian Angel which allows you to all-in and continue fighting in the event that you get deleted before your team follow up quickly enough. See Playstyle Breakdown for more information.
  • Tank Build: After building Black CleaverBlack Cleaver and Death's DanceDeath's Dance , you may start to look for extensive defensive items depending on the enemy team comp. Remember that both Maw of MalmortiusMaw of Malmortius and Sterak's GageSterak's Gage share the same Lifeline passive, so make sure to never purchase both at once. See Playstyle Breakdown for more information.
  • Support Build: If you're duoing with a friend, you can try this borderline troll build in the Dragon Lane. The idea is to stack defensive items and make use of your cc to peel for your adc, but by sacrificing damage since you won't have enough gold to buy any of the normal bruiser items. Here's the build: Sunfire AegisSunfire Aegis > Gargoyle EnchantGargoyle Enchant > Abyssal MaskAbyssal Mask > ThornmailThornmail > Sterak's GageSterak's Gage > Protector's VowProtector's Vow with AftershockAftershock . I won't go too much into details as to how you should play this and how the build work since it isn't really a viable competitive pick, but remember that your goal is to keep your adc alive, and make use of your cooldowns to do so while providing as much team wide utility as possible.

Riven Runes

Best Runes for Riven

Keystone
Conqueror
Conqueror
Domination
Brutal
Brutal
Resolve
Hunter Titan
Hunter Titan
Inspiration
Hunter Genius
Hunter Genius
  • ConquerorConqueror provides up to 30 bonus AD when fully stacked, which makes it the best keystone for RivenRiven due to her reliance on AD. Additionally, the bonus 10% damage helps her scale into the late game. Alternatively, you can pick ElectrocuteElectrocute or Phase RushPhase Rush depending on enemy team comp. Other keystone choices are not viable.
  • BrutalBrutal gives a flat 7 AD and 2% armor penetration. This makes it an excellent choice to boost RivenRiven ’s level 1 and level 5 all-ins, helping her secure an early lead. Gathering StormGathering Storm can be an alternative if your team does better late game, or if you're up against a tank matchup. If you're building crit, you can instead go for Hunter VampirismHunter Vampirism to heal off the massive AA damage. TriumphTriumph seems like an interesting choice to boost RivenRiven ’s teamfight capability, but it won’t work well if you or your team get behind.
  • Resolve tree is always situational. If you're against a lane bully or counterpick, choose Bone PlatingBone Plating . If you're against a ranged champion, go for Second WindSecond Wind . Otherwise, Hunter TitanHunter Titan is the optimal rune choice as it gives up to 20% tenacity, which is quite important when half of your abilities are dashes. Adaptive CarapaceAdaptive Carapace is objectively very strong in the early game and may even be a better choice than Bone PlatingBone Plating against lane bullies considering how the bonus defensive stats is always active if you’re below 50% health. However, it is only relevant if you have poor wave management skills and often get to low health Ideally, you should always be able to farm safely regardless of what the enemy laner does unless you mess up the wave so bad that they can zone you away even on a small map. If they’re ranged and can harass you while you freeze, then Second WindSecond Wind would’ve been good enough to stay healthy. Additionally, it is very easy to time a good recall and catch the wave as you walk back to lane. Since a 1v1 fight especially between Baron laners should be decided within the first 3 seconds, if you’re on the losing side you should easily be able to reset and not have to use Adaptive CarapaceAdaptive Carapace at all. Which is why Bone PlatingBone Plating is usually chosen over Adaptive CarapaceAdaptive Carapace
  • Hunter GeniusHunter Genius is a must have for the much needed 15 AH. If you play a matchup correctly, you shouldn't ever need the additional healing from Sweet ToothSweet Tooth .
Keystone
Electrocute
Electrocute
Domination
Brutal
Brutal
Resolve
Hunter Titan
Hunter Titan
Inspiration
Hunter Genius
Hunter Genius

If you’re building crit or lethality, you can swap ConquerorConqueror with ElectrocuteElectrocute . Since ElectrocuteElectrocute is stronger than ConquerorConqueror in the early game, you will have an easier time securing leads with the bonus burst damage it provides. Riven's kit makes it very easy to proc ElectrocuteElectrocute , since most of her combos have at least 3 instances of damage.


Keystone
Phase Rush
Phase Rush
Domination
Brutal
Brutal
Resolve
Hunter Titan
Hunter Titan
Inspiration
Hunter Genius
Hunter Genius

An alternative to ElectrocuteElectrocute is Phase RushPhase Rush . If you’re building crit or lethality, most of the time it’s either because your opponent is squishy or because you’re faker and you’re playing RivenRiven mid. In both of these cases, often your opponent happens to be ranged, and with Phase RushPhase Rush you will be able to trade much easier by using more abilities to gap close, retreating only with the bonus movement speed. This can gives you more leniency in melee vs ranged matchups if you have difficulty dealing with them. 

Skill Order

How to distribute skill points

Runic Blade
Runic Blade - Passive
Broken Wings
Broken Wings
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Ki Burst
Ki Burst
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Valor
Valor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Blade Of The Exile
Blade Of The Exile
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Summoner Spells

When to take which summoners

Flash
A must have in every scenario. Not only is it extremely versatile, but it is also required in many advanced Riven combos.
Ignite
Gives kill pressure and reduces target healing for 5 seconds. Until you get to buy an Executioner's Calling, this can act as an alternative for applying Grievous Wounds. It will also help you win level 1 trades and early skirmishes.
Smite
Must have if you’re playing as Jungle. In general, you want to upgrade to Red Smite for a stronger duelling, but if you get kited a lot Blue Smite can also work.
Exhaust
Pick if against a Tryndamere. Not absolutely necessary, but it can help you survive against all-ins especially at level 5. Alternatively, you can go for Ignite to secure a kill after Undying Rage runs out. Read matchup section for more info.

Riven Matchups & Counters

Detailed information on how to play matchups and counters

Nasus
Easy
Nasus
Singed
Easy
Singed
Garen
Easy
Garen
Dr. Mundo
Easy
Dr. Mundo
Yasuo
Easy
Yasuo
Malphite
Easy
Malphite
Darius
Hard
Darius
Kennen
Hard
Kennen
Rengar
Skill
Rengar
Wukong
Skill
Wukong
Tryndamere
Skill
Tryndamere
Teemo
Skill
Teemo
Akali
Skill
Akali
Renekton
Skill
Renekton
Camille
Skill
Camille
Jax
Skill
Jax
Irelia
Skill
Irelia
Gragas
Skill
Gragas
Fiora
Skill
Fiora
Riven
Skill
Riven

Your goal in this matchup is to abuse him before he outscale you. This means that you must prevent him from farming as much as possible. Once he starts to outscale, you will no longer be able to fight him and should look for teamfights and map presence instead.

At all times, you should look to freeze the lane, unless he’s gone and you can shove it and crash it into his tower before he comes back to lane. If you can freeze the lane, regardless of where, make sure you harass him whenever he walk up to farm. You can tank Spirit FireSpirit Fire ; save ValorValor for Siphoning StrikeSiphoning Strike . If NasusNasus uses WitherWither , do not use basic attacks and only use your abilities. Buy an early Executioner's CallingExecutioner's Calling .

Level 1

Let both minion waves hit each other before walking up and zoning NasusNasus . If he stays, all-in. Otherwise, keep walking up even if you might miss out on cs. Only back off when the second wave is coming to avoid taking minion aggro. You can also extend Broken WingsBroken Wings in bush to all-in with third Broken WingsBroken Wings .

Level 2

You can take Ki BurstKi Burst for additional damage when harassing. As per mentionned above, there is no need to block Spirit FireSpirit Fire unless he's going AP, in which case Spirit FireSpirit Fire will deal a huge amount of burst damage. 

Level 3-4

Keep zoning NasusNasus away. If he decides to last hit with something other than Spirit FireSpirit Fire , go for a short trade. All-in only if he's low, otherwise he can use WitherWither and trade back.

Level 5

If you've been playing the early levels correctly, you should get level 5 first or even be ahead by an entire level or two. You can now let the wave push toward your tower, and once NasusNasus get far from his tower you can all-in with [ignite]. Keep abusing your early game advantage until he gets Trinity ForceTrinity Force and start to scale, in which case you want to buy Teleport EnchantTeleport Enchant for cross-map plays.

Ressources

Riven

Settings & Skins

There is a crucial setting that you must disable in order to perform at your highest potential.

Go to Settings > Controls > Targeting > Dash In Move Direction > Off

By disabling this setting, Broken WingsBroken Wings will stop at your locked target when tapped. If it's enabled, Broken WingsBroken Wings will always go through your target, which will often put you in dangerous positions. 

Note that disabling Dash In Move Direction also means that if you don't have a locked target, tapping Broken WingsBroken Wings will make you dash toward your closest target. Therefore, during teamfights and skirmishes where there are more than one enemies, make sure to manually aim Broken WingsBroken Wings to navigate around the map.


Additionally, you must play with sound effects on. RivenRiven relies on timing her abilities based on her basic attacks, and sound cues for her basic attacks play a big factor in your mechanical speed and abilities. Note that sound cues timing and delays depends on the skin you’ve chosen, and are different for different skins. It is therefore recommended to use the Practice Tool to get used to the timing and animation of your basic attacks and Fast Combo whenever you buy a new skin.

Taking animations and sound effects into account, the best RivenRiven skins mechanics performance wise from highest to lowest is as follows:

Sentinel Riven > Original > Arcade Riven

  • Sentinel Riven has smooth animations and sound cues. They are quite visible and can help with your combo timings.
  • The original skin works well and should always do the trick, however its animations aren’t as flashy and may be hard to distinguish.
  • Arcade Riven is very clunky and has too many unnecessary colourful effects. The basic attacks + sound feel very odd and can even impair your combos. The only advantage of this skin is the usage of its unique recall animation to hide Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile ’s animation.

Good skin selection is neither required nor necessary, and should only be considered if you have a lot of trouble with your current skin. Before buying a skin, make sure to check the skin spotlight on YouTube to get a general idea of how the animation and sound effects will look like.

Riven

Learning Strategies

Learning a mechanical champion is already a challenge by itself, but when that mechanical champion has more skill matchups than every other matchups types combined, it becomes that much harder. Below is a proposed strategy to flatten the learning curve.


  1. Before every session, spend 10-15 minutes in practice tool. Use this time to perfect your Fast Combo, animation cancels, cs/min and combos that has [flash]. This can act as an excellent warm-up while also increasing your mechanical accuracy. Fast Combo can be done on a dummy placed against a wall to make it an immobile and easier target, before putting it in the middle of a lane. Once you’re confident, you may then practice your combo against a bot.

  2. Play in the Baron Lane with [ignite]. Even if you’re only going to play Riven Mid or Jg, having experience against braindead (most of them) melee powerhouses will help you understand your damage output by level/item and help you know when a certain combo is more useful than another. There is no need to check out any guides or the matchup section before the game starts: play aggressively. While this doesn’t mean you should permanently engage as soon as you can press [riven:1], not being afraid of trading will help you get to know RivenRiven at a much faster rate compared to someone who hugs his tower because he read that DariusDarius is a hard matchup, for example. If you have trouble in a certain matchup, only then study it by reading/watching tutorials on said matchup. Every matchup descriptions in this guide has at least 3 full game gameplay videos by high elo Riven mains (only PC gameplays for now due to limited ressources).

  3. Repeat. If you still have trouble with a certain concept, mechanic or matchup, feel free to ask a question by leaving a comment, or visit the r/RivenMains subreddit on reddit.com.
Riven

Abilities

Runic BladeRunic Blade : Abilities charge RivenRiven ’s blade up to 3 times. Attacks expend charges to deal x (AD%) physical damage. Deals 50% damage to structures.

  • Deals 22% AD at level 1, increasing by 2% per level until 50% AD at level 15.
  • Is responsible for a good portion of RivenRiven ’s damage.
  • Passive duration is reset upon spending a charge or casting an ability.
  • Bonus damage can critically strike.
  • Bonus damage can apply lifesteal.

Broken WingsBroken Wings : Slash in a direction up to 3 times. Each slash deals physical damage (Base Damage + AD%) to nearby enemies. The third slash crosses terrain and knocks up nearby enemies for 0.5 seconds. Tap casting prioritizes champions and large monsters within slash range.

  • Maxed 1st for DPS.
  • Cannot be used while immobile.
  • 3rd cast can jump over any terrain where the current dash range exceeds 50% of the wall’s length.
  • Does not scale with movement speed.
  • Cooldown starts to tick after first cast.
  • Cooldown does not decrease after level up. Has a set cooldown of 13 seconds.
  • Can be used to cancel the animation of your AAs and other abilities.
Level
1
234
Base Damage
15406590
AD%
50%55%60%65%

Ki BurstKi Burst : Stun nearby enemies for 0.75 seconds, dealing x physical damage (Base Damage + 100% bonus AD).

  • Maxed last due to bonus damage being unnecessary for RivenRiven ’s DPS. However, you can put an extra point in Ki BurstKi Burst at level 7 or level 8 before maxing ValorValor in order to get 40 extra damage, which is enough to quickly clear minions with Broken WingsBroken Wings + Ki BurstKi Burst in the middle game. If you want lane priority or are against someone with faster wave clear, this can be an option although not required.
  • You are rooted while the animation is active.
  • Stun range is shorter than what most new RivenRiven players think, and may take time to get used to.
  • Animation can be cancelled.
  • Can be used to cancel the animation of your AAs and other abilities.
Level
1234
Base Damage
5595135175
Cooldown
10987

ValorValor : Dash in a direction and gain a shield absorbing x damage (Base Shield + 100% bonus AD) for 1.5 seconds. ValorValor cannot cross terrain.

  • Maxed 2nd to decrease ability cooldown, thus increasing RivenRiven ’s fighting chances.
  • Cannot be used while immobile.
  • Cannot cross impassable terrain, including player created ones.
  • Can be used into a wall to reduce the distance between RivenRiven and the wall. Works best if RivenRiven does not directly touch the wall.
  • Can be used to cancel the animation of your AAs and other abilities.
Level
1
2
3
4
Base Shield
105145185225
Cooldown
10987

Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile : Expand RivenRiven 's blade for 15 seconds, granting 20% bonus AD, increasing the range of her attacks and damaging abilities, and granting a single cast of Wind Slash.

Wind Slash: Launches a shockwave, dealing x (Minimum Base Damage + 60% bonus AD) to y damage (Maximum Base Damage + 180% bonus AD) based upon enemies' missing health.

  • Massive powerspike. If Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile is almost up and you’re in a pinch, always try to run without using any abilities and turn back as soon as you can cast ValorValor + Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile . This is what a lot of early RivenRiven outplays look like.
  • Increases the range of Broken WingsBroken Wings and Ki BurstKi Burst .
  • After 1 second, gains the ability to use Wind Slash.
  • Wind Slash’s maximum damage is capped when target is at 25% HP.
  • Cooldown does not tick after initial cast, nor after casting Wind Slash.
  • Wind Slash’s animation may be bigger than actual ability hitbox.
  • Both charges has a animation duration of 0.25s.
  • Animation can be cancelled for both changes.
  • Can be used to cancel the animation of your AAs and other abilities.
Level
1
2
3
Base Damage
100-300150-450200-600
Cooldown
907050
Riven

Animation Cancels

There is a mechanism in League of Legends that's called animation canceling. As the name suggests, it allows some champions to cancel the animation of an ability, and therefore cast more abilities within a certain time frame. While many champions have some sort of animation cancels, none of them rival RivenRiven , who is able to cancel the animation of all four abilities and even her basic atttacks, in more ways than one. If used correctly, you will be able to dish out damage that exceeds the mathematical limit. 


There exist two basic animation cancels that are very crucial to understand: the Fast Combo and the Doublecast.

The Fast Combo is a combo where you immediately cast Broken WingsBroken Wings to cancel part of RivenRiven 's basic attack animation. By doing this, you increase your attack speed when executing the combo and can increase your maximum DPS. This was initially a bug that was eventually added by Riot as a part of RivenRiven 's kit. Note that canceling RivenRiven 's basic attack animation is not limited to this ability sequence. You can cancel said animation as long as you cast Broken WingsBroken Wings within the next fraction of a second upon attacking a target. Additionally, it will still work if you cast Broken WingsBroken Wings over your target, a combo that's called Q Dancing. By using Broken WingsBroken Wings over your target, your dash will not stop at your target but rather go over it, which can help you dodge key abilities such as CharmCharm and Chain Of CorruptionChain Of Corruption . This also allow you to chase your enemies with much higher efficiency. This combo works on turrets and wards. If fast enough, you can destroy a ward before it disappears without vision.


The Doublecast is a foundamental animation cancel that allows RivenRiven to cancel the animation of Ki BurstKi Burst by casting Ki BurstKi Burst + Broken WingsBroken Wings while ValorValor is still active. You need to wait about 0.2s after casting ValorValor to follow up with this ability sequence. Since Ki BurstKi Burst 's animation is a self-root, canceling it allow RivenRiven to follow up much easily instead of waiting until she is able to move. You can insert a basic attack after ValorValor for extra burst damage as shown in the example below.


Outside of these two animation cancels, there are also a multitude of other weapons that you should fully master:

You can insert Wind Slash between ValorValor and Ki BurstKi Burst to cast three abilities within the animation of ValorValor


After casting ValorValor , immediately following up with Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile will cancel Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile 's animation. It is more apparent when used before a sequence of abilities. You can also follow up with a Doublecast while ValorValor is still active. This works for both charges.


When casting Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile , you can use Broken WingsBroken Wings to cancel the ult animation. This works for both charges.


When casting Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile , you can use Ki BurstKi Burst to cancel the ult animation. This works for both charges.


This works only with the Arcade Riven skin. If you recall after using Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile , the recall animation will remove your sword, therefore hiding the fact that your sword has become bigger and that your ult is now active. You can bait enemies into thinking that you're recalling, before doing an all-in with Windslash.


  • Basic Attack Animation Cancel (with Ki Burst) : AA > Ki BurstKi Burst

After you use a basic attack, immediately casting Ki BurstKi Burst can cancel the animation of the basic attack.


  • Basic Attack Animation Cancel (with Wind Slash) : Ki BurstKi Burst > Windslash > AA

After using Ki BurstKi Burst and Wind Slash, your next basic attack will happen instantly. 



  • Wind Slash Animation Cancel (with Flash) : WIndslash > [flash]

When casting Wind Slash, you can [flash] to skip the ult animation as well as extending the range of your shockwave.


  • Wind Slash Animation Cancel (with Valor) : Wind Slash > ValorValor

When castling Wind Slash, you can use ValorValor to cancel the ult animation.


This is a crucial mechanic that you must understand. After using the first charge of Broken WingsBroken Wings , the game considers that you have used this ability, which goes on cooldown. That means that if you use Broken WingsBroken Wings with a delay between each cast, you can extend the charge of your passive and by the time you're casting your third charge of Broken WingsBroken Wings , its cooldown will be greatly reduced or even become zero with enough AH. You could therefore start a fight with full charges of Runic BladeRunic Blade , use 4 Broken WingsBroken Wings in succession or bait the enemy into thinking that your Broken WingsBroken Wings is on cooldown.

Riven

Basic Combos

The following combos feature essential as well as examples of completed combos. To find more relevant combos, you can check out the r/RivenMains community montages linked at the end of the guide.


This is RivenRiven 's universal short trading combo. It can be used against almost any champion with little drawbacks. With this combo, you can deal 3 instances of damage which is enough to proc ElectrocuteElectrocute , then retreat before you take any damage on your end. It can also be used under enemy towers, although the AA might need to be skipped in order to block the towershot in time.


If you cast ValorValor + Ki BurstKi Burst instantly, you will stun at your initial position while dashing. It is very hard to pull off, but can be very rewarding. For example, if JaxJax were to cast Counter StrikeCounter Strike , just before it hits you you can cast this combo and safely get out of Counter StrikeCounter Strike 's range while preventing Leap StrikeLeap Strike . This is also a very strong disengage combo and can be used to escape ganks.


This is an under tower combo that uses the combo above.


A second variation of the ValorValor + Ki BurstKi Burst under tower combo.


This is a rare variation of the Fast Combo. By replacing the third AA with a [flash], you can cancel a basic attack, dodge an ability or simply gain some time to cast your 3rd Broken WingsBroken Wings safely, then follow up with a basic attack or other abilities while the target is airborne. Since the 3rd Broken WingsBroken Wings has a longer cast time than a normal Broken WingsBroken Wings , using this combo can be a lifesaver when both players are at a critically low health. A lot of RivenRiven outplays feature this combo.


You can insert a [flash] in the Doublecast to surprise your opponents and finish them off. 


Adrian's Doublecast but with Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile .


This is what a standard DPS combo looks like.


You can insert both casts of Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile in the DPS combo.


This is RivenRiven 's strongest engage ability sequence. Although the 3rd Broken WingsBroken Wings isn't as fast, it allows you to initiate a fight by knocking up multiple targets by surprise and from a distance. You can also use this combo to chase fleeing enemies.


Standard Flash Combo. It combines Adrian's Doublecast with a second animation cancel to insert a Broken WingsBroken Wings during Wind Slash.


This Flash Combo is designed to finish off multiple enemies starting with the 3rd cast of Broken WingsBroken Wings . It uses the Engage Combo with Wind Slash instead of Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile , then quickly ads a basic attack before canceling its animation with Ki BurstKi Burst .


This combo uses a Triplecast with [flash] to catch low health enemies.

Riven

Advanced Combos

This is the most popular RivenRiven combo ever created. Named after professional player Kang "The Shy" Seung-lok, this is the one shot combo with the least room for counterplay out of every RivenRiven combos. The first ability sequence ( ValorValor > Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile > [flash] > Ki BurstKi Burst ) allows RivenRiven to instantly AoE stun in [flash] location. From there, as soon as RivenRiven uses an AA you follow up with Wind Slash + Broken WingsBroken Wings to cancel the AA and Wind Slash's animation. If successful, you can deal a great amount of burst damage especially with lethality builds within Ki BurstKi Burst 's stun duration, thus preventing the enemy from defending against it. The entire combo lasts only a single second, and the only way to counterplay is to dodge the stun. 


This one shot combo is similar to the Shy Combo, the only difference being that an additional Broken WingsBroken Wings is added, creating a Doublecast. It deals more damage than the Shy Combo, however players now has the possibility to react to Wind Slash since it will no longer be cast within the stun duration, although it's not easy to do so.


Of all 3 one shot combos using S3-S4-Flash, this one deals the most damage. However, it gives enemies a chance to retaliate since there will be two short moments where they will not be stunned prior to Wind Slash. 


This is RivenRiven 's all-in combo. Instead of trying to kill someone as quick as possible, it attempts to deal a high amount of damage over an extended duration.


This is the standard full Engage Combo. It adds a follow up to the normal Engage Combo while sneaking two additional AAs.


This is an extended version of the BoxBox combo by extending Broken WingsBroken Wings before engaging in order to follow up with a Fast Combo.


As the name suggests, this is simply a visually appealing execute combo. You start by casting Wind Slash before going for a Flash Doublecast before Wind Slash hits the target, all just so you can kill it with style.


To be honest, I don't know why this combo exist, I don't know why it's named, but it would be disrespectful as a Riven main if I listed every named combos except this one, so here it is, RivenRiven 's most useless combo to date. It is full of flaws and weak points so don't learn or use it.


This combo is similar to the first 3 one shot combos, except it uses Wind Slash instead of Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile . It is the strongest execute combo against low % health targets, as it immediately cast Wind Slash instead of using other abilities to increase Wind Slash's damage.


Although its purpose is not clearly demonstrated in the video below, this combo is used if Ki BurstKi Burst can't immediately hit the target. With a buffed Broken WingsBroken Wings . it helps RivenRiven close off distance before going for Ki BurstKi Burst > AA > Wind Slash > Broken WingsBroken Wings


Riven

Wallhops

Broken WingsBroken Wings 's third charge can jump over walls. This was originally a bug, but was eventually added by Riot as an official part of RivenRiven 's kit. While most terrains are very straightforward to jump over, there are some harder ones that require either good aiming and/or the use of ValorValor .


Medium Difficulty

The walls behind each Red Bramblebacks can be jumped over both ways. In order for it to work, Broken WingsBroken Wings 's range must cross at least 50% of the wall's length regardless of the angle chosen. This rule of thumb works for most terrains, but is especially important here. Having Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile active can help, as it increases the range of RivenRiven 's abilities. ValorValor is not necessary, but can be used to cancel Blade Of The ExileBlade Of The Exile 's animation with S3-S4-S1(3) and shorten the distance between RivenRiven and the wall.


High Difficulty

The following wallhops should not be tried in a real game unless you are very confident. Even if you position yourself perfectly, it is very hard to aim accurately with joysticks, since Broken WingsBroken Wings 's missile isn't long enough to act as a reliable control point. 


The walls next to the Crimson Raptors and the middle Outer Turret can be jumped over both ways. The 50% rule does not apply. You need to stand right in the middle and use ValorValor to dash directly into the wall perpendicularly to the Outer Turret first before casting Broken WingsBroken Wings while dashing. 


The walls to the right of the Elemental Drakes and Baron Nashor can be jumped over from the exterior. The 50% rule does not apply. You need to stand right in the middle and use ValorValor to dash directly into the wall perpendicularly to the objective first before casting Broken WingsBroken Wings while dashing. 

Riven

General Laning Mechanics

There exists many mechanics in the laning phase that can help you get the upper hand. A video demonstration with every mentioned concepts & ideas will be published here in the future.


  • Tethering : This is a movement trick that helps keeping you safe in the laning phase. The idea is to copy/predict your opponent's movement and keep an equal distance in between at all time. It is especially useful in melee vs ranged matchups, since you can stay right outside their attack and/or ability range, thus giving you the opportunity to test the waters before going for a last-hit. As you are very close to being targetable, your opponent's movement will often tell you whether or not he will harass you if you walk up. You will also be able to dodge abilities much easily by only entering the edge of its range and having an overall longer react window. Perfecting this movement technique will save you from a lot of poke damage. Note that it also works against melee champion, for example against a RenektonRenekton by staying outside of his dash range. This trick requires knowledge of your opponent's attack/ability range for maximum efficiency.

  • Canceling Minion Aggro : When you attack a champion, nearby enemy minions will start targeting you, which can often turn the tides of a fight especially in the early levels where they deal as much damage as a normal hero. However, you can reset minion aggro by cc'ing them and making sure you are no longer attacking a champion once they wake up. Since RivenRiven 's 3rd Broken WingsBroken Wings and Ki BurstKi Burst are both AoE ccs, you can finish a trade by stunning not only your opponent laner, but also any minions that happens to be around. This makes RivenRiven one of the few melee champions that can engage early game for a short trade while the enemy wave is much bigger.

  • Canceling Ranged Basic Attacks : Note: This technique will not work in low ELO, and its efficiency will increase the stronger the enemy is. When you disengage against a ranged enemy laner while they're retreating, running or kiting you, there's a brief moment where you can look to trick them, push them back and cancel any basic attacks they were hoping to land. When you disengage in this scenario, you are walking back while your opponent is running toward their tower. Since they are ranged and you are melee, they will turn back ASAP to get some damage in while they still can. When they're turning, there's a short window where you can also turn back halfway for just a tiny moment to force your opponent to instinctively change their mind and retreat once more. Since this is entirely dependant on how well your opponent can react to small movement details, this likely won't work against a lower skilled player. Whether or not you will be able to cancel basic attacks will depend on your timing and your opponent's attack speed, but in most case you should be able to get some extra distance between you and the enemy laner, and take less poke damage when you fall back from a trade.

  • Canceling Melee Basic Attacks (Kiting with Broken Blades) : Every auto attacks have a windup window, also known as auto attack animation. It is divided into three parts: When you attack, the entire animation for the basic attack starts. However, depending on certain variables such as attack speed and animation delays, it takes a set amount of time before the attack registers. Once the action is registered, the damage can no longer be prevented by dodging or flashing away. If the attack is canceled before it becomes registered, then no damage will be dealt and the animation stops. To cancel an enemy basic attack, you must get out of its attack range before the attack is issued to the servers. While this may not be possible against ranged champions, certain champions with great mobility may cancel attacks from melee champions. For instance, in the most iconic LoL outplay of all time, Faker managed to cancel two of ZedZed 's basic attacks which let him survive with less than 4% of his HP. While RivenRiven may not have instantaneous blinks, her Broken WingsBroken Wings can let her kite certain champions with low attack speed by using Broken WingsBroken Wings backward and or at any other similar direction upon attacking/using other abilities, and if timed correctly can also let her cancel any basic attacks her target may be trying to execute.
     
  • Maximizing Fast Combo Damage Output 
  • Asserting Psychological Dominance :


Riven

Playstyle Breakdown

RivenRiven is a jack of all trades, but master of none. Most Baron laners specialize in either splitpush or teamfight, but RivenRiven isn’t perfect in neither. Instead, she can fulfill several roles depending on her needs.

RivenRiven ’s main role is often unclear. Most people believes that she is a teamfighter, but it isn’t actually true. RivenRiven ’s AoE chain cc is a powerful asset to any teamfights, however she lacks what it takes to really be that strong 5v5 champion. Her animation canceling tricks become less relevant and more difficult to pull off, and ValorValor won’t be enough to tank multiple abilities. Therefore, some criteria becomes necessary to teamfight correctly, and more often than not you will have to adapt depending on your team and the enemy team’s strength, composition, itemization, etc.

Here’s how you can play depending on the circumstances:

  • Be an engager: If your team does not have an initiator other than yourself, you may have to fulfill this role in order to start a fight with the highest chances of winning. In order to do that, you must first build enough defensive items to not get shredded instantly, and have allies that can quickly follow up. Rushing Guardian AngelGuardian Angel as early as your 4th item can be an option. When you engage, you must cc at least 3 enemies and above with the standard engage combo (S3-S4-Flash-S1(3)) to make full use of your utility potential, and make sure to prioritize the enemy adc whenever you do so. 


  • Teamfight: In a fight, if you cannot reach for the backline, you should still look to cc chain as many enemies as possible, and pray that your team follow up. If not, you look to kite your target(s) with Broken WingsBroken Wings or keep fighting if you’re strong enough to deal considerable and/or lethal damage. Usually, you wait until someone else engages (regardless on which team), and only then follow up by choosing your priority target accurately depending on the situation. If you fight too early, you will get deleted instantly. 


  • Tank: In 99% of cases, you shouldn’t tank. But in the event that your team does not have a tank and that you are the tankiest, and that your team does not have any form of self-peel or strong cc chains, you may act as a tank and fight in the frontline. This requires items such as ThornmailThornmail and Maw of MalmortiusMaw of Malmortius to work properly. Your goal is to peel for your entire team by sticking to anyone who tries to reach the backline, and disrupt them as much as possible while your team deal with the rest. Keep in mind that this isn’t what Riven is designed for, and should not be a consistent strategy


  • Splitpush: RivenRiven ’s complex mechanics makes her a very strong duelist. Not only can she 1v1 almost anyone, she also has one of the best 1v2 and 1v3 potentials, assuming that you know what you’re doing. While her tower damage is somewhat poor compared to the top spltpush champions, her splitpush presence remains a deadly threat. Note that you should only splitpush if your team is weaker in teamfights or if your team really need to push certain lanes. Make sure that you have Teleport EnchantTeleport Enchant to join any decisive teamfights, especially those involving key objectives.


  • Peel for your adc (or any other ally with carrying potential): If you’re behind, or if your adc is considerably fed, you may look to prioritize the safety of said ally by disrupting anyone who tries to get close. Since you can easily stick to enemies while ccing them, your kit can perfectly act as a peel for a stronger carry. However, if your damage is high enough to have a solid impact, you should instead look to delete the enemy adc. Offense is the best defense, after all.


  • Assassinate the enemy adc (or any other high priority target): This is what RivenRiven excels at the most. Anyone who hasn’t faced a good RivenRiven player might find this odd, but RivenRiven can and should always look to 100-0 a strong enemy target. On the right hands, RivenRiven can easily reach out to most backlines and take them out within mere seconds. While lethality builds are specifically designed for this job, any non-tank builds can work, as long as your mechanical skills are accurate. Your goal is to wait until you get into a situation where you won’t be instantly cc’d when you jump into the backline, and quickly clear out enemy carries. While you wait, you can look to peel for your adc, but make sure you don’t blow up your entire rotation or you won’t deal enough damage to kill your targets. If successful, this is the best and safest way for RivenRiven to win a teamfight. Note that you shouldn’t only look to delete a single champion: your kit allows you to execute anyone within the range of your cc chains. 
Riven

Jungle Tracking

If you are familiar with PC league, you may already know by heart the respawn timers for neutral camps, timestamps for common early ganks, clear durations by champions, etc etc. Many of these fundamental ideas can be carried over, however some tracking tactics will require certain level of modifications, since the map on Wild Rift is significantly smaller and different than the big old Summoner Rift. Additionally, CS score is replaced by total gold, meaning that mental mathematic calculations are far less relevant due to a higher percentage of uncertainty. Control wards are not available either, which will limit the amount of vision you can provide both for you and your team. Still, there exist many remaining strategies, and mastering the skill of jungle tracking will help you win lane far more consistently, as you will be able to safely defend against any uninvited guest.


First and foremost, you need to understand why jungle tracking is so important. Unlike PC league, where the laning phase lasts for 10 to 15 minutes, Wild Rift's transition to the middle game is very fast. Surviving ganks is only one of the many reasons you would want to know at all time the enemy jungler's location. Below is a list of alternative motifs:


  1. Counter-Roams: Predicting potential ganks give you a window to intercept the enemy jg during or before their roams, which can completely destroy their plans and ideas. Since Mid/Baron laners are usually far stronger than junglers in the early/mid due to the fact that they're constantly farming gold and XP, it is very easy to put them behind if you come across them in the jungle. If you're able to predict their pathing, specifically aiming for their heads when they think they're the one hunting can be a very powerful strategy. While this doesn't mean you should start camping the jungle, if you do see a Master YiMaster Yi at 30% HP heading toward the Red Buff, you know what to do.

  2. Safe Windows: If you can assume that the enemy jg is too far to interrupt a skirmish, objective taking or roam, you can create advantageous opportunities both for you and your entire team. The jg plays a huge role in teamfights and objectives, so knowing that the enemy jg isn't present in a certain situation can be a powerful asset. For instance, knowing that you're safe from ganks for a set duration can let you use this moment to commit in a 1v1 that would've been far too risky if the location of the enemy jg was unknown.

  3. Gathering Informations: The jungler is at the heart of all macro interactions. Knowing the enemy jungler's location allows you to determine his pathing, thus predicting his future actions. Achieving this feat gives you the opportunity to prevent his future ideas and possible threats, thus diminishing his overall impact over the game, which is a jungler's raison d'être. As Sun Tzu once said, "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."


Now the question is how. One of the most important tool in jungle tracking is warding, and if you're able to know where the enemy jungle is at any given point in time, then his future actions can be easily telegraphed. Therefore, one key technique is to put a ward deep into the enemy jungle in areas he is likely to go, such as near the raptors or one of the buffs. One common mistake is that some players always try to put their wards in bushes. Unless necessary, your wards should always cover the biggest area possible, which is often in open areas away from bushes. 

The second strategy is to infer where the enemy jungler might be. You don't need to be a master at Fermi calculations to guess its location: whenever you spot the enemy jungler with a ward, always take a moment to note the direction of his movements. Even if the jungler has a oracle lens and clears your ward, the lingering vision is more than enough to tell you which way he will be going. Being aware of his movement patterns is key to predicting his possible pathing. Additionally, you must take into consideration what their champion is. Each jungler champion has its own optimal pathing, jungle clearing speed and ganking patterns. Although this is something that you learn from experience or by playing said jungler yourself, intuitively knowing where the enemy jungler should be depending on the time and/or the state of the game can massively help you get a much better idea of his location. You must also take into consideration their ganking strength, which is often affected by the strength of the opposing laners. Some champions can easily set up ganks, which can increase the chances of that lane being ganked. Some junglers are weak until they hit level 5, in which case they might delay significant ganks until that powerspike is reached.

Another factor which can influence the enemy jungler's action is lane priorities. In short, a lane that has priority is a lane where the laner has a pushed wave, and thus can roam quicker than its opponent. Laners without priorities are often stuck clearing a wave, and are unable to immediately impact the state of the game with a roam, river skirmish or countergank. Junglers will often take macro decisions depending on the state of the three lanes, and if you're able to deduce what the enemy jungler's best choices are from all these factors, you will be much better prepared.

Riven

Glossary

  • All-in : Fully commiting to a fight and using all of your abilities to deal as much damage as possible.
  • CC (Crowd Control) : Effects that diminishes or stops a player’s movement and prevent them from initiating movement commands or using moving abilities.
  • Cheater Recall : Slow pushing the initial two waves before crashing the third one and recalling while the opponent laner is still clearing the wave.
  • Crash : Shoving a big wave into a tower. Often done after slow pushing.
  • DPS : Damage Per Second. Amount of damage you can deal over a certain duration.
  • Dive : Attacking enemies under their tower.
  • Freeze : Keeping minions in a specific area of the lane.
  • Kite : Deal damage while retreating. Doing so as a melee champion is possible with RivenRiven , if you can use Broken WingsBroken Wings by predicting your opponent’s movement and using it backward followed by AAs.
  • Last-hit : Executing minions for bonus gold.
  • Macro : Strategic aspect of the game.
  • Micro : Mechanical aspect of the game.
  • Powerspike : A point in time where a champion is significantly stronger.
  • Priority : A pushed wave. The laner who pushed the wave can roam quicker than its opponent.
  • Push : Killing enemy minions to make your wave advance. 
  • Reset Wave : Both minion waves hit in the middle of the lane.
  • Roam : Leaving a lane to assist allies.
  • Rotation : Using all of your abilities.
  • Scale : Having abilities which AD/AP ratio are stronger in the late game.
  • Shove : Quickly killing enemy minions.
  • Slow Push : Pushing by only last-hitting enemy minions, while your wave is bigger.
  • Sustain : Healing and regeneration.
  • Tethering : Mirroring an opponent laner’s movement to keep an equal distance in between.
  • Trade : Dealing damage to an enemy champion. The target may trade back. 
  • Zone : Keeping an opponent laner away from your wave.
Riven

Additional Ressources

HIGH ELO STREAMERS:


Adrian Riven

Viper

  • PC Challenger Riven Main - was rank 1
  • Great mechanical and macro skills
  • Stats: NA - viperrr
  • Twitch: Viper
  • YouTube: Viper

잘 못 (BoxBox)

Dekar173

  • PC Challenger Riven & Rengar Main
  • Strong macro skills
  • Twitch: Dekar173
  • YouTube: Dekar173

Revenge

Rueven

NovA

  • Editor of r/RivenMains community montages among other content
  • Twitch: noooovaaaa
  • YouTube: NovA

GAMEPLAY:

  • Riven Gameplay (video ressources in the matchups section comes from this channel): YouTube
  • Wild Rift Replays: YouTube

WILD RIFT MONTAGES:

There currently aren’t any Wild Rift Riven montages featuring plays that doesn’t depreciate Riven‘s potential. For the time being, you can search for PC montages, although it might not feel the same. If any respectable montages were to be published, they will be added here.


R/RIVENMAINS COMMUNITY MONTAGES

The following montages feature plays submitted to the Riven Mains subreddit. Edited by NovA.


WALLPAPERS:

Riven

Patch History

2.5

RivenRiven is overperforming in multiple roles, so we're taking this opportunity to cut down on two big points of frustration for playing against RivenRiven : her early game damage output and the uptime of her defensive abilities.

Broken WingsBroken Wings

  • Base damage: 20/45/70/95 → 15/40/65/90

ValorValor

  • Cooldown: 9/8/7/6s → 10/9/8/7s


2.3a

RivenRiven is underperforming, so we're amping up her shield from ValorValor to help her stay sharp in the Baron lane.

ValorValor

  • Shield Strength: 95/135/175/215 → 105/145/185/225


2.3

Champion Release

Comments
Look at the nice things other people said!
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Sadczar
2 years ago
This Guide is incredible. Just picked up riven and by game 5 with her and this guide I picked up an S rating an MVP