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Riven Build Guide by

[9.10]Fighter1's Challenger Riven Guide [In-depth] [Short]

Updated on

9.8

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League of Legends Build Guide Author Fighter1

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127,409 Views

2 Comments League of Legends Build Guide Author Fighter1

Riven Build Guide By Updated on

Guide Discussion (2) More Riven Guides

Choose Champion Build:

Riven vs Tank/Bruiser
Riven vs Squishies/assasins

Runes: Riven normal

Precision

Conqueror

Triumph

Legend: Tenacity

Coup de Grace

Inspiration

Magical Footwear

Cosmic Insight

Bonus:

+8 Ability Haste
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Items

Starting item vs melee matchups

Starting Items vs ranged matchup

First back

alternative first back

Early game vs tank/most bruiser

Early Game vs squishier lanes

Mid-game powerspike

Main build order, good for most situations

Ability Order

Riven Passive Ability

Threats & Synergies

Threats

Synergies

Extreme Major Even Minor Tiny

Show All

None Low Ok Strong Ideal

Extreme Threats

Ideal Synergies

Renekton

Extreme

Synergies

Ideal Strong Ok Low None

More Riven Counters

Introduction

Let me start by saying this guide is not aimed to show off any of my BBCoding skills. I am trying to show you a Rank 1 player's perspective on how to play a solo lane to carry solo Q games. So expect walls of text, video demonstrations, and very detailed information.

Anyways, Hi, My name is Fighter1, I started playing league at the end of season 2,and I have played riven in atleast 2k games. I was rank 3 LAN in season 8, and challenger on the NA server in season 7. Her builds have changed a lot over the years, but I am sure that these two build options are the best for her in this patch.

Runes

The Best Rune Pages for Riven in 9.10

Conqueror

-After 4 seconds in combat, you get AD and do 20% true dmg

Use Conqueror anytime you need sustained DPS. Tanks, bruisers, or really anything with high amounts of HP. Aatrox Camille Cho'Gath Darius Diana Fiora Gangplank Gnar Garen Gragas Illaoi Irelia Jarvan IV Jax Kled Malphite Maokai Nasus Nautilus Olaf Renekton Shen Rumble Ryze Urgot Vladimir Yorick Yasuo

-Killing someone gives 12% MISSING HP and extra gold.
- Always take Triumph for tower dives. Also try to utilize this in teamfights; It allows you to assasinate backline and still have enough hp to fight off the rest of the team once they converge on you.
-Gain increased Attack speed, Tenacity, or Lifesteal as the game progresses.
- All 3 of these choices are viable, you make the decision based on what you feel you need the most in your game, if you can't decide is probably the best option.
-7% extra damage when enemy champions are below 40% hp, Gives you AD on champion kills.
- Use this in combination with triumph in teamfights, try to get a kill to start the fight off by using Flash on the enemy support or ADC, usually you will be able to burst one down, and turn on the other using Broken Wings

-I recommend using sorcery secondary in almost all situations because it is the most gold efficient secondary rune page on riven.

I almost never take resolve because it might be good early game but it hurts you later, however if you're against Renekton + Elise or maybe Gnar + Lee Sin it could save your life. You pay for it in the late game so choose wisely.
- If taken below 30% hp by magic damage, gain a shield that absorps magic damage for 4 seconds(The more AD you have the stronger the shield)
- Take against ap matchups like Kennen, Maokai, Irelia, Akali
- Gain 10% cdr at level 10, and if you go over the CDR cap gain GOLD EFFIECIENT AD
- Always take this rune, no exceptions, it allows you to diversify your build depending on the situation.
-Gain extra magic damage on spells every 20 seconds.
- Take this if you REALLY want to snowball early, but be CAREFUL because it can end up hurting you more than helping you if you take it in the wrong scenario.
-Gain extra AD every 10 minutes.
- use Gathering Storm in most if not all situations. You become a late game MONSTER with this rune. So keep in mind if you just farm out the first 10 minutes you get a major powerspike when Transcendence and Gathering Storm kick in.

Unsealed Spellbook

-Allows you to swap summoner spells like and while they are on cooldown, each time you swap the cooldown reduces by 20seconds.

use Unsealed Spellbook anytime you do not NEED conqueror. It is riven's best rune in the current meta. Matchups like Kennen Jayce Ekko Pantheon require this rune to win. You can even use it in bruiser matchups like Jax Camille Irelia, IF the rest of the enemy team isn't super tanky. If you take Unsealed Spellbook into heavy tank team compositions you will be useless in the lategame; So, choose wisely.
-While Flash is on cooldown, gain hexflash(A flash that requires a 2 second channel time, and has a 20 second cd.)
- I personally don't use this, and have only played a handful of games with it, but I can imagine it working maybe for roaming mid or invading the enemy jungler, so if you can make it work then go for it.
-gain Slightly Magical Boots at 10min(reduced by 30 seconds per kill) that give 10 more Movement Speed than normal Boots.
- This is your most gold efficient option. Take Magical Footwear if you plan on scaling for late game, and do not need boots in the early game(do not take this in ranged matchups like Kennen Teemo Jayce. If you combine it with Gathering Storm and Transcendence you get a STRONG POWERSPIKE at 10 minutes.
-Gain a Stopwatch at 10 minutes.(allows for a one time Zhonya's Hourglass active.)
- Stopwatch is your other late game option. It can save you from early-midgame tower dives, or allow you to tower dive your opponent with little risk of death. It also scales extremely well IF you plan on building a Guardian Angel. The choice between Stopwatch and Magical Footwear is a simple one. If you need boots early, take Stopwatch. If you don't need boots early,even if you are going to buy a Guardian Angel, go Magical Footwear. If you need early boots, AND are not going to buy guardian angel, then Hextech Flashtraption is an option.
-basically gives you 150 gold at 2 minutes(+5/min)
- I don't think this is a good rune option. It is extremely gold inefficient and I don't advise to ever take it, until it get's buffed.
-At 4 minutes, gain 6 Minion Dematerializer. Each one allows you to kill a minion instantly and gives permanent bonus damage against that minion type(cannon,caster,melee).
- Use Minion Dematerializer to instantly kill cannon minions, and also use atleast 1 on the caster minions and 1 on the melee minions to enable you to instantly clear minion waves without Tiamat. This is your best rune option.
- Cosmic Insight Allows 45% cooldown reduction.
- Your best rune option. It brings Valor to a 1.8 second downtime. If you use Valor at the most optimal times, the enemy will think you are invincible.

-I recommend using sorcery secondary in almost all situations because it is the most gold efficient secondary rune page on riven.

-When using Unsealed Spellbook, Nimbus Cloak becomes a viable option because it synergizes with the high AD burst playstyle.
Like with Conqueror, when using Unsealed Spellbook your best secondary rune option is Sorcery; you should ALWAYS take Transcendence,but for your second rune in the Sorcery tree you have the options of: Nimbus Cloak Scorch Gathering Storm.
Nimbus Cloak is used for outplay potential.
Scorch is used for early game snowball.
Gathering Storm is your most gold efficient option and allows you to scale into the late game with confidence.In solo q, I usually just default to gathering storm because if the going gets rough you can ALWAYS farm up and carry teamfights late game on Riven.

Summoner Spells

Flash is a must have on riven, and it is one of your most important resources. This champion can do more with flash than most champs in the game which is why you should always look to build whenever the enemy team doesn't have lot's of cc.

is a great tool to take in a lane that you think is extremely snowbally, like etc. If you can't win the lane like or you taking ignite would be incredibly greedy and probably lead to you losing the game because of that choice.

is a very good option into losing lanes, OR if you are taking . We will get more into this later in the guide, but for toplaners is extremely important because splitpushing late game is way easier to execute with . And, if you have you can swap to any other summoner you might need for the situation you are in, but always have tp to fallback on because it is a solid choice in any situation.

Items

Starting Items

+ 3 is going to be your best starting item for most matchups, it is a much better option than on because it allows you to get a quick first base off and purchase , it also gives you lots of early game sustain.This is important because 's weakest point in the game is lvl's 1-4

+ is going to be your best starting item if you plan to play safe the early 5 minutes of the game. Ranged matchups or heavy poke matchups like all require you to start this item. Even some matchups that you just lose early and want to scale up you should take so you can farm safely against champs like .

Early Game

is your first powerspike. The 10% cdr will most likely make most of your cooldowns shorter than your opponent's, So try to take a short trade with them, and engage on them as soon as your cooldowns come up and before their's do. Also, BUY A CONTROL WARD.

will give you 20% cooldown reduction and really give you an opportunity to start abusing your opponent with your much lower cooldowns. Once you get this item don't be afraid to use it will have a short cooldown.

First Powerspike

Once you get and you have 45% cdr and are extremely strong. Once you hit level 11 and get level 2 you can probably look to solo kill your lane opponent.

Core Items

is 's go to item anytime you need some hp and armor shred. It has % armor shred so it becomes more effective the more armor your opponent has; build this against tanks or anytime your opponent is stacking armor and you need HP to survive burst damage.

is 's perfect item. It gives you sustain, lots of damage and good cooldown reduction. has been riven's core 2 items since the item came out. It is extremely strong and gives you a high amount of damage reduction that you can bleed onto , so make sure you are using whenever it is off cooldown.

is your best option against heavy AD team comps, or if you were forced to build , but you still need some armor. This is why 's main 3 core items are . An extremely versatile build that can work vs tanks and squishy comps. It has low initial burst but very high ramp up damage, build this trio if your team needs a Raidboss tanky riven frontline.

can use any of her abilities to cancel the active so it is an extremely useful item on her. It gives you instant waveclear and EXTREMELY high burst potential. Use it if you plan to splitpush and 1v1 kill your solo lane, or if you are really ahead and not afraid of dieing in a teamfight. Plus it's a fun item to use.

you can sometimes just buy if you need the healing reduction against like or . Upgrade to the full when you need the armor penetration.

Example Core Final Build with Conqueror

Situational items

is an extremely good item against heavy team comps. It works particularly well at surviving AP burst champs like . Pick this up if just aren't enough .

Probably the most satisfying item on to have. It builds out of which gives you a trump card in teamfights and 1v1 situations. However, the gold efficiency of this item is quite low at 81%, So only but it if you REALLY NEED that life saving cleanse against champs like . A secret tip too that not many know about is in combination with a movement spell like or can actually cleanse knockups like 's or 's .(See Tips and Tricks)

has really good synergy with because the shield will tank the bleed passive. It is a great option if you really want to be a frontliner, or if you need it to tank high burst true damage like 's or 's . Basically, if you're feeding and you just need to be a useful meat sponge buy a .

is a really strong option when using and playing the bursty one-shot riven playstyle against squishy champs. You can rush this first item against any squishy lane opponents or if you are snowballing early. A Burst core build with will look something like this: .(you can swap out for if they aren't stacking armor.

synergizes with both and . When running , Build if you need extra movement speed around the map and in teamfights, a core build with will look like: , , . When running , can be built the same way as conqueror, however against squishy enemy teamp comps a core item may look like: , , . It's passive helps you roam around the map and flank small skirmishes or assasinate individual's caught out of position.

Abilities, Comboes, and Tips and Tricks

Ability Sequence
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

Passive:Runic Blade

's Passive is -gain a Charge for 6 seconds every time you use an ability (stacks up to 3 times). Riven's basic attacks consume a Charge when available to deal 25 - 50 (based on level)% Attack damage bonus physical damage.

Use most effectively by Charging your q's before going for an all in.(View the video below.)
Riven has no resources so try to keep it charged at 3 stacks as much as possible it will help you last hit,trade and all in.

[/indent]

Q:Broken Wings

's Q is -Riven dashes in place on top of enemy (if mouse is hovering on target.) Alternatively Riven dashes towards mouse position moving a short distance in the direction she is currently facing (if mouse is hovering over non-enemies.)
You cannot use Q backwards(if riven is facing north, and you use q with your mouse on a south direction, she will q north a short distance See Video Below) deals physical damage to all enemies in front of her. Broken Wings can then be reactivated twice within the next 4 seconds, with the second cast refreshing the timer.The 3rd cast of has a small AOE knockup for .5 seconds.Pay close Attention to my mouse positions.

Use to jump over walls, initiate fights, and as your main source of damage.

The way a player uses is what seperates the good s from the bad.The most important mechanic you need to know in order to play the champion effectively is known as the "Fast Q."

It is a series of 3 animation cancels. First you , then you cancel your auto attack animation with , then you cancel the command by using a movement command to any location(clicking anywhere that isn't an enemy), then you cancel the movement command by using another auto attack on the opponent and repeat.

This is the mechanic that most new players struggle with as it can be hard to perfect,especially on moving enemy champions, however it is the most important because it directly affects the dps of the champion. I recommend going into a practice tool game and practicing this and the other important riven mechanics before playing in a real game.

W:Ki Burst

's W is -Riven emits a small(125 range) AOE stun in a circle around her dealing physical damage and stunning enemies for .75 seconds.

Use to cancel the enemy champion's auto attack in solo fights. In teamfights, use in combination with to engage on the enemy backline.

E:Valor

's E is -riven dashes in target direction gaining a shield for 1.5 seconds.

Use Try to use valor to dodge abilities and block damage simultaneously. It is also your most effective way start combo's on opponents because the animation is easy to cancel. A common and extremely effective combo for an all in is shown below.( + + )

R:Blade of the Exile

's Ultimate is -Riven empowers her blade gaining bonus attack range, bonus range on and and 20% bonus .

Try to look for a way to cancel 's animation, because it is really lengthy and obvious.The best 2 combos to use for this are: + + , and + .Rushing and allow you to use your ultimate many times in the early game; So, don't be afraid to use it. Remember on riven your engage abilities and are also your escape abilities. When you go ALL IN make sure you REALLY go ALL IN by using before engaging.Again don't be afraid to R! It has a very low cooldown, and is so mobile it is difficult to punish her when her is down. Below is not a very important combo but a really fun one to use called the "reverse windlash." Pay close attention to my mouse movement. On mouse placement is key! When you manage to pull off a cool play with this mechanic it is THE most satisfying thing in league of legends period.

Very useful combos

Below is the famous shy combo. It is probably the highest dps combo riven can do that has basically 0 counterplay.(very useful for oneshotting fed squishy champions before they can react and getting that SWEET SHUTDOWN GOLD) + , + , Auto Attack + , Windslash + .

The Doublecast. A simple but effective combo done by using ,then after a short delay, and can be cast simultaneously. You can even sneak in a active if your fast. Combine that with flash, and you can execute low hp opponents before they can away.

can combine movement abilities with to cleanse knockups/knockbacks like 's and 's .

More Riven Counters

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[9.10]Fighter1's Challenger Riven Guide [In-depth] [Short]

Introduction

Runes

Summoner Spells

Items

Abilities, Comboes, and Tips and Tricks

[9.10]Fighter1's Challenger Riven Guide [In-depth] [Short]

[9.10]Fighter1's Challenger Riven Guide [In-depth] [Short]

Choose Champion Build:

Recommended Items

Runes: Riven normal

Spells:

Flash

Ignite

Items

Ability Order

Runic Blade (PASSIVE)

Broken Wings (Q)

Ki Burst (W)

Valor (E)

Blade of the Exile (R)

Threats & Synergies

Aatrox

Camille

Garen

Jarvan IV

Jax

Jayce

Gangplank

Kled

Kennen

Renekton

Shen

Vladimir

Yasuo

Wukong

Quinn

Irelia

Gnar

Ekko

Fiora

Illaoi

Malphite

Nasus

Nautilus

Maokai

Poppy

Ornn

Pantheon

Kayle

Olaf

Urgot

Trundle

Hecarim

Talon

Tryndamere

Zed

Zed

Recommended Items

Runes:

Spells:

Flash

Teleport

Items

Ability Order

Runic Blade (PASSIVE)

Broken Wings (Q)

Ki Burst (W)

Valor (E)

Blade of the Exile (R)

Threats & Synergies

Zed

Ekko

Aatrox

Akali

Camille

Gnar

Fiora

Yasuo

Talon

Diana

Darius

Fiora

Jayce

Irelia

Katarina