Riven, the Exile Suggested Guide

First of all, those default items aren’t working out for me. Tried one game with them and managed to get a couple of kills but way more deaths. She’s a great harasser and the mobility is very impressive with 4 different ways to dodge skills (Broken Wings, Broken Wings again, Valor and Flash). Although I still think she needs a little additional work (possibly a minor buff), she’s got some interesting potential for a cooldown based hero. She doesn’t have any mana or any energy to use.

Rune Setup

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

Desolation marks are always a staple in AD type heroes. I pick up the Resilience and Shielding for a little extra survivability in the early game. My Quintessences are loaded with attack damage.

Mastery Setup

My Mastery setup is 21/9/0. Designed for maximum killing efficiency.

Summoner spells

Lots of options here.

Flash: Picking Flash is almost never a wrong choice. It gives you a 4th gap closer and an out in case you need it.

Exhaust: Useful when trying to catch an opposing champion. I’ve been known to use it defensively to get away from champions (I’m such a baddie).

Ignite: Good if you need that extra bit of damage to finish off champions or if you want to negate the healing spells from support champions.

Heal: I’m honestly not sure about this spell. I guess it adds a little more to your sustainability in a lane if you’re getting dominated. I wouldn’t use this in comparison to the others.

Ghost: Great for chasing down champions or for running away.

Possible items

Riven’s a purely AD character. That knocks out a bunch of those hybrid AP/AD items like Trinity Force or Hextech Gunblade. You have several options here which will help in terms of attack damage increase.

• Youmuu’s Ghostblade
• Bloodthirster
• Black Cleaver
• Last Whisper
• Hexdrinker
• Wriggle’s Lantern
• Atma’s Impaler/Warmog’s Armor
• Atma’s Impaler/Frozen Mallet

These are all excellent options. I haven’t finalized an item build that I’m really comfortable with yet. So here’s what I’ve been doing mostly. Once the match starts, I pick up a Vampiric Scepter. The Scepter allows me to sustain myself. I don’t get a Boots of Speed right away because Valor is enough of an out to dodge skills. Other recommendations include a Doran’s Blade for the extra health buff. But depending on your laning partner, the Scepter might be a better choice. If I’m with a champion who has a heal or a stun or other ways to disrupt the other champions, the Scepter allows me to take more risks. On my first back, I’ll grab a Wriggle’s Lantern.

After that, I’ll grab a Boots of Speed and build it into a Berserker’s Greaves before starting work on a Phage. I’ll be turning that into a Frozen Mallet. Of course, Atma’s Weapon is the next followup. After that, you have several options. You can work towards a The Black Cleaver. Alternatively, you can try Infinity Edge. (I haven’t been in a game that far where I could pull that off yet).

Naturally, it goes without saying that if the opposing team is heavy AP, grab a Banshee’s Veil.

Your overall endgame might look something like this:

• Berserker’s Greaves
• Wriggle’s Lantern
• Frozen Mallet
• Atma’s Impaler
• Last Whisper
• Black Cleaver

Consider selling Wriggle’s Lantern for The Bloodthirster instead.

Skill selection

Level 1: Broken Wings
Level 2: Valor (Allowing you a way out in case you need it)
Level 3: Ki Burst
Level 4: Broken Wings
Level 5: Broken Wings
Level 6: Blade of the Exile

After that, max out your Broken Wings, Blade of the Exile, Ki Burst and Valor in that order.

Engaging enemies

Early game: Definitely want to harass with Broken Wings (Q) when you can sneak in an opening. Work with laning partners who have stuns or snares. Remember to Q, auto attack, Q, auto attack before using the Q again. It plays well into her Runic Blade.

Mid game to late game: For maximum burst, you’ll want to do something like this (and it’s really easy). I like to hide in the bushes and activate my Blade of the Exile once they get close. I’ll Valor in, use Broken Wings, auto attack. Follow up with another Broken Wings, auto attack and then Ki Burst to stun them in place. One final Broken Wings and if they’re not dead by then, a Blade of the Exile finisher to polish them off. Don’t forget about your summoner spells:

Blade of the Exile (R) >Valor (E) > Broken Wings (Q) > Auto Attack > Broken Wings (Q) > Auto Attack > Ki Burst (E) > Auto Attack > Broken Wings

Target selection should be any soft targets like their opposing carries. Wait until the team fight initiates before jumping in. You can go toe to toe with just about any other melee champion. Use Ki Burst defensively to stun anyone going after your weaker teammates to give them a chance.