Riven

Abilities Overview

Riven's passive, Runic Blade, empowers her autos to deal bonus damage after each ability cast — stacking up to 3 times. Weaving autos between abilities is Riven's core DPS mechanic. Q (Broken Wings) is a three-part dash with the third part knocking up and leaping over walls.

W (Ki Burst) is a short-range AoE stun — Riven's primary CC and animation cancel enabler. E (Valor) is a short dash with a shield that decays over time — essential for trading and escaping. R (Blade of the Exile) empowers Riven's sword for bonus AD and range, and the active (Wind Slash) is a long-range execute skill shot.

Laning Phase

Riven is a strong lane bully with high outplay potential. At level 1, Q start allows short trades or quick waveclear. Level 2 (Q+W) enables the Q3 knockup into W stun trade. Level 3 (Q+W+E) is the standard trading pattern: E forward for shield, Q-W-auto-Q-auto, then Q3 out.

Level 6 is a massive kill threat. The standard all-in: R activate, E forward, R-Q-W-auto-Q-auto-R-auto-Q for full burst combo. Animation canceling (using E to cancel Q or R animations) is essential for Riven's max DPS. Practice the fast-Q combo in practice tool for consistency.

Teamfighting

Riven is a skirmisher who excels in chaotic fights. In teamfights, flank the enemy and dive the backline. Use the third Q over walls for unexpected engages. The standard teamfight combo: R activate, flash-W-stun, Q-auto-R for execute on the carry.

Riven's biggest weakness is CC — if you get CC'd during a combo, you're dead. Wait for key CC abilities before committing. Against peel comps (Janna, Lulu, Thresh), clean-up duty rather than primary engage. Riven's shield from E scales with AD, making building damage also increase survivability.

Build Path

Start Doran's Blade or Long Sword. Eclipse for the shield and burst. Black Cleaver for armor shred and ability haste. Spear of Shojin for ability haste.

Death's Dance for damage delay. Guardian Angel for insurance. Sterak's Gage for teamfight survivability. Boots are Plated Steelcaps or Mercury Treads.

Matchups

Riven wins skill matchups and loses to champions who can survive her burst. She struggles against tanks (Ornn, Malphite, Maokai) who stack armor and CC her during combos. She excels against immobile carries and melee fighters who can't answer her burst pattern.

For more details, check the League of Legends Wikipedia page and the Riven page on League of Legends Wiki.