How to Play Riven for Beginners LOL
If you have no clue at all how to play Riven or what items to buy I recommend looking up a build on probuilds.net to give you an idea as builds are not set in stone. Also I would highly recommend always taking Teleport with Riven as it can be very useful late game.
Riven is almost always a top laner and a very versatile one at that. She has no mana and is only restricted by her cooldowns to use her abilities. Her passive is Runic Blade which activates every time Riven uses an ability. Runic Blade charges Riven's next auto attack for 5 seconds and deals bonus AD and can stack up to 3 times. Optimally, after you use an ability, you want to auto attack your enemy and then use another ability and then AA again. By attacking in this way you are maximizing Riven's damage output and using her passive to its full potential.
Riven's Q is Broken Wings. Riven lashes out up to 3 times dealing damage with each swing. The 3rd swing will knock up any minions or champions hit within the radius. Her Q works very well with her passive as you can Q and then AA, Q AA, and then one final Q to knock up and then the last AA to finish to finish it off.
Her W is called Ki Burst. It is a small AOE circle surrounding Riven's character stunning all enemies within its radius for 0.75 seconds. This is a great move for catching enemies off guard and as continuing your combo. After Riven uses her full Q combo, she can Ki Burst and AA for free to continue the string. Her W can be used to start team fights if enough enemies are hit by a well timed Ki Burst and your team is with you to follow up. In a way it also works as an escape if the Ki burst is timed well. It works as a full circle surrounding Riven meaning that if an enemy happened to be chasing right behind you and relied on close combat, her W could stun the enemy while you can run away at the same time. Ki Burst deals 100% bonus AD and is normally Riven's last maxed ability.
The Valor Shield is a dash in the direction the cursor is pointing and shields Riven for 1.5 seconds. Her shield is used to absorb damage in fights as well as close the distance on chasing enemies or possibly escaping them. It is her lowest cooldown ability and normally maxed 2nd after Q. The shield strength is not only determined by how many points you put in it but also her bonus AD. The Valor Shield grants its base stats as well as adding 100% of Riven's bonus AD.
Blade of the Exile, the ultimate ability. Riven's sword is transformed into its full glory for 15 seconds as she unleashes havoc on any one in her way. Gaining 20% bonus AD, an increase to 200 range on her basic attacks, increase of range to Broken Wings and Ki Burst, and a one time ability to cast Wind Slash, she becomes a force to be reckoned with. Her ultimate should be used at the start the fight, not half way through it. Her bonuses are applied only after her ultimate is used and only last for 15 seconds so make your time count!
Wind Slash shoots a wave of energy in a cone from Riven's blade when activated. Dealing physical damage to all enemies hit, increased by their missing health, her Wind Slash can shred through enemy health bars as well as being a very good finishing move. The more missing health your opponent has, the more damage Wind Slash will do. It is one of her best abilities for killing opponents near death as it generally will be the final nail in their coffin if hit correctly. Wind Slash is an AOE ability meaning it can hit all enemies it goes through in its radius. If many enemies are all low health and grouped together, Wind Slash could kill all of them if placed correctly.
Thank you very much for reading and if you have any questions please feel free to message me. I really hope this helps everyone and don't forget to upvote if you found this to be helpful.