Riven/SkinsTrivia

Champion	Ability Details	Background	Strategy	Skins & Trivia

Skins

Classic Skin
14-Sep-2011
Crimson Elite Riven
520 14-Sep-2011
Redeemed Riven
975 14-Sep-2011
Battle Bunny Riven
975 06-Apr-2012
Championship Riven
975 (Limited Edition) / 14-Oct-2012

Chinese artwork

Classic Skin
Crimson Elite Riven

Trivia

Riven was designed by Xypherous.
- When Xypherous was creating Riven's character, her backstory was a little different. In her former backstory, she was a Demacian who was exiled for rescuing Noxian refugees from Demacian persecution.
- After Riven's backstory was changed to being a Noxian, Xypherous took some inspiration from the Japanese comic/anime series Rurouni Kenshin, particularly from the character Seta Sōjirō, the Heaven's Sword.^[1]
- Her story is also reminiscent of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings saga; Aragorn was exiled with a broken sword which was reforged in his path to defeat Sauron and recover his kingdom.
- Xypherous states that the theme he and Riot were going for with Riven was, "Noxus is broken, but through my will and the fight - Noxus can be remade."^[2]
Riven's name and title is likely reference to the Myst series of games, the second and third games being named "Riven" and "Exile", respectively.
"Riven" literally means torn apart, or broken asunder.
Riven is voiced by Cristina Valenzuela.
Xypherous has stated that the original pitch for Riven was "gooder than good".^[3]
Riven's skill set is inspired by Marth's move set from the game Super Smash Bros. Melee.^[4] Marth's character is originally from Intelligent Systems' Fire Emblem series.
- Riven was codenamed "Marth" during her design phase.
- While most of her "Marth move sets" ended up not being used, her Broken Wings mirrors Marth's Dancing Blade.
- It's possible that her ability Wind Slash is loosely inspired by Inuyasha's Wind Scar, since both of them create a powerful wind that damages enemies.
After the release of Riven's "Champion Sneak Peek", there was a preview of her appearance in PC Gamer Magazine.
- When her "Champion Sneak Peek" was originally posted, Riven's title was "The Exile", but was later changed into "The Shattered Exile". Her title has since been changed back to being "The Exile" in her "A New Champion Approaches".
Riven's "A New Champion Approaches" page was leaked accidentally in the announcements forum, but was then quickly replaced by the Golden Joystick Awards 2011 post.
Riven was released concurrently with the end of Season One.
Riven's dance is based on the "Water Dance of Braavos" from the HBO series Game of Thrones.
Before Riven's release her passive, Runic Blade, was known as the "Art of War". This can be seen in her "Champion Spotlight".
In Riven's "Mechanics Preview", her Ki Burst was called "Ki Shout".
(Mike Laygo (Ohmikegoodness)) animated Riven. He also animated "The Kid" from the game Bastion.

Quotes

While using her ultimate Blade of the Exile, Riven gains an additional taunt and joke, as well as other various emotes.
- During Blade of the Exile, Riven's voice seems to have an echo.
Riven's quote "So much death" is a likely reference to the line "So much death... What can man do against such reckless hate?" that is spoken by King Theoden during the battle of Helms Deep in Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers.

Skins

Classic Riven's splash art was revised four times before her release, causing her to have no Art Spotlight before her release.
- Riven has another splash art for her Classic skin as shown in the champion spotlight while previewing her skins.
Redeemed Riven is likely a reference to her former backstory in which Riven was an exile from Demacia. Her armor appears similar to that of some Demacian champions.
- Riven's sword for her Redeemed skin has a turqoise-colored light outlining the area it was shattered.
- After Riven's release, her Redeemed Splash Art showed her having blue-colored clothing while in game her clothing was teal-colored. This was fixed to where both the Splash Art and the in-game skin showed her having teal-colored clothing.
- Redeemed Riven also has a concept art showing her clothing with red color. This version bears a striking resemblance to War from the Darksiders games.
Battle Bunny Riven is based on the community-suggested "Bunny Girl Riven" from this community thread and artworks, which themselves were based on Playboy bunnies.
- It was first featured as part of Riot's Urf Day/April Fool's Day celebrations. It was viewable in Riven's in-game profile for that day, labeled 'Unavailable'. The game was later patched to remove it from view.
- In the Splash Art, Urgot, Talon, Vladimir, Swain, and Zac can be seen in the background.
- The Splash Art contains 2 easter eggs, Zac and Swain's Tryant skin.
Riven's design is similar to Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII

Relations

During an Ionian ambush on Noxian troops, Singed launched a barrage of biochemical terror on both forces. Riven witnessed as around her Ionian and Noxian alike fell victim to an unspeakably gruesome fate. This incident led Riven to wander in self-imposed exile, seeking atonement and searching for her own way to serve the pure Noxian vision in which she believed.