originally written by SiberDrac in this thread;https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/2zkn72/why_are_most_riven_players_such_cocky_assholes/
"Sit back, and I will tell you of the Exile's Curse. Many champions are resource-gated, cooldown-gated, game-length-gated (looking at you, Nasus) - SOMEthing that imposes a weakness on them to limit their power in-game. Riven and possibly Zed are exceptions to that rule: Riven (and maybe Zed) are limited only by the mechanical skill of the person playing them. Riven CAN 1 v 5, get kills, and get out alive because with appropriate cooldown reduction and lifesteal, she can continuously spam abilities and keep herself going. She CAN dive two people and double-kill. She CAN single-handedly carry a game, and the only limitation is the player's mechanics. You can interrupt Katarina's ult; you can hard-cc Akali; you can Zhonya's or QSS Zed; you can catch up to Irelia; but Riven will hard-cc you back, her threat is far too continuous for Zhonya's, her mobility is unparalleled (except maybe Nidalee (but fuck Nidalee)), and if you make a mistake while chasing her, she will kill you, no questions asked. For these reasons, Riven players are actually trapped. They're all aware of this... this skill-gated condition. Every death they experience isn't "Well, they piled on me in a one v five I didn't want - obviously I died" like a Cassiopeia or a Vayne. Instead, they know - they KNOW, deep in their hearts - they could've survived and won if they'd been more skilled, faster, smarter. Every time they DO survive and get kills? Fuck yeah, man. They did it RIGHT. They have the reins on this god-tier champion and NO OTHER CHAMPION could have done what she just did - these other plebs and their Leblanc point-and-click, Ahri Foxfire bullshit couldn't've done that with all their "free" damage. So, it is a curse. They're cursed by twenty to fifty minutes of constant, roiling inner turmoil, experiencing at all times the highs and lows of self-loathing and self-adulation; self-righteousness and self-chastisement. "Fuck I missed a minion THERE'S NO REASON TO MISS A CREEP SCORE" "chunked half that fucking Gnar's health in one combo and he didn't touch me I AM A GOD." Pity the Riven player and revere her. She has given herself to the sword-that-was and to the Exile; being an asshole to the rest of the world is not the only outlet remaining to her for the maelstrom that has hence consumed her, but it is the quickest. Forgive her, if you can; let not her flaming weather your thicker shell, for hers is broken, and for her choice, she can only forge onward to seek the respect of her peers... and redemption."