So here's my build.

As you might've noticed it's centered around mana, as any good Ryze build should be {If you run AP Ryze, you're doing it wrong}. After playing a lot of when I first began League of Legends December 2010 (we've all been there, don't deny it), I figured I'd play the coolass blue guy from the Super Epic Cinematic Trailer for League, and he's all the coolass blue guy I hoped he'd be. I don't always play Ryze, but when I do, the title of the build says it all.

Typically you'll see a tankier Ryze, as this is how he EXCELS in my opinion. I only play ranked (though not much to show for it, as I rarely get mid lane) And this build is what wins me games as Ryze.

Pros

Tanky/great for lasting out in fights
Great burst and damage
Mana Based build lets you practically never run out of mana
Rune Prison is great for singling out enemies for your team to jump on

Cons

You have no escapes unless you've been holding onto Rune Prison
VERY mana dependent early game/hard to use if you have trouble conserving mana
Generally short range on all his spells.
Easy to gank because of lack of escapes
All spells are On-Target spells, so you can't face check bushes or fire into bushes you know people are in for the last hit

Countering

Fizz - Veigar - Ahri - Katarina - Morgana - Vladimir - Kennen - Evelynn

Counters

Cassiopeia - Xerath - Brand - Orianna - Ziggs - Twisted Fate
Notice that Ryze is good against short range and mobile champions and weak vs Long range champions. Just remember that if you can't remember them all

Basic stuff.


Provides that extra damage to finish people off, stop them from healing and just adds to your damage.

I find Flash a no-brainer on Ryze. I feel its works better than . I generally think you should always take flash.

Some alternatives for can be:

Gives global presence
OR
This is for inexperienced players or people who are not familiar with or comfortable dealing with mana hungry champions. Only use this when you start playing, once you get the hang of it, swap out.
OR
Maybe this is your preference, and that's all up to you. I personally enjoy ignite, but exhaust is equally viable.

My runes might look weird, but think about it, Ryze is all about mana.
All mana and nothing else. Obviously you're not going to buy a ton of mana runes just to play Ryze, so there are some obvious alternatives.
In keeping with his tanky aspects, I recommend:

Now for Masteries

Not everyone goes 21-6-3. You most often see the age old combination of 21 and 9.

I spec into offense all the way down the tree because Ryze is a bursty SOB. And even with how strong his burst is, correct comboing can increase this damage as well as give a slightly more sustained damage.

I put 3 into the Utility tree just for the bonus mana. You're Ryze, you literally can not have enough mana. I don't continue because the small amount of mana regen isn't really that helpful, and unless you're at least good with Ryze, going for a full fledged attack isn't really your style until level 6, when your ultimate gives you that bit of extra damage and sustain you want.

And to help you along your merry undying way. I grab the MR and Armor from the defense tree.

Alrighty, onto the item choices

The build you see is my normal Ryze build, going full on the mana train and grabbing all the great tank items that accompany it.

Starting standard Boots 3hp pots.
x3
Then build your Tear of Goddess starting with Sapphire Crystal if you can't get it your first back. Also grab at least one ward and more Health potions. (check warding section for placement) With one ward, favor that side, so you have more time when being ganked from the other side to easily stay out of reach.
sight ward
After this I try to save up enough gold for a Catalyst the Protector, and if not the full, start by buying Sapphire Crystal first then Ruby if you can.
Desired ~~~ catalyst the protectorsight ward
Because of Rod of Ages' passive effect, {every minute for 10 minutes gaining +18hp +20mana and +2AP capping at 180hp 200mana and 20AP (for those of us who can't do math)} you're going to want to grab this as soon as possible to take advantage of these bonuses.

I have Mercury Treads placed after RoA, but usually, unless you're enjoying a strong dominance in lane or their jungler is particularly bad, you'll want the extra movespeed and MR for survivability of the other APC's damage and escaping from ganks. You should have your RoA generally late lane phase or early mid game, unless you're doing really great (We don't do bad as Ryze).
catalyst the protectorsight ward

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INTO
catalyst the protectorsight ward

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OR
sight ward

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END PHASE
sight ward

Now as you're moving into more and more team fights, you'll be fighting against the enemy team's AD carry, probable AD bruiser top, and CC jungler. Depending on the actual make up of the team, the build order is subject to change.
Fed Guys like or
sight ward
If you're still not surviving fights from a general mix of damage, you're going to want to build your Banshee's Veil to stop that spell and damage/CC and enjoy the extra MR, HP, Mana, and damage (!!!yay mana boosted spells!!!).
sight ward
If you're rolling through the enemy team and carrying the mountain of a team on your back (like you should be) go straight into an Archangel's Staff for the extra AP, mana regen and the extra AP {More mana means more AP (3% of total mana is added as AP) for those of you who don't know}.
sight ward

RECAP

Need to survive?
Get OR
Carrying with no threat?
Go sight wardthen go into sight ward For AD heavy OR sight ward

End game you should buff into and finish off your build with or my preferred alternative
!!!DONT FORGET!!!

-- Mercury Treads are great, deny some CC time and add on some MR. I recommend Merc's over any other boots because with this build, you finish with 180 Armor, but only 110 MR without Merc's, and the point of playing Ryze is to never die and carry to victory, or even provide and great damage producing tank. So don't grab and are obviously pointless, along with you don't need to chase down idoits with your burst and You're CD's are short enough with your passive, since you don't usually farm with and only with if you turn on your ult. The only other boots I would recommend are

-- Pretty basic and well known. It provides great HP, even more mana (DAMAGE!!!!), and AP, while not necessarily on Ryze, is always nice for the damage boost.

-- If you don't take this, you're wrong. Ryze's low cooldown Q (Which after you get Tear, should be used to supplement your farming with more ease) will max out your bonus mana on Tear easily or get it damn near full by the time you get Archangel's. Lot's of MANA!!!(DAMAGE!!!) AP with more AP from passive, and more mana regen

-- The build is focused on being tanky as hell. Thus you need a Frozen Heart. It supplies the most armor of any item's currently in League (ignoring which provides 100Armor to Frozen Heart's 99Armor) But it also provides our all important MANA and DAMAGE. This item is all about Ryze, and with some Cooldown Reduction and Aura Attack Speed reduction, it's well worth the gold.

-- Here we have more HP and yet again MANA!!!(DAMAGE!!!) Add this with the MR you'll need to be that tank threat, and the wonderful passive of blocking a spell completely You just got a whole lot more tanky.

-- Here's where I think I lose people, but here's the rub. Sure you can grab another or or even MR based items like or but Lich bane offers a LOT of effects. You get bonus movespeed, you get more MR, you get a decent amount of MANA!!!(DAMAGE!!!) and you get some ability power. Now, as an even bigger benefit you get it's unique passive. With your 185 AP (based of the stats of this build) you get an added 185 damage onto your next auto attack (with a cooldown of 2 seconds, which isn't really worrisome with how bursty you should be playing, thus not AA a lot) this comes to just under 300 damage on your AA. With good management you can throw this in in the middle of your combo and then again by the end of it. That's 370 damage (before resists) that you'd be missing out on without Lich.

General

-- This is my build and how I do it. But there are several Items you can swap in and out for Ryze. I'm not going to explain these but as follows are Abyssal Staff and to name a few. (Notice there are no mana based items, this is because literally all mana items are used (excluding {you have and you're not AD} and {you have } for obvious reasons)

Here's why I choose in the order shown and what they do

Passive -

Arcane Mastery

- When Ryze casts a spell, all other spells have their cooldown reduced by 1 second.
Q -

Overload

- Ryze throws a charge of pure energy at an enemy for heavy damage and additional damage based upon Ryze's maximum mana. Ryze also gains passive cooldown reduction.
Active: Deals 60/85/110/135/160 (+0.4) plus 6.5% of Ryze's maximum Mana (+0.065) in magic damage.
Passive: Gains 2/4/6/8/10% cooldown reduction.
W -

Rune Prison

- Ryze traps target enemy unit in a cage of runes, preventing them from moving and dealing damage. Also gains bonus damage based on Ryze's maximum mana.
Roots an enemy for 0.75/1/1.25/1.5/1.75 seconds, dealing 60/95/130/165/200 (+0.6) plus 4.5% of Ryze's maximum Mana (+0.05) in magic damage.
E -

Spell Flux

- Ryze releases an orb of pure magical power that deals damage and bounces from the initial target up to 6 times. Targets hit have their magic resistance reduced.
Unleashes an orb that bounces to enemies or Ryze up to 5 times.
Each bounce deals 50/70/90/110/130 (+0.35) plus 1% of Ryze's maximum Mana (+0.01) magic damage and reduces Magic Resist by 12/15/18/21/24 for 5 seconds.
R -

Desperate Power

- Ryze channels immense arcane power, he gains spell vamp and all of his spells deal area of effect damage.
Channels immense arcane power gaining 15/20/25% Spell Vamp, and 35/45/55 Movement Speed. Spells deal 50% area of effect damage for 5/6/ seconds.

Alright. You max your Q, first. It's your primary source of damage as it has the lowest cooldown and the most damage, while providing some passive base cooldown. Grab a point in your W, at level 2, but max it last. It roots enemies to the spot for a duration, which is handy if your jungler is going to gank very early. I grab a point is at level 4, since you don't really need to start any fights this early in the game, and should be focused on farming. I max this 2nd over because even without the AOE from your ult, bounces 5 time after its first hit, can bounce of you, and reduces enemy MR (which stacks on subsequent hits). You can use you to get 3 whole hits if you're fighting in jungle close quarters, which gives more damage than . While does not Prioritize champions, chances are in a fight, you'll hit them more than once. At level 1, reduces 12 MR, and with two hits, 24, which leaves most champion at this point in the game with only 6 MR, unless (which they most likely will) they have MR specs in masteries and runes. But even still, this leaves their MR severely reduced, providing more damage potential. leveling is obvious and needs no explanation. Spell vamp and 50% AOE damage (hey multiple hits).

Your Combo in close range usually 1v1

(able to follow up with ) - - - - - * (*provided your target is still alive or still in range)

Combo Long range usually starting fight or closing gap on long range opponent

(Do not recommend starting 1v1 fights with this. More for team fights if you have a weak engage or no engage on team) - - - - - * (* Use as it becomes ready as well as other abilities)

End Game Combo

- (Requires Lich Bane and Good management and skill, as well as positioning) - Auto Attack - - - Auto Attack - - - Auto Attack - - * (* Continue until Fight is over)
The Late game combo works with not a priority as you're team fighting by the time you have a full build. In team fights your opponents should be dropping like flies (you should be carrying ;D) and saving allows you to catch someone (we all know it's ) trying to get away.
Obviously these combos are situational and depending on the situation may be subject to different orders, with your most common combo -- -- -- With a sufficient mana pool you can spam this over and over, forcing your opponent out of lane or low enough for a kill.

Getting CS

Guys, we all know getting CS is the way to get all our items as soon as we want them, and with Ryze, the temptation to [icon=overload size=24} every damn minion is really high. THIS IS NOT OK. Ryze is a mana dependent champion, and especially early game you want to hold onto as much mana as possible. Last hitting is the most important skill to be a great League player. If you cs poorly, try playing a custom game alone, and focus on CSing those free creeps. Once you get your and catalyst the protector your mana pool will be increasing as you should start Qing about 1 of every 6 minions, or 1 minion per wave. (I use it for CS I won't get due to low attack speed when two minions are both low). Obviously once you have a full blown Rod of Ages size 24 coupled with a generous pool of mana from and you can start freely blowing your to farm minions faster. If you find yourself pushing lane very hard, take a step back and take your jungle's wraiths

Laning Phase

Wards in Baron and Dragon brush. Put a Ward in mid lane contiguous (touching) brush if needed. Ward the entrance to enemy wraiths and brush that goes into blue side enemy jungle. If jungler does not, and you can afford it, place a ward ontop of blue spawn. (high elo in blue brush) When warding gank preventive, if you're not able to afford generous warding. Focus on placing the majority of wards on the side the enemy jungler's starting buff is.

Mid Late Game

Yes you need to ward. While this is mainly the supports' job, they can't afford wards for every portion of the map unless they stomp bot lane. Everyone should pitch in and buy a ward or two every back. Place wards where they aren't. Spots are blue brush, red brush(be careful on placement; it should be very edge so its still in brush but give sight of camp) jungle entrances, and lane brushes. Dragon and Baron should be warded by a support with a unless they have Tell them this.

Starting Out

Start standard Boots and pots, and run straight for River brush that is contiguous (touching) mid lane by running straight up mid lane. Go to the corresponding brush that helps you watch for invades, and keeps you close enough to provide a leash. Leash however the hell you want. Run into lane and start CSing and let the early game commence. You should try to stay in lane long enough to buy your Tear of Goddess, 2~3 hp pots, and a ward or two, depending on their jungler's aggressiveness and CC capabilities. After you have your tear and maybe a Sapphire Crystal for Catalyst, you can start more freely using to help you farm, but try not to push. Once you hit level 6, Calling for a gank would be a good idea, whether or not you're winning (unless of course you have enemy pushed under turret, which you shouldn't) If you have a firm grasp on your lane, you should start roaming to lanes that need help, allowing for even a 4 man gank. I choose never to take turrets until ~15 minutes, which allows you to get your CS up as well as picking on your opponent if you're dominating the lane.

Don't forget to keep up on your CS. CS is important as hell to get your items. In team fights lock down squishier champions (ADC and APC) depending on who's the greatest threat. If you can knock one of these out of the fight right away, you get rid of a major source of damage on the enemy team. You choose squishy because 1. You're trying to kill the guys with the most damage and 2. Burst damage isn't that great against tanks, don't waste it. Make sure you're team can keep control of Objectives by making sure (though people don't always listen) your team grabs wards and wards important spots on the map. You should not be the engage on your team, as (I'd say are not if I didn't know any better) you shouldn't be the tankiest champion on your team, and starting a fight with isn't desirable for you're comboing into the fight or as an engage in general.

Well that's about it

Thanks for sticking around and reading my guide. I realize it got wordy and lengthy as it progressed, but knowing is half the battle. After learning you can implement into game. So I've said it once, and Ill say it again,

MANA MANA MANA

guys.

(And some tanky stuff too)

Your job is that of any AP carry, so CS and take care of those enemy carries, and stay safe. I hope this helped you learn how to play Ryze and leads to success in your future games. Any comments dealing with helpful ideas or tips I might've skipped over, missed, or anything you find helpful playing Ryze would be greatly appreciated.