Why play Ryze and when to play Ryze?

Well, in my case I always play Ryze if top is available.

Ryze itself is not countered by any specific champion in lane because you can always just stay under the turret and farm with Q.

However, Ryze is vulnerable to CC, Gap closers and Tenacy.

Player skill will also influence the matchup greatly.

Why you pick Ryze? Because your late game is awesome, you deal damage like there is no tomorrow, and the AOE + SpellVamp of your R can turn a teamfight around.

Target selection in teamfights is key, along with keeping yourself alive.

What are the cons of Ryze?

You have little escape mechanisms. You can get 100-0 easily if CC and focused. If you fall behind in the early game you will feel useless in the initial skirmishes.

Also, your DPS depends heavily on your combo, if you mess about you will spend 2 to 3 seconds waiting for cooldowns while your are getting killed.

Ryze requires dedication, your win rate with this champion depends on your familiarity with the limits of the champion.

Which runes to use?

1) Movement Speed Quints - This is critical. You are an AP damage dealer that needs to be on close range to deal damage. Also you need something to use at escaping.

The 1 sec W on your opponents will be better if you are running faster.

I never use other runes, but i guess you could try AP quints instead...


2) Greater Mark of Magic Penetration

Here the choice is between this and hybrid, but you have to be at a very high level at auto attack harass to make full use of those... i havent, so i use these.

3) Greater Seal of Scaling Armor

Numbers say that if you reach lvl 6 alive, these are better than flat... so play safe as you should and reap the rewards of your extra tankiness in later fights.

4) Greater Glyph of Magic Resist

Here, the choice is less obvious.

Flat MR runes works wonders in the early game when they act almost as a 400g item. Their usefulness goes down as the game progresses.

On the other hand you can "cheat" with Scaling Runes of MR if your lane opponent and jungler are AD.

Think about the team composition and the magic damage that you will face...

If in a "blind" or coin toss situation i would go always with the flat MR.

Q - Use to farm, to create stacks on passive and to harass, you are rounder.

However, it is not to be picked first on most matchups.

Pick E 1st, then 2nd point Q, 3rd point W.

From then on, max R when possible, Q, E, and W is last.

W - One point wonder, 1 second snare, useful for so many things. Your CC to escaping and chasing, can be played twice in one full combo if your passive is up.

E - Massive MR shredded and damage dealer when you find them within the enemy minion wave.

R - When you get this at lvl 6 is a big boost. Don't be afraid to use it to lane sustain + heavy harass or escape an enemy gank.

What are the optimal itens for ryze as of this patch?

1) Start with Mana Crystal and 2 Health Pots.

The purpose is to upgrade to Tear as soon as possible. Even if all goes to worse and you are ganked early, burn a flash and escape with little health, getting that tear and using teleport to return to the turret makes you at least even with your lane opponent.


2) The boots of speed and ruby crystal are essential on your 2nd return, as your TP is probably still on CD. That extra movement speed and health should allow you to keep farming safely. If you have extra gold, keep going the Catalyst path.


3) Catalyst first, then Rod of Ages. This is the core of the your items. This is where you still start to feel like you can make a difference in team fights.


4) From here on you may deviate from the build, although I fully recommend the AP penetration items, starting with the upgraded boots. Always keep in mind what the other team major threats are and itemize accordingly.

Laning Phase:

Learn to last hit with auto attacks. Yes, its hard, but you need to auto constantly to take creeps and harass the melee champions. Make them afraid of going all in on you by just poking. At the first sign of danger take a step back. If they commit they will likely by in your minion wave.

At lvl 1 E is a good harasser. However it makes mana scarce, so at lvl 2, conserve your mana and use Q instead. Remember all the health they lost at lvl 1 to E, sticks when they lvl up. Often the opponent will come to lane with pots or even a flask. If you feel the damage is not going to stick, just use autos.

Save your W for disengage or when going for the kill.

At lvl 6 if they do not respect your passive (3 stacks), go to them W, R, E, Q. It might not seem ideal, but while W keeps them in the minion wave, R + E does massive damage and clears the path for a point blank Q.

Since you are using your R, remember to keep running in their direction between casts, in order to be in range for more spells.

In the long top lane you can make full use of your added movement speed + the movement speed quints.

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Ganks

If you are dominating the lane expect enemy ganks. With 1 ward only use it on the river brush. Its not fool proof but it might give you a head start.

If you feel you cannot escape even with a flash dont use it.

However if you do feel you can, use it a first opportunity and save yourself mana and health to stay relevant in lane.

Teleport is not a combat spell, but used right it reads:

Shop at base, full HP and Mana, return to turret.

It does not matter if you are losing a bit if they cannot kill you with ignite for example.

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Almost forgot about the one OP item in League of Legends...

The upgraded yellow trinket. This 250g are the best gold spend at lvl 9 and more. I lost count to the number of times the vision allowed me to do better plays or just avoid facechecking the enemy trap. Use the wards at CD and you will have 3 on the field at all times. Thats alot of vision for 250g. Ignore this part at your own risk.

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Teamfights

Remember, you are a late scaling beast that just needs farm early. Take a kill if you can, but farming and staying safe is top priority. At lvl 9 - 11 you should already be getting bigger and the Road of Ages will be a big "powerspike" once finished.

Stay at the back of the team, you are an AP ADC, you will get lots and lots of AOE damage, then you will wait for cooldowns and do it all over again.

The more time you stay alive, the more are the odds of your team winning.

Also your shield along with clever use of positioning and Flash use, can make you survive enough to deal your damage.

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Late Game

You should be dealing damage like there is no tomorrow, you WILL top the damage charts, IF you stay alive.

Take this guide with a grain of salt, my nick is MagmaFires, Gold IV, 56% win rate with Ryze, 200+ Games with the champion this season.

Ryze is not an easy champion, people will feel at times you are useless when behind, or that the game is over. Ignore them! Stay focused, farm, and if you survive to the late game you will be carrying them to victory.

Of course, the enemy team if they are good will know that and kill you if you mistep. Stay alive, and deal as much damage as possible. Spam your spells whenever you are in a teamfight, the shield will save you in close shaves. You might die, but if you deal 70% health damage to 3 targets, you have done your part. Mid or ADC will likely clean up.

Have fun :) and Ryze to the Top!