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Ryze in a Nutshell

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Spells:

Ghost

Flash

Ability Order

Ryze Passive Ability

Notes

Hi guys, this is my first build on Mobafire. Hope it'll be of some use to everyone. I've played Ryze for quite some time now, and he's given me countless wins in that time.

I agree that he's one of the easier champs to play, but he's also one of the deadliest once mastered. There are plenty of ways to build Ryze using items I may not have mentioned here.. this is simply the build I use and have had the most luck with.

Please remember that I rarely play Ryze anything but mid unless I'm forced to, so this guide is mostly built around that.

Abbreviations:

OL = Overload
RP = Rune prison
SF = Spell Flux
DP = Desperate Power
CD = Cooldown
CDR = Cooldown Reduction
Ulti = Ultimate Ability (your R move)
AOE = Area of Effect

Pros / Cons

PROS:

Fun to play
Massive damage output
Easy to use abilities
Bouncing ball is an exceptional harassing ability

CONS:

Useless when silenced, or stunned.
First targeted in a teamfight or gank
Super squishy

Runes

Runes are geared towards Magic Penetration and CDR to maximize damage output on your spells, and their frequency of use.

Masteries

I used a standard 9/0/21 in all games I play with Ryze. The extra 15 percent magic penetration really helps early game, especially with the -15 magic resist debuff from Spell Flux.

21 in utility to help with mana usage, and also for the reduced recharge time of your summoner spells. I tend to use these a LOT in game, so more is always better.

Skill Sequence

ARCANE MASTERY
Ryze's passive is perfect for him. Not much to say on this one though. CDR makes me happy :)

OVERLOAD
This is what will be doing most of your late game damage. The bonuses from AP and your mana pool make this skill deadly.

RUNE PRISON
A great snare. Can be used in ganks, in escapes, or to save fleeing team mates from their pursuers.

SPELL FLUX
My favorite. Mastering this skill doubles it's effectiveness. Used properly you can extend the range of this skill quite a bit by using enemy minions to bounce the ball farther. Large damage output early and late game.

DESPERATE POWER
Bonus amount of AP plus an added AOE effect. You can't really go wrong with that. Great for nuking groups of enemies, or for farming up a juicy group of minions in one shot :)

Items

My item choices lean towards maxing mana, and spiking ability power. Not very uncommon for a caster. I like to throw in some CDR too though because the more often you can cast your abilities, the more often people die :)

Ryze's Overload gains a good amount of bonus damage from your mana pool, so keep that in mind when purchasing items.

I build Archangel's Staff up from Tear for the bonuses to mana/regen and AP.
Magic penetration is always welcome, and is the first step towards the heavy burst damage you need and want.
A great item on any caster, and as usual the earlier the better.
Gives a HUGE boost to AP, almost doubling the damage you're probably doing at the time you get it.
This may seem like more of a situational item.. but if you're playing Ryze mid and doing well.. who in their right mind isn't going to get magic resist against you?
This is one of my favorites for it's CDR, and the armor definitely doesn't hurt either.

Item Note

Some people like to buy this item at some point.. and that's really up to you. The bonus to mana is very nice, but I don't find the health bonus to be of much use to Ryze. Typically if you end up getting focused you're not going to make it out either way. Up to you though. If you get it, get it early to maximize the benefit you get from it.

Playing as Ryze

Early Game

I like to take and for my summoner spells. Both are great for getting in quick to throw Rune Prison down on an enemy champ, or gettin' your rear outa there once all your spells are on CD.

I start off with a and two which helps me stay in lane as long as possible. While laning mid I try to stick back as far as I can while last hitting creeps with auto attack. Use SF often to harass the enemy champ when they're out of range by bouncing it off an enemy minion that's close to them. SF is also great for last hitting creeps, or doing both in one go :)

Early game you have to find the right balance of harassment, and mana conservation. Make sure you always have enough mana to be able to use all your abilities together. Without mana you are completely useless, and very very tasty.

To help with this just remember that you don't always have to eat up all your mana with the SF>RP>OLcombination. Just SF is fine, or a SF then an OL to capitalize on the magic resist debuff from SF.

As always when playing mid you want to be watching top and bottom lanes for opportunities to gank, but for the most part I try and stay in my lane 'till at least level 6. After all the harassing I've been doing they're usually pretty low at this point. I'll use a combination of Ghost and Flash to get myself close enough to finish them off with DP>SF>RP>OL. Make sure you don't pop your ulti before you hit Ghost or Flash as it will give away your intentions. If they're still alive after that you can usually finish them pretty easily with one last SF, picking up an easy kill.

After I get back to town I finish my tear of the godess and buy . Pick up your now too if you have the money. The earlier the better as you want to start building your stacks early on.

If the game isn't going so hot pick up your first, and grab your meajai's soulstealer on your next trip back.

Mid Game

You should be focusing on finishing off your as soon as you can to keep your mana up. If I'm doing good at this point in the game and all the ganks are going smoothly I'll usually save up for my as soon as possible. This usually gives you around 200 AP at this point in the game, taking the 30% bonus into consideration as well.

The timing on the last two items in my build order is really up to you. What's happening in-game plays a big part in when I get either item. Get if you find your damage is waning due to magic resist.

If you're not having a problem with magic resist yet grab first and then go on to buy after.

Running with a gank squad at this point in time is probably your best bet. Alone Ryze can be overcome quite easly, and it doesn't take too many hits to tear him down.

During teamfights you WILL be focused first, so to counter... don't be seen. Ever. Always hang out near the back, or in bushes nearby. If the enemy knows you're with your allies they'll be far more cautious to engage being as you can take off half off most squishie's HP bars in one go with your ult.

Be cautious when entering a teamfight without Ghost or Flash available.

Once a teamfight initiates use ghost to speed your way in (still on the outskirts of the fight, of course) and DP>SF>RP>OL on the middle-most of their group so that the AOE hits everyone. Then get your butt out of there and let your team mop up. Use flash to get out if necessary. Once cooldowns refresh take out any stragglers.

Towards late game this tactic is EXTREMELY important. If you ever get focused you are dead. Period. Don't let it happen.

Depending on the situation I'll sometimes wait a few seconds after the team fight starts before I come in and let off my damage burst. This will not only net you the kills, it'll also ensure the enemy champs won't have a chance to run away. The only downside to this strategy is that you may be sacrificing some of your squishier team members in those few seconds you wait. Up to you though.

Late Game

Late game... well it's pretty much the same as mid game strategy. Don't get focused, don't get killed. Stay with your teammates, and make sure you're in every team fight. Farming is okay when needed but just remember that whenever you're not in a teamfight your team is at a very large disadvantage. Use your ulti to help farm up minions quickly when you can.

This is usually where I end up finishing off my . Most games I play are over before I get to finish this one though.