I'm making this guide because I feel Ryze should be played this way post 2/16 patch and would like to see other's opinions on why/how they would change it.

This is probably going to be a lengthy guide as I'm most likely going to go into too much detail, it's just the way I am. :)

(I couldn't help myself with the corny title lol)

Seals: 9x Mana per lvl
Glyphs: 9x Mana per lvl
Marks: 9x Magic Pen
3x Mana per lvl

Reasoning

Why all the Mana per lvl?
At lvl 18 you will have +644 mana. This converts to an additional 64 damage on Q and 32 damage on W. Having that much additional damage from JUST RUNES is pretty crazy and cannot be ignored. You could argue flat mana instead of per lvl for a better early game but it's really personal preference.

Magic Pen self-explanatory.


Why not x?

MP5/lvl: Having this much mana simply eliminates the need for this additional mana regen. Plus, starting with Sapphire Crystal and getting a quick Tear of the Goddess really takes care of the mana issue.

HP/lvl: These can be nice for newer players, but simply put, a couple health potions are all that's needed for laning. Mid/late game is taken care of with Rod of Ages and or Banshee's Vail the health is taken care of.

CDR: Not needed with the 9% from Masteries, 10% from Q, and 15% from Glacial Shroud. 34% total.

Flat or per/lvl AP: Outdmaged by mana runes.

MR or AR: Taken care of by Banshee's and Glacial Shroud.

Don't think many people will argue Magic Pen here.

Again, mana is king and I don't see a need for Movement Speed, HP, etc.. You could argue Magic Pen but again, personal preference.

A little different from the "standard AP caster Page." I'll focus on the main differences.

4/4 Expanded Mind: 5% of 3k-4k Mana is 150-200 mana, 15-20 damage on Q, 7-10 damage on W.

3/4 Awareness: This is always useful early game if you can get that lvl a couple creeps before your enemy and go for the kill. Can flip-flop the last point with Expanded Mind, personal preference.

0/3 Meditation: Again, not needed with the amount of mana you have, Tear of the Goddes, and Catalyst.

This is more of a "direction" guide. You should never go into a game saying I'm going to get A,B,C,X,Y,Z in that exact order every single game. You should rely on "feel" and the flow of the game.

Start
Sapphire Crystal
2x Health pots

First Trip back (atleast ~950g)
Tear of the Goddess
Boots 1
HP Pots if extra gold

The rest of the items are the "feel" items

No problems in lane, high creep kills, maybe a kill or two:
Rod of Ages
Note: If having problems and gold is coming at a premium I may disregard this altogether and build Banshee's from the catalyst, I don't want to be completing this when 30 minutes has gone by.

Mercury Treads
Note: These could be made before the completion of your first main item, again, "feel".
Note: If dominating the game or other team has lack of CC/Ap damage, consider Sorc Boots.

Having problems against AP damage or too much time has gone by for Rod of Ages:
Banshee's Vail

Having problems against AD:
Glacial Shroud
Note: Yes, Glacial Shroud, no, not Frozen Heart. Why? 54 armor, 75 mana, 5% CDR, and the 20% debuff is great and all, don't get me wrong. But, this being such an already defensive build I think the 1250g should be spent elsewhere as Glacial Shrould is already a great item for this build. Personal preference.

At this point you'll have spent around 9600g. Most games wont get much further or might not even make it this far. In the case it does, I would consider the following:

Finish the tear into Archangle's Staff
Finish Glacial Shroud into Frozen Heart
If heavy MR on other team Void Staff


Items to stay away from:
Lich Bane - You'll only have the 80AP plus the ~100AP if you get Archangle's, it's just not worth it.
Boot's of Lucidity - You're sitting at 30%+ CDR already, Merc Treads/Sorc Boots are better.
Manamune - This seems to be a craze because someone posted it on the forums. Really? Sure you're going to push towers a bit faster and you're few autoattacks during a fight will hit harder but this isn't your role. Not saying it doesn't help, but just go Archangle's...

Flash
Ignite


Flash
- Can be used both offensively and defensively.
- Great for early game offensiveness.
- Escape mechanic for entire game.

Ignite
- Mainly used for early game kills. Get ahead early and stay ahead.
- Great against healing champions the entire game.
- Extra damage to throw in late game.


Why not x?

Ghost
- Viable, Mainly a personal preference. I "feel" stronger with Flash.
- Using Ghost AND Flash is a good tool in learning any champion though. Both are used defensively and offensively. Would recommend people still perfecting their play in order to stay safe.

Teleport
- Viable. Teleport is big in EU for map control but I feel good team positioning and coordination trump Teleport.
- Easy to spot/avoid when trying to gank a lane.
- Good for getting back into lane quickly but you'll get more XP/Gold from a kill with Ignite.

Exhaust
- The MR debuff is nice if specced into that mastery but ignite "feels" better on Ryze.
- The damage debuff is nice aswell but not needed with this defensive build.
- The slow is nice for chasing but Rune Prison/teammates should cover that.

Heal/Clarity
- Good for new players learning the game. Not needed however.

I was surprised to see only 1 of the new guides on this website focused on casting Q first when killing a single target. Getting Q on cooldown just to have your next 2 spells bring it back off cooldown (passive: Arcane Mastery) almost instantly is huge. I feel the correct sequence for a single target encounter is as follows:

Q-E-W-Q-R-Q

Reasoning:
Q - Damage, put on cooldown
E - Magic debuff, damage
W - Snare, damage
(Q comes off cooldown because of E+W)
Q - Damage
R - Takes 1 sec off Q cooldown
Auto-attack and move closer
Ignite
Q - Damage
Follow up as spells come off cooldown as needed. Flash if absolutely needed. Flash should mainly be used defensively IMO.

Always remember to move closer and auto-attack whenever possible. W is your third cast so being able to stay in range is crucial but shouldn't be too hard.


Group Fights?
The same cooldown concept should be used as single target but your Ult should be used MUCH earlier or as needed to cause the most AoE damage. "Feel"

I knew this would be long but hopefully it helped someone out. Please leave a comment or PM in-game as "Ferzar" if you want to discuss anything or call me garbage :) I really want to hear if you think something is wrong/bad so I can rethink my play. Thanks


P.S. Looking for guild/clan, 5v5 team, duo partner!

Ferzar
North America servers