Hello and welcome to my Ryze build!

Now, let me be plain; I'm not breaking any new ground with this guide. This build, or slight variations, are pretty standard for Ryze. But what I am going to bring to this guide is an intricate explanation of how to play Ryze, his Tactics and Strategies, and an in-depth description of game mechanics.

This will not be a short guide; it will be long and drawn out to give you the absolute most depth you could as for. As such, refer to the Table of Contents rather than browsing for an answer!

Version 1.0
-Published on July X, 2011

Terms, Slash Commands, and Common Courtesy
There are a few terms and shorthand words you may or may not know. This section is msotly for new players, veterans can skip.

AD: attack damage
AP: ability power
ArPen: armor penetration
Armor: armor stat
AoE/AE: Area of effect
Aura: an area of effect buff that radiates from a player, usually buffing his teammates
Assassin: a type of champion that is designed to kill enemy players quickly. Similar to a “Nuke”, but usually not a mage, but is still reliant on cooldowns.
Bot: the bottom lane on the map
Bruiser/Brawler: a type of champion that is usually based on melee, but does not put out as much damage as Carries. Instead, they focus on survivability and support skills.
Brush: the bushes on the maps
Buff: an effect, usually temporary, that adds abilities or boosts stats on a champion
Carry: a type of champion that, when geared properly, gets the team a lot of kills in team fights. They are usually heavy damage dealers. “AP Carries”, like Ryze, rely on spells and abilities, whereas “AD Carries” rely on their auto attacks to kill quickly.
CC: crowd control. Abilities that snare, stun, slow, or disrupt a players control over their champion
CD: cooldown
CDR: Cooldown Reduction
Creep: a non-player controlled enemy. Both minions and neutral monsters are mobs.
DC: disconnect
Drag: dragon. The neutral monster on the map that gives a large gold bonus when killed.
EPEEN: e-*****. Refers to a players “manhood” on the game, usually in the context of having a large ego.
Fort: fortify summoner spell.
GG: “good game!” or “great game!”. Usually said when you have lost or won, it is a sign of good sportsmanship.
Gank: sneaking up and killing an enemy, usually when the tide is in the attackers favor
Golem/Blue: the golem mob that gives the “blue” buff
GlHF: “Good Luck, Have Fun!”. A saying said before the game starts to show good sportsmanship and mutual respect. Highly recommended!
HP: health
HP/5: health points regenerated per 5 seconds
Inhib: inhibitor
Juke: losing a pursuing enemy by confusing them. Usually this involves running into bushes or taking a turn, making the enemy think you went a different direction.
Jungler: a type of champion that spends most of their time during the laning phase in the jungle. This allows them to level up and get buffs while not interfering with one of the lanes, allowing both champions to level faster. See “Roamer”
KB: killing blow.
KS: killsteal. When a player doesn't help in killing a target, but takes the last hit to get more gold.
Leaver: a player who consistently leaves games
Lizard/Red: the lizard mob that gives the “Red” buff.
Mage: a type of champion that relies on abilities instead of auto attack for damage. See “Nuke”
MagPen: armor penetration
MagRes: magic resistance
MIA: missing in action. This means that the player stating it no longer sees the enemy champion that was in their lane.
Mid: the middle lane in the map
Mob: a non-player controlled enemy. Both minions and neutral monsters are mobs.
MP: mana points/pool
MP/5: mana regenerated per 5 seconds
MS: movement speed
Newbie/Newb: a new player. Not a derogatory, usually just what someone calls themselves. Offer to help these players.
Noob/n00b/nublet/nubcake: an unskilled player. Note it is not “Newb” which is short for “Newbie”, noob is always an insult. Don't use it unless referring to yourself or your friends.
Nuke: a type of champion. Nukes deal large amounts of damage in a short amount of time, but usually are restricted by cooldowns and mana. They are a particular breed of Mage.
OOM: out of mana. Usually meant to inform the team that the player saying it is out of the fight or unable to perform an action.
Ping: a notification on the mini-map. Pressing 'G'+Click will send a team-wide mini-map notification.
Pot: potion. Usually referred to as “Mana Pot” or “Health Pot”
QQ: literally means “just quit” or “keep crying”. Can be used to show that you are complaining or tell a player to complain more. Can also be used to tell a player to quit because they are unskilled. This term came from Warcraft II, when playing online a player could press alt+QQ to exit the match in a ragequit.
Rage/Ragequit: when a player becomes very frustrated and left the game. Happens when a player is getting repeatedly killed and cannot fight back.
Ranked: ranked game type. These types of games are much more intense and skillful. Not to be taken lightly or casually as some players are very competitive.
RE: literally “reverse”, but means “never mind” or “forget it”. Called out in chat when someone first called “MIA” but sees they were mistaken. Can also be used to simply mean “negate my last statement”.
Roamer: a type of champion that spends most of their time during the laning phase in the jungle. This allows them to level up and get buffs while not interfering with one of the lanes, allowing both champions to level faster. Generally not as good at killing neutral monsters as a Jungler, but still efficient. See “Jungler”
Support: a type of champion that has the role of supporting other players. They usually have CC skills as well as buffing and healing spells. They generally do not kill enemies or minions, getting gold via taking towers, killing neutral dragons, and gold-generating items.
Tank: tough support champions that soak up damage for the team. They usually have support abilities such as taunts, shields, or other crowd controls abilities.
Tele: teleport summoner spell.
Top: the top most lane on the map
Troll: an obnoxious player that is being rude or ignorant on purpose, trying to frustrate you.
Ulti: ultimate. Refers to a champions ultimate ability, located on their 'R' key by default.

Slash Commands
Many new players are unfamiliar with slash commands. These commands allow you to perform certain actions in-game or allow you to communicate with players in a non-default manner. Slash commands are entered into the chat window like this “/laugh”, without the quotation marks.

Emotes
/dance
/taunt
/laugh
/joke

Chat Commands
/all – used to send messages to all players instead of team only. e.g. “/all gl hf all!”
/w <player name> - whispers to the player. e.g. “/w AngryGoblin dude, you're a badass!”
/r – reply. When a player whispers you, this will automatically reply back to them. e.g. “/r thanks! I know I am a badass....and humble too, damnit!”
/ignore <player name> - very useful command. When used, it will ignore any chats or whispers from the named player. Use this on obnoxious or racist players so yu don't have to listen to them. e.g. “/ignore ***Clown”
/surrender – initiates, or agrees to, a surrender vote.

E-Sportsmanship
Unfortunately, common courtesy is not very common in LoL. With many players being younger kids with little respect or humility, it is quite common to be cussed at, ridiculed, and complained at.

Please keep in mind, this is a game, meant to be enjoyed. Any harassing shows little regard for the game or fun. Don't take this too seriously! Instead of feeding trolls, use the above slash commands and ignore them!

It is good e-sportsmanship to say “GLHF” or “Good Luck, Have Fun!” in all-chat before the game starts. This shows you are here to play a good match and want everyone to enjoy the game. When a game is over, say “GG” in chat whether you won or lost. Good e-sportsmanship is only going to spread and become ubiquitous is everyone partakes in it! It makes the game much more enjoyable all around!

Additionally, try to help players instead of ridicule them. Yes, sometimes a newb will be on your team. Rather than yelling at that poor Annie for not controlling her pet right, instruct her on how to control their pet and compliment them when they do it correctly. Positively reinforcing your team will significantly affect both the quality of your team and your win ratio. If a player is being obnoxious or purposely losing/playing poorly, /ignore them and report them after the game. No need to start a flamewar in chat!

It's unfortunate that I even had to put this section in a guide, but I believe I will from now on. Please use courtesy and treat other players the way YOU want to be treated. This will win you allies and populate your friends list, which is always nice to have eager players to fight beside you!

Ryze has a few Pros and Cons, just like any other Champion. However, I am going to put them in the context of Ryze compared to other, comparable Ranked Champions.

Pros:
+Zero mana reliance(huge mana pool can spam with impunity almost from level 1!)
+Very tough and hard to kill(high armor/mobility)
+A little more balanced over time damage compared to some other Mages(short cooldowns)
+Very good farm ability
+Excellent Health regen via ultimate
+Built in CDR from Overload negates need for CDR Glyphs

Cons:
-Only 1 CC, but a good one!
-Not as bursty as some other options like Brand, Kassadin, etc.

Runes
Primary runes are used. If you choose to deviate from these Runes, PLEASE make sure you are using Primary!

9x Greater Mark of Magic Penetration
9x Greater Seal of Armor
9x Greater Glyph of Knowledge
3x Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed (ZOMGWTFBBQ!)

As stated above, Ryze has no real need for CDR Glyphs like some other Champions. You can use them, but I choose to forgo them in lieu or Mana. Very useful. The Armor marks are great to make you even tougher and exceptionally good early game. MagPen marks need no explanation.

I feel I do, however, need to explain his Quintessences. If Ryze is anything bad, it's slow. This hurts in early game trying to move around lanes and outrun enemies, as you don't get boots for a few levels, as well as end game when positioning on the map is critical. These Quintessences solve most problems and, in the early game, make you FASTER than enemy Carries or Ranged, for the most part. Very useful. It was a close match between Greater Quintessences of Swiftness and Greater Quintessences of Wisdom, but I prefer the speed. Note, the Wisdom Quints ARE nice and a good alternative!

Summoner Spells
There are a few combinations that work well with Ryze, however I tend to use only two; Flash and Ignite. These two spells really are critical for success as a nuke. Flash is pretty standard fare, but is especially important as you have no other escape mechanism. Ignite is an important spell in that it can, at least once a game, mean the difference between a kill and not a kill.

Remember, if you do end up choosing other skills, make sure you adjust the Masteries to accommodate the new spells.

Other Options
Teleport – This can be useful, however the high cooldown makes it semi unusable. Can it save towers/change games? Yes. But all in all, I would not use it, especially in 3v3.
Ghost – Another useful skill, both for chasing and escaping, however your higher base run speed(using this build anyways), so Flash will serve better for escape and chase.
Clairvoyance – Can be useful, however I find it is better to leave this skill to your support. Your job is killing, not roaming or countering. If you are leading your team, might be more important.
Exhaust – Again, leave this to other teammates. You do not initiate, so it's not very important.

Do not get
Heal – Worthless for Ryze...sorry Heal fanb0ys!
Clarity – You are such a mana beast, no need to have it.
Fortify – Leave it to others, preferably tanks IF at all.
Revive – I have no words, so here is a Kirby (>^_^)>
Rally – …...really?

Masteries
This is a bit awkward spreading, so allow me to explain why this is THE setup for Ryze. Ryze has a few things; very high mana, high armor, and a little AP. We can maximize the use of these particular attributes as well as increase his damage.

10/7/13
This is the build I use with Ryze. The Offense talents are self-explanatory; CDR, AP, and Spell Penetration. In defense, we have the awkward talents. The key here is Strength of Spirit . In essence, this increases your Health regen by a percent of your mana. As we've already established, Ryze has a ridiculous mana pool. At 1% extra regen of a 4-5k mana pool, your sitting on a comfortable +40-50hp/5. You do the math. It is what makes Ryze so beastly in lane; he never has to go back in early game and in mid/late game it helps you survive and recover in roaming matches.

Finally, the talents in support are pretty standard. Normally I would NOT take the +4% regen from Perseverance(can't link due to Garen's Perseverance!), but with such high HP/5, it works really well in making Ryze sustainable and tough. Plus you shouldn't be dieing enough to make Good Hands too noticeable.

Here is a quick rundown of Ryze' awesome skillz.



Ryze' passive, this makes his skills very spammable and allows you to chain spells for crazy damage. This is the reason why you always start fights with your 'Q'. Every time you cast a spell, except your summoner spells unfortunately, all other spells are reduced in CD by 1 second. Very useful!


Your bread and butter nuke! This nuke offers high damage, low cooldown, low cost, and a -3 seconds combined to your other skill cooldowns. This is also your primary harass skill. It is also used to last hit minions, because of the low cost and casting it to level up your Tear of the Goddess.

Unlike many other mages, Ryze primarily scales with mana for increasing damage! This is what makes him unique. This skill scales at .08 damage per mana, a total of 8% of your complete mana pool. Towards end game, this is a considerable amount of damage! Imagine a 5k mana pool and do the math! Actually I'll do it for you. With a 5k mana pool(obtainable by level 18 with this build) your Overload will hit for an extra 400 damage, in addition to it's base damage and it's extra AP damage. Ouch.

Pro Tip!
Use this skill EVERY time it is available when you can either hit an enemy champion or last hit a minion. It will deal lots of damage as well as level up your Tear of the Goddess.


This is both a significant damage ability as well as a crucial CC skill for your team. In team fights, you can use it to save friendly squishies by trapping a Carry or to stop enemies from escaping. Combined with Flash you have a HUGE range! Make use of your passive to lower this skills cooldown.

Just like Overload, this skill also scales primarily with mana, but at only 5%. It is not intended to be a heavy nuke, however, but the damage is important for assassinating high priority targets like AD/AP Carries.


This is both a farming tool, minion clearer, and, if used properly, an excellent single target nuke. It bounces five times dealing significant damage towards end game when you have some AP from the Archangel's Staff. Combined with your ultimate is can deal some serious punishment to clumped targets. It can also be used for clearing jungle mobs.

Pro Tip!
Use this against a single target when you are in close proximity. It will bounce to you and arc back to your target, striking them three times. This can deal significant damage.


Your ultimate ability. This passively adds 75/150/225 mana to you, increasing the damage of your mana based skills a decent amount. When activated, it gives you Spell Vamp of 25% as well as 50% spell damage splash. The low cooldown of this ability makes it available to be used both when engaging players, but also when doing some light jungling or clearing minion waves. With capped 40% CDR(which this build provides), this skill has a 30 second cooldown.

There really is only one item that makes Ryze a workable Champion; Tear of the Goddess. Without this item, and it's Archangel's Staff permutation, Ryze would not be able to function in ANY capacity!

Many players are at a lack as to how this item works and how it stores mana. For the following example, we need to know Ryze' base mana which is 1240. So, assuming you have no mana Runes nor mana Masteries, you will have 1240 mana at level 18.

Let's say you are level 18 with no items, Masteries, or Runes. You have all of your abilities, so you gain 225 extra mana from your Desperate Power.

Base mana + Desperate Power = 1465 mana pool

At this point, you are gaining an extra 117.2 damage for your Overload and 73.25 extra damage for your Rune Prison. That is base with nothing else! Now, let's go to the store and purchase a Tear of the Goddess. Without using it's passive, it gives you +350 mana.

Base mana + Desperate Power + Tear of the Goddess = 1815 mana pool

Now we are getting there. But the real power behind the Tear is it's passive. Every time you cast a spell, between the cooldown, you get +4 mana to the item. Permanently. WOO! So, now let's say you went out and leveled up the Tear by casting. Since Ryze can spam so much, it does not actually take that long. Assuming you are casting every time the CD is up, it can be leveled in 12.5 minutes. Chances are you will miss out alot, so allow around 20 minutes to lvl completely at +1000.

Base mana + Desperate Power + Tear of the Goddess + 1000(passive from the tear) = 2815

Not bad at all. But still not close! Here is where it gets interesting. You see, when you turn the Tear into an Archangel's Staff, it retains the +1000 mana. In essence, your Staff starts with whatever charge you had on the original Tear. Since we leveled it to +1000, the Staff starts with +1400 mana! Once we upgrade, you see no change in mana pool, indicating it retained it's extra mana.

But wait there's more! The Staff has it's own passive similar to the Tear itself and can now be charged for an ADDITIONAL +1000 mana! HORY SHET!

Base mana + Desperate Power + Archangel's Staff base(400) + 2000(passive from the original Tear AND the newly charged Staff) = 3865 mana pool

Now this is with a single staff. When you purchase your other mana items, namely Rod of Ages, your mana goes through the roof.

All the items in this build, added together, with runes and masteries amounts to ~5400 mana. Do you get to this one every time? No. It takes forever to get fully charged Tear and Staffs. But, I have yet to end a game with less than 4k mana.

Reworking our math to see how hard our spells are hitting with 5400 mana, the mana contribution to Overload is now ~432 and Rune Prison is ~270.

Plus, remember those awkward 7 point into Defense Masteries? The extra 1% of your mana into hp/5? Well, that comes to 54hp/5. Combined with Ryze' basic regen your total health regen will be ~68.25hp/5. Add the +4% regen from the Perseverance talent and the 15% from Spirit Visage to bring our total to 81.2hp/4 or 16.2 health per second.

Finally, 5400 mana with a single Archangel's Staff amounts to ~162 AP.

Case closed. Zaaaaap!

Tactics are the small scale techniques and tricks you use when engaging enemies. Whereas Strategy pertains to the battle as a whole, Tactics come into play to win engagements and small scale victories. Think of Tactics as winning the battle, and Strategy as winning the war.

Spell Combinations
For maximum damage, you need to learn to chain your spells. It varies, depending on whether or not you are in a team or solo fight, but the gist remains the same.

Solo Fights
Always start with your 'Q' Overload. The cooldown is short and it will reset itself when you cast your other spells because of Arcane Mastery, thus allowing high burst. Follow up by casting your ultimate if you are in close enough range and finish him with Spell Flux/ Overload as it becomes available. Try not to use Rune Prison until he tries to run or he might make it away form you!

QREQW > Q > E > R > W

This reads as a spell combination of Overload followed by Desperate Power, Spell Flux, and Overload again. After this initial burst, prioritize Overload, then Spell Flux, then Desperate Power(doubtful you'll use it twice in one fight!), then Rune Prison. Like I said, try to not use Rune Prison unless you either need to lock him down or think you can nuke him down before he can run.

Team Fights
Team fights roll differently because of their unpredictability; rather than worrying about a single target, you need to manage up to five tangos and your own team's positioning! Spell combos are not nearly as solid and you need to be aware of your targets and changing your focus.

As always, use your Overload whenever it is up for consistent damage. Your team should focus AD Carry first, followed by AP Carry/Support, and finishing with tanks/bruisers. You should not be initiating, leave that to you own bruisers/tanks. Follow up with heavy nukes on your main target and be ready to lock down a target with Rune Prison.

When a target is getting low that you think might escape or at least avoid engaging for a a few seconds, light them up with Ignite. If the enemy team has a healer with them, such as Alistar or Sona, drop Ignite on your main target to keep them from getting healed.

You can use Flash offensively to jump into range or over walls to get a fleeing target. Don't be afraid to do so! I would say I use Flash more often in an offensive capacity than defensive/escape.

Pushing a Lane
Pushing a lane is the most basic part of the game; you kill minions, destroy towers, and eventually destroy the enemy Nexus. But getting there is where the skill comes into play!

Many newer players will walk into a wave of minions and attack them with abandon. This is not a good idea for several reasons. Firstly, you don't get gold for attacking a minion unless you are the one that killed it. Secondly, if you push a lane to far towards an enemy tower, you push out too far and leave yourself vulnerable to attack. Being too far from your safe haven near a tower is not a good idea!

Instead, get into the practice or “last hitting”. Do not attack any minions, rather let your minions damage the enemy's, then, when the target minion is low, you deal the final blow and collect the gold. This keeps the minions centered and keeps you safe from a gank as well as fattening your wallet! Around 60% or more of the gold you get in higher level games will be from minion kills. The remainder will be from Towers/Neutral Creeps and Enemy player kills.

Harassing like a boss!
Ryze is an exceptional laner but a terrible pusher. Sorry! He cannot effectively take tower due to lack of AD, AS, and low AP for most of the game. Some high AP mages hit towers like a truck, but Ryze does not have that ability!

However, his regular laning is exceptional and his harass hits hard! Overload is your harassing tool; it is low cost, high damage, decent range, and best of all targeted(no chance of a minion intercepting it!). If an enemy gets too close, punish them hard for it! A single Overload to the face is enough will drop your enemy's life expectancy more than cigarettes!

While laning, make sure you get last hits on enemy minions, but at the same time watch your friendly minions health as well. When you see a last hit opportunity for the enemy, get a little aggressive and punish him for trying to get the hit. Is 20 gold worth being hit for 200-500 damage? Let them decide, but hopefully they will risk it and let you burn them down!

In these situations, it's safe to use Rune Prison on the enemy; all enemy champions, or most, are accounted for in the lanes and you are in a safe, easily escapable environment. When you have a firing solution, hit them with Overload, Rune Prison and Spell Flux if you have the mana to spare. It will hurt a lot and, more importantly, intimidate them, making them less likely to come close again.

Zoning
Some games, you will face a squishier melee enemy in your lane. This is a dream come true because you can “zone” them.

In essence, “zoning” is the technique of starving your enemy of experience and gold. The most common way is to aggressively put your positioning between them and their own minion line. This leaves you free to last hit as you please and if the enemy approaches or tries to engage, you can blast them with your spells.

This can be dangerous, so you need to pay close attention to positioning, other enemy champions and, most importantly, the nature of your enemy laner. Some champions can rush you in the blink of an eye and cause major damage. These champions include Xin Zhao, Katarina, and Jarvan IV to name a few. You must also be aware of where the enemy roamer/jungler is, if they have one.

Zoning can turn a bad matchup into a good game if done properly by starving their AD Squishy of his levels and cash. You usually cannot zone ranged carries or AP carries, as if you can hit them with spells, they can hit you!

Strategy is how you will work with your team to accomplish the larger goal of winning the war. You need to learn your place in an organized team, where to be most effective, and how to build your gear to accommodate the current phase in the game.

Standard 5v5 Ranked Games
The standard 5v5 team combination; Tank, AP Carry, Ranged AD Carry, Support, and a Jungler/Roamer. Most often permutation is the lack of a jungler in lieu of a tough brawler/CC Champion in lane.

The standard layout for 5v5 games;
Top Lane = Tank that can farm
Mid Lane = AP Carry
Bot Lane = Support + AD Carry
Roaming = Jungler/Brawler

Again, this is a common way to play 5s, probably the most common you'll see in tournament play as well. You will see differences, I'm not claiming to be an expert, however this is what I most commonly see.

Early Game: Levels 1-6
The starting game is fast and furious! If your team plans to try a gank, take your first point in Rune Prison. Sometimes it's a good idea to get it anyways as it can protect you from being ganked, but in general take Overload. In 5v5 matches, Ryze plays the role of AP Carry, so your team will likely want you in the mid lane solo or on the top lane. Not many mages can solo on the top due to squishiness, however Ryze is not like other mages!

Usually that top lane is reserved for the tank so he can farm minions and get some good gear. Occasionally, you will be in games where the AD Carry wants the mid lane. That is fine! You can level and farm as well on the top lane. Once you start piling on the Armor you will be tough enough to take it! If the tank wants top and AD insists on taking mid, take bot as the support will give you all minion kills anyways(At least they should! If a support caster ends the game with 0 champ kills and 0 minion kills, you know they are badass!).

For items, you will want to start with a Sapphire Crystal. The extra mana will make you hit harder and be more sustainable. It is also a prerequisite for your Tear of the Goddess. Take along 2x Healing Potions as well. Between the Crystal, your Runes, and your Masteries you will have enough mana to not need Mana Potions.

Don't attack minions for no reason. Keep the minions as close to the center as possible. Only attack when you will get the last hit on a minion and stay mobile and watch your mini map!

Mid Game: Levels 7-12ish
When you have 955 gold and your lane is safe, recall to base and purchase your first Tear of the Goddess and some Boots. You are NOT in a hurry to turn this Tear into an Archangel's Staff. You want to get as much extra mana on it as possible(see: “The Zen of Ryze” for more info)!

At this point in the game, you should have a decent idea as to how well you are going to fare and your item build will branch out a little.

If you are feeling a little too squishy and are facing some AD in your lane, purchase a Chain Vest which will reduce your incoming damage quite handsomely. If you are facing a mage or heavier magic damage, purchase a Null-Magic Mantle instead. Finally, if you are facing a good mix of damage and feel squishy, purchase instead a Health Stone which we will eventually turn into a Spirit Visage.

On the other hand, you may be feeling cocky and be dealing a lot of heavy blows to the enemy. Even in this case, I advise playing carefully and defensively and working on your Glacial Shroud or Spirit Visage. If you still want to play offensively, I suggest grabbing another Sapphire Crystal or waiting and buying a Blasting Wand. Both of these items will increase your damage output and can be built into higher tier items.

You should be constantly coordinating with your team for ganking. Let them know if an enemy in your lane is weak so he can be ganked and try to make your way to other lanes to gank if needed. Scoring first blood is a very good boost in gold, so try your hardest to get it, but do not be careless!

End Game: Levels 13ish+
Towards the end of the game, you should be able to farm like a boss and have high Armor and MagRes. Between your armor Runes, Frozen Heart, and Spirit Visage you should be quite hard to kill. Your Spirit Visage both increases survivability against both mages and AD champions, because of the MagRes and Health, but it also makes your healing combo of Desperate Power + Nuke more effective. Finally, the Visage combined with the Frozen Heart/ Glacial Shroud will max out your CDR when added to the passive from Overload.

A note on the Tear/Staff Synergy!
If you have the extra gold and are having a long game, buy a secon Archangel's Staff if you want more farm. Remember, however, that this one cannot gain mana! It will have +1350 mana, but the passive is unique to itself, so because you have your first Staff this one cannot gain more mana. However, the “+3% mana as AP” is NOT unique, thus gaining a ton more AP.


This item offer no mana unfortunately, but it does give AP, some great health, and an exceptional CC passive which works wonderfully with Ryze' low CD spells and AoE ability! I will get this if my team is lacking in CC Support. My only problem with it is cost at over 3000, so don't make this core but build it if you need it for your team! Fantastic item!

A perfect item build will look like this;


Other Items
There are many other items that work well with Ryze, experiment and enjoy! Below are some that I've found particularly useful, as well as some that don't!


If you want a little more survivability in lieu of raw damage output, replace your Spirit Visage or Rylai's Crystal Scepter with a Force of Nature/ Guardian Angel or Thornmail/ Randuin's Omen. You will still murder your enemies and be tough as an off-tank. You can also grab a Warmog's Armor if you want, I don't suggest it, but it works.


A cheap, versatile item. Sometimes you need a little more kick, this provides with MagPen and some AP. Gives a little health to boot! I grab this sometimes when gold is a factor and cannot afford a Rylai's Crystal Scepter.


Rabadon's Deathcap is an item I will rarely get, but I will sometimes partake if only for fun! The fact is that AP benefits your Spell Flux most, but mana does better for your main nukes. However, you can get one of these in lieu of another Archangel's Staff if you want crazy farm!

The Void Staff is a situational item, but it will likely be needed for long games. Though it takes time, chances are your enemies will wise up and pack some mag resist to defeat you. Taking a Staff can turn the tide of the battle.

A note on the Void Staff!
Magic Penetration by percentage caps at 49%, so between the Staff itself as well as your offensive Masteries, you will cap out. However, strait MagPen does not cap! You can reduce an enemies Magic Resist to 0; the % gets calculated first, followed by the strait MagPen stat.

For instance, an enemy with 100 Magic Resist will first be taken to 51 because of the 49% cap. Then, assuming you have at least 51 MagPen, you will reduce him to 0.

One of the most annoying things in this game is when I hear the term “KS!”. Killstealing is something that actually rarely happens legitimately. There is a hierarchy in League of Legends. Certain kinds of champions need kills, certain champions do not. Generally, it is not in bad taste to “steal” a kill if you are a champion that needs kills.

For instance, let's say you, playing Ryze, run to help your team's tank in a fight. Your teammate almost has him dead and you swoop in and take the last hit with a nuke, giving you the kill and your teammate and assist. Was this wrong? NO! And your teammate should know it!

Does that mean every kill is for the taking? No. The only teammate you should relinquish kills to, or at least compete with for kills with, is your team's AD Carry, whether they are ranged or melee. AD Carry champions need more gear to be effective than you do, so try and give them a few more gold when you can. This includes the final blow on Dragon and Baron.

The only real KS's are when tanks or support champs take a killing blow from a carry. Not cool.

Responding to “KS!”
If, and it will happen, you get a player complaining about a kill steal, politely explain that you need the kill more than they do. More often then not, if you explain nicely, they will relent and see reason. If not, you will simply need to make it understood that you will do what's best for the team, regardless.

Many players will still be angry with you for “stealing” kills, but as you get closer to level 30 and start playing Ranked games, you will no longer have this problem.

1v1 and Fools
In general, you will notice that a better team has more assists than not. When a team is not working together, you see lots of kills, but few assists. League of Legends is a team based game and to ensure victory you must work with your mates!

You will have enemy players “call you out” and say something along the lines of “Why won't you 1v1 me?!?”. You never, ever want to 1v1. Ever. Even if you think you can win. Don't get in a pissing contest with anyone! This game is about teamwork! If you feel you absolutely have to reply say “Sorry, thought this was a team game!”. If you are feeling devious, you can pull one of the all-time lowest blows possible; the 1v1 GANK!

I've only done it once, but it was glorious. Tell the offending enemy in chat “Sure, I'll 1v1 you! Meet me at the XXX!”. When they rush to comply, after all what 10 year old can pass up a chance to lengthen their EPEEN, have your whole team standing ready for ambush. They rush to attack you and your whole team ganks them.

Now let me tell you; it's not a nice thing to do! But, it does get the message across! All is fair in love and LoL!

In closing, I hopes this guide taught you something new, even if you are a veteran player! My aim was to be as descriptive and enlightening as possible. Attached to this section is a small collection of screenshots shoing some games I have won. This is not to brag, but rather to show, at least in some ways, that I'm not pulling these items and strategies out of my ***!

If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, feel free to post them below or shoot me a PM! I am always learning new tactics and builds and would love to steal your expertise if you are a pro! If I made any mistakes or you think I am wrong on any point here, let's open a dialog and discuss the matter.