The halls of traditional study were never for Ryze, who felt a more raw and primal connection to the magic of Runeterra than those who tried to teach him. As a young man, he travelled the world, seeking the wisdom of powerful hermits, witches, and shamans. When he had learned all he could, Ryze turned to seek the lost, forgotten, and forbidden knowledge in the world. This led him to an ancient form of spellcraft known as thorn magic. This art required Ryze to tattoo spells on his body, infusing his being with vast arcane power. His travels also brought him to the giant indestructible scroll he carries on his back. The purpose of the inscribed spell is a secret only Ryze knows. However, he claims it is an abomination, something that he must safeguard from the world. Today, Ryze has joined the League of Legends to study the magical creatures and powerful will-workers that fight there, in order to complete his exploration of mystical Runeterra.The halls of traditional study were never for Ryze, who felt a more raw and primal connection to the magic of Runeterra than those who tried to teach him. As a young man, he travelled the world, seeking the wisdom of powerful hermits, witches, and shamans. When he had learned all he could, Ryze turned to seek the lost, forgotten, and forbidden knowledge in the world. This led him to an ancient form of spellcraft known as thorn magic. This art required Ryze to tattoo spells on his body, infusing his being with vast arcane power. His travels also brought him to the giant indestructible scroll he carries on his back. The purpose of the inscribed spell is a secret only Ryze knows. However, he claims it is an abomination, something that he must safeguard from the world. Today, Ryze has joined the League of Legends to study the magical creatures and powerful will-workers that fight there, in order to complete his exploration of mystical Runeterra.

If Ashe was the original cover girl for League of Legends, Ryze is the original cover dude. Don’t mind the story-its not that great. Anyways, Ryze is one the the best, and shittiest heroes in LoL- if fed, he is basically unstoppable; if not fed- the is weaker than the average hero. Let me give you an example, if fed, you can basically nuke down your opponent to death with just a single combo. However, if not fed, you are weaker than the healer heroes- that bad.  So let’s go…

Overload - Ryze throws a charge of pure energy at an enemy unit for heavy damage and additional damage based upon Ryze’s maximum mana.Ryze blasts enemy unit for 50/90/130/170/210 (+0.45) plus 10% of his max mana (+) in magic damage.

Cost 50/65/80/95/110 Mana

Range 600

This is the first of Ryze’s spells. Basically, one ball of lightning that hurts like Buttercup beating up Mojo-Jojo. This not only depends on AP (ability power) but also on mana. The more mana you have, the more this spell hurts. Don’t be shy using this to last-hit creeps if you have mana to spare.

Rune Prison - Ryze traps target enemy unit in a cage of runes, preventing them from moving and dealing damage for the duration.Ryze traps an enemy unit, preventing them from moving and dealing 40 (+0.2) magic damage every .4 seconds for 0.8/1.2/1.6/2/2.4 seconds.

Cost 80/95/110/125/140 Mana

Range 600

Not your typical stun. This will immobilize any one but it will not prevent them from attacking if they are ranged. You can cast spells while being imprisoned as the only things that this spell does is immobilize enemies. The damage dealt is minimal so do not count on this for trying to hurt someone. It is very valuable in your 4 set combo and very, very useful for running away- just imprison and run.

Spell Flux - Ryze releases an orb of pure magical power which deals damage and bounces from the initial target up to 6 times.Ryze unleashes an orb of magical power which bounces to enemy units or himself, up to 5 times. Each bounce deals 70/85/100/115/130 (+0.38) magic damage and reduces the target’s Magic Resistance by 15.

Cost 60/80/100/120/140 Mana

Range 700

A more tricky spell to use. This spell does not deal as much damage as overload because it bounces to other heroes or creeps. However, if you are in a 1 on 1, this spell will do more damage than overload as you can bounce it between yourself and your opponent. In a 1 on 1, you will have to get closer to enable the bounces to work between you and him. Mind you, if bouncing between yourself and the opponent, it only goes for a max 5 times, but 6 when between enemies. It also reduces magic resistance so use this before you use overload.

So, the combo goes like this-the typical and more safe combo is Rune prison your opponent, then run closer and spell flux him then dump the overload. A more dangerous approach would be to run to your opponent and spell flux him- followed by a quick rune prison and an overload and one melee attack. The damage difference is not super great buy may be the difference between killing your opponent and him running away with only one hit to kill him off. Use this on creeps for gold but try and lower the health of multiple creeps with normal attacks then throw in the spell flux. Early on, this is not that useful for farming if you cannot lower the health of em creeps first.

Desperate Power - Ryze channels forbidden uncontrolled arcane power, granting him bonus Ability Power, and causing all of his spells to deal AoE damage.Ryze becomes supercharged, gaining 50/80/110 ability power and causing his spells to deal 65% AoE damage for 8 seconds.

Cost No Mana

Range 200

This is when you start to rip apart the anus of your enemies. This ulti costs no mana and has only a 1/2 minute CD so you would be able to use it pretty much every time there is a team fight going on. You can also use it to devastate large groups of creeps. When you get this, remember to always use it in fights because you hit almost 3x as much than normal attacks. Moreover, it is AoE which means that if your enemies are clustered, and you let off an ulti combo, you should be able to nuke down one guy and significantly reduce the health of the other 2. This is one RAPE ulti.

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

If they actually gave Ryze a proper passive, he would be overpowered. They had no choice but to dump this 1 sec. reduction in.

Items

All right, now it comes down to the important part. You will need slightly fast fingers to pull off an ulti combo, but your items will do the damage for you. Make sure that you do not get shut down first because that would be a waste of a lot of damage. Hide behind the lines and run out whenever you see and opening or whenever they are targeting someone else.

The first item that you should get would be a sapphire crystal .  This will ensure that you will not run out of mana the first run round. It is also not a bad idea to get a amplifying tome. This would deal an extra 15 AP in damage and might be the difference between life and death in a lvl 1 standoff. It would also mean that you can get your Mejai’s quicker. Now, this is the thing- if you are sure that you will own- get a Mejai’s as the more kills or assists you have, the more stacks you have and the more stacks you have, the more AP. With a Mejai’s, you would have to play really careful so that you will not lose that 1/3rd of your stacks upon death. It is highly recommended that you get mejai’s- if you are serious about winning, although you can win without one.

The next thing after you build your tome into the soulstealer, you should get your sorcerer’s shoes. The magic penetration coupled with whatever AP you have from Mejai’s could mean an early game victory or at least early-mid game domination. Do not get Treads because you should put all the gold you have into dealing magic damage. Get your tanks to bear the brunt of the disables and damage early 0n and pop up whenever you know that they are not focusing you, and you should be fine. You might consider some health and Banshees later on when it gets really intense, but not early game. Although the recommended items say that you should get Rod of Ages, it is too expensive and it may be too late to complete it. Aim for a quick victory. However, if you KNOW that it is gonna be one long match then might as well go for it. You will sacrifice AP early on but then you have better chances late game. I still, and many other players as well, go for the initial build first.

The next best thing to build would be void staff or Deathfire for its amazing passive which is very similar to dagon in DotA except that this one is based on the opponents max health , pretty amazing that is if you have speedy fingers. Get Zhonyas ring in the end for that reallly big boost of AP. You can also aim for Zhonyas Ring first- it all depends on how the game is turning out. If you are the main or 2nd main damage dealer, then it would be wise to get zhonyas first, although i still think that all these 3 items are pretty much equivalent in mid game and it all depends on who you are fighting against eg a health-y tank would need a taste of deathfire to shut him down quicker.

The only difference here is that the recommended items highlight Rod of  Ages while I prefer to use Zhonyas.

Runes and Masteries: Stack up to around 29 AP runes and leave the glyphs for magic pen which should amount to a decent 8%.

Summoner Spells- Flash and ignite. Flash for getting that last spell in or running away. Ignite because as Ryze you can rape someone of 99% of his health but a lot of times never kill him.

Ability Sequence: Get spell flux first because at least it will do more damage one a lvl 1 standoff and you can farm.

E,W,Q,Q,Q,R…then prioritize R Q E W after you get your ulti.

Just remember to stack up on as much AP as possible- do not be the first to rush in as you WILL get your asshole ripped apart. Stay back and wait for the right moment to attack and you should win the majority of your teamfights.

Related posts:

1. League of Legends- Ashe Guide
2. Thunder Bringer Guide
3. Magebane Guide
4. League of Legends vs Heroes of Newerth – Part I
5. Legionnaire Guide