Champion Guide

Ryze Guide

By LoLSuggest

Mid

Ryze is a scaling battle mage whose damage grows with his mana. Arcane Mastery turns part of his mana into ability power and adds damage based on it, Overload fires a rune bolt whose cooldown resets when he casts his other spells, Rune Prison is a point-and-click lockdown that roots targets marked by Spell Flux, Spell Flux marks a target, lowers their magic resist and makes Overload spread to nearby enemies, and Realm Warp teleports Ryze and every nearby ally across the map. Weak early, he becomes one of the strongest mid-game skirmish mages.

Recommended Setup

Our recommended Ryze build

Our recommended runes, summoner spells and items. Compare build win rates on the stats page.

Items

Core Items

Situational Items

The build is Rod of Ages, Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Archangel's Staff, which turns into Seraph's Embrace, then Actualizer and Rabadon's Deathcap, with Zhonya's Hourglass, Banshee's Veil and Cryptbloom as defensive or utility options. Take Mercury's Treads or Plated Steelcaps instead of Ionian Boots of Lucidity against heavy magic or physical damage, and rush them in hard lanes such as Galio. Run Deathfire Touch with Manaflow Band, Celerity and Scorch, plus Bone Plating and Overgrowth; Scorch or Waterwalking are better in higher elo and Gathering Storm in lower elo, and Second Wind helps against poke mages. With Ghost, Legend: Haste and Cut Down are the secondary. Take Flash with Ghost, or Teleport. Max Q, then E, then W.

Runes

Primary Tree

Secondary Tree

Summoner Spells

Skill Max Order

Strengths

Reliable point-and-click crowd control with simple, easy-to-execute abilities.
Strong area burst and constant damage through Overload resets.
Realm Warp gives huge map mobility for skirmishes, dives and escapes.

Weaknesses

Extremely squishy early before Rod of Ages.
Not a good blind pick because many champions counter him.
Mana problems early until he gets his Tear and mana items.

Laning Phase

Ryze is one of the weakest early picks in mid lane, so avoiding early deaths matters more than winning trades. Against all-in champions like Irelia, Akshan, Fizz or Yasuo, do not touch the wave early: last-hit with Overload and keep the wave just outside your tower so their engages are harder. Against easier ranged matchups, push with attacks to stack Manaflow Band and ward the Raptors or your river. Do not spam Spell Flux into Overload early, because your mana is tight before Tear of the Goddess and Manaflow Band stacks. When your jungler ganks, Spell Flux, Rune Prison and Overload set up a guaranteed kill, and in dangerous matchups always save Rune Prison to peel assassins.

Mid & Late Game

Once you have Rod of Ages and Seraph's Embrace you outscale most mid laners in skirmishes and teamfights. Use empowered Overload to clear waves, then Realm Warp to collapse on side lanes, dive the bot lane or create a numbers advantage for your team; it also works defensively to escape ganks or reset fights. In fights, chain Overload, Spell Flux and Overload to keep resetting your damage, and Spell Flux helps your jungler burst objectives faster.

Key Tips

Spell Flux bouncing off minions still stacks Manaflow Band, even if it does not hit the enemy laner.
Walk to the edge of the Realm Warp circle to hop over walls.
Pressing Rune Prison while Overload is mid-air still empowers it and roots on impact.
Start a recall inside the Realm Warp circle to cancel the teleport if it becomes unsafe.

Matchups

Matchups and synergies

Our picks for difficult opponents, favorable lanes and strong allies. Compare matchup win rates on the stats page.