From runes to items, gameplay tips amd more, we've put together a guide to help you master playing Ryze in the midlane in League of Legends.
Be mindful that there are several ways to build and play a champion, and you'll need to be adaptable as the game and the enemy team progress.
That said, this guide is a good starting point to helping you get to grips with the champion and making an impact in your games.
Runes
Core Items
Build
Everfrost is a good item for midlane control, thanks to an excellent on-use slow and root.
Archangel's Staff helps with mana management, and a great active heal.
Other good items include Zhonya's Hourglass, Cosmic Drive, and Winter's Approach.
Starting Item & Boots
Skill Order
While your choices may differ according to how the game progresses, the typical Ryze skill priority is:
R > Q > E > W
Summoner Spells
These are the summoner spells most typically taken by Ryze in this role. Naturally, this may change depending on match-ups.
Gameplay
Ryze can either be played as a hyper-carry or as a control mage, depending on the match-up. He has a great laning phase and scales really well into the endgame, and can clear waves quickly as he picks up items and puts points into his abilities. His ultimate is an exceptional tool, too, allowing for a swift escape or misdirection and siege potential.
- Level 1 - Take W - Rune Prison, so you can poke.
- Level 2 - Take E - Spell Flux, for more damage and to apply Flux.
- First Back - Start working towards your Everfrost, or pick up a Tear of the Goddess for the mana sustain.
Tips & Tricks
- The cooldown of Overload is reduced each time you cast Spell Flux or Rune Prison. Thanks to this, Ryze can chain seven spells before needing to wait for a cooldown - Q > E > Q > W > Q > E > Q
- Each use of Rune Prison or Spell Flux charges a rune. If two runes are active, the next Overload will consume those runes to give a move speed bonus. This combo reduces DPS, but increases mobility.
- Take advantage of cannon minions to place Spell Flux several times, and clear the wave quicker.
- For short trades, use Rune Prison during the travel time of Overload on a target marked by Spell Flux - this will stun and refresh the cooldown of Overload.
