Ryze is a scaling battle mage. His EQ combo deals devastating burst at full build, W root is reliable CC, and R teleports your entire team across the map. Weak early, godlike late.
Abilities
Skills Overview
P
Arcane Mastery
Passive
Ryze's spells deal extra damage based on his Bonus Mana, and he gains a percentage increase to his maximum Mana based on his Ability Power.
Arcane Mastery: bonus AP from max mana. Stack mana items for AP.
Q
Overload
Skillshot · Burst · Reset
Passively, Ryze's other basic abilities reset the cooldown of Overload and charge a rune. When Ryze casts Overload with 2 runes charged, he gains a brief burst of Move Speed.On cast, Ryze throws a charge of pure energy in a line, dealing damage to the first enemy struck. If the target has Flux on it, Overload deals extra damage and bounces to nearby enemies with Flux.
CD: 5 · Cost: 40/38/36/34/32
Q fires a skillshot. On E-marked targets, Q deals MASSIVE bonus damage and spreads E.
W
Rune Prison
Point-Click · Root
Ryze traps a target in a cage of runes, damaging them and slowing their movement. If the target has Flux on it, they are instead rooted.
CD: 11/10.5/10/9.5/9 · Cost: 50/60/70/80/90
W roots instantly. Point-and-click. Your self-peel.
E
Spell Flux
Point-Click · Spread · Mark
Ryze releases an orb of pure magical power that damages an enemy and debuffs all nearby enemies. Ryze's spells have additional effects against the debuffed enemy.
CD: 3.5/3.25/3/2.75/2.5 · Cost: 35/45/55/65/75
E marks a target. Spreads to nearby enemies on Q hit. E-marked targets take bonus Q damage.
R
Realm Warp
AoE · Team Teleport
Passively, Overload deals even more damage against targets with Flux.On cast, Ryze creates a portal to a nearby location. After a few seconds, allies standing near the portal are teleported to the target location.
CD: 180/160/140 · Cost: 100
R creates a teleport zone. After 2s, you and ALL allies inside teleport to the target location. Team macro tool.
Skill Leveling Order — Max Q first, then E, then W · R at 6 / 11 / 16
| Level | Q | W | E | R | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take Q | ||||
| 2 | Take E — mark | ||||
| 3 | Take W — root | ||||
| 4 | Level Q | ||||
| 5 | Level Q | ||||
| 6 | R — Realm Warp | ||||
| 7 | Level Q | ||||
| 8 | Level E | ||||
| 9 | Q maxed ✓ | ||||
| 10 | Level E | ||||
| 11 | R rank 2 | ||||
| 12 | Level E | ||||
| 13 | Level E | ||||
| 14 | E maxed ✓ | ||||
| 15 | Level W | ||||
| 16 | R rank 3 | ||||
| 17 | Level W | ||||
| 18 | W maxed ✓ |
Itemization
Recommended Builds
Core Build
Archangel's Staff
Mana → AP conversion. Core identity.
2600g
Sorcerer's Shoes
Magic pen.
1100g
Manamune
More mana = more AP from passive.
2900g
Rabadon's Deathcap
AP multiplier.
3600g
Situational
Void Staff
Magic pen.
2800g
Zhonya's Hourglass
Stasis.
3250g
Frozen Heart
Mana + armor. Mana → AP.
2500g
Tear → Archangel's → Deathcap. Mana stacking = AP scaling.
Runes
Sorcery Primary
Phase Rush
EWQ procs instantly for MS burst. Essential for kiting.
Manaflow Band
Mana.
Transcendence
CDR.
Gathering Storm
AP scaling.
Precision Secondary
Presence of Mind
Mana sustain.
Legend: Tenacity
Tenacity.
Shards
Adaptive Force · Adaptive Force · Health
Gameplay
How to Play Ryze
01
Early Game
Farm Mana, Survive
- Farm with Q. You're weak early — don't trade aggressively.
- EQ combo: E mark → Q for bonus damage. Your trading pattern.
- W root for self-peel. Use when ganked.
- Buy Tear first back. Stack mana obsessively.
- R at 6 isn't for fighting — it's a team teleport for rotations.
02
Mid Game
EQ Combos, R Rotations
- EQ EQ EQ — machine gun burst with CDR.
- W → EQ for guaranteed combo on rooted target.
- R your team to dragon/baron for surprise macro plays.
- Seraph's shield keeps you alive in fights.
- You're a battle mage — fight in the middle, not the backline.
03
Late Game
Machine Gun Mage
- Full build Ryze EQ melts anything. 0.5s cooldowns.
- W root → EQ → EQ → EQ. Target is dead in 2 seconds.
- R your entire team behind enemy base for backdoor.
- Mana → AP passive gives you massive stats at full build.
- Phase Rush lets you kite while EQ spamming.
Teamfighting
How to Teamfight as Ryze
Ryze machine-guns EQ combos from mid-range while W rooting threats.
1
Root — W Target
Lockdown
01
W the priority target.
02
Instant point-and-click root.
03
Follow with EQ.
You fight in MID range, not backline. You need to be close enough for E and W.
2
DPS — EQ Spam
Machine gun
01
E → Q → E → Q → E → Q.
02
Each EQ deals massive burst.
03
Phase Rush MS for repositioning.
3
Macro — R Teleport
Team rotation
01
R teleports your entire team.
02
Use for surprise flanks.
03
Or escape from bad fights.
R your team behind baron pit → smite steal → R out. The most broken macro play in pro play.
Tips & Tricks
Advanced Mechanics & Hidden Tech
Advanced mechanics for Ryze.
Basic
EQ Combo
E marks target → Q deals bonus damage to marked targets. EQ is your main damage pattern.
Intermediate
E Spread
When Q hits an E-marked target, E spreads to nearby enemies. Use for AoE in grouped fights.
Basic
W Root
W is point-and-click root. Guaranteed CC.
Advanced
R Team Teleport
R teleports you AND all allies standing in the zone. Use for macro rotations.
Basic
Stack Mana
Passive converts bonus mana to AP. More mana items = more AP.
Intermediate
Phase Rush
EWQ procs Phase Rush instantly. Use the MS burst to reposition in fights.
Matchups
Counters & Matchups
Ryze struggles against aggressive early laners and assassins who burst him before EQ ramps. He excels when left to scale.
Click any matchup to expand tips & how to play against them
Loses Against
Fizz bursts you before EQ ramp.
W root his dive. Farm safely.
Zed's burst overwhelms you early.
W root his R. Rush Zhonya's.
Outranges your EQ combo.
Farm safely. Outscale.
Wins Against
Both scale. You outburst in fights.
EQ machine gun outDPSes Veigar.
Equal farm. You scale better.
Farm and outscale.
You outrange her. W root peels.
EQ from outside her range.