League of Legends best Ryze build guide: Combos, Counters, Strategy, and more

With the number of updates that mage items received in League of Legends season 14, the best Ryze build has also seen significant adjustments toward his core itemization. 

While Ryze is not picked all that much in pro play and solo queue, he still remains a late-game powerhouse in the new season. He just takes a bit of time to get there, but when Ryze reaches the late-game, it’s very hard to deal with the amount of damage that he can pump out in a single rotation of spells.

Ryze is one of the best champions to go for if you are looking to pick up a mage with one of the best carry potential the longer the game goes. Although Ryze can have a steep learning curve, he is one of the more rewarding Mid Laners in League of Legends.

Contents

• Best Ryze build
• Pros and Cons of playing Ryze
• Best Ryze combos
• Ryze Tips and Tricks for Early Game, Mid Game, and Late Game
• Ryze counters, matchups, and Jungle synergy

League of Legends 14.11 Best Ryze Build

Runes 

Itemization

Spells

• Flash
• Teleport

Skill Unlock Priority

Q: Overload	1			4	5		7		9
W: Rune Prison			3											14	15		17	18
E: Spell Flux		2						8		10		12	13
R: Realm Warp						6					11					16

Ryze Pros and Cons in League of Legends Season 14

Pros:

• Ryze is a late-game powerhouse who can destroy the enemy team in one spell rotation. He can also build tanky situational items making him harder to kill, however, that does not diminish the amount of damage that he brings to the table by much. This is thanks to the bonus damage that he deals with based on his overall mana.
• Along with having teamfighting prowess Ryze is an amazing split pusher as well. His best use in the mid to late game is to pressure the enemy side lanes, threatening damage on towers. If a team fight breaks out he can always Teleport to a ward or Realm Warp.
• Ryze has the most outplay potential amongst most Mid Lane champions. His Realm Warp can get him out of the most dire of situations and along with the movement speed that his Q passive provides, Ryze can be very difficult to lock down.

Cons:

• Ryze is incredibly hard to master in League of Legends, and it’s mostly because of his weak early game and just how mana-hungry he is. Ryze comes online once his Seraphs is complete and Rod of Ages is fully stacked. It takes him a while to get going, so you will often fall behind against aggressive laners.
• Ryze is pretty short-ranged for a mage, hence, he needs good positioning to get some good DPS off. Avoiding an enemy collapse can be tricky especially if you are not familiar with the spell range.
• Ryze is all about his spell combos. It’s tricky to employ the right sequence of spells for the given situation, and you will often miss out on the most optimal way engaging in a fight.

Best Ryze Combos in League of Legends Season 14 

Here are some bread-and-butter Ryze combos that you should be practicing if you are looking to master him.

Easy bread and butter combos:

• E -> E -> Q (perfect for wave clear)

• E -> W -> AA -> Q (for a quick gank setup)

• Q -> W -> E -> Q (Quick damage trade in the lane)

• Q -> E -> Q (Poke and harass)

Late Game, high DPS combos

• Q -> E -> AA -> W -> Q -> E -> Q -> AA (a nice rotation to get some quick damage in using the low E cooldown)

• Q -> W -> AA -> Q -> E -> Q -> AA

Full spell rotation combo (Maximum DPS)

• Q -> E -> Q -> AA -> W -> Q -> E -> Q -> AA

How to play Ryze: Tips and Tricks for League of Legends Season 14

Early Game:

• Ryze has an incredibly weak early game. The laning phase especially is rather difficult to get an advantage on if you aren’t lucky enough to get early kills with a jungle gank. He struggles quite a bit with his mana so you will have to go back to your base periodically. So push in the wave before you go for a back.
• Harass the enemy laner when they go to last hit a minion. Use E on a minion near the enemy to spread Spell Flux to them. Then hit your Q and proc it by spreading the damage.
• Don’t shy away from using your teleport. Ryze will need to back to get his Tear and Catalyst of Aeons. You can always teleport back into the lane if there is a huge wave stacked up.

Mid Game:

• Once you start hitting Ryze’s early power spikes, you will want to keep yourself engaged in the side lanes. Split pushing is one of the things he excels at, so you can constantly push in waves and threaten tower damage. 
• If the enemy tries to collapse on you because you have pushed too far in, then you can always Realm Warp to safety. Farming is one of the best ways to get Ryze ahead, so instead of looking for engages stick to the sides.

Late Game:

• When all of his core items are live, Ryze should be a DPS powerhouse. While it’s a bad idea to front-line with him, you can position aggressively to catch a tank with your spell rotations and peel for the rest of your team.
• Look to spread your Spell Flux to as many enemy champions as you can during a teamfight. It might take a bit of timing and patience to pull off.
• Use the Realm Warp to your advantage. You can use it to flank the enemy or pursue the ones that are trying to disengage. 

Ryze counters, best match-up, and Jungle synergy in League of Legends season 14

Countered by: 

• Vel’Koz
• Qiyana
• Naafiri
• Kassadin
• Jayce
• Yasuo
• Diana
• Twisted Fate

Ryzes does not do well in lane against the above champions

Favorable matchups:

• Le’Blanc
• Yone
• Ekko
• Hwei
• Zed
• Corki
• Azir

Ryze has a particularly better match-up against the above champions.

Best Junglers to pair with Ryze

• Cho’Gath
• Sejuani
• Maokai
• Lillia
• Xin Zhao
• Lee Sin

Ryze pairs best with junglers who have a lot of CC in their kit. Cho’Gath and Maokai in particular fit perfectly with him.