Ryze

Playstyle Profile

Ryze is a backline carry — deals massive sustained damage from a safe position

Teamfight Role

Backline Carry

Power Spike

Late game

Split Threat

None

Backline Access

Low

Ryze's Strengths

• Massive sustained damage from safety — Ryze melts frontlines while positioned behind their team
• Outscales most opponents — Ryze grows stronger every minute and takes over in extended games

How to Play Ryze

Champion-specific pre-match tips

Gameplay tips on Summoner's Rift

Lane Phase

Delay your first recall until you have at least 550 gold to purchase your Tear and a Refillable Potion instead of recalling for a Tear alone.

Lane Phase

Guarantee your Q damage in early trades by casting E, waiting one to two seconds for the cooldown, then using EW to root the target before unleashing QEQ.

Lane Phase

Start your engage with E then Q to trigger your movement speed rune if the enemy has their Flash available, using the speed to close the distance before casting W to root them.

Mid Game

Force aggressive duels immediately after completing your first two health and mana items, using your massive shield pool to trade like a bruiser.

Mid Game

Push the sidelane on the opposite side of the map from an active objective, holding your R to instantly join your team once the enemy responds to your pressure.

Mid Game

Cast E twice on the minion wave to stack two passive runes when pushing past the river, priming an instant Q movement speed boost to escape if you are collapsed on.

Late Game

Hold your Q during chaotic teamfights to stack two passive runes with E and W first, ensuring your Q casts trigger the vital movement speed needed to kite out danger.

Late Game

Maximize your single-target burst in late-game skirmishes by weaving Q before W in your combo (E-Q-W-Q), utilizing the W cast to instantly reset your Q cooldown.

Late Game

Track enemy crowd control cooldowns before channeling your R to reposition or escape, as any hard crowd control will cancel the teleport and leave you stranded.

For matchup-tailored tips, download Baron Buff's AI Coach & Companion App.

Gameplay tips in Arena

• Spread Flux only when both targets remain in range, root the diver with empowered W, and keep moving between E-Q casts. R is for repositioning the duo, not escaping after your partner dies.
• Build Archangel's Staff, Rod of Ages, Rabadon's Deathcap, and Innervating Locket. Mana and haste scale both damage and durability.
• Prioritize Mind to Matter, Eureka, Magic Missile, and Bread And Butter. Mana scaling and repeated Q resets define the round.

Ryze Build

This might not be your familiar build. We look at ranked games after each item was bought. If the player or team gained ground in gold, we rate that item higher.

Core

• Rod of Ages
• Mercury's Treads (Boots)
• Archangel's Staff

Situational

• Actualizer
• Zhonya's Hourglass
• Rabadon's Deathcap
• Void Staff
• Morellonomicon

Ryze Runes

The most popular rune page and summoner spells for Ryze in ranked games over the last 30 days.

Sorcery + Resolve · 45.1% WR · 5,194 games

• Stormraider's Surge
• Manaflow Band
• Transcendence
• Gathering Storm
• Overgrowth
• Bone Plating
• Attack Speed
• Adaptive Force
• Health Scaling

Summoner spells

Flash, Ghost

Ryze Skill Order

The recommended skill order for Ryze from ranked games over the last 90 days: the first three skill points, then the order to max abilities.

1. lvl 1: E
2. lvl 2: Q
3. lvl 3: W
4. max: Q
5. max: E
6. max: W

How to Counter Ryze

Counter strategies and draft context

gap close quickly, flank from angles they can't control, or out-sustain their mana pool

• Folds to direct pressure — Ryze relies on frontline protection and collapses when dived
• Weak early game — Ryze needs time to scale and can be punished before hitting full power
• Assassins and divers that close gaps quickly
• Champions with long-range engage tools

Ryze's Weaknesses

Dive-heavy compositions collapse on Ryze when allied peel and frontline protection are missing. Aggressive early compositions force the pace and put Ryze behind before the scaling arrives.

Best Synergies with Ryze

Team synergies and draft context

Peel supports and frontline tanks protect Ryze, and safe positioning unlocks their full damage. Waveclear and disengage allies stall the game for Ryze's scaling, and every minute makes them stronger. Frontline tanks zone enemies into the path of your skillshots. Engage champions with AOE crowd control set up wombo combos.

Draft Context

• Lacks a frontline or peel — Ryze gets dove with no protection between them and the enemy
• Drafts an aggressive early comp that can't protect Ryze through the scaling phase

Learning Curve

Based on 1.2M+ matches across all ranked elos, showing how Ryze's win rate changes with mastery level

Ryze has exceptional depth — there is always something new to learn, but getting results requires significant dedication. Expect lower win rates for an extended period before deeper mechanics click into place.

Skill Cap

Very High

Cost of Learning

Very High