How to counter play Ryze
Hello, I am a Ryze main currently in Silver IV. I am often disliked and insulted for using the Rogue Mage. I think this is because Ryze is a no skill champion who just WQEQ's, and ends up with a triple. He's also quite durable, while being able to dish out massive damage. It may seem unfair and broken that such a champion could exist, but I assure you that there is counter play. (Note: I'm not sure if I sound mean or salty in this post, since I get cussed at a lot, but I am not trying to make fun of anybody. If I sound passive aggressive, please tell me, and tell my how I could improve my writing)
Ryze currently has the lowest win rate of all champions in bronze, and the highest win rate in Master.
http://imgur.com/NWxSf3b http://imgur.com/HpbkDhV
Ryze has a massive skill ceiling, and could be frustrating to go against, so I will give some tips on how to survive in a lane with him. To beat an enemy, you must first know what it is. Though it looks like he just throws out a jumble of spells, Ryze is a predictable champion. With these pointers, I hope to share my insight on Ryze.
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Cooldowns. Unlike other mages, spending points into Ryze's three main abilities do not lower their cooldowns. For example, a level 1 Rune Prison has the same cooldown as a level 2 one. Therefore, it is easy to foresee when his abilities are up, and when he is ready to engage. At 0% CDR, Q has a cooldown of 4 seconds, W with 14, and E with 7.
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Abilities. Overload is a skillshot which scales well in the late game. When Ryze tries to last hit a siege minion with it, body block the overload. Ryze's most famous ability is Rune Prison. Early on, the snare lasts only 1 second and has a long cooldown, so he is quite vulnerable during this time. Spell flux is my favorite; it does more damage to the initial target if that target is within the vicinity of their allies. Therefore, to counter spell flux, do not stand near your minions. It is very effective when combined with Ryze's ultimate, which gives him AoE on his abilities.
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Mana. Ryze runs out of mana very quickly in the early game. Having lane sustain (like Cho'gath), allows you to outlast Ryze, as his mana regeneration is low. Ryze is known for going all in and dropping down enemies in one go. Don't try to all in an all-in-er.
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IMPORTANT: Arcane Mastery. This is Ryze's passive. It is what makes him unique. Some suggest to keep away from him when he has a high number of stacks, because he could proc his passive any time. But that is wrong. You should instead engage a Ryze the more stacks he has! Ryze can actually begin his combo with one stack of arcane mastery. To elaborate, Arcane Mastery only holds up for 5 spells casted by Ryze. So if he begins at 1 stack, he can pull off 8 spells before Arcane Mastery ends. While at 4 stacks, he can only fire off 5 spells. This is the best tip I can give.
My prediction is that this post will get a negative amount of likes, with other summoners commenting how garbage Ryze is, and that I should kill myself for maining him. I created this discussion not to argue that Ryze is a skilled champion, and to show off, but to give information with my experience of this certain champion. My wish is that the community is friendly and enjoyable by being open to other's ideas.
Bonus video< Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sOUKNrPQyw Though Fiora is one of my most common matchups in the top lane (and I DID lose to her often), I don't think she is broken or overpowered. In the video, though Maple is up by 40 CS and a kill, he played horribly. He popped up Desperate Power much too early (it's called that for a reason, you use it to turn a fight around!), ran right into a melee fighter, didn't position himself near enemy minions to take advantage of Spell Flux, and even Rune Prisoned a Fiora in mid Riposte. This would happen to me sometimes, but instead of complaining broken, I re-watched my own games and saw what I did wrong. I'm not especially skilled--my main champions are Ryze, Ashe, and Garen--but just like Ryze, I'm willing to learn and improve. I'm still down here, slowly climbing up the ranks, so I want to hear YOUR general tips on how to be a better player.
