"Ryzing Concerns: an Average players thoughts on an Iconic Champion."

First off, I absolutely love the newly re-worked Ryze. In fact, it seems to be the only thing I really crave playing. Everything about the blue-man feels fun and at times undeniably frustrating, and although that sounds like a bad thing it really isn't because I almost always look back and attempt to think of how I could have played things differently.

After finally reaching Level Seven Mastery with Ryze, I decided to reflect back at my experiences with the champion and I couldn't help but wonder how much thought went into this identity of a "Mage-Archetype" and the "intended" role I was predisposed to. I know for certain that there must of been more minds than I can imagine and countless kit iterations, with each bringing a unique and most likely refreshing perspective into the culmination of what Ryze would potentially relay to the Rift, but what really perplexed me was only a simple question: How am I supposed to play this? I found myself coming full circle to when I first picked him up, and all those games between really felt like they made no difference. This experience was definitely a first for me and to be honest I believe this is the reason I keep coming back to Ryze.

Now, obviously I have learned quite a bit mechanically. I've learned the do's and dont's of laning with Ryze in both Mid and Top lanes. I have learned quite a bit about how his abilities work with one another, specifically the more subtle nuances of chaining them together (Shield and Retreat? Turn and Burn? or Sustained Chase? etc.). I absolutely love some of the interesting situations that his ultimate creates and have seen many a late game, but in the end of the day unless I am way ahead of my opposition, I consistently seem to find myself falling short and I can't quite pinpoint one reason.

Now I decided to perform an exercise: When I think of Ryze what comes to mind?

I ended up with: Ryze: Mage, Mana-focused, Late game, Hyper-Carry, "Blue", Simple.

Then I did another exercise: When you play Ryze what can you associate with him?

I concluded: Ryze: Ramp-Up, Late Game, Utility, Wave Clear, Roamer, Team-Fight, Skill-Shots, Movement, Complex, Combos.

So where am I going with this?

Ryze has been subject to several substantial changes. Some of the original identity of Ryze: Mage, Mana, Blue, Hyper-carry, have all transcended into his current form. However, new elements have made their way into the champion and these changes have deep impacting effects as to how he plays and how he can be balanced. The last iteration of Ryze was a great example of two streams that have been crossing and are continuously crossing that are very sensitive: utility vs. raw damage. Giving Ryze a utility element such as his current ultimate in combination to his original intended design of being a late-game hyper-carry mage is a very risky proposition in terms of balance. Give too little and the champion never comes to fruition, enable him too much and he will be all over the rift, and not by choice but by necessity. Combine this with an, "Easy-to-pick-up, difficult-to-master" curve and you have a balancing nightmare.

Right now, Ryze feels like a nightmare, but an ironically good one.

He is close to his mark, but still a bit off and I am more than happy to play him and continue to learn as time goes on.

If there were any fingers I would have to point as being prime offenders to Ryze, it would be the current items which Ryze is pigeonholed into, and . Currently Ryze is taking way too long to have an impact in most games. His pacing is just a tad bit slow and this is mainly because Ryze can not afford to deviate from these two items which lack the AP his passive thirst for.

This also creates the situation where if Ryze gets an early gold advantage, gains a solid lead and gets over what I like to call this "Item-Wall," he can quickly start stacking his ability power items which just compounds his lead and makes him pretty much an unstoppable blue monster.

Aside from this, Ryze has a really underwhelming level 6 "Power-Spike." because his ultimate is pure utility. Since the power of utility is a very fickle and abstract concept in terms of balance, it is difficult to get right. Once again, enable him too much, and he will over-perform and vice versa, so the recent subtle buff was admirable but still off the overall mark of what is holding Ryze back.

Now Ryze's biggest drawback factor currently is his late access to AP... so why not give Ryze some when he hits level 6/11? Maybe a 's worth each? This way he stays relevant at level's 6/11 but doesn't hit that extra bit most champions do at 16, because he already scales extremely well due to and in junction with his passive.

Just an average player's thoughts on a definitely above average champion. Thanks for reading.

**TL/DR: Ryze is a Blue-Hyper-Carry-Mage who is really difficult to balance properly given his current kit. Giving Ryze AP at levels 6/11 could tip the scales just enough to give Ryze a better chance in the Rift. **