Last year, a friend gifted me the Uncle Ryze skin, and that was one of the reasons why I started to play Ryze so much at ranked games. However, he was then reworked. Now I can't play him effectively, even during the time he was considered broken, I couldn't play effectively, and I wonder why he is so hard to play and what is keeping him weak and unpopular.
Willow Ninja1 votesIm not much of a ryze player, but i feel that the Q change was what ruined him for me. I dont mind the ability being a skill shot, i just think its to week a spell as it is to involve a risk of failure.
Nik Nikerson1 votesHe's hard to play, because when you play him well, he becomes an unstoppable force.
As far as popularity goes, I suspect it's because players would rather generally take a character that spikes earlier than Ryze, or are powerful right off the bat, like Garen or Darius (which also have a lower skill requirement to play), and have an immediate impact. A lot of players aren't willing to wait that long. It's part of the reason that Kassadin doesn't see much play, despite the fact he's super-powerful.
