@Riot - About Ryze
Hello friends.
Ryze
has been reworked many times. Instead of reworking Ryze drastically every year, perhaps it might be useful to work on a starting point first, and then decide on how to rework Ryze from there.
Let's dive into a simple kit for Ryze by returning to the basics and making Ryze reliable again (removing skillshots).
Ryze is a DPS mage, meaning if we want a balanced champion overall, we have to give him sufficient DPS. What better way is there to ensure DPS on his kit than to model his Q ability after the DPS class itself (marksmen)? Let's take a look at Ashe.
Ashe (Levels 1-9) AD: 61/64/67/70/73/76/79/82/85 Average AS: 0.745
Ashe attacks on average 1.5 times every 2 seconds, or 3 times every 4 seconds. If we multiply that by her average AD from levels 1-9 we get a value of about 219 physical damage every 4 seconds. Now we have a starting point for Ryze.
Overload (Q): Deal 45/50/55/60/65 magic damage (plus scaling) to a single target within 700 range. 1 second cooldown.
Why: Ryze is a DPS mage. He should be dealing DPS. If you examine the numbers, you'll see that they allow him to deal approximately 220 base damage wijth Overload every 4 seconds from levels 1-9. Success! We've turned Ryze into a reliable DPS mage. Now let's move onto his core crowd control spell, which further differentiates him as a mage.
Rune Prison (W): Instantly roots a target within 600 range for 1.5 seconds. 40/35/30/25/20 second cooldown.
Why: Removing the damage on Rune Prison is important so that Ryze can keep the overall power it provides without over-complicating the ability. A sufficiently high cooldown at low levels provides enemies with windows where they can outplay Ryze when they're certain he doesn't have the spell up. Instant roots are also thematic to Ryze, so it makes sense to keep them on him.
Spell Flux (E): Deals 70/115/160/205/250 + 0.85 AP magic damage to a single target and enemies around it on impact.
Why: This is Ryze's most mage-like ability and it's good AoE waveclear. The damage is derived exactly as-is from Annie's W ability, Incinerate. Now we have a basic template for Ryze's basic abilities. They're simple, easy to use, and leave sufficient room for the addition of extra power so that Ryze isn't a subpar mana-consuming marksman. This is where his passive comes in. Behold, Rune Book.
Rune Book (Passive): Casting a spell empowers Ryze's next two spell casts based on the previous spell cast. Ryze needs to recharge after using this effect.
Why: This is Ryze. Rune Book means the order in which he casts his spells matter (when the passive is up), and different effects can be applied based on order. Note that QER is different, for example, from QRE. Now the possibilities are endless. Here's a list of possible effects.
-Increased in combat MS -Increased damage -Increased Area of Effect -Increased spell range*** -Shielding -Vision on spell impact -Bigger teleport radius -Damage over time on enemies who stand in the portal -MR reduction debuff -Extra mana consumption for bonus damage -Access to a special, temporary set of single-use niche abilities Etc.
As you can see, this iteration of Ryze can be buffed or nerfed or reworked based on performance without needing to change the way his basic abilities work each time. He'll always be a DPS mage. He'll also always be balanced because he dishes out damage similar to a marksman without dashes. He retains his magey aspects (team teleport, instant root, differential effects based on spell combinations). He's different froma marksman because he doesn't have an iconic global ultimate or attack speed or critical chance to augment his DPS. Finally, players can easily pick up Ryze and master him slowly without spending all their effort trying to land skillshots, which are much easier to deal with when you only need to land one (think impactful abilities that enable entire kits, like Lux's binding). What players cannot do, however, is build pure tank items and expect to dish out just as much DPS as old point-and-click Ryze.
