What I think should be done to Ryze (from a Ryze main)

Note: I posted this on r/RyzeMains about a month ago and just got the time to post it here.

Riot has done it again; they've created a Ryze that is highly contested in pro (and now soloq). We are destined for nerfs. This got me thinking of how I would change Ryze if I could. First, I identified what I thought worked with the current iteration and what I feel does not.

What works:

• SoloQ winrate went up. This is good for people who want to pick up the champ for the first time, but I think all veteran Ryze players did not play Ryze (pre 9.12) for the winrate, but for the complexity.

• Q damage amp being gated by R level. This one is certainly arguable, but I do think having a Ryze that became his most powerful at level 16 was a lot healthier than one who could have E maxed at level 10 (3 points Q then E max pre 9.12)

What does not work:

• EQ is too reliable / too much damage / unfun. We've seen in Worlds that with players who position extremely well end up dishing out insane amounts of damage in teamfights due to the autospread while remaining a solid pick for the sidelanes. The autospread is just not healthy for the game. Waveclear is too high, and teamfighting is so so strong in a coordinated environment.

• Ult isn't very fun and outright worse in SoloQ. Whether or not you think the root of Ryze's proplay presence is his ultimate, I think we can all agree the team-wide teleport is just better in an environment where everyone is in comms together. Pings just are not enough in SoloQ to always get the team to take the ult as we want.

• Expelling 2 runes from Q passive doesn't feel impactful enough to warrant not EQ spamming. Something needs to reincentivize waiting for 2 runes. This will not only help lower his insane DPS, but will also make the champion feel complex again as it would mean having to choose between max DPS and a more defensive playstyle. However, it is important that this change also doesn't return Ryze to the pre 9.12 state where he could not take a bad trade in lane due to having shields, root, and MS at level 3 EWQ / WEQ combo.

How I would change Ryze:

Passive: No changes

Q: No changes

W: No changes

E: No longer autospreads. Spreads when fluxed enemy dies or when enemy dies while E projectile in air. Basically a full revert to pre 9.12. Only difference is mana cost remains the same as current Ryze.

R: No longer team wide teleport. Mana cost 100>0. Cooldown 210/180/150>150. Passive Q damage amp 10/40/70/100>20/40/60/80. New ability: Desperate Power. For 10 seconds, Ryze temporarily gains 20/40/60 AP and 10% CDR (Can exceed the CDR cap. However, ONLY this 10% CDR can exceed the cap, so no building 5 frozen hearts :3 ). During this duration, when Ryze expells 2 runes, he gains a shield for 20+12*level. If Ryze gets a takedown while Desperate Power is active, the duration resets.

What I think my version accomplishes:

I think the lowering of damage and re-addition of shields makes the champion feel more complex combo-wise again which is what many of us Ryze mains miss. I do not think it would be healthy to always have shields when Ryze expends 2 runes since it would just make Ryze's laning phase too safe again. There was very little counter to EWQ/WEQ since we had the MS and shields to get away safely pre 9.12. Having the shields only be during Ryze ult give Ryze a window to feel strong and be the 1v9 machine gun mage we all love while also giving the enemy a window to try and catch Ryze out when ult is on CD. I think these changes also hinder his insane waveclear, but do not eliminate it completely since E spreads on enemy death again. I think also having shields only scale on levels is the only way it can be healthy. I think any other scalings (mana or AP) may be too unhealthy (Think mana scalings on Viktor shield and tank Viktor dominating top lane earlier in the season). The 10% CDR during the duration may be too much, but I think it is an interesting idea to separate Ryze as the true machine gun mage and not completely removing his teamfighting ability he has now.

So TL;DR: More satisfying ult in soloQ, less of EQ bot, re-addition of shields, more complex, but at cost of some Q damage and autospread.

Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading!