League of Legends Ryze Guide: Best Build, Runes & Combos

Ryze is a high-skill mage in League of Legends known for his fast-paced combos, strong wave clear, and map control with his ultimate. While he can be tough to master, Ryze rewards players who learn his rune setups, itemization, and combo timing with incredible scaling damage and unmatched side lane pressure. In this guide, we’ll break down the best build, runes, items, and combos to help you get the most out of Ryze in any match.

Ryze Abilities Overview In League of Legends 

Here’s a quick breakdown of Ryze’s abilities in League of Legends:

Passive – Arcane Mastery: Ryze’s abilities deal bonus damage based on his bonus mana, and his maximum mana increases with ability power, allowing him to scale well into late game.

Q – Overload: Ryze fires a rune bolt in a target direction that damages the first enemy hit. If he’s recently cast another ability, Overload will instead fire an empowered bolt that chains to nearby enemies.

W – Rune Prison: Ryze roots a single target, briefly immobilizing them and dealing magic damage. This ability also triggers Overload’s empowered version when used in a combo.

E – Spell Flux: Ryze releases a bouncing orb that damages the target and spreads to nearby enemies. If the target is already affected by Spell Flux, it becomes debuffed, increasing the damage of Ryze’s next spell.

R – Realm Warp: Ryze opens a portal at his location, teleporting all nearby allies to a targeted area after a short delay. It’s mainly used for macro plays and repositioning, rather than direct combat.

Mastering the synergy between Ryze’s abilities is key to unleashing devastating combos and dominating teamfights or side lanes.

How To Play Ryze In League of Legends

Best Summoner Spells For Ryze

The best summoner spells for Ryze are Flash and Teleport. Flash gives Ryze the mobility he lacks, helping him escape ganks or reposition during combos. Teleport allows Ryze to apply map pressure, split push effectively, and join fights quickly—perfect for his scaling and macro-focused playstyle. These two spells complement his kit and are the standard choice in most matchups.

Best Runes For Ryze

The best runes for Ryze focus on enhancing his burst damage, scaling power, and survivability in lane. Here’s the optimal rune setup:

Primary – Sorcery
• Phase Rush: Grants bonus movement speed after hitting an enemy with 3 attacks or abilities. Crucial for escaping after a combo.
• Manaflow Band: Increases Ryze’s mana pool, boosting both damage and sustain.
• Transcendence: Grants bonus Ability Haste and converts excess into AP—perfect for Ryze’s cooldown-reliant kit.
• Gathering Storm: Scales well into late game, increasing Ryze’s AP over time.

Secondary – Inspiration
• Perfect Timing: Grants a free Stopwatch for clutch plays or early defense against burst.
• Cosmic Insight: Reduces cooldowns on both summoner spells and items, letting you use Flash and Teleport more frequently.

Stat Shards
• Adaptive Force
• Adaptive Force
• Scaling Health or Magic Resist (depending on matchup)

This rune setup helps Ryze weave in his high-damage combos while staying mobile and durable in fights.

Best Build For Ryze

The best build for Ryze in League of Legends focuses on ability power, mana, and cooldown reduction to maximize his spell damage and uptime. Here’s the optimal full build for most games:

Core Items:
• Rod of Ages – Gives Ryze health, mana, and AP that scales over time. A must-have first item for his scaling.
• Archangel’s Staff (upgrades into Seraph’s Embrace) – Provides a massive mana pool and AP scaling, plus a shield for survivability.
• Zhonya’s Hourglass – Adds armor, AP, and the active stasis effect, which is great for diving or surviving burst.

Situational Items:
• Cosmic Drive – Boosts AP, movement speed, and Ability Haste—synergizes perfectly with Ryze’s low cooldowns.
• Rabadon’s Deathcap – Great for heavy scaling games when you want maximum burst.
• Void Staff – Essential against enemies stacking magic resist.
• Banshee’s Veil – Good defensive pick if you’re dealing with poke or pick threats.

Boots:
• Sorcerer’s Shoes – Standard for magic penetration.
• Mercury’s Treads – If you’re facing heavy CC or AP burst.
• Ionian Boots of Lucidity – If you want more CDR on both abilities and summoner spells.

This build gives Ryze great survivability, sustained damage, and strong scaling into the late game.

Best Combos To Learn For Ryze

The best combos to learn for Ryze focus on quickly weaving spells together to maximize his passive damage and cooldown resets. Start with the basic poke combo: cast Spell Flux (E) to mark the enemy, then hit them with Overload (Q) for bonus damage. For full burst, use E → W → Q → E → Q to root your target, amplify damage through Flux, and dish out high sustained damage. When wave-clearing, cast E on one minion, then E again to bounce and spread Flux to others, followed by a Q for AOE damage. A more aggressive combo involves flashing mid-combo: E → W → Flash → Q to surprise enemies with a root and burst. Lastly, use Ryze’s Realm Warp (R) to reposition during teamfights or chase down escaping targets. Mastering these combos lets you maximize damage, control fights, and outplay opponents with well-timed abilities.

Conclusion

Ryze is a powerful pick when played with precision and proper combo execution. With the right build, runes, and spell rotations, he can dominate teamfights, clear waves fast, and catch enemies off-guard with his mobility and burst. Mastering his combos and understanding when to use his Realm Warp can turn Ryze into a true late-game monster. Whether you’re climbing ranked or just looking to improve your mid lane game, this guide gives you everything you need to play Ryze to his full potential.