How the mighty have fallen: Ryze

Had I told you a year ago that Ryze, Twisted Fate, and Rumble would fall from glory, you'd probably laugh at me until you lost conscious. Yet nowadays you might just be bothered by news you've already heard. Just how did this happen? Was it Morello's nerf gun? Or had they simply been overplayed and their tactics outdated? One thing is certain, their win rates have dropped. While it may remain a mystery, I'm going to take a slightly more in depth look.

This article will cover Ryze. The following information is on a monthly basis, provided by lolking.net (January, 2014).

 

Ryze "the Rogue Mage"

Pick rate:  4.26% of all games (32,392 games)
Win rate: 45.63% (currently the 3rd lowest win rate in the league)
Type: Mage, fighter

Ryze is one of the older champions in the League, in fact he has been around since the Beta version of League of Legends. He's frequently chosen by beginners for his rather simply yet powerful gameplay, though he is still a favorite among many advanced players like Athene or Alex Ich. He even has more face time than any other champion, for instance, he has been in every cinematic Riot has made for League of Legends. He might not have lost any of his fame, but what happened to his glory?

Ryze's recent loss in power can be concluded from a multitude of things. Two things that struck him hard were the changes to Tear of the Goddess and the reduction of his spells' range. Tear of the Goddess was an essential part of Ryze's gameplay, his mana was increased often by his low-cooldown abilities, which in-turn increased his damage dealt by abilities. With the slower "farming" of Tear of the Goddess, Ryze's power was stretched. While Ryze doesn't have the worst early game, this affected it quite seriously, and in turn the reduction of his range affected his early game as well. Ryze would have to get close, and do it fast; exposing him to an enemy's counter attack.

Let's take a short look at Ryze's typical game.

1. Early Game (Laning Phase) - "The good general is full of caution" -Sun Tzu

Fighting anyone in lane who has the least bit of range is quite difficult for Ryze. Over the past few patches, Ryze has seen nerfs to his abilities' range twice, as well as reduction to his mana scaling (although base damage and cooldowns were buffed). With less incentive for purchasing high-mana items, often it may be more rewarding to purchase the typically more expensive Ability Power items. This presents yet another remarkable dilemma to Ryze players. Using your abilities like they were meant to be used.

Ryze is known for "machine gunning" his Q at anyone who gets with its range (600), yet this can be very punishing if the player has opted for more ability power, rather than mana. However purchasing mana results in Ryze's abilities not impacting the enemy as much. Either way, the player is put in a bad spot.

2. Mid Game (Team Fights and Dragon/Early Baron) - "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much" -Hellen Keller

Traditionally Ryze stands behind his team's designated tank, snaring the enemy engager and finally bursting someone into oblivion. While his early game damage might be left in the air, Ryze's mid game damage typically evens out. Having damage isn't the problem, dealing it is. Ryze's range considerably lower than it used to be (700). His ultimate (no longer scaling with mana) gives him a decent movement speed increase, to help close the gap with his target.

However this can leave a fervent Ryze player separated from his team, and easy pickings for his opponents. It simply boils down to Ryze playing significantly more careful than normal.

3. Late Game (More Team Fights, More Dragons and Barons, Base Siege) - "Time is most essential in war. 5 minutes means the difference between victory and defeat" -Horatio Nelson

In ye olde times, Ryze would have a high burst, and was quite tanky. He'd hold up the siege, discouraging an enemy's initiation/counter attack. This is still the case, although there are a few new issues with Ryze's late game. It's fairly obvious that the movement speed buff is very effective to joining a fight under a besieged tower (his or not). Not everything is peaches and cream, though. Ryze's range is again just as much a hamper as it was in mid game.

When is not the problem with Ryze, where is. That little bit of range that Ryze lost puts him at quite a bit more risk. 600 range is pretty close to most ranged champions auto-attacks. Some AD carries can hit Ryze before he can even cast his spell, which is one hell of a danger.

 

Conclusion

Ryze is still a powerful champion, yet his power comes at a hefty cost. Between the loss of his mana scaling and the loss of his range; Ryze has to take hits before he can dish them out in return. I'm not entirely sure what would be a sufficient buff to balance out Ryze. Keep in mind, however, that this is simply what I think and that you might want to take it into consideration.

Thanks for reading, this is the first part in a three part series I am writing about champions that have "lost their shine". Stick around Team Dignitas to see what's up next.