Among the over 150 champions in League of Legends, Ryze is one of the oldest characters and was created first in the game. Despite undergoing many adjustments, reworks, and skill changes, one thing that has not changed about Ryze is that this champion’s damage output always interacts with the energy statistic. Therefore, to build and play Ryze effectively, players must always pay attention to the issue of energy; otherwise, this character will appear extremely weak.
Recently, a Challenger player on the NA server named Akilleus discovered a very interesting interaction between Ryze and the rune Waterwalking, Swift. Basically, this rune somehow gives Ryze a lot of energy; players just need to move in and out of the river continuously. So what is the reason for this interaction? Let’s find out.
First, we need to know that Ryze’s passive, Arcane Mastery, increases energy based on the AP stat. Meanwhile, the two runes Waterwalking and Swift will provide Ryze a lot of AP based on the movement speed when this champion steps into the river. The special thing here is that when leaving the river, the AP increase effect from the Waterwalking rune becomes inactive, but the energy gained from that AP still remains.
The consequence, as we have seen above, is that Ryze can regenerate energy very quickly just by moving in and out of the river continuously. If you can take advantage of this tip, you can ensure that your energy level is always sufficient at the beginning of the match, before going back and acquiring Tear of the Goddess. Additionally, this tip is also very useful in the mid-game when Ryze still faces limitations in terms of items.
It is unclear whether this is a bug or a feature of Ryze, as the passive and runes like Waterwalking, Swift have not been adjusted by Riot Games in a long time.