Riot eyeing yet another Ryze rework as LoL rune mage sinks to new lows

Reset the counter: Riot Games has admitted they’re “definitely” considering yet another Ryze rework, as the infamous League of Legends rune mage’s win rate continues to plummet in Season 11 after several Phase Rush nerfs.

There’s only a few certainties in League of Legends. Lux always gets a new skin. TSM will always flop at Worlds. The Yasuo on your team will end up 0/10 and AFK.

And, without fail, iconic mage Ryze gets a new update.

Ryze has had a rollercoaster ride since he first debuted on Summoner’s Rift way back in 2009. The battlemage was first reworked in v1.0.0.61, then again soon after in  v1.0.0.111. Two more updates followed in 1.0.0.139 and 5.8, the latter of which was billed as a “final fix,” before he got a near-total overhaul in Season 6.

Now, the Rune Mage is currently on his sixth version, which debuted in LoL patch 9.12, complete with a huge raft of base stat changes, new effects, and more.

This most recent version has had a lengthy stint, clocking up 49 live patches, but when it comes to Ryze the good times never seem to last; with his win rate plummeting, Riot has confirmed they’re “definitely” eyeing another rework.

Ryze himself has barely been touched in Season 11, with just a small Q buff in LoL patch 11.1 actually written into his monstrous change list.

Despite that, the Rune Mage has found himself sliding out of the meta once again. According to stat-tracking website Lolalytics, the mid laner wins just 45.49% of his games on the Rift. Shift him top, and that stat only climbs to 46.39%.

Simply put, Ryze has fallen back to the bottom of the meta.

It’s an issue the League devs have admitted they want to rectify. Again.

“[Ryze is] definitely a candidate for some kind of rework,” dev RiotPhlox noted on Reddit, explaining the balance team would at least wait to see where the recent Phase Rush nerfs left the mage “before pulling the trigger.”

• Read More: League of Legends patch 11.10 notes

The LoL dev didn’t touch on what these changes may be, but Dexerto expects they’d be closer to a 9.12-style update, rather than 6.14’s total overhaul.

Once Ryze is added into the balance team’s rework plans, he’ll find himself behind a few other struggling LoL champions also in need of a modern makeover.

The first rework is for Dr. Mundo. The Madman of Zaun is getting a new backstory, updated abilities, and fancy new skins. Tahm Kench is expected to get his update soon too, though that has been delayed by animation issues. Sona and Udyr will also be getting major changes.

• Read More: Riot is making a LoL cinematic universe

A Rammus update also recently arrived in patch 11.9, though the overhaul didn’t land perfectly; Riot will be shipping more Armordillo buffs soon.