Talk:Ryze/@comment-82.13.77.164-20110712234041/@comment-3532889-20110715001444

IMO, the ult is what makes Ryze a god of teamfights. Naturally, people go for the AP carry in teamfights, and that extra spellvamp allows Ryze to live through it. For every level in Rune Prison you get 35 AP, and .25 secs of stun, for the downside of paying 15 more mana for that ability. A level in his ult however, gives you +1 sec duration, 10 less CD, 5% more spellvamp, and 75 more mana, which besides being mana (in terms of sapphire crystal, 125g worth), also adds 6 damage to overload, and 3.75 to Rune Prison.

So honestly, it's a matter of weighing the pros and cons. Leveling his ult is better if you want live longer, farm better, and be much more active in teamfights, whereas leveling rune prison > desperate power allows you to gank mildly faster, but sacrificing things stated above, run out of mana faster, and be that much more at a disadvantage when it is on cooldown.