Dota 2 Riki Guide

Uncover the mysteries of the stealthiest Hero of Dota 2 with this complete Dota 2 Riki Guide

“If you can see me, you’re already dead!” – words of wisdom coming from the master of stealth, Riki.

Riki is a melee Agility Hero that starts with quite a low HP of 516 and 243 Mana, but has a redeeming base movement speed of 315 and armor of 5. He also has decent base damage between 57-61. 

Until patch 7.23, he had been in limbo between the core and support role, but now he is run as a carry or core. Although difficult to master, he can change the tides of any teamfight or even neutralize a support before one begins. 

Abilities

Let’s take a stab at playing this Hero, starting with Riki’s ability kit.

• Smoke Screen – Riki’s AOE (Area of Effect) skill covers a 375-radius (425 with level 10 talent) area with a smoke bomb, silencing enemies for 6 seconds and causing them to miss up to 75% of their attacks. This ability is upgradable by Aghanim’s Shard.
  
  • Aghanim’s Shard Upgrade – Enemies caught in the smoke also have their armor reduced by 5 and cannot be targeted by enemies.
    
• Blink Strike – Riki closes the gap, teleporting behind the target, and slowing and attacking with bonus damage if it is an enemy. He does up to 85 bonus damage and slows enemy movement up to 100% for 0.4 seconds. It has two charges with a charge replenishment time of at least 13 seconds (9 seconds with level 20 talent).
  
• Tricks of the Trade – Riki phases out of existence and backstabs random enemy units around him. He performs 4 attacks per single target in a 450 radius. The damage dealt includes an instant attack damage of 40% and Agility-based bonus damage of up to 100% (140% with level 15 talent). This ability can be upgraded by Aghanim’s Scepter.
  
  • Aghanim’s Scepter Upgrade – He can also hide inside an ally, performing 5 attacks with 2 targets per attack.
    
• Cloak and Dagger: Riki becomes one with the shadows, gaining invisibility. Every strike from behind (backstab) grants him bonus damage based on his Agility. Attacking also breaks his invisibility, gained back after a fade delay. He also gains bonus experience of up to 350 per kill and 100 per assist. His backstab bonus damage adds to his Hero damage per Agility at a multiplier of up to 2 (2.4 with level 20 talent). 

Talents:

• Level 10 – +8% Cloak and Dagger Movement Speed or +50 Smoke Screen Radius
• Level 15 – -3s Smoke Screen Cooldown or + 30% Tricks of the Trade Agility Increase
• Level 20 – -4s Blink Strike Replenish Time or +0.4 and Backstab Multiplier
• Level 25 – Tricks of the Trade Applies a Basic Dispel or -4 Tricks of the Trade Cooldown

Dota 2 Riki Guide – Tips 

Riki has found his new role as a core or carry after the 7.33 update due to the removal of Sleeping Dart. His Smoke Screen’s Aghanim’s Shard upgrade is a game-changer, making it impossible for enemies caught in the haze to receive help from their allies. This forces opponents to watch helplessly as he eliminates their teammates. 

To succeed, he needs to farm his core items, occasionally using Diffusal Blade for quick kills. During teamfights, he should prioritize taking down enemy supports with low armor and HP. He should avoid direct confrontations and use Blink Strike to escape or Tricks of Trade to dodge stuns and nukes. His recommended items include Treads, Diffusal, Manta Style, Aghanim’s Shard, and Aghanim’s Scepter to boost his agility and damage output.

Dota 2 Riki – Pros and Cons

Here are some critical aspects that make or break Riki.

Pros:

• Permanent invisibility
• High base armor, health regeneration and damage
• Can use items without breaking invisibility
• Smoke Screen is good against all enemies

Cons:

• Low HP, Mana and Agility gain
• Not good at flash farming
• Not good at clearing waves
• Easily countered by Sentry Wards and true sight

How to play Riki

A detailed, bite-sized guide to playing this stealthy assassin.

Starting Items

Begin your game with basic heals like one Tango and Healing Salve and some base attributes items like Slippers of Agility and Circlet. You can later combine the two items for a Wraith Band, and if you have a problem last-hitting, you can get yourself a Quelling Blade. For lane harassment, get an Orb of Venom. Transition to a Power Treads as soon as possible, and build up to that Diffusal Blade.

Early Game:

Early Game is all about farming up your core items and not taking unnecessary fights. Build up your arsenal with a Diffusal Blade to get some kills or a Yasha early stats and speed. Focus on the last-hitting and always keep your eye on the map for any possible ganks coming your way. It’s essential to be aware of your mortality, and stay safe and greedy throughout the early game. 

Mid Game:

As the game progresses, you might have to adapt your items depending on your allies, enemies and your team’s net worth. Transitioning your Yasha into a Manta Style is the way to go, giving you some much-needed stats and mobility. You can also pick up a Skull Basher for those precious backstab mini-stuns or a Crystalys for Critical Strike damage, which can be later built into a Daedalus.

Late Game:

As the late game arrives, you have quite a few options. You can upgrade your Crystalys to a Daedalus, and with a Diffusal Blade or the upgraded Disperser, you can slow down your prey and keep them under your Smoke Screen to finish them off. Furthermore, Skull Basher or Abyssal Blade works the same way as holding down your opponent with brief stuns.

Focusing on gaining more Agility is also a good option, and for that, you can get yourself the evasive Butterfly or the chilling Skadi, both packed with plenty of stats. If you are going for raw damage and dispel, the Nufflier is another good pick. If you constantly get silenced, stunned or nuked down, a BKB (Black King Bar)’s magic immunity is an excellent help. These items will help you last longer in teamfights and dish out much damage while keeping your movement unhindered. 

Dota 2 Riki Counter

Here are some assassination targets that always have the upper hand over Riki:

• Slardar – His ultimate ability, Corrosive Haze, reduces armor while granting true sight and constant vision over Riki. Without proper debuff capabilities, Riki will always have an easy-to-cash-in bounty on his head.
• Bounty Hunter – Similar to Slardar’s ultimate ability, Bounty Hunter’s Track ability also grants true sight and constant vision over Riki and gives bonus gold to Bounty Hunter whenever Riki is killed. 
• Spirit Breaker – Bara (Spirit Breaker) can easily target you from any part of the map as long as he gets a vision of you. Whether for proper warding or an untimely right-click, Riki is vulnerable to Bara’s global Charge of Darkness ability and can easily fall victim to a following gank. 

Conclusion

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