Riki/Guide


 * Smoke Screen provides a powerful Silence and gives enemies a high miss chance, as well as slowing them down.
 * If Smoke Screen targeted properly, it can hold an enemy down long enough to finish them off.
 * A good strategy is to throw a Smoke Screen in the enemy's path, rather than where they are presently.


 * Riki can use Blink Strike to chase and escape.
 * Blink Strike is unit targeted, not point targeted, and as such cannot be used unless there are units around.
 * Blink Strike helps catch up with fleeing enemies, jump into fights quickly, and escape from situations by targeting allies.
 * Blink Strike pairs well with the backstab damage from Cloak and Dagger, as it teleports Riki behind the enemy.


 * If Riki's enemies do not have any form of detection, the invisibility will let Riki escape with ease and roam freely.
 * If they do, Riki has to rely on his cunning and speed in order to get the drop on enemies, and get out alive.
 * Cloak and Dagger also enables him to deal incredible damage from behind based on a multiplier of his agility.


 * Tricks of the Trade is a devastating teamfight ability that deals backstab damage to all units in its AoE.
 * Tricks of the Trade pairs well with large AoE disables such as, , and.
 * Later in the game, you can use Tricks of the Trade after Blink Strike to initiate, then safely Blink Strike again to escape enemies waiting for you.
 * Tricks of the Trade may be combined with cleave from or  to devastate closely grouped enemies.

Items
Starting
 * s and compensate for poor starting HP, allowing you to stay in the lane longer and reach level 6 sooner.
 * and three es to increase early damage and both health and mana regeneration, while the slippers prepare for the shield and the branches set up for the wand later.

Early Game
 * replaces your consumables with an alternative source of recovery, particularly if the enemy team includes heroes that rely on abilities.
 * provide movement speed, allowing Riki to keep pace with fleeing heroes while Blink Strike is on cooldown.
 * gives Riki damage block, aiding escape from attempted ganks or providing the defense to land one last hit on an almost dead opponent.
 * helps secure kills with its movement slow and helps compensate for Riki's own horrible movement speed

Core
 * give Riki increased attack speed as well as a further bonus to attributes.
 * is an obvious upgrade from the and es purchased earlier, freeing up inventory slots while retaining the attribute bonuses and healing ability.
 * provides a way to weaken heroes receiving bonuses from buffs, as well as slow fleeing heroes and burn mana from casters. It can also counter the use of a by purging himself. And using purge on an enemy under  allows for a long silenced duration in which you can backstab them or just fight them while they have an increased chance to miss.

Situational
 * Though expensive, a provides a huge increase in both survivability and damage, as well as attack speed. It also boosts your agility which scales well with 's backstab damage.
 * is a good early/mid game pickup, makes everyone faster and gives you stats, coupled with Orb of Venom for a better chasing power.
 * allows Riki to effectively fight in teamfights and get kills against opponents that have strong disables.
 * give great attribute bonuses, as well as an alternative slow method to save charges on, or use in place of a drained Diffusal Blade.
 * allows Riki to cancel TPs with a lucky bash and continue to lockdown opponents once they have acquired a BKB, and upgrades into which allows for more reliable stuns.
 * gives stats across the board as well as a flat HP and mana pool bonus, allowing Riki to take more hits, deal more damage and cast more spells. It also gives a powerful, BKB piercing slow that will prevent your target from escaping.