Riki/Counters

Bad against...

 * Axe has a very high HP pool, making it hard for you to kill him before you get big items - that is if you survive engaging him. Counter Helix ignores your armor and goes straight for your tiny HP pool, taking large chunks of it each time Axe spins; the cherry on top is Berserker's Call, which forces you to attack Axe without cover.


 * Zeus' ability Lightning Bolt and least necessary Thundergod's Wrath provides short duration of True Sight, exposing Riki from being invisible.


 * While Sven posses little to no risk to Riki by himself, he can be a nightmare to fight when his allies are close. Sven's Warcry gives you a harder time killing either Sven or his supports, and if he is given True Sight over you, he can make quick work of you with his enormous damage output.


 * Riki has little HP and armor on top of the fact that he deals very little damage from up front, so it's no surprise you will almost always lose a Duel as Riki, unless you have allies covering for you. Even later in the game once you farm up your items Legion still poses a great threat so it's best to avoid engagements with her unless you know she cannot use Duel on you.


 * Chronosphere will make Riki appear, and given your low HP and Void's high damage output he will most likely kill you before Chronosphere ends.


 * Unstable Current applies a heavy slow each time you will cast Blink Strike, so you can't really chase him with it unless you use Black King Bar icon.png Black King Bar.
 * Static Link drains away your damage, leaving you only with the one from Cloak And Dagger while Razor ends up hitting like a truck, forcing a retreat if you decided to engage him alone. Furthermore, Static Link will reveal your location for its duration, even when you are invisible, which ends up being pretty bad for you if his allies appear with detection.


 * Track gives Riki a hard time, he will be forced to purge himself with Diffusal Blade icon.png Diffusal Blade, using a charge when going aggressively; or Manta Style icon.png Manta Style.


 * Amplify Damage works much like Track, giving enemy team vision over Riki. It doesn't give movement speed but instead it melts Riki's armor and Slardar can use Sprint to catch him up.

Items

 * Gem of True Sight icon.png Gem of True Sight is a nightmare for Riki if not agile.
 * Sentry Ward icon.png Sentry Wards, traditionally used to maintain sight of invisible units.
 * Dust of Appearance icon.png Dust of Appearance is capable bringing down Riki for awhile for True Sight vision.
 * Silver Edge icon.png Silver Edge nullifies Cloak And Dagger, taking away half of your damage and your invisibility, making Tricks Of The Trade halfway useless in the process
 * Necronomicon icon.png Necronomicon 3 can reveal Riki in war so his purged out is useless.
 * Force Staff icon.png Force Staff will allow you to escape quickly from Smoke Screen and Trick Of The Trade. You can also use it to save your allies.
 * Ghost Scepter icon.png Ghost Scepter should be considered when playing support, as it prevents all physical damage from Riki; Beware of Diffusal Blade icon.png Diffusal Blade as it burns ghost form away.
 * Shadow Blade icon.png Shadow Blade can be used as a mean of escape, but you can easily counter it with Dust of Appearance icon.png Dust of Appearance, further securing your kill.

Good against...

 * Chen is basically your natural prey: he has little HP, low armor and relies on his persuaded creeps to fight, which in most situations will not save Chen from you. Just be wary of Centaur Conquerors, who can stun you outside of Smoke Screen and ruin your attempt at Chen's life.


 * Smoke Screen prevents the use of Tempest Double and Flux. Blink Strike gets you close enough to Arc Warden to negate the evasion effect of Magnetic Field. Be wary of Flux though, as you will most likely be alone when searching for kills, which is exactly what Flux would require.


 * Sniper has no natural escape and relies on his range and slows to keep himself safe, which you can bypass with Blink Strike and quickly deplete his miniature HP pool.


 * Riki's Smoke Screen effectively disables Crystal Maiden's channeling spell: Freezing Field.
 * Due to her low stats of health and armor in most phase, Riki can finish her off easily.


 * Smokescreen interrupts Meepo from casting Poof or Earthbind.
 * Trick of the Trade can damage all Meepos per strike.


 * Riki can get close enough to Drow Ranger with Blink Strike to disable her Marksmanship, reducing Agility, Precision Aura bonus damage, and armor, leaving her vulnerable to melee attacks.


 * Due to his low health and armor, Riki can easily finish Skywrath Mage easily.

Works well with...

 * Have Riki use Tricks of the Trade first, then Chronosphere. This will cause succession of all Tricks of the Trade strikes on the enemies within Chronosphere


 * Lifestealer can Infest on Riki for a Naix Bomb. Even if the enemies end up getting detection, you can use the same strategy to give them a surprise.


 * Earthbind or Geostrike can keep enemies in the area of Smoke Screen or Tricks of the Trade longer.


 * Ion Shell on Riki is like having an invisible Radiance which will greatly annoy the lane, especially against double melee lanes.


 * Reverse Polarity will bring enemies up close together; Making use of Empower and/or Battle Fury on Riki's Tricks of the Trade will bring down enemies caught by the Reverse Polarity


 * While Blackhole has a huge cooldown, it also has a good duration; Enough for Riki's Tricks of the Trade to hit the enemies caught with succession.


 * Same effect with Magnus and Enigma, it brings enemies close together with Berserker's Call for Tricks of the Trade.

List of heroes that counter Riki, and list of heroes that work well with Riki.