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6 Votes

Riki from a top 100 perspective. 6.87.

May 16, 2016 by XzkillerzX
Comments: 8    |    Views: 35549    |   


Riki core

DotA2 Hero: Riki




Hero Skills

Smoke Screen

4 12 13 14

Blink Strike

2 8 9 10

Tricks of the Trade

1 3 5 7

Cloak and Dagger

6 11 16

Talents

15 17 18


Riki from a top 100 perspective. 6.87.

XzkillerzX
May 16, 2016


Chapter Title

Introduction
Hi guys, I have played a lot of Riki games and I am in the top 100 for Riki in dotabuff. I just wanted to share my view on Riki. I have seen some comments regarding his new ultimate, ranging from broken to utterly useless. I have also seen much skepticisms about Riki and how 'useless' it is in the game. Some have called him low mmr pub-stomper and even calling him a 'no-skill' hero. This is not true! Riki requires much awareness and timing. I think the biggest problem Riki faces is his lack of competitive pick. In my opinion, Riki is rather similar to Bone Clinkz. Sadly, pros prefer clinkz than Riki due to the higher damage output Bone brings.

Items
Riki has rather standard essentials and mainly just two different builts. Some players in the top 100 prefer the Mask of Madness plus Sange & Yasha as core items while others prefer the tried and tested Diffusal Blade. Personally, I have tried both and both work. However, the problem with MOM is the lack of damage for normal harassment and the increased reliance on mana due to MOM activation cost. With Agi Treads plus MOM and orb of venom, it is possible to kill supports easily in smoke. Even if the opponent decided to manfight you in the smoke, MOM increased attack speed will guarantee your victory almost always. On the other hand, not many players will actually manfight you and they tend to run which unsurprisingly result in their death.

Starting items
Why two sets of Tango and two slippers? Being nerfed by icefrog, Riki regeneration is rather bad. With two sets of tango, it is possible to survive longer and hence get more levels. The slippers are there to help with last hits as the base damage of 40 is rather bad. Also, the slippers can be made into Poor Man Shield which can increase Riki's survivability.

Orb of Venom
I must explain the use of orb of venom. The extra slow is crucial in securing early kills especially with Riki's rather slow movement speed. Even with the smoke slow, opponents will likely run out of the smoke easily. The casual orb of venom will secure much needed kills and it is good for harassment. It may even result in poison kills which is extremely rare. I have only done it once in 500+ games.

Bottle
Bottle is for the extra hp regen and mana. It is extremely good if your Riki is always roaming for kills. But if your Riki is afk farming like a carry, then avoid this (& maybe avoid playing Riki as well).

Black King Bar
For Riki, BKB may not be required as the second major item. You may consider basher or S&Y or manta instead. The problem with early BKB is the excessive duration you waste during mid-game clashes. Most of the time, you will not need to pop your BKB to secure a kill. But the tendency for one to just use items as available is a strong deterrence factor as well. Although BKB is situational in early-mid game, it is pretty much a must for late game clashes. If you think you may not be able to farm later due to the increased warding/gem, then BKB should be bought as the second core item.

Manta/S&Y?
This is another often asked question. S&Y is better at providing movement speed and the additional main may save your Diffusal Blade charges. However, Manta allows removal of Dust and other detection spells. In my opinion, Manta is the better item but it can be hard to get especially if you waltz into a sentry or gem... But with awareness and some decent farming, Manta should be a better item solely due to the illusions.

Echo Sabre
This is a new item that has been great on some heroes like slark and Sven. I have tried it once and it is pretty good. But it's not as good as a yasha. The mana Regen is nice but not essential if bottle or ring of aquila has been bought. Personally, I don't think this item is good enough to be an essential but it should be considered as the extra hit can be the difference between a kill and a failed ambush. The strength gain is great for Riki though. Hence it is a situational item.

Never buy!
Phase boots is bad for Riki as Riki really needs the attack speed. The increased movement speed is redundant with Diffusal purges. The difference in attack speed and overall DPS is clear in the early game. Tranquil boots is another item which should never be on Riki. True, regeneration is much needed but a bottle can do the same. The movement speed of Tranquil is significant but the attack speed drop and the lack of damage early game is very clear too. Riki should only buy Treads!

Some guides recommend buying Vlads which is generally good for team but I feel that there are better carriers of that item and Riki needs the increased attack speed and agi gain for him to be useful. It takes around 12-20 minutes for Treads + Diffusal. If one has to get Vlads before those, the efficacy of Riki will be greatly reduced! It is not to say that Vlads is bad but Riki has item timings to meet. Failure to meet it will result in a useless Riki.

Similarly, Drum is a good and cheap item, but due to the same timing reason, I would strongly advise not to buy those.

Gameplay
Riki only has one style of playing; gank! Riki main source of income should come from the opponent players and not from creeps. Riki with Diffusal Blade can pretty much kill any support or to a certain extend anyone. However, one should be wary of the potential TP/Dust/Gem/Sentry. Before you hit the target, try to go behind the target and near the creep. Right click on the opponent to scout for sentry placed. If there is one, the creeps will automatically attack you as their aggro are on you. That is the best way to scout for sentries in lane. Also, always check the surrounding to see if anyone else is nearby before you kill. Riki can win one on one but not if someone else pops in. Remember to check for dust or wards or gem too. But most of the time, even if the target carries dust, you can easily kill him even if he pops the dust but prepare to quick cast your diffusal to purge the dust if you see anyone coming.

As mentioned above, Riki style of play is similar to Bone Clinkz; sneak in, kill and run away. With practice and confidence, it is possible to sneak into the midst of five heroes, kill one or two and get away after using Diffusal charges. However, do not expect to get easy Rampage when playing Riki. Although his ultimate is great right now, his damage output is not as significant as Sven or other hard carries. Riki role will always be to hunt for supports, even in team fights. This is why BKB is so important too. Use smoke on their carry and on BKB to sweep the supports.

For those new to Riki, just try to practice roaming and ganking. Set a target for yourself like 10 kills per game. Riki is very easy to get kills but he is also very squishy and dies very easily. Without careful gameplays, death will result from every Dust your enemy pops. Play smart, play safe and the Holysh*t will come easily.

Why pick Riki?
Riki is versatile but it is better for him to be in position 3. With constant ganks, it is possible for Riki to even outfarm your own carry. 500-600+ GPM & XPM are always possible! Another reason for picking Riki is the potential financial burden your opponent must bear to kill/see him. Also, Riki can farm/deny creeps easily with his Backstab skill. Even if your opponent carry has two supports with sentries, it is possible to hide somewhere to leech XP. Also, Riki has some of the flashest skill available. In my opinion, Riki's ultimate is the coolest skill in game. Phazing out of the game and dealing AOE damage with backstab included as well. That skill can save Riki from badly timed Dust or other spells. I have dodged Invoker's Meteor, Zues' Lightning Bolt and Wrath as well as Tidehunter's Ravage. Also, imagine chasing after Nature Prophet who thought he would be safe using sprout TP. Riki's ultimate can hit through Fog to kill as well! Easy laning, unseen presence, guaranteed financial deficits for opponents' supports and great killing ability are some of the many reasons to pick him.

When not to use him?
As godly as I feel Riki is, there are times when I would pretty much prefer not to have him. It is perfectly alright to pick Riki when opponents have Sladar or Bounty Hunter. But it is not alright to pick him when the opponents pick many strength heroes, especially Axe, Tiny and Bristleback. Sladar and BH ability to remove your invisible do not actually kill you. It just reveals you. With smart positioning, it is possible to not be revealed anyway. Even if they managed to cast their abilities on you, it is possible to run away. Individually, those two should not be able to kill you anyway. Against Sladar, it is possible to just smoke and TP after getting amplified. Against BH, just run to tower, if he dives, use your ultimate to stall time.

On the other hand, Tiny is scary due to his two skill combo which can instantly kill Riki and his craggy exterior is too unpredictable. Axe has high HP and armour and his spin can kill you too. As for Bristleback, his spikes plus back prevents easy kill. It is not to say Riki cannot kill them, but it is extremely hard to do it alone.

Position 4?
Encouraged by others, I risked my Riki by trying it out as position 4. It turned out to be a huge disaster as Riki really needs the farm and level to stay viable. Without which, Riki is just a creep... Please do not use him as a support. Bounty Hunter does it way better than Riki in this aspect.

It should be noted that there's a surge of Riki picks in competitive plays. All picks are for position four or five though. Personally, I think it's nice to see Riki being played and I think it has 100% win rate in streamed games. The vision it provides is priceless and the smoke has given much to team fights. Nonetheless, I still think position three is better for him.


Closing
Riki is god! That's where RIG comes from. Riki is a seriously good and versatile hero which excels in assassinations. Diffusal blade Riki can also help to counter Omni's Repel and Ghost Sceptres! Some players will say that manfighting Riki in smoke will prevent dying but with the new Ultimate, even that may not be true now. Sadly, even though I am good with Riki, I cannot counter him myself as my losing rate against Riki is pretty high :(. Good luck with him and have fun! For those interested in my stats: http://www.dotabuff.com/players/79806011.

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