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Healing Salve
Boots of Speed
Gloves of Haste
Tranquil Boots
Bracer
Maelstrom
Drum of Endurance
Divine Rapier
Hyperstone
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10 | 12 | 13 | 14 |  |
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1 | 3 | 7 | 9 |  |
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2 | 4 | 5 | 8 |  |
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6 | 11 | 16 |  |
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15 | 17 | 18 |
*Keep in mind I will be updating this guide frequently. This one is just a skeleton* Riki is not a character for everybody. His very low health and relatively weak attacks are generally frowned upon by the DotA community. He also faces a lot of adversity in-game, as his tactics are considered... questionable and he can't do much to aid his teammates. That said, if played correctly, Riki is a powerhouse by the end game and can get as many as 34 kills. Note: The build above is published in-game under the name Silent Assassin. The author is kkoopman3. (Me!) Please rate the build and this guide!
Strategy
In the early game, you'll need to stay closely behind your line of creeps. Be ready to last hit. Earning gold and buying items is important for Riki. I suggest taking the safe lane (the longest lane on your side of the river), with a lane support hero as backup. This is because you'll need to be the one earning money. If you feel an enemy hero is too close, or your health is dangerously low, run! This is not a welcome tactic in DotA, but it will pay off later. Getting to level six is the most important goal in the early game. Once you have your Ultimate Ability, you're in the clear... for a time.
Purchases
You'll want to start by buying one Healing Salve and one Boots of Speed. This may be confusing to some people, but the purchase isn't for the speed. Buying the boots is simply a gateway to the Trabquil Boots. Although the movement speed is sizeable, the operative advantages to those boots are the HP regen and the armor, since Riki has very low health comparitively. He needs to be able to run away very quickly if his health gets too low (questionable tactic). As you accrue more gold from last hits (important to get those), you will want to buy Gloves of Haste. After this, when you reach 900 gold, upgrade your Boots of Speed to Phase Boots. Remember to always stay supplied with Healing Salves should you need them. You will also want to buy Bracers. This isn't so much for the stats as for making the Drum of Endurance which you will buy later, cheaper.
Strategy
The strategy is basically the same as the early game. However, if an enemy hero is near you and low on health, use Smoke Screen on them and then Blink Strike. Whatever health they have left should be easy to take given the effects of Backstab. Again, make sure you don't die. Run away if you must. Levelling is very important, and dying could potentially screw you over for the rest of the game.
Purchases
I have found that Maelstrom is a very effective purchase for Riki. The effect of the Passive - Chain Lightning - is great for clearing creeps off of lanes. If it happens to fire while you're attacking an enemy hero? All the better! I usually also buy a Drum of Endurance for the movement and attack speed. The boost to your attributes is also pretty hefty. This purchase is also in preparation for the late game, as it also gives attack and movement speed bonuses to allies in a radius of 900 units.
Strategy
Basically, bring on the pain. Harass your enemies to no end. Distract them to give yourself or your teammates easy kills. Your invisibility is usually no longer effective by this point. People will usually catch on and start buying [*] Dust of Appearance. Some will also have a [*] Gem of True Sight. Because of this, you'll need to be careful about how deep in enemy territory you go. It's usually a good idea to not stray far from your teammates. When you're attacking the base or defending it, stay in the middle of your group of teammates. Blink Strike low health enemies and quickly run to safety again.
Purchases
Although I did not list any "must haves," I did put two suggested items. We'll start with the Divine Rapier. This one's a bit tricky. You see, the damage bonus is massive, and has led to many a hero kill in the late game. The catch? Upon death, it will drop. An enemy hero is then free to pick it up. Enemy Hero + 300 damage from Divine Rapier = Big no-no. Only purchase this item if you are very confident that you won't die, or that you'll win regardless of the enemy's strength. The Hyperstone is a far easier decision. It increases your attack speed by 55. The bonus damage from Maelstrom and Divine Rapier (again, optional) works nicely with the increased attack speed to create a powerhouse Stealth Assassin Carry. The basic strategy with these items is; Blink Strike in, get a hero kill or two, run out. Rinse (with a Healing Salve, of course) and repeat.
Why do you have so few items in your build?
I prefer to leave it rather open ended. The player is free to buy additional items as he/she sees fit. I'd rather leave it up to the player than have a rigid order of purchases that might be questioned by certain critical forum-goers.
Dude, why didn't you kill that guy before he killed me?
Ummm. I don't know. Maybe because I have 1000 health right now and I'm very partial to my existence. Sorry! Note: People will probably say this to you all of the time. The truth of the matter is that you really can't do much to help your teammates. Riki is always in a live or die situation. My advice? Choose live.
Why did you wait 'til level 10 to get Smoke Screen?
Smoke Screen isn't very useful in the early levels, since enemy heroes won't be focusing all of their energies on taking you out. You'll level up fast enough anyways if you play Riki right and don't die often.
Why didn't you attack that guy when he was weak?
Probably because Blink Strike wasn't fully charged and the guy does uber-damage. Riki's regualr attack damage isn't worth a plug nickel... or haven't you noticed? Note: This is where Divine Rapier comes in. If you get it, you're damage is worth a lot more than a nickel.
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