The Perfect Guide for Updated Riki

Introduction

Hallo Guys,my name is Hahn. This is my first guide. I just want to share my way to play Riki. I'm sorry for my bad english. But I hope you can understand what I mean to say.hehehe
Riki is my favorite hero. I think he is the best ganker in dota. He can roam all over the map and hunt unlucky enemies :)

Pros and Cons

Pros

• A reliable carry.
• Has Permanent Invisibility.
• Amazing AoE silence.
• Easy to last hit with backstab.
• Very, very mobile.

Cons

• Very squishy.
• Heavily countered by Gem and sentry wards.
• Useless without his core items.

Skill Build

Skill Build:
1. Permanent Invisibility
2. Smoke Screen
3. Permanent Invisibility
4. Backstab
5. Permanent Invisibility
6. Blink Strike
7. Permanent Invisibility
8. Backstab
9. Backstab
10. Backstab
11. Blink Strike
12. Smoke Screen
13. Smoke Screen
14. Smoke Screen
15. Stat
16. Blink Strike
17+ Stat

We take Permanent Invisibility at level 1 to avoid an easy first blood and steal the vital first rune. At level 2, we get Smoke Screen to get or avoid first blood, as it increases our survivability by a lot. We get Backstab at level 4. In early game backtab doesn't have much effect because riki's agility is still pretty low. But with Backstab we can last hit easily because the bonus damage alone ensures that we have more attack damage than most heroes while last hitting.
The skill that we should max first is Permanent Invisibility. The different between the fade time in relation to it's level is very high. Level 4 Permanent Invisibility has 2 second cooldown. It makes Riki very hard to be killed in lane.
Backstab we max second and Smoke Screen the last. Take Blink Strike whenever we can.

Item Build

Starting Items:

: Take 1 set of tangoes to restore your hp from enemy harass.

: Great cheap item to increase your agility. We will upgrade it to Poor Man's Shield next.

x3 : Great cheap item again to increase your stats. We will upgrade it to Magic Wand.

Early/Mid Items:

: I love this item. It can boost our hp and mana in a second. It always saves me from being killed. I'm pretty sure it will help you too:D

: A nice item for reducing the damage taken. The 6 agility is nice for last hitting as well as survival (almost 1 armor).

: Power Treads are the best boots for Riki. It gives movement as well as attack speed. The stats are nice in a plethora of situations. When attacking enemies, always use agi mode and when you need hp just turn into str mode quickly. Turn into int mode if you need mana for that desperate Blink Strike/ Smoke Screen.

: This is a CORE item on Riki. It's a MUST item for Riki. Why? Because this item gives a lot of agility that Riki needs for utilizing Backstab. Beside that, this item can slow enemy hero and you can kill them solo. Just smoke, slow, blink, DEAD.DEAD.

Some tips for this item:

• Instantly kills summoned target (except for Summon Spirit Bear, Summon Familiars and Primal Split spirits) by dealing their current health as damage to them.
• This item can purge Omniknight's Repel
• Remove Dust of Appearance, Bounty Hunter's Track, Slardar's amplify damage, and any other buff :)

: Always bring this item for your mobility. Don't go anywhere without this item. Why? because we are all scrubs and forget to defend our towers.

Late Game Items:

: I think this is a great item after Diffusal Blade. It gives you a lot of stats while Yasha makes you run faster and give you agility which translates into damage for Backstab and attack speed. Sange give you str that makes you a bit tanky and give a good slow. So, I recommended you to buy Sange and Yasha after Diffusal Blade.

: If you not prefer Sange and Yasha build, then going to build Manta Style. This item is also great for Riki. It's work well when paired with Diffusal Blade. The stat and movement speed from Manta Style are good too. The illusions are great for a hero with high agility stat like Riki.

: I don't need to say much about this item. This is the agility dream item. It's gives you a lot of agility that mean give you damage, attack speed, and armor. It's also give you evasion, which is always nice :D

: This item is great for countering heroes that use Black King Bar. The stun from this item goes through magic immunity. I usually get this item if my Diffusal Blade is out of charge. So basically we make this item to hold enemy in our Smoke Screen longer, preventing them from escaping Smoke Screen. Very handy.

Situational Items

: I'll be honest, I rarely buy this item. But if the enemy has a lot of disablers, just buy this item and rek their faces.

: Buy this item if you feel needs some lifesteal. But it's great when our teammate build this item :)

Rejected Items:

: A lot of people use this item. But I vehemently reject this item on Riki. This item just make Riki squishier, which is not good. NEVER buy this item!!!

: Riki don't need no critical items like Daedalus. Buy agility item is way much better than crit item as they give a ****-tonne of damage. Another reason we don't make Daedalus on Riki is because does not work with backstab

Playstyle

Riki playstyle is not different from that of any other carry. Just get as many last hits as you can in the early game. Try to farm until you get Diffusal Blade. Don't join teamfights too often,you need that farm. Go join a teamfight if you are sure you can get a kill.
After you get your Diffusal Blade, go hunt across the whole map. Kill the lonely support who wanted to ward the map, kill the carry in jungle who was unwise enough to not buy lifesteal, etc. Don't afraid to stalk the enemy jungle. Everything is going be easier after you have Diffusal Blade.
During lategame teamfights, don't initiate first. Let's your initiator start the battle. Kill the squishy heroes like the supports and carries. After that, kill the rest of the enemy team.

Tips:
There are some tips to play Riki:

1. USE your Diffusal Blade. Don't be a passive Diffusal Blade. With the slow from Diffusal Blade, you can kill enemy EASILY!!!
2. NEVER buy Diffusal Blade level 2 until the level 1 charge is empty.
3. Don't be AFRAID going to enemy jungle and roaming around the maps.
4. ALWAYS bring Town Portal Scroll everywhere!!!

Friends and Foes

Friends

Basically Riki love to play with stunner and healer. Stunner can help Riki hold enemy inside Smoke Screen. And healer make Riki stay healty in lane and get farming well.

• Stunner
  Lion Lina Shadow Shaman Ogre Magi Vengeful Spirit Tidehunter Crystal Maiden and any other stunner.
• Healer
  Omniknight Dazzle Warlock Necrophos and any other healer.

Special Mention:

: Frostbite very useful to hold enemy under your Smoke Screen. And the most important things is her Arcane Aura that keep your mana full. You will love to play with her in your team :D

Foes

• The natural riki's counter like Slardar and Bounty Hunter. They can amplify damage or Track you. Don't pick Riki if the enemy team already pick those hero.
  
• The items like Gem of True Sight, Sentry Ward, Dust of Appearance, and Necronomicon can make your day even worst :(

Special Mention:

: I just say that Bristleback is overpower backstab :D

: This hero is very annoying for Riki. We can't roam around the whole maps safely because of land mines :(

Conclusion

I hope you liked my guide, it's my first :D

Please leave feedback and let me know what you think of the guide, don't forget to +1 :)

Thanks To Kody for spell-checking my guide!