Rikimaru - Stealth Assasin - Guide

Rikimaru the Stealth Assasin

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Born as the heir to the satyr dominion, Rikimaru was trained by the mightiest warriors of his race. However, the power of the Burning Legion managed to corrupt many of his kind, leaving them as mindless beasts in the forest. Vowing revenge against the Scourge, he sharpened his skills for battle. Using his small size to his advantage, he can render himself invisible, enabling him to stab his enemies in the back. He can also use thick smoke as a cover, to silence his enemies and become nearly untouchable.

17+2
24+2.9
14+1.3

Statistics:

Affiliation: Sentinel
Attack Animation: 0.3 / 0.3
Damage: 48 - 52
Casting Animation: 0.4 / 0.51
Armor: 6.4
Base Attack Time: 1.7
Movespeed: 300
Missile Speed: Instant
Attack Range: 125 (melee)
Sight Range: 1800 / 800


Table of Contents:

I. Getting to Know Riki
- his pros and cons
-when to play him and not


II. Riki's skills
-Skill information
-its use


III. Skill Build
-The Skill Build
-Why this?(explanation)

IV. Laning with Rikimaru
-Mid-Lane Riki
-Dual-Lane Riki

V. Item Build
-The Item Build
-Why this?(explanation)
-Rejected and Anti-Riki Items
-Item Flow


VI. Rikimaru's style of playing
-rikimaru tutorial
-how to gank
-reading your enemies instincts

VII. Friends and Foes
-Friends(explanation)
-Foes(explanation)
-How to counter your foes

Getting to know Riki:

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Rikimaru is your ganker, initiator and killer man. He ruins pretty much all of the team plays and the gank styles your enemy has. In fact, there is no best bubble buster than rikimaru, unlike earthshaker, rikimaru does not in fact just rely on his skills but rely on his attacks which is good depending on what point of view you look at it. If you are the man whom wants to carry all those pain in the back and you think you are the one who will rise your teammates from hell, then take Rikimaru with you. With his skills he is one of the most unfortunate enemy you will ever encounter on.

When to play Rikimaru:

-When you feel doing so
-When you are the best of your teammates
-Want to boast for a spree
-Practice for gankings
-Be an explorer
-Practice last hitting
-Wants to carry all your teammates's asses on your back!
-Your team lacks silence or disables(thanks for THE-FAT's comment)

When to not:

-Not for newbies(low hp and player must have very fast hands)
-If you do not wish to ruin your teammates's mood
-If you do not wish to be laughed at
-When practicing jungling



Heroes Pros and Cons:

Pros:

[+] Gank initiator
[+] Can spree as easy as 1, 2, 3
[+] Last hitter
[+] Huge agility gain
[+] One of the best early up to late gamers in the game
[+] Powerful and potent ganking skills
[+] Can tear enemies apart just by attacking

Cons:

[-] Slightly Item dependant
[-] Very low hp(not for newbies)
[-] Levels 1-5 sucks
[-] A hero which doesn't like to be dagoned with

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Skills: Quote: Smoke Screen Throws a smoke bomb down in the area, silencing opponents and causing them to miss on most of their attacks. Also slows by 25% at all levels. Level 1: 40% miss, -25% IAS and MS, Silence Level 2: 50% miss, -25% IAS and MS, Silence Level 3: 60% miss, -25% IAS and MS, Silence Level 4: 70% miss, -25% IAS and MS, Silence Cooldown: 15 Manacost: 75/80/85/90 -The most annoying skill of rikimaru is his ss. With this skill, he simply blinks and casts then pawn. As Icefrog says, nobody wants to fight if they blind, deaf and dumb, and not to worry because this pretty much handles all of his problems with blinkers, invis and killers whom he was scared of. This time he will scare the shit out of them. Smoke Screen is pretty much one of the most powerful silence so far in the game, add its slow and miss could be one heck of a trouble for the opponent. They oughta be running out of your smoke so be ready to finish them off before they do so!!! Quote: Blink Strike Teleports to a unit and strikes it if it is a foe, dealing bonus damage. Level 1: Deals 30 bonus damage Level 2: Deals 60 bonus damage Level 3: Deals 90 bonus damage Level 4: Deals 120 bonus damage Cooldown: 30/20/10/5 Manacost: 50 -"Dagger in Dagger out" is a way for a ganker and the gank initiator to pull his pants out and enter the KILL zone. Blink strike is Rikimaru's dagger. Yeah, dont waste time leveling it up. You need it for chasing, last hitting, killing an escaping hero, initiating the ss, bonus damage and of course scaring them. Leveling it up is a must since it also tolls down the cooldown of the skill on which you will feel the effect on your early and mid games. Quote: Backstab The Stealth Assassin is not afraid to fight dirty, and specializes in attacking his opponents from behind. Level 1: Deals 0.25x the Agility of Rikimaru to the target Level 2: Deals 0.50x the Agility of Rikimaru to the target Level 3: Deals 0.75x the Agility of Rikimaru to the target Level 4: Deals 1.00x the Agility of Rikimaru to the target Passive Notes • Damage type: physical • Even if the animation is shown for Rikimaru's images the effect will not work. • Bonus damage from Backstab can't be evaded. -The blade thirsty Rikimaru. One slash and heroes like Nevermore or Kardel would be dying to get out of you before they slash you the second time. 5 hits would surely get their heads off. I promise! Quote: Permanent Invisibility Rikimaru becomes permanently invisible when not attacking. Level 1: 3 seconds fade time Level 2: 2.25 seconds fade time Level 3: 1.5 seconds fade time Passive Notes • Rikimaru will not auto attack enemies. • If Rikimaru is silenced this ability will be disabled. -His ultimate. Getting this ahead will be your boost. You must learn to level up Riki fast to get this skill because they will avoid you after getting it, or be aware that you aren't in their line; this skill can also be your protection from predators and your ass saving kit in the game. With this, I mean ganking will be the pretty easiest thing you will ever do. However, dont be sad when they got gem or dust or even sentry, just get angry and kill them!

Skill Build:

Teamplay Rikimaru:

Level 1:Smoke Screen
Level 2:Blink Strike
Level 3:Smoke Screen
Level 4:Backstab
Level 5:Smoke Screen
Level 6:Permanent Invisibility
Level 7:Smoke Screen
Level 8:Blink Strike
Level 9:Blink Strike
Level 10:Backstab
Level 11:Permanent Invisibility
Level 12:Blink Strike
Level 13:Backstab
Level 14:Backstab
Level 15:Stats
Level 16:Permanent Invisibility
Level 17-25:Stats

Skill Build Explanation:

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Smoke Screen: Should be maxed first, getting it on level 1 helps you for an unexpected fight when your ally wants a first blood from the start or your ally is getting kicked in the but on your lane. Maxing it helps not only you but your team with ganking, brings a lot of satisfaction when you killed a hero. Each level also increases its AoE so the better you cast it, the harder they fall into the deeps. Blink Strike: For your evasive maneuvers and last hitting maneuvers. Helps you escape on lots of troubles and helps you kill a bloody hero. Level it on level 2 for evasive purposes and level it second to ss for ganking plays and kills. Backstab: Rikimaru needs it. But for a teamplay rikimaru, you better get it late. If you want to help your allies buts out, you need blink and ss more than water and air. However getting it on level 4 should be soothing as it helps you last hit and kill steal at the same time lol Permanent: A MUST! must be learned when you have the chance to. Good for escaping and plotting a sinister plan on what kind of kill you like to do with that annoying slardar that has been tracking you all along.

The Spreeing Rikimaru:

Level 1:Smoke Screen
Level 2:Blink Strike
Level 3:Smoke Screen
Level 4:Backstab
Level 5:Smoke Screen
Level 6:Permanent Invisibility
Level 7:Smoke Screen
Level 8:Backstab
Level 9:Backstab
Level 10:Backstab
Level 11:Permanent Invisibility
Level 12:Blink Strike
Level 13:Blink Strike
Level 14:Blink Strike
Level 15:Stats
Level 16:Permanent Invisibility
Level 17-25:Stats


Skill Build Explanation:

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Smoke Screen: should be always max first. If you are desparate of that of a kill you need this. No Rikimaru has survived getting hit in the face with three skills, and this is your ultimate pawnage for your spree. Cast this, Blink and 1, 2 ,3 they smell chicken! Blink Strike: must be left at level 2, one blink is enough, let your teammates handle it the way they love Backstab: Riki's instrument of killing! With this maxed out, 5 hits should be fine to kill a hero such as lion, sniper or nevermore. It also helps you on farming and last hitting. The ultimate Rikimaru relies on his sense of blood and not of his sense of helping allies. Permanent Invisibility: Yup. Evasive maneuvers, ganking and killing should be fine. You sight enemies with low hp, follow them, when no signs of danger are nearby, smash them with your ss and pawn their heads off!

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Laning with Rikimaru: -Rikimaru is fragile. So make sure you have your pants on while laning. If you wish to solo, get your survival items up! If you wish for a partner then get ready to get those clarities on your waste tied up. Quote: Mid-Lane Rikimaru(Solo): -How unsual for rikimaru to be doing IT on mid, but I assure you, there is no greater solo laning for Rikimaru than mid. Let me explain to you: * numbah one: Mid heroes are mostly composed of range type heroes; such as Mirana, Dwarven Sniper, Tinker and Nevermore which is the type that Rikimaru wants to kill and smells food for him. * second: Rikimaru with his invis on can be the mana whore(but this item does not make sense for Riki, trust me *bottle*) * and last: The best ganking area(with many ramps and gank junctions) is in the middle lane Take note that being a solo laner, you must be ready to die in levels 1-5, since rikimaru is very fragile and is easily bullied to skill types, but with enough pots and regens or great escape maneuvers, you may be their pain. Quote: Dual-Lane Rikimaru(Ally Help): -The normal Rikimaru has always his partner on his back. They're both watching their backs. And trust me, a best way on killing is with your partner. Here is a list of great tag team partners for the Stealth Assasin: *Basically with heroes like them are you able to synergize your smoke screen very well. Stun heroes have an exceptional stun damage and the hero wont move unlike slows which gives the opponent the ability to move which is very bad for your backstab. They are Rikimaru's bestfriends and is they type which will make Rikimaru GODLIKE!

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Item Build: -Yes I know! you're most awaited part, then here it is, I will give you the chance to share some of my secrets in a GODLIKE Rikimaru, this is only ours..... Right? Quote: Starting Items: Quote: My Rikimaru Build: Why this? -Two slippers increase Rikimaru's backstab damage and armor, potentially killing him will decrease and also bonus damage. Bring two clarities and a tree eater to avoid death and spam your ss if needed Slippers of Agility: Why? Makes you more tougher, Increases your damage, your attackspeed and your backstab damage!, this gives you both your death evasive maneuver and kill maneuver to be possible Ancient Tango of Essifiation: Your daily potion. You must have at least one of this for you to survive on whatever lane you are, more important you must keep regenerating your life. I prefer this than salve because salve may be a little risky for those opponent whom massively spam their skills to stop it, and more important; Tango is 10 gold lesser Clarity Potion: Spam your ss in tough situations and on kill. Gives you enough mana until level 4 or so after spamming 5 ss or 6 and spamming your blink strike Quote: THEIR Rikimaru build: -Yeah might also be effective for Rikimaru. I am not upset seeing this item as it suits Rikimaru's status and agility. You have 7 agility at the starting game and thats good, however I prefer to budget my money and save it for my Boots and Basillus. Quote: THE REJECTED Rikimaru Build: *Bottle: For mana whore Riki. Or they say so? doesn't fit Riki at all, yeah he needs mana, he needs hitpoints but Riki isn't the type you spam his skills too much, not as often as Lion though. His skills doesnt have damage got it!? *Courier: Bottle in courier go in fountain, then get back bottle. Dumb ass, you do not need bottle so why purchase a courier? I personally reject courier when you don't have a battle. Its your delivery van. Quote: Core Items: or Why this? -Basically, you get your poor man's shield by that two slippers of agility in the starting item i've mentioned OR buy two wraith bands to boost your agility. Both is as effective as of the others, both Wraith band and poor man gives agility and survivability skills. By level 7 you should have Power Treads(agility) and by 8 or 9 is an alactricity. Ring of Regeneration or Tango is needed, while you explore and sight the jungle, affording some regen isn't quite a bust on your budget since Rikimaru is the hero that may farm very well. Poor Man's Shield: A sturdy shield, and what Rikimaru quite needed, gives you that block you need and also the agility which means "you're a tough guy dude!" then put ss on their chicken pants and that 70% miss would be as hard as a coconut then try wearing this shield and you'll be a bouncer on the next bar you will open up! Wraith Band: +agility and bonus on all of your stats puts that dreaded stats of yours to the game. Int is never useless for your skill spams, Riki needs a little strength for hitpoints and regeneration and finally agility for attackspeed, toughness and backstab damage we were aiming for Power Treads: As simple as hell. Phase boots isn't needed, though it gives extra damage and running skills; Rikimaru equipped with Treads is enough since he has blink. And Phase doesn't contribute on your backstab damage either. So do not put your boots to waste or you will get your buts kicked out imo Blade of Alactricity: Must have item; you will need it for your luxury item and 10 agility is never put to waste in early games so why not buy it? Ring of Health or Ancient Tango of Essifiation: A little regen wont be a dodge. You gotta eat a tree to be alive after killing one opponent, travel to another lane, kill again. Ring if you are lazy enough not to click it. Lets put it this way "every hero needs regeneration" get it? The orb battle: The almighty SnY: vs Diffusal Blade: or: These are the battle between two of the most used orb effect items and the two most suitable orb effect for Rikimaru; the Sange and Yasha and the purgy Diffusal Blade. Lets make a good explanation on why this two are the chosen ones and why they are very effective for Rikimaru *Both adds significant agility which increases Stealth's damage and backstab *Both significantly slows enemies *Can both be used for team helping *Has their own effect per hit(sny maims while diffu mana breaks) well... since that made a point i'll let you choose from the two as I explain my opinion to you; and their strengths and weaknesses. Sange and Yasha: Gives significant agility and its strength is not put to waste. It also passively grants the user maim which passively slows the enemy opponent's movement and attack speed Pros: [+] Gives agility for Rikimaru's backstab damage [+] Passive Maim makes Rikimaru unescapable [+] Strength boost is also needed by Riki for toughness purposes [+] Passively Increases MS which allows Riki to smoothly travel from one place to another Cons: [-] Rikimaru does not have an excellent attack speed, maim may wait for a few hits [-] Does not serve as an escaping material for Riki [-] Does not deal with summons or anti-invi skills(track, amplify etc.) Diffusal Blade: Also boosts your agility but much larger. Purge can be used for anti-invi skills like track or even amplify damage. It can also mess up summoners or necronomicon which may be vital to you. Each hit gives you the chance to sap their mana and fortunately give them enough hit to bow down to you Pros: [+] Gives agility for Rikimaru's backstab damage [+] Purge to handle summons and anti-invi skills [+] Purge is activitable which you may conserve [+] A reliable escape kit [+] Gives you better agility than SnY Cons: [-] Rikimaru does not have an excellent attack speed, mana break may not be very useful [-] Unlike SnY it doesn't increase your hitpoints [-] It doesn't grant any bonus movement so you're still the same Riki as before Diffusal blade is good against: (you will ruin their game, they buff you, you purge yourself. They buff themselves you purge them. They summon but fail. Isn't it beautiful? ) -There I think I've made my point; choose wisely though because this two items may be the key on winning the fight Quote: Quote: Luxury Items: *Well you've done some pretty decent killing, farming and hopefully last hitting so I think its about time you buy this items that are for late games and hopefully make you more scarier and even be tougher! or: -as I've explained this two are your only chances to turn the tides so buy this first before you buy any other luxury items you want to buy -Butterfly is every Assasin's bestfriend; very great attackspeed and agility, evasion and armor! so if you managed to complete this.... Your Rikimaru is the gold digger in the game! -Though unusual(not unusual but very unusual), Manta gives great bonus for your agility. imagine +26 agility and 10 to all stats is amazing! fixes your problem with other stats and provides you with illusions for escaping and killing. Illussions do not backstab(though they have the animation) so thats why more ppl does not use this but im special so I use it . Simple guide: Blink, smoke, manta then ownage! -if you feel that christmas is coming then buy this. There's no greater christmas lights other than Radiance. The lights can now also be turned off so you can sail smoothly without getting noticed ayie!? -yes.. it is my favorite item. Might be little risky, no bonus agility and small bonus damage but adds you that invulnerability to skills you need! probably after some got out of your ss and spammed you with skills you might be dead meat. So buying this may help you sooner or later with the skill problem of yours(buy this after getting sny or diffusal or after butterfly) *Note: If you want to suggest feel free to comment, you can criticize it but please say what I am lacking. For now, I tried this like a million times but I did not fail. So I suggest this build and if you listen to me, you'll see what I'm taking about. Rejected Items: -no no no! and a big NO! what kind of fool will use this? just focus on your agility then sooner or later you'll be as hard as those golems you can't kill on first levels -how funny. Rikimaru is a kill type not a farm type as simple as that -Lifesteal doesn't fit Rikimaru, I prefer diffu or SnY for a lot of bloody noses and not lifesteal since you do not steal your backstab damage! -If you are getting you're ass kicked by spell users then buy bkb and not this hood it does not compliment with any other stats nor skills of rikimaru. Trust me -Bash isn't suitable for this guy, you do not need another disable since you are full of disable. Let your team back you up with their skills and stuns and you might get what you want. (There you go, Please dont buy this items as they are not suitable for minors like Rikimaru hahaha) Quote: Situational Items: There are always an enemy that doesn't fit in on your item build so here goes the items that you might be needing for to counter them: -If you think you are being harassed too much on early games, then buy Vlad'mir. Gives you damage and armor and lifesteal for a decent early game build. Hopefully it brings your life back at every sip of their blood. -Yes... the most expensive item in hell. It fixes your stats problem and gives you that slow which makes you even more dangerous to those who would like to escape your ss or you. Skadi brings out the best of those chasers and gives you the teamplay your allies has been waiting for. -Necronomicon is always optional. Make it your fourth priority and you will be needing it if there is an annoying hero that invis out and in. Mana burn also blends you in to stop the harrasment they've been doing to you. -If you really need life then come buy it but dont buy it if your allies can provide it for you. Just reach out to them and say "pls buy me mekansm" *blink* As far as my concerns, Situational Items vary on what lane or whom enemy you face. For example: Necronomicon is good at these heroes: The hell with it just buy it if you want to; but consider first your core items before you do so. The Anti-Riki Items: NO! do not let them get these items. If you did so then you sure must in a hell of a pain. Or worse How to pull their pants off: *Let your teammates kill them for you *Be evasive *Kill them when they are goddamn bloody *just gank with your teammates and dont jungle when they hunt Every hero has their weakness. To Rikimaru are these 4 items. They are very fragile for the Stealth Assasin since it reveals him and makes him useless even at late games which may ruin the whole play of the team. This you must watch out. When they got this items you must be always intact with your allies and a stunner nearby. Stunners are really good partners since they help you escape or help you to initiate. If your allies is a stunner do not fear, but watch out for stuns or silence or it may get a little risky These are some heroes you must be beside to while they enemies have true sight: Why them? They are stunners, disablers and killers. For example vengeful spirit. After harrasing you may ruin their play by stunning. After then you may initiate ss and kill the gem bearer or any true sight carrier in the game to avoid any death. Viper is a really good buddy since no one dares to enter viper's AoE because they'll suffer death when they try to get close. Disablers like Batrider may be a great synergy for Riki since ss could be pretty great with Batrider's ulti.

The Item Flow:


Explanation

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This is the item flow. Helps you on what you must have, and what you need on your game and every level. This also helps you to sequentially buy items on what you prefer first to buy and not anything waste for Riki. So here I go.

Levels 1-5(the Early game period)

Yes you're the bomb! Rikimaru might be pulling your enemies ass out as I've mentioned earlier before; Rikimaru can pretty much ruin the game style of your opponent between level 2-5 and spam your ss on their way back to their tower.

At this rate you should have the starting items I've mentioned at the item builds. Then let me instruct you on what you should buy the second time. At levels 4-5; you must now have boots of speed, if you still don't have this item, means your in a lot of trouble! Rikimaru needs movement first so make your way on more tangos and clarities for you to survive until you get boots and before you reach level 6, you might want to buy Boots of Elvenskin before Gloves of Haste. WHY? simple, you need more damage better than attackspeed. Gives you bonus on backstab damage and extra toughness. Don't panic if you had a hard time buying the two boots, just think of it as your luxury item because trust me after buying this you immediately will make a kill...

Levels 6-10(Mid-game Comes!)

When you enter level 6, the mid game comes at your hands. By level 7 you should have treads set on your agility if none; then make your ass through by tango and clarity pots for survival until your get treads so. Perma invi should be nice and clean. When you got this skill you should make your way through the jungle and to mid or any-lane you might get a kill on. But before that, there is always a plan.

On early levels from 6-10, Riki cannot pretty much handle a single opponent by himself(with the exceptions of rhasta, never or kardel which smells food for riki) Then consider your allies nearby. One good way on ganking is knowing who or where is your allies. Make sure your nearby allies has a slow or stun which may help you chase and initiate your ss at the same time.

At level 9 you should have completed two wraith bands or a wraith band and a poor man's shield. At this time Rikimaru can kill anyone who gets on his way, of course with a little help of your allies. Level 10: Alactricity, yes.. buy it the soonest and trust me you won't regret buying it. If you don't have enough gold, then conserve it and dont buy any other items. Be patient IMO.

Levels 11-14(Killing Time!)

Level 12: two alactricities or at least a yasha on your side. In this time you may prefer to jungle all by yourself for hunting or kill anyone you see on the map which you think you can handle by yourself. Let me tell you something: at level 11, make sure you've gotten at least 2 kills and not lesser because without much of a kill, you may not be able to buy your alactricities and means your their food.

Smells Food for Rikimaru at Level 11-15:


They are exceptionally low armored and low hp. By the time you maxed your ss you should be able to kill at least on of these guys by yourself.

Level 14: Diffusal or SnY; I hope so. On any of my games at level 12 I complete diffusal or SnY without a sweat(might be my imbaness or my opponents are weak: i prefer my imbaness ) So be careful and do not let them kill you before you finish this two items or your day will rot.

Levels 16-25(Late Game Period)

Level 16 you must have a level 2 diffu and a 1000 gold or not any less for your butterfly. At this rate you might have +79 damage on your counter and pretty much pawn anybody's heads off.

By the time late game comes you should prepare yourself for more hunting and consider on buying luxury items or any situational items(if an enemy buys an item that you do not like) and this makes you own.

First; buy butterfly then second is Manta. Very useful, the fact that having butterfly is solid! and having Manta means its your time to shine! This practically means goodbye to enemies

*I hope this Item Flow helps you, but I'm only suggesting it. So please, comment and of course i'll thank you for that*

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PLAY, The Rikimaru Way! -This is a tutorial on how you're gonna play and use Rikimaru proficiently. If any comments or suggestions you would like to say to me pls do not be afraid i wont eat you, just reply. Quote: The Ganking Tutorial: Level 6: The time of your life There are many ganking ways and gank junctions Rikimaru can go and do. Here are 8 of the possible 100 most used and most effective gank styles to do. The Stealth Harrasment: Getting your invis should be easy, then you can smile your buts out. This is pretty simple. First off, use your invis to last hit any creep you want(Rikimaru is pretty good last hitter so do not worry) then second use it to harass your opponent; two attacks should be enough to let them run. Then go back on your gold site(creeps) and continue last hit. When you saw him go back again on your lane continue this strategy. This annoys them enough to buy dust and wards on early games which could be pretty dangerous to you but before they do so. Finish them by attacking their back, pull out an ss and use blink as your chaser. Turning the Tide: Well it seems to me your enemy is quite very eager to push their way through your tower, then read this guide. Turning the Tide is pretty simple. Blink to the hero and cast ss. Attack, attack it will let them running like crazy. Then kill all the creeps he had been backing up. There you go you succesfully defended your tower. But there are bad things to avoid at: Do not blink to an enemy hero and cast ss without getting his ally(if two are pushing your lane) because you might get in danger if the ally gots out of your ss and disables you. You are fricking dead! Rikimaru the Hunter: At level 6 after learning invis; you should be quite an adept hunter. However hunting from level 6 should not be done without your teammates's aid. However, from levels 11-15 hunting and killing should be easy for you. Sight them with your invis and pawn them with your blade Here is an example of hunting with SK as my food: Hunting is pretty easy. All you need to read is their instincts. Yes read their instincts! Watch them very carefully after pushing your tower where will they go. If they go backwards to the road, then gank on the road. If they walk towards the jungle then hunt in the jungle! Quote: How to Read Instincts: Reading the opponent's instincts are very important for a hero like Rikimaru. You need to watch carefully where they will go and sight them until you think its your time to reveal yourself How to read instincts? then sit back and listen to me ~ From the early game, watch your opponent's movement very carefully. Whether they jungle or not. They gank a lot or not. They're bloodthirsty or not, or they're just killing creeps on your lane. To which is very vital for Rikimaru's reading the instincts material ~ After observing, its time to move. If you notice they gank a lot then sight one of them. Stay as intact as possible to which you prefer is the most dangerous on all of them(like Slardar or Es whom may ruin a clash by their stuns and massive damage) but be very careful on sighting. Don't lay around like a stupid idiot when you are not gaining exp from creeps. Make sure you are close enough to observe and to gain exp from creeps otherwise you will be left out ~ Hunt! try to help your teammates go to the jungle if enemies are jungling like mortred etc. But be sure to have your teammates beside otherwise you will die. ~ Pathways: Yes read their pathways. They go through the forest then make a shortcut. Do not follow them on their tails because you aren't a runner. You might consider taking a shortcut and land on them so you can attack them and hopefully kill them in an instant Lmfao! He's here!: A pretty decent way to kill and gank is letting them think you are there but you aren't there. This is pretty simple. Harass them enough to let them go back. Last hit creeps on your lane. Make sure you have a tp with you. After harrasing him, hide then tp to the lane you desire(you smell food on that lane) then BOOM! kill them! they will go like "WTF! you didn't say that Rikimaru is missing!", "No, Riki is here a while ago!" hahahaha you can laugh your ass out. Intervening a Gank: Consider the pathways. To intervene a gank and make the kill yours, make a shortcut. Consider any ramps possible that the escaping enemy may go through and make a way and think on what pathway he will take. One good example is this: Red Line: The enemy will travel through Green Line: Where you will go and meet him Basically trust your instincts. If it did not pull out well then try again. In Dota there are no guarantees. Don't panic. But if you pull this out succesful you might consider reading the pathways again. Blink, SS and pawn!: A clash is happening in the middle. Your teammates are helpless, they need you! then here comes the superhero! Fool them.. Let them think you are not there but you are on jungling or whatever. Then after getting your teammates almost massacred its time to show up. But before you show up, you first must let them spam their ulti or any skill that may kill you to your teammates before you enter the battle zone. Simply Blink and ss and 1,2,3 the kill is yours Solo Riki: At levels 11-15 you might consider going solo. In this levels you may kill even skeleton king or anyone who gets in your way. When they are pushing, show up on their back. Don't be afraid all you need is a little courage to pull this out. And I'm sure after finishing an opponent with an exceptional speed! You might want to jump off your seat and say "I OWN!" "I wont let you": Riki is also an interceptor. He can ruin any hero's day with just showing up and killing them. Example: How to use Smoke Screen efficiently: If you haven't gotten your invis then blink. If you have then dont waste your blink's cd or mana. In this picture I used blink and smoke screen. Notice that the smoke screen isn't between Rhasta. Because I've decided to advance it and it is very important for Riki! read them. If you think after blinking they will head back then cast your ss not on them but on the ground where they will likely panic and step into it. Then you own!

The Stealth's Friends and Foes:

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Friends: Explanation: Every stunner is a friend. Rikimaru needs a stun and disable to help his ss casting and make them stay inside your field of killing longer. With their huge damage. They can protect you, gank enemies and assist you whenever and wherever you go. Vengeful Spirit: Wew! The swapper, its simple. She has a nice stun and terror which lowers the armor of the enemy. Swap which changes the enemy's position into hers. She swaps, you swiftly moves using blink, Smokes out and she stuns. She casts terror and 1,2,3 pawnage! and make sure yours is the kill. Learn to play dirty! *devil laugh!* Murloc Nightcrawler: Basically, Pounce is what you need. Inside your smoke AoE there lies your food helpless and crying with his shackles on. Then you two can competer whether he or you gets the kill Alchemist: Two smokes are better than one. He shakes and bang! 3 seconds stun! then you enter the battle field, you smoke he also smokes then you two jumble up and 1,2,3 she's dead! Tauren Chieftain: Why so? You blink and ss he casts his ulti he also has a stun and no one can survive your ultimate duo combo! and I'm really sure of that(but make sure that TC is a pro and not someone noob enough to not cast his ulti advance) Magnataur: The one who ruins the sweet moments of clash. Magnus can be pretty dangerous when teamed up with Riki because you know and I know that after that 5 seconds stun is no waking up combined with your ss and the both of your's damage

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Foes Explanation: These heroes are quite annoying for Rikimaru(I've played Rikimaru a hundred times but when I ended up at these heroes I get pretty angry however I am really good and knows how to avoid and kill them which I will share to you later on). They've got anti-invi skills and disables that may annoy Riki too much. Let me explain to you each and every detail why they are annoying: Slardar: Amplify makes you even softer. Your softer than a pillow before, now your softer than a marshmallow fried up. It also gives he and his allies true sight which is very dangerous to the little ones like Rikimaru. Be very aware of this hero, one little move can be your gravest death! Gondar: The Track is a little annoying, he sees you and he gains +20% movespeed, he chases you and next thing you knew, your corpse is laying deep on the grounds. Shuriken toss might also be somewhat dangerous to you, one shuriken toss leads you to half of your hitpoints on early games Necrolyte: All Skill types are food for the Stealth Assasin but never this guy. He can heal while your chasing, you get damaged while your chasing and you will end up on his Reaper's Scythe and then you make cry and go home back to your mommy(or fountain). He is pretty annoying for Rikimaru, however at late game when you bought luxury items, he will smell food Axe: While he is harrased by you, he continues to spin round in circles. Which unfortunately does not miss. Its very dissapointing. So be very careful dealing with this guy, You may have the help of a few henchmen(allies) if you wanted to just to kill this tough bastard. Doom Bringer: Invis doesn't work when silenced by Doom. You may want to run as fast as you can but I know, he can and he will chase you, theres no stopping this guy and he sees you as your daily food everyday. You are his diet! So kill him when you have the bloody chance!

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Great Ways to Counter Riki's Foes: There are some ways to counter Riki's foes let me explain to you what it is To counter these heroes: You just gotta buy the right item: Yeah! Diffusal Blade. If he tracks you, you purge yourself, amplify you purge yourself and might get down the business of zapping their manas out of their manapool and not let them get out of your ss. This is a really great item for Rikimaru and the truth is. I want it more than SnY and its more affordable How to counter: then buy a life-saving kit imo: Every attack gives you a significant lifesteal. Which you would be needing for tanking this guy's spin. After you have grown such level your damage also rises up. Steal Axe's life! pawnage!

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Credits and thanks to: -myself for having some patience and enough sweat or perspiration to finish the job -for those who commented on my draft or my work which became very useful though I need more comments -my friends whom I played games with -Garena where I practiced and tested this build -And of course to playdota, I wont be here If you weren't here Thanks guys! I really appreciate it!

PS: currently in progress, I will update it today and hopefully finish it. I just need a little time for my screenshots to show how to use, gank and use ss and blink for riki.