Rikimaru, the Stealth Assassin

Ninjas are cool!

Endless invisibility, endless chasing potential, a seven second silence, and good DPS make Rikimaru a strong, if not always reliable, carry. He can silence casters and pop behind them to deal good physical damage. He can scout ahead of pushes to avoid ganks, as well as scout the enemy forest safely and gank Junglers. He is free to maneuver around the map and gank lone heroes. Overall, Rikimaru is a great hero to pick against casters without long silences, and strength casters, as he can cut them down quite efficiently starting at level six.



Rikimaru is a hero that relies on stealth and the ability to quickly defeat enemies. With a combination of silence and high DPS, he can quickly take down "squishy" heroes. He is however, vulnerable to silences and True Sight.

Riki is a good chaser, and his silence and high DPS makes him deadly to squishy heroes. Rikimaru is a good choice against casters with low HP and mobility, like CM, WD, and Lich. Fellow Agility heroes are also food for Rikimaru because of his ability to sneak up on them. Rikimaru is powerful against Agility heroes without escapes like Sniper, VS, and Venomancer. Lastly, Rikimaru can be an effective counter to enemies that rely on buffs, even more so once he gets his Diffusal Blade. Heroes like Sven, Omni, and Magnus won't know to use their buffs because you are invisible, and if they do manage to get them off, you can Purge them away.

Rikimaru is vulnerable to invisibility detection, making him a bad choice against Slardar and Gondar, who can easily make him visible to the entire enemy team. Tanks are a decent but not foolproof counter to Rikimaru, if the enemy is full of tanks pick Naix, not Riki. Avoid picking Rikimaru against heroes like Abbadon, Alchemist, and Bristleback.


Pros

• Very good scout.
• After Level 6 he is invisible and thus can farm rather easily.
• Solid but situational silence with Smoke Screen.
• Great chasing ability mid game.
• Very high damage late game.
• Two pseudo-escape mechanisms.

Cons

• Vulnerable to invis detection, and silences.
• Has a hard time farming during the early game.
• Squishy.

Level 1 - Smoke Screen
Level 2 - Blink Strike
Level 3 - Blink Strike
Level 4 - Stats/Backstab
Level 5 - Blink Strike
Level 6 - Permanent Invisibility
Level 7 - Blink Strike
Level 8 - Backstab
Level 9 - Backstab
Level 10 - Backstab
Level 11 - Permanent Invisibility
Level 12 - Backstab/Stats
Level 13 - Smoke Screen
Level 14 - Smoke Screen
Level 15 - Smoke Screen
Level 16 - Permanent Invisibility
Level 17 - Stats
Level 18 - Stats
Level 19 - Stats
Level 20 - Stats
Level 21 - Stats
Level 22 - Stats
Level 23 - Stats
Level 24 - Stats
Level 25 - Stats

Justification

Smoke Screen is gotten at Level 1 because its silence is the same at all levels and it helps you escape and take less damage early when you are the weakest. Blink Strike is then maxed as it is your best chase, escape, farm skill. I have been getting a lot of comments from people who argue that Blink Strike is better at level 1. Usually I would disregard these people as morons, but in some cases Blink Strike could be more useful than Smoke Screen. I usually prefer Smoke Screen at level 1 because with Blink Strike you need a unit in the right position for your escape, whereas Smoke Screen can be always be used.

Stats or Backstab can be gotten at level 4, Backstab would be better in a lane with 2 melee heroes where you wouldn’t need to worry about harassment as much, stats are better against ranged opponents where you get almost no hits in and you need the HP. Permanent Invisibility is gotten at 6 obviously. After that max Blink Strike and Backstab, getting Permanent Invisibility at 11, then max Smoke Screen and Permanent Invisibility.








Puny Satyr

Summary: Lane with a support. Stay alive and farm.

The start of the game is when Rikimaru is most vulnerable. Staying alive and farming are your main priorities during this phase. You are obviously going to want to maximize your last hits and reduce the amount of experience lost. Now the only way to really guarantee that you can do this is to lane with a strong support hero that will allow you to snag all the creeps and who can also prevent the enemy from pushing you back out of experience rage, or god forbid killing you. Heroes such as Dazzle and Warlock are able to heal you as well as aid you in farming by pushing the enemies back, they also require almost no farm to be effective. It is vital that you play with a strong carry, otherwise ranged opponents will have no problem shutting down your farm and crippling your late game potential.

Picking a good lane partner is only half the battle however. You must still be able to hold your own when it comes to farming. Rikimaru does not have the luxury of having a ranged attack, nor does he possess a healthy amount of HP. This makes him rather vulnerable at the start if you plan to farm, which you do. You must pick your last hits carefully, and thus creep positioning is a vital part of your early game. You must constantly exploit creep aggro to pull the enemy creeps towards your tower. The added safety this gives you and the extra money you can obtain from the creeps being in a good last hit position is invaluable for your early game. Stay safe and remember, it isn't until later that Rikimaru truly shines, don't overestimate your strength early on.

Lastly, it is important to remember that Rikimaru is painfully squishy in the early minutes of the game. Dual stun lanes or heavy DPS starters like Enigma can shred your health in seconds. You must be very wary of where the enemy heroes are on the map as well as your position in regards to the enemy. Be careful not to lose needless HP by taking unneeded harass. It is impossible to avoid all harass if you plan to farm, but keep it to a minimum.


Sneaky Menace

Summary: Farm some more. Gank with your allies. Push towers for extra gold.

Well that was painful but you finally are invisible, time to breath easy... sort of. Once you hit level 6 you will gain a significant advantage over your enemies. Farming becomes significantly easier now that your enemies cannot see you, however you are still vulnerable to harass as 3 seconds is a lot of time for the enemy to hit you. Your farm per minute should increase during this period, as you are more safe.

Participating in ganks is a good way to boost your gold per minute, although without map control it's best if your allies come to you. Hopping between lanes is costly in gold any way you look at it, TP scrolls aren't cheap, especially if you don't get the last hit. You should always carry a scroll anyway though. Make sure to have allies nearby if you are planning to kill your lane opponent, facing Rikimaru always puts the enemy on their toes and without a stun you have problems taking on heroes by yourself.

Finding the healthy medium between farming and ganking is important. If your team has another carry that is a farming demon, for example Morphling or Weaver, then you can take it a little bit easy on the farm and help your team gank. In general though, it's best to focus more on farming and allow your more nimble teammates, and those with disables, to wreak havoc on the enemy heroes.


Unseen Nightmare

Summary: Kill guys and carry your team. Stay safe in teamfights then wreak havoc.

As the game progresses, presuming you have kept up in farm, you will start to see why people fear the Stealth Assassin. Blink Strikes start to really melt HP away and your seemingly endless chasing ability leaves enemy support heroes stuck by their towers. Your DPS will be very high with a Diffusal Blade and will just increase as you gain more agility. Rikimaru specializes in taking down weaker heroes and smaller groups of heroes. Focus on taking out the enemy supports; Smoke Screen and Purge are a deadly combo against casters.

You are still quite vulnerable in team fights. Enemies with strong AoE ultimates and high damage like Kunkka and Sand King can kill you without even seeing you. I will elaborate on how to remain helpful in teamfights in the next section. Remember that it is important for you to stay alive until the enemy has run out of ultimates. You are great at cutting down the remnants of teamfights after the scary spells have been cast.

Lastly, don't get too arrogant. Wards or a Gem and bad positioning can spell doom for any player who overestimates his power. Three heroes trump one in almost all cases.


How to: Teamfights

0. Scout ahead, for superior positioning, if possible (be wary of wards and Gem).
1. Blink to the biggest casting threat (or another target, use your discretion).
2. Smoke/Purge combo the hero you blinked to.
3. Right click him down, Blink Strike when possible.
4. Repeat from step 1.

What Rikimaru lacks is any form of AoE presence. Smoke Screen is simply not enough to make you effective in teamfights. The best way to aid your allies in big battles is to help them out-position the enemy. And help them clean up after the deadliest of spells have been cast. If you have scouted ahead of the fight and have found the enemy’s position, you can call your initiators in to the right spot. If your enemies try to escape throw down a Smoke Screen in their path and purge someone in it (or someone who has kited it). Your allies should have an easy time landing their spells against slowed and silenced targets.

Alternatively, if you were unable to scout for some reason and the enemy has initiated on you, try to avoid jumping into the fight right away. Allow some back and forth initiation and then jump into the fray once a few disables have been thrown. Smoke Screen the biggest enemy casting threat, or someone who relies on spells heavily, for example Necrolyte or Leshrac. Smoke Screen does not go through BKB, nor does it prevent it from being casted. Avoid dropping it solely on heroes with this item. Usually you will want to purge the hero you just smoked. Then use your right click powers to quickly cut down your target.

Riki's Arsenal

Summary: Use Smoke Screen to block enemy path instead of casting right on top of them. Smoke Screen can be used to pull of a TP. Blink Strike to escape or add DPS.

Smoke Screen can be used to block an enemy’s path; Blinking to an enemy (or ally) and throwing down a Smoke Screen in their way forces them to change direction or be slowed for 25% for at least 2.5 seconds (calculated below). Smoke Screen can also be used for its silence on heavy casters (important to also Purge these guys when possible to ensure a long silence), or it can be used for the miss chance (later on) against physical DPS threats (once again Purge is important).

Smoke Screen can also be used to pull off a successful TP sometimes. Run into the forest (where you are under fog) and throw down a Smoke Screen behind you before using Scroll. If the enemy moves in to stun you they will be silenced, if they try to kill you they will have a high miss chance and be slowed.

Blink Strike gives you a solid DPS boost whenever its cooldown is up and should be used to keep up with fleeing enemies and to add an extra kick to your regular damage. It can also be used as a pseudo-escape when a unit is in the right position; simply blink to an ally/enemy/neutral unit to get away from your attackers.


Juking

Rikimaru has two spells that allow him some form of juke. Blink Strike can be used to initiate a skirmish or escape from an enemy. Unlike Blink it cannot be used to dodge projectile spells or attacks so if you Blink away while a projectile is in the air it will still hit and damage you. Since it repositions you, it can be used to dodge Wave spells like Shockwave, Carrion Swarm, Meteor Strike, and Ring spells like Poison Nova and Static Field. Simply Blink to a unit that is out of the projectile's path before the projectile hits you. Permanent Invisibility can be used to dodge projectile spells such as Storm Bolt, Poison Nova, Hellfire Blast, Static Field. But cannot be used to dodge AoE or Wave spells like Shockwave, Nether Blast, etc. If you fade before a projectile spell hits you the spell will cancel dealing no damage or secondary effect.

Manta Style and Diffusal Blade can both be used to remove the debuffs placed by Dust of Appearance and Amplify Magic allowing you to fade to invisibility.

Smoke Screen can also be used to pull off a successful TP sometimes. Run into the forest (where you are under fog) and throw down a Smoke Screen behind you before using Scroll. If the enemy moves in to stun you they will be silenced, if they try to kill you they will have a high miss chance and be slowed.


Staying Invisible

Staying invisible is an important part of playing Rikimaru, you must always have a backup plan in case the enemy has True Sight. The simplest of these plans is to have a unit to blink to to allow you to escape. If you have purchased a Manta Style you can send an image to safety and then blink to it. If you have a HotD you can blink to your dominated unit, or you can always just blink to a random allied/enemy unit. If the enemy is using wards you should have an ally counterward. You can use a Purge charge on yourself to cancel debuffs placed by Dust of Appearance or Amplify Magic allowing you to go invisible again; activating Manta Style will also dispell the debuffs.


Blink Strike

• Extra damage is magical so it is reduced by spell resistance and doesn't hit spell immune enemies (but you do jump to them).
• Blink Strike works on all types of units (except mechanical) but will only damage Enemies and Neutrals.
• Blink Strike can be used on your images and can be used to escape using Manta Style if there is nothing else to jump to.
• Blink Strike cannot be used to dodge projectile spells.
• Blink Strike will position you behind the target and will ALWAYS result in a Backstab hit.

Smoke Screen

• Smoke Screen's maximum AOE has a diameter of 650 which means if your opponent tries to run through it at 350 MS with the 25% slow it will take them: 650/(350 x 0.75)= about 2.5 seconds.
• To get the full effect of your cloud try to partner with a slower or stunner to keep the enemies silenced longer.
• Smoke Screen has no effect on magic immune units.
• Smoke Screen can be used to break channeling spells and to make invisible heroes visible.

Backstab

• Backstab will occur almost instantaneously after Blink Strike regardless of how you are positioned on the enemy. It can be canceled if you move directly after the blink.
• Backstab deals Physical Damage and thus will be reduced by armour.
• Images will show the Backstab animation but will not deal Backstab damage.

Permanent Invisibility

• If a hero casts a missile spell on you and you fade to invisibility before it hits you it will cancel the spell.
• Silence and some other spells such as Slithice's Net will cause you to temporarily not fade.
• Casting a spell or using an item will make you visible, this includes using Tangoes or Potions, Scrolls of TP, Magic Wand, Manta Style, etc.

When facing an equally leveled hard carry like Troll, Mortred, TB, or Void early. - Flight. Without your invisibility early you are at a disadvantage.

When facing an equally leveled hard carry mid-late. - Flight. Most hard carries will out DPS you mid-late game.

When facing most tanks alone. - Flight. Most Tanks will pose a serious problem for you unless you have some form of lifesteal, which isn't a good choice on Rikimaru.

When facing lone heroes that rely on spell spamming. - Fight. Your strong silence and high DPS gives you the advantage when facing lone enemy nukers.

When facing lone gankers. - Fight. You are a truly deadly opponent 1 on 1, take him out quickly before they can disable you.

When facing heroes that rely on buffs. - Fight. With Purge or Smoke you can easily shut down these heroes and out DPS them, by the time they are out of cloud you have usually burned sufficient mana to with the fight.

When facing multiple nukers or gankers. - Flight. - You are much more powerful against single heroes due to the small AoE of Smoke and your lack of AoE or splash damage.



This concludes my guide to Rikimaru, the Stealth Assassin. I hope you enjoyed reading it and found the information to be helpful. Please rate and comment if you liked it or if you found some problems with it. I always welcome added information on strategy and mechanics sections. I would like to stress that Skill and Item Builds are usually the most flexible part of any hero guide, so if you find you have a problem with either of these sections you are free to comment but they will most likely remain the same.



Most Recent

November 7th 2011 - Removed Rikimaru's Role section as it was essentially a duplicate. Moved a lot of pictures. Removed Links section, going to get some more up to date replays soon.