Riki

Version Control

This article is mostly accurate for the latest version of the game (7.38), in which this hero/item was changed.
It has no changes in the current game version — 7.38b.

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Riki

#48

18 + 2

30 + 2.4

14 + 1.3

Grants the following bonuses per level:
	+44HP and +0.2HP regeneration
	+0.4 armor and 2.4 attack speed +2.4 Main Attack Damage
	+15.6MP and +0.065MP regeneration +0.1% base magic resistance

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516 +4.3

243 +0.7

5 Armor (670.8 EHP)

26.4% Magic Resist (701.09 EHP)

52 ‒ 56 ▶️ Damage (54 Avg)

Instant Projectile Speed Melee units have their projectile speed set to 900, if they should ever need it.

150 Attack Range (600)

90 (120) Attack Speed (1.7 BAT) Attacks per Second is defined as ΣAS / BAT / 100

0.3 + 0.3 Animation

315 / 345 ▶️ Move Speed

0.6 Turn Rate This unit takes 0.175s to turn 180°.

27 Collision Size

24 Bound Radius

1800 / 800 Vision Range

Default Gib Type

npc_dota_hero_riki

2011-10-13 Released

2004-02-03 (v0.60)

Competitive Span 2011-10-13 — 2015-12-16 2016-04-25 — Present

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Remains permanently invisible until the moment to strike.
Leaving his past life behind, Riki escaped the royal grounds using his own Cloak-and-Dagger methods. Stealthy and fond of killing from behind, Riki throws down a dense Smoke Screen, blinding and choking foes as he takes them by surprise with Blink Strike. Intruders who enter his turf is greeted with twin daggers, flashes of steel that slash simultaneously at every turned back while the master himself remains unseen. How this feat is accomplished remains a mystery, for the Stealth Assassin is not one to divulge his Tricks of the Trade.
Roles:	Carry Escape Disabler
Adjectives	Bearded, Blue, Horns, Nose Legs ( 2 )

Facets

Contract Killer

Backstab grants Riki flat bonus experience for hero kills and assists.

Additionally grants Riki flat bonus experience from Courier kills and from killing certain ward-type units.

Exterminator

Tricks of the Trade is more effective on creeps, applies a greater flat bonus attack damage per current agility .

Each non-hero unit kill while channelling reduces the ability cooldown.

Upgrades

Aghanim's

Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade:

Enables Riki to hide within a pocket dimension while moving along with the targeted ally.

Increases cast range, max attack targets and number of instant attacks for its duration.

Aghanim's Shard Upgrade:

Causes enemy units to be untargetable by their allies, while reducing armor of enemies caught in the Smoke Screen.

Talents

Tricks of the Trade Applies Basic Dispel	25	-1s Cloak and Dagger Fade Delay
-4s Blink Strike Restore Time	20	+0.3 Backstab Agility Factor
-3s Smoke Screen Cooldown	15	+50 Tricks of the Trade Agility
+8% Cloak and Dagger Move Speed	10	+50 Smoke Screen Radius
▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ ▃ +2 All / / Attributes

Bio

There are none so stabbed as those who will not see.

▶️  Riki, the Stealth Assassin

Aliases:

SA, Stealth Assassin

Lore:

Riki was born middle child to the great dynasty of Tahlin. With an older brother groomed for the throne, and a younger brother coddled and kept, Riki, the small middle son, seemed born for the art of invisibility. It was an art he cultivated, and one which ultimately saved his life on the night that his people were betrayed and his family slaughtered. Of all the royal line, he alone escaped—small and agile, unassuming, using smoke as cover. He cut his way out of the royal grounds, using the advantage of surprise, quietly slitting the throats of one enemy warrior after another. Now free of his royal responsibilities, Riki uses his talents in service to a new trade: Stealth Assassin. He silences his enemies, sharpening his skills, hoping to one day take revenge on those who killed his family and robbed him of his birthright.

Voice:

Tom Chantler (Responses)

Innate

Backstab

Backstab

Ability

Passive

Affects

Self

Damage

Physical

Every time Riki strikes his enemy from behind, he deals an agility-based bonus damage.

Back Angle: 105°

Hero Attack Damage Bonus per Agi: 0.55/0.9/1.25/1.6 ( 0.85/1.2/1.55/1.9)

Backstab is more effective on creeps.

Creep Damage Factor: 2

This ability levels up with Cloak and Dagger.

The Stealth Assassin is not afraid to fight dirty, and specializes in attacking his opponents from behind.

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Contract Killer

Backstab grants Riki flat bonus experience for hero kills and assists.

This ability component levels up with Cloak and Dagger.

Kill Exp Bonus: 25/150/250/350
Assist Exp Bonus: 25/75/125/175

Additionally grants Riki flat bonus experience from Courier kills and from killing certain ward-type units.

Other Units Kill Exp Bonus: 25/75/125/175

---

• 
  • The red-targeted area represents the valid Backstab angle, with point being the affected enemy unit.

• 
  • Backstab is a bonus conditional attack damage source and has the following properties:
    • The self- agility to enemy hero bonus attack damage values are directly added to Riki's attack damage in the combat log and not displayed on the HUD.
    • Considers clones, illusions, and creep-heroes as heroes.
  • Does not interact with the following sources:
    • Ally units.
    • Courier
    • The Tormentor.
    • Percentage-based bonus attack damage sources.
  • Interacts with the following sources:
    • 
      • Lifesteal sources.
      • Critical strike sources.
      • Cleave sources.
    • 
      • Damage block sources.

• FACET NOTES
  Contract Killer is an on-death effect.
  • Does not grant Riki the bonus experience when the affected enemy has reincarnation sources.

• ILLUSIONS
  Riki's illusions do not proc Backstab.
  • However, the ability sound effects are played for camouflaging purposes. Illusions does not benefit from the bonus conditional attack damage.

• BREAK
  Disables the ability.
  • However, Contract Killer is not disabled.

modifier_riki_backstab

Hidden modifier

• Although the ability's sound effect plays at the start of the attack, the bonus conditional attack damage is applied on the attack hit.

• tricks calc with backstab

Hero Model

Hero Model

Ability

Passive / Channeling

Affects

Self

Riki's hero model has the following hidden innate abilities.

He may only perform or utilize the ability's functions upon a successful channeling.

Details

Hidden Innate Abilities

Tap on the innate abilities for more details.

Abilities

Smoke Screen

Q

C

Smoke Screen

▶️

Ability

Area

Affects

Enemy Units / Self

Throws down a smoke bomb and silencing enemy units.

Cast Animation: 0.2 + 0

Cast Range:  550

Effect Radius: 425 ( 475)

Silence Duration: 6

Aura Linger Duration: 0

Grants Riki evasion within the smoke bomb radius.

Evasion: 30%/45%/60%/75%

Buff Duration: 6

Aura Linger Duration: 0

Smoke Screen has an instant cast time while channeling Tricks of the Trade.

Cast Animation: 0 + 0

Aghanim's Shard Upgrade
Causes enemy units to be untargetable by their allies, while reducing armor of enemies caught in the Smoke Screen.

Armor Reduction: ( 5)

17/15/13/11 ( 14/12/10/8)

65/70/75/80

Since his escape during the night of his betrayal, Riki has valued the use of a simple smoke screen to confuse his opponents.

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• 
  • Creates a non-lingering negative aura within the radius that applies all the ability effects upon cast.
    • Recasting the ability do not update the current ability values on already affected enemy units, but refreshes its duration.
    • Smoke Screen of different sources works independently of each other.
  • Does not affect the following units:
    • Hidden units.
    • Invulnerable units.
  • SHARD NOTES
    Enemy units within the Smoke Screen radius are now untargetable by their allies.
    • Any attack or unit-targeting abilities of their allies that are already in its attack or cast animation is canceled.
    • Does not affect the following properties of the enemy units within the radius:
      • Selection box.
      • Does not prevent Spell Reflection sources.
      • Does not disjoint incoming projectiles for enemy units.
      • Certain abilities can bypass unselectability conditionally, while almost every other ability cast by their ally treats the affected enemy targets as if they were invisible.

• While channeling Tricks of the Trade, Smoke Screen has an instant cast time and do not require facing the location to cast, as long as the area-targeted location is within the cast range.
  • Except with ▣ Channeled Abilities Require Hold/Stop enabled, Riki cannot cast Smoke Screen while channeling Tricks of the Trade.

• Blind uses pseudo-random distribution.
  • Stacks additively with other blind sources and multiplicatively with evasion sources.

• DBF IMMUNITY
  The armor reduction applied does not affect debuff immune units.
  • However, the enemy's ally units being untargetable component affects debuff immune units.

modifier_riki_smoke_screen_thinker

On hidden entity

modifier_riki_smoke_screen

Smoke Screen: Silenced. Vision Reduced. Missing x% of attacks. Move Speed slowed.

• With ▣ Channeled Abilities Require Hold/Stop enabled, Riki cannot cast Smoke Screen while channeling Tricks of the Trade.

Blink Strike

W

B

Blink Strike

▶️

Ability

Unit

Affects

Self / Enemy Units

Damage

Spell / Magical / Instant Attack / Physical

Teleports behind the target unit, momentarily slowing them and striking for bonus damage if it is an enemy.

Cast Animation: 0.3 + 0

Cast Range: 600/700/800/900

Spell Damage: 40/55/70/85

Move Speed Slow: 100%

Slow Duration: 0.4

Instant attacks and backstabs the enemy target, regardless of the affected enemy's facing angle.

Instant Attack Factor: 1

Riki sneaks a subsequent attack in after the other.

Self Attack Point Factor: 0.5

Number of Attacks: 1

Buff Duration: 1

25/21/17/13 ( 21/17/13/9)

2

0.1

50/55/60/65

The Stealth Assassin's agile movement makes him impossible to escape.

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• 
  • Grants all 2 charges immediately upon learning Blink Strike.

• 
  • Teleports Riki next to the target, toward the position he was upon cast.
  • Does not disjoint incoming projectiles.
  • Does not break Cloak and Dagger's invisibility. However, Blink Strike's ability effects are visible to everyone.

• 
  • The instant attack component procs any attack modifiers and on-cast effects as per normal.
    • Except cleave sources.
  • Does not have True Strike.
  • Not affected by disarm sources.
  • Specifically breaks Cloak and Dagger's invisibility.
  • blinkstrike
    • The ability effects are applied as follows on self:
      1. Applies an ensured Backstab agility as bonus conditional attack damage instance of its corresponding level, regardless of the enemy unit's facing angle.
      2. Reduces the attack point of Riki's next attack to 0.15.

• The attack point reduction component lasts till either the next attack point or 1 second, whichever happens first.
  • Since the buff has a set duration, the ensured Backstab bonus conditional attack damage may be applied to other enemy units than the Blink Strike target.

• Cannot be cast on the following units:
  • Buildings
  • Couriers of all factions.
  • Hidden units.
  • Invulnerable units.
  • Ward-type units

• • Specically does not proc the Counterspell-based abilities' Spell Reflection component.

• SPELL REFLECT
  Upon Spell Reflection source proc, Riki first teleports next to the target, then the target teleports next to Riki.

• SOULBIND
  Instant attacks the secondary target.
  • Other ability effects are applied to both the primary and the secondary target.
  • Riki appears behind the primary target.

• ABILITY DRAFT
  Requires drafting Cloak and Dagger for its corresponding component to work.

modifier_riki_blinkstrike

Hidden modifier

modifier_riki_blinkstrike_slow

Blink Strike: Movement speed reduced by x%.

• 
  • The ability effects are applied as follows:
    1. The movement speed slow debuff.
    2. The magical spell damage.
    3. The instant attack with the Backstab agility as bonus conditional attack damage instance.

• The Spell Reflection mechanic is based on Spell Block, and it resolves before the ability procing does.
  • For abilities like Blink Strike, a lotus_orb_delay was added to Spell Reflection sources on the first server tick to remove itself.
  • This effectively allows Blink Strike to resolve first, to preventing the Spell Reflection source teleporting to Mortred.

Tricks of the Trade

E

T

Tricks of the Trade

▶️

Ability

Area / Channeled / Unit

Affects

Self / Enemy Units

Damage

Instant Attack / Physical

Phases out of the world while striking random enemy units from behind in an area around him.

Cast Animation: 0.3 + 0

Cast Range:  400 ( 700)

Radius: 450

Max Attack Targets: 1 ( 2)

Max Channel Time: 2

Max Instant Attacks: 4 ( 5)

Self Agi Bonus: 55/70/85/100 ( 105/120/135/150)

Instant Attack Factor: 0.4

Applies an ensured Backstab bonus attack damage, regardless of the enemy's facing angle, as Riki besets the enemies from out of the world.

Aghanim's Scepter Upgrade
Enables Riki to hide within a pocket dimension while moving along with the targeted ally.

Increases cast range, max attack targets and number of instant attacks for its duration.

18/16/14/12

45/55/65/75

The Stealth Assassin is not afraid to fight dirty, and specializes in attacking his opponents from behind.

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Exterminator

Tricks of the Trade is more effective on creeps, applies a greater flat bonus attack damage per current agility.

Agi to Attack Damage Bonus Factor: 4.5

Each non-hero unit kill while channelling reduces the ability cooldown.

Cooldown Reduction per Non-Hero Unit Kill: 0.75

---

• The ability has three main components:
  • The channeling component.
  • The ability targeting functionalities.
  • The instant attack component.

• 
  • The ability cast and channeling component applies the following ability effects:
    • Disjoint incoming projectiles.
    • Grants the bonus agility.
    • Applies a basic dispel on Riki.
  • Has the following properties while channeling:
    • Hidden
    • Invulnerability
    • Phase movement.
  • The following item abilities specifically interrupts this ability's channeling component:
    • Shadow Walk
    • Arctic Blast
  • Smoke Screen has an instant cast time and does not require facing the location to cast, as long as the area-targeted location is within the cast range.
    • Continues with its ability effects even when the channeling is interrupted.
    • However, newly shift-queue orders now interrupt and cancel Tricks of the Trade.
  • Reappears at the center of the radius after when the channeling is interrupted in any way.

• 
  • Tricks of the Trade has three targeting functionalities:
    • 
      • When ground-targeted, the radius is always centered on Riki and follows him even when he moves.
    • 
      • SCEPTER NOTES
        Enables Trick of the Trade casting on ally heroes.
        • When unit-targeted, all ability effects are now centered on the affected ally hero, follows it as it moves, and continues at its death location upon death.
        • Other ability effects affecting Riki still apply.
        • Considers clones and illusions as heroes; ally Couriers and creep-heroes as creeps.
    • While channeling, doubletap automatically moves Riki to the unit-targeted location within the cast range.

• 
  • Instant attacks in 0.67 ( 0.5)-second intervals on enemy targets within the radius, starting immediately upon cast, over its duration.
    • Procs any attack modifiers and on-cast effects as per normal.
      • Applies an ensured Cloak and Dagger agility as bonus conditional attack damage instance of its corresponding level, regardless of the enemy unit's facing angle.
    • Do not have True Strike.
    • Not affected by disarm sources.
    • Specifically do not break the following invisibility sources:
      • Disguise-based abilities.
      • Cloak and Dagger
  • Affects the following units:
    • Enemy Couriers.
  • The instant attack damage is defined as:
    • EXPR
      InstantAtk = ((BaseAtk + ΣAgi × SelfAgiFactor) + BonusAtk) × 0.4 + f(CloakDagger ConditionalBonus)
  • FACET NOTES
    Exterminator grants flat bonus attack damage corresponding to Riki's current agility when attacking creeps while channeling.
    • This ability component considers clones, illusions, and the Spirit Bear as heroes, other creep-heroes as creeps.
    • SCEPTER NOTES
      Hence, when attacking multiple units with the ability upgrade, the Tricks of the Trade instant attack damage applied corresponds to the first enemy unit the ability attacked, since both enemy units have to be attacked at the same time.
      • If an enemy creep is damaged first, the enemy hero will take the same instant attack damage value as the enemy creep, and vice versa.

• WHILE ROOTED
  Cannot be cast while affected by root or leash sources.
  • TALENT NOTES
    This restriction is removed upon learning the apply basic dispel talent.

• ABILITY DRAFT
  Requires drafting Cloak and Dagger for its corresponding component to work.

modifier_riki_tricks_of_the_trade_phase

Hidden modifier

• The ability visual effects indicating the instant attack radius are visible to everyone.
  • However, a part of the radius indicating visual effects on the ground does not follow Riki and stays at the cast location.

• 
  • The ability effects applied as follows while channeling:
    1. Checks for Riki's current agility, and applies the self agility bonus factor.
    2. Reduces Riki's both main and bonus attack damage.
    3. Applies an ensured Cloak and Dagger agility as bonus conditional attack damage instance of its corresponding level, regardless of the enemy unit's facing angle.

Cloak and Dagger

R

E

Cloak and Dagger

▶️

Ability

Passive

Affects

Self

Riki fades into the shadows, becoming invisible. When Riki attacks, he becomes visible again.

Fade Delay: 4/3/2 ( 3/2/1)

Move Speed Bonus: ( 8%)

Riki comes for you.

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• Does not grant phase movement.

• Applies invisibility immediately on Riki in the following conditions:
  • During a reincarnation proc.
  • When Riki respawns.

• 
  • Riki will keep turning invisible as long as he is not affected by break sources.
  • During the fade delay, the affected unit can still attack and cast abilities.
  • Does not grant phase movement.

• invisible
  • Applies the following ability effects while fully invisible:
    • No longer auto-attack enemy units.
    • Grants bonus movement speed.
    • Sources with fade delays utilize the modifier_invisible buff.
      • Buff sources of the same modifier do not stack, the longer duration buff takes precedence when the same modifier is applied.
      • Riki can pick up or drop items without breaking invisibility.
      • The invisibility breaks upon attack point, or the abilities' cast point.

Interactions: Self-Illusions

Only the invisibility component is fully functional.

modifier_invisible

Invisible

• The fade delay is shown visually as the ability's cooldown whenever the invisibility is broken, it is neither affected by cooldown reduction nor cooldown reset sources.
  • Although both Time Dilation and Chakra Magic affect the cooldown visually, it does not interact with the fade delay in any way.

Recent Matches

Main Article: Riki/Matches

Date	Tier		Tournament	Picks		Score		vs. Picks
Mar 15, 2025 - 10:00 EET	Tier 1		PGL Wallachia S3			1 : 0
Mar 08, 2025 - 23:30 SAST	Tier 4		SEL: Major 1			1 : 0
Mar 06, 2025 - 21:30 SAST	Tier 4		SEL: Major 1			0 : 1
Mar 01, 2025 - 13:00 CET	Tier 3		CCT Series 7			0 : 1
Feb 28, 2025 - 13:00 CET	Tier 3		CCT Series 7			0 : 1

Recent Changes

Main Articles: Changelogs, Old Abilities and Hero Lore

Version

Description

7.38
(2025-02-19)

• Backstab Contract Killer
  • Rescaled assist experience bonus from 25/100/100/100 to 25/75/125/175.
  • Now grants 25/75/125/175 bonus experience for the following units:
    • Courier
    • Observer and Sentry Wards
• Smoke Screen no longer affect allied units.
• Tricks of the Trade Exterminator now additionally reduces cooldown by 0.75 per non-hero unit kill.

• Talents:  

  LVL 25  -3s Tricks of the Trade cooldown ➜  -1s Cloak and Dagger fade delay.

7.37d
(2024-10-01)

• Toggling items no longer breaks Cloak and Dagger invisibility.

7.37c
(2024-08-28)

• Increased Backstab hero damage per agility from 0.4/0.8/1.2/1.6 to 0.55/0.9/1.25/1.6.

Dota Plus Progress

Main Article: Hero Challenges

Relics track a hero's actions and statistics, and display in-game notifications when a milestone is reached. They are only available to Dota Plus subscribers.

Riki's Relics	Voice Lines
Three Hero Smoke Screens Blink Strike Leading To Kills Backstab Kills Tricks of the Trade 3x Successive Hits Heroes Killed Inside Smoke Screen Gem of True Sight Carriers Killed Enemy Hero Mana Burned Courier Kills Spells Disjointed Bashed Enemies Triple Kills Mega Kill Streaks Kill Assists Kills	Bronze	▶️ Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo. ▶️ Contract complete.
	Silver	▶️ Heh-ho, you didn't see that coming. ▶️ Why prolong the inevitable?
	Gold	▶️ Peek-aboo. ▶️ If you can see me, you're already dead.
	Platinum	▶️ I've been here the whole time.
	Master	▶️ Oh you're dead. What a surprise.
	Grandmaster	▶️ Sneaky, aren't I?

Trivia

• ▶️ "Good assassins never die… they just fade away.", is a reference to a quote by General Douglas MacArthur, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."
• ▶️ "There are none so stabbed as those who will not see." is a reference to a proverb: "There are none so blind as those who will not see."
• ▶️ "I speak softly, but carry a sharp knife." is a reference to the West African Proverb "Speak softly and carry a big stick.", popularized by U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt.
• Riki's model is based on the Satyr, a goat-like humanoid creature from greek mythology.

• Warcraft 3 similarities:
  • Riki uses the model of the Satyr Trickster, a small neutral creep.
  • Smoke Screen is inspired by and based on the Dragonhawk Rider's Cloud.
  • Backstab's original iteration was a basic Critical Strike, identical to the Blademaster's Critical Strike.
  • Blink Strike's original iteration was a basic Blink, identical to the Warden's Blink.
  • Permanent Invisibility's original iteration was a identical to the Shadow Wolves' Permanent Invisibility.
  • In DotA, Riki's name is "Rikimaru" (力丸), a reference to one of the main characters in the Tenchu video game series.
    • On the Perfect World client, Riki still is named Rikimaru.
  • Riki has a 1/10 chance to spawn in with the name "Riki Martin", which is a reference to the Latino pop singer Ricky Martin.

Gallery

• 

  Splash artwork

• 

  Trading card art

• 

  Old model and icon

• 

  Ability icon progress

• 

  Hero icon progress

• 

  Bone Harvest sprite - alive

• 

  Bone Harvest sprite - dead