Rikimaru build for dota

The satyr is a deadly character, but also very fragile. He doesn't absorb damage very well so care must be taken while playing him. Always watch to make sure the enemies aren't carrying around a gem of true sight or have sentry wards planted down. Rikimaru is very vulnerable when he can be seen, no matter which items he has. You also need to be careful after attacking as his invisibility isn't instantly active. There is a slight time delay before the stealth assasin stops being visible. You can lower this by putting more skill points into the Permanent Invisibility ability.

My skill choices in the rikimaru build are as follows: Blink strike, smoke screen at level 2. After this I put the skill points into blink strike and backstab. It might seem odd to have it before you have much agility, but extra damage always helps. Your allies will probably think it's silly though when they see the animation effect at first.

My first choice in this rikimaru item build after boots is usually added damage. But, I like to have some fun with it. I buy a Quarterstaff and Mithril Hammer. Then I tell people in all chat I've almost got my lothars! The reactions are hilarious... except when some teammates quit. That used to be the recipe for the Lothar's Edge artifact which grants temporary invisibility. There's no use for that on this hero character, he's permanently invisible when he's not attacking.

I buy another hammer and finish a Stygian Desolator as the start of my dota stealth assassin build. This adds a lot of extra damage and the corruption effect is always nice. The quarterstaff will later become a butterfly, which has great synergy versus backstab. Blink strike almost always teleports you to the back of someone, which results in extra damage with every hit. You may wish to skip that and grab a Maelstrom instead. It's not often seen on a stealth assassin during Defense of the Ancients games, but the chain lightnings sure are fun when they start blasting. It'll also make you a bit more useful during team battles.

If the enemy heroes have a lot of casting nukes, or a slardar/gondar, you might need some extra survivability. Many people opt for lifesteal. I find this silly in a stealth assassin item build, as it ruins the point of the character. An assault cuirass instead grants you bonus armor, attack speed, and has a great synergy with the reduced armor from the desolator. Many of the weaker heroes who depend on their dota abilities will die before they can leave the smoke screen if you have both, like Lina Inverse and Rylai.

My next choice (once anything that might keep me from being killed is handled) is usually the Diffusal Blade. It's purge turns your smoke screen into something mighty indeed! Enemies won't be able to run out fast enough... you can sometimes get an extra 4 or 5 swings in before they're out of the cloud. Remember that you have to use it quickly if you want it in your rikimaru dota build. Trigger the diffusal blade right before your smoke screen for maximum effect.