Is improved crit range really that good and/or important?

[samcifer]

So I'm playing a lv. 10 fallen Assimar that is divine soul sorc 5 /devotion pal 5 and am running GWM and
Polearm Master with a glaive. My STR is 18 (but I have a +1 magic weapon) and 20 CHA. I'm tying around with going into a third class in the next few levels, but am torn between going Hexblade war for the hexblade curse or Fighter for the Action Surge at 2nd level. If I Went Fighter, I'd likely go to lv. 3 and if so, I could go Champion instead, but I have to ask if having the ability to crit on a 19 as well as a 20 really worth caring about? How likely is it to come up? I tend to roll in the low to mid-range and crits are rather rare for me, so I wonder if it'd be worth going for an improved crit range even though I can attack 3 times per turn. I'm running my character as a DPS with some spell versatility for handling various options outside of combat.

Anyone have useful advice on this?

[Man_Over_Game]

So I'm playing a lv. 10 fallen Assimar that is divine soul sorc 5 /devotion pal 5 and am running GWM and
Polearm Master with a glaive. My STR is 18 (but I have a +1 magic weapon) and 20 CHA. I'm tying around with going into a third class in the next few levels, but am torn between going Hexblade war for the hexblade curse or Fighter for the Action Surge at 2nd level. If I Went Fighter, I'd likely go to lv. 3 and if so, I could go Champion instead, but I have to ask if having the ability to crit on a 19 as well as a 20 really worth caring about? How likely is it to come up? I tend to roll in the low to mid-range and crits are rather rare for me, so I wonder if it'd be worth going for an improved crit range even though I can attack 3 times per turn. I'm running my character as a DPS with some spell versatility for handling various options outside of combat.

Anyone have useful advice on this?

I'd honestly just stick with what you have. I've never been a huge fan of dipping into 3 classes at once, as most classes start to rely on their 2nd-3rd attack by those levels. In the case of the Paladin, those auras you can gain access to are amazing.

If anything, Hexblade will give more with less of a dip required than Fighter. Fighter is really only worth it for the extra attacks, the action surge (as a caster), or the armor proficiency, but none of those will benefit you much. The 3 attacks per turn with the + proficiency damage bonus per hit is really nice with Hexblade, and should be the main reason you'd grab the feature. The crit bonus is just that-a bonus. It's not exactly something I'd put a lot of faith in, and not all DMs really treat it the same way. Some have bonus effects tacked on to crit hits or fails, and others just roll damage. Considering most of your damage probably already comes from GWM, which doesn't do anything on a crit anyway, I wouldn't value it too much.

My recommendation is to only grab Hexblade if you're having problems with bosses or big fights (since you can only use the curse once per rest). Otherwise, just keep going as Paladin.

[CTurbo]

Improved Crit gets a lot of hate on here, but I actually kind of like it. It's not SUPER powerful or anything, but it DOES make a difference. Doubling your chances to crit is not nothing. I like it even more with GWM because you're twice as likely to get that extra attack.

[GlenSmash!]

I think most number runners around here, suggest it is not significant by itself. if my memory serves, combined with Advantage and Elven Accuracy it can get more significant.

[PeteNutButter]

Improved crit goes quite well with smite. With that being said, I'd definitely take paladin 6 before anything else. +5 to your saves as well as all teammates within 10 feet is pretty game breaking.

[Man_Over_Game]

I think most number runners around here, suggest it is not significant by itself. if my memory serves, combined with Advantage and Elven Accuracy it can get more significant.

What are my chances of rolling a natural 19/20 critical if I roll 3d20? (https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/130717/what-are-my-chances-of-rolling-a-natural-19-20-critical-if-i-roll-3d20) (From Vengeance Paladin + Hexblade + Elven Accuracy)

Answer: 27% Crit chance per hit at level 5.

[Oramac]

Convince your DM to give you a Sword of Impending Doom (http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkgjcJlAg) (page 1, top of the right column).

Failing that, I'd agree that going more levels into paladin for the auras is probably your best bet. Though if you desperately don't want to do that, Hexblade's Curse would work well for you too.

[MilkmanDanimal]

Just plain improved crit range, it's nice, but it meshes very well with other features. If you're multiclassing into Barbarian and recklessly attacking (rolling with advantage) or using Elven accuracy (3d20), the improved range greatly improves your odds of a big hit. Also, with GWM you have a better chance for that bonus hit on a crit, and, as mentioned, you can double the effectiveness of a smite if you've got some Paladin levels.

Overall, it's a good feature, but there are ways to really optimize it. In your case, I wouldn't bother, as it's just too many levels of progression to be worth it.

[samcifer]

Convince your DM to give you a Sword of Impending Doom (http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/BkgjcJlAg) (page 1, top of the right column).

Failing that, I'd agree that going more levels into paladin for the auras is probably your best bet. Though if you desperately don't want to do that, Hexblade's Curse would work well for you too.

Unofficial material is out, so this wouldn't be accessible.

[sithlordnergal]

Improved Crit is really best if you have a way to gain:

- A ton of attacks per round

- Consistent advantage.

Seeing as you already have Polearm Master, you get 3 attacks per round. With Action Surge you could do a burst for 5 attacks. All you really need is consistent advantage. Sadly you went Devotion paladin, so that is a bit tricky to get...but with the right support you can do it. Though in all honesty, I would just stick with Paladin/Sorcerer

[GlenSmash!]

What are my chances of rolling a natural 19/20 critical if I roll 3d20? (https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/130717/what-are-my-chances-of-rolling-a-natural-19-20-critical-if-i-roll-3d20) (From Vengeance Paladin + Hexblade + Elven Accuracy)

Answer: 27% Crit chance per hit at level 5.

Bam! Thank you number runner.

Back in with the UA version Elven Accuracy that worked with strength I contemplated the Champion 15/Barbarian 2+ with Elven Accuracy for 18= crits and 3d20 attack rolls. Seemed like a pretty reliable GWM setup.

Edit: Looks like it's 38.59% so with 3 attacks on a turn that ought to do it.

[Damon_Tor]

So I'm playing a lv. 10 fallen Assimar that is divine soul sorc 5 /devotion pal 5 and am running GWM and
Polearm Master with a glaive. My STR is 18 (but I have a +1 magic weapon) and 20 CHA. I'm tying around with going into a third class in the next few levels, but am torn between going Hexblade war for the hexblade curse or Fighter for the Action Surge at 2nd level. If I Went Fighter, I'd likely go to lv. 3 and if so, I could go Champion instead, but I have to ask if having the ability to crit on a 19 as well as a 20 really worth caring about? How likely is it to come up? I tend to roll in the low to mid-range and crits are rather rare for me, so I wonder if it'd be worth going for an improved crit range even though I can attack 3 times per turn. I'm running my character as a DPS with some spell versatility for handling various options outside of combat.

Anyone have useful advice on this?

With you paladin levels and extra/better spell slots via sorcery points, yes, an improved crit range is very helpful. And Action Surge is always good.

[MaxWilson]

So I'm playing a lv. 10 fallen Assimar that is divine soul sorc 5 /devotion pal 5 and am running GWM and
Polearm Master with a glaive. My STR is 18 (but I have a +1 magic weapon) and 20 CHA. I'm tying around with going into a third class in the next few levels, but am torn between going Hexblade war for the hexblade curse or Fighter for the Action Surge at 2nd level. If I Went Fighter, I'd likely go to lv. 3 and if so, I could go Champion instead, but I have to ask if having the ability to crit on a 19 as well as a 20 really worth caring about? How likely is it to come up? I tend to roll in the low to mid-range and crits are rather rare for me, so I wonder if it'd be worth going for an improved crit range even though I can attack 3 times per turn. I'm running my character as a DPS with some spell versatility for handling various options outside of combat.

Anyone have useful advice on this?

Your instincts are correct. It's not very good or important. It's possible to specialize in Improved Critical to such a high degree that it becomes more important (Divine Smite, half-orc, GWM, etc.) but even then its impact remains relatively small. You'd get a lot more mileage out of specializing in something real.

It's not really worth caring about.

[Errata]

Crit effects are interesting for their potential synergy with other effects. If you just have 1 effect on its own with no synergy, then it's fairly insignificant in and of itself. In 5e, there are only a few ways to exploit this synergy, so you need a fairly specific build for it to become good. And with weird multiclass builds you sacrifice a lot and it's not clear whether it's really worth it compared to simpler builds.

One way to get synergy is to have some way of getting advantage on your attack rolls, so you get twice as many dice that could be in the crit range, multiplying the benefit. And Elven accuracy makes it even better, but still needs a way to get advantage reliably. Barbarian can do it at some cost, but only for strength based attacks, which doesn't synergize with Elven accuracy.

Rogue/champions are worth considering, since they tend to go for finesse and can use elven accuracy, their sneak attack dice will multiply with crits, and they have other abilities that synergize with advantage.

Warlock level 3 pact of the chain gives you an improved invisible familiar that can use the assist action to give you advantage on one attack each turn. Again works well with something like rogue that adds damage dice rather than something like warrior with multiple attacks. Warlock gives you some smite spells that can add even more crit damage dice beyond sneak attack. And hexblade warlock has some relevant abilities that might change a weapon ability score to something elven accuracy compatible or give you increased crit range without champion (at least one combat per short rest, anyway).

[samcifer]

Crit effects are interesting for their potential synergy with other effects. If you just have 1 effect on its own with no synergy, then it's fairly insignificant in and of itself. In 5e, there are only a few ways to exploit this synergy, so you need a fairly specific build for it to become good. And with weird multiclass builds you sacrifice a lot and it's not clear whether it's really worth it compared to simpler builds.

One way to get synergy is to have some way of getting advantage on your attack rolls, so you get twice as many dice that could be in the crit range, multiplying the benefit. And Elven accuracy makes it even better, but still needs a way to get advantage reliably. Barbarian can do it at some cost, but only for strength based attacks, which doesn't synergize with Elven accuracy.

Rogue/champions are worth considering, since they tend to go for finesse and can use elven accuracy, their sneak attack dice will multiply with crits, and they have other abilities that synergize with advantage.

Warlock level 3 pact of the chain gives you an improved invisible familiar that can use the assist action to give you advantage on one attack each turn. Again works well with something like rogue that adds damage dice rather than something like warrior with multiple attacks. Warlock gives you some smite spells that can add even more crit damage dice beyond sneak attack. And hexblade warlock has some relevant abilities that might change a weapon ability score to something elven accuracy compatible or give you increased crit range without champion (at least one combat per short rest, anyway).

What about taking two levels of hexblade for Devil's Sight and the Darkness spell? Would that make extra crit range more workable?

[LudicSavant]

How good an improved crit range is is going to depend on other factors of your build (such as how much of your damage is multiplied on a crit, how many attacks you have, whether you have anything like brutal criticals, how often you have Advantage, etc).

It's fairly simple to calculate exactly how good an increased crit range is for any given build with any good DPR calculator. How much of a difference it makes can range from barely anything to quite a lot depending on the particulars of your build.

[Citan]

So I'm playing a lv. 10 fallen Assimar that is divine soul sorc 5 /devotion pal 5 and am running GWM and
Polearm Master with a glaive. My STR is 18 (but I have a +1 magic weapon) and 20 CHA. I'm tying around with going into a third class in the next few levels, but am torn between going Hexblade war for the hexblade curse or Fighter for the Action Surge at 2nd level. If I Went Fighter, I'd likely go to lv. 3 and if so, I could go Champion instead, but I have to ask if having the ability to crit on a 19 as well as a 20 really worth caring about? How likely is it to come up? I tend to roll in the low to mid-range and crits are rather rare for me, so I wonder if it'd be worth going for an improved crit range even though I can attack 3 times per turn. I'm running my character as a DPS with some spell versatility for handling various options outside of combat.

Anyone have useful advice on this?
Well, if you were any race that could pick Elven Accuracy, then I'd say "by all means, get improved crit range": with a source of advantage (you can Shove before wielding your weapons both hands, but it's obviously better if someone can generate advantage for you) you'd get incredible mileage from it.

As a non-Elve? I'll join the others, it's really not worth taking 3 levels of Fighter.
One level of Hexblade though may be worth, because the improved crit is just a small part of an incredible package: short-rest slot for your Shield, improved damage against one enemy, ability to immediately bump your attack (using CHA instead of STR unless your weapon would be forbidden? Don't remember), plus Armor of Agathys and whatever other spell you like, and Eldricht Blast + whatever other cantrip you like.

I would not necessarily put it as a priority though: as a 5/5, I'd say getting Aura of Protection should be the priority since saves should now become common, but you're the only one that can really know tbh. :)

[Dalebert]

Several factors need to come together for it to really be impactful:

* Elven accuracy
* means to gain advantage frequently
* Lots of dmg dice per round

Crit chance is about 27% with adv + EE which is basically an increase to your total dmg in the long run, but obviously dice only. Anything you can do to pile up dmg dice helps, e.g. Hex, Hunters Mark, sneack attack, multiple attack, weapons like flame tongues, etc.