Critical hit optimization?

[TheNerfGuy]

Is there a means of optimizing a character to have a high critical hit ratio in this game?

I know the Champion subclass from Fighter eventually grants crits on 19-20 and later 18-20. I just wish to know if there is a means of heightening the crit chance to be even higher than that.

For reference, I do include 3rd party content. Specifically, the "Ultimate Adventurer's Guide". This book does include the "Volatile Weapon" magic item that can raise the crit ratio at the cost of increasing the auto-fail ratio (17-20 crits, 1-4 misses regardless at the highest).

Is there another thread that talks about the same thing? If there is, can it be linked?

[strangebloke]

There's no way to get a larger crit range AFAIK but there are ways to
1. increase your crit chance
2. increase the damage you deal on a crit.

Typically the most efficient way to do (1) is with hexblade. Hexblade's curse gives you 19-20 crit range, and you can attack with CHA on whatever weapon you please. CHA isn't STR so you can pick up elven accuracy and use a spell like shadow of moil to generate advantage. So you get the best of 3 dice rolls and with curse active you crit on a 19 or 20.

Champion or very high level paladin can do similar.

For (2) you just want a lot of dice, and smite or the warlock invocation from XGTE or sneak attack all work for that.

[solidork]

Have a consistent way to give yourself advantage. Elven Accuracy.

[LudicSavant]

Is there a means of optimizing a character to have a high critical hit ratio in this game?

I know the Champion subclass from Fighter eventually grants crits on 19-20 and later 18-20. I just wish to know if there is a means of heightening the crit chance to be even higher than that.

For reference, I do include 3rd party content. Specifically, the "Ultimate Adventurer's Guide". This book does include the "Volatile Weapon" magic item that can raise the crit ratio at the cost of increasing the auto-fail ratio (17-20 crits, 1-4 misses regardless at the highest).

Is there another thread that talks about the same thing? If there is, can it be linked?

You can't increase your crit chance per roll much more than that, but there's something else you can do: Roll more. Advantage, triple advantage, rerolls, multiple attacks, action economy advantages, and so forth all will increase the number of crits you land.

[Angelalex242]

You can also throw a vorpal weapon in there for some heads up play.

[Unoriginal]

You can also throw a vorpal weapon in there for some heads up play.

Vorpal weapons only activate when you roll 20, though. Increasing the crit range doesn't work.

[Angelalex242]

Perhaps, but tricks like elven accuracy do work if it's a vorpal weapon you can use dex with. You're just fishing for 20s. Also the Lucky feat helps.

[Silly Name]

The best Crit Range in the game is given by being a level 15 Champion Fighter, which gives you Superior Critical:


your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18-20.

Now, if your goal is exclusively getting as many Critical Hits as you want, this isn't too bad, as Fighter level 11 nets you a second Extra Attack, and Action Surge is also another chance to roll more dice.

Elven Accuracy is the other ingredient, so you likely want to use a longbow and take Sharpshooter as well - we're going crit-fishing, so we don't care too much about accuracy. All we need now is a reliable way to get Advantage.

The best way to get Advantage, imho, is teamwork: maybe the party's wizard uses Faerie Fire. Maybe someone incapacitates or restrains your target.

The other option is to get Magic Initiate and choose Find Familiar as your level 1 spell. You now have an Owl familiar who can take the Help action on his turn against your target and then get out of dodge.

[AvvyR]

As others have said, consistent advantage, particularly when paired with elven accuracy is the best way to get more crits. What's less intuitive is that in 5e for PC's crits are often... not very good, and so it's usually not worth the opportunity cost to invest in them. Unless you're a rogue or paladin or have some sort of special magic weapon with lots of extra dice, crits just don't tend to mean very much mathematically.

[CTurbo]

Barbarian's Reckless Attack pairs very well with the Champion Fighter's expanded crit range.

3 levels of Champion on a Barb or 2 levels of Barb on a Champion would crit all the time and hit really hard.

[Lord Vukodlak]

My Sorcadin likes to use hold person/monster, after that everything's a critical.

[stoutstien]

Barbarian's Reckless Attack pairs very well with the Champion Fighter's expanded crit range.

3 levels of Champion on a Barb or 2 levels of Barb on a Champion would crit all the time and hit really hard.

Eh. Not really all that hard. The issue is 99% of the time a 19, or even 18, would have hit already and static bonuses are unaffected. extended critical ranges are worth a lot less than most realize because they don't subtract the damage that action would have done regardless. That means you end up with an inversed relationship with rage extra damage, GWM -/+, and increasing you attack/damage modifier. Additionally neither address the major weak points of both class/subclass where they are slow and lack tools to deal with hard to reach targets.

extra static damage almost always win over extra critical range/damage at a cost/return level while usually dealing more actual damage as well.

If I have players who want a simple martial crit fisher I just use a modified brute fighter. The only reason that didn't make it out of UA is because it highlights just how bad the math is for barbs in this regard.

[Theodoxus]

That's why I prefer pairing barbarian 2/Rogue X. TWF for more attacks (scimitars are my go to, but shortswords are fine), nearly always on advantage, by 7th level, you have 'mini rage' with Uncanny Dodge, so when your 2 rages are done for the day, you still can soak some damage.

I get that a lot of people don't like tanking with a rogue's HD - but if you have a melee guy (straight Barb, Paladin, heavy Fighter, etc) you can play it up pretty well. If you go swashbuckler (definitely a plus on the build) you can dance in and out of combat a bit easier. And/or grab Mobile for more speed (makes up for not getting to Barb 5 - of course, you could always go to Barb 5 anyway, for the extra attack; then you have 3 chances to crit for sick damage... but that's generally at a level most games don't get to...

[stoutstien]

That's why I prefer pairing barbarian 2/Rogue X. TWF for more attacks (scimitars are my go to, but shortswords are fine), nearly always on advantage, by 7th level, you have 'mini rage' with Uncanny Dodge, so when your 2 rages are done for the day, you still can soak some damage.

I get that a lot of people don't like tanking with a rogue's HD - but if you have a melee guy (straight Barb, Paladin, heavy Fighter, etc) you can play it up pretty well. If you go swashbuckler (definitely a plus on the build) you can dance in and out of combat a bit easier. And/or grab Mobile for more speed (makes up for not getting to Barb 5 - of course, you could always go to Barb 5 anyway, for the extra attack; then you have 3 chances to crit for sick damage... but that's generally at a level most games don't get to...

Aye barb/rouge mixes very well. Address issues that both classes that crop up without just slapping magic on it

[Theodoxus]

who needs Fistbeard Beardfist when you can have Rougebeard, the Barbirogue! :smallwink:

[DarknessEternal]

That's why I prefer pairing barbarian 2/Rogue X. TWF for more attacks (scimitars are my go to, but shortswords are fine), nearly always on advantage, by 7th level, you have 'mini rage' with Uncanny Dodge, so when your 2 rages are done for the day, you still can soak some damage.

I get that a lot of people don't like tanking with a rogue's HD - but if you have a melee guy (straight Barb, Paladin, heavy Fighter, etc) you can play it up pretty well. If you go swashbuckler (definitely a plus on the build) you can dance in and out of combat a bit easier. And/or grab Mobile for more speed (makes up for not getting to Barb 5 - of course, you could always go to Barb 5 anyway, for the extra attack; then you have 3 chances to crit for sick damage... but that's generally at a level most games don't get to...

Rogues can already get advantage with a bonus action. Elven accuracy for 3 dice. Butcher's bib for 19-20. No other classes needed and your crits will actually do damage. Fighter crits are irrelevant as they add only a single die.

[Theodoxus]

Rogues can already get advantage with a bonus action. Elven accuracy for 3 dice. Butcher's bib for 19-20. No other classes needed and your crits will actually do damage. Fighter crits are irrelevant as they add only a single die.

Yeah, but a rogue using a BA to generate advantage is a rogue who is only getting 1 attack a round. That's ok for ranged options (though I still prefer using hide to generate the advantage and that uses your BA with Cunning Action), it's pretty not for melee where more chances to land a sneak are important.

[RogueJK]

Keep in mind that if you're going to be crit fishing, you need to have something worth fishing for.

For example, it makes no sense to build an entire character around landing critical hits if those critical hits are just going from 1dX+MOD to 2dX+MOD damage.


Instead, you need to find ways to pile on the extra damage dice, via stacking up things like Brutal Critical, Savage Attacks, Sneak Attack, Divine Smite, Piercer, etc. As many of those extra dice as possible, to get doubled on a crit.

This is where the Champion Fighter 15+ falls short. Yes, they'll crit a lot more often, but the Champion Fighter lacks any of those abilities that let them generate piles of extra dice.


Whereas Hexadin or Rogue builds with Elven Accuracy are some of the simpler heavy-hitting crit builds, using Elven Accuracy's Triple Advantage to score frequent Critical Smites or Critical Sneak Attacks and rolling whole handfuls of damage dice.

Or, to get more complicated, something like a Whispers Bard 5/Hexblade Bladelock X with Elven Accuracy leveraging Triple Advantage, Eldritch Smite, Hexblade's Curse, Hex or Spirit Shroud, and Psychic Blades. Or a Half-Orc Barbarian 5/Rogue X with a STR-based rapier combining Reckless Attack with Sneak Attack, Savage Attacks, and Piercer. Or a Half Orc Undead Bladelock 6+/Barbarian 2+ stacking Savage Attacks, Eldritch Smite, and Grave Touched. Etc.