D&D Next: Final Playtest Discussion

[Joe the Rat]

Finally: I absolutely hate the auto-crit on a 20 mechanic. I am a very mathematically minded person and the concept always ran afoul, and they've made it worse, imho, by increasing the damage from an auto-crit beyond what 4e provided (max damage to max damage plus an extra die). This means that lower level characters are even more vulnerable to insta-death from that orc greataxe crit (say hello to 12+str+1d12 damage you first level mage you...).

Oh, it's better than that. You're swinging away at something that you'd only hit on a 20: If it hits, it crits. One of the options we'd discussed on another OGL-based game had come up with is that a 20 auto-hits. If you would have hit anyway (still beat the AC after bonuses/penalties), then you get a critical. In other words, the fact that your blow connected was your lucky strike.
Or y'know, roll to confirm. Personally, I'm happy without the confirmation process, if the result isn't too ridiculous.