Critical strike

For the magical type, see spell critical strike. For other uses, see critical strike (disambiguation).

Critical strike (often abbreviated as "crit") refers to 100% bonus physical damage (twice your normal damage) that occurs as a result of an attack made with melee or ranged weapons. The chance to critical strike can be viewed in the character pane under melee stats and is affected by agility, critical strike, and talents. Some classes have talents that increase the amount of bonus damage for critical strikes or talents that increase their critical strike chance. Attacks made by mobs can not result in a blocked critical strike, but this can result on a player attack. It can also be viewed by opening the character sheet, as well as the spell book and mousing over the "attack" ability. Notable about critical strikes is that any non-spell attack on a sitting target will always result with a critical hit.

Critical strike

Critical strike is a combat rating found on gear, enchants, and gems. Critical strike affects melee, ranged and spells.

Critical strike required for 1% critical chance
Level 60	Level 70	Level 80	Level 85	Level 90
14	22.08	45.91	179.34	600

Agility

The agility you need to acquire 1% critical hit chance depends on your class and level. Keep in mind everyone has a base crit of 5% from agility. Only agility on gear adds to the base of 5%.

AGI per 1% Crit
Class	L. 60	L. 70	L. 80	L. 85	L. 90
Druid	20	40	83.3	309.27?	1259.52?
Hunter	33	40	83.3	309.27	1259.52
Monk	?	40?	83.3?	309.27?	1259.52?
Rogue	29	40	83.3	309.27?	1259.52?
Shaman	20	40	83.3	309.27?	1259.52?

Effect of increased crit or hit chance

Both increased hit and crit chance have a kind of "diminishing returns" mechanic built in. A 1% increase of either stat will not increase the total damage output by 1%, but usually by a little less. Consider the following Attack table:

1. 2% base miss
2. 5% dodge
3. 5% parry
4. 5% block
5. 25% crit

Damage = BaseDamage * ((1.00 - 0.02 - 0.05 - 0.05 - 0.05 - 0.25) + 2 * 0.25)
       = BaseDamage * 1.08

(With 0% crit we'd do 83% of BaseDamage)

Now the same calculation with 26% crit chance:

Damage = BaseDamage * ((1.00 - 0.02 - 0.05 - 0.05 - 0.05 - 0.26) + 2 * 0.26)
       = BaseDamage * 1.09

We increased the total damage output by 1% of the base damage. Since the total output is more than 100% of that base damage, the actual increase in total damage output is "only" 0.93%. If the total output is significantly greater than the base damage, this percentage will be smaller, if the total output is below the base damage, the resulting increase will even be higher than 1%.

What's better, +hit or +crit?

In principle they are equal. Which is better depends on circumstances. An increase in hit rate will usually yield a constant level of damage, whereas a high crit chance gives a spiky, more random damage distribution over time. An important factor is whether there are procs related to either hits or critical hits. Also, both ratings have caps (which are not fixed to a certain % but rather depend on multiple factors such as hit chance and enemy's level). To hit can only be used to counter the base chance to miss (5% for one or two-hand users without any off-hand weapon, and 24% for dualwielders), whereas the crit chance cannot become higher than available space for hit chance. If a dual wielder attacks a target with a high chance to dodge or parry the attacker can lose crit chance because the attack table is full. (See the "Crit Cap" section below.)

For example, a dual wield in a raid, attacking from behind, with a 0 chance to hit, you have a maximum critical chance of 40%. Any additional critical chance increase is wasted. This number might seem high but take into consideration talents, potions, buffs, procs and skills that increase your crit rate to 50% or more, these are wasted.

From a raiding perspective, your miss chance increases by 3% (so 8% and 27% - base of 8% for special attacks) and increasing your Hit to at the very least cover your Special attacks is seen as more beneficial than increasing your Critical chance. After you have hit that level, you can focus more heavily on Critical Chance.

• For single wielder classes, increasing your hit chance past 8% is ineffective.
• For dual wielder classes (rogues for example), increasing hit past 8% is still beneficial, just not quite as much as that first 8% was.
• For casting classes, hit is nearly always more valuable than critical strike, because of the two-roll spell attack system.

Crit cap

White-damage attacks made by a player against a mob 3 levels higher have a fixed 24% chance of being glancing blows.

Therefore, with no +expertise/+hit gear on, and no talents or racial abilities that increase Expertise or the chance to hit, attacks by a player against a target that is 3 levels higher have the following table from the front:

From the front, dual-wielding
Result	Chance
Miss	27%
Dodge	7.5%
Parry	15%
Glancing Blow	24.0%
Block	6.5%
Combined hit + crit	21%

Attacks against mobs made from the back cannot be blocked or parried. Losing those values from the chart makes the "combined hit + crit" entry appropriately larger. Players cannot dodge, parry, or block attacks from the back.

It is not as bad if the same character attacks the same mob from the front with a two-handed weapon:

From the front, not dual-wielding
Result	Chance
Miss	8%
Dodge	7.5%
Parry	15%
Glancing Blow	24.0%
Block	6.5%
Combined hit + crit	40%

This is a 40% + your +hit + 2x your Expertise bonus crit cap.

Finally, consider attacking the mob from the rear, where the mob cannot block or parry:

From the rear, dual-wielding
Result	Chance
Miss	27%
Dodge	7.5%
Parry	0%
Glancing Blow	24.0%
Block	0%
Combined hit + crit	42.5%

From the rear, not dual-wielding
Result	Chance
Miss	8%
Dodge	7.5%
Parry	0%
Glancing Blow	24.0%
Block	0%
Combined hit + crit	61.5%

All these crit caps could have been increased by increasing your Expertise (0.5% increase per point from the front, 0.25% increase per point from the rear) and by +hit (1% increase per percantage increase in your Hit chance).

Dual wield full raid buffs example from the front:

+0 hit +50% crit: 6.5% dodge, 14% parry, 28.0% miss, 6.5% block, 25% glancing blow, 20% crit 
                  = 30% of your crit rate did nothing
+6% hit +40% crit: 6.5% dodge, 14% parry, 6.5% block, 22.0% miss, 25% glancing blow, 26% crit 
                  = 14% of your crit rate did nothing
+15% hit +31% crit: 6.5% dodge, 14% parry, 6.5% block, 13% miss, 25% glancing blow, 31% crit, 4% hit 
                  = no +crit was wasted in this example 

Dual wield full raid buffs example from the back:

+0 hit +50% crit: 6.5% dodge, 28.0% miss, 25% glancing blow, 40.5% crit 
                  = 9.5% of your crit rate did nothing
+6% hit +40% crit: 6.5% dodge, 22.0% miss, 25% glancing blow, 40% crit, 6.5% hit 
                  = no +crit was wasted in this example
+15% hit +33% crit: 6.5% dodge, 13% miss, 25% glancing blow, 33.0% crit, 22.5% hit 
                  = no +crit was wasted in this example

DPS implications

Hit is very important due to the crit cap. The following shows the difference in white damage between various stat options:

Assuming 30% crit and +0% hit from the front, its
6.5% block for 70% damage
20% crit for 200% damage (impale doesn't work on white-damage attacks!)
25% glancing blow for 70% damage
48.5% miss, dodge, or parry for no damage
per swing its an average of .065 * .7 + .20 * 2 + .25 * .7 
= 62.05% of your damage per swing

Assuming you add +5% hit, the numbers become...
6.5% block for 70% damage
25% crit for 200% damage
25% glancing blow for 70% damage
43.5% miss, dodge, or parry no damage
so per swing its an average of .065 * .7 + .25 * 2 + .25 * .7 
= 72.05% of your damage per swing

Enhancers

Various items can be added to your equipment (or imbibed) to increase your chance to critically hit.

Elixirs

•  [Elixir of Deadly Strikes]
•  [Elixir of Major Agility]
•  [Elixir of the Mongoose]

Enchantments

Shoulders

•  [Greater Inscription of the Axe]
•  [Greater Inscription of the Blade]
•  [Inscription of the Blade]
•  [Greater Inscription of Vengeance]
•  [Lesser Inscription of the Axe]

Legs

•  [Icescale Leg Armor]
•  [Nerubian Leg Reinforcements] Leatherworking only
•  [Nerubian Leg Armor]
•  [Nethercobra Leg Armor]
•  [Cobrahide Leg Armor]

Ranged

•  [Heartseeker Scope]
•  [Stabilized Eternium Scope]

Enchanting

• Enchant Weapon - Accuracy
•  [Blasting]
•  [Icewalker]
•  [Surefooted]
•  [Brilliant Wizard Oil]

Gems

Northrend Gems

Color	Name	Effect(s)
Yellow	[Smooth King's Amber]	+20 Critical Strike Rating
	[Smooth Autumn's Glow]	+16 Critical Strike Rating
	[Perfect Smooth Sun Crystal]	+14 Critical Strike Rating
	[Smooth Sun Crystal]	+12 Critical Strike Rating
Orange	[Wicked Ametrine]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+20 Attack Power
	[Wicked Monarch Topaz]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+16 Attack Power
	[Perfect Wicked Huge Citrine]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+14 Attack Power
	[Wicked Huge Citrine]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+12 Attack Power
	[Inscribed Ametrine]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+10 Strength
	[Inscribed Monarch Topaz]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Strength
	[Perfect Inscribed Huge Citrine]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+7 Strength
	[Inscribed Huge Citrine]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Strength
	[Deadly Ametrine]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+10 Agility
	[Deadly Monarch Topaz]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Agility
	[Perfect Deadly Huge Citrine]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+7 Agility
	[Deadly Huge Citrine]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Agility
	[Potent Ametrine]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+12 Spell Power
	[Potent Monarch Topaz]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+9 Spell Power
	[Perfect Potent Huge Citrine]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Spell Power
	[Potent Huge Citrine]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+7 Spell Power
Green	[Jagged Eye of Zul]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+15 Stamina
	[Jagged Forest Emerald]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+12 Stamina
	[Perfect Jagged Dark Jade]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+11 Stamina
	[Jagged Dark Jade]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+9 Stamina
	[Sundered Eye of Zul]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+5 Mana every 5 Seconds
	[Sundered Forest Emerald]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+4 Mana every 5 Seconds
	[Perfect Sundered Dark Jade]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+4 Mana every 5 Seconds
	[Sundered Dark Jade]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+3 Mana every 5 Seconds
	[Radiant Eye of Zul]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+13 Spell Penetration
	[Radiant Forest Emerald]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+10 Spell Penetration
	[Perfect Radiant Dark Jade]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Spell Penetration
	[Radiant Dark Jade]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+9 Spell Penetration
	[Misty Eye of Zul]	+10 Critical Strike Rating	+10 Spirit
	[Misty Forest Emerald]	+8 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Spirit
	[Perfect Misty Dark Jade]	+7 Critical Strike Rating	+7 Spirit
	[Misty Dark Jade]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Spirit
Meta	[Beaming Earthsiege Diamond]	+21 Critical Strike Rating	+2% Mana
	[Chaotic Skyflare Diamond]	+21 Critical Strike Rating	3% Increased Critical Damage
	[Destructive Skyflare Diamond]	+25 Critical Strike Rating	1% Spell Reflect
	[Enigmatic Skyflare Diamond]	+21 Critical Strike Rating	Reduces Snare/Root Duration by 10%
	[Enigmatic Starflare Diamond]	+17 Critical Strike Rating	Reduces Snare/Root Duration by 10%
	[Impassive Skyflare Diamond]	+21 Critical Strike Rating	Fear Duration Reduced by 10%
	[Impassive Starflare Diamond]	+17 Critical Strike Rating	Fear Duration Reduced by 10%

Outland Gems

Color	Name	Effect(s)
Yellow	[Stone of Blades]	+12 Critical Strike Rating
	[Smooth Lionseye]	+10 Critical Strike Rating
	[Smooth Ornate Dawnstone]	+10 Critical Strike Rating
	[Gleaming Lionseye]	+10 Critical Strike Rating
	[Gleaming Dawnstone]	+8 Critical Strike Rating
	[Smooth Dawnstone]	+8 Critical Strike Rating
	[Smooth Golden Draenite]	+6 Critical Strike Rating
	[Gleaming Golden Draenite]	+6 Critical Strike Rating
	[Smooth Amber]	+4 Critical Strike Rating
Orange	[Assassin's Fire Opal]	+6 Critical Strike Rating	+5 Dodge Rating
	[Inscribed Ornate Topaz]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+10 Attack Power
	[Wicked Pyrestone]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+10 Attack Power
	[Deadly Fire Opal]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Attack Power
	[Wicked Noble Topaz]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Attack Power
	[Unstable Citrine]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+8 Attack Power
	[Wicked Flame Spessarite]	+3 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Attack Power
	[Inscribed Pyrestone]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+5 Strength
	[Enscribed Fire Opal]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+5 Strength
	[Inscribed Noble Topaz]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+4 Strength
	[Inscribed Flame Spessarite]	+3 Critical Strike Rating	+3 Strength
	[Potent Pyrestone]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Spell Power
	[Iridescent Fire Opal]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Spell Power
	[Potent Noble Topaz]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+5 Spell Power
	[Potent Flame Spessarite]	+3 Critical Strike Rating	+4 Spell Power
Green	[Jagged Chrysoprase]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Stamina
	[Jagged Seaspray Emerald]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+7 Stamina
	[Jagged Talasite]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Stamina
	[Barbed Deep Peridot]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+3 Stamina
	[Jagged Deep Peridot]	+3 Critical Strike Rating	+4 Stamina
	[Radiant Seaspray Emerald]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	+6 Spell Penetration
	[Radiant Talasite]	+4 Critical Strike Rating	+5 Spell Penetration
	[Radiant Deep Peridot]	+3 Critical Strike Rating	+4 Spell Penetration
	[Sundered Chrysoprase]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	2 mana every 5 sec
	[Rune Covered Chrysoprase]	+5 Critical Strike Rating	2 mana every 5 sec
Meta	[Destructive Skyfire Diamond]	+14 Critical Strike Rating	1% Spell Reflect
	[Enigmatic Skyfire Diamond]	+12 Critical Strike Rating	+5% Snare and Root Resist
	[Chaotic Skyfire Diamond]	+12 Spell Critical	3% Increase Critical Damage

Abilities and traits

Racial abilities

• Tauren: [Brawn]
• Worgen: [Viciousness]

Professions

• [Master of Anatomy] from the Skinning profession

Patch changes

• Patch 6.0.2 (2014-10-14):
  • Spell Crit %, Melee Crit %, and Ranged Crit % have been merged into a universal Crit %.
  • Agility and Intellect no longer increase the chance to critically strike.
  • The base chance to critically strike is now 5% for all classes. There are no longer different chances to critically strike with melee, ranged, and spells.
  • There is a new passive, named Critical Strikes, which increases chance to critically strike by 10%. It is learned by all rogues, all hunters, Feral and Guardian druids, Brewmaster and Windwalker monks, and Enhancement shaman.
  • Critical Damage and Critical Heals in PvP combat now deal 150% of the normal spell/ability effects (down from 200%).
    
• Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): Critical Strike Rating now modifies both melee attacks and spells.