Improved Critical worth it?

[Zhure]

... for a non-fighter, like a Psychic Warrior?

Seems like I either hit with the scimitar or I don't. I rarely critical. For some reason the Barbarian crits more often with his Greatsword.

I cant take it until 11th level, and I'm thinking of taking Up the Walls instead.

Greg

 

[MasterOfHeaven]

Up The Walls is fantastic, especially for getting in flanking position, so yes, I would take that. However, I would also get Improved Critical as soon as possible, as it is one of "must have" feats, along with Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization if you really want to master your weapon.

You might want to wait for Masters Of The Wild to come out, though, as a new feat in that is called Power Critical, and according to speculation will allow you to add one step onto your critical multiplier. So you'd be at 18-20x3 Instead of 18-20x2.

 

[Aloïsius]

For maximum effect, you need imp. crit. AND a keen weapon. One of my player use a falchion with this combo, and nearly 30 % of his attacks are critical. At higher level, add some flaming burst or vorpal capacity to your blade.

 

[sotmh]

If you're a psychic warrior, get a +5 keen, mind feeder, body feeder falchion to go with your Improved Critical and Psychofeedback and watch your DMs head explode!

sotmh

 

[SpikeyFreak]

In my opinion, for someone with a 3 step crit weapon who is in combat a lot, imp. crit. is one of the best feats. I mean come on, 15-20 crit range? That's crazy!

I really hope there are some restrictions to the feat in MotW so that you can't just increase the crit. mult. of any weapon.

--Scared Spikey

 

[Dieter]

Considering you have over a 25% chance for a critical, even before you factor in BaB's...that's pretty lethal.

A player has yet to take IC in my game, but the moment they do, the entire party better be ready for much tougher encounters.

 

[android]

the truth

Unfortunately, most people overestimate the value of improved critical. It is most useful against opponents with low armor classes. This stems from the fact that you must actually hit them to turn your threat into a critical. If you go up against someone with an armor class of 1000 (yes, i know, its ridiculous, just using it for the point), you will never ever critical against them. The best you get is auto-hit. Even if you have a crit range of 1-20, it won't matter. And since you can't take improved critical until your base attack bonus is what.. +8 i think? that means that by the time you take it, you're dealing with creature whose armor classes are well into the twenties.

If you do the math on it, it turns out that weapon focus has a greater effect on average damage per round than improved critical does.

Now, comes my disclaimer. There are several factors which make Improved Critical better for certain characters. If your attack bonuses are very high, you are more likely to turn that threat into a critical... thereby making imp. crit. more valuable. Also, the feat has a larger impact on weapons with an already large crit. range. So, if you can get a weapon with a high crit range (say 18-20) to begin with, add into that high attack bonuses, then improved critical becomes worthwhile. Otherwise, if you don't have good attack bonuses, and are using a threat range 20 weapon, the benefits are really very small.

 

[CRGreathouse]

To amend the last post, high crit multipliers also make it more worthwhile - Improved Critical with a greataxe can be devastaing.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

Don't forget Improved Criticals in conjunction with Sneak Attacks. Criticals are much easier to make, when your opponent is flat-footed.

 

[graydoom]

It's by far best to take Improved Critical on that Keen, Vorpal weapon . It's the standard tactic, but it works!