Improved Critical Feat, good idea for my pally?

[Hintz]

I'm looking to get the Improved Critical feat for the Paladin I play, but I'm not sure what exactly it does. I read about it on the feats section, but that doesn't tell me much other than it doubles the threat range of the weapon.

Can anyone give me some insight as to what the feat actually does? And if it would be a good idea for my Paladin? He's a half-orc Paladin of Iomedae and I'm building him to be a powerhouse against enemies.

[wraithstrike]

Hintz wrote:

I'm looking to get the Improved Critical feat for the Paladin I play, but I'm not sure what exactly it does. I read about it on the feats section, but that doesn't tell me much other than it doubles the threat range of the weapon.

Can anyone give me some insight as to what the feat actually does? And if it would be a good idea for my Paladin? He's a half-orc Paladin of Iomedae and I'm building him to be a powerhouse against enemies.

It makes you crit more which is better for some weapons than others. Whether or not you should get the feat or pay for the keen enhancement depends on how you are going to build your character.

You going TWF, THF, S&B, S&B(TWF), or archery?

edit:I forgot about mounted.

[Karel Gheysens]

It doesn't do anything more then double the critical threat range. NO idea what more you expect.

Take the long bow, it does 1d8 (19–20/×2). Well, with that feat applied to a long bow, you do 1d8 (17–20/×2).

Therefore, it is best used with weapons with a large critical threat range (rapier) or high multiplier (Scythe). Probably in combination with effects on a critical hit (there are magic affixes and feats that offer these kind of effects).

[Mike Schneider]

Karel Gheysens wrote:

Take the long bow, it does 1d8 (19–20/×2). Well, with that feat applied to a long bow, you do 1d8 (17–20/×2).

That's a light-crossbow bolt; longbow arrows are 20x3.

Improved Critical provides the most bang layered over an 18-20/2 threat-range weapon wielded in two hands. It's better than Keen because it'll still work in Anti-magic fields or with a cheap backup weapon if your main one gets Sundered or stolen or eaten (yes, that can happen!) -- and it is especially better in a cash-poor game in which buying a Scabbard of Keen Edges or a Keen enhancement consumes gold which then cannot buy a different damage-boosting ability.

Since I see the Taldor crown over your head, I assume this character will be PFS and therefore retiring at 12th -- and that means tight cash-management.

Improved Critical:Longsword is better if you're a higher-AC/lower-strength "sword-and-board" paladin without Power Attack.

Note that if you Power Attack, Improved Critical should be followed by Critical Focus (because it'll enable you to score some crits on threats which would normally be misses).

[leo1925]

Mike Schneider wrote:

Improved Critical provides the most bang layered over an 18-20/2 threat-range weapon wielded in two hands

Or a 19-20 x3 weapon, it turns it into a 17-20 x3 (10% less chance to make a critical than the 15-20 but 50% more damage when it does)

[Mike Schneider]

Is there a 19/20x3 weapon other than a falcata?

[EWHM]

Improved critical and critical focus are both pretty important and large contributors to your DPR. Notice that pretty much all of the DPR olympics characters that use weapons have it. Power attack and weapon focus are similarly in the category of 'any serious melee takes this'.

[leo1925]

Mike Schneider wrote:

Is there a 19/20x3 weapon other than a falcata?

Not that i know of.

[Mike Schneider]

EWHM wrote:

Power attack and weapon focus are similarly in the category of 'any serious melee takes this'.

Speaking of which: if a character is point-buy, any melee build min/maxing STR must take every possible bonus to attack which the game offers. Failing to do means he wasting build points. For instance, a min/maxer with a race-bumped starting STR of 18>20 (17 build points) who neglects to take all of Heirloom Weapon, Weapon Focus, Fighter Weapon Training, Furious Focus, (etc., etc., etc) is no better on attack than a similar fighter with a starting race-bumped 16>18 (10 build points, saving 7, which is a third of a character's points in PFS) who has the extra thingy.

[John Spalding]

I did the math ages ago. Improved Crit is a huge damage boost and better than every other core feat for damage at least 2 of following are true 1) you are at better than 20/x2 crit 2) more than level 8 with normal gear and 3) you cast bless weapon.

[brassbaboon]

If you intend to play a crit-fishing character then I'd go with the feat and one of the high crit range weapons. A 15-20 crit range is a 30% chance to get a critical threat, assuming the 15 hits in the first place. If you are playing a two weapon fighter that means nearly a 50% chance to crit for every two attacks you make. You'll be making lots of crits.

I personally don't care much for crit fishing, either as a player or a GM, but it's an effective build, especially for two weapon fighters. Get a weapon that adds an effect on a crit and go to town...

[Dragonchess Player]

It depends on the paladin, but Improved Critical is usually a worthwhile feat. It works especially well with bless weapon (critical threats automatically confirm against evil foes; note that bless weapon cannot be used on a keen weapon). Also, for maximum effect, you should take it with a 18-20/x2 or 20/x4 weapon (or the 19-20/x3 falcata).