Critical Hit


 * For the status that makes all attacks landed Critical Hits, see: Critical (status).

A Critical Hit, also known as a Critical Strike, Mighty Blow, and Mortal Blow, or simply as Critical, is the term given to a physical attack that is somewhat stronger than the attack's normal version. Critical hits have a chance of occurring when the Attack command is used. They commonly deal double the normal damage, but cannot break the damage limit.

Depending on the game, critical hits either play a different sound effect, the screen flashes, or the word "Critical" is displayed. The chance of a critical hit is usually related to the Luck stat.

Some equipment or support abilities may increase the hit rate. Some command abilities also always hit with a critical hit, albeit sacrificing the accuracy of the strike. Some games also have a status effect that makes all attacks deal critical hits while the status is in effect.

Final Fantasy
The chance of a critical hit occurring is equal to the weapon's index number, though this is a bug in the game as it was supposed to be another variable. For armed non-Black Belt/Monks, the critical hit is equal to 0, while for unarmed Black Belts/Monks, it is equal to double that character's level. The percentage chance of a critical hit is equal to the Critical Hit +1, divided by 201.

Final Fantasy III
In the DS version, critical hits are signaled by a screen flash and a different sound effect.

Final Fantasy IV
Critical hits are only caused through physical attacks through the Fight command, and are not applied to other commands such as Jump or Kick.

In the 3D version however, Kick can cause critical hits. The chance of critical hit occurring when selecting the Fight command is 1/32, and cannot occur if the character is in Toad or Mini status. While the screen will flash on critical hits in all versions, the 3D version also plays a different attack animation, and the sound played is louder.

A higher Speed stat awards for more critical hits. A bug concerning the critical hits exists in the game's SNES version, in which some weapons prevent criticals from ever happening, and the state will never fix itself, even after unequipping the weapon. The following weapons have the No Critical "status" applied to them, and as such are the cause of the No Critical Bug in the SNES versions.


 * Rune Staff
 * All of Rydia's whips
 * Dwarf Axe
 * Ogrekiller
 * Ragnarok
 * Fuma Shuriken

Final Fantasy V
Critical hits are only caused by a physical attack from certain weapons (katana, bare fists, and Yoichi's Bow). The chance to get a critical hit, is a fixed percentage that depends on which weapon is being used. Most have a 12% critical rate, but some have higher chances, most notably the Murakumo, Murasame, and the Mutsunokami.

There are also three other weapons that can score critical hits: Rune Blade, Rune Chime, and Rune Axe each consume MP with each physical attack they do to get a critical hit each time. The Rune Blade consumes 8 MP per attack, while the Axe and Chime consume 5 MP. Critical hits in Final Fantasy V ignore defense.

The Critical Hit formula is:
 * Let N1 = (0..99)
 * If N1 < Weapon Critical Hit%,
 * Attack = Attack * 2 and Defense = 0

In the GBA and subsequent ports, the Gladiator job class has an attack called Finisher. One of the three possible outcomes is to score a "Critical Hit," which is essentially a stronger version of a physical attack. The chances of getting a critical change as the character increases his or her job level.

Final Fantasy VI
Standard attacks have a 1 in 32 chance of being a critical hit. If the attack is a critical hit damage is doubled. Some weapons, for example the Rune Blade, Ragnarok, Lightbringer, Final Trump, consume [12..19] MP from user upon attacking for an automatic critical hit. If a weapon does automatic criticals and also has an added spell, the spell does a critical as well even though spells normally can't do critical hits. However, if a weapon does a critical because of the standard 1 in 32 chance, the spell does not do a critical.

Final Fantasy VII
Nearly all physical attacks have a chance of being a critical hit, which means they deal double the normal damage. The chance of a critical hit is determined by the user's Luck and level, and the enemy's level. The math to work out the chance of scoring a critical can be worked out in three steps: the first step involves the user's luck added onto the user's level, with the target's level being subtracted from the total, and having the new total divided by four.

The result is then truncated to reach a whole number.
 * $$Critical = [(User's Luck + User's Level - Target's Level) / 4]$$

When determining a playable character's chance of landing a critical hit, the weapon's own critical percentage is added to the result to reach the total. In most instances, the weapon's critical percentage is zero, and no weapons make any considerable difference to the percentage (apart from Sephiroth's Masamune, which only deals critical hits).

The second step is to find a random outcome. The math for this is as follows:
 * $$Random = [Rnd(0..65535) * 99 / 65535] + 1$$

The third step decides whether it is a critical or not. If the result for Random is less than or equal to the result for Critical%, then the user will score a critical hit.

So as an example, if a user has a luck of 46, a level of 50, against an enemy with a level of 32, with a weapon critical% of 0. And a random number of 23432.


 * $$Critical = [(46 + 50 - 32)/4)] = 16$$
 * $$Random = [23432 * 99 / 65535] + 1 = 36$$
 * $$36 > 16$$

The result would not be a critical hit as 36 is more than 16.

There are 26 weapons that affect the Critical%. Tifa's Kaiser Knuckle is the only weapon to add just one. A number of Tifa's weapons, in fact her first eight; the Leather Glove, the Metal Knuckle, the Mythril Claw, the Grand Glove, the Tiger Fang, the Diamond Knuckle, the Dragon Claw, and the Crystal Glove; all add two. Her second best weapon, the God's Hand, does the same, as does Aeris's Striking Staff, Yuffie's Spiral Shuriken and Magic Shuriken, and Cait Sith's Battle Trumpet.

Barret's Drill Arm and Pile Banger are the only two to add three. Cloud's Nail Bat, Barret's Rocket Punch, Tifa's Work Glove, Yuffie's Superball, Cait Sith's Trumpet Shell, and Vincent's Silver Rifle add four. Aeris's Umbrella, Red XIII's Hairpin, and Cid's Mop all add five.

Sephiroth's Masamune always scores critical hits when he is a guest in the party.

There are other ways to score critical hits; through the D.blow command, a player can score a definite critical attack, only if it hits, which is three times less likely than a normal attack, although some weapons have the maximum hit rate of 255%. Another method of definitely scoring a critical is through the Lucky Girl status, only inflicted by one of Cait Sith's Slots Limits. Three Limit Breaks deal critical hits all the time: Yuffie's Gauntlet, Barret's Satellite Beam and Cloud's Omnislash.

Units in Berserk status never deal critical hits.

Attacks to the targets' backsides in Side Attack and Back Attack formations deal increased damage. The battles in Wutai Village's pagoda, and Cloud's final showdown with Sephiroth, are unique battles where the player's first physical attack always deals double damage even if the battles are not of any special battle formations.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
The player will always score a critical hit when striking an enemy from behind, and will also occasionally do so otherwise as well. Rolling a 6-6-6 on the DMW gives Zack a 100% critical accuracy for a limited time, as well as Cissnei's Modulating Phase, Lucky Stars. The Sniper Eye and Genji Glove accessories also grant the status.


 * Critical Hit Rate = (Attacker's Luck - Defender's Luck) / 2.56 (%).

Final Fantasy VIII
Whenever a critical hit occurs, the damage is doubled, unless if done via Squall's or Seifer's gunblade trigger, which will do x1.5 damage.

The formula for a critical hit is as follows:
 * $$Critical Hit Rate = [[Luck+1]/256]*100$$

It is worth noting that Squall and Seifer cannot perform critical hits beside triggering their gunblades correctly. Also worth noting is that whenever Squall performs his Renzokuken Limit Break, if the player times the R1 button in accordance to the bar in the gauge that appears at the bottom of the screen, in the window the moment it flashes, the damage dealt will be an instant critical. If the timing is mistimed, the damage is normal. Some other characters' Limit Breaks can also critical, such as Zell's Duel. The Kamikaze command is also treated as a physical attack and can thus critical.

Final Fantasy IX
Critical hits are signaled by large yellow "Critical" with the damage, and only physical attacks may critical.

The formula for a Critical hit is as follows:
 * If Rnd MOD [Spr / 4] > Rnd (0...99), Hit is critical.

Final Fantasy X
Critical hits are signaled with a screen flash and a different sound effect. The chances of a critical hit increases the higher the unit's Luck is and the lower the target's Luck is. It is possible to raise a character's Luck stat so high every hit they deal is critical. In the original Japanese and NA versions, this is achieved by raising luck to 127. 133 Luck is required to ensure Overdrive critical hits. While in International, PAL, and HD Remaster versions, this is achieved by raising luck to 230 (due to Dark Mindy).

Luck is generally the sole determinant of critical hits; the chance of inflicting one is simply the user's Luck minus the target's Luck. However, when using physical attacks, equipment (including armor) generally provides a small critical hit bonus. This is 3% for most equipment, but drops from Penance give 10%, and drops from Dark Aeons or certain Monster Arena creations give 6%. Some enemy attacks also carry a bonus critical hit chance.

Enemies that drop equipment with +6% Critical Bonus in the Monster Arena are:
 * Area Conquest: Malboro Menace, Jormungand, Don Tonberry, and Catoblepas.
 * Species Conquest: Fenrir and Sleep Sprout.
 * Original Creations: Earth Eater, Greater Sphere, Catastrophe, Th'uban, Ultima Buster, Shinryu, and Nemesis.

Uses of the ability Luck increase the chance of dealing a critical hit by 1% per use, up to a maximum of five uses, but have no impact on the chance of receiving one. Jinx does the opposite to the enemy.

Final Fantasy X-2
In Final Fantasy X-2, critical attacks are determined the same way as in Final Fantasy X. The accessory Key to Success causes critical hits to happen every turn. Lady Luck's Critical skill makes all of her hits critical, 100% of the time.

The player can Chain attacks to deal increased damage. After being hit there is a two second window the target takes to recover from the attack, unless the attack was a critical hit. When being hit by a critical attack, the target takes a second longer to recover, making building chain slightly easier.

The units can move around the battlefield more freely than in previous installments, meaning players can at times move behind opponents. Whenever hit from the behind, the attack is doubled, but this is not the same as a critical hit. If the player is to deal a critical hit to a target from the behind, it deals quadruple the normal damage. If an enemy hits the player characters from behind, their attacks are also doubled in strength.

Final Fantasy XI
Critical hits are determined based on the user's dexterity versus the target's agility. When the stats are right there is a chance for a critical hit. The chance of a critical hit can never be less than 5% or greater than 25%. One can also increase the chance of getting a critical hit by spending Merit Points to increase the critical hit rate.

Final Fantasy XII
In Final Fantasy XII, only long range weapons (guns, bows, and crossbows) and measures deal critical hits; other weapons aren't capable of doing so, but have a chance of multiple attacks. Each time a character uses the Attack command, there is a small chance of getting a critical hit with the appropriate weapon type equipped. The chance is determined by the weapon currently in use.

Final Fantasy XIV
The chance to land a critical hits is determined by the Critical Hit secondary stat. All physical attacks, attack magic, and even healing spells have a chance of being a critical hit, in which case the numerical output will be displayed in bold and marked with a "!" at the end. Certain job abilities and traits may have additional effects when a critical hit lands (e.g. Scholar's Adloquiem spell has the galvanize effect doubled if it's a critical hit).

Final Fantasy Tactics
When a character attacks another unit, they may trigger a critical hit. This is noticeable if the numbers have a larger number than the ones in the predicted attack damage, players may also hear a high-pitched version of the attack sound and the attack also has a slight chance to knockback the enemy.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Critical Hits works the same way as in Final Fantasy Tactics, only that every critical hit knockbacks an enemy and a yellow text stating 'critical' appears.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Each time a character uses the regular Attack command and hits there is a small chance a critical hit will occur. When this happens the attack will inflict double damage, the screen will flash, the target will make a facial expression and pose indicating that hurt and the target will be knocked back.

Dual Wielding characters will have an equal chance of scoring a critical hit with each weapon, essentially giving them double chance of scoring a critical. If a critical hit is scored with a dual-wielding character's primary weapon but not the secondary, the target will be knocked back after the combo is finished.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
Physical attacks can randomly inflict double damage. The Ranger's Smashing Blow ability deals a guaranteed critical hit on an opponent and has a chance of inflicting instant death. The Fighter's Combat ability increases the chance to deal a critical hit for four turns, and their ability Jugular lets the Fighter deal a guaranteed critical hit. The Party Host's Pot Luck ability has a chance to bestowing the party with a status that makes all of their physical attacks critical hits. The chance of the ability being used is random.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Critical Hits can occur through physical attacks from the party, and by enemy attacks.

Final Fantasy Legend II
Some weapons that target elemental weaknesses or a certain type of enemy deal extra damage and they have a 100% hit rate against those targets. These attacks randomly cause mighty blows which automatically kills the target regardless of stats or damage.

Final Fantasy Legend III
Called 'mighty blow' in the game, it can occur through attacks from both the party and the enemy.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
There is a one-in-sixty-four chance of a critical hit occurring under normal circumstances, and critical hits do 5x the base damage. The chances to land a critical hit can be increased by attacking a staggering opponent, while attacking whilst in EX Mode increases the occurrence rate to fifty percent. Attacking while recovering Bravery will ensure all attacks are critical hits, and all attacks used in EX Bursts are also critical hits.

Activating certain Extra Support abilities will also increase the critical hit occurrence rate when certain conditions are met. Some Battle Pieces allow the player to earn Destiny Points by scoring a critical hit within a time limit.

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy
Critical hits function the same as in the original game with regards to likelihood to appear and critical hit-rate boosting abilities. However, the based damage multiplier has been decreased from 5x normal damage to 2x. As a benefit though, the higher the opponent's Bravery is past a certain threshold, the higher the player's damage multiplier rises, allowing up to 8x base damage depending on the levels of the two characters and the opponent's Bravery.

A new accessory called the Prayer Beads lowers the opponent's critical hit rate chance by 2%. With a high enough multiplier to make this chance penalty 100%, the opponent will be unable to land critical hits, even with the benefit of critical hit rate boosting abilities.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
If the player hits a note perfectly they score a critical hit.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call
In addition to the above, some Triggers appear with a white glow. If these notes are hit perfectly, the player gains some sort of bonus effect depending on the music stage (extra damage for BMS, speed boost in FMS, and treasure in EMS). If the player manages to fill the Total Critical gauge they receive All Critical upon finishing the song, this adds a small crown next to the rank on the song selection menu. Note that this does not have to be done on one try.

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
One of Squall's cards can use Critical Hit as an ability. For one Ice CP and the discard of a Squall card, Critical Hit grants Squall the First Strike ability for the rest of the turn.