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'''Critical hits''' are special types of hits dealt to [[monster]]s (and other players in [[PVP]]). Critical hits can happen from any type of damage (weapon or spell), they deal bonus damage, and may trigger other special effects as well. Monsters that die from critical hits usually explode in an especially gruesome [[Death#Special_Death_Animations|death animation]], adding visual fun to the killing bonuses, or are otherwise blasted with the full force of the [[physics]] system, sending them caroming overhead and out of the camera's view.
Critical hits deal a base 50% bonus damage in Diablo 3. The damage '''''and''''' the percent change of scoring a critical hit can both be increased by various skills and equipment. <ref> {{cite web | url = http://blues.incgamers.com/Posts/1/1/4/10/7462/deadly-strikecritical-strike#postId_20442 | title = Bashiok on Critical Hits | accessdate = 2010-08-24 | quote = We have Critical Strikes. When you crit it does 50% more damage. Your chance to crit and increase above the 50% are both variable with skills, items, etc.}}</ref>
==Critical Hit Terms==
==Critical Hits in Diablo III==
[[File:Crits.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Crits displayed in yellow text.]]
When the game was first announced in 2008, it was revealed that crits would have a varying effect. In the early developmental phase, they were as following:
* '''Physical Damage: '''Deals double damage. Might also knockback, but not confirmed.
* '''Arcane Damage:''' Critical hits from arcane damage silence targets for 4 secs. (Silenced targets can not cast some spells, such as a [[Skeletal Summoner]] or [[Goatman Shaman]] resurrecting fallen minions.)
* '''Cold Damage: '''Critical hits from cold damage freeze targets for 2 seconds.
* '''Fire Damage:''' Critical hits from fire damage set targets ablaze, dealing additional damage per second.
* '''Lightning Damage: '''Critical hits from lightning damage stun targets for 2 seconds.
* '''Toxic Damage:''' Critical hits from toxic (poison) damage had an unknown bonus. Extra damage over time?
However, this entire system was scrapped, and critical hits became hits that did (at their base) 150% extra damage. There are no special secondary effects to critical hits in Diablo III, as was planned. Why these were removed is anyone's guess, as it makes elemental damage rather homogeneous on gear, although cold damage does still [[slow]] monster movement speed momentarily.
As shown to the right (if the player chooses to display them on the [[interface]]), critical hits are displayed in large yellow numbers which float above the [[monster]] after they take a crit.
===Crit Damage and Chance===
[[File:CHD.jpg|left|thumb|300px|CHD raised through a [[weapon]] and [[gem]].]]
Critical Hit Chance ('''CHC''') and Critical Hit Damage ('''CHD''') can be raised in a number of ways.
First and foremost is from items. Many items will grant the player an increased chance to crit. These incremental increases are percentage-based, but also a flat value. So if a player has 5% chance to crit, and they get an [[amulet]] that offers an additional 5% chance to crit, their overall chance to crit will be 10%. CHC is, then, addititive and not multiplicative.
{{clear|both}}
===Raising Damage Values===
Values for CHD are raised through items, [[skill]]s, and [[passive]] abilities.
CHD can roll [[affix]]es on specific item types, being the following:
* 1-handed weapons.
* 2-handed weapons.
* Gloves
* Rings
* Amulets
* [[Follower]] Specials
* Certain [[Legendary]] items in odd slots.
In addition, when an [[Emerald]] is socketed into a weapon (be it one or two-handed), then the player will also gain additional CHD, varying by the quality/rank of the gem.
CHC can be found on the following items:
* Bracers
* Helm
* Ring
* Glove
* Amulet
* Off-Hand items (such as a [[shield]] or [[mojo]])
* Certain [[Legendary]] items in odd slots.
Many [[skill]]s and [[passive]] abilities also add relevant bonuses, such as (for CHC) the [[Barbarian]] passive [[Weapons Master]] will increase CHC by 10% when wielding an axe.
===Balancing CHD versus CHC===
Statistically, the long-run bonus from critical strikes are equal to (+damage% * +chancetocrit%). Thus, the optimal strategy for increasing CHD is to increase whichever stat gives the largest gain, percentage-wise, over its previous value. For example, if the player has a 25% chance to crit and 60% extra damage on crit, and the choices are (increase % to crit by 5%) or (increase damage on crit 10%), the best choice is to increase to chance to crit. This will increase total damage output by critical strikes from +15% damage (.60 * .25) to +18% damage (.60 * .30) rather than increasing it to 17.5% (.70 * .25)
==Development Archives==
The following is information archived from when Diablo III was in development. The information is not current, but it is retained for historical value. It is worth noting that shattering of a frozen monster still occurs in the game, apropos to what happened in D2.
[[Image:Critical-hit1.jpg|frame|Critical hit reduces a monster to a puddle.]]
Exactly how critical hits work and how much damage they deal isn't yet entirely understood. This is partially due to the fact that the game remains under development and that the features are in flux, but it's also due to critical hits doing a lot of different things in [[Diablo 3]]. In previous games in the series critical hits were simple; they doubled physical damage. In D3, the biggest change is that critical hits work on all types of damage. Not just physical, or [[melee]], but various types of spell damage as well, and apparently they can trigger from elemental damage on weapons as well.
The basic critical hit bonus is still +100% damage, but various skills increase the damage of critical hits, while others increase the odds of critical hits scoring, or cause other effects to trigger when a critical hit is scored. How these will all interact remains to be seen.
===Critical Deaths===
These were demonstrated during a panel at [[BlizzCon 2008]], an excerpt from which [http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41498.html can be seen here].
==Critical Hit Skills==