A critical strike is a damage effect that deals 175% of its normal damage by default, denoted as critical strike damage. This can occur on some items and abilities, and almost always on basic attacks. Depending on the effect, a critical strike would occur under specific conditions, or based on
critical strike chance.
The most common form of critical strike occurs on basic attacks, which cannot critically strike structures. The exceptions are , , , and .
Champions can increase their chances to critically strike and the damage they deal with critical strikes using items and abilities. Critical strikes are especially valuable for champions who deal damage primarily with basic attacks rather than abilities. Some champions, like
, have an affinity for critical strikes and benefit more than others from items that improve them.Contents
- 1 Critical strike chance
- 2 Increasing critical strike chance
- 3 Critical strike chance as scaling
- 4 Modifying critical strike damage
- 5 Guaranteed critical strikes
- 6 Game elements that can critically strike
- 7 Basic attacks that cannot critically strike
- 8 Critically striking against structures
- 9 Interacting with critical strikes
- 10 Cosmetic critical strikes
- 11 Trivia
Critical strike chance
Critical strike chance is a statistic that denotes the probability that a basic attack will critically strike, as well as some other effects that use critical strike chance.
Critical strike chance is not granted naturally by level-ups, it can be increased with items and abilities; it also stacks additively. It cannot be increased beyond 100%, although some effects will benefit from the excess despite the cap.
Gold Value
: Critical strike chance has a gold value of 40 per point.
The probability of a critical strike changes dynamically based on how many times the attack critically strikes. If an attack does not critically strike over multiple attempts, the probability will progressively increase for future attempts—this can occur vice versa, where multiple successful critical strikes will cause the probability to progressively decrease for future attempts.
When averaged over a high number of basic attacks (i.e. calculating damage per second), critical strike chance is essentially a damage multiplier. At base critical damage (75% bonus damage) every 1% of added critical chance adds 0.75% bonus damage. For example, the damage dealt with basic attacks by a champion with 50% critical strike chance and base critical damage is on average 137.5% of the damage they would deal if they had 0% critical strike chance. For this reason, the critical strike chance scales well with both attack damage and attack speed. The formula for this damage multiplier is:
- Damage multiplier = 1 + (Critical chance × (0.75 + Bonus critical damage))
Increasing critical strike chance
Items
This table is automatically generated based on the data from Module:ItemData/data.
Champion abilities
Critical strike chance as scaling
Some game elements scale with the champion's amount of critical strike chance.
Champion abilities
- and
Items
Modifying critical strike damage
General
- In most cases, critical strike damage
stacks additively.
- Damage modifiers apply to critical strike damage normally.
Champion abilities
- when used to
Items
Guaranteed critical strikes
Some game elements can critically strike with no dependence on critical strike chance.
Champion abilities
- second attack
- fourth attack and shot
- against low health enemies
- when used to
- when used in melee range
Game elements that can critically strike
Champion abilities
- Basic attack modifiers
Many abilities in the game enhance basic attacks, causing them to deal increased damage. Since these are basic attacks, they can critically strike, with a few exceptions (see below), however, the ability's damage itself will only be amplified by a critical strike for the following abilities.
- and
- and
- (only the base damage)
- with empowered basic attacks
- (only to primary target)
- and with
- Other abilities
- , , and
- and
- and (while )
- and
- and
- and physical damage chain
Items
Some items that deal bonus damage can critically strike if the basic attack that triggers them critically strikes.
Basic attacks that cannot critically strike
- - both enhanced attacks cannot critically strike.
- - the first attack cannot critically strike.
- - enhanced attack cannot critically strike.
- - enhanced attack cannot critically strike.
- - cannot critically strike.
Critically striking against structures
Critical strikes do not affect structures, with the following exceptions:
- - second attack will also critically strike turrets.
- - the fourth attack will also critically strike turrets.
- (bug) - the additional attack can critically strike turrets.
- - the first attack will also critically strike turrets.
Interacting with critical strikes
- wind up percentage when critically striking enemies. sprays 6 missiles in a wider cone when critically striking enemies and has a reduced
- 6 pellets in a wider cone when critically striking enemies. sprays
- grants him movement speed when critically striking enemies.
cooldown when critically striking enemies.
reduces its armor penetration against
bonus armor.
grants all critical strikes cooldown an additional time when critically strikes enemies and will grant an extra stack when critically strikes enemies.
will reduce its - makes critical strikes reduce the user's basic ability cooldowns.
Cosmetic critical strikes
Some ability damage is displayed as a critical strike under certain circumstances but do not interact as a critical strike. These are use for cosmetic purposes to indicate high amounts of, empowered, or otherwise significant damage on an ability.
- against enemies hit by the far end of the first two casts, as well as the center of the third
- against enemies recently hit by or a fully formed
- against enemies hit beyond the first if they were revealed by
- against the target and against enemies under the health threshold
- against the target if they were recently feared by the ability
- against enemies that collide with terrain
- against enemies hit after the barrel has fully fermented
- against enemies hit in the center of the cone
- against a single target
- against enemies under the health threshold
- , , and against enemies marked by
- against enemy champions and monsters hit in the center of the area
- against enemies hit by both bolts
- against the target hit by the first attack
- against a single target and against the target
- against the target if they were
- against enemies under the health threshold
- against executed enemy champions
- against enemies under the health threshold
- against enemies marked by
- against the enemy hit
- against enemies under the health threshold
- against enemies that take increased damage
- and both against enemies hit in the center of the area
- when casting on Worked Ground
- against the executed target
- against enemies hit if the ability was fully charged (includes bonus damage)
- against the target if they collide with terrain
- against targets marked wtih Gloom
- against the target if the ability was empowered by
- against the target if they are Wounded and against enemies hit in the center of the area
- upon leaping to enemies marked by
- against turrets below the health threshold
- charge against turrets
- shield when it is destroyed by
crowd control or
- Shield Reaver against
shields
Trivia
- In many MMO settings, a number of attack damage-based assassins or secondary assassin-based champions also benefit from high critical strike chance in varying forms, as a means to help finish off targets faster as well as to deal more damage in bursts overall.
- Most champions have special basic attack animations when they critically strike, even champions that do not itemize critical strike chance. Other champions have a sound that plays when they critically strike, typically a grunt of effort.
- Some champions may actually use their critical strike animation for their empowered-basic attack if they ever activate a single-use on-hit effect, only it does not actually count as an actual critical strike.