Crit Stat Balance Sheet

The arithmetic

Damage multiplier

1 + chance x crit damage bonus

Value of a chance point

= your crit DAMAGE

Value of a crit damage point

= your crit CHANCE

They balance when

chance x dmg/point = dmg x chance/point

Balance crit damage

chance x (dmg per pt ÷ chance per pt)

Ratio above 1

buy CHANCE

Ratio below 1

buy CRIT DAMAGE

⚠ Not modelled

caps and diminishing returns

⚠ Crit damage at 0% chance

is worth nothing

This build

Game and character

Date

Crit chance

Crit damage bonus

Chance per point

Damage per point

MULTIPLIER NOW

RATIO

BALANCE CRIT DAMAGE

Buying next

Track it as you gear up

Before committing points

• Per-point rates read off YOUR gear, not assumed
• Crit damage entered as the BONUS, not the total multiplier
• Checked whether your game caps crit chance
• Checked for diminishing returns on either stat
• Balance figure written down, not just the winner
• Non-crit stats considered - they compete for the same points
• Re-checked after a few upgrades - the answer moves
• Set bonuses and conditional crit effects accounted for separately

Each stat is worth what you own of the other

The multiplier is chance times crit damage, so adding chance is worth the crit damage you already have, and adding crit damage is worth the chance you already have. Stack either one and its next point gets weaker while the other's gets stronger. That is why they alternate, and why chasing a single stat is the one strategy that is reliably wrong.

Carry the balance point, not the verdict

'Chance is better' stops being true the moment you act on it. 'Chance is better until crit damage hits 50%' survives ten upgrades and tells you when to reassess. Write the balance figure on your build notes and check against it rather than recalculating every time an item drops.