11-06-2023, 01:30 AM
I was curious and thumbed through past update notes and couldn't find anything that altered critical hit bonuses in the past three years aside from like, Sniper Barrel going from +25 to +15 critical. So I'm unsure how much has really changed in recent years regarding the Crit v. Crit Evade dynamic, thus my confusion as to why Boneheart is suddenly being targeted for a nerf.
So I figured the best solution is to layout everything that impacts this dynamic (crit bonuses, crit evade bonuses) and see where the cards lie.
For starters we'll look at the base:
STATS
(tl;dr) Verdict: SKI is almost universally desired vs FAI's far more niche applications and susceptibility to total removal. Unless Dark Water gets altered, I'd say things are currently at parity here.
Now moving on to
SKILLS
(tl;dr) Verdict: There are approximately 29 class skills that boost Critical directly versus 10 that boost Critical Evade. The absolute highest achievers of crit go into numbers so high (150,75,60) that it nearly invalidates the defensive stat entirely, and most normal buffs (20-30~) vastly outweigh what can be earned by Critical Evade in combat when stacked together. The scariest C.Evade wall is still Bonder/BK that gets a whopping +38 Critical Evade (48 if Seiyruu Installed). Whereas the average Critical earned from a class with buffs for it is around 30-40~, able to often match if not exceed the highest numbers class-wise Critical Evade can pull off.
Now we take a look at....
WEAPON PARTS
(tl;dr) Verdict: The average weapon part having weapon (see:not Tomes) gets an extra 10-20 Critical for dedicating part slots to Critical. Combined with base crit, upgrades/qualities and materials, weapons get an extra 30-40~ Critical that Critical Evade has no equivalent to.
So far it might be about even between Critical and Critical evade, assuming Critical isn't using one of its massive outlier buffs(Bloody Karma, Volley Formation, Veil Off) fighting the absolute cream of the crop Critical Evade build(Bonder/Black Knight).
Now we enter....
EQUIPMENT
(tl;dr) Verdict: In terms of itemization outside weapons Critical edges out Critical Evade if they're willing to fork out for a RoT+, and easily trumps Critical Evade if their enemy is susceptible to Dark Water Vials. Otherwise they're about evenly matched, or even loses out if they cannot get around Metal Greaves/Gauntlet Plus and forgo either Sayakensa or Crownbleeder Plus. There really isn't much to see here outside how silly Magic Stones are, and the fact just one of those things makes this entire thread irrelevant (Tetraite) if the fight is 5 rounds or less. Outliers like Berserker Shell exist much like Bloody Karma/Volley Formation to haunt Critical Evade even more.
Now we take a look at...
TRAITS AND TALENTS AND RACIALS OH MY
(tl;dr) Verdict: Very few racials, traits, or talents even impact this dynamic. There are some massive outliers like Red/Yellow Dice that can give as high as a +30 bonus but is entirely RNG based without Spirit Jar in Korvara. Critical Evade gets almost nothing here, it's all various bonuses to Critical or in some cases like Desperado Striker, a means to guarantee a Critical. If you're super desperate for Critical in a team comp you can slap an Ancient Fervor Heron in and call it a day.
Finally, to the point of contention of the topic
ENCHANTMENTS
(tl;dr) Verdict: Thanks to Boneheart Critical Evade can get a +20 to +15 win over Critical if they opt to fully commit.
Now something to consider with just about every possible modifier available to players put on the table for Critical and Critical Evade. Unlike Hit/Evade, there is no cap to the bonus you can receive for either, and Critical gets more than enough possible modifiers to exceed +50 whereas Critical Evade struggles to hit that mark with the highest possible modifiers one build can grant itself.
HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO
(tl;dr) Verdict: It takes a very specific build to wall up on Critical Evade and Critical has many tools, some massively overpowering to crush Critical Evade. It's only problematic for Critical oriented builds that lack the critical buffs necessary. Only Bloody Karma and Veil Off exist as universal band-aids to let anything crit nearly anything. A Dark Water Vial belted solves nearly all your problems unless you're staring down a Redtail until Dev nerfs it to have a delay.
FINAL WORDS
This has been an overtly long post and I do not blame people who skim or do not read all of that shit. My point is that Boneheart is not the lynch pin for Crit Evade that you seem to think it is. It's a very good buff and extremely good to have if you know you're fighting someone who relies on Critical hits due to how crippling missing a crit is for Fleur and Twin Dance builds, but simply nerfing one of the universal tools people have to fight against being crit to death isn't the way to go. They already pay for it in the HP they aren't getting, cutting Boneheart down that much would only have it see use on dedicated Critical Evade stackers who try to totally block Critical from people who don't run any of the tools to amp their Critical to get past it.
Adjusting Critical and Critical Evade to be at a more healthy balance would require looking at far more than just Boneheart. Hopefully my detailed breakdown can help when the time comes assuming nothing is drastically changed in the near future, once it is determined what a 'healthy' amount of Critical chance should be on average for those invested in it.
As it stands chopping off half the Critical Evade from Boneheart isn't going to do much but make it so Critical builds don't have to put in any effort to 100% crit the average person who couldn't afford to buy more than some LUC if that if they weren't a Critical build to begin with themselves.
So I figured the best solution is to layout everything that impacts this dynamic (crit bonuses, crit evade bonuses) and see where the cards lie.
For starters we'll look at the base:
STATS
(tl;dr) Verdict: SKI is almost universally desired vs FAI's far more niche applications and susceptibility to total removal. Unless Dark Water gets altered, I'd say things are currently at parity here.
Now moving on to
SKILLS
(tl;dr) Verdict: There are approximately 29 class skills that boost Critical directly versus 10 that boost Critical Evade. The absolute highest achievers of crit go into numbers so high (150,75,60) that it nearly invalidates the defensive stat entirely, and most normal buffs (20-30~) vastly outweigh what can be earned by Critical Evade in combat when stacked together. The scariest C.Evade wall is still Bonder/BK that gets a whopping +38 Critical Evade (48 if Seiyruu Installed). Whereas the average Critical earned from a class with buffs for it is around 30-40~, able to often match if not exceed the highest numbers class-wise Critical Evade can pull off.
Now we take a look at....
WEAPON PARTS
So far it might be about even between Critical and Critical evade, assuming Critical isn't using one of its massive outlier buffs(Bloody Karma, Volley Formation, Veil Off) fighting the absolute cream of the crop Critical Evade build(Bonder/Black Knight).
Now we enter....
EQUIPMENT
(tl;dr) Verdict: In terms of itemization outside weapons Critical edges out Critical Evade if they're willing to fork out for a RoT+, and easily trumps Critical Evade if their enemy is susceptible to Dark Water Vials. Otherwise they're about evenly matched, or even loses out if they cannot get around Metal Greaves/Gauntlet Plus and forgo either Sayakensa or Crownbleeder Plus. There really isn't much to see here outside how silly Magic Stones are, and the fact just one of those things makes this entire thread irrelevant (Tetraite) if the fight is 5 rounds or less. Outliers like Berserker Shell exist much like Bloody Karma/Volley Formation to haunt Critical Evade even more.
Now we take a look at...
TRAITS AND TALENTS AND RACIALS OH MY
(tl;dr) Verdict: Very few racials, traits, or talents even impact this dynamic. There are some massive outliers like Red/Yellow Dice that can give as high as a +30 bonus but is entirely RNG based without Spirit Jar in Korvara. Critical Evade gets almost nothing here, it's all various bonuses to Critical or in some cases like Desperado Striker, a means to guarantee a Critical. If you're super desperate for Critical in a team comp you can slap an Ancient Fervor Heron in and call it a day.
Finally, to the point of contention of the topic
ENCHANTMENTS
(tl;dr) Verdict: Thanks to Boneheart Critical Evade can get a +20 to +15 win over Critical if they opt to fully commit.
Now something to consider with just about every possible modifier available to players put on the table for Critical and Critical Evade. Unlike Hit/Evade, there is no cap to the bonus you can receive for either, and Critical gets more than enough possible modifiers to exceed +50 whereas Critical Evade struggles to hit that mark with the highest possible modifiers one build can grant itself.
HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO
(tl;dr) Verdict: It takes a very specific build to wall up on Critical Evade and Critical has many tools, some massively overpowering to crush Critical Evade. It's only problematic for Critical oriented builds that lack the critical buffs necessary. Only Bloody Karma and Veil Off exist as universal band-aids to let anything crit nearly anything. A Dark Water Vial belted solves nearly all your problems unless you're staring down a Redtail until Dev nerfs it to have a delay.
FINAL WORDS
This has been an overtly long post and I do not blame people who skim or do not read all of that shit. My point is that Boneheart is not the lynch pin for Crit Evade that you seem to think it is. It's a very good buff and extremely good to have if you know you're fighting someone who relies on Critical hits due to how crippling missing a crit is for Fleur and Twin Dance builds, but simply nerfing one of the universal tools people have to fight against being crit to death isn't the way to go. They already pay for it in the HP they aren't getting, cutting Boneheart down that much would only have it see use on dedicated Critical Evade stackers who try to totally block Critical from people who don't run any of the tools to amp their Critical to get past it.
Adjusting Critical and Critical Evade to be at a more healthy balance would require looking at far more than just Boneheart. Hopefully my detailed breakdown can help when the time comes assuming nothing is drastically changed in the near future, once it is determined what a 'healthy' amount of Critical chance should be on average for those invested in it.
As it stands chopping off half the Critical Evade from Boneheart isn't going to do much but make it so Critical builds don't have to put in any effort to 100% crit the average person who couldn't afford to buy more than some LUC if that if they weren't a Critical build to begin with themselves.