[Collector]

Whether I like the current metagame or not (I do), there are principles that I've always found somewhat troublesome. A while after GR2 concluded and we started to figure out how to build again, a few key concepts started to appear:

• Crit damage is large, but non-crit sources of physical damage are lacklustre. Exceptions to the rule exist in Rapid Kick (largely un-reduceable) and rogue traps (with burn application for additional damage).
  

• Crit Evade, a derived stat, is more effective than the entirety of the Defense main stat. Crit Evade is frequently over 70% effective damage reduction against crit builds because of their denied extra action and lack of Guile crit modifier. Building for high Defense outside of BK is, frankly, shooting yourself in the foot comparatively.
  

• Fights involving a crit-only build are often feast or famine; they either deal over 1000 damage in two turns or roll over and die. Not taking alternative damage options, such as ghost spells, is crippling when confronted with a CE wall - especially in PvE or event content, though it's rare in the latter.
  

• Solblader's release added the ultimate in rock-paper-scissors match to melee crit builds. Like in the case of ST/VA against a caster or Verglas against Priest, one side is heavily favoured. Solblader is, consequent to its strengths or not, very popular.
  

The result is the most hostile climate towards crit builds I've seen in my 6 years playing the game. Whether I like the current metagame or not (I still do), it's plain to see where there's a level of frustration to be found here. I'm of the opinion that not pocketing alternatives to your crit is shooting yourself in the foot, but whether that should be the case or not is up for the debate; as stated, non-crit physical damage options aren't great right now.

Tangent, but Reaver is beyond crippled. Words cannot describe how bad that stance is.

I don't have an answer to this; what I've detailed are the principles I follow when building and what I've observed when putting my builds in practice. I do not play crit builds and I'd rather the people who do offer their input on what they'd like to happen instead of me, because in my position, I could live with this state of affairs indefinitely. The reasons listed definitely contribute to my complete avoidance of the archetype, though.