Crit Rate vs Crit Damage in Genshin Impact: The 1:2 Rule

In the crit rate vs crit damage debate, Genshin Impact players settle on one rule of thumb: keep CRIT DMG at about twice your CRIT Rate. A damage dealer with 60% to 80% CRIT Rate and double that number in CRIT DMG deals more on average than one who stacks either stat alone. Chasing 100% CRIT Rate is almost never worth it.

CRIT Rate vs CRIT DMG in Genshin Impact: what each stat does

CRIT Rate is the chance that a hit is critical. CRIT DMG is how much extra damage a critical hit deals. Every character starts with 5% CRIT Rate and 50% CRIT DMG, so an unbuilt character crits once in twenty hits, for one and a half times the normal damage.

CRIT Rate above 100% does nothing. CRIT DMG has no cap.

The two stats multiply each other. Your average damage grows by CRIT Rate times CRIT DMG: at 50% Rate and 100% DMG, half your hits deal double, which is 50% more damage on average. Either stat alone is weak. 100% CRIT DMG with 5% CRIT Rate adds almost nothing.

Why the Genshin Impact crit ratio is one to two

The game hands out CRIT DMG in portions twice as large as CRIT Rate. A five-star circlet at full level gives 31.1% CRIT Rate or 62.2% CRIT DMG. Sub-stats follow the same pattern: a roll of CRIT DMG is twice the size of a roll of CRIT Rate.

So every artifact is a trade: one point of Rate or two points of DMG. With a trade like that, the average is highest when you hold about twice as much DMG as Rate. Compare two builds made from the same amount of stats:

• 100% CRIT Rate and 80% CRIT DMG: every hit crits, and average damage is 1.80 times the base.
• 70% CRIT Rate and 140% CRIT DMG: average damage is 1.98 times the base.

The second build is 10% stronger at no cost. That is the whole argument against chasing 100%.

Treat the ratio as a guide, not a law. Being ten points off costs very little, so never throw away a good artifact only to make the numbers tidy. Players also score a single artifact by its crit value: CRIT Rate times two, plus CRIT DMG, a quick way to compare two pieces.

How much CRIT Rate you need

For a main damage dealer, aim for 60% to 80% CRIT Rate on the stat screen, with CRIT DMG at double. Around 50% Rate and 100% DMG is a fine first goal. Below 50%, your big hits fail too often to plan around.

What counts is the rate in combat, not on the screen. Some sources of CRIT Rate only apply in a fight:

• Two Cryo characters in a team add CRIT Rate against enemies affected by Cryo. Four pieces of the Blizzard Strayer set add more, and more again when the enemy is frozen. A Cryo damage dealer in a Freeze team, such as Ayaka or Ganyu, can run a much lower Rate on the screen and put the rest into CRIT DMG.
• Other artifact sets and some characters' own talents give CRIT Rate under conditions. Count them too.

Add those to your screen value, and stop near 100%.

Before Adventure Rank 45, do not spend Resin hunting crit sub-stats. Only from that rank do the best artifact Domains drop a five-star piece on every run. Until then, the right main stats are enough.

Where crit comes from

1. The circlet. The only artifact slot that can have CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG as its main stat, and your biggest single source.
2. Sub-stats. All five artifact pieces can roll both.
3. The weapon. Many weapons carry a crit stat as their second stat. Battle Pass weapons such as The Black Sword and Deathmatch give CRIT Rate. The Blackcliff weapons give CRIT DMG.
4. Ascension. Some characters gain crit as they ascend: Hu Tao, Ganyu and Keqing gain CRIT DMG, Diluc and Xiao gain CRIT Rate.

That answers the usual question about a CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG circlet. Add up what the weapon and ascension already give, then pick the circlet for the stat you lack. A character who gains CRIT DMG from ascension, like Hu Tao, usually wants a CRIT Rate circlet. A character holding a CRIT Rate weapon usually wants CRIT DMG.

Crit also only multiplies what is already there. Keep the right main stats on the other pieces, which our artifact stats guide lists by role. A build with perfect crit and no ATK, HP or elemental damage behind it hits for little.

Characters that do not want crit

• Kokomi. Her passive lowers her CRIT Rate by 100% in exchange for stronger healing.
• Healers and shielders. Healing and shields cannot crit. Characters played only for those, like Barbara or a Zhongli built for his shield, want HP and Energy Recharge.
• Reaction triggers. Damage from Hyperbloom, Bloom, Overload and Swirl does not crit. It scales with Elemental Mastery and character level. Kuki Shinobu in a Hyperbloom team wants Elemental Mastery on every piece.
• Supports short on energy. An Elemental Burst that is not ready deals nothing. Energy Recharge comes before crit.

One exception: a support holding a Favonius weapon wants CRIT Rate (not CRIT DMG), because the weapon makes energy particles only on critical hits.

Frequent questions about crit

Is CRIT Rate or CRIT DMG better in Genshin Impact?

Neither on its own. The better one is the one you have less of, measured against the one-to-two ratio. With 40% Rate and 150% DMG, more Rate helps most. With 80% Rate and 100% DMG, add DMG.

What is the CRIT Rate cap in Genshin Impact?

100% in combat. Anything above it has no effect. CRIT DMG has no cap.

Do I need a five-star weapon for good crit?

No. Several four-star weapons carry a crit stat, and the circlet and sub-stats do most of the work.

Resin, patience and Genesis Crystals on Mas4Games

Good crit is a matter of Resin and time, and no purchase replaces artifact luck. What a top-up does give you is Genesis Crystals, the paid currency that converts to Primogems for wishes. Genshin Impact Genesis Crystals on Mas4Games are loaded by UID and server, with no password asked, and the help center has live support.