http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.p ... ][br]We're discussing the 3.5 take on Keen + Improved Critical which was a change I didn't agree with. My contention is that once you fixed Vorpal, and potentially Burst weapons, to only work on the base crit range the balance between crit range and damage die allows these abilities to stack without creating a balance issue.
I was then, respectfully, asked to compare a Falchion and Scimitar so here is what I plan on posting. I've shown my work in the first AC comparison, but not the others. The other comparisons were done in the exact same way so if the math is wrong in the first one it's wrong in the others.
Originally posted by q'afuu
Try a falchion instead of a scimitar. That's a much more fair comparison to a greatsword.
Regardless, it's difficult to make a good comparison. 2d4+1.5*Str+enhancements isn't that much less than 2d6+1.5*Str+enhancements, even if you can take an enhancement that helps with damage directly instead of keen. OTOH, crits deal so much more damage than normal hits that critting twice as often or more can make a huge difference. And then there's the consideration of opponents that are immune to crits. Etc. You can't put exact numbers on everything.
Ah but I can, because this is a mathematical game and average numbers come close enough to giving us a good idea. Not to mention the immunity issue doesn't matter in this comparison, because it affects both items equally. They both are slashing weapons so DR doesn't come into play in this comparison either.
So let's compare the two with all things being equal assuming 14 STR and we just got Improved Crit as a Fighter so our BAB is +8/+3. The only other feats or abilities that affects attacks or damage are Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization.
We'll attack opponents with AC's of 10, 15, 20, and 25
+1 Keen Falchion:
Threat Range: 12-20 (45% of all rolls are potential threats)
To hit rolls: +10/+5
Damage: 2d4 + 6
Critical Damage: 4d4 +12
Average Damage: 11
Average Crit Damage: 22
+1 Keen Greatsword
Threat Range: 15-20 (30% of all rolls are potential threats)
To hit rolls: +10/+5
Damage: 2d6 +6
Critical Damage: 4d6 +12
Average Damage: 13
Average Crit Damage: 26
So the question becomes is that extra 15% chance worth more than 2 points of damage?
Vs. AC of 10
Attack 1 (applies to both): 95% chance to hit (2-20)
Crit% Falchion: 42.75% (.45 * .95)
Crit% Greatsword: 28.5% (.3 *.95)
Attack 2 (applies to both): 80% chance to hit (5-20)
Crit% Falchion: 36%
Crit% Greatsword: 24%
Average Falchion Damage in a round: 27.9125
[(.95-.4275)*11 + (.4275)*22 + (.8-.36)*11 + (.36)*22]
Average Greatsword Damage in a round: 29.565
[(.95-.284)*13 + (.284)*26 + (.8-.24)*13 + (.24)*26]
Vs. AC of 15
Attack 1 (applies to both): 80% chance to hit (5-20)
Crit% Falchion: 36%
Crit% Greatsword: 24%
Attack 2 (applies to both): 55% chance to hit (10-20)
Crit% Falchion: 24.75%
Crit% Greatsword: 16.5%
Average Falchion Damage in a round: 21.5325
Average Greatsword Damage in a round: 22.822
Vs. AC of 20
Attack 1 (applies to both): 55% chance to hit (10-20)
Crit% Falchion: 24.75%
Crit% Greatsword: 16.5%
Attack 2 (applies to both): 30% chance to hit (15-20)
Crit% Falchion: 9% (Falchion drops to 30% crit on attack, because 12, 13, and 14 are misses)
Crit% Greatsword: 9%
Average Falchion Damage in a round: 13.0625
Average Greatsword Damage in a round: 14.365
Vs. AC of 25
Attack 1 (applies to both): 30% chance to hit (15-20)
Crit% Falchion: 9% (Falchion drops to 30% crit on attack, because 12, 13, and 14 are misses)
Crit% Greatsword: 9%
Attack 2 (applies to both): 5% chance to hit (20)
Crit% Falchion: 0.25% (.5*.5)
Crit% Greatsword: 0.25%
Average Falchion Damage in a round: 4.8675
Average Greatsword Damage in a round: 5.7525