The Trouble with the Critical Strikes ATO…

[The Trouble]

...is not knowing where to place it. I’d like to help in this quick guide.

 

 

 

When the Critical Strikes enhancement goes off, you will have 3.25 4.25 seconds of guaranteed crits. So make sure you slot you should consider slotting this in a power where the effect activates as close to the end of the power’s animation as possible.

 

By subtracting a power’s (A)Time Before Effect from (A)Cast Time, you’ll find how much time you have to wait before using your next attack. Subtract that number from the 4.25 seconds of Critical Strikes’ duration, and you'll find that power's "Crit Window".  (A) means the seconds listed are adjusted for Arcanatime!

 

Crit Windows have been calculated in the attached a tables for each Scrapper primary.  They are sorted by largest Crit Window, so the top 2 or 3 powers in each set will probably be good candidates to slot this ATO (within reason, there's a good argument for putting it in AoE powers that don't necessarily have a large Crit Window)

 

 

Battle Axe

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Battle Axe	Beheader	1.188	0.66	0.528	3.722
Battle Axe	Chop	1.452	0.792	0.66	3.59
Battle Axe	Swoop	1.584	0.924	0.66	3.59
Battle Axe	Gash	1.452	0.66	0.792	3.458
Battle Axe	Cleave	2.508	1.32	1.188	3.062
Battle Axe	Pendulum	2.244	1.056	1.188	3.062
Battle Axe	Axe Cyclone	2.244	0.66	1.584	2.666

Broad Sword

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Broadsword	Hack	1.584	0.792	0.792	3.458
Broadsword	Parry	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Broadsword	Slash	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Broadsword	Disembowel	1.98	0.924	1.056	3.194
Broadsword	Head Splitter	2.508	1.32	1.188	3.062
Broadsword	Slice	2.244	1.056	1.188	3.062
Broadsword	Whirling Sword	2.904	1.32	1.584	2.666

Claws

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Claws	Follow up	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Claws	Swipe	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Claws	Shockwave	1.188	0.792	0.396	3.854
Claws	Eviscerate	2.508	1.848	0.66	3.59
Claws	Focus	1.32	0.66	0.66	3.59
Claws	Strike	1.32	0.66	0.66	3.59
Claws	Slash	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Claws	Spin	2.64	1.32	1.32	2.93

Dark Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Dark Melee	Dark Consumption	1.188	0.924	0.264	3.986
Dark Melee	Shadow Punch	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Dark Melee	Smite	1.188	0.66	0.528	3.722
Dark Melee	Soul Drain	2.508	1.848	0.66	3.59
Dark Melee	Siphon Life	2.112	0.924	1.188	3.062
Dark Melee	Touch of Fear	2.112	0.924	1.188	3.062
Dark Melee	Midnight Grasp	2.244	0.66	1.584	2.666
Dark Melee	Shadow Maul	2.508	0.528	1.98	2.27

Dual Blades

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Dual Blades	Nimble Slash	1.188	0.66	0.528	3.722
Dual Blades	Ablating Strike	1.188	0.528	0.66	3.59
Dual Blades	Blinding Feint	1.452	0.66	0.792	3.458
Dual Blades	Sweeping Strike	1.452	0.66	0.792	3.458
Dual Blades	Power Slice	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Dual Blades	Typhoon’s Edge	2.508	0.66	1.848	2.402
Dual Blades	Vengeful Slice	2.64	0.66	1.98	2.27
Dual Blades	One Thousand Cuts	3.432	0.66	2.772	1.478

Electrical Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Electric Melee	Charged Brawl	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Electric Melee	Jacobs Ladder	1.848	1.452	0.396	3.854
Electric Melee	Lightning Clap	1.452	0.924	0.528	3.722
Electric Melee	Chain Induction	1.188	0.66	0.528	3.722
Electric Melee	Havoc Punch	1.716	0.924	0.792	3.458
Electric Melee	Thunder Strike	2.772	1.848	0.924	3.326
Electric Melee	Lightning Rod	2.772	1.056	1.716	2.534

Energy Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Energy Melee	Energy Punch	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Energy Melee	Power Crash	1.98	1.584	0.396	3.854
Energy Melee	Energy Transfer	2.904	2.376	0.528	3.722
Energy Melee	Bone Smasher	1.452	0.792	0.66	3.59
Energy Melee	Total Focus	2.772	1.848	0.924	3.326
Energy Melee	Barrage	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Energy Melee	Whirling Hands	2.64	1.32	1.32	2.93

Fiery Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Fiery Melee	Greater Fire Sword	1.584	1.32	0.264	3.986
Fiery Melee	Scorch	1.188	0.66	0.528	3.722
Fiery Melee	Cremate	1.716	0.924	0.792	3.458
Fiery Melee	Fire Sword	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Fiery Melee	Incinerate	1.848	0.924	0.924	3.326
Fiery Melee	Breath of Fire	2.904	1.32	1.584	2.666
Fiery Melee	Fire Sword Circle	2.904	1.32	1.584	2.666

Ice Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Ice Melee	Freezing Touch	1.188	0.66	0.528	3.722
Ice Melee	Ice Patch	1.716	1.056	0.66	3.59
Ice Melee	Frozen Fists	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Ice Melee	Ice Sword	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Ice Melee	Greater Ice Sword	2.508	1.32	1.188	3.062
Ice Melee	Frozen Aura	2.244	0.924	1.32	2.93
Ice Melee	Frost	2.508	0.924	1.584	2.666

Katana

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Katana	Gambler’s Cut	0.924	0.528	0.396	3.854
Katana	Divine Avalanche	1.584	1.056	0.528	3.722
Katana	Flashing Steel	1.32	0.792	0.528	3.722
Katana	Sting of the Wasp	1.32	0.792	0.528	3.722
Katana	Soaring Dragon	1.584	0.792	0.792	3.458
Katana	Golden Dragonfly	1.98	1.056	0.924	3.326
Katana	The Lotus Drops	1.98	0.924	1.056	3.194

Kinetic Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Kinetic Melee	Smashing Blow	1.452	1.32	0.132	4.118
Kinetic Melee	Body Blow	1.32	1.188	0.132	4.118
Kinetic Melee	Repulsing Torrent	2.244	1.98	0.264	3.986
Kinetic Melee	Focused Burst	2.244	1.848	0.396	3.854
Kinetic Melee	Quick Strike	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Kinetic Melee	Concentrated Strike	3.036	2.64	0.396	3.854
Kinetic Melee	Burst	2.904	2.244	0.66	3.59

Martial Arts

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Martial Arts	Storm Kick	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Martial Arts	Thunder Kick	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Martial Arts	Crippling Axe Kick	1.848	1.188	0.66	3.59
Martial Arts	Dragon’s Tail	1.716	0.66	1.056	3.194
Martial Arts	Cobra Strike	1.848	0.792	1.056	3.194
Martial Arts	Crane Kick	1.848	0.66	1.188	3.062
Martial Arts	Eagle’s Claw	2.772	1.452	1.32	2.93

Psionic Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Psionic Melee	Mental Strike	1.188	0.528	0.66	3.59
Psionic Melee	Psi Blade	1.584	0.792	0.792	3.458
Psionic Melee	Greater Psi Blade	2.64	1.848	0.792	3.458
Psionic Melee	Telekinetic Blow	1.716	0.792	0.924	3.326
Psionic Melee	Psi Blade Sweep	1.98	1.056	0.924	3.326
Psionic Melee	Boggle	2.244	1.188	1.056	3.194
Psionic Melee	Mass Levitate	2.64	1.584	1.056	3.194

Radiation Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Radiation Melee	Contaminated Strike	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Radiation Melee	Proton Sweep	1.848	1.452	0.396	3.854
Radiation Melee	Devastating Blow	2.904	2.376	0.528	3.722
Radiation Melee	Fusion	1.32	0.66	0.66	3.59
Radiation Melee	Radioactive Smash	1.716	0.924	0.792	3.458
Radiation Melee	Radiation Siphon	2.376	1.452	0.924	3.326
Radiation Melee	Atom Smasher	3.168	1.98	1.188	3.062

Savage Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Savage Melee	Savage Strike	1.056	0.396	0.66	3.59
Savage Melee	Maiming Slash	1.32	0.66	0.66	3.59
Savage Melee	Savage Leap	1.32	0.528	0.792	3.458
Savage Melee	Vicious Slash	1.848	0.66	1.188	3.062
Savage Melee	Hemorrhage	2.244	0.924	1.32	2.93
Savage Melee	Shred	2.376	0.528	1.848	2.402
Savage Melee	Rending Flurry	2.376	0.396	1.98	2.27

Spines

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Spines	Barb Swipe	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Spines	Ripper	2.508	1.848	0.66	3.59
Spines	Impale	2.64	1.584	1.056	3.194
Spines	Lunge	1.848	0.66	1.188	3.062
Spines	Throw Spines	1.848	0.66	1.188	3.062
Spines	Spine Burst	3.168	1.848	1.32	2.93

Staff Fighting

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Staff Fighting	Precise Strike	1.32	0.792	0.528	3.722
Staff Fighting	Serpent’s Reach	1.98	1.32	0.66	3.59
Staff Fighting	Mercurial Blow	1.188	0.528	0.66	3.59
Staff Fighting	Guarded Spin	1.98	0.396	1.584	2.666
Staff Fighting	Innocuous Strikes	2.376	0.528	1.848	2.402
Staff Fighting	Sky Splitter	3.036	1.188	1.848	2.402
Staff Fighting	Eye of the Storm	2.772	0.396	2.376	1.874

Stone Melee

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Stone Melee	Stone Fist	1.056	0.66	0.396	3.854
Stone Melee	Hurl Boulder	2.64	2.112	0.528	3.722
Stone Melee	Seismic Smash	1.716	0.924	0.792	3.458
Stone Melee	Tremor	2.772	1.848	0.924	3.326
Stone Melee	Stone Mallet	1.848	0.924	0.924	3.326
Stone Melee	Heavy Mallet	1.848	0.924	0.924	3.326
Stone Melee	Fault	2.244	0.792	1.452	2.798

Street Justice

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Street Justice	Initial Strike	1.056	0.396	0.66	3.59
Street Justice	Heavy Blow	1.32	0.66	0.66	3.59
Street Justice	Shin Breaker	1.584	0.792	0.792	3.458
Street Justice	Rib Cracker	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
Street Justice	Sweeping Cross	1.848	0.924	0.924	3.326
Street Justice	Crushing Uppercut	2.376	1.056	1.32	2.93
Street Justice	Spinning Strike	1.98	0.528	1.452	2.798

Titan Weapons

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
Titan Weapons	Crushing Blow	2.244	2.112	0.132	4.118
Titan Weapons	Titan Sweep	2.64	2.508	0.132	4.118
Titan Weapons	Rend Armor	2.508	2.376	0.132	4.118
Titan Weapons	Whirling Smash	1.188	1.056	0.132	4.118
Titan Weapons	Defensive Sweep	2.376	2.244	0.132	4.118
Titan Weapons	Arc of Destruction	2.904	2.64	0.264	3.986
Titan Weapons	Follow Through	1.32	1.056	0.264	3.986

War Mace

Quote

Powerset	Power	(A)Cast Time	(A)Time Before Effect	Time After Effect	Crit Window
War Mace	Clobber	1.452	0.792	0.66	3.59
War Mace	Bash	1.584	0.66	0.924	3.326
War Mace	Pulverize	1.716	0.66	1.056	3.194
War Mace	Jawbreaker	1.98	0.924	1.056	3.194
War Mace	Shatter	2.508	1.32	1.188	3.062
War Mace	Crowd Control	2.244	1.056	1.188	3.062
War Mace	Whirling Mace	2.904	1.32	1.584	2.666

Now that you know which powers will give you the most time out of Critical Strikes, it’s time to discover what attack chain you can use in the Crit Window.

 

To calculate this, add the (A)Cast Time for every power but the last in your chain - that number should be the (A)Time Before Effect. Because no attacks follow this one, there is no need to account for it’s entire animation time.

 

Examples:

A two-power chain formula would be: (A)Cast Time for Power 1+ (A)Time Before Effect for Power 2.

A three-power chain would be: (A)Cast Time for Power 1+ (A)Cast Time for Power 2+ (A)Time Before Effect on Power 3.

 

If that total is less than the Crit Window, then your post-proc attack chain is likely maximizing the benefit of the Critical Strikes ATO!  Adjust to DPS tastes, and you're golden.*

 

*As Yomo Kimyata pointed out, don't be discouraged from slotting into an AoE, even if its Crit Window is small.  Hitting multiple targets gives your proc another chance of activating.  Even if you can only toss out one attack during your Crit Window, you could potentially have a lot more windows.

 

 

 

 

More knowledgeable folks, feel free to chime in and correct me on any gaps or misconceptions. This little project started simply because I wanted to find the best place for the ATO on my Broadsword wielder. Then I realized this information would be really helpful organized like this.

 

Enjoy!

 

Edit: @Maelwys, I hope I used your feedback correctly.  Frankly, I made these tables because all of this is deeply confusing for me.  Gonna keep trying...

Edit 2: @Yomo Kimyata noted that these tables don't tell the whole story because AoE's can be a good place for Critical Strikes.

Edited yesterday at 02:59 PM by The Trouble
Added more clarity RE: AoE slotting

[Uncle Shags]

Wow, this is awesome. 

 

Also, nice word play.

 

Edit: I'm curious about the numbers for TW when in momentum. 

Edited Saturday at 12:50 AM by Uncle Shags

[Maelwys]

10 hours ago, The Trouble said:

When the Critical Strikes enhancement goes off, you will have 3.25 seconds of guaranteed crits. So make sure you slot this in a power where the effect activates as close to the end of the power’s animation as possible.

 

By subtracting a power’s effect activation time from it’s casting time (Arcana adjusted), you’ll find how much time you have to wait before using your next attack. Subtract that number from the 3.25 seconds of Critical Strikes’ duration, and you'll find that power's "Crit Window".

 

...

 

More knowledgeable folks, feel free to chime in and correct me on any gaps or misconceptions.

(i) It's not 3.25s. It's 4.25s. (3.25 plus 0.5s ATBE for the IO plus another 0.5s ATBE for the set bonus)
(ii) There's another Arcanatime roundup that you're missing: you need to round the power that the ATO is slotted in's ATBE up for Arcanatime as well.

So the available buff time window for Scrapper ATO2 is the Slotted Attack's Arcanatime minus its ATBE rounded up for Arcanatime, plus 4.25 seconds.

Then after you work that out you indeed need to figure out how to get as much damage out of that narrow window as possible (via fitting in one or two low-arcanatime-high-DPA attacks and finishing up with a very low-ATBE-high-DPA attack; which seems to be what you're trying to accomplish here!) 👍

Full details/testing here:

 

[The Trouble]

On 8/2/2025 at 2:31 AM, Maelwys said:

(i) It's not 3.25s. It's 4.25s. (3.25 plus 0.5s ATBE for the IO plus another 0.5s ATBE for the set bonus)
(ii) There's another Arcanatime roundup that you're missing: you need to round the power that the ATO is slotted in's ATBE up for Arcanatime as well.

So the available buff time window for Scrapper ATO2 is the Slotted Attack's Arcanatime minus its ATBE rounded up for Arcanatime, plus 4.25 seconds.

Then after you work that out you indeed need to figure out how to get as much damage out of that narrow window as possible (via fitting in one or two low-arcanatime-high-DPA attacks and finishing up with a very low-ATBE-high-DPA attack; which seems to be what you're trying to accomplish here!) 👍

Full details/testing here:

 

Thanks for linking that thread.  I literally searched multiple ways to find similar topics, yet this one never showed up.  I'll brush up my Search-Fu.

Going to update my tables with this important feedback as soon as I have the mental capacity*, but at least they already help identify what powers should be considered for the ATO.

 

Deeply appreciate the help!

 

*Tables updated

Edited yesterday at 03:03 PM by The Trouble
Tables got updated

[The Trouble]

14 hours ago, Uncle Shags said:

Edit: I'm curious about the numbers for TW when in momentum. 

Me too!  Updating my spreadsheet for that will take some noodle-scratching.  I'm starting to feel like I jumped into the deep end of the pool with my boots on. 🙂

[SomeGuy]

The fact you included TBE AND TBA is really nice. Thank you for your work on this. Those two numbers combined = AT obviously, still really nice that someone already did the math. Like, the TBE and TBA on Midnight Grasp makes putting the ATO2 there just silly. Then at the other end of the spectrum is Conc Strike. Really good chance for ATO2 to go off there and a really good window for when it does. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

18 hours ago, The Trouble said:

Edit: @Maelwys, I hope I used your feedback correctly.  Frankly, I made these tables because all of this is deeply confusing for me.  Gonna keep trying...

 

Thanks to both of you for this.

 

@The Trouble I'm going to suggest you also look into scrapper secondaries as well.  On that note, remember that the Crit Strikes proc only needs to go off once, so that when it is in a power that affects more than one target, the effective chance to trigger goes up.  Example: you are looking at a choice between a single target attack that triggers at 75% probability, or you are looking at an AoE that can affect up to five targets at 50% probability (assuming 100% chance to hit for simplicity).  If you are fighting one target, the first choice seems obvious to maximize chances of the proc triggering.  But let's say there are three targets in close proximity.  The AoE power can trigger zero, one, two, or three times, but we only care that it triggers at least once.  So the odds of it NOT triggering at all is 0.5*0.5*0.5 = 12.5% and there is a 87.5% chance that it triggers at least once.

[The Trouble]

45 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

 

Thanks to both of you for this.

 

@The Trouble I'm going to suggest you also look into scrapper secondaries as well.  On that note, remember that the Crit Strikes proc only needs to go off once, so that when it is in a power that affects more than one target, the effective chance to trigger goes up.  Example: you are looking at a choice between a single target attack that triggers at 75% probability, or you are looking at an AoE that can affect up to five targets at 50% probability (assuming 100% chance to hit for simplicity).  If you are fighting one target, the first choice seems obvious to maximize chances of the proc triggering.  But let's say there are three targets in close proximity.  The AoE power can trigger zero, one, two, or three times, but we only care that it triggers at least once.  So the odds of it NOT triggering at all is 0.5*0.5*0.5 = 12.5% and there is a 87.5% chance that it triggers at least once.

I very passively addressed the issues like multiple targets when I said things like "probably be good candidates to slot this ATO (within reason)".  My hope was to give folks a direction to look in, rather than recommend powers to use outright. Many thanks for addressing such a meaningful component missing from these tables!  Directly related: Even though the Crit Window is pretty small for Broadsword's Slice, that's where I'm currently slotting the proc.  So yeah, your observation is important enough that I should include it in the first post unambiguously.

 

Including secondaries feels prohibitively daunting for now.  Consolidating this data burned me out 🤷‍♂️

[DarknessEternal]

You should be factoring in proc chance some how.

 

For example, Beheader only has a 28% chance to proc, while Swoop has a 74%.

 

Not to mention Beheader is garbage and should never be used, while Swoop is your best attack.