In the world of Final Fantasy XIV, stat optimization plays a crucial role in maximizing your damage output and overall performance. While there are several stats to consider, one stat stands above the rest in terms of its impact: Critical Hit. In this guide, we will explore why Critical Hit is considered the best stat to stack for most jobs in FFXIV and why other stats, such as Speed, tend to be less desirable in large quantities.

• The Power of Critical Hit
• Balancing Critical Hit
• The Importance of Specific Speed Amounts
• Speed's Impact on Cooldown Alignment
• Exceptions to the Rule

↖ The Power of Critical Hit

Critical Hit is one of the primary stats that directly increases the damage of your actions. Compared to other competing stats like Determination and Direct Hit, Critical Hit offers a unique advantage. Determination increases all damage and healing done but at a lower rate, while Direct Hit grants a chance to do 25% more damage with a direct hit. However, Critical Hit not only boosts the probability of critical hits but also increases the damage bonus they provide.

↖ Balancing Critical Hit

To maintain balance, Critical Hit has a scaling payoff that starts off worse than other stats. Initially, you need a considerable amount of Critical Hit to see a noticeable increase in damage output. However, as you accumulate more Critical Hit, its value becomes more significant relative to the amount of damage you are already doing. This scalability makes Critical Hit superior to other stats, as it can continue to improve with more ffxiv gear.

↖ The Importance of Specific Speed Amounts

While Critical Hit reigns supreme, the stat known as Speed needs to be more understood and valued. Many jobs in FFXIV have specific Speed requirements for optimal rotations. For example, certain rotations fit better in a perfect loop with a specific Global Cooldown (GCD), allowing for additional attacks during specific buffs or cooldowns.

↖ Speed's Impact on Cooldown Alignment

Jobs like Samurai, Monk, and Gunbreaker have built-in buffs that increase their Speed further, and meeting specific Speed thresholds allows for precise cooldown alignment. However, it's worth noting that only a handful of actions in the game are affected by Speed, making it less impactful overall. Most jobs only gain slightly more filler damage and resources from increased Speed, while other stats enhance the damage of cooldowns and bursts.

↖ Exceptions to the Rule

There are two notable exceptions to the general rule of prioritizing Critical Hit over Speed. Healers benefit from increased Speed as it scales their offensive toolkit and damage-over-time effects. Black Mage, on the other hand, has such potent filler rotations that increasing Speed can compete with boosting the damage of their entire toolkit. More Speed allows Black Mages to perform certain rotation tricks and improve their mobility, resulting in increased damage output.

Conclusion:

Critical Hit is undeniably the best stat to stack in FFXIV for most jobs due to its ability to increase damage output and scalability with gear. While Speed can play a role in specific rotations and certain job exceptions like healers and Black Mage, its overall impact is less significant compared to Critical Hit. Understanding the importance of Critical Hit and how it interacts with other stats is key to optimizing your performance in Final Fantasy XIV.