For the umpteenth time crits DO HAPPEN OUTSIDE OF THE VATS CRIT BAR. It just doesn't notify you.

I'm entirely sure you can crit outside of Vats. I'm positive actually, since my sneak attack and crits don't match, and I don't use the new vats crits system.

confirmation? evidence?

Post right above you!

to be fair, that post came out while I was making that short post!!

Crits are only ever mentioned in the context of VATS. Assuming that it happens outside of VATS comes only from past games. There's not a single word in the game that suggest that crits happens outside of VATS.

I don't believe that is correct considering there is a perk that specifically adds this functionality, implying it doesn't function that way inherently. Every single hit in VATS charges a part of your Crit meter, but it doesn't have a chance to completely fill it unless you have Luck of the Irish.

Besides multiple people that don't use charged crits confirming that their stat screen says they do, indeed, have critical hits.

There is also the risk that one inherently takes when they read someone else's experience and take it at face value.

Nevertheless I'll conduct a quick little experiment for myself when I get home so that I can see for myself if this is true.

The STATS screen in the Pip-boy begs to differ.

I have never used the VATS crit mechanic. I have a number of Critical Strikes listed in the STATS screen. That number matches the number of Sneak Attacks listed in the same screen. Ergo, the game considers Sneak Attacks to be Critical Strikes, even though they happened outside of VATS.

Well then, that just confirms the suspicion that there are no random crits outside of VATS, doesn't it?

Despite the people in this very thread claiming their sneak attacks and criticals don't match up

And it wouldn't if they made crits in VATS. I would *love* to get a proper official reply on this, don't get me wrong. I can't say for certain either. I just haven't seen anything that confirms 100% that crits are anything but a VATS mechanic. It's much more the other way around.

Same people claimed they don't use the crit bar.

But I'm done.

Well, then there's the people who've said that random crits happen while under the effect of that one drug. But I don't have any personal experience with that.

AFAIK You can't crit outside of VATS unless you have special perks/chems. This includes the final rank of basher.

A very poor decision. People need more options not less.

Yeah, I don't think I've done any random crits, just sneak crits. Someone said that you can do random crits with Overdrive, but I haven't used it. I rarely use chems at all, and when I do it's not typically for combat purposes.

I will make a 10 LUK character at some point tomorrow and give them a mini gun and test it out on a stationary behemoth. Will look at statistics after.

Is it expected that the CK will answer this type of thing decisively?

The only crits you can get outside of vats is via overdrive. Without overdrive you have 0% to get a critical strike. With overdrive the game says when you get a critical strike.

Sneak attack =/= critical strike.

Reason why some people might think you get criticals outside of vats without overdrive is most likely due to people just randomly hitting enemy's weak spots and seeing that sudden burst of damage.

I have a luck 11 character.

Well then tell the game to stop recording them as crits.

I am swayed to believe you but this is all still empirical. Without a hard, recorded test it's not possible to say.

I meant that things that affect critical strikes (like better criticals) won't affect sneak "criticals" and vice versa.

VATs is cheating. Well for me anyway. All of Fallout 3 on Very Hard, FNV the same. I play Fallout 3D games as shooters. This one is almost good. The game is great.

Why is VATS cheating for you ?