Combat / Melee Timing
How to Land Critical Hits
A critical hit is the single biggest free damage boost in melee: +50% on every connecting swing, for nothing but timing. The trick is knowing the exact frame the game checks for it. Jump, let the attack cooldown refill, and swing on the way down. Do it right and you'll see the gold star particles and hear the sharper hit sound on the target dummy below.
+50%
9.5
FALLING
JUMPtoSWING
rising = no critfalling = CRIT
*****
The crit window, frame by frame
Minecraft checks four conditions the instant your attack lands: off the groundmoving downward not sprintingand attack fully charged. Pass all four and the final damage is multiplied by 1.5x.
The practical rhythm is short hops, not big leaps. A small jump keeps you airborne just long enough to click during the fall, then you land and reset for the next one. Against a player, bait their swing, hop, and crit into the opening. The math: netherite base 8 + Sharpness V ~3.75 = ~11.75, then crit x1.5 = ~17.6 half-hearts of damage in one click.
Quick answers
+How much extra damage does a crit do?
Exactly +50% (a 1.5x multiplier) on the final melee damage, applied after Strength and Sharpness. It also boosts knockback slightly and spawns crit star particles.
+Why won't my crits register?
Three usual causes: you're sprinting (forces a knockback hit), your attack cooldown isn't full (greyed swing), or you're still rising/on the ground. You must be falling, off-ground, and fully charged.
+Can I crit while sprinting?
No. Sprinting converts the hit into a knockback strike and disables the crit. You can sprint between swings, but release sprint before the jump-attack click.
+Does the Sweeping Edge enchant crit?
The main target can crit, but the sweep splash damage to nearby mobs never crits. For single-target burst, prioritize crits over sweep positioning.
+Crit vs Strength potion, which is better?
Stack both. Strength adds flat +3 per level before the crit's 1.5x multiplier, so a crit amplifies the Strength bonus too. Strength II + crit is the highest melee burst in the game.
+Do crits work with the axe?
Yes, and an axe crit is brutal: a Sharpness V netherite axe (~10 base) crits for ~16+ and can disable a shield in the same hit. The trade-off is the axe's slower 1.0s cooldown.