Critical

Criticals are a form of damage and a in Dark Souls.

General Information
Criticals are performed in what is considered the most vulnerable areas of enemies. There are two types of criticals, backstabs and ripostes.

To perform a backstab, the player positions behind an enemy who is susceptible to backstabs and performs a weak attack. This will cause the player to enter an animation in which they are temporarily invincible while they attack the enemy's back. To perform a riposte, the player must first land a parry. In order to parry, the player must have a weapon or shield in their left hand that is able to parry, and then hit the left strong attack button when an enemy swings at them. This will cause the enemy's attack to be deflected off the shield or weapon and open them for a riposte. During a riposte animation, the player is invincible to all damage. In some cases, an enemy is able to parried but not riposted. An example of this would be a Berenike Knight.

Most humanoid enemies are susceptible to both backstabs and parries + ripostes. The damage performed by these attacks can be increased by 30% if the player wears the Hornet Ring.