Regular Criticals

Depending on the characters' action chains, the player has the option to press or hold and release one of two possible attack buttons at the right time. Whether a button needs to be pressed or held depends on the respective action.
One of these buttons continues the chain, the other ends it early, which can sometimes be desirable to prepare for more powerful attacks, or store resources for defence.

The indicators for these regular "Criticals" are easy to see. Perfect timing on all of a chain's inputs rewards a bonus of +20% for the whole action chain, but this bonus can be lower, if you miss some of them.

If an attack chain only contains 2 "Criticals", and you hit both of them, its damage is improved by +20%.
Likewise, if an attack chain contains 4 "Criticals", and you hit all of them, its damage is still improved by +20%.
However, if you miss 1 of 4 input, but manage the other 3, then the total bonus is reduced to +15%.
You missed 1 of 4 inputs. 1/4 of 20% is 5%. 20% - 5% = 15%
If you hit all regular "Criticals" for an attack chain that would normally inflict 1000 damage, it causes 1200 damage instead.

Each successful "Critical" adds +4 Zeal to the character

It also improves the effects of buffs and debuffs on the specific action of the chain it is hit on.
For example, if the 2nd attack of Kuon's ranged attack chain would normally weaken the enemy's defence by -12, getting a regular "Critical" on that specific action would lower it by -16 instead. Hitting or missing regular "Criticals" on the other actions of the action chain has no effect on this.

Hitting an input at the wrong time gives a brief warning sound, and the next mistake ends the action chain early.

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Hidden Criticals

"Hidden Criticals" are different.
During inputs where a button needs to be pressed instead of held, some actions allow for further inputs. These additional input hints are more difficult to see, with only a small, flashing circle in the middle of the screen as an indicator, hence the name: "Hidden Critical".
Amount and timing are based on the action in question, with some featuring multiple inputs, where others offer one, or none.

Each successful "Hidden Critical" grants the character +2 Zeal.

They do not improve buff and debuff effects.

The damage and healing calculation of these "Hidden Criticals" also functions differently.
Each one adds +4%, calculated from the base effect.

Unlike regular "Criticals", where the damage bonus becomes weaker if you make mistakes, you are not punished for missing or ignoring "Hidden Criticals".
Instead, they add together.
Let's say an attack chain inflicts 1000 damage without any regular "Criticals". It has 4 regular "Criticals". It also features 3 "Hidden Criticals".
Hitting all 4 regular "Criticals" guarantees the bonus of +20%.
Hitting all 3 "Hidden Criticals" adds +(3 * 4%), for a total of +12%.
We have:
1000 (base)
+20% (Criticals)
+12% (3 Hidden Criticals)
1000 * (1 + 0.2 + 0.12)
1000 * 1.32 = 1320 damage
With this calculation, we can see that only hitting the "Hidden Criticals" while missing the regular ones would still leave us at 1120 damage.

Since these bonuses are applied after the whole action chain is complete, they can drastically improve the Final Strikes of some characters.

In short: The more "Hidden Criticals", the better.

For action chains with only one such input, the improvement is useful.
Some, such as the attacks of the character "Ougi", which feature many "Hidden Criticals", have their power amplified to ludicrous heights.
While each increase is small, hitting all of these inputs turns some of the more mediocre characters into veritable powerhouses, and the improved Zeal gain allows for some new tactics.

On the following pages of this guide, I will list all the "Hidden Criticals" I was able to find, detailing when they occur, and the total bonuses they provide for the respective action chain.
From here on out, I will also stop capitalizing them, so beware.

And before we get into the lists, have a fun comparison:
Ougi's first attack chain without a Final Strike, hitting all regular criticals, compared to the same chain with all regular criticals and hidden criticals.

All of his offensive action chains can be improved with hidden criticals, but his support chain does not feature them.
The boost to his offensive power is mediocre, but his hidden criticals are comparatively easy to use, and allow him to build Zeal more quickly.

Ougeki Kyozan (1st Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon impact

Touou Gekiha (2nd Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon impact
  
• 3rd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon impact

Hakuen Ranbu (Drawn Blade Stance Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 3rd action: 1 hidden critical, before main critical, on fan strike

Oshtor's support chain does not feature hidden criticals

All of her action chains can be improved with hidden criticals, and the cumulative boost to her combat capabilities is enough to turn her into a beast. Kuon's most powerful tool is her ranged attack chain, as it features a whole 5 hidden inputs, and lowers enemy defence on the 2nd action.

With hidden criticals, Kuon's attacks are devastating, allowing her to reach up to +20% damage on her ranged attack chain, and +16% damage on her melee attack chain.
Sadly, the improvement to her healing chain is minor, and the hidden critical on her self-buff chain is completely useless, as all of its beneficial effects are negated by the action itself.

Kawasemi (Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +16%
Total Zeal Bonus: +8

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd kick
  
• 2nd Action: 2 hidden criticals, before main critical, on impact of the 2 throwing knives
  
• 4th Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on spin kick

Jushimatsu (Ranged Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +20%
Total Zeal Bonus: +10

• 1st Action: 2 hidden criticals, after main critical, on impact of the 2 throwing knives
  
• 3rd Action: 3 hidden criticals, before the main critical, on launching each of the first 3 electrified knives.

Yonakidori (Support Chain used on Other Characters)

Total Healing Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 2nd action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on pointing right hand at other character after the spin

Nuedori (Support Chain used on Self)

This hidden critical has no effect, as it does not influence the maximum health reduction, and the skill grants +100 Zeal on its own, making the +2 Zeal from the input useless. I will simply list it for the sake of completion.

• 3rd action: 1 hidden critical, before main critical, on stomping the ground

She really doesn't have much here. Her attacks are mostly focused on applying debuffs, and moving the enemy both in the turn order and on the field, but she still is one of the weakest characters for hidden criticals. Not the bottom of the list, though.

Otome Tsubaki (1st Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd peck

Neither Rulutieh's 2nd attack chain, nor her support chain feature hidden criticals

None of their action chains feature any hidden criticals. They do not have access to a single one. But that's okay. With their damage output, they don't really need any further boosts.

She is a bit of a special case. Yes, her hidden criticals are strong, but they can only be used in certain situations. Furthermore, they cannot be used to improve her Final Strike.

Rakuyo Kikon (2nd Ranged/Melee Attack Chain, Special Case)

Total Damage Bonus: +8% (Conditional)
Total Zeal Bonus: +4 (Conditional)

• 1st Action: 2 hidden criticals, after main critical, at the halfway point of her jump, and at the 3/4 mark; Special Case: This only triggers, if her attack chain begins and ends with this action. Continuing the chain to trigger the attack buff removes the opportunity for the 2 hidden criticals.

Shippu Dotou (1st Melee Attack Chain, Partial Special Case

Total Damage Bonus: +4% or +16% (Conditional)
Total Zeal Bonus: +2 or +8 (Conditional)

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd kick into backflip
  
• 3rd Action: 3 hidden criticals, before main critical, on each of the 3 kicks before the main critical; Special Case: This action can only trigger if Nosuri stood with her back to an impassable tile during the 1st action in the chain. If this action is used, then its hidden criticals are available, but the action itself isn't reliably available.

Nosuri's 1st ranged attack chain does not feature hidden criticals

The veritable king of hidden criticals.
No other character in the game benefits from them as much as Ougi does. His damage bonus from hidden criticals can actually reach or exceed the bonus from regular criticals. Practicing hidden criticals and giving him a Serenity II codex allows for 2 attack chains and a Final Strike on each of his turns, given that he has enough targets.

If his 1st attack chain is used with full hidden criticals, but without the 5th attack, then it generates a combined total of 60 Zeal, and can send him into Overzeal. With Serenity II, this only drops to 59 Zeal gained if the 5th attack is used. While doing so prevents him from going into Overzeal, this can sometimes be beneficial, if his current chain would kill its target, while there aren't any others in range.

With perfect execution and Serenity II, his 2nd attack chain generates exactly 50 Zeal. With 50 left over from the previous Final Strike, this means that either of his melee attack chains can send him into Overzeal again.

Shiden Issen (1st Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +28%
Total Zeal Bonus: +14

• 1rd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 3rd Action: 4 hidden criticals, 1 before main critical and 3 after main critical, on stabbing the enemy and on each of the kapoeira kicks
  
• 4th Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on the 2nd kick into a backflip

Unjoh Ryuhen (2nd Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +20%
Total Zeal Bonus: +10

• 2nd Action: 2 hidden criticals, before main critical, on 1st and 2nd dash attack
  
• 3rd Action: 3 hidden criticals, after main critical, on each of the weapon strikes

Yakumozan (Counter Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike

While not a 2nd Ougi, she has access to a rather noteworthy amount of hidden criticals.
With Serenity II, the Zeal gain from hidden criticals is enough to let her use Hakko for a Final Strike on herself or an adjascent ally, followed by a Wasei on an enemy for Zeal gain. On the next turn, she can repeat this, which sends her into Overzeal, and lets you start the loop again.

Waisei (2nd Ranged Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +12%
Total Zeal Bonus: +6

• 1st Action: 3 hidden criticals, before main critical, on each of her first 3 hand guestures that point towards the target

Hakko (2nd Healing Chain)

Total Healing Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on raising her right arm

Nekone's 1st attack chain and 1st healing chain do not feature hidden criticals.

This one is a bit of an oddball.
Kiwru only has a single hidden critical, but it is enough to catapult him from "almost useless" to "really useful".

With his innate Serenity I and when ending his 1st ranged attack chain at the 3rd action, he generates exactly 25 Zeal.
Since he can attack twice per turn if he is positioned well, this lets him build up to 50 Zeal per turn.
After 2 turns of this, or with some help from Oshtor and/or Nekone, he goes into Overzeal, and becomes a killing machine... but only until he has to move. Using his Final Strike first returns him to 25 Zeal, and the 2nd attack lets him return to 50. If he can score another 50 on his next turn, then he goes right back into Overzeal.
None of this would work without his singular hidden critical, since he would only generate 46 Zeal per turn, instead of the required 50.

Hachiku (1st Ranged Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on the 2nd arrow hit

Kiwru's 2nd ranged attack chain and his support chain do not feature hidden criticals.

Oh, Atuy. So close, and yet so far from being a monster in battle.
Without codices, she can only generate 45 Zeal per attack chain at best, and only if she stops at the 3rd action of her 1st melee chain. This number really isn't enough to keep her going. Even if she gets a dodge in, that doesn't get her to full Zeal after 2 attack chains. She is a strong character, but her hidden criticals are not enough to make her excel, unless you get immensely lucky with her dodges and counters.

Isana (Melee Attack Chain with 1 tile of distance)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike

Tokishirazu (Counter Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon stab

Atuy's 2nd melee attack chain does not feature hidden criticals.

Anju is another oddball. She only has 2 hidden criticals, but they can make her excel. However, this only works if she is in position, and can afford to lose the health. Considering her slow movement, this isn't easy to achieve. Sadly, like Atuy, she just barely falls short.
One use of her 3rd melee chain generates 44 Zeal. 2 of these leave her at exactly 88 Zeal. Her 2nd chain isn't any more useful, generating exactly 42 Zeal with the hidden critical, for a total of 84 over 2 uses.
On their own, neither of these are enough to send her into Overzeal. With a Serenity II, a defence scroll is enough to enable her Final Strike. However, this also works without her hidden criticals. Sadly, she lacks the mobility to keep the ball rolling all by herself.

Gouten Daha (2nd Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd overhead spin

Tenka Fubu (3rd Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 3rd Action: 1 hidden critical, before main critical, on upwards jump

Anju's 1st melee attack chain and her counter attack chain do not feature hidden criticals.

Jachdwalt has multiple hidden criticals that cumulatively make him very powerful, but due to his low speed and the limitations to his movement imposed by his stances, he can't make too much use of this. On the upside, he can kill most enemies solo, so long as he doesn't get really unlucky. It may take a while, but he gets there eventually, and he can bind up many of the game's more dangerous enemies.

Kagematsuba (1st Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +12%
Total Zeal Bonus: +6

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon hit during his backwards jump
  
• 2nd Action: 2 hidden criticals, before main critical, on first 2 weapon stabs

Senranzaruka (Counter Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 3rd Action: 2 hidden criticals, before main critical, on first 2 weapon stabs

Jachdwalt's 2nd melee attack chain does not feature hidden criticals.

She has a surprising amount of hidden criticals, and while none of them are crucial, they all help her with gaining and regaining Overzeal over time.
The hidden criticals in her self-buff chain are especially useful, as they help to off-set its cost somewhat. This potential skyrockets with a Serenity II codex.

Taizan (2nd Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 1st Action: 2 hidden criticals, before main critical, on stepping on the enemy and on kicking off it into a jump

Kazan Tairei (Self-Buff Chain)

Total Healing Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 1st Action: 2 hidden criticals, after main critical, on the 2 energy pulses after the main critical's energy pulse

Munechika's 1st melee attack chain and her counter attack chain do not feature hidden criticals.

Fumirul does not have access to any hidden criticals. Not that she really needs it, mind.

He may only have a few hidden criticals, but to be quite fair, once he reaches Overzeal, he rarely gets out of it on account of not having a Final Strike.
Still, the water activation he gets at a very high level is nice and can seriously empower other characters, though you get it so late that it isn't useful to most players.

Kaiba (Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon swipe
  
• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, before main critical, on first weapon stab right after the 1st action

Itak's healing chain does not feature hidden criticals.

The prince of hidden criticals, only second to the king that is Ougi.
With a Serenity I, hitting all hidden criticals while he has his lightning buff up allows him to build 75 Zeal each attack chain, and go into Overzeal every few turns. Serenity II makes it easier, but isn't truly necessary. Even without the buff, he still generates enough Zeal within only a few turns, allowing him to easily start his Overzeal loop and devastate half the battlefield from there.

Raika (Melee Attack Chain without Lightning Buff)

Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike

Ikazuchi (Melee Attack Chain during Lightning Buff)

Total Damage Bonus: +16%
Total Zeal Bonus: +8

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon stab
  
• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 4th Action: 2 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2 weapon swipes after the main critical

Mikazuchi's support chain and his lightning empowered counter attack chain do not feature hidden criticals.

The princess of hidden criticals.
Tamaki has a large number of them at her disposal, and using them properly makes her excel. However, she needs to get into a good position to do so.
Even though the 4th action of her first melee chain features the most criticals of her entire skill set, using it also prevents her from going into overzeal, so using or avoiding it always is a question of circumstances.
At the same time, it also leads into her Final Strike, meaning that her offensive capabilities can skyrocket with the cumulative bonus from the hidden criticals.

PS: Did you know that she doesn't count as a "Demihuman", and is therefore immune against some status attacks that usually impair everyone except for Oshtor?

Tenma Chofuku (1st Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +24% (Conditional)
Total Zeal Bonus: +12 (Conditional)

• 3rd Action: 2 hidden criticals, before main critical, on first 2 weapon strikes
  
• 4th Action: 4 hidden criticals, before main critical, on first 4 weapon strikes, Special Case: The 3rd and 4th hidden critical can only be used, if the previous ones in this action are successfully activated. Doing so slightly changes the attack animation, and implements the corresponding attacks in the first place.

Renki Hasso (Counter Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +12%
Total Zeal Bonus: +6

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, before main critical, on 1st weapon swing
  
• 2nd Action: 2 hidden criticals, before main critical, on 1st and 2nd weapon strike during the backstep

Tamaki's 2nd melee attack chain does not feature hidden criticals.

Sasara does not benefit from hidden criticals very much. She is a mobile support character, and doesn't really need them.

PS: Like Tamaki, she also doesn't count as a "Demihuman".

Valkyrie Ray (Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 3rd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd dash attack

Sasara's ranged attack chain and healing chain do not feature hidden criticals.

Ukon technically is another prince, but sadly, there isn't much you can do with this character. He only appears in one specific dream.
Still, he excels at hidden criticals, and the Zeal gain from them actually makes him viable in this special mission. I will list him here for completion's sake.

Tachikaze (Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +20%
Total Zeal Bonus: +10

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 2nd Action: 4 hidden criticals, after main critical, on 2nd weapon dash, the 2 consecutive weapon strikes and the drop attack

While he offers us a pleasant reunion, he doesn't have any hidden criticals for us, so we will have to move on.

Yep, that's good 'ol Haku from Mask of Deception, all right.
As such, he has a few hidden criticals up his sleeve.
While only available here, he scales with Oshtor's level, so he is quite useful while we have him.

Ougeki Banjo (1st Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on opening the fan right after the main critical

Haku's 2nd melee attack chain and healing chain do not feature hidden criticals. No, really. The returning fan isn't a hidden critical. Opening the fan on the 1st chain counts as one, but this one doesn't. Weird, huh?

Yes, really. This thing has a hidden critical.
And if you can keep it from getting hexed, then it actually helps with clearing the dream it appears in. The bonus Zeal from these inputs ensures that you can get it into Overzeal shortly after it arrives.

Strike (1st Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4%
Total Zeal Bonus: +2

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on upwards mandible strike

This giant thing's 2nd and 3rd melee attack chains do not feature any hidden criticals.

None of these characters have access to any hidden criticals. Since they only have variations on the same 2 action chains, I think that this small section will be enough to note that down:

Kimamau have no action chains that feature hidden criticals.

Another one-off, though a powerful one.

Jusenbu (1st Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +8%
Total Zeal Bonus: +4

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 2nd Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on opening the fan right after the main critical

Shunka Shyugetsu (2nd Melee Attack Chain)

Total Damage Bonus: +4% or +0% (Conditional)
Total Zeal Bonus: +2 or +4 (Conditional)

• 1st Action: 1 hidden critical, after main critical, on 2nd weapon strike
  
• 3rd Action: 1 hidden critical, before main critical, on fan strike, Special Case: This action turns the whole action chain into a fixed damage attack. While useful at the start of the fight, and while it grants 2 additional Zeal, this does nullify the damage bonus gained from regular and hidden criticals. Consider when you want to use what, depending on what level Haku is.

Haku's healing chain does not feature any hidden criticals. I guess some things just don't change, no matter what mask he's wearing.

I hope this helped someone. I spent a whole day writing it, and did many calculations, until I finally arrived at a formula that worked in all cases.
Took me a while until I had that, but I think it was worth it.

If anyone finds more hidden criticals, please do comment. If this guide is somehow incomplete despite the hours upon hours I spent on it, then that must change.

But for now, I will assume that I covered all of the important bits and bobs.

Here's to hoping that Monochrome Mobius will be just as good as this lovely title.

Take care, everyone, and have a wonderful time! o/

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