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Backstabs do massive damage in the normal game, only an uber or play dead watch can allow someone to survive a backstab. Another feature of the backstab is that it is often described as an automatic critical hit.

From TF2 Wiki.net:

Due to the nature of achieving a backstab, it is technically impossible to score a non critical backstab.

The large robots in Mann vs Machine can survive multiple rapid backstabs, and I'm wondering if there is a way to up the damage even greater. The spy can gain automatic criticals after a kill in Mann mode, and also a spy may use a canteen, medic, mark of death or jarata to gain crits or mini-crits.

However, if a backstab is already a critical hit then is there any damage bonus gained by crit-boosting a true backstab?

(Excluding face stabs, of course, which do gain from crit boosting)

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  • "it is technically impossible to score a non critical backstab" What? You can do that on a non-crit server (easiest way) or on a crit-enabled server against a player buffed by the Battalion's Backup. The player will still die, of course but that's not the point...
    – BoltClock
    Commented Sep 2, 2012 at 21:32
  • @TheAnnoyingPyro - That's true, but TF2 wiki maybe assuming a default vanilla server.
    – Mark Rogers
    Commented Sep 3, 2012 at 0:33
  • Don't no-crit servers allow "earned" crits? As in, crits from the Kritzkrieg, Crit-a-cola, etc? Or no? If so, wouldn't a backstab be considered an "earned" crit?
    – Unionhawk ♦
    Commented Nov 14, 2012 at 23:51
  • I know this is an old question, but I just wanted to point that it is possible to survive a backstab with a Razorback as well.
    – jacen.garriss
    Commented Sep 4, 2014 at 19:12

2 Answers 2

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Backstabs are always crits, and crits do not stack in any way, so critboosts will not help deal extra damage to giant robots. To get more damage out of such backstabs you will need to upgrade your knife.

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Crits and mini-crits do not stack in any form - that is, meeting multiple conditions to earn a crit or a mini-crit will not deal any more than regular critical damage. For example, the Frontier Justice's revenge crits do not deal any additional damage when the Engineer is ÜberCharged by the Medic using the Kritzkrieg, while attacking an enemy under the influence of both Jarate and the Fan O'War will only result in a single mini-crit. This means that team co-ordination is required if multiple players have ways to increase their crit output, or extra damage will be wasted. If both a mini-crit and full critical hit occurs with the same attack, the critical hit overrides the mini-crit.

Think of the critical hit as a light switch, it's either on or off. They are not dimmers.

Critical Hits on Team Fortress Wiki

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