When a weapon has a greater critical range than a natural 20, how do the additional critical numbers work? A natural 20 is always a hit (not counting things like concealment). Do the additional numbers also say it's an automatic hit? I know they don't auto-confirm when the dice roll plus the attack mods don't equal the AC, but I don't know about the initial attack roll.
[RPG] How do larger critical threat ranges work
critical-hitpathfinder-1e
Best Answer
Only a natural 20 is an automatic hit. Expanded critical threat ranges give the attack more chances to critical, but only a natural 20 automatically hits.
PFSRD:
In summary, if you're using a 19-20/x2 weapon and roll a 19 that doesn't hit the target's AC, you simply miss. There is no confirmation roll. Another, more likely, example is rolling 15 on an 18-20/x2 with Improved Critical.