Wow... I wake up to find that this thread became a monster while I was asleep. XD
Anyway, I read what everyone is saying, and aside from thinking it's super cool that everyone is taking this so seriously for you (which I understand, since you genuinely look like you could be a good player with more time and proper settings), I have something that I want to share. This is my story of learning to play Osu!.
I personally began playing Osu with a crappy mouse that I could barely control. I played hard, and I got to probably somewhere around your skill level, maybe a little better. I finally got a Deathadder gaming mouse, because it became apparent to me that I was spending so much time on this game that I obviously wanted to take it to the next level with some more precise tools. I started with that mouse. When I first began with it, I knew that the common knowledge was that low DPI is better, but somehow every time that I tried to set my DPI to 800, which is the common DPI that most pros use, I felt like it was impossible to play... so I started experimenting with setting it higher. I went up, up, up, until I was using 2000 DPI, and each time I went up I felt like I was playing better, and gaining control over my mouse. This was, in fact, an illusion. What I was gaining was more movement for less effort. Since my muscles weren't honed enough to handle some of the fast movements that I needed to play insane maps, I was feeling like I was playing better because my small efforts were being rewarded with dramatic movement and speed. This, however, made me terribly inaccurate, and my aim was not very good. I was still improving, though! I was steadily getting better and better from long hours of practice and fun. However, as I improved, and as my muscles got better, I started to see the error of my ways... I felt that it was taking so much muscle control and strain to control my mouse that sometimes I was sure I'd develop carpal tunnel eventually. It became impossible to tense my muscles enough to play the maps that I wanted to play. That is when I realized that I had to drop my DPI. I was at a skill level that was high enough that I could physically feel the need for it. I slowly started moving my DPI down. I went down, down, down, and every time I did it I felt like I was getting worse at the game, because my mouse felt harder and harder to move the way that I wanted to move it. At this point in time I was using something like 700 DPI. But then something cool happened... I started playing better... As I practiced more with lower DPI, my muscles began to understand what they needed to do with it, and I got better so quickly that I could feel the improvement every day. I got so good that I actually surpassed my previous skill level that I had when I was using 2000 DPI. I surpassed it by miles. At that point I noticed, however, that I was still feeling just a little off. I felt like I was still straining my hand, but now it was because I felt that getting to the very top and bottom of the screen was difficult for me. I finally decided that I wanted to go up to a nice rounded 800 DPI. I made that change, and I immediately felt better. It didn't feel like I was straining to do anything, and I didn't feel like it was too easy on my muscles either. It was just right for me. I've sometimes thought about going lower again, but the fact is that I probably never will, because now I am probably five times better than I ever was when I was using 700 DPI, and I might even be ten times better than I was with 2000 DPI. I can safely say that for the moment I have no plans to ever change from 800 until it becomes impossible for me to improve further at that setting.
Long story short, it took me a few months to get down to 700 DPI. It took me maybe one month to get back up to 800 and surpass my previous skill when I was on 700. Keep ramping it down, and play until you feel the difference. It's not going to be fast. it may take months. Just give it a real chance. The very least thing that you will get is a better understanding of how DPI effects your hand and your play.
Edit: I forgot to add that a couple months ago I got a Steelseries QCK+ mouse pad. Wow... It's good... Lol. Think about your playing surface too, as you get better. K. I'm done, I promise. XD
Anyway, I read what everyone is saying, and aside from thinking it's super cool that everyone is taking this so seriously for you (which I understand, since you genuinely look like you could be a good player with more time and proper settings), I have something that I want to share. This is my story of learning to play Osu!.
I personally began playing Osu with a crappy mouse that I could barely control. I played hard, and I got to probably somewhere around your skill level, maybe a little better. I finally got a Deathadder gaming mouse, because it became apparent to me that I was spending so much time on this game that I obviously wanted to take it to the next level with some more precise tools. I started with that mouse. When I first began with it, I knew that the common knowledge was that low DPI is better, but somehow every time that I tried to set my DPI to 800, which is the common DPI that most pros use, I felt like it was impossible to play... so I started experimenting with setting it higher. I went up, up, up, until I was using 2000 DPI, and each time I went up I felt like I was playing better, and gaining control over my mouse. This was, in fact, an illusion. What I was gaining was more movement for less effort. Since my muscles weren't honed enough to handle some of the fast movements that I needed to play insane maps, I was feeling like I was playing better because my small efforts were being rewarded with dramatic movement and speed. This, however, made me terribly inaccurate, and my aim was not very good. I was still improving, though! I was steadily getting better and better from long hours of practice and fun. However, as I improved, and as my muscles got better, I started to see the error of my ways... I felt that it was taking so much muscle control and strain to control my mouse that sometimes I was sure I'd develop carpal tunnel eventually. It became impossible to tense my muscles enough to play the maps that I wanted to play. That is when I realized that I had to drop my DPI. I was at a skill level that was high enough that I could physically feel the need for it. I slowly started moving my DPI down. I went down, down, down, and every time I did it I felt like I was getting worse at the game, because my mouse felt harder and harder to move the way that I wanted to move it. At this point in time I was using something like 700 DPI. But then something cool happened... I started playing better... As I practiced more with lower DPI, my muscles began to understand what they needed to do with it, and I got better so quickly that I could feel the improvement every day. I got so good that I actually surpassed my previous skill level that I had when I was using 2000 DPI. I surpassed it by miles. At that point I noticed, however, that I was still feeling just a little off. I felt like I was still straining my hand, but now it was because I felt that getting to the very top and bottom of the screen was difficult for me. I finally decided that I wanted to go up to a nice rounded 800 DPI. I made that change, and I immediately felt better. It didn't feel like I was straining to do anything, and I didn't feel like it was too easy on my muscles either. It was just right for me. I've sometimes thought about going lower again, but the fact is that I probably never will, because now I am probably five times better than I ever was when I was using 700 DPI, and I might even be ten times better than I was with 2000 DPI. I can safely say that for the moment I have no plans to ever change from 800 until it becomes impossible for me to improve further at that setting.
Long story short, it took me a few months to get down to 700 DPI. It took me maybe one month to get back up to 800 and surpass my previous skill when I was on 700. Keep ramping it down, and play until you feel the difference. It's not going to be fast. it may take months. Just give it a real chance. The very least thing that you will get is a better understanding of how DPI effects your hand and your play.
Edit: I forgot to add that a couple months ago I got a Steelseries QCK+ mouse pad. Wow... It's good... Lol. Think about your playing surface too, as you get better. K. I'm done, I promise. XD
