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Why are maps in the same rating so wildly different in terms of difficulty?

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General_Ravioli
2 posts
Joined November 2024
Topic Starter
General_Ravioli
I've only been playing the game for like 2 weeks and have around 12 hours of playtime, so sorry if this is a stupid question that's already been answered (I can't find the answer so I might as well post).

I've come across this beatmap that has three and a half stars on it called grievous lady and its so hard for me to get an A or higher, but other beatmaps that are three and a half star I can get S or A tier, even a FC, first try without hearing the song before or seeing the beatmap before. I was wondering if this particular beatmap just has some weird technique that makes it much harder but only grants it 3 and a half star or there is something else going on.

Also, a bit of a side question, but some beatmaps that have like 3 stars on them are under the two star category, why is that?

Thanks!
Wimpy Cursed
1,187 posts
Joined July 2021
Wimpy Cursed
Simple answer, SR isn't really accurate to difficulty. It may give off a rough estimation of the difficulty, but not totally accurate.

Second question, some maps just round up to 3*.. So, a map that is 2.99(6)* would round to just 3*.
You will only see two floats, not the third or however many more.
lewski
1,346 posts
Joined September 2014
lewski
To elaborate on Wimpy's answer, star rating is calculated automatically for each map, and the algorithm doesn't account for factors other than mechanical difficulty very well. In other words, SR mainly represents the spacing and rhythm density of the map. Therefore, maps whose difficulty comes from other factors (e.g. reading or cursor control) are usually underweighted.

In the example you gave, I assume you're talking about [JackT's Hyper] on the loved set of Grievous Lady. Your hunch about "weird techniques" is sort of correct: the mapper is clearly pretty inexperienced, because lots of things in the diff just don't make much sense.

More specifically, the spacing throughout the map is absolutely tiny compared to the slider velocity, which is already pretty jarring to play and makes the map harder to read. What's more, there are a bunch of spots where the mapper takes a spacing idea that they've been using for a specific rhythm and uses it for a completely different rhythm, so the map is essentially just lying to you about the rhythm you should try to tap.

There are also a lot of patterns with lots of sliders all bunched up in the same area, which can be pretty challenging to read and aim, especially when all of the hardest sliders have slider ticks as well. These ideas would probably be underweighted in terms of SR even if they were executed well.

Most maps around this SR are Hard diffs, so they're required by the Ranking Criteria to use fairly straightforward object placement logic. This map, on the other hand, is loved, so that requirement doesn't apply to it.
Last edited by lewski , edited 2 times in total.
General_Ravioli
2 posts
Joined November 2024
Topic Starter
General_Ravioli
There are also a lot of patterns with lots of sliders all bunched up in the same area, which can be pretty challenging to read and aim, especially when all of the hardest sliders have slider ticks as well. These ideas would probably be underweighted in terms of SR even if they were executed well.

So what would you give the grievous lady loved set as an actual difficulty? The way you explain it, it seems to be a bit more than 3.5* difficulty
lewski
1,346 posts
Joined September 2014
lewski
Hmm, tough to say; different skillsets are hard to compare. The diff definitely requires Insane-level rhythm processing and comfort with extended sliders, but the mechanical challenge is pretty nonexistent. As far as target audience is considered, it might be comparable to 4* maps?
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