To begin with let me get this straight; I am not claiming that everything in this thread is definitely true. Many of the statements that I am going to provide are just assumptions based on my past experience. Being on osu in the past year, even though i don't think I have much skill in any of the modes, I do think I have accumulated knowledge on certain factors of the game. I do not expect 100% of people to agree with whatever I say, though I do believe that it may resolve SOME confusion for a few people. Also, much of the stuff I'm about to say, skillful people will know of and conquered these difficulties even if they aren't fully aware of the reasons. Finally, this won't be as in depth as some other threads.
First steps
When you first play the game everything is completely new to you. The tutorial may seem relatively simple so you don't think anything of it. Until you play your first song and all the circles on the screen leave you overwhelmed. It is this stage that I like to call the Newborn Effect.. You are intrigued with everything to do with the game, yet your attempts to do well will rarely work out. Not long after you are here, you may try to walk before you can crawl, in frustration of how 'easy' and 'slow' beginner maps are.
This is due to you not saving any skill into your hard drive. You are learning so much at once so nothing will come second nature.Though this is also the fastest learning phase of your osu life.
This is due to you not saving any skill into your hard drive. You are learning so much at once so nothing will come second nature.Though this is also the fastest learning phase of your osu life.
Paranoia
After a while you will no longer be new and so will be expecting to improve every week at least. Slow progress can be quite scary for some people as they can think that they have hit a wall/their peak. This however is all paranoia.
As you play through a beatmap for the first time, you will sometimes just play through to the finish. Your first try on a beatmap after your warmup session has finished will usually be one of your best for that session. You ask yourself ''How can I be getting worse?''. The answer? You are not getting any worse at this game whatsoever.
On your first try you will have a number of patterns, approach rates and jumps saved into your mind. So normally on your first plays of the day it will be this that will decide how well you do. If however you summon retryui then your mind will have doubts.
First try.- Mind: I am just going to go with the flow and impress!
Future tries- Mind: I got to remember when that stream star... NO MY FC!. Will i ever get better?
In essence on your first try your mind will tell you what to do and send the signal to perform the action at the same time on most cases.
On future tries, your mind will anticipate the future, tell you what to do soon and accidentally send the signal to perform an action too early. Your mind may also live in the past and you lose all concentration completely. You remember that initial attempt where you almost full combo'd so keep on attempting in vain. Paranoia is definitely a huge aspect of this game and is what holds back many people for days and months.
As you play through a beatmap for the first time, you will sometimes just play through to the finish. Your first try on a beatmap after your warmup session has finished will usually be one of your best for that session. You ask yourself ''How can I be getting worse?''. The answer? You are not getting any worse at this game whatsoever.
On your first try you will have a number of patterns, approach rates and jumps saved into your mind. So normally on your first plays of the day it will be this that will decide how well you do. If however you summon retryui then your mind will have doubts.
First try.- Mind: I am just going to go with the flow and impress!
Future tries- Mind: I got to remember when that stream star... NO MY FC!. Will i ever get better?
In essence on your first try your mind will tell you what to do and send the signal to perform the action at the same time on most cases.
On future tries, your mind will anticipate the future, tell you what to do soon and accidentally send the signal to perform an action too early. Your mind may also live in the past and you lose all concentration completely. You remember that initial attempt where you almost full combo'd so keep on attempting in vain. Paranoia is definitely a huge aspect of this game and is what holds back many people for days and months.
How do I stop paranoia
You can't completely remove the element of paranoia although there is ways of reducing it.
- Plenty of sleep is a must. If you get enough, playing osu again will be like restarting your computer. Your mental state is going to be in good shape compared to the night before. So every day is likely going to be a new start!
- Taking a short/long break from the game. This is like doing a fresh install of Windows onto your computer but all your important files were backed up. You will most likely have forgot that terrible experience last time you played and the game will be fun again
- Stop retrying at the start of every song! You will basically be accelerating your paranoia by doing this. Instead of just letting the flow take you through, you'll be thinking too much about your problem and lose accuracy in the easier portions of the song
- Spectate a high rank player You may think this is counter productive. However, see them on their 20th attempt of a song and you'll see that everything is not going to instant. It'll take patience and realising that there is no rush will stop you worrying.
Final Words
I hope that this short overview of paranoia in your game will help you understand those bad days on osu. It's not something to be ignored. By not doing so, you can manage and overcome most of these challenges to improving your skill level.
I would also like to say that I borrowed the thread template from the thread of 'How to get better at osu'. My formatting in general is terrible and would like the information to be presented in a neat fashion.
I would also like to say that I borrowed the thread template from the thread of 'How to get better at osu'. My formatting in general is terrible and would like the information to be presented in a neat fashion.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you on osu!