Okay, so I'm writing this guide cause some people were asking me for tips on how to get into/get better at Mania. I'm not that good of a teacher, but maybe I can come up with some things that may help. I know there are probably tons of guides out there already, but I wanted to give some input of my own to the community.
Okay, so first, we'll talk about setting your key configuration and scroll speed, which is pretty important for those who haven't already figured that out.
First things first, you'll need to go to options from the main menu, or press Ctrl + O to open the options. Next, you'll want to go down to the controller icon on the left to find the place to set your keys to play. I remember when I started out, it took me forever to learn the keys cause I didn't know where to change them or even what the default keys were. You'll click on the "osu!mania layout" square to bring up the menu to set your keys.
It should bring up a menu that shows you what the default keys are for the mode set by the game. Feel free to change them and find a good set up that feels comfortable for you. All you have to do is press the key you want to have set for the selected key on the screen, if you press the wrong one, just go to the top and click on the "4K" option to reset the key set up again.
Once you get your keys set up how you want, next you'll want to go back to the options menu and go to the 3rd icon on the left (The circle under the monitor icon) and find the "Scale osu!mania scroll speed with BPM" option and make sure it is unchecked (The circle is not filled in.). This will make sure that all the maps you play will be at a set speed for whatever scroll speed you have selected unless the map has a BPM shift (The map can sometimes change speeds depending if it was put into the map or not.) that overwrites that. Also, makes sure you don't have the "Remember osu!mania scroll speed per beatmap" checked as well so you don't have to change the speed for every single map you play.
Okay, now that you have the options all set, you'll need to go into any map and at the start, use your F3 and F4 keys to change the speed of your scroll.
F3 lowers the speed and F4 makes it faster. Usually a map with a long break is good for this, or if you want set it while seeing notes, you can find a map with a shorter intro. I recommend starting at 12-17 scroll speed and just adjust until you find a speed you're comfortable with. Once you get to higher difficulties, making the speed faster can somewhat help you read the faster/trickier patterns due to it spreading the notes out further. I myself play on 21 in case you were wondering.
Now that you have your options and scroll speed all figured out, we can finally move on to the tips on how to play/improve at Mania. Just be warned that these may not work for everyone and that I'm not the best at teaching or explaining things, but I will try my best.
One last thing I should add here is to note that the default Osu skin for Mania is awful for reading the notes as they come. I will put some skin recommendations down below for some that I think will help you out on this.
YUGEN SD/HD: https://osu.ppy.sh/forum/t/365036
Stepmania Ultralight: https://osu.ppy.sh/forum/t/489775 (This one is good if you have played stepmania or DDR before.)
Okay, if you're relatively new to Mania style rhythm games, I recommend starting with maps that are around 1* and maybe 1.5* at the most as they have the easiest patterns to learn. Don't worry if you don't seem to get it at first, as Mania can be hard to get the hang of at first, but it can be quite easy to pick up on if you put a little time into it. Also, keep in mind that for long notes, you need to release at the right time at the end of them in order to hit them correctly. The game does not tell you this and I've seen so many players not realize this mechanic existed.
For map recommendations I'll post some below that you could possibly give a try that will let you get used to Mania without overwhelming you.
Jinjin - pi (4k Beginner) 0.68 stars (33 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1103144
S-C-U feat. Qrispy Joybox - anemone (4k Beginner) 0.83 stars (1 minute and 35 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/645315
Dollscythe - Flashes (Beginner) 1.04 stars (1 minute and 42 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1055379
Alan Walker - Faded (4k Beginner) 1.11 stars (3 minutes and 28 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1038587
Marshmello - Alone (BANGKE's EZ) 1.2 stars (2 minutes and 15 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1001516
These shouldn't be too difficult I hope, just practice them until you can get an S rank (95% accuracy). Once you start getting around S rank on these, you should be familiar enough to start playing other maps at around 1 star difficulty.
Once you've played a bit and find those too easy, you're ready to start improving your skill and start getting better. At this point, you should try working your way towards 2 star maps and higher. Remember, even if you aren't doing well, you're always improving in some way as long as you keep trying and stay optimistic. Be warned that the Mania difficulty spike can be quite steep and can take a while to get to 3 star and higher.
If you've made it this far into the guide, then I've assumed you've either learned fast, or you have some experience coming into Mania (Have played other Mania type games). For this section, I'm going to try to give some tips to help improve upon what you've learned or know so far.
Tip 1:
If you aren't playing as good as you want or your hands start to hurt, TAKE A BREAK. A 10-20 minute break will probably be good. Watch a couple of YouTube videos or something while you wait. I can't stress this enough as you will only cause yourself more frustration than needed. Trust me, I know that from personal experience.
Tip 2:
Try finding a good position for your wrists/hands. Hitting those tricky sections or long marathons can be pretty difficult if your hands/wrists/arms are getting sore. Sometimes this can be hard for Laptop users as Laptop keyboards tend to be terrible for comfortable hand positions and such. I myself play on a Laptop, but I still try my best to work with it anyway.
Tip 3:
Using the Double Time or Nightcore mods (Preference really) on easier maps or Half Time mod on harder maps can be a good learning tool for either speeding up patterns you know for speed training or slowing down more complex patterns to learn them and possibly help you play them at full speed once you figure out how they work.
Tip 4:
Not really a tip, but rather advice. Just try your best and have fun, and maybe go to multi to meet some new people. I've met some pretty chill people on Osu that have given me advice and tips as well. Don't be afraid to go into a lobby and be friendly. Even if you don't win, just try and enjoy the music and the game.
Tip 5:
Always keep in mind that you are improving no matter what you think. You may think you aren't, but if you keep at it and stay cool, you will notice the difference. If you still doubt yourself, always take the time to look back at your old scores and maybe go try to beat them. I'm sure you will realize that you have improved in some way.
Well, we're coming to the end of this "little" guide now and I think I'll end it off with some 2 star and 3 star map recommendations for you to work towards (Depending on your current skill of course.) These will be hard for some and easier for others, but remember what I said and I'm sure you'll be able to do them with more practice.
2 star maps:
Getty vs. DJ DiA - Ops:Code-Rapture- (NOVICE) 2.03 stars (1 minute and 49 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/784841
Camellia - overcomplexification (Lv.04) 2.04 stars (1 minute and 52 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/756711
Seiryu - Water Horizon (4K BASIC) 2.09 stars (1 minute and 56 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/360801
3 star maps:
t+pazolite - Pumpin' Junkies (Hard) 2.99 stars (4 minutes and 28 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1033165
USAO - Miracle 5ympho X (4K Stairs Training) 2.99 stars (2 minutes) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/914465 (This map is good for practicing stairs.)
3R2 - Beyond the Horizon (S.Demon's HD+) 3 stars (2 minutes and 14 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/525200
Well, that about wraps up this guide and I hope that it will help you out in some way to get started or improve yourself in 4K Mania. In the end, it's about enjoying the game and actually wanting to improve, I just did my best to maybe give some tips for everyone that reads this.
If you have any questions or just want to message me, feel free to send me a message in game or if I'm not on, a message from my profile. https://osu.ppy.sh/u/1932492 or my Discord. Chez Tikkesi#0677
Anyway, I really do hope this helped you better yourself on Mania and helped in the slightest. If you found this useful, be sure to show others that want to get better or players you know that also want to improve.
Okay, so first, we'll talk about setting your key configuration and scroll speed, which is pretty important for those who haven't already figured that out.
First things first, you'll need to go to options from the main menu, or press Ctrl + O to open the options. Next, you'll want to go down to the controller icon on the left to find the place to set your keys to play. I remember when I started out, it took me forever to learn the keys cause I didn't know where to change them or even what the default keys were. You'll click on the "osu!mania layout" square to bring up the menu to set your keys.
It should bring up a menu that shows you what the default keys are for the mode set by the game. Feel free to change them and find a good set up that feels comfortable for you. All you have to do is press the key you want to have set for the selected key on the screen, if you press the wrong one, just go to the top and click on the "4K" option to reset the key set up again.
Once you get your keys set up how you want, next you'll want to go back to the options menu and go to the 3rd icon on the left (The circle under the monitor icon) and find the "Scale osu!mania scroll speed with BPM" option and make sure it is unchecked (The circle is not filled in.). This will make sure that all the maps you play will be at a set speed for whatever scroll speed you have selected unless the map has a BPM shift (The map can sometimes change speeds depending if it was put into the map or not.) that overwrites that. Also, makes sure you don't have the "Remember osu!mania scroll speed per beatmap" checked as well so you don't have to change the speed for every single map you play.
Okay, now that you have the options all set, you'll need to go into any map and at the start, use your F3 and F4 keys to change the speed of your scroll.
F3 lowers the speed and F4 makes it faster. Usually a map with a long break is good for this, or if you want set it while seeing notes, you can find a map with a shorter intro. I recommend starting at 12-17 scroll speed and just adjust until you find a speed you're comfortable with. Once you get to higher difficulties, making the speed faster can somewhat help you read the faster/trickier patterns due to it spreading the notes out further. I myself play on 21 in case you were wondering.
Now that you have your options and scroll speed all figured out, we can finally move on to the tips on how to play/improve at Mania. Just be warned that these may not work for everyone and that I'm not the best at teaching or explaining things, but I will try my best.
One last thing I should add here is to note that the default Osu skin for Mania is awful for reading the notes as they come. I will put some skin recommendations down below for some that I think will help you out on this.
YUGEN SD/HD: https://osu.ppy.sh/forum/t/365036
Stepmania Ultralight: https://osu.ppy.sh/forum/t/489775 (This one is good if you have played stepmania or DDR before.)
Okay, if you're relatively new to Mania style rhythm games, I recommend starting with maps that are around 1* and maybe 1.5* at the most as they have the easiest patterns to learn. Don't worry if you don't seem to get it at first, as Mania can be hard to get the hang of at first, but it can be quite easy to pick up on if you put a little time into it. Also, keep in mind that for long notes, you need to release at the right time at the end of them in order to hit them correctly. The game does not tell you this and I've seen so many players not realize this mechanic existed.
For map recommendations I'll post some below that you could possibly give a try that will let you get used to Mania without overwhelming you.
Jinjin - pi (4k Beginner) 0.68 stars (33 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1103144
S-C-U feat. Qrispy Joybox - anemone (4k Beginner) 0.83 stars (1 minute and 35 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/645315
Dollscythe - Flashes (Beginner) 1.04 stars (1 minute and 42 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1055379
Alan Walker - Faded (4k Beginner) 1.11 stars (3 minutes and 28 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1038587
Marshmello - Alone (BANGKE's EZ) 1.2 stars (2 minutes and 15 seconds long) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1001516
These shouldn't be too difficult I hope, just practice them until you can get an S rank (95% accuracy). Once you start getting around S rank on these, you should be familiar enough to start playing other maps at around 1 star difficulty.
Once you've played a bit and find those too easy, you're ready to start improving your skill and start getting better. At this point, you should try working your way towards 2 star maps and higher. Remember, even if you aren't doing well, you're always improving in some way as long as you keep trying and stay optimistic. Be warned that the Mania difficulty spike can be quite steep and can take a while to get to 3 star and higher.
If you've made it this far into the guide, then I've assumed you've either learned fast, or you have some experience coming into Mania (Have played other Mania type games). For this section, I'm going to try to give some tips to help improve upon what you've learned or know so far.
Tip 1:
If you aren't playing as good as you want or your hands start to hurt, TAKE A BREAK. A 10-20 minute break will probably be good. Watch a couple of YouTube videos or something while you wait. I can't stress this enough as you will only cause yourself more frustration than needed. Trust me, I know that from personal experience.
Tip 2:
Try finding a good position for your wrists/hands. Hitting those tricky sections or long marathons can be pretty difficult if your hands/wrists/arms are getting sore. Sometimes this can be hard for Laptop users as Laptop keyboards tend to be terrible for comfortable hand positions and such. I myself play on a Laptop, but I still try my best to work with it anyway.
Tip 3:
Using the Double Time or Nightcore mods (Preference really) on easier maps or Half Time mod on harder maps can be a good learning tool for either speeding up patterns you know for speed training or slowing down more complex patterns to learn them and possibly help you play them at full speed once you figure out how they work.
Tip 4:
Not really a tip, but rather advice. Just try your best and have fun, and maybe go to multi to meet some new people. I've met some pretty chill people on Osu that have given me advice and tips as well. Don't be afraid to go into a lobby and be friendly. Even if you don't win, just try and enjoy the music and the game.
Tip 5:
Always keep in mind that you are improving no matter what you think. You may think you aren't, but if you keep at it and stay cool, you will notice the difference. If you still doubt yourself, always take the time to look back at your old scores and maybe go try to beat them. I'm sure you will realize that you have improved in some way.
Well, we're coming to the end of this "little" guide now and I think I'll end it off with some 2 star and 3 star map recommendations for you to work towards (Depending on your current skill of course.) These will be hard for some and easier for others, but remember what I said and I'm sure you'll be able to do them with more practice.
2 star maps:
Getty vs. DJ DiA - Ops:Code-Rapture- (NOVICE) 2.03 stars (1 minute and 49 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/784841
Camellia - overcomplexification (Lv.04) 2.04 stars (1 minute and 52 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/756711
Seiryu - Water Horizon (4K BASIC) 2.09 stars (1 minute and 56 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/360801
3 star maps:
t+pazolite - Pumpin' Junkies (Hard) 2.99 stars (4 minutes and 28 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1033165
USAO - Miracle 5ympho X (4K Stairs Training) 2.99 stars (2 minutes) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/914465 (This map is good for practicing stairs.)
3R2 - Beyond the Horizon (S.Demon's HD+) 3 stars (2 minutes and 14 seconds) https://osu.ppy.sh/b/525200
Well, that about wraps up this guide and I hope that it will help you out in some way to get started or improve yourself in 4K Mania. In the end, it's about enjoying the game and actually wanting to improve, I just did my best to maybe give some tips for everyone that reads this.
If you have any questions or just want to message me, feel free to send me a message in game or if I'm not on, a message from my profile. https://osu.ppy.sh/u/1932492 or my Discord. Chez Tikkesi#0677
Anyway, I really do hope this helped you better yourself on Mania and helped in the slightest. If you found this useful, be sure to show others that want to get better or players you know that also want to improve.
?