Beatmap category

Beatmaps submitted online are split into categories depending on their recent activity, nomination status, and popularity.

Present categories

Graveyard

The graveyard is a place where beatmaps abandoned by their hosts reside. These beatmaps do not have leaderboards, but they can still be downloaded and played, and they continue to contribute to play statistics. They use the question mark icon () in the song selection screen.

A beatmap is moved to the graveyard from Work in Progress and Pending automatically once it hasn't been updated for 4 weeks. The author can revive the beatmap (i.e. bring back to Pending) by updating it via the beatmap submission system. A beatmap in the graveyard doesn't count towards a mapper's total upload limit, but reviving it requires a free pending slot.

Work in Progress and Pending

Work in Progress (commonly initialised as WIP) and Pending are the two categories beatmaps are put into on initial submission. Beatmaps in these categories can move to the Qualified category upon nomination by at least two Beatmap Nominators. This usually includes a great amount of feedback from modders through modding. Work in Progress and Pending beatmaps do not have leaderboards, but contribute to play statistics. They use the question mark icon () in the song selection screen.

Inactive beatmaps that have been in this category for 4 weeks are automatically moved into the Graveyard category.

Qualified

Qualified is last stage of the beatmap ranking procedure. These beatmaps have been nominated by at least two Beatmap Nominators who have made sure that the beatmap meets the standards of the ranking criteria. Beatmaps put into Qualified enter a ranking queue, and will eventually be Ranked if they aren't disqualified from the queue. This period serves as a last line of defence in which any flaws and mistakes that might have slipped through can be fixed.

Qualified beatmaps have leaderboards, but no performance points will be awarded and all scores will be deleted when it moves out of Qualified. They use the check icon () in the song selection screen.

Ranked

Ranked beatmaps are endorsed as official content, in the sense that they have reached or surpassed the standards of the ranking criteria. They allow players to compete on leaderboards and gain performance points from setting scores. Once a beatmap has achieved Ranked status, its status cannot be altered again (except in extraordinary cases). Ranked beatmaps use the double upwards chevron icon () in the song selection screen.

Loved

For history of the Loved category, see: History of Loved

Loved beatmaps may not meet the ranking criteria, but are loved by the community and thus are regularly added based on community votes in Project Loved. They have leaderboards, but no performance points will be awarded and all scores will be deleted if it moves out of Loved (this usually only happens on the creator's request). Loved beatmaps use the heart icon () in the song selection screen.

History

Approved

The Approved beatmap category was used between 2008 and 2014 to house beatmaps that exceeded length and maximum score requirements on older renditions of the ranking criteria, as well as rare beatmaps that broke other rules on the criteria.

Approved beatmaps did not affect a user's score ranking until shortly after the shift from score ranking to performance points ranking. Following this change, Approved status was used exclusively for beatmaps with more than 6 minutes of drain time.

Approved beatmaps use the check icon () in the song selection screen and function the same as ranked beatmaps.

Appearance of Qualified

The Qualified category was introduced in August 2014 during Restructuring of the BAT to give newly ranked beatmaps more visibility. If a beatmap in Qualified had to be disqualified and moved back to Pending, it wouldn't impact players' statistics, because the category itself was designed to give transient scores from the very start. This had set correct expectations and greatly reduced the community's negative feedback to unranks.

Unranked beatmaps statistics

After 7 August 2020, beatmaps from Graveyard, as well as Work in Progress and Pending, started contributing to users' play count and total score. They also received play statistics on their individual pages (play count, success rate, and points of failure), which was only shown before for beatmaps from Qualified and Ranked.