The circle notes

10 min · Updated July 16, 2026

osu!lazer vs osu!stable: Should You Switch in 2026?

In 2026 osu!(lazer) submits ranked scores and awards pp. Here is exactly how scoring, mods, skins, rulesets and multiplayer differ from stable, and a clear verdict on which client is right for you.

7 min · Updated July 14, 2026

Best Stream & Speed Farm Maps in osu!

Streams pump the speed value of the pp algorithm. Here is why long, even streams farm so hard, and the legendary stream maps every speed player grinds.

6 min · Updated July 18, 2026

Best HR (Hard Rock) Farm Maps in osu!

Hard Rock shrinks the circles and raises AR and OD, boosting aim and accuracy value. Here is how HR farms and the aim maps it works best on.

Gear

Best osu! Tablets (2026) + How to Set Your Tablet Area

Why nearly every top osu! player uses a graphics tablet, how the tablet area concept works, and the tablets worth buying across every budget.

11 min · Updated July 13, 2026

Mods

The Mods Explained - HD, HR, DT, FL, EZ and pp

Some mods make maps harder and pay you more pp. Some make them easier and cost you. Here is exactly what each common mod does.

6 min · Updated July 19, 2026

9 min · Updated July 15, 2026

Best osu! Settings: Raw Input, FPS, Offset & More

A no-fluff tour of the osu! options that actually change how you play: raw input, OS mouse accel, tablet area, frame limiters, audio offset calibration, hit-error bar and low-end PC fixes.

6 min · Updated July 15, 2026

Easiest pp Maps in osu! - Easy pp for Low Ranks

You do not need 6-star maps to earn pp. Here are the easiest, lowest-star maps that still pay out, and how newer players should farm without over-reaching.

7 min · Updated July 15, 2026

Cheapest Way to Start Playing osu! (Free Setup)

osu! is free, and you can be playing well within an hour without spending a cent. Here is the genuinely free starter setup, what you can skip, and what is worth money only once you are hooked.

8 min · Updated July 16, 2026

osu! Multiplayer & Tournaments 101

osu! is not only a solo grind. Multiplayer lobbies, team modes, and the huge community tournament scene are where a lot of players find their people. Here is how all of it works.

Getting Started

How to Download & Set Up osu! (Beginner First Steps)

A complete first-steps guide to installing osu!, where to download it, choosing lazer or stable, logging in, getting beatmaps, and the first settings to change.

6 min · Updated July 18, 2026

9 min · Updated July 14, 2026

osu! Terms & Acronyms Explained (UR, FC, SS, Choke & More)

A plain-English glossary of the osu! shorthand you will see in chat, on stream, and on leaderboards: scoring and play terms (UR, FC, SS, choke, miss), every common mod (NM, HD, HR, DT, FL, EZ, NF), the four difficulty settings (AR, OD, CS, HP), pattern and tapping vocabulary (jumps, streams, tech, alt, singletap), and the words for beatmap status and the rank chase (ranked, loved, graveyard, snipe, farm).

9 min · Updated July 17, 2026

How to Improve Your Aim in osu!

Jump aim, flow aim, tablet area tuning, and the practice routines that actually move your cursor where you want it.

osu!catch (CtB) Guide: How to Catch Fruit

Move the catcher, dash, and chain hyperdashes to catch every falling fruit and droplet: the full beginner guide to osu!catch, formerly Catch the Beat.

9 min · Updated July 13, 2026

Skinning

Best osu! Skins in 2026 (Pro Skins & Clean Setups)

The skins actually worth running in 2026: what the top ranks use, why "clean" beats "pretty", and how to build a setup that gets out of your way instead of fighting your reading.

9 min · Updated July 19, 2026

Best Loved & Aspire Maps to Experience in osu!

Loved maps sit outside the ranked ladder (no pp, pure creativity) and the Aspire contest maps push osu! to places the ranking criteria never allow. Here are the ones worth playing at least once.

7 min · Updated July 17, 2026

How to Read High AR & Low AR in osu!

Approach rate decides how long you see a note before you hit it. Here is how to train reading at high AR, cope with low AR and Hidden, and find the AR that suits you.

What Is a Good UR in osu!? Unstable Rate Explained (and How to Lower It)

Unstable Rate is the number that tells you how consistent your tapping really is. Here is what UR means, what counts as a good UR at every level, and the concrete ways to bring yours down.

11 min · Updated July 17, 2026

Best pp Farm Maps in osu!: Easiest Maps to Boost Your pp

What pp farming actually is, why a handful of maps over-reward performance points, the etiquette around it, and a curated list of current farm maps across every rank bracket.

6 min · Updated July 19, 2026

How to Watch & Analyze an osu! Replay (.osr)

Every play you set can be saved as a replay and watched back. Here is how to find, export and open .osr files, and how to read what a replay actually tells you.

6 min · Updated July 14, 2026

How to Fix Input Lag & Boost FPS in osu!

Input lag and low frame rates quietly wreck your consistency. Here is how to reduce delay and raise your FPS so the game feels sharp and responsive.

osu! Rank Distribution (What pp Gets You Which Rank)

How much pp do you actually need to hit a given global rank in osu!standard? Here is a realistic pp-to-rank chart for 2026, why the curve is so steep at the top, and what each band of the ladder feels like.

8 min · Updated July 18, 2026

osu! Beatmap Packs Worth Downloading

Beatmap packs let you grab hundreds of maps in one download instead of clicking through the listing one at a time. Here are the packs worth your bandwidth, from starter bundles to skill-specific practice sets.

7 min · Updated July 17, 2026

Overweighted & "Broken" pp Maps in osu! - Explained

Some maps pay far more pp than their difficulty deserves. Here is what "overweighted" means, why it happens, and the maps famous for handing out nearly free pp.

8 min · Updated July 18, 2026

osu! AR Reading Chart (AR8 to AR11 Explained)

Approach Rate decides how much time you get to read a note. Here is what AR8, AR9, AR10 and the DT-inflated AR11 actually feel like, how much reaction time each gives you, and how to train up the chart.

8 min · Updated July 17, 2026

Best DT (Double Time) Farm Maps in osu!

Double Time is the oldest and most reliable pp multiplier in osu!. Here is why DT farms so well, which maps turn into pp goldmines with it on, and how to pick DT maps for your rank.

10 min · Updated July 15, 2026

How to Improve Accuracy & Reading in osu!

Overall Difficulty and hit windows, unstable rate, the hit-error bar, approach rate and Hidden reading, and how to drill on-beat timing.

12 min · Updated July 15, 2026

Best osu! Beatmaps to Play & Practice (Aim, Streams, Tech)

A skill-by-skill tour of the maps worth playing for their own sake: aim and jumps, streams, speed and alternating, tech and reading, and the all-time classics every player should run at least once.

8 min · Updated July 15, 2026

osu!mania Guide: How to Play the VSRG Mode

Columns, notes, and hold notes scrolling toward a judgement line: everything you need to start playing osu!mania, the 4K/7K vertical-scrolling rhythm game.

10 min · Updated July 19, 2026

osu! Ranks & pp Explained: Global Rank, Level & What's a Good pp

osu! has three things people loosely call your "rank," and they measure completely different things. This guide separates performance points (pp) and the weighted total that drives your global and country rank, the level number that comes from total score, and the per-play letter grades, then gives hedged, approximate pp-to-rank reference points and a practical plan for actually climbing.

7 min · Updated July 16, 2026

Best Aim Farm Maps in osu! (Jump Maps for pp)

Aim maps, big, spaced jumps, are where cursor-control players farm the most pp. Here is why jump maps over-reward aim, and the classic aim farm maps to grind.

Gear

Best osu! Keyboard & Which Keys to Use (Z/X, K1/K2)

The default Z/X keys, why players rebind, full keyboards versus dedicated keypads, switch choices for tapping and streaming, and what hall-effect rapid trigger really does for osu!.

11 min · Updated July 15, 2026

5 min · Updated July 15, 2026

Tablet vs Mouse - Which to Use and Why Pros Pick Tablet

Almost every top osu! player is on a drawing tablet. Here is what the absolute positioning actually buys you, and whether the switch is worth it.

6 min · Updated July 15, 2026

Best HD (Hidden) Farm Maps in osu!

Hidden adds a flat pp bonus for the reading challenge, which makes it nearly free pp on maps you can already read. Here is how HD farms and the best maps to use it on.

8 min · Updated July 18, 2026

osu!taiko Guide: Don, Kat & How to Play

Red Don, blue Kat, big finisher notes, drumrolls, and dendens: the complete beginner breakdown of osu!taiko, the drum-based rhythm ruleset.

6 min · Updated July 16, 2026

Relax, Autopilot & the Unranked Mods in osu! (Explained)

Not every mod gives pp. Here is what Relax, Autopilot, Spun Out and the other unranked mods actually do, when to use them, and why they do not count toward your rank.

7 min · Updated July 18, 2026

How to Farm pp Fast in osu! - The Strategy

Farm maps are only half of it. This is the actual strategy: how weighting works, which plays to chase, when to mod, and how to farm efficiently instead of grinding blind.

6 min · Updated July 16, 2026

osu! Offset Explained: Fix Early or Late Hits

If your hits feel consistently early or late, your offset is off, not your skill. Here is what universal and local offset do, and how to set them correctly.

10 min · Updated July 15, 2026

How to Stream Faster in osu! (Streaming & Speed)

Singletapping vs. alternating, finger independence, BPM progression, deathstreams, and the stamina to hold a stream to the end of the map.

6 min · Updated July 14, 2026

How to Improve Faster - Aim, Reading, Consistency and Streams

Raw playtime alone plateaus. Here is how to split practice across the four skills that actually carry your rank, and how to train each.

6 min · Updated July 13, 2026

How to Set Your osu! Tablet Area (Find Your Ideal Size)

Your tablet area is your sensitivity. Here is what area actually does, how to find a size that fits your aim, and how to set it consistently.

10 min · Updated July 19, 2026

Best DT Practice Maps by Star Rating

A star-by-star ladder of Double Time practice maps, from your first clean DT pass up to real speed. Each pick is chosen for the diff you should play so DT scales you up without breaking you.

7 min · Updated July 14, 2026

How to Alternate (Tapping) in osu! - Singletap vs Alternate

Alternating is the difference between hitting a stream and mashing at it. Here is what alternating actually is, when to use it over singletapping, and how to drill even, controlled taps.

5 min · Updated July 18, 2026

How Star Rating and Difficulty Settings Work

Stars are not the whole story. AR, OD, CS and HP shape how a map actually feels. Here is what every difficulty number means.

4 min · Updated July 19, 2026

Best Beginner-Friendly Maps & How to Practise Them

The right early maps teach rhythm and aim without punishing you. Here is what to look for and how to actually practise instead of just retrying.

7 min · Updated July 15, 2026

How pp Actually Works - Performance Points, Demystified

pp is not your score and it is not your accuracy. Here is what really drives it, why one map can be worth ten of another, and how your total is built.

9 min · Updated July 13, 2026

osu!mania Skill Progression (4K Roadmap)

A stage-by-stage roadmap for 4-key osu!mania, from your first chart to jumpstream and beyond. What each skill band demands, what to practise at each level, and the pattern types that gatekeep the next step.

Getting Started

Is osu! Supporter Worth It? Everything You Get

osu! supporter is the optional paid tag. Here is exactly what it unlocks, what it does not, and whether it is worth buying for how you play.

5 min · Updated July 18, 2026

6 min · Updated July 13, 2026

Best Marathon Farm Maps in osu! (Long Maps for pp)

The pp of a play scales with length, so long maps of consistent patterns pay big for a single clean pass. Here is how marathon farming works and the long maps worth grinding.

osu! Snap Aim vs Flow Aim - Drills & Maps

Aim is not one skill. Snap aim is sharp, decisive movement between spaced notes; flow aim is smooth, continuous arcs through chains. Here is how they differ, and how to drill each.