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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.
By OSUMAUK Staff
Double Time is where most players hit a wall, and the reason is usually the wrong practice maps. DT multiplies both the speed and the effective approach rate of whatever you play, so the smart move is not to slap DT onto your hardest nomod map - it is to pick a lower nomod diff and let DT scale it into the range you want to train. This guide is a ladder: each rung lists a map and the specific difficulty to play with DT, ordered so you can climb it rung by rung.
The star ratings below are the nomod ratings of the diff you should play. Applying DT roughly raises the effective difficulty by around a star and a half and pushes the AR up by about 1.4, so a 3.6-star AR8 diff under DT reads closer to 5 stars at roughly AR9.7. Play the listed diff with DT, aim for a pass first and an FC second, and only move up a rung when the current one feels comfortable.
If DT feels impossible on a map, drop to a lower diff of the same set rather than fighting it. The point is to train even, controlled speed - flailing through a too-hard map builds bad habits, not stamina. The AR reading chart guide explains why the AR inflation is usually what gets you, not the raw speed.
Start on a Hard diff around 3.5 to 3.9 stars. Under DT these become a gentle, readable intro to the mod: fast enough to feel different, slow enough that you can keep your accuracy. Harumachi Clover has a full spread, so play the 3.36-star Hard with DT, then graduate to the 4.25-star Insane later.
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Will Stetson - Harumachi Clover (Swing Arrangement)
Play FrenZ's Hard (3.36★, 170 BPM) with DT for your first clean pass
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ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION - Haruka Kanata
NeoSL's Hard (3.14★) or Gero's Hard (3.83★, AR8) - clean 175 BPM DT reading
Now step onto an Insane around 4.3 to 4.6 stars. Under DT these land in the mid-5-star range and start demanding real reaction and even tapping. Padoru/Padoru at 190 BPM is a classic DT trainer - the Insane at 4.45 stars is a great rung here, and the set has a huge ladder of Experts waiting above it.
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Turbo - PADORU / PADORU
Insane (4.45★, 190 BPM, AR9) with DT - the classic speed trainer
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fourfolium - Now Loading!!!!
Kalibe's Insane (4.59★, 193 BPM) with DT - dense, even patterns
This rung is where DT stops being a novelty. Play an Insane or low Extra around 5.0 to 5.6 stars nomod and DT will push it into the high-6s at AR10-plus. Expect your accuracy to dip at first - that is the AR, not your fingers. Airman ga Taosenai's Insane and Padoru's Expert spread are both proven picks.
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Hanatan - Airman ga Taosenai (SOUND HOLIC Ver.)
Insane (5.33★, 175 BPM) with DT - sustained streams for stamina
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Yuyoyuppe - AiAe
Another (5.08★, 180 BPM) with DT - mixed jumps and streams at speed
The top of this ladder. A 5.8 to 6-star diff under DT sits in serious 7-star, AR11 territory - the wall that separates casual DT from real HDDT play. Everything will freeze at 240 BPM is a brutal but honest stamina test, and its Lunatic is a well-known DT benchmark.
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UNDEAD CORPORATION - Everything will freeze
Lunatic (5.86★, 240 BPM) with DT - a genuine high-BPM stamina wall
For the reading side of DT, read the AR reading chart guide - the AR11 section is exactly the wall you meet at rung 4. For the pp side, the how-to-stream-faster and pp-farming guides pair naturally with this ladder.