Ever ask yourself this question? What do you do and think when your playing IIDX? I myself think of a lot of things when i'm playing and what i'm doing. I don't exactly have all the time in the world to play, so i really believe in this phrase,
"It doesn't matter how much you play, it matters what you DO when you are playing"
Everyone of course is different, but this is just my viewpoint. I know myself on my most played song(s) i have probably less then 600 plays.
Things to think about when your playing.
1. Everyone has a different level of progression.
Some people progress slower then others and don't hit as much as walls. Don't over think about this, just realize it.
The more you think about it the more its going to get to your head and your just going create a self created mental wall. When you "realize" it i'm sure you will know your place and your speed of progression. You might even progress and not even realize it.
2. Find out what your weaknesses are.
When i'm playing a song i ALWAYS look out for what i'm not hitting or timing properly. If you watch for what your not hitting good then its a good way to figure out what you need to work on. For myself it would be drum rolls, awkward ass patterns and scratching. Once you know what to work on then you can go ahead and practice those kind of songs.
3. Variety
As much as i mention this, the only reason why i do cause i seriously believe its a huge part of getting better. I don't believe in playing a song 90 times in a row (unless you trying to fish randoms) will get you better. If anything it will get you better in that song only and songs SIMILAR to it instead of your overall game play.
A example would be like playing a song like Anthem Landing over and over will probably not get you better on shit like Nageki or Beachside Bunny, it would probably help you a lot on songs like Andromeda, Shade, and Inazuma. Some songs are obviously unique like Faxx and Paranoia Hades which have speed changes which relies on more of knowing the song. Then songs like rage against usual, Diavolo and Fake Time which are totally based on one hard ass part.
4. Take a break
Sometimes taking a break is one of the best things you can do, especially if your getting to a point of frustration. Whenever i take a break (which is often) i always come back better since i find myself more mentally refreshed and renewed. You may be rusty when you come back from a break, but this is your chance to find new ways to hit things. So if you feel like you are at a wall, don't be afraid to take a break and slow down.
5. Finding your Green Number
Your green number is probably one of the most important things, its what finds a comfortable high speed for you. Make sure you know that the number your playing at is COMFORTABLE for you, don't use a low green number just because you "can". I used to play at 270 or so which i got some good scores at, until i realized that in order to get those scores i had to focus HARD on the wrong thing which was just reading the fricken notes.
So from there i went to lower speeds starting from 290 then eventually dropped down to 284-282, which made me score a lot better and a lot more consistent since i could now focus not as much just reading the notes since it was now easier to see and i could focus more on timing.
6. Be aware.
When i mean by being aware, i mean by noticing things in the songs you play such as where the scratches are / scratch patterns, tricky parts, that stupid random jack hammer in the middle hard part of nageki, and the types of random you get.
The most important being what type of random you are playing (ex. right side/ left side heavy, middle, spread out) which would allow you to get in a better position on the fly easier and knowing what to look out for.
I believe in heightened awareness, which in reality supposedly increases your reaction to a certain situation by a great amount.
7. Don't go WAY beyond your skill level / anything stupid.
Pretty straight forward.
You don't wanna play 12's when your just beating 10's. You probably don't want to try EX-HARD on 11's if you are just starting to beat 11's.
You probably don't wanna use S-Random unless you are playing for fun or playing R5, 5.1.1, and 100% minimoo-G or if your name is "Dane's Son" who believes that Random makes you better so that means S-Random makes you EVEN better using random OR if you want to beat Plasma Strike LAST BOSS of this GYM.
You don't want to get to beating level 12's on 5 key autoscratch then try switch over to 7 key no assist thinking that you can do 12's.
You don't want to get salty to the guy next to you cause hes better than you. Man the fuck up and better yourself. Use competition for motivation.
Conclusion
This pretty much sums it up for my mentality towards IIDX. I'm not going to get into LR2/BMS training this article but i will get to an article on it sooner or later.
Hope this makes you think more when you are playing IIDX.
aw do it.
DJ REA
Thanks for this. You can also apply some of this to other rhythm games, but IIDX is much more complex.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of other rhythm games, do you play any other besides IIDX? Do you play more than 2 rhythm games at once?
I used to play Drummania until our machine broke down and DDR until i got out of shape. Wasn't really that good at them though. I think the only other music game i would play would be Pop'n if i had access to it.
ReplyDeleteDo you think playing a variety of rhythm games can provide a significant improvement of skill in IIDX?
ReplyDeleteIf you want to become good at IIDX, you should just play IIDX. I can't say playing a variety of rhythm games gives significant improvement, but it may help on stuff like reading and stamina if you play Pop'n.
ReplyDeleteI would say that every music has the same concept to it. But like the above post if you want to improve in IIDX then you have to play IIDX which can be said with any game.
ReplyDeleteRea, I wanted to ask you if it was a good idea to learn the opposite player side.
ReplyDeleteI own two Dao Controllers, 1P and 2P and I mainly play on the right side... Do you believe it'll be one hell of a transition to force my left hand to get the scratch and change my hand placement specifically for 1P?
I feel that if I can get down both sides, I'll be able to pick up 14keys without a problem.
~J
I cant really say much about 14k since i never really focused on it.
ReplyDeleteIt will be a hell of a transition because of two things.
1. Obviously your scratch hand will be different as well as your hand that hits most of the notes
2. You will have a hard time reading the scratches and notes since the scratch lane is switched around. Which is why you cant shadow a player playing on the opposite side of you.
If anything i would practice each side one handed for 14k if you want to get used to hitting notes. As for reading i cant really help you that much there since 14k is another game.
Thanks for the reply, I wanted to mention I'm going to try playing one-handed on the 1P Side.
DeleteIt'll be one helluva challenge but ever since I used to watch LISU on Youtube five years ago, it's been something I wanted to do.
Thanks for the post! Many of these things I've never thought about because I never really hit a wall until I reached 10's and was frustrated... After taking a break and coming back to IIDX, my timing was a bit off at first, but I started to get that and now I'm also starting to be able to read 11's.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I also play a bunch of rhythm games at once. Technika, Jubeat, Reflecbeat, DJ MAX Portable/ Trilogy, Osu, Pop'n, DDR and a bit of PIU every now and then. If you want to improve in a game, then you have to play said game. Although similar concepts can be carried over and applied to other games. I've found that my IIDX skills (ie timing, note reading, etc.) are transferable to other games, but not so much vice versa. IIDX is unique that way
First thanks for the blog. I did a return on IIDX a few weeks ago and i'm feeling very lonely (there's not many people talking about this game anymore). I also like how you write.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what you think about practicing in the training mode. You don't talk about that, but i think it's a good way to let your fingers adapt to new patterns on slow speed. When i get comfortable with the pattern, i increase the speed til i can achieve it at full speed.
Are you all Gods ? I played a lot and i'm still stuck to a wall. A 7's-8's fucking wall. I'm switching Styles, playing free mode, training mode, Dan mode, playing with a bit harder songs with not much results. It's damn frustrating to hear that people are stuck at there first wall on 10's. Anyway, my next step is too try to change my hands position. I'm playing too much with my thumbs on key 3 and 5 from what i read. I think this is the only way i can get better.
PS: English isn't my first language.
I never really ever used training mode fortTwo reasons.
ReplyDelete1.If you play random, the probability of getting the SAME random is probably something stupid. You can always get SIMILAR randoms though.
Training mode doesn't really help you here since randoms are just repeated.
2. Playing a song on slow speed doesn't really help you much. All its going to do is help you hit things better on the BPM the song drops to. And doing things on the fly is much better since you can learn when you should change hand positions.
Is there a certain way that's the best way to find a green number? Like, is it better to find a green number and then adjust the lane cover after or is it better to set a lane cover first and work the green number around that? I just recently lowered my green number and my white number and my scores up to 10s are generally better but when playing some of the more difficult 11s with this new number, I'm struggling read them.
ReplyDelete