Source explorer
Every source, and where it's used
Each source carries a tier for how much weight it can bear on its own. Click through to the chapters that cite it.
Creators, players, and interviews
D[1] DigitalHypno (YouTube). osu! phd: a comprehensive introduction to every skill (the skill chart video). The map-credits page below links an address ending in Dc4PBq3Rga8, likely another upload of the same video. link ↗ D[2] DigitalHypno. osu! phd video: map credits (the map and player shown in each section of the video). link ↗ D[3] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! HUGE Beginner Mistake in 2020!! | Can't get good accuracy, Can't stream, Keep fingerlocking. link ↗ D[4] Tonehh (YouTube). the only improvement guide you'll ever need. link ↗ D[5] Tonehh with khz (YouTube). osu! khz's stream STAMINA and SPEED guide | A FULL Streaming Guide. link ↗ D[6] Tonehh (YouTube). responsibilities? adulthood? no problem, you can still improve. link ↗ D[7] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! How to ACTUALLY learn how to stream | A FULL Streaming Guide, Part 1 (playlist link). link ↗ D[8] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! How to improve flow aim, consistency and reducing nerves | A FULL Streaming Guide, Part 2 (playlist link). link ↗ D[9] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! We Luv Lama Method for building stamina effectively | A FULL Streaming Guide, Part 3 (playlist link). link ↗ D[10] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! How to ACTUALLY improve your aim | A FULL Aim Guide, Part 1. D[11] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! The Importance of a Diverse Skillset | Unblocking the Bottleneck. D[12] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! Unstable Rate FULLY Explained. D[13] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! When should you play mods | A FULL Fundamentals To Mods Guide. D[14] Tonehh featuring bloo (YouTube). osu! 5 Best Improvement Tips for Beginners. D[15] Tonehh (YouTube). do NOT make the game easier for yourself. D[16] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! How to derust FAST and effectively!! | A COMPREHENSIVE derusting guide. D[17] Tonehh (YouTube). hi I'm back. D[18] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! What grip should you use | Tablet Beginners Part 1. D[19] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! What area should you use | Tablet Beginners Part 2; and osu! 30 Playstyles in 6 Minutes (Tablet Edition). D[20] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! Should you Hover or Drag (or both..) | Tablet Beginners Part 3. D[21] Tonehh (YouTube). osu! PROBLEMS with Tablet that no one really talks about. D[22] Tonehh (YouTube, 2020). Do NOT buy an XP-PEN G640 in 2020!; THE XP-PEN G640 IS BACK!!; and osu! Can't move mouse with tablet drivers open FIX. C[23] The Followpoint: mrekk, the osu! Prodigy (osu! news, 6 May 2024). Official interview series run by the osu! news team; this one organised by MegaMix_Craft and written up with Utiba and DigitalHypno. link ↗ C[24] The Followpoint: WhiteCat, the Cat Who Dominated osu! (osu! news, 14 July 2024). Interview with the former rank 1. link ↗ C[25] The Followpoint: xootynator, the Biggest Full Area Stan (osu! news, 16 September 2024). Interview with a long-time full-area tablet player and World Cup competitor. link ↗ C[26] The Followpoint: Azer, the Tournament Titan (osu! news, 15 April 2025). Interview with a veteran World Cup player, captain, and organiser. link ↗ C[27] The Followpoint: Flaro, the Queen of Speed (osu! news, 29 July 2024). Interview with a top United States speed and flow-aim player. link ↗ C[28] The Followpoint: Predominador, the Grandmaster of SS Ranks (osu! news, 21 October 2024). Interview with the player behind a six-figure SS-rank grind. link ↗ C[29] The Followpoint: BTMC, the Face of osu! (osu! news, 13 March 2024). Interview with the streamer, World Cup player, and tournament organiser. link ↗ D[30] khz. Written stream guide (Google Doc linked in the video description). link ↗ D[31] Korilak. Korilak's Guide to Improving in osu! (PDF; written August 7, 2016, edited November 13, 2016). link ↗ D[32] BTMC (YouTube). THE BEST GUIDE TO IMPROVE AT OSU!? (read-through of Korilak's guide with commentary). link ↗ D[33] BTMC (YouTube, September 2026). This changes osu! Forever (testing community tablet firmware). link ↗ D[34] BTMC (stream clip). Answer to a viewer asking how to push stream consistency past 180 BPM (transcript supplied by the reader). D[35] Viscose (YouTube), FPS aim coach: argument that “muscle memory” is a misnomer and that sensitivity can be varied deliberately as a training tool, including a clip of the Valorant player TenZ on the same point. Transcript supplied by the reader. link ↗ E[36] FPS aim-training video on reading target movement, sensitivity ranges, and tension management; creator not identified in the transcript supplied by the reader. Accompanied by community aim-theory material (r/FPSAimTrainer, Aim Lab's mechanics glossary). link ↗ E[37] r/osugame thread on which players to watch for each skill set (2026), with picks from several commenters and a dissent about how much watching helps. Reddit blocks automated access; the text was supplied by the reader. link ↗ D[38] ferret_irl (2026), “8 real tips to get good from a top 20 player”, r/osugame. Written by a player ranked 24th globally in September 2026 and known for tapping. Reddit blocks automated access; the full text was supplied by the reader, including an addition on hyperhidrosis from a commenter. link ↗ E[39] Anonymous community guide posted to r/osugame in the mid-2010s, “How to improve on osu! Brief Guide!”, including tips credited to DodefMaw and Zinkon. Reddit blocks automated fetching; the text was supplied by the reader. link ↗ D[40] Interview video: I Asked Top osu! Players How to Improve (Here's What They Said), with three players ranked roughly 15th, 20th, and 30th at the time. Their names as transcribed are uncertain, so they are not used here. link ↗ E[41] Creator not identified. Video on precision and Hard Rock (transcript supplied by the reader). E[42] Creator not identified. Video on consistency (transcript supplied by the reader). E[43] Creator not identified. Video on skill plateaus and mindset (transcript supplied by the reader). E[44] Creator not identified by name (an osu! coach, crediting a video by the long-time top player the transcript calls Silver). Improve at osu! FASTER — Stop Hyperfocusing. link ↗ E[45] Stream clip of a rank-80 player laying out a streaming roadmap by rank (transcript supplied by the reader; player not identified). Official osu! documentation and data
A[46] osu! wiki: Overall difficulty (hit windows, rounding rule, notelock, slider head leniency, mod effects). link ↗ A[47] osu! wiki: Approach rate (visibility times, fade-in, mod effects). link ↗ A[48] osu! wiki: Circle size (radius formula, mod effects). link ↗ A[49] osu! wiki: Hard Rock (setting multipliers, map flip). link ↗ A[50] osu! wiki: Hidden. link ↗ A[51] osu! wiki: Unstable rate (definition, results screen, rate-changing mods, lazer change). link ↗ A[52] osu! wiki: osu! judgement system (slider judgements). link ↗ A[53] osu! wiki: Spinner (clearing, bonus score and health on continued spinning, 477 SPM ceiling, Spun Out at 287 SPM, direction changes resetting the spin). link ↗ A[54] osu! wiki: Slider (tick and follow-circle rules). link ↗ A[55] osu! wiki: Lazer feature comparison (slider head and tail changes). link ↗ A[56] osu! wiki: Upgrading to lazer (feature comparison, including built-in tablet area adjustment and difficulty adjustment). link ↗ A[57] osu! wiki: Local offset. link ↗ A[58] osu! wiki: Keyboard bindings (offset keys, Tab and Shift+Tab). link ↗ A[59] osu! wiki: Performance points (skill values, score weighting, update history). link ↗ A[60] osu! wiki: No Fail (score multiplier; miss-based pp penalty since January 2021). link ↗ A[61] osu! global performance rankings (checked 22 September 2026: mrekk, Ivaxa, cryshina, Akolibed, NINERIK, milosz, lifeline, Zylice in the top eight; ferret irl at 24). link ↗ C[62] osu! forum post listing every mod by category with score multipliers. link ↗ A[63] osu! wiki: Accuracy (accuracy formula). link ↗ A[64] ppy/osu pull request #20963 (UR estimation assuming normally distributed hits). link ↗ C[65] Railey2 (2017), "The reason why ‘never retry' is (probably) bad advice", osu! forum, with data gathered by abraker and a 2020 reanalysis by Full Tablet in the same thread. link ↗ C[66] jesse1412 (2012, edited to 2014), How to improve at osu! (osu! forum): the most-read improvement guide of the early 2010s, with contributions and argument from thelewa, darkmiz, kriers, tom69, winber1, Soly, Aqo and others. link ↗ C[67] Almost (around 2020), “Guide to Streaming: From Zero to Hero” (osu! forum): a staged streaming course with accuracy, flow aim, speed, and stamina training, plus gates for each stage. link ↗ C[68] osu! forum reply proposing Relax and Autopilot as diagnostic tools for separating aim problems from accuracy problems, plus drills for unstable rate on slow maps and for straight-line cursor paths. link ↗ C[69] yellowbadbeast, osu! forum reply distinguishing skillcap (playing outside your comfort zone, roughly 87 to 95% accuracy) from consistency (high accuracy inside it), and arguing for a mix of both. link ↗ C[70] Kaoru, osu! forum guide on posture, settings, audio, and grip for players at any level. link ↗ C[71] osu! forum thread on new-player practice strategy, with replies from WalkingAbacus and FrostyF on comfort zone versus skill pushing and on accuracy targets for beginners. link ↗ C[72] ScarletStory (2014), “Why you aren't improving at osu!” (osu! forum), with replies from thelewa, ethox, AmaiHachimitsu, Legxis, WOLOLOXIII and others. The second of the two most-read improvement guides of the early 2010s. link ↗ C[73] osu! forum discussion of burst vs. stream terminology. link ↗ A[74] osu! news (January 14, 2021): Performance points updates (No Fail change from a flat 10% to a miss-based penalty). link ↗ A[75] osu! news (July 2021): Performance Points & Star Rating Updates (strain peak weighting; damping of short spikes). link ↗ A[76] ppy/osu-wiki pull request adding the September 2024 Performance Points & Star Rating Updates news post. link ↗ A[77] osu! news (March 6, 2025): Performance Points & Star Rating Updates. link ↗ A[78] osu! news (October 29, 2025): Performance Points & Star Rating Updates. link ↗ A[79] osu! news (July 3, 2026): Performance Points & Star Rating Updates. link ↗ A[80] ppy/osu GitHub wiki: Latency and unlimited frame rates (lazer caps draw and update at 1,000 Hz). link ↗ A[81] ppy/osu issue #8165 (developer comment: lazer runs input on its own thread at about 1,000 Hz, separate from drawing). link ↗ Tools, drivers, and firmware
E[82] McOsu (Steam / GitHub): a standalone osu!-compatible client with practice features including speed and difficulty overrides, used by some players for slowed-down technique practice. Not tested for this book. link ↗ T[83] osu! trainer (FunOrange, GitHub): open-source tool for making modified copies of beatmaps. link ↗ T[84] OpenTabletDriver (GitHub): open-source, cross-platform, user-mode tablet driver. link ↗ T[85] hawku/TabletDriver releases (GitHub): the older osu! tablet driver; last release v0.2.3. link ↗ E[86] Custom tablet firmware and filter toggles by Shaveet (supports PTK-470, PTK-670, PTK-870, CTL-472, and CTL-672 per the site). Not tested for this book. link ↗ E[87] Custom tablet firmware site listed in BTMC's video description (CTL-472, CTH-480, CTL-4110 per the description). Not tested or reviewed for this book. link ↗ E[88] CNX Software: hands-on write-up of the SayoDevice O3C Hall-effect keypad for osu! (magnetic switches, rapid trigger, 0.05 mm actuation steps, advertised 8,000 Hz polling, on-board screen). Manufacturer specifications, not independent measurements. link ↗ E[89] Manufacturer explainer on Hall effect (magnetic) switches: contactless sensing, adjustable actuation from about 0.1 to 4.0 mm, rapid trigger, and its popularization by Wooting. link ↗ B[90] Repp (2005). Sensorimotor synchronization: a review of the tapping literature. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. link ↗ B[91] Scientific Reports (2021). Measuring the pacing of body movements timed to music and metronome (typical early lean of about 30 ms). link ↗ B[92] Psychological Research (2018). Tapping ahead of time: its association with timing variability. link ↗ B[93] Frontiers in Psychology (2016). Rhythm skills across musician groups; reviews evidence that musical training improves rhythm perception, production, and synchronization. link ↗ B[94] Experimental Brain Research (2016). Percussionists, finger tapping, and timing acuity. link ↗ B[95] Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2015). Orchestra musicians synchronizing with a conductor; reviews moving-cue vs. flash synchronization. link ↗ B[96] Frontiers in Psychology (2017). Auditory feedback in timing tasks, summarizing earlier tapping-feedback findings. link ↗ B[97] Castro-Meneses & Sowman (2018). PeerJ; how error feedback and delayed feedback shift tapping asynchrony. link ↗ B[98] McGill piano-duet synchronization study; summarizes evidence that delayed auditory feedback disrupts timing. link ↗ B[99] Woods et al. (2015). Factors influencing the latency of simple reaction time. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. link ↗ B[100] Fitts's law: overview of the 1954 model and its later applications. link ↗ B[101] Cowan (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. link ↗ B[102] Walker et al. (2002). Practice with sleep makes perfect. Neuron (summary via Harvard Gazette). link ↗ B[103] Lee & Genovese (1988). Distribution of practice in motor skill acquisition. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. link ↗ B[104] Oudejans & Pijpers (2009). Training with anxiety has a positive effect on expert perceptual-motor performance under pressure. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. link ↗ B[105] Oudejans & Pijpers (2010). Training with mild anxiety may prevent choking under higher levels of anxiety. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11(1), 44–50. B[106] Beilock & Carr (2001). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (summary via Scientific American). link ↗ B[107] Oudejans, Binsch & Bakker (2013). Negative instructions and choking under pressure in aiming at a far target. International Journal of Sport Psychology. link ↗ B[108] Guadagnoli & Lee (2004). Challenge Point: a framework for conceptualizing the effects of various practice conditions in motor learning. Journal of Motor Behavior, 36(2), 212–224. link ↗ B[109] Human Movement Science (2015). What level of difficulty corresponds to the optimal challenge point? link ↗ B[110] Human Movement Science (2024). Determining the optimal challenge point for learning motor skills (summarizes the framework's too-easy and too-hard predictions). link ↗ B[111] Diedrichsen et al. (2010). Use-dependent and error-based learning of motor behaviors. Journal of Neuroscience. link ↗ B[112] eNeuro (2021). The consistency of prior movements shapes locomotor use-dependent learning. link ↗ B[113] bioRxiv preprint (2021). Use-dependent biases primarily originate from a contaminated motor plan (debate over the mechanism). link ↗ B[114] Haken, Kelso & Bunz (1985). A theoretical model of phase transitions in human hand movements. Biological Cybernetics. link ↗ B[115] Journal of Mathematical Psychology (2012). Symmetry axiom of Haken–Kelso–Bunz coordination dynamics revisited (summarizes Kelso's 1984 findings). link ↗ B[116] Ekşioğlu & İşeri (2015). An estimation of finger-tapping rates and load capacities. Human Factors. link ↗ B[117] Contextual interference in complex bimanual skill learning leads to better skill persistence (2014). link ↗ B[118] Scientific Reports (2024). High contextual interference improves retention in motor learning: systematic review and meta-analysis. link ↗ B[119] The myth of contextual interference learning benefit in sports practice: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2023). link ↗ B[120] Mathew, Lefèvre & Crevecoeur (2021). Savings in human force field learning supported by feedback adaptation. eNeuro. link ↗ B[121] Study of savings in eyelid conditioning; its introduction notes rapid relearning of skills such as cycling, piano, and typing. link ↗ B[122] Arthur et al. (1998). Factors that influence skill decay and retention: a quantitative review and analysis. Human Performance, 11(1), 57–101. link ↗ B[123] Cerasoli, Nicklin & Ford (2014). Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin. link ↗ B[124] Carnegie Mellon memory lab paper (1998) on the power law of practice and strategy-specific improvement. link ↗ B[125] Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (2015). Individual learning curves: smooth power-law gains within a strategy plus discrete strategy shifts. link ↗ B[126] Synthese (2025). Discussion of the power law of practice and why improvement slows toward a plateau. link ↗ B[127] Harris, Allen, Vine & Wilson (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between flow states and performance. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. link ↗ B[128] Frontiers in Psychology (2022). Achieving flow: elite college athletes and musicians (summarizes the dimensions of flow). link ↗ B[129] Hardy, Mullen & Jones. Knowledge and conscious control of motor actions under stress (replicates and extends Masters, 1992). link ↗ B[130] Staffordshire University paper on robust skill acquisition (reviews implicit learning and performance under pressure). link ↗ B[131] Grgic, Schoenfeld, Orazem & Sabol (2022). Resistance training to repetition failure or non-failure: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Health Science. link ↗ B[132] Branscheidt et al. (2019). Fatigue induces long-lasting detrimental changes in motor-skill learning. eLife. link ↗ B[133] Rempel, Keir & Bach (2008). Effect of wrist posture on carpal tunnel pressure while typing. Journal of Orthopaedic Research. link ↗ B[134] CDC/NIOSH-hosted paper on wrist posture with alternative keyboards (reviews carpal tunnel pressure by wrist angle). link ↗ B[135] Rempel et al. study of fingertip loading and carpal tunnel pressure (abstract summarized on Science.gov). link ↗ B[136] Institute for Work & Health (2015). Systematic review of workplace interventions for upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders (Occupational and Environmental Medicine). link ↗ B[137] Schwellnus et al. (2012). Effect of pencil grasp on the speed and legibility of handwriting in children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66(6), 718–726. link ↗ B[138] Schwellnus et al. (2013). Follow-up comparing the four mature pencil grasps before and after a 10-minute copy task. link ↗ B[139] Casiez, Vogel, Balakrishnan & Cockburn (2008). The impact of control-display gain on user performance in pointing tasks. Human–Computer Interaction, 23(3), 215–250. link ↗ B[140] International Journal of Technology (2012). Touchpad pointing study; reviews the U-shaped relation between control-display gain and selection time. link ↗ B[141] Rand & Stelmach (2011). Adaptation of gaze anchoring through practice in young and older adults. Neuroscience Letters, 492(1), 47–51. link ↗ B[142] Experimental Brain Research (2014). Segment interdependency and gaze anchoring during manual two-segment sequences. link ↗ B[143] Whole and part practice: a meta-analysis (2009). Perceptual and Motor Skills, 109(2), 517–530. link ↗ B[144] The effect of different times of interpolated tasks on warm-up decrement in the volleyball serve (task-specific practice removed the decrement best). link ↗ B[145] Wrisberg & Anshel (1993). A field test of the activity-set hypothesis for warm-up decrement in an open skill. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 64, 39–45 (summary). link ↗ B[146] Kulmakorpi (2025). Effects of different physical warm-ups on the aiming performance of Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant players. Master's thesis, University of Jyväskylä. link ↗ B[147] Lochbaum, Sisneros, Cooper & Terry (2023). Pre-event self-efficacy and sports performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports, 11(11), 222 (also summarizes Moritz et al., 2000). link ↗ B[148] Locke & Latham (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. link ↗ B[149] Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts & Wardle (2010). How are habits formed: modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. link ↗ B[150] Macnamara, Hambrick & Oswald (2014). Deliberate practice and performance in music, games, sports, education, and professions: a meta-analysis. Psychological Science, 25(8), 1608–1618. link ↗ B[151] Ericsson & Harwell (2019). Deliberate practice and proposed limits on the effects of practice on the acquisition of expert performance. Frontiers in Psychology (reanalysis). link ↗ B[152] Häger-Ross & Schieber (2000). Quantifying the independence of human finger movements. Journal of Neuroscience, 20(22), 8542–8550 (thumb, index, and little finger move more independently than middle and ring). link ↗ B[153] Motor Control (2004). Motion enslaving among multiple fingers of the human hand (independence indices: index 0.81, middle 0.53, ring 0.48, little 0.61). link ↗ B[154] Furuya, Nakamura & Nagata (2014). Neuroscience, 275, 444–454 (piano practice increases finger independence, most in the least independent pairs). link ↗ B[155] Arellano & Kram (2014). The metabolic cost of human running: is swinging the arms worth it? Journal of Experimental Biology, 217, 2456–2461 (restricting arm swing cost 3 to 13% more energy). link ↗ B[156] Ashford, Bennett & Davids (2006). Observational modeling effects for movement dynamics and movement outcome measures: a meta-analysis. Journal of Motor Behavior, 38(3), 185–205 (effect sizes 0.77 for movement dynamics, 0.17 for movement outcome). link ↗ B[157] Friedman & Korman (2019). Observation of an expert model induces a skilled movement coordination pattern in a single session of intermittent practice. Scientific Reports, 9. link ↗ B[158] Smooth pursuit eye movement: continuous velocity-matched tracking, latency about 90 to 150 ms, effective up to roughly 30 degrees per second before catch-up saccades are required; saccades by contrast are ballistic, uncorrectable mid-flight, with latencies around 200 to 250 ms. link ↗ B[159] Wymbs, Bastian & Celnik (2016). Motor skills are strengthened through reconsolidation. Current Biology, 26(3), 338–343 (a subtly modified second session nearly doubled gains; skipping it was about 25% worse; too large a modification removed the benefit). link ↗ B[160] Fitts & Posner (1967). Human Performance. Brooks/Cole (three stages of skill learning: cognitive, associative, autonomous). B[161] International Hyperhidrosis Society: sweaty hands (palmar hyperhidrosis), and its clinician page on tap-water iontophoresis, long treated by dermatologists as a first-line therapy for palms and soles. link ↗ B[162] Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology (2019). Management strategies of palmar hyperhidrosis: challenges and solutions (treatment ladder from topical antiperspirants through iontophoresis to botulinum toxin and surgery). link ↗ B[163] DiFrancisco-Donoghue et al. (2019). Managing the health of the eSport athlete. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. link ↗ C[164] RTINGS.com: headphone latency measurements (SBC, aptX, aptX Low Latency). link ↗ C[165] Wikipedia: osu! (genre and overview). link ↗ E[166] TrackMyOsu: osu! star rating explained (third-party summary of the July 2026 rework). link ↗ E[167] parsecore (PyPI): third-party calculator describing the July 2026 rework's reading skill and snap/flow aim split. link ↗ B[168] World Health Organization: Gaming disorder (questions and answers). link ↗ Something wrong with a source, or a better one? Suggest a source or correction — accepted contributions earn 🍪 Cookies.