The Road to PP Farming: Beginner Hard Rock &

Double Time Map List/Guide

Version 1.2 by ClawViper

I. Introduction

Note: This guide is now horribly outdated. I wrote this back in 2015, when there
weren't as many PP maps, especially NoMod maps with high OD. In order to get >200
PP scores back then, people often had to resort to using Double Time and Hard Rock
unless they were extremely good NoMod players. The transition from NoMod to Hard
Rock and Double Time back then was pretty difficult so I made a guide to help out
with that. However, now with NoMod PP maps there isn't really such a need to learn
these mods at such an early stage.

I wrote this map list/guide based on my experience with learning Hard Rock and Double
Time during the second half of 2014. If you have any questions, feel free to drop them at my
ask.fm.

This guide is more focused on netting you actual pp gains and to develop a skillset
suitable to get pp from playing Hard Rock/Double Time. If you want to learn Hard Rock
and Double Time so that you can pass incredibly difficult maps with just raw aim, speed and
reaction times, this guide is not for you. I'm not telling others how to play the game but
rather this is an attempt to give more of a direction to people who want to start
farming using these mods but are unsure of when/how they should start out.

If you decided to take this course, you should first aim to FC the maps I have listed,
then improve your accuracy on them. Focusing on hitting all notes accurately will teach
you how to get more accurate at higher ODs. Playing different maps using the mod you want
to learn will enable you to read/aim AR8 +DT/AR10 better. Do not be afraid to ‘memorise’ a
map especially where triples/streams are concerned in order to get good accuracy by
anticipating those triples/streams, because it is pretty much impossible for a player new to
Hard Rock/Double Time to get good accuracy on sight reads unless you are extremely
talented. More importantly, it will still develop your sense of anticipation on triples/streams
which are crucial for getting good accuracy in the future.

Also, please take note that by no means are you restricted to just playing these few maps
that I have listed over and over again until you FC it. These maps are just a checklist for
you to determine how you are progressing, not a guide you must strictly follow.
Always experiment with other maps around the same level and discover your own maps to
play.

Also, please do not expect to see improvement within a few days of following this
guide/playing those maps with Hard Rock/Double Time. It took me nearly half a year before I
could become comfortable with playing Hard Rock and Double Time and sight read it well
enough to get decent accuracy even on my first try.
II. Pre-requisites
You are recommended to start playing Hard Rock/Double Time only after you have
obtained more than 3400 pp with little to no use of mods/have at least a 200 pp NoMod
score. Note that I intentionally set the pre-requisites to be high. This is to ensure that you
would have at least developed the required aim/accuracy/skills to do Hard Rock/Double
Time at the beginner level. Also preferably, you should be capable of FC-ing Chousai Kenbo
Sengen (Insane) with 99% accuracy.

Nevertheless, the true benchmark/indicator that you are ready to start Hard Rock and
Double Time is looking at your OD8 accuracy on NoMod - if you are capable of getting
98.5%+ consistently throughout various OD8 maps without mods, you are probably ready.
Remember, accuracy is of utmost importance if you actually want to rise in rank. Most of the
maps will give you benefits if you know how to get accuracy, but give little to nothing
especially if you’re playing whack-a-mole simulator instead of a rhythm game.

III. Hard Rock

General Hard Rock tips:
- Unstable rate is of utmost importance. If you can get a low unstable rate but not good
accuracy, chances are you just need to adjust the offset.
- Keep the hit error bar on and watch your replays to figure out where you went wrong
with accuracy. If a hit appears on the left, you hit the note too early, and if it appears
on the right, you hit the note too late.
- Change the offset by holding Alt and pressing ‘+’ or ‘-’. A positive offset will help with
consistently late hits while a negative offset will help with consistently early hits.

Beginner maps/course:
1. Tornado (Original Mix) [Insane] - A very basic single tap map with sliders here and
there to begin your HR journey. The challenge is to get used to OD10 accuracy.
2. Kyun Kyun Tamaran Inaba tan! [Inaba] - Before venturing into OD10 territory for
something more than just single taps, first experience those 5-note bursts with AR10
and OD8.4. If you are not able to get good accuracy on this, you are not ready to get
high accuracy OD10 scores yet.
3. Otokaze - Karen [Hanabi] - A single tap map with patterns that might be tricky, and
likely the first real challenge that you get with HR. Try to keep your tapping stable.
4. Fjarlaegur (Cypix Remix) [Insane] - This is a really jumpy map single tap map. Has
drastically different style of jumps compared to Karen, but similar accuracy/stability
requirement.
5. Rainbow After Snow [Insane] - There are two triples in the whole song. Don’t fret if
you have to memorise the timing of those triples in order to be accurate.
6. Dear You [Dear Rue] - First map where it is more than just single taps/triples and 5-
note bursts as you get stream stacks here. Stay focused and try to get the timing
down on those stacks.
7. Grim [JauiPlKsp3] - Tons of sliders and single taps. Good map to get used to AR10
sliders.
 8. Dango Dango Drums and Bass [Insane] - Continuation of the transition from single
tap only to triples as there are many triples in this map. Stay alert to react to the
many triples in the map in order to get proper accuracy on them.
9. Dango Dango Daikazoku (Drums and Bass Remix) [Insane] - Another version of the
same song, similar skillset.
10. Necro Fantasia [Insane] - The triples are no longer stacked triples but have spacing
now. Good map to get used to aiming them.
11. Silver Temple [Insane] - Moving on from triples with spacing, this time it is short
bursts/streams with spacing. Can be really tricky to aim!
12. Dear You [Dear Nemis] - Mini square patterns, 5-note bursts and two streams with
spacing. True test of consistency over similar patterns throughout the whole song.
13. Rapid Ensemble [Lunatic] - Be very alert for the various triples and 5-note bursts that
pop out in this otherwise single tap song. Excellent map to test your accuracy.
14. Diamond [Insane] - Many Hard Rock maps are jumpy maps, and this is a perfect
introduction to the kind of jumps you are expected to play beyond the beginner level.
This is a true test of consistency especially in jumps.
15. Santa-san [Insane] - This is an example of a map which has everything in it - and this
time, you have to combine all of the skills you have acquired from previous maps.
Definitely watch out for the curved streams and try to aim them.
16. Sekai de Hitotsu no Takaramono [Insane] - The final test of playing Hard Rock on a
song that requires all the basic skills that you have developed so far.
17. The maps above are just a guide to ease you into the world of Hard Rock. If you
have FC-ed everything above with 98% accuracy, you have graduated from the
beginner course. It is now up to you to find various maps out there in order to
continue getting Hard Rock scores. A good way to do that is to search through the
top ranks of your peers and trying Hard Rock on maps which has full HDHR
scoreboards.

IV. Double Time

General Double Time tips:
- Map too fast for you? Many people give up upon realising that the map is out of their
reach, and therefore never develop actual speed. What you need to do is figure out
what BPM you are comfortable with and intentionally play maps 10-20 BPM above
your comfort level.
- You might feel your fingers/hand/arm burn when partway into a map, but that is when
your muscles start developing and you raise your comfort BPM. Force yourself to
soldier on.

Beginner maps/course:
1. Kaze ni Naru [Insane] - The BPM is not high for this one. Get used to reading those
triples at AR8 + DT, and focus on getting good accuracy.
2. Clover [Insane] - Introduction to beyond 200 BPM. Focus hard on getting those 213
BPM triples and single taps down.
3. River Flows in You (A Love Note) [Love Note] - 210 BPM single taps and triples.
Pretty much a combination of the BPM of Clover and the aim of Kaze ni Naru. This
 will push you out of your comfort level and it can be difficult to get good accuracy on
this map.
4. Tear Rain [Insane] - There are tricky short sliders here. Playing the map without
slider-breaking at AR8+DT can be a real challenge to the beginner.
5. Setting Sail, Coming Home [Insane] - Low BPM jumpy song, but take note that this is
OD8. Getting at least 98.5% for this will set one on the way to be a Double Time
player with decent accuracy.
6. Kimi no WIND SONG [Insane] - Introduction to short bursts in DT instead of just
single tap and triples. It can be pretty difficult to get satisfactory accuracy.
7. Happy Fate (Short Ver.) [Saten’s Fate] - Your first heavy single tapping song that is
216BPM. Good to build the required stamina for higher BPM.
8. CLICK [Insane] - Double Time consistency test on a typical map. Stay alert in order
to react to triples and short bursts throughout the song.
9. Three Magic [Collab] - There are many tricky short sliders, triples and short bursts in
this song. A true reading challenge and difficult to get good accuracy on.
10. Sky Gate [Lunatic] - Another Double Time consistency test, tougher than CLICK.
Stay alert throughout the song and focus on getting the timing right on those bursts.
11. Vidro Moyou [Insane] - Introduction to actual streams instead of the short bursts and
triples that was introduced previously. Make sure you don’t mash those streams but
try to accurately stream them instead. Easier said than done.
12. Dreamin’ [Insane] - 213 BPM triples with tougher aim and a nasty stream towards the
end. First taste of a high BPM stream.
13. Golden Sky [Insane] - Prepare for triples and 5 note-bursts with more spacing than
the usual ones that you find.
14. Senka Ryouran [Chocopikel] - Time to step up your speed. 222 BPM streams, single
tapping and bursts. Stay highly alert and try not to mash on those streams.
15. Koigokoro [Delis’ Insane] - Lots of short, high BPM jumps that require you to be
extremely precise in aim. Watch out for 210 BPM streams! Do not mash and focus on
accuracy.
16. If you have FC-ed everything above with 98% accuracy, you probably have
developed the proper skills in order to tackle most of the other popular beginner DT
farm maps. They can often be found through other people’s top ranks. I will list some
examples below:
a. Ai La La [cRyo’s Insane] and [Insane]
b. Butterfly [Heavy]
c. Colorful Minutes [Extreme]
d. Apples to the Core (Remix) [Insane]
e. Mezameta Asa ni wa Kimi ga Tonari ni [Insane]
f. Daydream Cafe [Insane]
g. Suklaapallit [Mukun Suklaapallit]
h. Shinkai Shoujo [Insane]
17. To go past the beginner stage, always challenge your limits - especially in terms of
BPM. Do not be afraid to attempt BPM out of your comfort zone. Maps where you
feel exhausted after playing through it and get about 90~95% are usually good. Do
not mash and always try to play bursts/streams properly.

V. End Note
If you have completed pretty much all the maps I have listed with good accuracy, you have
graduated from being a beginner to Hard Rock and Double Time training course (and
obtained a fair amount of pp as well)! You’re on your own now. Good luck and may the pp
gods bless you.

VI. Credits
Thanks to xsrsbsns, [ -Scarlet- ] and Toy for map suggestions.
Thanks to ffstar0716 for testing out the Hard Rock/Double Time maps.
Huge thanks to SolarFox for his detailed feedback on the Double Time maps.