Tips for improving at DDR

Recently I've been struggling to get pass the boss-song barrier of 15s, and while I've slowly been making progress, I was wondering if anyone had some advice on small things I can do to help improve my play. The big thing I've been working on is trying to move my feet as little as possible by keeping them near the center, but that can be really hard sometimes when there are streams and jumps. Any advice on that and in general would be much appreciated.

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I don't know if you do this already, but before trying out a chart for any song, I would take the time to study the chart in question and analyze how I would like to play it (things like, for example, which foot to step each arrow with, how to hit a certain jump, where to slide (if necessary), etc.). I find that it's a lot easier to pay attention and step to the beat when I know what's coming and I know how to handle a certain section.

It also helps to try to find stepcharts that are similar to something you currently struggle with, but you think are worth practicing. For example, if you struggle with the ending candles in Trigger S- (400 BPM 8ths), practice something with a similar pattern at a lower speed (like I'm So Happy S- ), and get comfortable reading and recognizing such patterns. It really helps once you develop muscle memory for certain moves, which can only be attained by doing and repeating. You'll stay closer to the center more once your feet are more familiar to how you should move about to perform a certain pattern.

I also want to mention that the 15 difficulty on the X-Scale is rather problematic as a whole in that there's 1) a very big gap between the easiest and hardest 15s, 2) the scopes of techniques used and charting methods start to vary really widely, and 3) many of the hardest 15 footers are harder than 16s to many players. So don't stress yourself out if it takes you some time to break through.

Good luck!! You can do this!!

APPEND: I also want to quickly point out that getting in the habit of stepping close to the center as much as possible could hurt you if you ever want to try playing Double mode. I learned this the hard way. It's good to utilize it as much as you can, but be wary of this.

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The biggest question is what is the most difficult part for you? Is it the technical level of songs? The stamina? The sheer speed of the arrows? Whatever the answer to this is, there lies the best way to solve the problem. If you're having trouble with stamina, keep playing. Consider getting ankle weights to practice.

I think my problem is the tougher arrow patterns. I can do stuff like jomanda but nothing much harder because of 16th streams (or 8ths at high speed). I've never tried a 16 other than come to life so it's possible that I could clear one with a regular life bar but it would still be rough. Stamina isn't really an issue unless the song is long like VEGA or something.

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As far as the having trouble keeping your feet flat/near the center thing goes, a lot of that is mental/psychological. I remember that I had a habit of going back on my toes during streams when I was first starting to flat foot, and doing this will kill your stamina. I actually had one or two PFC's before I was even able to consistently pass any 10/15 that wasn't Xepher . It probably didn't help too much that I was doing it on a RedOctane Ignition pad, but yeah. You just need to make a conscious attempt to NOT go back on your toes during streams. It'll be difficult, and you're bound to still do it for a while. But eventually it'll click and it won't happen anymore.

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