Accuracy Players, What Keyboards/Settings do you use?

#1

Hi, I am very new to Etterna and am enjoying the game alot.

I am trying to learn how to play the game using J7 and the GMMK TKL w/ Kailh Purples.

I simply have a few questions to ask:

  1. What Keyboards & KB Polling Rate do you guys use?
  2. How can I figure out my KB Polling Rate?
  3. Is J7 Optimal starting point?
  4. What are some things I should be doing to achieve best accuracy/technique?
#2

hi, mediocre acc player here

  1. cherry mx red switches
  2. dunno
  3. j7 is a useful tool for training accuracy if used properly- j4-6 are just as valid judges to use for accuracy training- its just about the kind of feedback you want in the moment. I like using j7 to go for perfect full combos (since its convenient that a j4 great == j7 cb)
  4. start with lower difficulty charts and don’t neglect technical patterns.
#3

If you actually have no experience with rhythm games like this then J7 is not the place to start out since it is more for getting extremely tight feedback which you won’t find a use for if the majority of your hits aren’t tight in the first place.
You want to stay on J4 until you are very comfortable with the game at least.

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#4

  1. Keyboards really only functionally matter at the highest levels of accuracy and speed play, but I maintain a spreadsheet with community info about mechanical keyboards here: Sheet
    At the moment I am using a CK552 with Gateron Reds, which sports a 1000hz polling rate (literally the only polling rate your expensive mech keyboard should ever have or you’re wasting your money).

  2. There are no tools to figure out polling rate, the best way to objectively measure is by playing songs on Etterna which have multiples of common polling rate BPMs (100, 125) and looking for dead zones to show up. Dead zones will indicate there are windows in your KB which you literally aren’t allowed to score in, but dependant on the BPM you may not see them even if you have a low poll like 125hz.

  3. Absolutely not. Do not begin by trying to learn on a window with such strict feedback. Your goal should be to be able to consistently correct and stay within the marvelous window of whatever judge your using, otherwise you basically just have noise on your screen. I would consider trying to learn what it means to hit within the marv window, how to make micro corrections, and learning the error bar. The easiest way to get started is to play some chordjacks you have full control over and try to hit as accurately as you can. This will not immediately transfer over to every other pattern, but it will give you an idea of what it even means to hit accurately at all.

  4. Okay so

  • Learning how to make micro adjustments during play to keep yourself positioned well within the marv window of the judge you are using.
  • Learning how to use the error bar to your advantage and not have it just be noise on your screen.
  • Playing a wide variety of new songs to acquire as much pattern, visual, and timing muscle memory as possible. Basically, sightread, sightread, sightread!
  • Be willing to play rather easy content to refine your minimum SD on a number of simple patterns
  • Play for accuracy at the very least as a warmup or cool-down during your sessions so that you always get some training in (which will also improve your control / pushing for the session since they are all interconnected)
  • Be willing to limit push and get new speed barriers broken so as to increase your control ceiling. Be willing to push control so as to increase your acc speed and comprehension ceiling.
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#5

Thank you so much, this is very insightful! :slight_smile:

I was suggested to switch to J5 to make things much easier and I gotta say it has considering I always stay ~87%-94% primarily on 7.x songs. I also learned to add offset since I noticed the notes would come slightly earlier than the song, so I am using -0.026000 global offset and it feels very nice to acc. I am assuming my keyboard responds well to stuff, however this will be pretty hard to notice due any inconsistencies to my lower skill level.

I will definitely have to figure out what my strengths and weaknesses are so far considering the fact I am kinda just playing songs that seem interesting in a specific level range from 6.3-7.8 (sometimes trying 8.x stuff). I am going to have to change the retry button so that I forget retrying exists since it can be a burden on mindset. I am more than willing to play some easy content for sure :+1:

I’m finding my technique as well considering wrist down elbow up feels natural to me although I’m assuming that’s just preference and could learn how to hybrid (wrist up for jacks) for faster stuff in the future.

I will definitely have to keep alot of these tips in mind when playing.

I notice the statistics say I play “technical” maps alot, and am lacking in handstreams according to my profile, got any handstream packs I could play?

I’ll probably contact you on discord in the future if I have any extra questions that may not retain too much to this thread.

#6

If you are playing in the range of 6-8 in difficulty, then do not worry too much about what types of charts you are playing. Heck, at that level increasing your accuracy will happen without much effort no matter what you play (as long as you never mash the notes!).

If you are at that level, then i would advice you to not worry about patterns like handstream, as it only becomes a real thing at maybe 16+ difficulty. Really easy difficulties tend to be classified as technical due to how patterns are classified. You will notice as you progress that many skillsets become more and more common (like HS) as you get better.