(Levels 8+)

"This mode is difficult!"

The Following are covered in this section:

• Advanced Crossovers
• Hands
• Mine Sweeping
• Improving Accuracy/High Scoring
• Building Speed and Endurance
• Yellow Notes (16th)* and Purple Notes (12th)*
• Runs
• Gallops
• Step Jumps
• Stops
• Managing level 10 (DDR)
• 32nd Notes, 24th Notes, 64th Notes, 48th Notes
• Marathon, Survival, Oni, and Other Modes of Play
• Intro to Pro, Tournaments, and Edits

*I use the Stepmania color scheme when referring to note color. In DDR, the 16th note will appear yellow when you choose note (or purple if you choose solo). In ITG, it appears light green, as shown in the "rolls" example. *In DDR, the 12th note will appear green when you choose note. In ITG, it appears purple. (I realize this can be extremely confusing, so bear with me on this). To make things easier, I will be simply calling them as "16th notes" and "12th notes."

Sixteenth Note: aka. 1/16 Note

Sixteenth notes start appearing around difficulty level 5. As difficulty goes up, they become increasingly common. In rare cases, they can outnumber quarter or eighth notes. These notes are situated between quarter and eighth notes. They are commonly used for *gallops* (think of a horse) and *runs* (an unbroken set of arrows strung together). At high levels, they are an important part of *stream* (a chart that has a lot of runs in it is referred to as a*stream* chart). I will go over these more later.

Twelfth Note: aka. 1/12 Note

Twelfth notes start appearing around difficulty level 6. They are relatively rare in official songs, but when used, they are often paired to a "swing beat". Examples include, but are not limited to: Heaven is a '57 metallic gray [DDR], and We Know What to Do [ITG].

This is one of the ways that the 16th note is first introduced to you. To see them better, make sure that you use a speed modifier. Gallops commonly appear two ways.

The "simple" gallop:

How to hit this: listen to the music, and remember the bass beat. Gallops will always go with an element within the music, usually something in the foreground. Remember to look at the grading. If you are getting a great or better on this, you are getting it.

The layered "So Deep" gallop:

This one can be a bit tricky to learn. First, don't rush the beat. A pattern like this almost always goes with the foreground music or percussion, so listen to the music and "feel" the gallop out. If you can get through it and not break your combo, you're getting it. The reason why this is called the So Deep gallop is that the expert level steps of the song So Deep has several examples of this gallop in it.

I am a bit biased on this, but I think gallop songs are more fun - so go find all the gallop songs and practice! Most songs that have a lot gallops are at least level 8. A fun example is Twilight Zone.

There are two kinds of crossovers that I will be discussing. The "straight line" crossover, and the "complex" crossover. Also, I will make a note about the "Afronover".

• Straight Line Crossover

Straight line crossovers are only three steps long, and may or may not be attached to each other. The above example is where they might be attached. In earlier levels, this is how they are introduced, and they usually are infrequent. A common way to play this is to try to double step it. I would not recommend this unless you have good foot speed. The best way to do this is to use one foot to hit the blue arrows and use the other foot to hit the red. So, the left and right arrows would be hit by your left foot and the up arrow would be hit by your right foot. Make sure your body is turned to the LEFT if you choose to hit the arrows this way. If you choose to hit the left and right arrows with your right foot, and the up arrow with your left, your body needs to be turned to the RIGHT.

• Complex Crossover

Complex crossovers require you to have you select the right "lead leg". In this example, the lead leg is the RIGHT LEG. I have marked "L" and "R" on this example to help aid in showing what foot should be stepping where to make this crossover work by using both feet. Crossovers that have patterns similar to this are common. To get a feel for crossovers, you can try several songs. Freckles (7), Exotic Ethnic (9), Hardcore of the North (9), Mythology (8), and Kiss Kiss Kiss (8) are just a few that contain varying degrees of crossover difficulty.

• *Afronover*

Afronover is a term I just made up to explain the crossover that occurs in the song Afronova on Expert (DDR). In the older mixes, Afronova was banned from tournaments because it was called "impossible". The reason was because of this crossover - it usually was the reason people would fail the song. So, I thought I would give it the honor of its own section. Here is the pattern:

If you have ever wondered how to beat Afronova, this is what people do. When you get to the quarter note, you need to hit that with your LEFT LEG and be facing LEFT. Then you hit the first three arrows like this: Left arrow LEFT FOOT (like I just said), up arrow RIGHT FOOT, right arrow LEFT FOOT. OK, now you see that the fourth arrow is a blue note (the left note). Believe it or not, you are going to hit that note with your RIGHT FOOT. Keep in mind you are still facing LEFT. Then, you will hit the down arrow with your LEFT FOOT, and the right arrow with your RIGHT FOOT. You got it? Here is the first six notes together:

[Keep in mind you are still facing LEFT]

1. Left Note (red): Left Foot
2. Up Note (blue): Right Foot
3. Right Note (red): Left Foot
4. Left Note (blue): Right Foot
5. Down Note (red): Left Foot
6. Right Note (blue): Right Foot

The next nine notes are the same way, so you just repeat this motion until you get through all 15 notes. Congrats, you can now do the "afronover"!

Hands can be fun, but they can also be a challenge. Learning how to do a hand is a lot like learning how to do a jump for the first time (you have to hit all the arrows at once, just like in a jump too). Prepare for them by getting in place of where they will be (such as the 3 Note hands) or into a crouching position (for the quads). You will not find hands in Dance Dance Revolution - so if you only play DDR, you do not have to worry about this part. Hands *can* be cheated, but for the purpose of this section, I will explain how to do them using your hands (cheating them involves using your feet, which will be covered in the pro section).

3 Note hands

• Example #1

I think the best way to hit this one is to hit the up and down arrows with your feet and the left arrow with your hand (facing LEFT). This is because I find it is easier to transition, especially if the next arrow happens to be a right arrow.

• Example #2

This one is arguably the most awkward one to hit. As far as positioning goes, it would be best to hit the left arrow with your left foot, the right arrow with your right foot, and the down arrow with your hand. How you hit the down arrow with your hand is up to you (and your comfort). Some people go between their legs and reach behind, and others reach behind their back and hit it that way. The second way is advised, but if you feel like you will fall, go on and try it the first way. You can also just pick the DL or DR corner and hit the other arrow with your hand. Just go with what feels right.

• Example #3

This one is basically a mirror of the first example. I think the best way to hit this one is to hit the up and down arrows with your feet and the right arrow with your hand (facing RIGHT). This is because I find it is easier to transition, especially if the next arrow happens to be a left arrow.

• Example #4

This is arguably the easiest 3 note hand to hit. Just hit the left and right with your left and right foot and hit the up arrow with your hand.

Quads 

Quads involve hitting all four arrows at once. You can either get in the DR position and hit up and left with your hands or get into the DL position and hit up and right with your hands. Some people hit it "backwards" (doing the reverse of what I am saying), but I think its too hard to recover from the prone position. Some people may also do it reverse while facing away from the screen. It really comes down to positioning and preference.

This part covers more complex mine clusters. It's also dedicated to mine clusters that force you to move a certain way. I will use this image to explain how to avoid these mines:

#1. "Stepping Through"

The first set of mines are harmless if you just hit the up arrow. If you have good timing, you should have your foot up from the right arrow before the mine hits you.

#2. "Return to Center"

The second set of mines cover all four arrows, so the best move is to move both feet to the center square (yeah, the beginner spot).

#3. "Weave"

The best way to get through the third set of mines is to lean into the next arrow coming, then lean out and lean into the next arrow. This is done more easily by using the bar. I would not recommend hitting all four with one foot, because there are more difficult patterns later in the game that will force you to use both feet, and you will not have enough time to return to center.

Stops

Stops are when the chart stops moving. They can be a serious issue and even cost you your game if you do not see them coming! If you encounter a stop, and the arrows after the stop are a different color or pattern than what you saw before, do not panic. Usually the music will follow the same beat as it did before that stop. Keep the beat in your head that you heard before the stop and apply it.

Healing Vision Angelic Mix [HVAM] has a really good example of a potentially dangerous stop. When you get to that end run in HVAM, and you run into that stop, the next note is NOT a red note! It is blue, so you have to step just a fraction of a second earlier than what you would normally. In that case, it takes practice, but once you see someone do it once, you will know exactly how to read it.

If you are still having difficulty with a particular song with a stop in it, it never hurts to watch someone who knows the song and watch how he/she plays it.

Step Jumps

Step Jumps (or Jump Steps) start appearing around level 7 in DDR. You can find them in: DXY, Stoic, Waka Laka, Be Lovin, Wookie Wookie, Drop Out, and several others. The best way to get through them is to keep your feet light and flexible. Don't strain through them! If you are relaxed, it will be easier to get through them.  Play the examples above and songs that have a lot of jumps together so that you can get used to doing them quickly. 

There are varying schools of thought of what a "run" is. Usually, it is an unbroken string of <16 notes that scroll faster than 6 steps a second. The Legend of Max has something at the end of its chart called the "death run". It looks like the image on the right ->

The reason it's called a death run is that when people first start playing it, and are trying to pass it, this is the place they usually fail. It looks pretty tame here, but keep in mind this is at 330 BPM. This string of arrows comes at you from top to bottom in under two seconds (11 steps a second)!

The best way to get through a run is to relax and remember the tempo of the song. Most new players to runs step too quickly - thinking the run is actually faster than what it is. Another thing players do when they see a run is that they tense up. Relaxing is the best way to get through difficult parts of songs. Keep your feet low and loose. If you would like more help with this, take a look at the "Managing level 10" section. Most 10 level songs in DDR are covered with runs.

By request, I am adding a section that focuses on accuracy on the advanced level. Here are a few ways to boost your accuracy if you are trying to AA or AAA songs in DDR or get a ** or higher in ITG:

1. Jumps and Hands are graded by the "last step" registered. This means that if you *gallop* a jump, the last foot to hit is what the grade will be based on. This also means if your first foot hits dead on accurate, but your other foot is late, you will be given a late grade (like *great*).

2. Do not cheat crossovers - - - except the death crossover in Healing D Vision Oni. Crossovers should almost always be done by alternating your feet (and not doublestepping). You will get better scoring because your movements will be more fluid and less awkward. Double stepping can be really awkward if not done properly, and it could cost you your game.

*How to beat Healing D Vision Oni by cheating*

The way to cheat through this is a method called "bracketing". How this is done is that you put your feet on the brackets between the arrows. This allows you to hit two arrows at once by either rocking your feet back and forth on the bracket, or by doing bracket jumps. Healing D Vision Oni can be beaten by doing bracket jumps. If you can keep your balance, you can even jump bracket it without the bar.

3. Bracketing - - - Faster charts require some incredible foot speed, so a good way to get through the song and have some energy left to spare is to use the bracket method above. As your strength builds, you should try stepping the arrows without the aid of bracketing.

4. Do not overtrain! One quick way to undo what you have worked so hard on is to overdo it. Overtraining can actually hurt your accuracy. A good balance is to work on getting really high scores on lower level songs and mixing that with passing or getting reasonable scores on higher levels.

5. Relax. Accuracy can not be forced - so the best thing you can do is relax into the beat and feel the music. A good idea is to do something called "lazy scoring". Lazy scoring is when you play a song, but you do not put all your strength into it, but you try to keep your accuracy as well. To do it correctly, you need to know how to step lightly and use the bar correctly.

6. Mix it up - - -Try out marathon or survival mode. Learn how to play doubles or half doubles. Another good idea that can really mix it up is playing songs with the shuffle / random mod selected (it's in the same menu where you select your speed modifier). This takes the arrows and "rotates" them a random direction. This can produce some really crazy (and fun) results that will test you thinking and how to approach strange patterns. This is one of my training favorites.

The best way to approach these is to use the points above, but focus on songs that test your speed and stamina. This means playing songs that go really fast or push you to your limit. If level 10 is too hard for you, keep working on level 9. 10 will be easier for you if you are comfortable with 9.

What I use to boost my endurance and speed is find out where my warm-up is and try to raise that. If I am warming up on level 4 and trying to beat level 9, the gap is too large. A good rule of thumb is to warm up two levels below where you have trouble.

So, if you want to try to tackle a 10, you should be warming up on level 8. On average, the next level up is about 30% harder than the level you are on, so don't be scared. If you can handle things at the level you are on, and you do not feel tired, crank it up and try the next level.

Managing Level 10 (DDR)

There is a good guide already built that discusses how best to approach 10s. It discusses things like foot speed and what stance is good to get your speed up, you can find it here:

Attacking 10 footers

This is the end of Advanced Mode. If you can read 12th and 16th notes and get through them without many problems, do complex crossovers mentioned above, avoid many different kinds mine clusters, hit hands, get some good scores going (AA or AAA in DDR), get through some runs, gallops, stops, 10s, and jump steps, you are ready to start on PRO!