Do higher speed mods lower or raise the difficulty?

[Tman_Rhythm]

So I have been pushing myself to try to read notes at a faster and faster speedmod because I have heard that it will increase my speed at reading fast patterns. I am currently at a 2.5 mod but am wondering if it is even beneficial to go any higher? At what point do speedmods hinder and not help you?

[arcnmx]

Once your speedmod is decently high enough that you can actually read things (~2x+), I'm not sure that there's a huge benefit in going much higher. It tends to be a matter of personal preference after that - personally I like very high speedmods. I find it fun to challenge myself by raising my usual speedmod as soon as I'm comfortable with it to always keep me on my toes :P

[ilikexd]

it's a balance

the brain recognizes patterns spread further apart faster than smashed together
but the brain has less time to recognize those patterns when they travel from the bottom of the viewing window to the receptor in less time

those are the two factors that come into play and your maximum reading potential depends on how much your brain depends on space vs time

[mi40]

it's all personal preference

[reuben_tate]

Just keep fooling around with it until you find what's comfortable with you. Most newer players typically start off with lower speed mods (say like 1.3x) and slowly work their way up since pattern recognition and reading ability becomes more difficult for more difficult files with low speed mods. To give you an idea, I believe that most active players play with a speedmod from between 1.7 and 2.3 (on the legacy/velocity engines). Not too sure how that range translates to r^3 though if that is what you use.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by mi40

it's all personal preference

Also this. Don't let anyone tell you that you're "bad" at the game just because you play with a particular speed mod.

[Tman_Rhythm]

Thanks for all your replies, I think I will stick with a 2.5 and get used to that.
And Yeah the r3 engine (which I use) might be a little different than velocity or legacy.

[Pseudo Enigma]

there's a certain borderline where it can be too fast for the human brain to actually track the notes. eg. I don't think playing at 3x on the Legacy Engine is a good idea, because it moves so quick that your brain barely has time to register the note, let alone react to it. Legacy 2x on the other hand is fast enough to keep the notes from being too slow and boring to watch, but slow enough to allow you to have enough time to react to it.

R3's speedmod system is different from Legacy/Velocity, so 2.5x on R3 is probably about 2.0x on Legacy/Velocity.

Again, it's all a matter of preference and ability.

[Hakulyte]

The fastest comfortable speedmod is always the best.

Originally Posted by reuben_tate

Don't let anyone tell you that you're "bad" at the game just because you play with a particular speed mod.

I'm limited at the game by my own speedmod.

[Guest15937]

If you're at a 2.5x speedmod, going higher will most likely only make it harder for you. For the most part, that's the upper limit of what most people will play on the R^3 engine. That's not to say it's not possible to play higher (I know Staiain plays with something ridiculous like 3.5x) but for the most part you'll be fine with 2.5x.

[EzExZeRo7497]

Originally Posted by Hakulyte

The fastest comfortable speedmod is always the best.

I beg to differ.

There are two types of players out there, one who would do better with a higher speed mod that they're comfortable with (these people rarely manipulate patterns and hits everything through raw speed, most people fall under this category) and ones who would do better on a lower speedmod that they're comfortable with (they tend to notice patterns and often use pattern manipulation to hit trickier patterns, although they can also use speed).

I use 2.25x on Velocity/Legacy, but I can read up to 2.4x comfortably and hit them comfortably as well. However, I feel that I perform optimally on a slower speed mod that I'm comfortable with because I can prepare myself for tricky/fast patterning and bursts more. Some people might rush/misread the patterns because they're too clustered, but I don't have that problem. It really depends on what kind of player you are, really. I think you would probably fall under the former category, so using the fastest speed mod that you're comfortable at (both in reading and hitting) would the best for you.

[psychoangel691]

I can comfortably play up to 2.5x on velocity but I use 2.1x most because it seems to be working best for me. I will adjust it depending on the file I'm playing sometimes though. I personally need to use a higher speedmod because I hit early and that's a problem I've always had. If you don't tend to hit early I wouldn't stress bumping yourself up too high. Just experiment a bit and find what works out best for you. Not everyone is going to have the same opinion on what's the "best" speedmod.

[TheSaxRunner05]

I used 1.9-2.0 on legacy and 2.4-2.5 on R3, works well for me.