Update (24 December, 2016): 1st to 3rd Dan courses have been updated to be better (or harder) to their older counterparts. Please download these maps if you want to submit your scores, as scores on the older Dan courses will no longer be valid. There are also new backgrounds for all of the Dan courses, so re-DL the dan courses to get them.
(This goes hand-in-hand with the 7K dan courses thread, so check it out if you’re also a 7K player, in addition to a 4K player.)
Welcome to the 4K Dan Courses thread - where you can download dan courses to test yourself and see where you stand among the rest of the 4K players.
For people who don’t know, dan courses are basically tests used to determine where you stand in terms of skill in BMS, PMS, Go and other games. I’ve never really seen any way to determining skill for 4K purposes in any community I’ve been in (aside from 4SAM, which is relatively inactive and severely flawed at the higher-end levels), so this would be a good place to start.
There are a total of 12 dans, increasing in difficulty. It ranges from the accessible 1st and 2nd dans for semi-experienced players, to the absurd Luminal and Tachyon dans which most players would dream of just passing one of the maps in their given lists. Each dan course is denoted with a delta sign, to differentiate between the Normal/Insane 7K dans. These dans will test speed (generally speaking), instead of accuracy. If you would like accuracy dans, Ez2dj_7144’s thread on low difficulty accuracy dans would be the thread to go to. There are also LN dans made by arcwinolivirus, you can find these courses here.
How these dan courses would work in osu!mania is that all four of the maps listed in each dan would be combined into one full map at OD8 to 9 and HP7 to 8.5, with 5-10 second breaks in between them, depending on the dan level. The goal of the course is to get 96% on the overall marathon. Download links will be provided further on in the OP.
Rules
1. You are not allowed to use any mods other than Hidden, Fade In, Flashlight, Hard Rock, DoubleTime or Nightcore.
2. You are also not allowed to pause midway through the map. 5-10 seconds is enough break for you to rest your hands, pausing through the course defeats the purpose of having a marathon to begin with.
3. Don’t cheat, there’s nothing to really gain from this aside from self-achievement.
4. You can submit your scores in this thread. Feel free to post scores even if you didn't manage to clear the course (aka >96%).
Do you have any questions? Read the FAQ section. If your question is not in the FAQ section, feel free to ask in the thread.
Frequently Asked Questions
SPOILER
Q: Why do you use 96%, instead of a high HP clear?
A: We actually had that idea, but I personally didn’t like the idea of using a very high HP difficulty mainly due to the fact that a good portion of these maps are spiky enough to actually fail you. Most of these are vibrawalls which generally aren’t hittable if you can’t vibro. This doesn’t matter very much to the lower end dans, but it definitely matters with songs like AiAe and The Scales of Struggle, which are absurdly hard at points.
Q: Is Tachyon clearable by anyone at all?
A: Yes, all of these dans are clearable. Obviously not many people will clear Tachyon (I’m only expecting 2 at best), but they’re definitely clearable.
Q: Why not separate the maps instead of making them one giant course?
A: There are multiple reasons for this, but the main two reasons would be that a) We would not be able to tell how much break time you used, so you might’ve regained a lot of stamina that should not have been regaining and b) The dans would be too easy. Tachyon would be clearable by at least 5 people if that’s the case, and I want the dans to be as justifiably difficult as possible.
Q: Why are there so many Stepmania converts in the higher dans?
A: Most of the maps on osu! are simply not suited for the list. Some of them might be difficult enough to be suited in the courses, but they are easily replaced by far better maps from Stepmania. For example, while Imperishable Night 2006 could be used for 10th Dan, I didn’t want to do that mainly because it’s a complete luckshot if you’re trying to go for an S.
Q: Can I do xth dan without doing the dans before them?
A: Yes, you do not have to play the dan courses before a particular dan to attain that dan grade.
Courses + Download Links
1st to 3rd Dans
Dan courses in this range are OD7.5 and HP8. These courses have 10 second breaks between songs.
SPOILER
9nine - Cross Over [Medium] (Golgo13) - SMOC 8th
Ryu* - Second Heaven [4K Another] (Spy) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/378316
ARM feat. Nanahira - Bakunana*Testroyer [MEDIUM] (Rinzler) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/721999
Vospi - Reverence [Hard] (Side) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1006357
2nd Dan (δ-2)
Suzaku - VANESSA [4K HD] (Quick Draw) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/467656
M2U - The Prince of Darkness [4K HD] (leqek) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/392677
Camellia - Routing [Chickening's Hard] ([ A v a l o n ]) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/983252
Colorful Sounds Port - ETERNAL DRAIN [Hyper] (Wh1teh) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1002503
3rd Dan (δ-3)
Rche - entelecheia [Hyper] (Starry-) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/1018853
Transin - Soul Destructor [MX] (pporse) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/530768
dj TAKA feat.AiMEE - True Blue [EXTREME] (ZZHBOY) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/956012
Camellia as "Bang Riot" - Blastix Riotz [ADVANCED] (Fresh Chicken) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/770124
4th to 6th Dans
Dan courses in this range are OD8 and HP7. These courses have 10 second breaks between songs.
SPOILER
OSTER project - Devilz Sacrifice (Fullerene-) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/563157
Bach ft. West Village - Black Cloak Skeleton (porkypink) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/563157
XACKSECKS - Christraping Black Breakcore (MrTea) - Yolomania Vol. 2
Alex c. feat. Yasmin K. - Angel of Darkness (Leo137) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/563157
5th Dan (δ-5)
LeaF - Paraclete [ilikexd] - Nuclear Blast 5
Ranzor - That Was Too Slow [Hayaku! Hayaku!] [Quick Draw] - link
Helblinde - Grief and Malice [4K Kriemhild Gretchen] [Fullerene-] - link
Yuyoyuppe - AiAe [SC] [Fullerene-] - link
6th Dan (δ-6)
Camellia - Bangin’ Burst [Fullerene-] - Yolomania Vol. 3
Hoshina Anniversary - Technodild* [MrTea] - Yolomania Vol. 2
A-Moe - Bagpipe [Rebound] - Rebound Dump Collection Megapack 1
Team Musical Masterpiece - M-A [IcyWorld] - Nuclear Blast 4
7th to 9th Dans
Dan courses in this range are OD8.5 and HP8.5. These courses have 5 second breaks between songs.
SPOILER
Nishino Kana - Go For It!! (Golgo13/Sensationer) - SMOC 8th
Smiley vs. hi19hi19 - Destiny GAMMA [Standard] (hi19hi19) - Hard Songs Megapack 6
Blitz Lunar - Mathsma Attack [Discharge] (Shoegazer)
niki - WAVE - Dump Parade
8th Dan (δ-8)
Nthonius - Trapce (Sensationer/Golgo13) - SMOC 6th
Terminal 11 - Reluctantly Accepting Temporary Overexhaustion (cetaka) - Hard Songs Megapack 6
Hatsuki Yura - Kaguyahime (Skwid) - Skwid Minipack (link)
Cardboard Box - Brute Force (Fullerene-) -
9th Dan (δ-9)
Can't Take My Eyes Off You (Sensationer/Golgo13) - SMOC 8th
The Flashbulb - Stinger (mi40) - Stepmanian Atelier Vol. 3
Chroma - Sayonara Planet Wars [GRAVITY] (Leo137) - https://osu.ppy.sh/s/381379
Bonehead and Prince ov Darkness - We f*cking Hate You (For The Enemies) [masoch*st] (Shoegazer) - https://osu.ppy.sh/s/305943
10th Dan to Tachyon
10th Dan is OD8.5/HP8.5, while Luminal/Tachyon are OD9/HP8.5. These courses have 5 second breaks between songs.
SPOILER
yst - the lost dedicated [4K] (Zyph) - https://osu.ppy.sh/b/523391
Fantom - Connect 1986 (IcyWorld) - Nuclear Blast 4
The Ghost of 3.13 - Forgotten [Forgotten Collab] (Zyph/Shoegazer) - https://osu.ppy.sh/s/338665
403 ERROR (xi vs. ZUMMER) - FORBIDDEN (Shoegazer) - Fullerene Shift
Luminal (δ-★)
ueotan - Mario Paint [D-HYPER] (Fullerene-) -
Izayoi Sak - Blue Planet [Terra] (Shoegazer) - https://osu.ppy.sh/s/322476
Tatsh - Image Material -VERSION 0- (cut) (Fullerene-) - Fullerene Shift
-45 - G e n g a o z o [Another] (Shoegazer) - Fullerene Shift
Tachyon (ε-δ)
t+pazolite with siromaru - Chambarising [Challenge 1.2x] (Evening) -
DJ Sharpnel - Cyber Induction (cut) [1.4x] (IcyWorld) - Nuclear Blast 4
Camellia - shadows of cats [1.2x] (Wafles) - Dump Parade
LV.4 - Angel Dust [-DESPAIR-] (snover) - timdam snackpack
And that's about it. While these courses are definitely challenging, always remember that challenge isn't everything. Always remember to enjoy the game for what it is; this is a rhythm game after all. And with that, happy keysmashing.
Special Thanks
SPOILER
(March 2015)
- PortalLife for collaborating with me on this, and also working on the first 4 dans. I’d probably be overworking my head trying to figure out the lower-end difficulty courses with your help.
Hazelnut- for giving a couple of suggestions on how to make the dan courses, lists would be pretty different without his suggestions, and I’m really happy with how the lists turned out.
Guilhermeziat, Halogen-, Fullerene- and a couple of others (sorry if I forgot you guys) who gave suggestions for the higher dans and also checking which maps should be lower or higher.
The people who made all of these fantastic maps. (except a few but that’s besides the point stfu)
Additional credit to Fullerene- for helping PortalLife sync some of the courses.
Z3nx for normalising SVs for some of the courses and making BGs.
(March 2016)
- snover for consistently bothering me to make the new dan courses and for giving most of the ideas for Tachyon (and just making the course in general).
Lampranthus and Valedict for giving suggestions and discussing with me which charts would be applicable for the lower dan courses.
And again, the charters for making most of these fantastic charts.
(September 2016)
- snover for again, poking me to make Tachyon v3 and for making the dan course after numerous revisions.
Khelly for making 4th dan in general.(December 2016)
Yuudachi-kun/Khelly for poking me non-stop and remaking 1st to 3rd dan.Yuudachi-kun wrote:
abraker and mithew for helping decide what charts to put in for 1st and 2nd Dan.
DDMythical for helping me pick charts for 3rd Dan.
Side and Staravia for fixing the sync for 1st and 2nd Dan.
Sparx555 for making initial graphics and the general design and sinewave for creating the rest of the graphics.
Change Log
SPOILER
17th March, 2015: 4th Dan's map list has changed. 3rd Dan has been added.
24th February, 2015: 5th Dan, 8th Dan and 9th Dans' map lists have been changed. SVs in 7th Dan have been normalised.
22nd March, 2016: New dans for 7th Dan and up have been created.
11th September, 2016: New courses for Tachyon and 4th Dan have been created.
24th December, 2016: New courses for 1st to 3rd Dan have been created.
