I just started playing DDR

[justicesluv]

I got DDRMAX2 for Valentines day. I wanted it after I saw it on a gaming network. I had a baby six months ago and need to lose 60 lbs. The first night I got it I played for 4 hours straight. I was a mess. I finally made it passed the lesson modes. I am in the beginner level now. I am doing pretty good. I play an hour a day on workout mode. I still get one or two boo's but, I am improving. Are there any tricks to get to the light Mode? I love the game! btw how do I add pics to profile?

[Elegantly Wasted]

Hello Justicesluv.. it's good that you've found DDR.. I know you want to advance but it will hurt like crap when you hurt yourself. Practice, practice,practice. Just take it easy and the weight will come off.. Good luck hun..

[Zealot]

i personally just played light mode over... and over.. and over until I AAed them all (cept MAX300 cause i suck at that ).. like maria said the best kinda practice is repeatition.. once you see something enough it will stick in your head and your body will adjust ;D

[sean]

justicesluv said:

I am in the beginner level now. I am doing pretty good. I play an hour a day on workout mode. I still get one or two boo's but, I am improving. Are there any tricks to get to the light Mode?

First of all, don't feel discouraged about the boos; they may be what are called "pad boos", or boos that are the fault of your pad messing up rather than you.

As far as the trek from Beginner to Light, it's been repeated hundreds of times before but I'll say it again: you have to learn to leave the centre square. Beginner mode really helps you get the timing down, but moving onto Light songs requires totally different footwork; you have to learn to leave your feet on the arrows instead of returning to the middle. My best advice is to pick a medium-low tempo song that's ranked two-foot in Beginner (Spin the Disc, Long Train Runnin' and Loving You spring to mind) and just focus on stepping only on the arrows, not on the centre of the pad. Once you've done that, then go for the three-footers and so on up.

[justicesluv]

Thanks for all the encouraging words. DDR is so much fun. I have convinced two friends to get it. My mother is even considering. lol that's going to be fun to watch. Anyhow thanks for the tips. I am having a tough time on the freezes. Also, I see alot of you mention the AA"s are you actually graded and in which mode. I usually go to workout mode but, it doesn't give me a grade.


Thanks,

justicesluv

[Jennifer]

Welcome! I'm new too, and also trying to lose some pregnancy weight and then some. It's rough.

I've only been playing a few days and I completely agree with moving out of the center thing. That is key. That alone made me go from a struggling beginner to someone who is able to complete most light songs with relative ease. (Still working on getting those As and up, but I can pass almost all without too much effort besides red and purples).

When you do the lessons be sure to look at what the example feet are doing in the 2nd and 3rd sets of lessons. They do a really good job of showing you how you have to get out of the center, but you have to pay attention to the foot patterns they show you, because otherwise you may be tempted to pass those two lesson sets still standing in the center.

Other things that have really helped me in these early days is:

- play by ear - really listen to the music and go with it

- when you screw up ignore it and move on. I think it is an instinct for beginners (or at least me) to want to go back and correct it, but that will just throw you entirely off!

- and try not to stomp. It's difficult when you are just getting started I know, and I am still working on not stomping when I start getting challenging songs, but really stomping only makes your life more difficult heh. The first time I played my knees felt like hell afterwards because I was stomping so hard - someone watching me probably thought I was being attacked by a swarm of cockroaches.

One thing I am loving about DDR is it has a pretty fast learning curve, I think. I see improvement every single day. At first I couldn't do light, then I could do it, went to Ds, then C's the next day, then B's the day on songs I had familiarity with and now I am getting B's and A's on songs I had C's on and C's on songs I had D's on and passing songs I completely couldn't do two days ago. It's very satisfying, and with all the songs and all the levels and the scores, there's always a new goal to aim for.

[MainMor]

Well welcome to the both of you... keep up the good work. ;D

I am new to the game myself, only been playing a little over 4 months now and I have to say, I am totally addicted to it.