Maps and difficulty
Beatmap
A song plus a pattern of objects to play along with it. People usually say "map" for short.
Beatmap set
A group of difficulties for the same song, shared as one download. Each set has a number, the set ID, which you can type into the player's search box.
Difficulty name
The label a mapper gives each difficulty, such as "Normal", "Hard" or something creative. Names are not standardized, so check the stars too.
Mapper
The person who made the beatmap. The player shows the mapper on each card, in the difficulty pop-up and on the result screen.
Star rating
One number that summarizes how hard a difficulty is. The player shows it as a row of ten stars and a colored ring, from easy (below 2 stars) to expert-plus (6.5 and up).
Status
The label on a map card, such as RANKED, APPROVED, QUALIFIED, LOVED, PENDING, WIP or GRAVEYARD. It describes how far the map went through the community review process for the official game.
BPM
Beats per minute, the tempo of the song. The card shows the highest BPM in the set. Higher BPM usually means faster patterns.
Mirror
A community server that keeps copies of beatmaps. The osu.net player searches and downloads maps from a public mirror.
.osz file
The archive format of a beatmap set. It contains the song, the background images and one file per difficulty. The player unpacks it inside your browser.
AR (approach rate)
How early objects appear before you must hit them. Higher AR gives less time to react. See the AR, OD, CS and HP guide.
OD (overall difficulty)
How strict the timing windows are. Higher OD means you must hit closer to the beat for a 300.
CS (circle size)
The size of circles and sliders. Higher CS means smaller circles.
HP (HP drain)
How much the HP bar drops on a miss and how much it recovers on good hits.
Objects on screen
Hit circle
The basic object: move onto it and press a hit key on the beat.
Approach circle
The ring that shrinks around a hit circle. Hit when it touches the circle's edge.
Combo number
The number on a circle, counting up within the current combo color group so you can see the order.
Combo color
Groups of objects share a color chosen by the mapper. A new color usually starts a new musical phrase.
Follow points
Faint dotted lines between objects of the same color group, pointing to where you should move next.
Slider
An object with a track. Hit its start, then hold the key and follow the ball to the end.
Slider ball
The ball that travels along a slider's track. Keep your cursor on it.
Follow circle
The ring that grows around the slider ball while you are holding correctly. It gives you some room for error.
Slider tick
A small dot on a slider's track. Passing it while holding gives 10 points; missing it breaks your combo.
Reverse arrow
An arrow at the end of a slider that means the ball will turn around and travel back.
Spinner
A large object in the center of the screen. Hold a key and circle your cursor around the middle until it is complete.
Stack
Several circles placed on the same spot, drawn slightly offset so you can see how many there are.
Break
A gap in the map. The player shows a shrinking bar and a countdown until the next object.
Patterns and skills
Stream
A fast, unbroken run of circles close together. Usually played by alternating two keys.
Jump
Two objects far apart with little time between them, so you must move the cursor quickly.
Reading
Knowing where and when the next objects come before they arrive.
Timing and scoring
Judgement
The result of each hit: 300, 100, 50 or miss. In game they appear as great, good, meh and miss.
300 (great)
A hit inside the tightest timing window. The player hides the word "great" by default.
100 (good)
A hit that is a little early or late.
50 (meh)
A hit that is clearly early or late but still counts.
Miss
No hit, a hit outside the timing window, a missed slider tick or repeat, or a spinner that was not turned enough.
Hit window
The time range around the beat that earns a given judgement. Set by OD.
Combo
The number of successful judgements in a row. Any miss resets it to zero.
Combo break
Losing your combo. If it was longer than 20, the player plays a combo-break sound.
FC (full combo)
Finishing a map without a single miss. The result screen shows an FC badge.
Accuracy
The points you earned divided by the most possible points, shown as a percentage.
Grade
A letter from your accuracy: SS, S, A, B, C or D, or F if your HP bar ran out.
SS
The top grade, for 100 percent accuracy.
F
The grade you get if the HP bar empties. In this player the song still plays to the end.
HP bar
The bar at the top of the screen. Misses lower it and good hits refill it.
Score multiplier
A factor from your mods that raises or lowers your score, for example 1.06 for Hidden.
Hit error
How early or late you hit, in milliseconds. The result screen shows your average and spread, like "+12±18ms".
Hit error meter
The colored bars at the left and right edges during play. Each hit leaves a mark; an arrow shows your running average.
Offset
A correction in milliseconds between the music and the game's timing, used to fix audio delay. See the settings guide.
Mods
Mods are switched on in the player's Settings page. The mods guide explains each one in detail.
EZ (Easy)
Halves AR, OD, CS and HP. Score multiplier 0.5.
HR (Hard Rock)
Raises AR, OD and HP by 40 percent and CS by 30 percent, up to 10. Score multiplier 1.06.
HD (Hidden)
Removes approach circles and fades objects out early. Score multiplier 1.06.
NC (Nightcore)
Plays the map at 1.5 times speed with higher pitch. Score multiplier 1.12.
DC (Daycore)
Plays the map at 0.75 times speed with lower pitch. Score multiplier 0.3.
AT (Autoplay)
The player plays the map for you, perfectly or nearly so.
Player features
Background dim
A setting that darkens the map's background image so objects stand out.
Snaking sliders
Slider tracks that draw themselves in as they appear and erase behind the ball at the end.
Skip
Jumping over a long intro with Ctrl, to three seconds before the first object.
History Best
Your best earlier score on a difficulty, kept in your browser and shown on the result screen.
Play history
The list of your last 1,000 plays, stored in your browser on this device.
Favorites
Beatmap sets you marked with the heart icon, saved in your browser.