I'd appreciate some experienced osu! players opinions and guidance.

[ChicagoTed]

I've been playing osu! for three months now, and I feel like I've gotten pretty good with just the mouse, although I feel like long death streams are impossible for me at the moment and I don't seem to be getting any better. I've been thinking about possibly getting a tablet, or using the keyboard along with the mouse. I know most people would probably advise a tablet, but I kind of want to keep using the mouse to help me in other areas I may need mouse control, not just for osu! :P

I also like the feeling of beating people who use keyboard and mouse/tablet because I've jumped to the conclusion that Tablet and Keyboard are much easier to master compared to mouse.
Although I've been playing osu! for only three months, I've been PC gaming since 2009 - which is another reason I don't want to give up on my mouse. I don't want to be topping leaderboards, I just want to keep playing harder and harder maps, but I feel practising with a keyboard and mouse now will take too much time and I'd get bored before I got any better.

Feel free to comment your opinions, whether you're experienced or not, all comments are appreciated!

Come by and send me a PM at: http://osu.ppy.sh/u/2948139
I'll be on most days, so if you ever want to play some standard osu! or some 4K / 6K Mania, go ahead and ask.

[leonardo doujinshi]

Actually, I play with mouse keyboard and I'd recommend that, I felt that seperating the clicking and mouse aim at first was slightly disconcerting, but within the week I saw marked improvements. Of course, there are a few (very few) mouse only players who can do incredible things.

Edit: http://osu.ppy.sh/u/2702831

[ChicagoTed]

Truth is, at the time I posted this I only had the option of mouse (and keyboard) - I have a tablet now so I sort of switch between Mouse (No keyboard) and Tablet (with keyboard). I'm about as good on both at the moment, thanks for replying to this anyway, I guess it could help others seeking help.

[Teliko]

You could definitely be training your mouse control for other purposes a lot more easily by sticking to the mouse instead of the tablet, but using the keyboard won't take away from that. If you stick to only using a mouse, it'll absolutely slow down your progression.
While some people say tablet is easier, a lot of the time it can come down to personal preference. My advice to you is if you want to increase your mouse control while also improving in osu, go with mouse+keyboard.

https://osu.ppy.sh/u/631203

[Palm-Top Taiga]

I've been using only mouse and when I tried switching over to mouse + keyboard, I couldn't stand it. I play drums and stuff, so when I click, I feel the feedback and know that I can snap the mouse to a new position. I felt disconnected trying to use both hands. I'm probably going to stick to the mouse, as I've managed to get the hold of death streams now as long as I actually know the timing for them.

https://osu.ppy.sh/u/3855654

[Falling Snow]

I'm probably going to end up just repeating what the others have said, but here I go anyways. Teliko is right, mouse only will stunt your progression a ton. It's not an easy thing to do because, depending on your sensitivity, each press of the buttons can shake your mouse and cursor, making it especially hard on streaming. That's not to say that you shouldn't play mouse, but what I'm suggesting is you at least ponder about trying mouse/keyboard. Granted, if you don't get satisfaction from it, then it isn't a necessity. If you are dead set on sticking with mouse only though, if I may provide a tip, start practicing streaming now, and start with slow streaming to assure yourself you have 100% got the form down for streaming on mouse. Then start picking up the pace. It's just like typing. Accuracy before speed. (although I'm sure you've gathered that) I will add that, I'm not an active mouse player, but I can play it well enough and know enough about it to be confident in believing I'm not talking out my arse. (and I'm just gonna add this here. jesus1412 said that you should focus on short fast streams before long ones. That's very good advice)

[ChicagoTed]

I've been playing with tablet for about eleven months now, I still go back to mouse when warming up for say, CS:GO, or just when I want a little more of a challenge. I have improved massively on mouse since I got tablet, weirdly. I guess it was reading that I improved on and now can play mouse-only on pretty difficult maps. Still much better with tablet though.

[ChicagoTed]

Thank you all for your responses. <3