How to get good at Project Diva

This guide will teach players some tips and tricks on how to perfect songs a bit easier and gain more score on songs. This guide is mainly for controllers!

Introduction

Do you suck at Project Diva?

Don't worry we all do!

Progress on this game takes real time, blood, sweat, and tears - we all make sacrifices for Miku.

This guide aims to help you understand Project Diva a bit better if you are new or want a refresher! Feel free to comment any problems you encounter and the community will try to help! But as a reminder practice really does make perfect and these are just some tips that might help.

THIS GUIDE IS MAINLY FOR CONTROLLERS, BUT THE TIPS/TRICKS APPLY FOR ALL!

For my sanity and easy understanding for you, I am referring to all buttons as up, down, left, and right and will specify when I mean the d-pad

If you add a comment with a good tip I may add it into the guide for future readers! So, thank you to all who have contributed any tips!

Key Config/macros

Firstly, I recommend all players change their macro/bindings on controller.

You can do this through customisation of songs, like so:

What to change them to:

1. Put your quadruple holds/presses (the four buttons all at once) onto both RT AND LT

2. Put the left and right multi-notes on RB OR LB

3. Put the up and down multi-notes on RB or LB (whichever one you did not use for step 2) - you can change this macro to other double/triple multi-notes if you find that more useful for your play style or certain songs. For example, you might not like fat-thumbing so put RB as down + right and LB as up + left, or if you hate triples put them on there! Simples :)

So you will want them to look like so (RB/LB does not matter which way you choose, these are just mine):























There is also a Hisokee video, where they explain general tips and tricks and the above techniques, you may also like to watch found here. I recommend giving it a watch as its easier to see in action than explain sometimes!

What this achieves - CHEATING THE HOLD SYSTEM!

By doing steps 2 and 3 above you will make those awkward opposite button holds easier by making it into 1 simple button press - just don't forget which macro is on what side!

By doing step number 1 you get another simpler button press, but, most importantly you get to cheat the hold system. This works by any hold note you have pressed, hold down RT or LT and let go of the hold, RT/LT will then hold that note for you whilst you have your hands free as if you were not holding anything! And if more holds are incoming you can switch between RT/LT to continue with more holds each time. This is quite complex to explain so here's a Hisokeee video explaining/showing how it works:

With this technique you can gain more hold points than you usually would and it allows your hands to keep up with the songs rather than having them stuck awkwardly on a hold note.

I recommend you start with these macros as it can be quite jarring to learn otherwise (people often get reliant on sliders on RB/LB as its easier) - however, it does come with practice and it may not be for you and you can change the macros to fit your play style or certain songs with difficult notes.

Multi-notes

How to hold multi-notes

I've given some strategies to dealing with quadruple multi-notes and some double multi-note holds if you change your bindings as shown above. But what about the other multi-notes, or if you don’t want to change bindings, how do do you hold them?

For double notes:
Hit one note with one side of the controller and the other note with the other side. For example, for a right and up multi-note hit the right note on the left/right side of your controller and the up with the other side of the controller.

For triples:
The most common triples in the game are: up, left, down OR left, down, right. There are other triples in the harder songs so beware of those ones!

The best way to hold them is to treat them almost like a double note. Hit the two buttons closest together down by fat thumbing (whichever you feel most comfortable with for example down + left OR down + right) and with the other side of the controller hit the last button needed.

These are the devils bane so don’t be disheartened if they take you awhile - I still hate them with all my soul.

For quadruples:
Just hit LT/RT if you've changed your bindings as shown above, OR you could fat thumb the two closest notes on each side of the controller so that would be down + right on one side and up + left on the left side of the controller at the same time.

Double taps, triples (and more) of the same/alternating buttons

These are going to come up a lot and its good to learn how to deal with them. When you see two or more notes smushed together those are your double taps, three notes smushed together are triples and then you have alternating chains which are different notes all pushed together.

Double taps of the same note:
When you have two notes pushed together it signifies a double tap you're going to want to quickly press that same button twice - usually you can just use the same button, a good song to make sure you have figure out double taps is Gaikotsu Gakudan to Riria on hard but you can find lots of hard songs with double taps that are a bit easier.

Triple taps (or more) of the same note:
Triple taps are a bit harder and for these I recommend alternating between the d-pad and buttons; for example, three left notes appear you would want to quickly press left button, left on the d-pad, left button again. You can spam triple taps sometimes depending on the pace of the song but I recommend this alternating technique for when spamming won't work. This technique works the same with 4 quick notes and more, just continue to alternate and be careful of timing.

Double/triple taps of different notes:
When you have a double/triple tap not of the same button you will want to alternate between the two sides of your controller! So a quick double tap for example would be: right button then a quick down on the d-pad.

For triples this works the same way but for the third note go back to the right side of your controller, i.e. right button, quick down button on the d-pad, quick back to the other side of the controller to press right button.

Alternating notes:
This pattern uses the same technique as double/triple taps of different notes (seen above), you just continue the alternating pattern for longer chains - since the notes alternate, alternate on your controller, I promise once you get it, you will get it! A good song to practice this technique on is Summer Idol on extreme right at the beginning, it's all about timing and not going as fast as you usually expect.

Chains of notes that make you circle around all the buttons
For anyone wondering how to handle chains that involve pressing all the notes one after the other (think sand planet extreme) this is where using both your hands comes in handy.

Say the chain has you do up, left, down, right which is a very common chain you'll see in upper extreme songs. Your primary hand will obviously go to press up as its first and normally you might want to immediately go right with it next, instead press right on your other hand. This gives you enough time to move to press down on your primary once again which in turn lets you press right on your non primary hand right after.

The same principle can apply to chains that either are the reverse of the one mentioned or the triple chains such as left, down, right or up, left, down. At first it'll seem awkward but with enough practice you'll find this method will help you keep control of your chains to be able to move into inputs once again. The best song to practice this on that allows you to to practice this technique before speed is the beginning of Aikotoba that has you doing the first chain i mentioned over and over again for a bit. Just hop into practice mode and bookmark that spot until you start to feel more comfortable with how you're supposed to move and do your best to incorporate it into actual songs.

Thank you to @Samuug Kamui for the tip!

Fat-thumbing

Although not sounding the most dignified, fat thumbing can be very helpful in dealing with certain multi-notes notably: up+left, up+right, right+down, down+left.

Fat-thumbing involves using only your thumb to cover the multi-notes mentioned above, this can be done due to the fact that these notes are placed next to one another and within an easier reach. Just be careful to not accidentally fat-thumb other buttons in the process. Do be aware that you can fat thumb on BOTH sides of the controller don't force your thumb to fat-thumb uncomfortable notes - for example, right+up would be easier to fat-thumb on the d-pad than on the right side - find what you are most comfortable with.

Fat thumbing is something that is essential for triple multi-notes, unless you have them on macros, for all triples there will be always be two notes close to one another you can fat-thumb and the third you would press with the d-pad.

Fat-thumbing can be uncomfortable for some and if you have small hands can be a struggle depending on your controller, if you find this to be the case I always recommend using both sides of the controller to do double multi-notes, so for example a up+right multi-note you would press up on the d-pad and right on the right side of the controller (or vise versa whatever is most comfortable). However, as mentioned, triples will need you to fat-thumb unless you have them macro'd.

Tips and tricks

So, if you have done the above then there are only a few more general tips I can give:

1. Beware holds
Just because there are hold notes does not mean it's good to hold them! Sometimes its better to let certain holds go to hold onto incoming holds - this can be quite difficult to figure out but after playing a song a few times you will see what I mean (Teo on hard is a good example - those holds are best done singular and released when you see the next hold, bar a few - go play it you will see what I mean after awhile)

2. Use the practice feature - ultimately practice makes perfects
Sometimes its good to use the practice if there is a section you are particularity struggling. OR if you are stubborn (like me) you could just replay the same song 1000000 times all the way through until you get that one part right.

3. Do not be scared to use both sides of the controller i.e. USE BOTH HANDS ALL AT ONCE
You have the up/down/left/right buttons and your D-pad. USE THEM BOTH! It's very handy for triple notes (i.e. a quick left button, left on d-pad, left button again - some triples you can spam but it's gonna get hard), use it for alternating quick notes (i.e. down and left x50 - good example is Summer Idol on extreme at the start), and its handy for holds if you don't want to put them on RT/LT just yet. USE THE D-PAD, USE IT!

4. Turn off multi-note assist
If it shows you what notes you have to be pressing for multi-notes, GET RID OF IT. RIP THAT PLASTER OFF! You become too reliant on it telling you, that you don't actually know how to do it. Once you get to extreme you will not know what you are doing or what to hold. Learn it on hard so moving to extreme becomes easier (it happened to me ;w;). You can remove it in customisation of the song.

5. Arrows or buttons?
You can change the button icons in customisation - do what you find easiest! I always find arrows best allowing for easy readability and if you switch controllers its easy to understand, but this is my personal preference, not necessarily yours, play around with it!

6. Go with the flow - don't panic and trust yourself
We all succumb to the pressure of this game, so if your hand suddenly switches to using the d-pad consistently mid song, go with it, the moment you start thinking you have made a mistake you will mess up, go with the flow and switch back to the other side of the controller at your own time/when the song allows it. You think you saw a right + up multi-note coming in a split second? Trust yourself - if it's wrong you will remember its wrong!

7. Muscle memory - keep practising
Some songs are pure muscle memory - for example Cendrillion on extreme at the end hits you with loads of various multi-notes, once you know what multi-notes are coming at you it is easier to understand and follow the pattern. Keep trying! Never give up!

8. Take breaks and NEVER GIVE UP!
Project diva hurts. Not just your hands, but your soul - you get that one safe at the end? Hurts man - take a break, stretch, touch some grass, come back to it tomorrow. You will have thumbs of steel soon.

Thank you!

Best of luck to you and I hope my tips help somewhat!
If I missed something do let me know or put it in comments.

Also watch Hisokee's videos they are very helpful to expand on what I have discussed here, they have loads of guides and tips found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmssHhYwlBRoay9fkrhR_pzajV12A-z6r, and are just plain impressive to watch, you can be that good I believe in you!

Ultimately remember practice makes perfect - so don't you ever give up!

Need further help? Maybe someone can help - put it in the comments!

I'm cheering you on,
From a try-hard Miku player <3

[limemaid]

yea i dont think all of it should be easy charts because thatll bring your skill down but you do need to know the foundations of patterns and gameplay which is why normal mode is very important, like late normal mode levels and early hard mode levels. they shouldnt be skipped in progression

[piinktofuhime]

Keep going back down to easier songs for a while, then try difficult charts again to improve. Trust me, this works very well. Do not be afraid or feel stupid for using no-fail mode on any song. I use it all the time. No-fail mode is the ultimate and BEST learning tool available to you. It is NOT practice mode. Let me repeat: NOT. Playing a song through and seeing where the notes are in a song with the background etc, will train your brain to remember and you can visualize where everything is. Many, many songs I can listen to them and I can see what is on the screen when I only HEAR it being played in my car.

[piinktofuhime]

This game also relies on patterns. This is why it's incredibly important to go up on charts. It'll help you learn the more complex ones, and you'll see them on easier songs, and interpret them better. It'll become second nature. You'll be able to predict them, which you NEED to learn how to do for difficult songs. You need to play this game with the PS original setup keys to get this skill and progress.

[piinktofuhime]

I agree that playing easier songs is a good idea. But it's 100% necessary to play more difficult songs to learn as well. When you move back down to easier songs, they will be even more easy to you and you'll be able to understand them better.

[limemaid]

as someone who was awful at rhythm games for years because nobody ever told me this, i wanna give the advice to people who dont get this: focus on accuracy by playing easier charts from time to time. if you spend all your time on harder songs you will be less likely to achieve the results you want. also it is kinda fun to know you have more songs to play

[piinktofuhime]

This may seem very stupid, but to me it's something that needs to be said. Remember, the double, triple, quadruple notes, NEED to be treated as SINGLE notes. Do not look at them as above said notes. You will play much better if you don't treat them that way, & you will press them much faster. A good example of this for me is Disruptive Diva (8) where there's just lines and lines of them. Another is Requiem for the Phantasma (8.5). Also, don't use holds until you're more comfortable with playing on extreme in general. Then you can start paying attention to them. Yeah you can get a higher score, but your score on extreme & ex really matters on how many "cool" notes you get. The more of those you get, the higher your score. & the amount of notes you miss or safes. I've only gotten one safe & maybe, I don't know, 24 or something goods & still only gotten a Great. Cools matter on extreme & ex. They make the difference there. If anyone wants help with this game, please feel free to ask.

[piinktofuhime]

A lot of people swear by paying attention to the "rhythm" part of this game, meaning the sound of it. I cannot do that for the life of me. The way I get very good scores is playing the notes when whomever is singing, or how the music is being played. I actually turn the "note sound" down so that I can hear that part more. Do what works FOR YOU, not what works for other people in that aspect. Miku is about patterns. Learn them & pay attention to them. Every time you move up a level (7 to 7.5 to 8 etc) another is introduced. They ALWAYS follow a certain order, every single time, including where they appear on the screen, & from what side of the screen they will come from.

[piinktofuhime]

I don't recommend playing this game on a keyboard. Learn this on a controller, preferably a PS5 if you have one. You absolutely need to learn how to dual-wield. Go practice (not kidding) this in normal & hard. Yes, the songs are much slower & it's frustrating. But once you learn that & go into extreme & ex, your hands will be trained to do this automatically & it'll just happen without you thinking. Don't be afraid to jump into higher level songs. If you're playing on 7's for example on extreme, it's very good practice for you to go even up to 8s just to practice your skills. Don't be afraid to put songs on nofail mode to learn. Practice high-level songs A LOT. Then go back down to songs you think you can do much better on. That's how I got much better. Also don't be afraid to jump to ex on the same level you're working on at extreme. That's also good practice, especially for slides.

[piinktofuhime]

I've been playing Miku since the very first game. I NEVER use practice mode. Ever. I used to do that, but I stopped after a few times because once I got to the rest of the song, it got too confusing. Never use practice mode. Always practice the entire song. You will get the part you're bad at! It flows much easier that way. A HUGE part of playing Miku is actually learning the songs themselves. Most if not all of the songs in the games are on Spotify. Listening to them & learning them is a gigantic help. THAT will help you get better. Doing that helped me get so much better. Do not put your quadruple holds on RT LT. Hold them only on the d-pad & buttons. Never even use the RT LT for anything. Use your slides on R3 L3. Do not reassign them to RT LT.

[IKUSATSUNAG]

TY