ppv1

The first performance score (abbreviated as ppv1) is an ancient ranking system for players globally across all modes from osu!. It replaced the old system of ranking by total score and was abandoned due to the implementation of ppv2.

History

ppv1 was launched in April 2012 and initially mentioned in players' profiles under the name ??? during a test phase. After finally being renamed to pp (performance points) on April 17, 2012. This system existed with the previous ranking system (ranking by total score) and eventually became the unique system in-place on July 24, 2012 during the release of version 20120722-24 of the osu! client.

This system was initially updated at regular intervals (usually every 24 hours) until finally being run in real-time on August 16, 2012.

ppv1 was abandoned and replaced by ppv2 on January 27, 2014. The reasons behind that change were the criticism of the players:

• Missing opacity of the algorithm
• Promotion of Hard difficulties with mods
• Low worth of insane difficulties

It also allowed peppy to separate the job of maintaining and updating the filing system and thus ease its workload.

Algorithm

The calculations involved are not publicly known, however some indications on the inner workings of the system were disclosed:

• ppv1 highlights the skill and cannot be farmed.
• The score is evaluated in relation to the difficulty of the map; based on statistics that were not available to the public.
• The number of points obtainable naturally decreases with time (thus, inactive players may lose up to half of their points within a year).
• No penalties for bad scores; only rewards for good scores.
• All Ranked and Approved maps are taken into account in the calculations.
• The player's accuracy is taken into account.
• The multipliers of mods are different from those announced in the game.
• Mode-specific difficulties are favoured.
• If a score is not placed in the top 500 of a map, it will not count.

Climbing the rankings

The ranking is mainly related to the performance on individual maps, leading many players to only focus on mastering single difficulties. ppv1 encouraged a common theme of practices among players:

• Playing better and scoring better grades on the beatmaps.
• Improving the accuracy; even a small percent can make the difference.
• Getting a rank on the most popular maps, where it is harder to get a place.
• Playing difficult maps.
• Improving old scores.
• Getting SS grades.