Introduction

One of the best aspects about being driven by community-created content is the variety of content that’s available but it also makes it hard to decide on what to download especially for newcomers. Whether you’re a beginner or a returning player there’s likely something out there for you, and my goal is to help you find packs that fit what you need!

Notes

These suggestions are far from exhaustive. I mainly want this to serve as a good starting point rather than a comprehensive resource. If you’re looking for more packs or if my suggestions aren’t quite the right fit for you I highly recommend joining our Discord and reaching out to our helpful community for suggestions!

Where to Download / How to Install Songs

The primary resource I recommend for getting song packs is the itgpacks.com spreadsheet.

It indexes many of the packs played by the community. If a pack link is not supplied in one of my suggestions then it can be found on that spreadsheet.

Learn how to install song packs through the Simfiles page on the ITG wiki.

For Beginners

The most important criteria when looking for a beginner pack is whether they have access to a full array of difficulties that way players of all skill levels can get up and play.

In addition to that I think it’s important to cover a wide range of music to draw all kinds of players in and to keep them engaged. With that said these are my selections for beginner packs.

Club Fantastic Season 1 & 2

Club Fantastic is a community project where everything from the music, art, and charts were created by the community, for the community. Every song has full difficulties all the way down to 1s.

If you don’t have the game installed yet, you can download ITGMania and the game comes installed with both releases of Club Fantastic installed by default.

Summer Vibes Vol. 1

Community stepartists CopperPuppy and Feraligatr wrote charts to songs from popular artists like Doja Cat, Post Malone, Jack Harlow, and many more, also including full difficulties starting with 1s.

This is a great pack for introducing someone to dance games that wants to start with popular music with which they may already be familiar. It can be found on the itgpacks.com spreadsheet, released in 2022.

JBEAN Originals 2022

JBEAN works on both 4-panel and 5-panel charts throughout a calendar year and releases them going into the new year. JBEAN Originals 2022 features a whopping 100 charts spanning a huge span of music from techno, Europop, rock, and K-pop.

Download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h7Ky82o9rBjiDLLOsEUjmdtpq0w38T-h/view

For Intermediate Players

To me an intermediate player is one who wants start being challenged and may not be proficient in crossovers (XO), footswitches (FS), or brackets (BR) yet but are wanting to learn.

These packs still feature a full range of difficulties for beginners to play, but the focus is more on the Hard and Expert charts for each song.

Notice Me Benpai 1 & 2

Benpai is a staple community stepartist known for his Notice Me Benpai pack series which features many charts that have been used in tournaments and events over the years and is a pack series that I consider a “must have.”

His charts, stepped primarily to EDM, has great charts for introducing intermediate players into learning tech through songs like With You and Dot to Dot, but also has some charts may push them like Libertas and Computer Blues.

Notice Me Benpai can be found on the itgpacks.com spreadsheet, the first release in 2017, and the second release in 2019.

5guys1pack

5guys1pack is a collaborative pack from stepartists MaxxStorm, Loodee, Benpai, Feraligatr, and xRGTMx. Although 5guys1pack is not the newest in the series (which would be 7guys1pack, with a 9guys1pack on the way), it hits a sweetspot of quality, difficulty, and fun that keeps me coming back.

I highly recommend ECHO for learning brackets, I Hold Still for crossovers, and Like I Do for footswitches, but there’s something to learn from every chart.

For Experts / Aspiring Competitors

If you’re someone who’s wondering “what types of charts do I need to be proficient at to compete?” this is a good starting point. The following packs feature stepartists that often have had their charts used for competition, pushing players to their limit on stamina, movement, and rhythmic accuracy.

Tournament chart difficulties range from 9s to 14s and often expect proficiency in crossovers (XO), footswitches (FS), and brackets (BR), and will mix and match these techniques into their writing.

The Staples

These three packs are what I consider the essential stepping stones into modern competitive content. Some of the iconic charts to look out for are Estrangement, Glitched Character, interstellar travel, Upshift, BLAZING_LAZER, and Dyscontrolled Galaxy.

• BemaniBeats 6
• ITGAlex’s Compilation 4
• Skittles Selection 7

Where do I go from here?

Continue browsing the itgpacks.com spreadsheet and join our community on Discord to learn more about what’s out there and what to try next! Whether you’re looking for something easier, harder, a different genre, or playstyle, there’s likely something that’s out there for you.

This is only scratching the surface of what’s available out there. The next big community event ITL Online 2023 will feature hundreds of charts from the entire community, and you can follow us on Twitter @IntlTiming to know when it goes live.

I hope these suggestions work as a good starting point! Happy stepping.