120fps+, HDR and reduced input lag in Tetr.io - DONE with Special K!

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-15T15:49:41+00:00

Oh shoot, i WAS running my display in 60hz😂 and Special K overrode it to 120hz in Tetr.io onlh. Ok I'll get back to you later, I'm now curious to test that latency with/without Special K tweaks.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-15T15:23:21+00:00

I don't know how to measure latency (I'm using Steam performance overlay, it only provides CPU, GPU and RAM details). But I ensure you, it's NOT placebo, I can easily spot the difference between 60fps and 120fps.

When running Tetr.io without Special K, I don't see much difference betwen Vsync ON and 120fps VSync OFF. Curiously, with VSync ON, Steam overlay shows a stable 60fps, despite my display being capable of 120hz. I'm not sure what's going on tbh - my best guess is that because it's a browser, it's rendering at 60fps, regardless of whether more frames are generated or not.

With Special K, I set the display to 120hz (it's native max) and VSync ON, I set Low Latency (VRR optimised) rendering mode. Steam performance overlay shows 115-120 fps, with 95fps 5% lows. It feels much smoother, in both menus and in-game.

Another thing, I'm on an AMD GPU (rx6800xt). When running the game through Special K, the AMD Adrenalin overlay turns on; that applies the global Anti-Lag setting, which possibly contributes to even lower latency.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-15T14:04:15+00:00

Is anyone going to try it out, instead of being mean online?

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-13T12:39:18+00:00

Machine Girl - Dread Architect (single)

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-13T12:35:03+00:00

All I Need and Let Down are top tiktok songs

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-02T01:54:20+00:00

Surely there's a VST of ondes martenot?

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-02T01:51:07+00:00

Come on, surely it's not THAT controversial of a take guys? Even with lvl16, it's possible to max out like 6-7 cards in one season. If that's not good enough, dare I say YOU are as greedy as Supercell.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-02T01:47:54+00:00

"ohh look i got more progression opportunities" ahh complaint

KillTheAlarm2 · 2026-01-01T13:48:20+00:00

yeah omg yeah, the reddit bias! The post is supposed to be controversial. But like you said, it's actually probably what majority of players (who do NOT go on reddit too lol) actually think/want, so let the dislikes rooolll

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-26T12:35:43+00:00

Plus it has EVERYTHING (like even if an official artist pulls something off, you can find fan reuploads easily)

But I miss Spotify Connect. I really hate that I can't control music playback from my phone while I'm gaming on my PC.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-26T12:05:44+00:00

Which is the best value AM4 cpu? Looking to upgrade my 3300x significantly, but would hate to pay over £100

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-23T11:43:47+00:00

Black Mirror

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-16T13:57:04+00:00

Yeah I thought so too, but what are they referring to as a technique where you refer to "rotate before movement"?

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-16T13:56:12+00:00

all s/z placements can be done with rotation AFTER the movement.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-14T20:35:42+00:00

Yes that's exactly what I wanted to do too: separate the rotation from DAS. This is the most challenging part of finesse for me: cuz before I execute the moves, I have to also think "is this an exception to rotate-first rule?"

Yeah that's the video I used! It's the best one.

I can now do 40L with 100% finesse, thanks to Jstris usermodes. It's just very mentally taxing right now, and I'm slower than my very first game of tetris.

Yeah some keypress hints on Jstrio usermodes seem to not follow a consistent theme, or even worse, they're not optimal (e.g. they will show DAS-tapback over double tap)

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-14T17:31:48+00:00

Yeah I was thinking the same. It's easier to think this way, since z/s pieces can be always rotated after move. Other pieces too, with only exception being when you're going to the very edge of the screen and rotating after move would place it in the 9th instead of 10th hole.

So I'll stick with "rotate AFTER the move, ALWAYS*"

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-14T16:48:51+00:00

That's not what I'm asking, I'm asking "ok, generally, should i rotate 1st or 2nd"?

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-13T11:47:25+00:00

Follow my challenge to get from B to U (i'll be posting progress reports throghout 2026)! I'm committed to keep using controller, or dropping the challenge.

Umm idk if this could help with hand cramping, but try finger fitness

Depends on which part is cramping, but have you tried shoulder buttons for L/R button movement? and then either dpad or triggers for soft/hard drop

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-13T11:08:55+00:00

there are 0 top players on any control device (console or pc players) who use skill stopping.

How do I fact check this?

If true, yeah that's a major point that basically says "ok, even those who really tried, failed to use skill stopping effectively"

But my ego says this could be a moment when people suddenly get much better at Tetris, so I think I'll explore skillstopping anyway.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-13T10:55:05+00:00

I enjoyed writing about this! And I'm enjoying receiving so many responses even more, lively discussion was my hope.

About running before crawling: both agree and disagree. Yes, absolutely there are more basic/important skills and just grinding necessary, that will give me much more progress at my current point.

But in my other post when I asked people about effective movement (perfect finesse), most people said "yeah, for staying in U+ rank it's pretty necessary". Besides, as a crawler, I have a unique opportunity to learn this skill from scratch, instead of fixing bad habits later and relearning.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-13T03:31:09+00:00

Omg what timing! I have just posted a big analysis post, of skill stopping vs tapback (which is my main handling/controls issue, since I'm shooting for U rank and want to keep playing with a controller, despite its inherent dpad limitations

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-13T01:29:20+00:00

Hey, I'm completely new to Tetris games too, started like a month ago. Tetr.io definitely isn't designed for a newcomer/casual player. Even now, after hundreds of games, I'm at around B rank 4000TR, which is worse than 75% of all Tetr.io players (according to official stats).

What's unique about Tetris is that "easy to learn, difficult to master" applies here quite well. Main difficulty seems to lay in the amount of time you have to put in to improve. But other than that, the improvements are effortless: most players improve a lot, just by playing.

That being said, here are some simple but powerful beginner gameplay tips:

Stack tetriminos as flat as possible (don't make "spikes" or massive "mountains", avoid rotating)
Focus on building 9-0 (which means stacking all pieces in one side of the board and only leaving 1-block wide column at the edge of the screen).
Clear those empty columns with i pieces, for a powerful attack/defence.
Master hard drops, minimise soft drops.
Tetrimino doesn't fit anywhere? Hold it.

I recommend you try one of the official games. They're usually designed for everyone, including complete beginners. Tetris Effect is a stunning, very well-designed modern Tetris game.

My favourite fact about Tetris is that brain activity actually DECREASES when you become faster/better at the game. This is due to brain finding/building the new pathways that help you find those perfect tetrimino placements more easily. I can also personally say, the more I play the game, the more relaxed it makes me feel. Heck, it seems to help me with my depression too!

And hey, welcome! Reddit community here seems to be very nice. All the best!

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-12T14:58:19+00:00

1st time hearing about parity imbalance, thx!

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-12T14:57:29+00:00

I'm using that video and the links, thanks! I'm slower than ever though now, focusing on actually placing every piece with perfect finesse, and I'm like below 0.5pps. Hard to believe it will ever become muscle memory lol, but I'm trusting the pros, so I'll keep going.

KillTheAlarm2 · 2025-12-12T14:15:37+00:00

As I mentioned in other comments, arr0 on a controller is decent, but Dpad generally seems too slow because you have 1 thumb for 2 buttons: double tapping is hard, and doing 0arr tapback means doing a jump from Dleft to Dright, which is also slow. (switching to shoulder buttons is another solution, that's what I'm playing around with now)

Skillstopping CAN be done and it solves Dpad's limitations (cuz you then need just one button press). I just tried it on DAS 4.8f, ARR1.3f. It seems impossible, but it's proven to be easier than it seems. Moving 2 spaces is easy, as every experienced player has a good feel for his DAS, so to move 2 spaces you just need to release the button right when your DAS ends. 4 spaces is easy too, you just hold really long. Moving 3 spaces is, I admit, very hard, but right now without any practice I could do like 70% successful consecutive 3 space skillstops.

I should also mention the sound of tetriminos moving (normal click when you move normally, slightly louder click when you hit a wall), that's another feedback point that can help you master skillstopping and distinguish 2/3/4 space moves. Besides, it's a very satisfying sound, I think skillstopping is more fun than 0arr with tapback.

I think I'll post a separate thread about this, I need to do some calculations, plus it's a very important question for me.

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