How to actually progress in Megaminx

[Garf]

So, I've seen a post from a user that said that there is no clear progression on Megaminx, so that is why the event is very hard to do. I've been pondering on this, and I think I have an idea of how to actually learn to improve in the event without too much trouble. So here we are:

1. From first getting the Megaminx to averaging under 2 minutes: the first thing you want to do is just get used to solving the puzzle. The star, F2L, and S2L are pretty intuitive, but I'd recommend learning how to solve the LL with a few algs. Some commutators/twists may be involved, but once you get the steps down, you should have no trouble solving it. You need to do a lot of solving to really get comfortable with solving the puzzle. I think I did like 200-300 solves before I was close to solving in under 2 minutes.
2. Hardware: I would recommend getting the Dayan Megaminx V2 (V3 coming soon!) or the YuHu. Yuhu is good for the budget, but it just doesn't have the same speed as the Dayan (even though YuHu is used by world-class LOL).
3. To solve under 2 minutes, I would recommend learning the Westlund method of solving S2L. It's basically making more star pieces and F2L pairs to solve. Yu Da-Hyun is a variant of Westlund, which has more freedom in solving S2L and having a random LL color, whereas Westlund is restricted to having Grey/Black as the top color. The Balint Method of solving the S2L is probably the way most beginners start learning S2L, starting with solving the bottom colors and then solving the remaining pairs for S2L. I'll link videos for this part.

4. For solving under 1:30, you need to start getting smarter with the way you solve F2L and S2L. For this, you need to experiment with faster and low-move solutions for creating pairs and inserting them into their slots. There are plenty of example solves that have been made to show different ways for S2L. @Cuberstache shared with me this playlist of example solves of many levels. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAUAIMLn9TwFPN7uXZOhXQyDuiCHrJ_na
At this point, you should also start learning Megaminx 4LLL. The order you solve in is Edge orientation, Corner Orientation, Edge Permutation, and Corner Permutation. There are lots of resources for this step, the one I would recommend is from cubeskills by @Faz:

https://www.cubeskills.com/uploads/pdf/tutorials/intermediate-megaminx-techniques.pdf

5. Getting under 1 minute is the barrier that a cuber wants to do for megaminx. To do this successfully, you need to stop thinking Megaminx as a 3x3. The obvious reason is that they aren't the same puzzle, but the other reason is that you can do far more advanced things on Mega than 3x3. There are multiple ways to create and insert pairs on the Mega due to multiple sides, whereas with 3x3 you are restrained to solving with 2-3 sides. You should be really comfortable with solving 4LLL, although you can start learning a little more algorithms for PLL. It's not really important for OLL, as the step is really fast already, but PLL is really important, as it needs to be fast for the solve to be successful.

I'll update this thread when I pass some other barriers, like under 50 seconds. I used many resources to make this thread, though the list is far too long to give proper credit to. So I'll make it short and thank all the main guys whom I got these ideas from:
@Cuberstache, or Ethan Davis.
Java Cuber
Hein Cuber
@Faz, or Feliks Zemdegs
Nicholas Naing (although it's hard to follow along due to the white-colored mega lol)
Ariissleeping
And more.

 

[Garf]

I'll just say this once: Westlund and Yu Da-Hyun are probably the best methods to go with solving S2L. Balintz is slower as it takes up more rotations on the puzzle and there are many blind spots that get formed when solving S2L w/ Balintz. With S2L/Yu Da-Hyun, those methods start slow in the beginning, but will get faster as there are more pieces solved and less blindspots to check.

 

[Deleted member 36445]

megaminx.

 

[Garf]

Bumping this thread to talk about scrambling.
So with Scrambling: it’s kind of hard at first. But with most things, you have practice it.
Before I talk about that, I’m going to inform you on the best way to hold and scramble a Megaminx.
The scrambling uses R++/- - and D++/- - moves. These alternate in a pattern that may look like this: R++ D- - R- - D- - R- - D++ R++ D++ R- - D++ U
+ and - are indicators of wide moves, and the way you hold a mega to do these moves is by holding the 2 top left corners. This is pretty awkward and you might drop your puzzle a bit. However, once you get used to this you won’t drop your megaminx as much and you will be able to scramble one puzzle in 20-30s with practice.
I watched this vid for fast scrambling:

Another tip I have for it is the last U move per line. It is based on the last D move so if U will happen if the D is a D++ and a U’ will happen if the D is a D - -

 

[Deleted member 36445]

Thanks for you help

I want to share here my trainer for OLL and PLL with bluetooth support with a smart 3x3 for efficient practicing

Megaminx LL Trainer with Bluetooth Support