Overview
-Estimated achievement difficulty: 7/10 (but highly dependent on your rhythm, flexibility, stamina, and dance skills)
-Offline: 50 (1000)
-Online: 0
-Approximate amount of time to 1000: 20-30 Hours
-Minimum number of playthroughs needed: At least once per song in Perform It, at least one Fitness playlist, and all songs in Crew Challenges at least once
-Number of missable achievements: None
-Do cheat codes disable achievements? No known cheats
-Does difficulty affect achievements? Yes, for Hard Act To Follow and all of the achievements related to Crew Challenges
-Glitchy achievements: None reported.
-Unobtainable achievements? No
-Extra equipment needed? Yes. Kinect Sensor is required, as well as a second person.

Introduction
Dance Central 2 is the second installment in the Dance Central Series by Harmonix. Dance Central 2 builds on the strengths of Dance Central, adding new game modes, new songs and new moves. It's a really fun game and a great workout. Unless you've taken dance classes before, it will also be a pretty tough game. There are 44 songs that are new to Dance Central 2. For 400 MSP (and the code on the back on your Dance Central manual), you can import your DC songs and downloaded songs into your DC2 library. If you've played Dance Central, and especially if you've gotten all of the achievements in it, a lot of these achievements will come easily, being familiar with some of the moves already, as well as being better at reading the flash cards. For those who haven't, since you'll likely be doing dance moves you've never seen or done before, don't stress out if you can't do really well your first attempt. Just relax and enjoy the exercise and you'll gradually get better at each song by learning the moves. The Break It Down mode in this game is excellent, so if you have trouble with any moves definitely make good use of this mode. Steps two through four below are interchangeable, just make sure you enable Fitness mode first in step one.

Step 1: Listen to the Intro/Fitness Mode
Load up the game, go to the main menu and let the theme song play through until you unlock the achievement Patience Is a Virtue. This is a good time to import your songs from Dance Central, if you have it. You'll be at the title screen while importing, so you can kill two birds with one stone. Then start up the game. Go into Fitness mode and the first thing you'll want to do is turn on Fitness mode (the first option in Fitness mode). This will allow your calorie and time-related achievements to start accumulating. At the bottom of the list, select the second-last option for the 30 minute playlist and play it all the way through. It doesn't matter how well you do, just play it through. When you finish, select to view your photos. Select any photo and then select to Upload. All of this will unlock Patience Is a Virtue, Working It Out, Biggest Winner, Endless-ish Setlist, Get the Picture, and Fitness Fanatic for a total of 95

Step 2: Break It Down mode
After step one you should be familiar with a few songs. Pick one you're most comfortable with, especially one you've already gotten five stars on, and select to play it in Break It Down mode. When you get to a move you're most familiar with, nail it first try. Then purposely mess up a move to be forced to try it three times. Use the Slow It Down and Video Record features to get flawless ratings on two separate moves. There are normally four or five recaps, so work on nailing all moves in at least one recap. When you're done with Break It Down, select Perform It and get 5 stars on the song. When done, go back into that song, select Break It Down again but instead, pick Focus on Select Moves, select any one move, and then start the session to unlock your last achievement. This step will unlock the following: Targeted Practice, Teacher's Pet, Slow Profile, For The Record, Nailed It!, and Recapable for a total of 105

Step 3: Dance Battles/Two-Player Achievements
For all of the Free-4-All and Dance Battle achievements, you will need a second person in the room with you. You'll have to play at least 20 songs so you can win 20 Dance Battles, and make sure you win at least three in a row. You can have a second person just stand there to make things easier on you. You'll also want to play a song in Perform It with a second person, where the two of you will be playing co-op, and you'll want to practice a song until the two of you can earn five stars together. This step will unlock the following: Bragging Rights, All Over The Place, Chump To Champ, Vanquisher, Proved Your Point, and Perfect Pair for a total of 130

Step 4: Perform It Mode
After playing the Fitness playlist in step one and at least 20 Dance Battles in step three you should have scores for a good deal of the songs in the Perform It list. Go through and play all of the remaining songs, starting on Easy and working up to Hard, making sure to get five stars on each. Also go back and get five stars on any you may not have during the Dance Battles or Fitness playlists. Pick a song you feel most comfortable with and play it until you can nail every move, which will give you gold stars. There are quite a few songs where 2,000,000 points can be gotten on easy, namely "Hot Stuff" and "Nothin' On You," both of which are pretty easy. You should also be able to get a flawless finish along the way, since most songs have very simple poses at the end. By the time you finish the list, you'll easily have gotten 100 stars. This step will unlock the following: Certified Double Platinum, Star Quality, Eclectic Taste, Gold Digger, Solo and Steady, Finishing Touch, Hard Act To Follow, and Dance Hall Legend for a total of 190

Step 5: Crew Challenges
After step four, you should have gotten five stars on every song on Hard, which will now enable you to cruise right through the crew challenges. Again, you'll want to play each song to get five stars on it. Difficulty achievements do stack, so doing this on Hard will unlock all of the Crew Challenge-related achievements, as well as Full Dance Card and Shop and Lock for a total of 370

Step 6: Mop Up
Depending on how long it takes you to finish the above steps, and when you turned Fitness mode on, you may need to mop up a few achievements. You'll have to finish up your cumulative total of 3500 calories burned and five hours played in Fitness mode, and you may also need to have more pictures taken to reach the 1000 picture total. Perform It mode is the fastest way to get pictures (17 per song). If you haven't already, you will also need to get two other people to join you for a freestyle section in any song. These will get you your last four achievements: Survival of the Fittest, Thrash and Burn, Latest Model, and Photo Bomb! for a total of 110

Step 7: Conclusion
No matter how you tackle it, Dance Central 2 will be an exhausting run to the 1000. Expect to put in a good deal of practice with each of the songs, especially if you haven't played Dance Central. Don't give up though, since there isn't really a quick way to complete this game or get better without lots of practice. Thankfully this game has an excellent Break It Down mode, which will help with even the most difficult of moves. Take your time, be patient, but most importantly enjoy the dancing and the great workout this game has to offer.

 

[x360a would like to thank Necrophage33 for this roadmap]

Dance Central 2 Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed achievements
Show secret achievements

There are 50 achievements with a total of 1000 points

  • Get a solo score of at least 2,000,000 points on a song.

    This can be done in any game mode (Perform It, Fitness mode, or Crew Challenge). Simply get 2,000,000 points on a single song. Don't fear: points aren't nearly as hard to come by as Dance Central. Even on easy, 2,000,000 points is possible. "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer on easy is a sure way to get this achievement, and "Nothin' on You" is another song where well over 2,000,000 points is possible on easy. You'll likely also get Gold Stars along the way. Be sure to nail the yellow flashcards for 4x the points. Songs in Crew Challenges will increase your odds of getting over 2,000,000 points even more, since the freestyle section is removed and replaced with more moves, give you more opportunities to increase your score. You can also disable the freestyle section in Options so you can play Perform It mode without the freestyle bit.

    Unlocking this achievement will unlock the Neon Tee avatar award.

  • Earn over 100 stars.

    These can be earned in any mode and can be done on any difficulty. All of the stars earned on Dance Central 2 songs will tally up. Being that there are 44 songs in the game, you only need to average three stars per song to get this achievement, so playing every song on easy will be the simplest way to get this achievement. You'll have to get five stars on every song for Dance Hall Legend, so this achievement will come naturally when going for that achievement.

  • Play every song in the game in Perform It mode.

    Play every Dance Central 2 song (Dance Central and DLC songs are not required) in Perform It mode from start to finish. If you've got stars next to a song, you've played it. Playing songs in Fitness mode playlists also adds to this. You'll notice if you play a song in a Fitness mode playlist, when you go to Perform It there will already be stars next to the song, indicating it is completed.

    Unlocking this achievement will unlock the Bring It Tee avatar award.

  • Earn Gold Stars on a song.

    This can be done in any game mode on any difficulty. Like Dance Central (and unlike the Rock Band series), gold stars can be obtained even on Easy difficulty. You will likely get this achievement when you get 2,000,000 points on a song. If you're following the guide, 2,000,000 points on "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer will guarantee you gold stars as well. Be sure to nail the yellow flashcards for 4x the points.

    Unlocking this achievement will unlock the Ribbon Tee avatar award.

  • Earn 5 stars on a solo performance.

    This can be done in any game mode - Perform It, Fitness, or Crew Challenge. This can also be done on any difficulty. If you're having trouble, use Break It Down mode to help master moves. Also remember to sort your songs by difficulty, with the easiest songs being at the top of the list, and use these to give you the best chance. Dance Central and DLC songs can be used for this achievement.

  • Earn 5 stars on a co-op performance.

    This must be done in Perform It mode, where co-op is allowed. This can also be done on any difficulty. This obviously requires two people (don't try to use an inanimate object) since you'll both be dancing simultaneously. Assuming you're both playing on the same difficulty, you'll both be dancing the same moves at the same time throughout the song, along with the standard freestyle section. Find a partner who is adept at dancing or let your partner follow your lead. Don't think you can carry your partner if they don't know what they're doing. It'll only get you so far.

  • Earn a Flawless Finish on a song.

    This can be done in any game mode on any difficulty. Look for the "Flawless" ring around your legs during the finishing move. Some songs with simple finishing moves are Sandstorm by Darude, Mai Ai Hee, and Hot Stuff by Donna Summer. They're just simple poses that mirror the flashcard.

  • Earn 3 stars on any song on Hard skill level.

    Can be done in any game mode, but obviously must be done on Hard difficulty. This can also be done co-op. Work your way up to Hard by playing a song on Easy and then on Medium, and you should be familiar with most of the moves by then, so it won't be as difficult to get 3 stars on hard. Remember to nail the yellow flashcards as much as possible, and Break It Down mode is always available for moves you can't seem to get. Dance Central and DLC songs can be used for this achievement.

  • Earn 5 stars on every song in the game.

    This must be done in Perform It mode or Fitness mode, but can be done on any difficulty. It can also be done at varying difficulties. It is highly recommended to five star all of the songs on the same difficulty first before trying a higher difficulty, otherwise you may lose track of which songs you've five starred. For example, if you get five stars on easy, then attempt the song on hard and get four stars, you now have no way to go back and confirm that you got five stars on easy, and you may end up losing track. Although if you're going for all of the crew challenge achievements, you'll inevitably get this achievement from getting five stars on every song on Hard in the crew challenges. Dance Central and DLC songs are not required.

  • Earn more than 100,000 points in a Free-4-All.

     

    This achievement will require two people total, and must be done in Dance Battle. There are normally two or three Free-4-All's per song, and there are four columns of moves. Despite it looking like you have two columns of moves and your opponent has two, you can nail moves in any of the four columns. The various moves employed throughout the song will be scattered in the four columns, one after another. Nailing a move will add 10,000 points. Nailing a move with a gold flashcard will add 40,000 points. Naturally your best bet is to nail as many gold moves as possible. You should easily be able to get three before the Free-4-All ends. Just ask your competitor to sit back and let you get the points.

  • Nail moves in each column on the screen in a Free-4-All.

     

    Refer to Bragging Rights.

  • Go from 2nd place to 1st in a Free-4-All.

     

    Refer to Bragging Rights.

    Naturally you'll need to be in 2nd place going into a Free-4-All. Just let your opponent hold the lead by a minimal amount until a Free-4-All starts, then tell them to let you nail as many moves as possible. If they aren't being cooperative, just go for the gold moves as soon as they appear.

  • Win 20 Dance Battles.

    This requires two people, however the second person doesn't actually have to dance, so long as they're on screen and the game recognizes another human player. The dance battles can be played on any difficulty. Win a cumulative total of 20 to unlock the achievement.

  • Win 3 Dance Battles in a row.

    Refer to Vanquisher, but win three in a row.

  • Customize your Break It Down session by using the "Focus on Select Moves" feature.

     

    Simply select a song from the list, select Break It Down, and then instead of selecting to play the full song session, select the second option to "Focus on Select Moves." Pick any one of the moves and then start the session and the achievement will unlock immediately.

  • Earn 5 stars on a song in Perform It immediately after completing it in Break It Down.

    This can be done on a song even if you've already gotten five stars on it in Perform It mode. It can be done on any difficulty, and Dance Central and DLC songs work too. Pick a song, play Break It Down, and then when you finish Break It Down you'll hear the announcer say you're ready to perform it. From the song completion menu (where your score is displayed in a table on the left), select Perform It which will take you right into the song. Earn five stars and the achievement is yours.

  • Get a perfect score on a move after using Slo-Mo in Break It Down mode.

     

    Select a song and start Break It Down mode. During a move (don't nail it the first time to move on), hold your right arm at a 45 degree angle and say "Xbox" to bring up the Break It Down menu. Select the Slow It Down option to perform the move in slow motion. Simply get a Flawless rating on the move while in slow motion and the achievement will unlock immediately.

  • Get a perfect score on a move after using Video Record in Break It Down mode.

    Refer to Slow Profile, except select Video Record instead of Slow It Down. Perform the move so it records you, then perform the move while your video is playing, get a flawless rating, and the achievement will unlock immediately.

  • Skip to the next move by nailing a move the first time you see it in Break It Down.

    You'll have to get a flawless rating on a move the first time it comes up (noted by a Diamond) in Break It Down mode. It doesn't matter if you've played it in Perform It mode already, so pick a song you're familiar with and play on easy. Nail the move first try and you'll see the diamond and unlock the achievement immediately.

  • Get a perfect score on a Recap in Break It Down mode.

    After each grouping of moves in Break It Down you'll then do a recap where you perform those moves together. You must get a Nice or Flawless rating on every move during the recap. After the recap, it will say, for example, 12/12 100%. Again, pick a song you're familiar with and play on easy.

  • Play a 30 minute session in Fitness mode.

    This can be done in any mode, as soon as your enable Fitness mode. From the time you start up a session, this will start counting up, and after a song, you'll be given a message in the upper right corner telling you how long you've been working out this session. As soon as you finish the song that sets you over 30 minutes elapsed time, the achievement will unlock at the score screen.

  • Log 5 total hours in Fitness mode.

    This can be done in any mode, as soon as you enable Fitness mode in the Fitness section. This is the first option on the list when you enter Fitness mode. As soon as you enable this, it will be saved as being on for your profile, and any songs you play in any mode will add to your total hours. This achievement will unlock naturally when doing all of the Crew Challenges and songs in Perform It mode, so long as you turn it on right away. The time counter DOES NOT increase when you sit idle; you must actually be playing a song. To check your progress, go into Fitness mode and look at your overall stats.

  • Burn your first 100 calories in Fitness mode.

     

    Refer to Thrash and Burn.

  • Burn 3500 calories in Fitness mode.

    This again can be done in any game mode as soon as you enable Fitness mode in the Fitness menu. Each time you finish a song, look for the message in the upper right corner of the screen indicating how many calories you've burned so far. The message usually pops up in 100-calorie increments for your running total. It seems to be approximately 12 calories per song on easy, but should come naturally from playing all of the songs in Perform It mode and the Crew Challenges on the various difficulties, especially attempting to learn and 5-star every song on hard. To check your progress, go into Fitness mode and look at your overall stats. This will likely be one of the last achievements you unlock.

  • Listen to the entire background theme of the game in one sitting.

    Load up the game and go to the main menu, then just let the game sit there and play through the theme. As soon as the theme is done, the achievement will unlock. If you're importing in your Dance Central songs, you'll likely get this achievement by the time the importing is complete.

  • Complete a playlist that is 15 minutes in length or longer.

     

    This can either be done by going into Fitness mode and selecting any playlist whose time is longer than 15 minutes - when your "elapsed time" reaches 15 minutes, the achievement will unlock after the song is complete - or you can go into the Dance menu and create a playlist (first option on the song list) and just make sure you add enough songs so that your playlist is over 15 minutes. It doesn't matter what difficulty you choose or how well you do, just as long as you finish the playlist.

  • Dance with every original crew member in the game.

    There are 10 original crew members in the game, and you start with 8 unlocked. The last two crew members are unlocked via Crew Challenge. You must gain the respect of each crew by getting at least 16 stars on their songs, then 4 songs on their final challenge. Doing this for each crew will unlock the Glitterati crew. Once you've unlocked them, playing their songs will count as dancing with each of the last two crew members, and the achievement will unlock after you've played a song with each of them.

  • Upload a Photo to Kinect Share.

    After you complete a song (or playlist), pick the "Photos" option. You will be given a list of photos from the session. Pick the one you want to upload, and then select Upload. When the upload is complete the achievement will unlock.

  • Have your picture taken 1000 times.

    Photos are taken during the freestyle section of songs, and then one during the finishing move. Playing a song in Perform It or Fitness mode will get you 17 photos per song. There are no freestyle sections in the Crew Challenges, so you'll only be getting 1 photo per song. There are over 40 songs in the game, so the best way to unlock this is to practice learning songs on Hard in Perform It mode in preparation for the Crew Challenges. That way, you get a lot more photos per song than practicing in Crew Challenge mode.

  • Unlock the alternate outfits for the 10 crew members.

    Outfits are unlocked via the Crew Challenges. Each crew consists of 2 characters, and there are 5 crews. You must earn at least 32/36 (depending on how many songs the crew has) stars on the crew's songs, as well as complete their final challenge, and that will unlock the outfits for the two crew members. This can be done on any difficulty.

  • Master Riptide's routines on Easy skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Riptide's routines on Medium skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Riptide's routines on Hard skill level.

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Hi-Def's routines on Easy skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Hi-Def's routines on Medium skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Hi-Def's routines on Hard skill level.

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Flash4wrd's routines on Easy skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Flash4wrd's routines on Medium skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Flash4wrd's routines on Hard skill level.

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Lu$h Crew's routines on Easy skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Lu$h Crew's routines on Medium skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master Lu$h Crew's routines on Hard skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master The Glitterati's routines on Easy skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master The Glitterati's routines on Medium skill level.

     

    Refer to Worthy Adversary.

  • Master The Glitterati's routines on Hard skill level.

     

    To "master" a crew's routines involves getting five stars on all of that crew's songs. The crews have eight or nine songs, and you'll have to get five stars on every song on Hard to unlock all of these achievements. Difficulty achievements do stack, so playing through on Hard will net you all of these achievements. Getting 16 stars for a crew will unlock their final challenge (which you must also get five stars on), you must get at least 32 stars and complete their final challenge to unlock their outfits, and then get every star to master their routines.

    Getting five stars on every song on Hard will be the most difficult part of this game, so just keep practicing and utilize Break It Down as much as possible to learn all of the moves for each song. Use Video Record to try to nail down what you're doing wrong.

    Also, there are a couple of really good Youtubers that post videos of Dance Central/DC2 songs on hard, which might make it easier for you to see how the dance is supposed to look. Riffraff67 has already started posting some songs on Hard on his channel. It is also highly recommended that, once you get the "Latest Model" achievement for having 1000 pictures taken, you turn off the freestyle section in Perform It mode. The Crew Challenges don't have a freestyle section; the song is just one long string of dance moves, so removing the freestyle section while you practice in Perform It mode will allow you to be better prepared.

  • Perform a Freestyle section with 3 or more people.

    (3)  

    When a freestyle section comes up in the middle of a song in Perform It mode, simply have 3 people on the screen during the photo shoot, and this achievement will unlock at the end of the song. If you don't have people to join you, it's possible to get the Kinect to recognize coats or large chairs as people, but it's a little more difficult than it was in Dance Central.

  • Complete an entire Fitness Playlist.

    Go into Fitness mode, select one of the playlists, and play it all the way through. It doesn't matter what difficulty you choose or how well you do, so long as you see the playlist through til the end.

 

Secret achievements

  • Defeated Dr. Tan's army of robots on Easy skill level.

     

    Refer to The Doctor Will See You Now.

  • Defeated Dr. Tan's army of robots on Medium skill level.

     

    Refer to The Doctor Will See You Now.

  • Defeated Dr. Tan's army of robots on Hard skill level.

    After you gain the respect of each crew, you'll go right into Dr. Tan's boss battle. This consists of playing the five Final Challenges of each crew back-to-back with no break in between, and you must get at least four stars on each song to advance. If you don't get at least four stars on a song, you'll have to start over from the first song. Work on five starring every song on Hard for all of the Crew Challenge achievements first, and then defeating the army of robots on Hard will be much easier considering you only need four stars instead of five. The difficulties stack, so beating it on Hard will unlock all three of these achievements. You'll be playing the following songs in the following order on Hard:

    • "Baby Got Back (Mix Mix)" by Sir Mix-a-Lot
    • "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Eliot
    • "Turn Me On" by Kevin Lyttle
    • "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" by Gnarls Barkley
    • "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga

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