diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuDifficultyCalculator.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuDifficultyCalculator.cs
index fdcc6f44a6..75d6786d95 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuDifficultyCalculator.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuDifficultyCalculator.cs
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Difficulty
             if (beatmap.HitObjects.Count == 0)
                 return new OsuDifficultyAttributes { Mods = mods, Skills = skills };
 
-            double aimRating = Math.Sqrt((skills[0] as OsuStrainSkill).OsuDifficultyValue()) * difficulty_multiplier;
-            double speedRating = Math.Sqrt((skills[1] as OsuStrainSkill).OsuDifficultyValue()) * difficulty_multiplier;
+            double aimRating = Math.Sqrt(skills[0].DifficultyValue()) * difficulty_multiplier;
+            double speedRating = Math.Sqrt(skills[1].DifficultyValue()) * difficulty_multiplier;
             double starRating = aimRating + speedRating + Math.Abs(aimRating - speedRating) / 2;
 
             HitWindows hitWindows = new OsuHitWindows();
diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuPerformanceCalculator.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuPerformanceCalculator.cs
index 90ded2b837..74840853c0 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuPerformanceCalculator.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/OsuPerformanceCalculator.cs
@@ -113,14 +113,15 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Difficulty
                 aimValue *= 1.0 + 0.04 * (12.0 - Attributes.ApproachRate);
 
             double flashlightBonus = 1.0;
+
             if (mods.Any(h => h is OsuModFlashlight))
             {
                 // Apply object-based bonus for flashlight.
                 flashlightBonus = 1.0 + 0.35 * Math.Min(1.0, totalHits / 200.0) +
-                            (totalHits > 200
-                                ? 0.3 * Math.Min(1.0, (totalHits - 200) / 300.0) +
-                                  (totalHits > 500 ? (totalHits - 500) / 1200.0 : 0.0)
-                                : 0.0);
+                                  (totalHits > 200
+                                      ? 0.3 * Math.Min(1.0, (totalHits - 200) / 300.0) +
+                                        (totalHits > 500 ? (totalHits - 500) / 1200.0 : 0.0)
+                                      : 0.0);
             }
 
             aimValue *= Math.Max(flashlightBonus, approachRateFactor);
diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Aim.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Aim.cs
index e063276ec5..16a18cbcb9 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Aim.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Aim.cs
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 using System;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty.Preprocessing;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty.Skills;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Difficulty.Preprocessing;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Objects;
diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/OsuStrainSkill.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/OsuStrainSkill.cs
index 136c4ae309..93101bf3c3 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/OsuStrainSkill.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/OsuStrainSkill.cs
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-using System;
+// Copyright (c) ppy Pty Ltd <contact@ppy.sh>. Licensed under the MIT Licence.
+// See the LICENCE file in the repository root for full licence text.
+
+using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Text;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty.Preprocessing;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty.Skills;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
 using System.Linq;
@@ -14,22 +15,22 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Difficulty.Skills
         protected virtual double ReducedStrainBaseline => 0.7;
         protected virtual double DifficultyMultiplier => 1.08;
 
-        public OsuStrainSkill(Mod[] mods) : base(mods)
+        protected OsuStrainSkill(Mod[] mods)
+            : base(mods)
         {
         }
 
-        public double OsuDifficultyValue()
+        public override double DifficultyValue()
         {
             double difficulty = 0;
             double weight = 1;
 
-            double strainMultiplier;
             List<double> strains = GetCurrentStrainPeaks().OrderByDescending(d => d).ToList();
 
+            // We are reducing the highest strains first to account for extreme difficulty spikes
             for (int i = 0; i < ReducedSectionCount; i++)
             {
-                strainMultiplier = ReducedStrainBaseline + Math.Log10(i * 9.0 / ReducedSectionCount + 1) * (1.0 - ReducedStrainBaseline);
-                strains[i] = strains[i] * strainMultiplier;
+                strains[i] *= ReducedStrainBaseline + Math.Log10(i * 9.0 / ReducedSectionCount + 1) * (1.0 - ReducedStrainBaseline);
             }
 
             // Difficulty is the weighted sum of the highest strains from every section.
diff --git a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Speed.cs b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Speed.cs
index 0d8400badc..872bb0601d 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Speed.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu/Difficulty/Skills/Speed.cs
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 
 using System;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty.Preprocessing;
-using osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty.Skills;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Mods;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Difficulty.Preprocessing;
 using osu.Game.Rulesets.Osu.Objects;
diff --git a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Difficulty/Skills/StrainSkill.cs b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Difficulty/Skills/StrainSkill.cs
index 71cee36812..d4fcefab9b 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Rulesets/Difficulty/Skills/StrainSkill.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Rulesets/Difficulty/Skills/StrainSkill.cs
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Rulesets.Difficulty.Skills
         /// <summary>
         /// Returns the calculated difficulty value representing all <see cref="DifficultyHitObject"/>s that have been processed up to this point.
         /// </summary>
-        public sealed override double DifficultyValue()
+        public override double DifficultyValue()
         {
             double difficulty = 0;
             double weight = 1;