Visual effects a Reagent sees under the effects of Psychosis
Psychosis is a mental state a Reagent undergoes went sanity is fully depleted, which occurs by being exposed to the mind-altering Psychosis gas. The gas can be encountered when the Pusher sprays it in a Reagent's face, released when failing a puzzle objective, stepping near gas mines, or when its sprayed out by booby-trapped containers and doors. During this state, the Skinner Man will manifest and begin pursuing the affected Reagent.
Though the state in itself is not physically harmful, the encounter with the Skinner Man can be.
Description[]
After Easterman finishes explaining the mission to the Reagents while being transported to the trials, they are sprayed by the psychosis gas, causing them to hallucinate and see foreshadowing or horrific situations from the trial, including flaying tentacles resembling those of the Skinner Man.
During the trial, there are multiple ways that the Reagents can lose their sanity:
- Being caught by the Pusher will drain all three sanity bars, or less if interrupted early.
- Stepping on a psychosis mine or being hit by aerial smoke after detonation drains two sanity bars, or three when Deadly Traps variators are active.
- Get caught by the door trap, which sprays gas after 5 seconds. If the trap remains, gas will continue to spray every 5 seconds, draining one sanity bar, or two when Deadly Traps variators are active.
- Failing to move away from a rigged item container in time will drain one sanity bar, or two when Deadly Traps variators are active.
- Failing to complete the lockpick minigame within 10 seconds result in draining one sanity bar, or two when Deadly Traps variators are active.
- Turning the wrong valve in the Root Canal drains one sanity bar, or two when Deadly Traps variators are active.
- In certain instances, Murkoff Corporation may apply modified psychosis gas to the Reagents before starting the trial, forcing them to survive with a partially filled sanity bar or causing the Skinner Man hallucinations to appear even with full sanity. Unlike regular psychosis, these effects cannot be recovered by any means and persist for the remainder of the trial.
- When Psychosis Damage variator is active, the Reagent loses one sanity bar, or higher with Deadly Traps variators upon taking any damage. This effect does not apply to the bleeding effect.
When sanity is only reduced by one bar, the Reagent occasionally suffers from the weaker psychosis-induced hallucinations, distorting both vision and hearing, making it harder to hear traps or Ex-Pops and also gather visual information from them. When sanity is drained by two bars, the Skinner Man starts appearing as a occasional harmless jumpscare, rushing toward the affected Reagent with a loud noise when looked at. When all three bars are drained, the Reagent enters a full state of psychosis.
During the psychosis state, a Reagent's vision becomes blurry, warped and distorted. The colors on the screen will appear with a saturated red and green tint, coupled with parts of the screen twitching and warping around. The Skinner Man will appear by phasing from up through the floor, after which he pursues the mentally-affected Reagent. When the affected Reagent is inflicted with another psychosis gas, the duration of the psychosis effect resets completely. The Skinner Man will never end his pursuit of a Reagent, as he will always know where they are at all times, making hiding from him impossible. However, while under the psychosis effect, the Reagent is completely ignored by all Ex-Pops and not pose any harm, even on psychical contact unless the Trial is on Intensive or Psychosurgery difficulty. When the Reagent gains enough distance, the Skinner Man teleports to a nearby location and continues the chase.
There are various ways to recover from Psychosis:
- Using an antidote, which completely restores a Reagent's sanity.
- Using the Heal rig with the Detox upgrade fully cures the user and their teammates from psychosis effects.
- The Reagent equipped with an Antitoxin amp will have one bar of sanity recovered every 60 seconds.
- When the sanity is fully drained, simply keep avoiding the Skinner Man until sanity fully restores itself for about 20 seconds (or 10 seconds with Antitoxin amp) where the Skinner Man ends his pursuit and de-manifests.
- When the Reagent exits through the trial shuttle, it fully recovers their sanity but will not count towards their grade. This can be useful for Reagents wanting to remove psychosis effects and also return to help their teammates escape.
Though risky for Reagents, intentionally triggering psychosis mines or letting Pusher spray gas on them can be beneficial in certain scenarios. Being ignored by all Ex-Pops provides an opportunity to complete objectives or navigate trial environments. However, traps can still detect and harm them, and performing objectives that require a Reagent to remain stationary poses significant risks from the Skinner Man. This strategy does not apply on Intensive or Psychosurgery difficulty as the Ex-Pops will continue to chase the affected Reagent.
Balance Changes[]
December 10, 2024 (Project Breach)
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Trivia[]
- Some of the unused dialogues from Closed Beta suggests that, realistically, the Reagents were unintentionally inflicting physical self-harm during the psychosis state.[1] This is also evidenced by other Reagents observing them.
- When Reagents are exposed by the psychosis gas inside the transportation, the tendrils of the Skinner Man are only seen during the hallucination.