Grand Encounters

As of now, there are three grand encounters present within Pressure:

• Searchlights 1 - Large generator room, also known as the Warehouse
• Searchlights 2 - The Ridge, final encounter (x3)

Searchlights 1 - Large Generator Room

Main article: Searchlights

Vultus Luminaria, dubbed "Searchlights" is Pressure's main hostile boss monster. On the player's first Grand encounter, one will spawn above a large, dome-shaped storage facility, containing several Power Generators, broken and operational alike. The entrance to this boss battle will have the standard door replaced with a much larger Heavy-Containment door, similar to the entrance to large rooms.

Prelude

You're gonna have to take a slight detour. Several pieces of equipment in the sector are broken, and we need them fixed. The door is remotely locked until every broken apparatus is operational.

Headquarters, via. the PA system, 3 rooms before the encounter

A broken generator, found in both the Generator tutorial rooms, and the subsequent boss fight room with Searchlights

Leading up to the fight, the player will stumble across a standard double-doors room, locked with a purple keypad (At least Room 50+, latest possible encounter being Room 96) (?). Here, the the player will be contacted by Headquarters, who notifies them of several broken equipment and instructs them to conduct repairs in order to proceed further into the Blacksite and towards the Crystal.

The next two rooms will consist of multiple generators, one of which will be broken. These rooms serve as the Generator tutorial, where the player is tasked to repair the broken generator though a dial minigame. These rooms are followed by a large viewing deck, leading to a stairway and a drop-down hole to the pre-boss chamber, where they can move close to the hangar door to begin the boss fight cutscene.

The Encounter

Searchlights upon initiating the Grand Encounter, spawning on the same side as the player

Searchlights will spawn on the same side of the room where the player enters from, although its lights won't be able to reach the player itself. During the cutscene it shows the Searchlight hooking a mannequin from the floor using one of its tendrils, serving as a warning to the player. Once the cutscene ends, Movement will be restored to the player, and they will be directed to fix broken generators scattered around the room while avoiding death from Searchlights. Upon achieving this, a set of hangar doors on the opposite side of the entrance to the boss room will open, allowing the player to escape the room and progress the game.

Mechanics

Searchlights will begin to circle the room in a clockwise manner after the cutscene ends, orbiting the axis of the room's central pillar. It emits 4 beams of orange light, acting as its "Searchlights", hence its name.

• These beams of light are not statically pointing down from Searchlight's pupils, and are able to move up to 25 degrees away from its center.
• Upon detecting a player, Searchlights will let out a howl, and if the player does not hide in time, Searchlights will impale the player with a tendril (always drops them to 25% HP regardless of current HP count) and drag them into its maw.
• The light beams themselves use raycasting, and function similarly to those emitted by the Eyefestation. Therefore, obstructions that cut the field of vision of the beam will also save the player from capture.

The dial minigame present while fixing the generator. Note that it takes about 4.5 clicks on the bar itself to fully complete the generator, and that the bar fills up on its own at a rate of 0.1 clicks per second

The player will have to fix 9 (5 if alone) generators before the exit door opens.

• The generators spawn in fixed positions around the room (?), but the generators that are broken will be randomized,
• Generators will keep their repair progress (indicated by the blue filling of the wrench icon in the center of the dial) even if the player fails to hit the bar or stop midway, allowing the them to continue the repairs from where they left off.
• As more generators are fixed by the players, Searchlights will gradually move faster, going from 10-15% to about 60% faster than the player itself, scaling with fixed generators count. [confirmation needed]
  • At 0 generators fixed, Searchlights will move about 35-40% of the arena in the average time it takes to fix one generator.
  • While fixing the last generator, Searchlights will move about 70% of the arena in the average time it takes to fix one generator.
• Failing the generator puzzle will cause the player to be knocked away and stunned for approximately 2 seconds. This can render the player immobile and susceptible to capture. The knockback may also push the player into the light, causing them to die.
  • Note: As of right now, you can still move while the fail animation plays. This might be a bug.
• There is a glitch where you still have the GUI even after fixing the generator. If you leave the generator then you take 5 damage.

Strategies

• Players should try to stay behind Searchlights to maximize the time they have to repair each generator without being caught or forced into hiding. This is safe to do as Searchlights will not turn around during the first encounter.
• Players should fix the generators on the rims of the room first rather than those closer towards the center. The rim generators become significantly more difficult to fix once the Searchlights speed up during the later half of the encounter.
• No other monsters will spawn while the encounter plays out, except for Puddles of Void-mass present in lockers. As such, players should take their time and move tactically, since they do not need to focus on other threats.
• There are multiple hollowed-out cargo crates scattered across the room, as well as stacks of boxes and other terrain features like the wall on the left-hand side of the map, which can serve to hide the player without the use of a locker if necessary.
• Since the 4 beams of light are off center, there is a blind spot directly under Searchlights' maw, allowing the player to occasionally run behind it from the front. However, players should use this tactic with extreme caution, as the lights may move unpredictably and cause them to die.
• It is possible to evade capture even after being detected by Searchlights, due to there existing a small window (around 2-3 seconds) after the howl in which the player is able to step out of the light before being impaled. This can be repeated indefinitely, so long as the player steps out of range before detection.

Searchlights 2 - The Ridge's Airlocks

Main Article : The Ridge's Airlock

This is Pressure's second and final Grand Encounter, serving as the final boss battle of the game. Once again, Searchlights will play a major part in the encounter, hunting down the player in droves as they attempt to fix underwater cables and complete the Game. As this is the final room of the game, revives are disabled from this point on, leaving the player one chance to overcome the encounter.

Prelude

Arriving at the end of The Ridge (Room 115, signified by a ramp leading to a Heavy Containment door), the player enters The Ridge's Airlock, an essentially similar room to The Control Room, besides the yellow aesthetic of The Ridge. The windows of this room point towards the Depths of the Let-Vand zone, with Trenchbleeder Lucy visible outside. This room serves as the player's final safe zone before the Ending encounter. The player will then be directed towards the airlock, with the primary objective being to repair the Generator Shaft cables powering the External Repellant Cannon outside the facility to allow the Extraction Submarine to dock safely and carry the player away from the Blacksite.

Outside, there's a generator shaft powering one of our External Repellant Cannons dug into the ocean floor. But the cables providing power are currently damaged. They were originally scheduled to be repaired today, so I guess you were right on time.

Enter the Airlock, swim outside, repair the cables, and flip the switch located in the shaft in the middle. Once that's done, return to the base for extraction.

Headquarters, via. the PA system,, Upon arriving at The Airlocks

After the dialogue, head down the stairs into the Airlock room and pull the lever. This will cause the chamber to depressurize and allows the player to swim freely outside the Blacksite, in an area of the Let-Vand Seabed where the cannon is situated. While heading to the arena for the encounter by following the green beacons across the ocean floor, a single Vultus specimen - presumably the Searchlights from before - will follow the player to the site, beginning to hunt across the area once they arrive.

The Encounter

One of the several broken wires which require fixing to reactivate the cannon

Once the player arrives at the site, the Searchlights they previously encountered will hover over the cave they are in for for a short period of time, before the music changes to signal the beginning of the encounter. The player will have to locate 14 (7 if alone) undersea wires and repair them, reusing the dial system similar to that of the generators in the first Grand encounter, albeit with the wrench progress bar only needing 2.5 clicks to fill (down from 4.5), and filling up passively at triple the rate. More Searchlights will spawn as the fight progresses, making it much more difficult to traverse the area.

Once all wires have been fixed, the player must dive into the center shaft of the arena - whether from the cave network on the seabed or from the opening on the surface - and pull the lever, activating the Repellant cannon. Following this, they must then rush back to the cave route they came from. A single Searchlights will give chase, stopping by an orifice on the ceiling and moving its lights like cameras to scout inside the cave. The player must carefully hide from the lights using the debris in the area, making it past the orifice and towards the Airlocks. Passing this point, the pursuing Searchlights will be crushed by Lucy as it attempts to chase the player once more, ending the encounter.

2 Searchlights viewed from a distance, from the safety of an underwater cavern.

Mechanics

• A second Searchlights will spawn after half of all wires have been fixed, and a third after 2/3rd's are fixed. They will also progressively get faster as more wires are fixed, up to the same scaling as in the first encounter.
• The movement patterns of the Searchlights are completely randomized, and they are able to pass through each other with no collision. This is a notable difference from the first encounter in the warehouse.
• The wires will spawn in static locations, similar to the generators. Like the former, brokenness is randomized
• There is a network of undersea caverns under the seabed, serving as safezones for the player to wait in should a Searchlights corner them. Open cargo boxes and fossils are also present, serving the same purpose.
• Parasitic infections can happen if the player strays too far from Trenchbleeder Lucy's lights and the preplaced Green Beacons.
• HQ will detonate the player's PDG (Prisoner Diving Gear) if the player strays too far from the arena, causing them to die instantly.
• The central shaft containing the Generator Lever is open to the seabed surface. Therefore, care must be taken when attempting to restart the Repellant Cannon, as the player may die mid cutscene otherwise.
• If the player dies during this ending encounter, they will be unable to Revive.

Strategies

• Prioritize the wires on the surface first, especially those close to the center of the arena. It is easier to fix these wires during the beginning of the encounter, as there are fewer Searchlights.
• Avoid rushing. There is no time limit to this encounter, and no other monsters (other than the parasites, which the player can easily avoid) will spawn besides the Searchlights.
• Plan your moves. The gaps between the caves in places are wide, and failing to gauge the distance properly may cause the player to die.
• In multiplayer, splitting tasks and covering as much area as possible is crucial, especially when more Searchlights spawn.
  • It is recommend that during the "Final Encounter" , player should fix cables that are placed in difficult to reach or open spots to prevent getting killed later on when there are 3 searchlights out (once around 2/3rds of the cables have been fixed)

Aftermath

The Pursuing searchlight, crushed under Trenchbleeder Lucy's metal hoof while attempting to chase the player.

The Searchlights attempts to pursue once more after the player exits the undersea cave, only for Lucy to come in and step on it, killing the Searchlights instantly. The player then re-enters the airlock, and the Blacksite for the final time. Once the water clears up, they will be lead to a docking bay to the right of the airlock, where headquarters have sent a submarine to extract them. Entering the sub ends the game, with the player being pardoned, their criminal records wiped, and earning an undisclosed amount of cash.

• Obtained Badges: (Formerly: Lucy's Shadow) Search Party, Pardoned, Lonely (and its variants if the player is the last man standing), Power of Friendship, Group of Sweats, This Badge Sucks

Searchlights 1

• The player can perform a cutscene skip by triggering the containment door's opening sequence, and then entering a nearby locker. The player will be ejected from the locker when the cutscene "starts", but will retain full movement control, the ability to interact with generators, and immunity to the Searchlights' lights for about 2 seconds. This can serve handy for speedruns, as the small time window allows the player to scout ahead faster and potentially clear the encounter in just one cycle. However, this has been patched since the Raveyard Update, as the current room before the encounter is unable to spawn lockers.
• So it can happen that if a player enters the locker at a certain moment before the cutscene, after cutscene they will levitate in the air without being able to move (But they can kind of "go underground" if they twirl the camera and spams crouch). However, Mr. Lopee can bring them out of this state and the player can move like before. This will also make the player "immune" to Angler and its variants (except Eyefestation, Squiddles and Pandemonium), and the player will also be invisible to other players, the player who made this glitch will also not be able to interact with objects, will not be able to pick up research and will also not be able to open doors. They can become unglitched again if they go back into the locker.
• Once the player is impaled by the Searchlights' hooks, the player's character will no longer have collision, which means the player can be dragged through walls to their death.
• The theme for this encounter has the "Requiem" leitmotif from ULTRAKILL.

Searchlights 2

• After activating the External Repellant cannon and making it back to the cave leading to the airlocks, the player is able to skip the final hiding section by swimming up to the cave's roof and then rushing forwards while hugging the leftmost wall. If done fast enough, the player will arrive at the debris field before the Searchlights can properly get into position, giving the player a small time window to swim under a ledge that protects the player from the two leftside lights. This allows the player to fully evade capture and end the game safely.
• While the cannon is activated, it will fire onto the Searchlights, but it will not affect the Searchlights' movement patterns in game.