Neurosis pulse

Neurosis pulse

Perform a psychic ritual that makes everyone in the region work faster but become more irritable. Those affected will feel less need for recreation but will be unhappier and more likely to have a mental break. This will replace the effect of other active pulses.

Base Stats

Type

Psychic ritual

Creation

Required Research

Neurosis pulse

Ritual Duration

10,000 ticks (2.78 mins)

Ritual Cooldown

300,000 ticks (83.33 mins)

Resources to make

30

Neurosis pulse is a psychic ritual that improves global work speed of pawns^{[Humans only?]} on the map at the time of casting^[Verify] as well as reducing their recreation need, at the expense of their mood.

Acquisition

The neurosis pulse psychic ritual can be performed once every 300,000 ticks (5 in-game days) at a psychic ritual spot at the cost of  30 Bioferrite, once the Neurosis pulse research project has been completed. Note that this research requires dark study to unlock. The ritual takes 10,000 ticks (4 in-game hours) to complete.

Summary

• Effect duration ranges from 1 day at 0% ritual quality to 25 days at 100% quality.
• Mental break threshold +8%
• Global work speed ×150%
• Recreation fall rate ×50%
• −4 Neurosis pulse mood, scaled by Psychic sensitivity of each pawn, up to −7.^{[Verify capping?]}
• Pleasure pulse and neurosis pulse are incompatible; using one will end the duration of the other.

Analysis

The pros and cons of neurosis pulse are clear - it drastically improves the rate at which almost all work is done in the colony, at the cost of increased risk of mental breaks. This can be a significant boost when trying to complete a single important project, such as finishing a perimeter wall or digging a mountain base, or just as a general productivity boost. Mid- and late-game colonies can keep easily keep the effect up consistently, as the per day bioferrite cost is negligible when production is rolling and consistently high qualities are achievable.

The ritual is somewhat dangerous as it can cause mood death-spirals. The mood penalty itself is deceptively small but the mental break threshold effect stacks to make it an effective −12 to mood. For stable, happy colonies, this can tanked to keep the effect up long term, but this is typically only feasible later in game.

Some cases where neurosis pulse can be safely used:

• If the entire colony's mood is especially high - for example, after a wedding - the mood hit is less impactful.
• If playing with a storyteller besides Randy Random, and the current major threat cycle is known, it is possible to time a neurosis pulse so that it ends before a major threat can happen again.
• When sufficient mind-numb serums are stocked to last the entire duration. Keep in mind that these serums can be stockpiled and only used when a pawn is on the verge of breaking. There is no need to dose everyone prophylactically.

Other tips include:

• Having a variety of drugs for emergency mood buffs
• Giving particular psychically sensitive pawns a psychic foil helmet to reduce the mood impact.
• Using Pleasure pulse to end neurosis pulse and apply its own mood buff.

The recreation fall rate decrease also goes a long way to countering the effective mood penalty if used well. Reaching 100% recreation will now provide +10 mood for 12 hours, instead of 6, and the +5 from having between 70% and 85% will last a similar duration. Ensure colonists are getting enough +30% recreation a day and they'll have a mood buff the whole day.

Version history

• Anomaly DLC Release - Added.

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Psychic rituals

Psychic rituals

Void provocation • Draw animals • Draw shamblers • Chronophagy • Psychophagy • Skip abduction • Draw fleshbeasts • Provoke pit gate • Imbue death refusal • Philophagy • Pleasure pulse • Neurosis pulse • Blood rain • Brainwipe

Related

Psychic ritual spot • Void sculpture • Shard beacon