The Ridge

The Ridge is the final area before the final Grand Encounter, featuring numerous hazards such as flickering lights and frequent monster spawns.

Overview

The Ridge is the final stretch of the game, located past the catwalk at Room 100. It consists of cavernous areas filled with various equipment and building materials. After taking the crystal, The Ridge is left almost completely dark, only illuminated by occasional light flickers, making the area considerably dangerous. It lasts for 13 rooms: The Crystal Room, a security checkpoint, 10 rooms filled with Monsters, and the room before the Ending Encounter. The 10 rooms inhabited by Monsters serves as an endurance run, with frequent monster spawns and scarce hiding spots. Upon making it to the final room before the Ending Encounter, the backup generators power on, and the lights are restored.

Crystal Room

The Crystal Room is a location in Pressure, housing a crystal classified as Z-2. Players are tasked with retrieving this crystal, which powers the Hadal Blacksite, as a part of the "Expendable" Protocol. It is located on the edge of The Ridge.

The Crystal Room is the area directly following room 100. It serves as the transition point between room 100 and more dangerous parts of The Ridge. It is accessed through a double airlock, leading to a circular room around a large reactor shaft housing the crystal, which the players must secure.

Upon taking out the crystal, acting as the primary power source for the Blacksite, the lights will go dark and the PA system goes offline.

Notes

Node Monsters

• In The Ridge, lights do not flicker to signal an incoming node monster. Instead, audio cues made by node monsters can be heard earlier, giving the player enough time to react.
• Node monsters spawn more frequently in The Ridge. Unlike the previous 100 rooms, in The Ridge, node entity spawning is based on a timer. The length of the timer is randomised, however.^{[Citation Needed]}

Other Monsters

• There is a green light above the safe door in the Crystal Room, easily distinguishing it from the Good People doors that will always spawn there.
• Eyefestation, Good People, Squiddles, and Wall Dwellers spawn in The Ridge at a more frequent rate.
  • Wall Dwellers are of little issue, however, as node monsters spawn often, often eliminating Wall Dwellers.
• While doors are not marked with numbers, Good People doors in The Ridge have louder sound cues which can be heard from a larger distance. They also have light shining out underneath their doors.
• Throughout The Ridge, hijacked speakers can spawn, causing the PDG to detonate if players stand near them for too long. They can be identified by their red glow, unique music, and a subtitle above the player's hotbar warning you when you stray too close to one.
• There is a small chance of encountering a room containing a vehicle mounted with a hijacked turret. While it cannot be deactivated, you can avoid its line of sight by walking in the same direction as its rotation.

Miscellaneous

• Once a player reaches room 100, no monsters can spawn until the room after The Ridge's beginning checkpoint is opened.
• The Ridge document can be found in the entrance checkpoint to The Ridge, located in the next room beyond the Crystal Room.
• Once the player reaches the final room of The Ridge and pulls the airlock lever, Achievements such as 'We Die In The Dark' and 'We Didn't Playtest To Make Sure This Was Possible' are awarded, if the player completed them.

Strategy

• There are no visual cues for node monsters in The Ridge, meaning that you must rely on audio cues. Use headphones or increase your volume to ensure that you can hear these cues.
• Due to the timer spawn mechanic, the best strategy is to open 2-3 doors at a time and then stay close to the nearest locker. Continue this until you reach the finale.
• The Flash Beacon and Blacklight are the preferred light sources for The Ridge as they do not anger Squiddles.
• The hijacked speakers take a notably long time to detonate your PDG. While it is usually smart to stay away from them at all times, some rooms require you to stay within their range to traverse certain areas, and with bad positioning node monsters will force you to hide in lockers that risk PDG detonation. Be mindful of hiding places, and only take as much time as you're comfortable risking in the danger zone.
• Upon reaching the last room in The Ridge, all node monsters will veer to the left as they climb up the ramp, despawning before they reach the airlock door. Players who cannot find a locker at the end should hug the right side of the ramp as they walk up and try to get to the right side of the room before the node monster catches up.
• When Chainsmoker spawns in The Ridge, it is advised to follow it, as its smoke provides slight vision in the dark, and its slow speed allows you to open at least one door before it despawns.

Endless

During an Endless Expedition run, the player may encounter an alternate version of the Ridge as a rare room type. After arriving at a "checkpoint" room (similar to the start of the Server Farms), the player will cross a long bridge over an abyss before arriving at the Ridge. This version of the Ridge is smiliar to the main Hadal Blacksite in which node monsters spawn, with the key difference being that some rooms will be fully illuminated. After they successfully make it past this version of the Ridge, they will cross another bridge into another "checkpoint" room, where they will continue the run.

The endless version of the Ridge does contain the Ridge's unique feature of a lack of door numbers, including the lights under Good People doors to compensate. The speakers can be hijacked just like the regular Ridge. The endless Ridge does not contain the boosted monster spawns or timed node monster spawns. It being lit also means that Squiddles do not spawn immediately, although the Ridge will still be dark at the point in which the rest of the game becomes dark in endless, around room 400.

History

The Ridge finished construction in 1963, and was the first operational sector of the Hadal Blacksite. It was built into a cave which was drained of water, as that was the quickest and cheapest option. The Ridge was used to house building materials, guards, and prison workers while the rest of the Blacksite was still being built. The doors in The Ridge are not numbered, as that system had not yet been implemented or programmed at the time of construction. The lights in The Ridge use the same light bulbs as the Emergency Lights so that they would break less easily. However, due to how expensive they were, they were not used for the rest of the Blacksite. The Ridge also uses an outdated model for the PA System, which is easier to hijack. After the discovery of the Crystal in 1967, a reactor shaft was built into the edge of the Ridge to house it.

Documents

Main Article: Documents/The Ridge

Gallery

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  A door in a common room within The Ridge.
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  An orange keycard, as seen in an item spot in The Ridge.
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  An image of the speakers found within The Ridge.
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  An image of a hijacked turret within The Ridge.
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  An example of an uncommon room players may encounter in The Ridge.
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  Eyefestation, seen to the left grabbing a player's gaze while in The Ridge.
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  The airlock located at the end of all node monster threats in The Ridge.
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  The Crystal model.
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  The Crystal Room.
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  Ditto, but from below.
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  The Crystal and the control panel that releases the Crystal.
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  Showing The Crystal and the control panel from the outer glass.
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  The area above the platform The Crystal is located on.
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  An image of the area outside of The Crystal Room.
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  A closer look at The Crystal in its container.
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  Ditto, at a closer angle.
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  The Crystal container once it has been removed.
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  Image of The Ridge catwalk (With fullbright).
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  Image of The Ridge catwalk (Without fullbright).
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  Ditto, as seen from a side perspective.
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  The room before reaching The Ridge catwalk, otherwise known as room 100.
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  The start of The Ridge in Endless.
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  The bridge leading to The Ridge in Endless.
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  The Ridge, as seen in Endless.
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  Ditto.
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  Ditto.

Trivia

• In The Ridge, The Angler has its eyes closed, though this has no lore significance.
• When walking down the catwalk to The Ridge's entrance, The Angler can be seen rushing down a separate catwalk to the left of the player, destroying lights as it passes. This is purely visual and this Angler cannot attack.
  • Any node monsters passing by room 100 will redirect to this side bridge rather than the main one.
• The environment and name of The Ridge are inspired by the Payday 2 location, Black Ridge.
• Contrary to popular belief, the song which plays in this area, "The Part Of The Game Where We Throw Everything At You", has been confirmed by Zeal to not be a reference to Portal 2.
• If the player attempts to leave the Crystal Room without the crystal, HQ will detonate their PDG once they get too close to one of the exit doors, false door or not. Dying in this manner will award the player the "POP! Goes the Weasel" achievement.
  • Previously, it was possible to leave the room without the crystal, but it has since been patched.
• Since the Endless Expedition does not include Sebastian, there is not a unique shop room for the Ridge.
• The Ridge in Endless Mode was added because of a suggestion on Discord.^{[Citation Needed]}