It's still a gradual buildup for me, and there are little pauses every time it starts over, but if I don't have those little pauses, I get overstimulated too much and the nerves just kinda shut off for a couple minutes. There's always an intense shock of pleasure too when it starts over, that fades away really fast, but every time it starts over again the shock is more intense than the previous time, until eventually, one of those shocks is an orgasm. I can technically have one on the lowest settings of sustained vibration too, but it's not intense enough to give me a satisfying orgasm. The settings that just pulse regularly also sometimes work, but I prefer to have at least a second or two with the thing going full blast just because it feels good, so that's why I use the "Morse code" setting instead. That way I get the full intensity, along with the little interruptions that prevent me from getting overstimulated.