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Getting Started in Phasmophobia

By ScotPublished Updated Checked against v0.19.0.0 on

Tactical Quick Answer

Phasmophobia puts you and up to three teammates inside haunted locations to identify a paranormal entity, not banish it. Your job is to find the ghost room, collect three pieces of evidence, finish the optional objectives, and escape in the van alive. The reliable loop is a Thermometer and EMF sweep to locate the room, then detection gear inside it, then a journal guess before you close the van doors.

Phasmophobia drops you and up to three team members into haunted locations to identify paranormal entities. You are an investigator, not an exorcist. Your main goal is to locate the ghost room, collect three pieces of evidence, finish optional objectives, and escape in the van with your life.

This guide covers the core investigation loop, early equipment management, and basic survival rules for your first contracts.

The Core Investigation Loop​

Every contract follows a four-stage process from truck setup to final departure.

  1. Setup: Check the truck monitor for ghost info, optional objectives, and bone location hints.
  2. Locate the Ghost Room: Search the house for cold spots, opened doors, or thrown objects.
  3. Gather Evidence: Set up detection gear inside the ghost room to test for 3 evidence types.
  4. Escape and Log: Select the correct ghost type in your journal and close the van doors to complete the contract.

Phase 1: Truck Setup and Initial Sweep​

Before unlocking the front door, check the truck whiteboard. It lists the ghost name, whether the ghost responds to everyone or only people who are alone, and three bonus objectives.

Essential First-Sweep Loadout​

Grab three key items for your initial sweep into the building:

Item SlotRecommended ToolPurpose
Slot 1FlashlightMain light source during power outages
Slot 2ThermometerQuickest tool to locate the ghost room
Slot 3EMF Reader or Video CameraSecondary room verification or D.O.T.S. check

When you open the front door, your setup timer starts. On Amateur difficulty, you get five minutes before the ghost can initiate a hunt. Intermediate gives you two minutes. Professional, Nightmare, and Insanity offer no setup time at all. Sanity also cannot fall below 50% while setup is running, so the clock protects you twice.

Phase 2: Locating the Ghost Room​

Ghosts spend most of their time in a single room designated as their favorite room. Finding this room fast saves your sanity and gives you a safe space to gather evidence.

Top Indicators of Ghost Activity​

  • Temperature Drops: A room dropping below 10°C (50°F) indicates ghost presence. Freezing temperatures (below 0°C or 32°F) count as official evidence.
  • Interactions: Doors opening, light switches flipping, or objects flying across the room reveal the ghost's position.
  • EMF Spikes: An EMF Reader placed near interactable objects will beep and show activity levels from 2 to 4.
  • Parabolic Microphone Audio: On larger maps, use a Parabolic Microphone to listen through walls for whispers or footsteps.

Turn on hallway lights as you explore to preserve team sanity. Keep room lights off inside suspected ghost rooms when checking for freezing breath or D.O.T.S. signals.

Phase 3: Setting Up Equipment and Evidence Testing​

Once you confirm the room, drop your initial tools and make trips back to the van to move equipment into the building.

Evidence Deployment Strategy​

  • D.O.T.S. Projector: Place on the floor aiming across the room. Stand outside with a video camera or look through the truck monitor.
  • Ghost Writing Book: Place in the center of the room. Drop a video camera pointing directly at the book to monitor it remotely.
  • Spirit Box: Turn off all room lights, stand in the room, and ask questions like "Where are you?" or "Are you close?"
  • UV Light or Glowstick: Scan doors, light switches, and windows recently touched by the ghost for fingerprints or handprints. A normal flashlight will not reveal them.
  • Ghost Orbs: View the room through a Night Vision Video Camera from the truck or holding the camera in your hand with lights out.

Recommended room setup:

EquipmentPlacementNotes
D.O.T.S. ProjectorOne side wall, near the window endAim the beam across the room toward the camera
Video CameraOpposite side wall, facing the D.O.T.S.Covers the beam and the book in one shot
Ghost Writing BookCenter of the floorKeep it in the camera's view for remote monitoring
Crucifix (one on each side)Left and right of the room, between the book and the doorTwo placements cover more of the room during hunts
tip

Always place a Crucifix near the center of the room early in the investigation. A Tier I Crucifix prevents one hunt attempt within a three-meter range. Tier II and Tier III carry two charges each, at four and five meters. All three ranges increase by half against a Demon.

Phase 4: Surviving Hunts​

When total average team sanity drops low enough (usually below 50%), the ghost enters a hunting state. Front doors lock automatically, lights flicker, and your radio static blocks voice communication. The 50% figure is the standard threshold, not a universal one. Fixed thresholds run from 35% for a Shade to 70% for a Demon, and conditional ones reach 80% for a Yokai hearing voices nearby and drop to 10% for a calm Obambo. The Banshee ignores the team average and reads only its chosen target's sanity, so it can hunt while everyone else still looks healthy.

Survival Checklist​

  1. Turn Off Electronics: Turn off your main flashlight, camera, EMF reader, and hand-held gear. Ghosts detect active equipment within 7.5 meters on the same floor.
  2. Break Line of Sight: Run around corners or into nearby rooms immediately. Do not run in a straight line. A ghost that has been chasing you at full speed sheds that speed very slowly, so breaking sight buys you distance and not instant safety.
  3. Hide Behind Objects: Enter closets, lockers, or crouch behind furniture. Hold one door handle shut and hug that door. Solo you cannot cover both, and a ghost cannot open a door a player is holding.
  4. Be Quiet: Stop speaking into your microphone. Ghosts hear player microphones within 9 meters on the same floor.
warning

Being seen walking into a closet is not what kills you. The danger is the ghost detecting you while you are inside, through a gap in the doors, through your microphone within 9 meters, or through active electronics within 7.5 meters. Once it does, it forces the doors open even if you are holding them. Gear off, mouth shut, and smudge with Incense before hiding if it is already on you.

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid​

  • Leaving All Lights On: Turning on too many light switches trips the circuit breaker, plunging the house into darkness and accelerating sanity loss.
  • Holding Flashlights During Hunts: Leaving an active flashlight in your hand reveals your position to the ghost instantly.
  • Talking on the Radio During Hunts: Global push-to-talk static alerts the ghost directly to your location.
  • Waiting Too Long on Sanity Medication: 50% is the standard hunt threshold, so drinking at 50% means the ghost is already rolling hunt checks. Take it earlier, and note that you cannot drink above 95%.

Frequently Asked Questions​

How do you find the ghost room in Phasmophobia?

Sweep the building with a Thermometer and EMF Reader. A room dropping below 10 degrees C (50 degrees F) points to the ghost, and doors opening or objects flying reveal its position. On larger maps, a Parabolic Microphone picks up whispers and footsteps through walls.

How long is the setup phase before a ghost can hunt?

Amateur gives you five minutes and Intermediate gives two. Professional, Nightmare, and Insanity give no setup time at all. The timer starts the moment you open the front door, and your sanity cannot drop below 50 percent while it runs.

What should you do when a ghost starts hunting?

Turn off your flashlight, camera, EMF reader, and other handheld gear, then break line of sight by running around corners instead of in a straight line. Hide in a closet, locker, or behind furniture, and stop speaking into your microphone.

Can a ghost find you inside a closet?

Yes, but not because it watched you go in. It has to detect you while you are inside, by line of sight through a gap, by your microphone within 9 meters, or by active electronics within 7.5 meters. Then it forces the doors open even if you are holding one. Ghosts cannot physically enter a closet, and they do not remember hiding spots between hunts.

At what sanity level do ghosts start hunting?

Most ghosts begin once the average sanity of all living players drops below 50 percent. Fixed thresholds run from 35 percent for a Shade to 70 percent for a Demon, and conditional ones reach 80 percent for a Yokai hearing voices and drop to 10 percent for a calm Obambo. The Banshee reads only its chosen target's sanity, so it can hunt while the team average still looks healthy.