Phasmophobia General Tips & Equipment

BASIC OVERVIEW:

WASD to move.
Left-shift to run.
C to crouch.
V for local push to talk, B for radio (global push to talk).
J to open your journal. In your journal will be info about ghosts and very basic info about devices. At the very end is photos which you can check for captions to see if they counted for evidence, and the evidence table. You use the evidence table to set what ghost you think it is at the bottom in order to receive credit for that goal.
Q can scroll through your inventory, but so can mousewheel.
T to turn on your flashlight while any other item is in your hand. It must be turned on each time you swap between your flashlight and any other item.
E to pick up items.
G to throw items.
Left Mouse to interact with and open doors.
Right Mouse turns on most devices such as video cameras, the EMF reader, flashlights, etc, and is used to take photos while holding the photo camera.
F is used as a secondary use function specifically for the Video Camera, Ghost Writing Book, Salt, and all Sensors for placement. It is also used when you have a lighter or lit candle in your inventory to light Smudge Sticks and Candles.

Your goal is to help the team discern what kind of ghost is present in a house without being hunted. You start out with a baseline of the equipment necessary to acquire all of the types of hard evidence, but may bring other kinds of equipment for further assistance in tracking, locating, and protecting yourself from the ghost. If you are killed by the ghost in its Hunting phase, which can occur if your sanity dips too low, you lose all items that you personally brought to the mission. Items left in the house that were brought by players which are still alive at the end of the mission are returned, and consumables are restored between missions as well. Basically, the only time anyone loses equipment is if they die, losing only the things they personally brought.

All ghosts are attached to a specific room, defined as the Ghost Room. This room is where the ghost spawned and it will generally wander close to this room. The room can be any part of a map; it can be in hallways, stair landings, living rooms and kitchens, or plain ol' bedrooms. Do not discount any place as a potential Ghost Room. The best way to find it is by using a Thermometer, as Ghost Rooms have markedly lower temperatures than the rest of the map, as might rooms adjoining it where the ghost has recently wandered. Identifying the Ghost Room is a highly important part of the investigation; as soon as it is found, most of your equipment should be placed there.

GENERAL TIPS:

Keep your flashlight on at all times. You can use your flashlight when holding other objects by pressing T. It is the best way to know if you're being hunted if you're not near the front door.

When a ghost initiates a hunt, the best option is to slip into a nearby room, shut the door, and tuck yourself into a corner on the same wall as the door. Lockers and closets also help, but doors can be seen through by Wraiths, and so will not save you from them; only walls break line of sight with Wraiths. Look straight down and keep your flashlight on; it is the best way to know when a hunt has ended and when you are safe. Ghosts may initiate hunts back to back, so as soon as your flashlight ceases to flicker, start moving again. You can outrun most ghosts, but it's almost never the best option; they will catch you if you hit a corner wrong or stop for even a moment, and Revenants simply cannot be outrun if they are chasing you.

Turn on lights as you go, but be sure to turn off lights behind you. It's best to leave a trail of lights on leading to the ghost room once it's found, and turn off all other lights; the more lights are on, the more you risk tripping the breaker. Lights prevent sanity loss.

It's best to play safe around 60 sanity or lower. Sanity affects the ghost's ability to hunt, and the risk that ghosts will begin to hunt begins to grow noticeably at lower than 60 sanity. The chance that a ghost will hunt is affected by the average sanity of all players in the game, in or outside the house. However, lower sanity also provokes more general activity from the ghost, potentially getting more evidence and manifestations for photos, so sometimes it can be worth the risk if you're prepared for a hunt.

Sanity never recovers, even if you're in the safety of the van, unless you use Sanity Pills. Sanity fluctuates on the monitor, but in truth is a fixed number; these fluctuations are merely an effect done to make the board look more organic. Ghost events, ghost special abilities, being in the darkness, and utilizing a Ouija board all drain your sanity. The rate at which darkness drains sanity scales by difficulty, as defined in the difficulty section below. You virtually do not lose sanity in the truck, you lose sanity vastly slower in room lights, and candles slow sanity drain a good bit as well. Neither the light of flashlights nor UV lights alleviate any sanity drain.

Check all rooms for bones!

Don't bother turning on sinks! Ghosts will do so themselves if they're going to create dirty water anyway. It's best to avoid turning on sinks, because if a ghost creates dirty water, you'll hear the sink turn on when it wasn't before.

Ghosts will become agitated and may become active if you repeatedly flicker the lights in their room. Ghosts are also aggravated by swear words, as well as their name. If you say their name too many times at the start of the contract, it's possible that the setup phase will end early. Tread lightly.

Ghosts also tend to react more often to voice! Using ingame voice chat can promote ghost activity, especially local voice chat. If you use an external chat program such as Discord for voice, you may be missing out a bit. On the other hand, your radio is cut during a hunt, so... have fun with that.

Finally, know this: GHOSTS HAVE FUZZY AI. They do not have defined personalities or behaviors; there is almost always no way to tell if a Ghost is a certain type by its behaviors. All ghosts will move things, not just poltergeists and oni. Although Mares prefer the dark and may hit the breaker more often or try to turn off lights, they CAN turn lights back on. Jinn are more likely to interfere with electronics and lights, but they are not the only ones who can do this. Jinn need the breaker on to use their power, but can still cut it rarely! Use these behaviors as supporting evidence in deciding what tools to prioritize, but don't rely on them!

DIFFICULTY BREAKDOWN:

AMATEUR: Unmodified cash rewards and experience gain. Five minutes of setup time. Ghost activity is normal. Hunt phases last 25 seconds. 50% of the value of lost items is returned to players.

INTERMEDIATE: Double cash rewards. 1.5x experience gain. Two minutes of setup time. Sanity drains 1.5x faster in the dark. Ghost activity is a bit higher. Hunt phases last 35 seconds. 25% of the value of lost items is returned to players.

PROFESSIONAL: Triple cash rewards. Double experience gain. No setup time. Sanity drains twice as fast in the dark. Ghost activity is noticeably higher. Hunt phases last 50 seconds. No insurance payout.

EQUIPMENT BREAKDOWN:

EMF READER: The EMF Reader detects ghost activity in its vicinity. Right click to activate it; it can remain on when thrown on the ground. It can be photographed once for each of the higher activity levels (2, 3, 4 and 5), and each individual reading will count as evidence. EMF 5 is the defined evidence for this tool. EMF 5 can be tricky to get; sometimes you may get it by chance, but other times you may have to pinpoint where the ghost is and stand inside of them during elevated activity. If you don't get EMF 5 after a few tries, don't discard the device; there's always a chance unless you have collected all evidence, and it's helpful to know where and when the ghost is acting up.

PHOTO CAMERA: The Photo Camera takes up to 5 photographs. It is one of the main ways of making money. You can discern if a photo counted for evidence by whether or not it has a caption when viewed in the journal. Photos of the ghost, fingerprints, footprints, dirty water, a Ouija board, dead bodies, bones, and any interaction count for evidence. Interactions can even include purely audio-based things like a piano being played or a phone ringing, as well as a written-in ghost book and the EMF Reader detecting activity while on the ground. Voodoo dolls and bloody cleavers, found most often in the Farmhouse levels, count as interactions.

LIGHTER: Used to light candles and smudge sticks. While in inventory, hold a smudge stick or a candle and press F to light them.

CANDLE: Candles are lit with a lighter and provide a light source that is independent of the area's breaker. This can be helpful for navigating larger maps, and can provide an oasis to stand in and avoid losing sanity even while in the dark, helpful for using the Spirit Box which only works in the dark. Ghosts can blow out nearby candles, but they can be relit after being blown out. If a candle mysteriously goes out, then a ghost is likely near.

UV LIGHT: The UV Light is used to view ghost fingerprints on doors, light switches and windows. Fingerprints are somewhat unreliable as evidence; it's best to do multiple sweeps for them. They're much more likely to appear late in the hunt when ghosts have interacted with multiple things. Check both sides of doors whenever possible. Normal lights wash out the UV light, so you won't be able to see fingerprints well if your flashlight is on overtop of your UV light.

CRUCIFIX: The Crucifix is a limited but vital tool. The Crucifix can prevent a ghost from hunting if it chooses to initiate a hunt within 3 meters (5 meters if it is a Banshee) of the Crucifix while the Crucifix is on the ground. This can occur twice before the Crucifix is consumed and it disappears. If a Crucifix suddenly seems to go missing, that's because it has prevented two hunts. The Crucifix CANNOT stop an ongoing hunt, its only function is to prevent a hunt from starting. A Crucifix is best tossed on the ground in the Ghost Room as soon as it is found, and a second Crucifix should be placed in an adjoining room. Crucifixes do not work while they are in your hand.

VIDEO CAMERA: The Video Camera is the best way to acquire the evidence piece Ghost Orbs. It links back to the van and provides a constant feed to its computer. The Video Camera is best placed in the Ghost Room early (preferably on a tripod) along with other equipment. It can provide a way to view things such as the Ghost Writing Book from the safety of the van. The light should be turned off in the room when it is left, so that the van can see any Ghost Orbs; Ghost Orbs are nearly invisible in rooms that are even faintly lit as it washes out the night vision view, and Ghost Orbs do not appear without night vision. Make sure to right click the camera after placing it or while it's in your hand to turn it on before placing it. They can be placed using F and rotated by holding the left mouse button. Check the camera periodically throughout your investigation unless you have all evidence, and try moving the camera into different vantage points or placing multiple cameras in the same room to completely rule out Ghost Orbs.

SPIRIT BOX: The Spirit Box is the only way to get its eponymous evidence, as only some ghosts respond to the Spirit Box at all. You must be using proximity chat to be heard on the Spirit Box. Ghosts also will only respond to players based on the limitation outlined on the whiteboard; some will only respond to those who are alone, others will respond no matter who is nearby, but the lights must ALWAYS be off when using the Spirit Box. Generally, the ghost must be nearby for it to hear your questions; so it's best used in the Ghost Room, and it may take a few tries to receive a response. If the ghost responds with any violent phrases such as Kill, Die, Attack, etc. it may start a hunt soon.

SALT: Salt cans contain 3 piles of salt each which can be placed on the ground with the F key or the trigger when using VR. Salt can be used to reveal the ghost's position, or at least where it has wandered recently, as they may step in the salt when moving. If these salt piles are then lit by a UV light such as a Glowstick or a UV Flashlight, they can be photographed for money.

SMUDGE STICKS: Kind of yikes, but they work. When lit using a lighter or a lit candle, Smudge Sticks will burn for roughly 15 seconds. If the ghost is within 6 meters, the Ghost will get a little more active, but will be unable to enter a hunt for 90 (180 for Spirit) seconds. This will never stop an active hunt. It functions both while in hand and also while on the floor. If there is an active hunt, the lit Smudge Stick can stun the ghost for about 6 (90 for the Yurei) seconds, putting it back into wandering mode, but the hunt will then resume. If the Smudge Stick is still lit, it has not affected a ghost; it will go out as soon as it has. If you switch off of the Smudge Stick while it is lit in your hand, it instantly extinguishes. All Smudge Sticks can only be lit once, and are then spent.

TRIPOD: You can put a Video Camera on a Tripod for a better view. Press F on the Tripod while holding a video camera to put it on the tripod. Tripods containing cameras can be carried, but unlike all other items, switching off of the Tripod will drop it where you stand, and you can only pick it up with an empty hand as it cannot go in your inventory.

MOTION SENSOR: This particular sensor is the only one that counts for the eponymous motion sensor objectives. It is placed on walls using F, and will switch from a red light to a green light when anything moves in front of it, including ghosts. This motion sensor's benefit is that it can be seen from the truck on the map, and the map will emit a beep to indicate when it is being tripped and the bar representing its reach will switch from red to green.  Motion sensors are best placed low to the ground, as ghosts with child models can simply run directly under them if they are placed too high.

SOUND SENSOR: This object senses sounds, as its name implies. It covers a large radius and can detect very minor sound such as ghost footsteps, as well as objects being tossed and things like phones and alarm clocks going off. It's best placed in the ghost room to detect when the ghost is acting up, but can be placed prior to finding the ghost room for the benefit of mission control as they have a wide radius and sound where it was left may indicate the ghost is nearby.

THERMOMETER: Possibly the most important piece of equipment in your arsenal outside of those used to acquire direct evidence. The Thermometer is the best way to find the Ghost Room; areas of unusually low temperature, usually 10-30 degrees below the baseline temperature, are likely the ghost room or at least near where the ghost has been wandering. The Thermometer can usually be safely discarded once the Ghost Room has been found, as Freezing Temperatures can be easily discerned without any equipment simply by the players seeing their breath. It is recommended that any game begins with one or more players carrying thermometers and sweeping every room in the locale for temperature anomalies.

SANITY PILLS: Each one restores 40% sanity once when it is used with the F key. 4 can be brought. These can make longer investigations much safer by keeping players out of the danger zone for hunts. Remember: even one player improving their sanity improves the chances that everyone else survives, being that the way sanity affects hunt chance is as an average of all players.

GHOST WRITING BOOK: The Ghost Writing Book is best left on the ground in the Ghost Room. It can be written in even if it's in your inventory. There are no mechanics that define the Book's ability to be written in; as long as it is near the ghost, even when not held out in a player's inventory, it can be written in. It is best left in the view of a Video Camera and placed early into an investigation to maximize chances. Each Ghost Book written in counts for photo evidence, so it's best to place two whenever possible.

INFRARED LIGHT SENSOR: Similar to the Motion Sensor, except it does not count for objectives and does not provide feedback to the truck. However, it produces a bright light whenever tripped, making it useful both for players as a source of light and for a more visible form of the Motion Sensor for players who are in the building.

PARABOLIC MICROPHONE: The Parabolic Microphone is somewhat of a specialty tool used for medium and large locations. It acts as a portable sound sensor, detecting sounds at extreme ranges wherever it is pointed towards. It is valuable for tracking the source of sounds such as footsteps or distant phone ringing and doors moving, allowing quicker pinpointing of the ghost in large locations. It is usually a waste of a slot in smaller hunts, where the player is almost always within actual hearing range of most sounds.

GLOWSTICK: Casts a UV light just like the one used by the Flashlight. Valuable as a permanent source of light which can never be turned off by Ghosts, unlike Candles. It is best left near a door, as it casts light about half the height of the door, and in a pinch it can be picked up off the ground to sweep for fingerprints.

HEAD MOUNTED CAMERA: A Video Camera which does not consume a slot in the player's inventory. It is permanently affixed to a player's head once picked up, and cannot be removed or turned off. These cameras transmit just like a video camera, but can be notoriously awkward and buggy as their angle is quite slanted. They're not a great replacement for standard cameras unless you're playing with an organized team that will be willing to move slowly and get you a good view of rooms for Ghost Orbs... but it can be fun to watch people when they're being hunted from the safety of the van.

OTHER:

VOODOO DOLL: Does nothing. Counts as evidence when photographed. Has pretty fucked physics.

BONE: Does nothing. Counts as evidence when photographed. Can be picked up, where it disappears permanently from the map; $5 for the photo, $10 for the bone itself.

OUIJA BOARD: Acts similarly to a Spirit Box, except that all ghosts are able to respond. When clicked, it will begin to glow, indicating that it is listening. It is not affected by the "responds to everyone/people who are alone" traits. When answered, the Ouija Board produces an interaction EMF around it and the player's sanity drops by 5-10% unless it is a Demon. There is a 33% chance to enrage the ghost instead, causing the lights to flicker, the board to deactivate, and the player's sanity to drop by 40%... and the setup phase terminates early if it is still active.