In Phasmophobia, knowing how to escape or survive a ghost hunt is critical. While each contract requires you to identify a spectre based on official evidence and/or unique ghost abilities, the ghost won’t make it easy. Once your team’s average Sanity level reaches the ghost’s specific hunt threshold (which can differ), the ghost will be able to hunt you and your squad, unless prevented by certain equipment, such as a Crucifix.
If it catches you, it will kill you, rendering you an observer for the remainder of the contract, halving the precious rewards you receive, and causing you to lose any items you had equipped for the contract–though you may receive some compensation for the lost equipment, depending on the difficulty level you’re playing on.
While you can revive a player by using select cursed possessions, including the Monkey Paw and Tarot Cards, these items have negative consequences and aren’t always guaranteed to spawn. So, all ghost hunters need to know how to successfully prevent, escape, and survive a ghost hunt. Below, we break down how to tell a ghost hunt from a ghost event, the difference between a normal hunt and a cursed hunt, how to prevent ghost hunts, and the best way to escape and survive them.
Hunts vs. cursed hunts vs. ghost events
In Phasmophobia, there are three scenarios you need to know the difference between: a cursed hunt, a normal hunt, and a ghost event.
Let’s start with ghost events. These events see the ghost manifesting in the world but not directly interacting with the environment. It can sometimes be easy to confuse a ghost event with a ghost hunt because, during a ghost event, the spectre can appear in full or partial form, chase you, sing, turn the lights red, or shatter them, interfere with electronic equipment, and even trigger the heartbeat sound. While these signs may indicate a ghost hunt has been triggered (and can be frightening), that’s not always the case.
To understand whether you’re actually dealing with a ghost hunt or an event, you need to know the signs of a real hunt. Here are the key indicators a ghost hunt is taking place:
- All exit doors will close and lock, making an audible locking sound.
- Lights won’t turn on and off, but will flicker or dim if the ghost is close.
- The ghost will appear in its full model after a two-to-five-second grace period during which it’s invisible and cannot hunt; this starts after the exit doors close and gives you time to prepare.
- Ghost speed will vary, depending on its unique behaviors.
- Ghost footsteps will be audible.
- The ghost will make the same vocal sound every time it hunts during the same contract.
- A heartbeat sound can be heard when within 10 meters of the ghost and when it achieves line-of-sight (LOS) with you (also applies to events).
- Electronic equipment will flicker within 10 meters of the ghost, or 15m for a Raiju, if on the same floor as it (also applies to events).
- Van’s activity monitor will display level 10 (if available) during a hunt, but can also show this reading outside of hunts.
Apart from The Twins, ghosts will always initiate a hunt from their current location. The length of a hunt depends on the difficulty level and map size you’re playing on, with larger maps and higher difficulty levels producing longer hunts. On average, normal hunts last between 15 and 60 seconds. However, if the ‘Kills extend hunts’ setting is enabled, hunts can last up to 45 seconds longer. Once a hunt is finished, the exit doors open and the ghost cannot hunt again for 25 seconds (or 20 seconds if a Demon).
However, this isn’t the only type of hunt in Phasmophobia. Cursed hunts are special hunts that can only be initiated by using (or more likely misusing) cursed objects. These hunts can be triggered at any Sanity level, ignore hunt cooldowns, and only have a one-second grace period. In addition, cursed hunts last 20 seconds longer than normal hunts, with any hunts that follow (cursed or normal) also lasting 20 seconds longer than usual.
