Phasmophobia: Quick Nightmare Guide

Your activity and sanity monitors are smashed!

This means you can’t easily detect EMF 5 and have to use the sensor to confirm it.

The worse part is that you don’t know your exact sanity either. For this, I recommend playing a lot and getting a feel for the sanity drop in game.

Do keep in mind that on Coop, your sanity drains 2x faster than on Solo. So, don’t start jumping to conclusions about the ghost while switching from Solo to Coop and vice versa.

Usual Sanity Management methods still work on Nightmare such as holding a Candle, having building lights on and such.

Sanity Pills restore 25% Sanity on Nightmare.

If you get an Ouija Board as your Cursed Object, you can ask what your Sanity is. You will get an answer which will give you a rough understanding of it but keep in mind that it drains 5% of your Sanity if you ask this (4% if it’s a Demon) so the value given by the Ouija Board might be on the edge or even over it. Here is the best question to ask and the answers with their meanings.

Question: What is my Sanity?
Answers:

• Healthy (100% – 81%)
• Good (80% – 61%)
• Average (60% – 41%)
• Bad (40% – 21%)
• Awful (20% – 0%)

If you play Nightmare, you will have to get very well acquainted with hunts since very often, you will have to purposefully start a hunt to test for ghost behaviour.

You can start a hunt in a number of ways.

One of the less costly yet effective methods is to get your Sanity low enough and politely (or impolitely) ask for one. Saying the word “Hunt” in game has a chance of forcing an actual hunt.

Of course, there are more words that can help accomplish that such as “Scared”, “Show us” and curse words so get your F bombs ready.

Another easy but more dangerous way to start a hunt is by using a Cursed Object. All Cursed Objects have a way to start a Cursed Hunt which has a grace period of only 1 second (regular grace period on Nightmare is 2 seconds) and has a noticeably longer duration.

The drawback of forcing a Cursed Hunt is that every other hunt in that match will be a Cursed Hunt. If you decide to do this, I recommend doing your objectives before and always being ready to book it to a hiding spot.

Seems simple enough. Just hide lmao

Well, not so fast. Since this is Nightmare, a hunt doesn’t end when someone dies. In fact, it extends. If you’re playing Coop, avoid hiding in the same spot with someone else. If the ghost finds you, everyone in that hiding spot is fυcked.

As you may have noticed, most hiding spots are blocked off on Nightmare. Usually, you have but one or two open in the whole map. Having a good closet or locker can be beneficial but you can’t always rely on it.

Instead try finding rooms where you can squeeze behind doors. Doors block the ghost line of sight so as long as you are in a room with not much space behind and in front of a door, are holding the door open and have your equipment off and mouth shut, you should be safe.

Good examples of such spots would be the upper basement door on Ridgeview and most bathroom doors on Edgefield. Find at least 2 good spots on the map you play in case one is inaccessible and get comfortable in them since you’ll be there often.

Alright, now that you got a feel for the waters, time to jump in.

The best rule for gathering evidence on Nightmare is get in and out fast.

Bring equipment which will help you find the ghost room fast but most importantly, do what the public lobbies refer to as “tryharding”; just turn your fυcking volume up. Hearing the interactions can give you a great sense of direction of the ghost room. Do be vary of The Twins giving you double signals when doing this. Using EMF is a great way of pinpointing the interaction and using a Thermometer is a great way of confirming the ghost room or checking if it moved.

Speaking of, expect the ghost room to move quite often. Before you are quick to write off any piece of evidence (but not cross it out!) like Ghost Orbs, Spirit Box or The Naked Man (D.O.T.S.), check if the ghost is still in the same room.

After you get two pieces of evidence, it’s time for the next step of the investigation.

If you get Ghost Orbs, always make sure that it can’t be The Mimic before writing it down. If you confirmed a piece of evidence it doesn’t have or wrote off two pieces of evidence corresponding to it, then you are safe to put down Ghost Orbs as evidence.

If you get two pieces of evidence and Ghost Orbs, congratulations, that’s the primary objective done.

As such, it is extremely beneficial to know The Mimic‘s evidence by heart:

• Freezing Temperatures
• Spirit Box
• Fingerprints

Here is a brief list of all Ghost Types and the best way to either confirm them or rule them out.

Do note that some ghosts will never appear side by side and ghosts with unique evidence interactions will never hide said evidence.

Also note that many of the minor Sanity related abilities are absent from this list due to the fact that they are often negligible due to the Sanity Monitor being broken.

Lastly, note that when I say “it’s likely X” or “it could be X”, it means that the behaviour belongs to the specific Ghost Type but is difficult and unreliable to test. And when I say “X is hard to identify or rule out”, it means the same thing; it is difficult and unreliable to test.

However, if I say “it’s X” or “it’s not X”, it means it’s 100% confirmed.

Using a Smudge Stick on a Spirit outside of a hunt will cause it to be unable to hunt for 3 minutes. If you successfully smudge it and it hunts before that, it’s not a Spirit.

Wraith doesn’t leave footprints.

If it steps into Salt and you hear it’s footsteps but see no footprints, it’s a Wraith (footsteps can never appear on ground obstacles like carpets so be careful).

Phantom instantly cancels a manifestation after you take it’s photo (it still appears on the photo so be careful). This is best tested when using the Summoning Circle (be careful, it will still start a Cursed Hunt from the Circle regardless). If you notice this behaviour, it’s a Phantom.

It will stay invisible for longer periods during hunts making it harder to spot. If you notice this behaviour, it’s a Phantom.

Poltergeist has a rare ability to throw multiple objects at once. If you spot this, it’s a Poltergeist.

This is an impossible ghost to rule out so try to confirm or rule out other ghost types instead.

Banshee will always sing during ghost events be it male or female. Keep track of ghost events and after you had at least 3 and all were singing ones, it’s likely a Banshee.

If it doesn’t sing during just one ghost event, it’s not a Banshee.

It has a favourite target during hunts when playing Coop. If you notice it ignoring players and going straight for a specific one while that player is in the location, it’s a Banshee.

It also has an unique Parabolic Microphone noise. This is mostly unreliable since it cannot be forced but it you hear it and recognise it, it’s a Banshee.

While the breaker is on, the Jinn will move extremely fast during hunts until it gets into an extremely close proximity of a player when it slows down. If you notice this behaviour, it’s a Jinn.

It has a secret ability. While the breaker is on and the Jinn is near you, it has a chance to zap 25% of your Sanity without warning. If you notice you get early hunts, it could still be a Jinn.

Mare will never turn on the building lights in it’s ghost room. If you notice the ghost room lights on and nobody from your team turned them on, it’s not a Mare.

Revenant will move extremely fast during hunts if it has line of sight of a player. If you notice this, it’s a Revenant.

Likewise, it also moves extremely slowly during hunts if no players are in it’s line of sight, which is a safer way to test. If you notice this, it’s a Revenant.

Shade will sometimes be less active than usual. If you notice this behaviour, it could likely be a Shade.

It will only hunt if your Sanity is below 35% (usually it’s below 50%) and only if there are less than 2 players in it’s ghost room. If you notice you aren’t getting hunted much, it could likely be a Shade.

This is a hard ghost to both confirm and rule out so try to confirm or rule out other ghost types instead. It’s often paired with the Oni so differentiating the two should be relatively simple.

Demon can hunt you below 70% Sanity (usually it’s below 50%) and has a very small cooldown between hunts. If you get hunted back to back in quick succession, it’s a Demon.

It also has a secret ability. It can extremely rarely hunt you at any Sanity level. If you get hunted extremely early into the game, it’s a Demon.

Using a Smudge Stick on a Yurei outside of a hunt will cause it to be unable to wander outside of a room it’s currently in for 90 seconds. If you detect it moving outside of the room before that, it’s not a Yurei.

It also has a secret ability. It can do a ghost event without manifesting. If you notice a door going from fully open to almost/or fully closed (will give off EMF 4) without the ghost appearing or jumpscaring you, it’s a Yurei.

Oni is sometimes more active than usual. If you notice it interacting very often or doing a lot of ghost events in quick successions, it could likely be an Oni.

Oni is a hard ghost to both confirm and rule out so try to confirm or rule out other ghost types instead. It’s often paired with the Shade so differentiating the two should be relatively simple.

Yokai has a higher chance of hunting you if you talk in game. This is unreliable to test because of the janky phrase detection (e.g. mistaking “french” for “friendly”).

Yokai has a hearing range of 2m during hunts (only applies to voices, not equipment). If you call it over while it’s far enough and it comes exactly where you were (repeat multiple times), it’s not a Yokai.

Yokai is a hard ghost to both confirm and rule out so try to confirm or rule out other ghost types instead.

Hantu moves faster while the location is cold. If you notice this behaviour, it’s a Hantu.

Likewise, it also moves slower while the location is warm. If you notice this behaviour, it’s a Hantu.

It also has a secret ability. While it’s in a ghost room during a hunt, it will have freezing breath coming out of it’s mouth. If you notice this, it’s a Hantu.

Goryo will only give The Naked Man (D.O.T.S.) if you are far enough. If you notice it when observing from far away but don’t get any while close (practice spotting The Naked Man [D.O.T.S.]), it’s not a Goryo.

Myling will walk quietly during hunts. If your equipment is malfunctioning before you hear the footsteps (mind the grace period), it’s a Myling.

Onryo can very rarely start a hunt regardless of Sanity when blowing out a Candle. If you notice this, it’s an Onryo.

It uses lit Candles like Crucifixes, and over Crucifixes preventing hunts. If the Crucifix gets eaten/used but a Candle placed on top of it isn’t extinguished, it’s not an Onryo.

The Twins always do interactions in very quick succession often in different rooms. If you notice two interactions happening at the same time or within a second or two or interactions far from the ghost room, it’s The Twins.

They also have a unique interaction with the Summoning Circle. There is a 50% chance that starting a Cursed Hunt caused by the Summoning Circle will start the hunt from the ghost room instead of the circle. If you notice this, it’s The Twins.

Raiju moves extremely fast during hunts if there is a piece of electronic equipment near it in a huge radius. If you notice this, it’s a Raiju.

Obake has a chance for it’s fingerprints to disappear very quickly. If you notice that sometimes fingerprints disappear after 1 minute and sometimes after 2 minutes, it’s an Obake.

It also has a chance to leave a handprint with 6 fingers. If you notice this fingerprint, it’s an Obake.

The Mimic always has Ghost Orbs. If you get two pieces of evidence in addition to Ghost Orbs, it’s a Mimic.

The easiest ghost to identify on Nightmare. Do note that it changes between different ghost behaviours belonging to other Ghost Types.

If you’re only in it for the money like every Youtuber in existence whether they choose to admit it or not, there is a simple strategy to make money fast.

Simply, go into the game and do not bother about the main objective. Instead take photos of the bone (also pick it up), the cursed object, interactions (if you spot them), ghost (if you get a ghost event) and do simple bonus objectives (e.g. Find evidence of the paranormal using EMF).

Then just get out of there. You will get decent money from the photos taken in a short amount of time.

So just buy your own fυcking equipment instead of leeching off other people. You’re welcome.