Quick Links
Phasmophobiahas come a long way since it was released in early access, and Kinetic Games have included an array of different difficulties you can try out to challenge yourself. The game is already not particularly easy, either, so it can be a lot of fun toidentify the ghost correctlyin one of the more challenging modes.
Ranging all the way from Amateur to Apocalypse, each difficulty changes how much evidence you have to find,how fast the ghost is, and more settings that makesPhasmophobiamore challenging as you rise up in levels. You also have quite a few custom difficulty choices to make, too, so you can build your game exactly how you want. Plus, the higher you go in difficulty, the more XP you get, so it tends to be worth the challenge each one presents.
How Difficulty Works In Phasmophobia
Difficulties inPhasmophobiachange depending on how the settings are changed in a given contract. You have preset difficulties that are listed below, but you can customize each setting to your liking as well. The more challenging a given setting, the more the modifier increases, and the greater rewards you’ll receive. There are a ton of settings to choose from under Player, Ghost, and the general Contract, and here’s what each means:
Contract Difficulty Setting Options
All Preset Difficulty Settings In Phasmophobia
There aresix preset difficultiesinPhasmophobiato choose from, and each gets significantly more challenging the higher up you go. You’ll only be able to unlock certain difficulties when you reach certain levels, too, and you’ll always start out on Amateur at first.
Amateur (Gives You Space To Learn The Game)
Amateur is the easiest difficulty level you’re able to play inPhasmophobia, and all things considered, it gives you all the tools you need to learn how the game works. Aside from the stats mentioned above, you also get a5-minute setup time(the ghost cannot hunt you during this window), you get a5-second Grace Periodwhen the ghost does start hunting you, and theghost will never change its favorite room,(making it a lot easier to find evidence).
You also have a ton of hiding places, so you’re able to escape the ghost while it’s hunting. The main reason why you may want to switch off of Amateur once you get some better equipment and more experience, though, is because it has theworst rewards in the gamewith only a x1 modifier forall the money you earn in a contract.
Intermediate (Shorter Setup Time, Slightly Reduced Hiding Places)
Youunlock Intermediate when you reach Level 10, and it’s a nice step up from Amateur. You still get2 minutes of setup time, so you’re not thrown into the deep end immediately, and you also get a4-second Grace Periodwhen the ghost starts a hunt. The ghost will also still never change its favorite room, making it fairly simple to gather evidence, and you gain a nice x2 multiplier for all rewards you receive when you complete the contract.
The main differences between Intermediate and Amateur are thatyour sanity will drain faster, andyou don’t have as many hiding places on the map. Once you feel that you’ve got a decent understanding of the game’s various mechanics, it’s useful to give this difficulty a shot.
Professional (No Setup Time, Ghost Can Change Its Favorite Room)
Professional is where it starts getting dicey inPhasmophobia, as you don’t have as many hiding places and your sanity drains much quicker. You alsono longer have setup timein this difficulty, so the ghost can hunt you from the moment you step in the door (if you have a Demon). Thankfully, you still have a3-second Grace Period, which is still a nice amount of time to run to a hiding spot before the ghost can kill you as it starts a hunt.
You unlock Professional at level 20, and it’s also the first difficulty you encounter where the ghost is able to change its favorite room. It’s still a low chance, but be aware of this when you try it out and you lose track of the ghost. It’s definitely a mode you’ll only want to try when you’re a bit more familiar with the game.
Nightmare (Broken Monitors, Limited Hiding Places)
Nightmare is one of the two most challenging difficulties inPhasmophobia(aside from Apocalypse), andyou unlock it at level 30. The ghost will hide one piece of evidence, you don’t have that many hiding places, and you have a2-second Grace Periodwhen it starts hunting. It’s quite hard to do the first few times you try it out, but it’s worth it for the 4x multiplier on the rewards you get after the contract. Additionally, this is also the first difficulty setting where themonitors in the van are broken, so you won’t be able to see ghost activity or your team’s sanity.
Sanity Pillsalso don’t restore all that much of your sanity, so it’s going to be important to manage it while you’re playing on this difficulty. It’s best to also get a good idea of what specific abilities ghosts have so that you can identify the right one after getting your two pieces of evidence.
Insanity (Expert Knowledge Required)
Aside from Apocalypse, Insanity is the most challenging difficulty inPhasmophobia,andyou unlock it at level 40. Aside from only being able to get one piece of evidence, you alsostart on only 75% sanity. It’s very easy to lose sanity in this mode, and it also gives way for high-sanity hunters to start hunting from the start of the contract. Thankfully, you still have a2-second Grace Periodto try and escape.
This mode is worth trying out once you have a strong grip on the game and deeply understand the different mechanics of ghosts, because it has a 6x multiplier for any rewards you get. The quicker you level up, the quicker you’re able to get better equipment, and the better you can deal with these higher tier difficulties.
Apocalypse (Challenge Modes)
The Apocalypse mode is a special setting to get the Apocalypse trophies inPhasmophobia. Technically speaking, these are not difficulties, but ratherchallenge modes you must play alone and on Sunny Meadowsin order to get the achievement. You don’t even have to play on a specific setting; you just need to make sure that your rewards multiplier meets the conditions to get one of the three trophies. For example, you can get the Apocalypse 1 achievement while playing on Insanity. Here are the required modifiers needed for each level of Apocalypse:
In custom settings, there are pre-set difficulties under ‘Presets’ where you can choose between Apocalypse 1, 2, and 3. The game will then apply the necessary modifier you need, changing the settings to what they have to be to get there, and you can hop in and try the challenge.
How To Create A Custom Difficulty Setting
To create a custom difficulty inPhasmophobia, you need to enter either a multiplayer or singleplayer game and click theedit button underneath the ‘Choose a contract’ text. From here, you’re able to use the arrows on either side of the screen to scroll past the preset difficulties until you reach ‘Custom Difficulty.’
Once you’re at the ‘Custom Difficulty’ setting, click on the edit button at the bottom of the page. From here, you can choose which settings you want to change (from all the ones mentioned above). You can even decide to have a Friendly Ghost with all the Cursed Possessions, or you can create your own kind of hell. It’s all up to you!
When you’ve selected the settings you want to change, click ‘Apply’ at the bottom right of the screen, and the settings will automatically apply to the next contract you play.
If you like the custom difficulty you’ve created, go back to the edit screen and click the ‘Save’ icon next to the ‘Presets’ option so you may play it again without having to re-input the settings.
