How to Play Phasmophobia: A 2026 Beginner's Guide
Scope: The Steam store description and official patch notes from 2021 to October 2026; this is what the developer has published about the basics, with each rule dated, and it does not include evidence combinations or ghost behaviour tables, which the developer's posts do not give in full
Key points
- A contract means entering a haunted location alone or with up to three others, gathering evidence with equipment, and choosing the ghost type in your Journal before you leave in the truck.
- Run the Training mission from the main menu first; since July 2026 it requires actually recording the Ghost Orbs.
- On PC, 1 to 4 switch equipment and H raises the Watch; both can be rebound.
- Per investigation you can keep five photos, five videos and three sound recordings, and a repeat capture of the same piece of media is marked Duplicate and pays less.
On this page
- What do you actually do in a Phasmophobia contract?
- What should you do before your first Phasmophobia contract?
- Which Phasmophobia keys and buttons matter?
- How do photos, videos and sound recordings work in Phasmophobia?
- What happens when you die in Phasmophobia?
- What unlocks as you level up in Phasmophobia?
- Where do you report Phasmophobia bugs or bad behaviour?
- Sources
- Related guides
To play Phasmophobia you take a contract alone or with up to three other players, enter a haunted location, gather evidence with ghost-hunting equipment, and choose the ghost type in your Journal before leaving in the truck. Start with the Training mission on the main menu, then play Amateur, the difficulty the developer labels "Recommended for new Ghost Hunters!".
What do you actually do in a Phasmophobia contract?
The Steam store page describes the job in one line: you "enter haunted locations filled with paranormal activity and try to gather as much evidence as you can". Everything else hangs off that.
| Part of the job | What the store page says |
|---|---|
| Team | "up to 4 players in this co-op horror where teamwork is key to your success" |
| Target | "Identify over 20 different ghost types, each with unique traits, personalities, and abilities" |
| Tools | "EMF Readers, Spirit Boxes, Thermometers, and Night Vision Cameras" |
| Risky tools | "Cursed Possessions that grant information or abilities in exchange for your sanity" |
| Voice | "Use your actual voice to interact with the Ghosts through Ouija Boards and EVP Sessions using a Spirit Box" |
| Support role | "support your team from the truck by monitoring the investigation with CCTV and motion sensors" |
| Places | "over 10 different haunted locations, each with unique twists, hiding spots, and layouts" |
Your guess goes in the Journal. Since August 2026 it "will now display other player selections of Evidence and Ghost Type", and the Evidence page highlights what a ghost needs when you select its type. The developer's own tip is to make sure "everyone has the same selection when you're leaving in the Truck".
Getting it right pays. A Phasmophobia rule from December 2022 says that if you "identify the ghost correctly and escape alive, you will double the money and experience you earn for the primary and secondary objectives you complete during that contract".
What should you do before your first Phasmophobia contract?
- Play Training. The current tutorial was built in 2023 as "a custom-built warehouse, with different rooms to show the player how to use each item of Evidence equipment"; you open it with the training button on the main menu. Two changes from the 2026 patches: recording the Ghost Orbs is now required, and there is a "Hold Use" sticky note on the Training whiteboards.
- Decide between voice and text. Ghosts respond to your microphone, but there is a text mode too. On console the setting is in the Journal's game options: set "Voice Recognition Mode" to "Voice". On PC, a June 2026 hotfix advises checking that your default Windows microphone is the one you expect if Voice mode fails.
- Pick Amateur. In the developer's 2021 difficulty overhaul it has a long setup time, a long hunt grace period and short hunts, plus this line: "Regain half of your lost equipment's value if you die". The other modes are compared on our difficulty page.
- Go solo if you want to learn quietly. The June 2025 notes say "The player will no longer have to click the ready up button in single player", and since May 2026 single-player gives you "a 5 second delay after you die to allow you to select a ghost in the Journal".
Which Phasmophobia keys and buttons matter?
These are the defaults that official Phasmophobia notes spell out. All of them date from the patch shown, and the 2022 pair may have been touched since.
| Action | Default | Stated in |
|---|---|---|
| Switch equipment slot | 1, 2, 3 and 4 on PC; rebindable; PC only | v0.18.0.0, July 2026 |
| Inspect the Watch | H on keyboard, Left DPAD on a controller; rebind in Options > Controls | v0.18.0.0, July 2026 |
| See the Watch in full | Hold Use with an empty left hand, or open the Journal | v0.17.0.0, May 2026 |
| Cancel a Use animation | Press Use again during the animation | v0.18.0.0, July 2026 |
| Use an item | Primary button, "default: Right Mouse" | v0.7.0.0, September 2022 |
| Place an item | Secondary button, "default: F"; hold to preview, release to place | v0.7.0.0, September 2022 |
Slots fill in the order you grab things. After the July 28, 2026 hotfix, "Items and Equipment will now be assigned a slot in the order they are picked up from 1-3. Flashlights will no longer be locked to 1. Igniters will default to 4." The June 2024 notes let you "carry an Igniter in addition to 3 other items", and the July 28, 2026 hotfix says "Igniters will default to 4". The Flashlight sits in your left hand since May 2026.
The Watch replaced a lot of guesswork. It lets you "monitor player sanity levels and keep track of time elapsed during the contract", though it "will not display Sanity if the Sanity Monitor is disabled".
How do photos, videos and sound recordings work in Phasmophobia?
Phasmophobia's Chronicle update of June 2025 rebuilt this system, and the limits below come from its patch notes.
| Media | Limit per investigation | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Photos | 5 (reduced from ten) | Photo Camera |
| Videos | 5 | Video Camera; hold Use while aiming |
| Sounds | 3 | Sound Recorder, available from Level 4 |
| Deletions | Up to 3 pieces of media | Journal |
Each capture is marked Unique or Duplicate. "During a contract, the first time a piece of media is captured, it is marked Unique"; a repeat "will receive a Duplicate mark and will reward less money and experience". A Perfect Investigation needs the Journal filled with Unique Media on top of "usual requirements", which the notes do not list.
You no longer have to open the Journal to find out. Since v0.19.0.0 the equipment warns you: Tier 1 Photo Cameras show a yellow LED for a Duplicate, and higher tiers show faded text. The July 2026 update added a separate photo for an EMF Level 5 reading and a highlight frame on Photo Cameras.
What happens when you die in Phasmophobia?
Less than it used to in older Phasmophobia builds. The Player Character Update removed the death room, so a killed player now moves "seamlessly" to the Dead state. Your voice chat cuts out "as soon as they die in the animation", and dead players now look dead to the living.
What you lose depends on difficulty. On Amateur the 2021 notes return half the value of lost equipment and on Intermediate "some"; nothing is listed for Professional or Nightmare. Separately, some items are consumable. Per the August 2023 notes, if you use a Crucifix, Salt, an Igniter, Sanity Medication, or the first two tiers of Firelight and Incense, "you will have to purchase it again when you leave". The weekly challenge mode is the exception to all of it: "You will lose nothing if you fail or die".
What unlocks as you level up in Phasmophobia?
Phasmophobia gates maps, modes and gear behind player level. We found no single official table, so this one is stitched from separate patch notes, oldest first.
| Unlock | Level | Stated in |
|---|---|---|
| Camp Woodwind | 19 | September 2022 |
| Sunny Meadows Restricted | 22 | September 2022 |
| Nightmare difficulty | 30 (was 29) | December 2023 |
| Point Hope | 15 | June 2024 |
| Custom difficulty | 50 | October 2024 |
| Sound Recorder | 4 | June 2025 |
| Nell's Diner | 5 | December 2025 |
Older rows may have moved; the June 2025 notes say "Equipment and their corresponding Tiers are now unlocked earlier" without reprinting the full list. Money and levels were linked in August 2023: "Any experience earned will now give you the same amount in dollars". The same notes say tiers "cost a large sum of money to unlock, but each tier will cost the same to bring into a contract", so by that rule a higher tier does not cost more per job. The related trophies are on the achievements page.
Where do you report Phasmophobia bugs or bad behaviour?
For bugs, recent Phasmophobia patch notes point to the developer's Support Centre. For players, the Journal has a report function: the 2022 guidelines say you can report each person you play with once a day, that bans escalate from 2 days to 7, 30 and then permanent, and that a banned player "may continue to play singleplayer games". If you are still deciding where to buy the game, see platforms and price.
Sources
The mechanics and numbers in this guide come from the material below. Open the original pages to check them yourself.
- S001 Steam store page store.steampowered.com Accessed
- S002 store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com Accessed
- S003 patch notes www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S004 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S005 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S006 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S007 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S008 store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com Accessed
- S009 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S010 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S011 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S012 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S013 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S014 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S015 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S016 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S017 store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com Accessed
- S018 store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com Accessed
- S019 store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com Accessed
- S020 store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com Accessed
- S021 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
- S022 www.kineticgames.co.uk www.kineticgames.co.uk Accessed
Related guides
Phasmophobia Difficulty and Custom Difficulty Guide
Phasmophobia difficulty from official patch notes: five default modes, Custom Difficulty options, the 15x reward cap set in February 2023, and 0x games.
v0.19.1.0Phasmophobia Platforms, Price and PC Requirements
Phasmophobia costs $19.99 on Steam (US). Platforms, crossplay, VR support, minimum and recommended PC specs, Steam Deck test results and the Switch 2 plan.
v0.19.1.0All 54 Phasmophobia Achievements and Unlock Rates
All 54 Phasmophobia Steam achievements with the exact requirement text and global unlock rates, the six with hidden text, and why 0x custom games do not count.
v0.19.1.0
