Thanks to the “Apocalypse” update of Phasmophobia, players and lovers of horror games now have a more realistic - and equally scarier - ghost-hunting experience. As with usual ghost-hunting scenarios, a prospective hunter does need to use their money to gather specialized equipment designed to specifically detect the supernatural. And with each case or in-game match of Phasmophobia requiring players to pool in their resources together to get a shot at identifying a Ghost, it makes sense for some players to be concerned when their resources start to deplete after a few unsuccessful missions.
Thankfully, players of Phasmophobia do have a way of maximizing the ways they can earn in-game Money, provided they approach their ghost-hunting sessions more efficiently. To those who want to become ghost-hunting millionaires or funders of their squad’s missions, just what’s the best way to grind for cash in the horror title?
Identify The Ghost Type (Objective 1)
When players of Phasmophobia get into a game for the first time, they’d notice that each case allows them to accomplish up to four (4) Objectives. Aside from three (3) Optional Objectives to the bottom of the board, there’s a Main Objective on the top-most part. This is the main objective of the game at large, which is to identify the type of Ghost haunting the location. Aside from being the primary game mechanic, identifying the Ghost Type properly actually nets players the most Money. Not only that, but the larger the map the team plays in, the larger the Money they earn when identifying the Ghost. Here are the base Money received when identifying the Ghost Type per area:
- Large (Sunny Meadows Mental Institution) - $50
- Medium (Brownstone High School, Maple Lodge Campsite, Prison) - $30
- Small (Everything else) - $10
Consider The Difficulty Multiplier
One of the best ways for players to earn Money in Phasmophobia fast is venturing into the harder difficulties of the horror game. This is due to the existence of the Difficulty Multiplier, which increases the amount of Money earned from Objectives as well as Bone Collection. Players who want to maximize their Phasmophobia grind by looking into how choosing a Difficulty can multiply the rewards players receive in a session, with Amateur having the lowest Multiplier and Nightmare having the largest. Specific settings in a Custom Game can also change the Reward Multiplier. Here are other considerations:
- Amateur: 1x
- Intermediate: 2x
- Professional: 3x
- Nightmare: 4x
Prioritize Professional Mode For Farming
Despite the apparent “difficulty” of Professional Mode before Nightmare Mode, the former is actually the best difficulty to maximize Money earned due to the relative “ease” of Ghost detection. That’s because Professional Mode still gives players access to their Sanity Meter, Activity Levels, and Sound Levels, allowing them to still approach their ghost-hunting more efficiently.
This is also considering how Professional Mode still offers a 3x Difficulty Multiplier despite the retention of major detection benefits for players. At this point, the best advantages of Amateur and Intermediate Difficulty with regards to gameplay is the addition of a prep time in the horror game, but their lackluster Difficulty Multiplier makes them rather undesirable from grinding. As soon as players get their “rhythm,” it’s easier to venture into Professional to get into the meat of the case after the first minute or so.
Snag The Optional Objectives
Aside from the Main Objective in the game, Phasmophobia also offers horror game enthusiasts to accomplish a wide variety of sidequests. The horror game names these instances as Optional Objectives, and they appear at random on the bottom part of the Objective Board. All of these Objectives earn players $10 for each one they complete, up to an extra $30 of income. These Optional Objectives are categorized into the following areas:
- Use equipment to detect evidence: EMF, Motion Sensor, Salt, Candle, Parabolic Microphone
- Hunt-related: Preventing a Hunt via a Crucifix, cleansing an area with Smudge Sticks, repel a Ghost with a Smudge Stick during a chase, having someone escape during a Hunt
- Capturing a photo of the Ghost
- Witnessing a Ghost event
- Get Average Sanity below 25%
Secure Photographs
Thanks to the Photo Camera, players can take another form of evidence in a Phasmophobia match through photos. Unlike other equipment that usually help players “detect” Ghosts in Phasmophobia, the Photo Camera instead lets players secure proof of the Ghost and their activities. Certain photos merit Money rewards, and taking a photograph close enough to the subject can give a 3-star Photo, which usually earns the highest reward.
The highest amount players can earn from Photo Rewards is $110, but is generally difficult to do unless players are in a location with many sinks and a complete set of Crucifixes. A filled Photo Album that can earn this kind of reward would possess the following photographs: 1 Ghost, 1 Bone, 4 Burned Crucifix, 4 Dirty Water.
Get To The Bone As Soon As Possible
Similar to the real world, a haunted location in the Phasmophobia horror game is likely suffering a Ghost sighting due to the fact that this is the area where they died. When playing any Phasmophobia case, players will likely stumble upon a nondescript Bone in any part of the location. While unsettling at its core, that Bone is actually a piece of evidence. Players are advised to take a photograph of it to earn a Photo Reward before grabbing it, as the Bone is inaccessible after being picked up. This Bone can come in various forms, such as smaller bones like the Femur, the noticeable Skull, and more bizarre variants such as the Spine and the Ribcage. When picked up, the Bone provides a cash reward based on the map size:
- Small Map: $10
- Medium Map: $20
- Large Map: $30
In Death, There’s Insurance (Sometimes)
While dying is the worst thing that could happen to player characters in Phasmophobia, players may rest with the fact that the game does sometimes offer reimbursements to teams who perish during a case or fail to guess the Ghost type. These instances don’t necessarily help players “earn” money, but the horror game sometimes go easy on players through Insurance. As the word suggests, Insurance may allow players to be reimbursed with the values of the item they’ve lost. Here’s the terms of Insurance per DIfficulty:
- Amateur (Difficulty 1x or below) - 50% of the value of all added items returned
- Intermediate (Difficulty 2x or below) - 25% of the value of the added items will be returned
- Professional/Nightmare (Difficulty 2x or more) - 0% are returned
It helps to note that Insurance isn’t multiplied based on the DIfficulty Multiplier. Moreover, players who died during the case will lose all the equipment they’ve added unless the “Lose items upon death” is turned off when customizing the case.
Consider The Tarot Cards
In the core Phasmophobia experience, players hunt Ghosts not just with their special equipment but also using certain Cursed Items. These items - ranging from the Ouija Board, the Voodoo Doll, the Summoning Circle, the Music Box, the Haunted Mirror, and the Tarot Cards - have a wide variety of effects that may turn the case to or against the player’s avor. One such item that can affect Money largely would be the Tarot Cards.
When players acquire the Tarot Cards, they’re able to draw up to 10 randomly-generated cards, all of which with different effects - from restoring to removing Sanity, causing Ghost events, or even instant kills. However, if players get The High Priestess, this Card immediately revives a random or the most recent player to die in their corpse. If that revived player survives the rest of the case, they don’t suffer the penalties of death in terms of monetary gains.
The “Apocalypse” Major Update of Phasmophobia was released last September 27, 2022.