Kinetic Games' ghost hunting co-op title Phasmophobia has become something of a horror phenomenon. It only grew from strength to strength as time went on, especially among the streaming community, with the indie horror title becoming extremely sought after on Steam. Perhaps one of the things that makes the game so effective, and scary, is the peril that comes with each investigation. Scouring a location to discover what kind of ghost is around is nowhere near as terrifying if there's no real danger, which is why the developers made it possible for the spook to kill players.
When a ghost in Phasmophobia hunts, that's when things become a little tricky. As player sanity drops to a certain level, the specter will take it upon itself to do an investigation of its own, locking the doors, and seeking out players to attack. When this happens, and it will, there are a few things players can do to try and make it out alive.
Turn Off The Flashlight
The first thing that needs to be stressed when the ghost starts hunting is, don't panic. Phasmophobia is not a horror game that has a lot of jump scares, but it creates a certain tense atmosphere in which players know that their lives will be in danger if they stay in the haunted location for too long. This means that when all hell breaks loose, it can be easy to forget the basics of survival. An important first step when the lights start flickering and the doors lock is that the ghost will see the player's own flashlight.
As germane as it is to have a light on, especially when it goes pitch black, keeping it turned on when the ghost starts hunting is a sure-fire way of ensuring that it will be able to see where someone is standing. As ethereal as the spooks may be in the game, they still have some of their faculties, including sight.
As soon as the flashlight starts to flicker, and the sound of the ghost approaching can be heard, turning the light off should be an immediate priority. Given that the light can be activated even without it being in the player's hand, there's no need to switch to it. Whether it's in-hand or not, get that light off before it spots it.
Find Somewhere To Hide
Even though Phasmophobia has items to help cleanse an area, such as smudge sticks and crucifixes, the ghost initiating its own hunt sequence is an inevitability. While turning off the flashlight is probably the first thing players will want to do when it's on the prowl, standing still in the dark is not going to do much to increase the chances of surviving an encounter.
While the game itself even warns that running away is not always the answer, although it's more of a fast walk than a run, it's still necessary to be on the move during a hunt.
As cowardly as it may sound, the best tactic is to find somewhere to hide. While in some of the bigger maps, it's possible to be far enough away that the ghost won't reach players in time before it disappears again, or it can be kited around open spaces, the smaller maps will require a hiding place.
Moving calmly and slowly, preferably while crouched with no light source showing off the player location, into an area away from the ghost, preferably in a closet, is a good move. One strategy is to hide in a closet while keeping the cursor on the handle.
Given that the now scarier Phasmophobia ghosts can open doors, keeping the closet or room door closed as best as possible should prevent the ghost from seeking its prey. Failing that, a locker in a garage should help place a barrier between the player and the attacking spirit.
Do Not Talk
An update introduced a way for the ghosts in Phasmophobia to listen to players talking. While this is an immersive way for people to interact with the ghost in question, calling out its name or trying to engage with it through the spirit box, it also can have disadvantages.
If the ghost can hear players when it's placid, this also means it can hear people talking when it's on the hunt. Similar to having a flashlight, continuing to talk with one another will only alert the ghoul to a person's specific location.
It goes without saying, then, that when a hunt is occurring, it's time for players to remain tight-lipped for the duration. When using Phasmophobia's in-game talk system, this might be less of a problem, as the attacking ghost will interfere with the player's form of communication. In this instance, there is little point in talking, as people can't hear each other anyway while the hunt is on.
However, if players choose to use something like Discord, which the ghost can't interfere with, then chit-chat can continue. It can be easy to forget that human players are not the only ones listening in. Even temporarily turning off the mic will be of significant help, making it much more difficult to be found, but it also means it won't have any effect if players accidentally continue to keep talking.
Keep Sanity Above 50
In general, it's important to combine all three of the above advice. The reality is, when the ghost begins hunting, there is no escape until it either captures someone, or it eventually disappears. One of the Phasmophobia updates made it so that hunts last longer depending on the difficulty chosen, especially in nightmare mode. However long it lasts, there is still time for it to catch and kill people, which no one ideally wants.
Of course, keeping sanity above a certain level will ensure the ghost doesn't attack in the first place, so this doesn't really pertain to what happens when it actually does hunt. However, it is a point still worth bringing up. Prevention is better than cure, and all that. Of course, in harder difficulties, and with more players, sanity drops quicker, so it's not always worth relying on sanity pills. They will prevent the ghost from becoming deadly, but the other advice will provide a path to surviving a ghostly attack.
Phasmophobia is currently available on Steam.