Difficulty

Difficulties in Phasmophobia adjust the player experience according to their skill. There are five main difficulties in Phasmophobia: Amateur, Intermediate, Professional, Nightmare, and Insanity. Custom difficulties can also be created. Difficulties vary in terms of the player, ghost, and contract, giving out varying rewards.
==Difficulties==
===Amateur===
"Recommended for new Ghost Hunters!"This is the simplest difficulty aimed at players who are new to the game and are slowly learning the mechanics.
*Normal rewards
*5-minute setup time
*Frequent ghost activity
*Shortest hunting phase
*No doors will start open.
*Sanity Medication restores 40% of sanity.
*50% value of lost items returned to dead players.
===Intermediate===
"The standard Ghost Huntin' experience"This difficulty is for the average player who has a good knowledge of the game's mechanics.
*Unlocked at level 10
*2x rewards
*2-minute setup time
*1.5x sanity consumption
*Common ghost activity
*Medium hunting phase
*Sanity Medication restores 35% of sanity.
*Few doors will start open.
* 25% value of lost items returned to dead players.
*The fuse box will be off at the start of the game.
*Some hiding locations will be blocked.
===Professional===
"For experienced Ghost Hunters"This difficulty is for experienced players who have a relatively strong foundation in the core mechanics, ghosts, and strategies needed to complete the investigation.
*Unlocked at level 20
*3x rewards
*No setup time
*2x sanity consumption
*Uncommon ghost activity
*Long hunting phase
*Sanity Medication restores 30% of sanity.
*0% value of lost items returned to dead players.
*The Fuse Box will be off at the start of the game.
*The objective board will not specify if the ghost responds to everyone or people who are alone.
* The ghost room will change rarely.
*Some doors will start open
*Most hiding locations will be blocked.
===Nightmare===
"A challenge for the best of the best"This difficulty is a challenge aimed solely at players who know the game's mechanics inside-out, have strong practical experience in ghost hunting, and have a solid strategy or action plan, especially in teams. 
*Unlocked at level 30
*4x rewards
*No setup time
*2x sanity consumption
*Uncommon ghost activity
*Longest hunting phase
*Sanity Medication restores 25% of sanity.
*0% value of lost items returned to dead players.
*The fuse box will be off at the start of the game.
*The Objective Board will not specify if the ghost responds to everyone or people who are alone.
* The ghost room will change occasionally.
*The Sanity Monitor and Site Activity Monitor will be damaged and display random values.
*Almost all hiding locations will be blocked.
*Many doors will start open.
*The fuse box is not shown on the truck map.
*A successful kill will extend the hunting phase, allowing multiple kills in a single hunt.
*The ghost will only provide 2 pieces of evidence instead of 3.
===Insanity===
"Feeling brave? These ghosts don't mess around..."This difficulty is an extremely hard challenge solely aimed at players that have mastered the mechanics of the game from top to bottom. Players must have knowledge of all ghost strengths, weaknesses, abilities and behaviors and have knowledge on many hunting and escape tactics on the maps.
*Unlocked at level 40
*6x rewards
*No setup time
*No Cursed Possession
*Sanity starts at 75%
*2x sanity consumption
*Uncommon ghost activity
*Longest hunting phase
*Sanity Medication restores 20% of sanity.
*0% value of lost items returned to dead players.
*The fuse box will be off at the start of the game.
*The fuse box is not shown on the truck map.
*The Objective Board will not specify if the ghost responds to everyone or people who are alone.
*The ghost room will change frequently.
*The Sanity Monitor and Site Activity Monitor will be damaged and display random values.
*Almost all hiding locations will be blocked.
*Many doors will start open.
*A successful kill will extend the hunting phase.
*The ghost will only provide 1 piece of evidence.
*Fingerprints last for 60 seconds.
===Custom===
The player can set a custom difficulty for the contract, with up to 3 presets that can be set. Options pertaining to the player, ghost, and contract can be changed.
;;Player:
*Sanity Medication restoration amount
*Starting sanity
*Sanity drain speed multiplier
*Sprinting use allowance
*Flashlights being broken
*Losing items on death toggle (no rewards)
*Player speed multiplier
;;Ghosts
*Number of evidences given
*Chance of changing favourite room
*Activity level
*Event frequency
* Hunt duration
* Grace period duration
*Fingerprint chance
*Fingerprint duration
*Disable hunts (no rewards)
*Kills extending hunts
*Roaming frequency
*Ghost speed multiplier
;; Contract
*Setup time
*Weather
*Number of doors starting open
*Amount of hiding places
*Sanity monitor state
*Activity monitor state
* Fuse box map visibility
*Fuse box starting state
*Cursed Possessions quantity
*Cursed Possession choice(s)
====Rewards====
Each difficulty setting will show a coloured icon beside it, depending on how the reward multiplier is affected, mostly in relation to Amateur difficulty:
* Green: Increased rewards
* Yellow: Limited by another difficulty setting
* Orange: Decreased rewards
* Red: Clamped or limited to a maximum reward multiplier
===Challenge Mode===
A unique difficulty with a customised equipment loadout and possibly other difficulty changes is available every week. There are currently 26 possible challenge mode difficulties. Free equipment is provided specifically for Challenge Mode. Completing a Challenge Mode difficulty on a specified map 3 times before the difficulty changes rewards the player with $5000 and 5000 XP.
===Apocalypse I - III ===
There are three additional presets for the Apocalypse Challenge, corresponding to the Bronze (6x), Silver (10x) and Gold (15x) trophies. On Singleplayer mode, setting the difficulty multiplier to 6x or more will show a skull icon besides the multiplier, corresponding to the highest-valued trophy that can be obtained for completing the challenge. The presets are suggestions and do not have to be followed to obtain the trophy as long as the multiplier is equal to or higher than the minimum required.
===Summary Table===
Category	Variable 	Description 	Amateur 	Intermediate	Professional	Nightmare	Insanity	Custom
Payout 	Level needed 	The level requirement to unlock this difficulty. 	- 	10 	20 	30 	40 	50
Payout 	Cash reward 	The reward multiplier for cash. 	x1 	x2 	x3 	x4 	x6 	x0 - x15
Payout 	Experience gain 	The reward multiplier for experience. 	x1 	x2 	x3 	x4 	x6 	x0 - x15
Payout 	Insurance 	The amount of insurance given back upon death. 	50% 	25% 	0% 	0% 	0% 	
*Difficulty multiplier ≤ x1: 50%
*Difficulty multiplier ≤ x2: 25%
*Difficulty multiplier > x2: 0%
Player 	Starting sanity 	Each member's starting sanity 	100 	100 	100 	100 	75 	0/25/50/75/100 (reduction: Sanity pill restoration (%))
Player 	Sanity Medication restoration (%) 	The amount of sanity restored per 'Sanity Medication' 	40 	35 	30 	25 	20 	0/5/10/20/25/30/35/40/45/50/75/100 (reduction: Starting sanity)
Player 	Sanity drain speed (%) 	The rate your sanity decreases while stood in the dark 	100 	150 	200 	200 	200 	0 - 200 (5 options)
Player 	Sprinting 	The ability to sprint 	On 	On 	On 	On 	On 	Off/On/Infinite (clamp)
Player 	Player speed (%) 	How quickly players move 	100 	100 	100 	100 	100 	50 - 150 (5 options) (reduction: Player speed (%) > Ghost speed (%))
Player 	Flashlights 	Turning this off will prevent flashlights from functioning 	On 	On 	On 	On 	On 	On/Off (reduction: Fuse box at start of contract On, Flashlights Off)
Player 	Lose items on death 	Turning this setting off will result in zero rewards 	On 	On 	On 	On 	On 	On/Off (clamp)
Ghost 	Ghost speed (%) 	How quickly the ghost moves 	100 	100 	100 	100 	100 	50 - 150 (5 options) (reduction: Player speed (%) > Ghost speed (%))
Ghost 	Roaming frequency 	How often the ghost moves around the environment 	Medium 	Medium 	High 	High 	High 	Low/Medium/High
Ghost 	Changing favourite room 	The chance of the ghost changing its favourite room 	None 	None 	Low 	Medium 	High 	None/Low/Medium/High (reduction: Roaming frequency < Changing favourite room)
Ghost 	Activity level 	The chance for the ghost to interact with objects 	High 	Medium 	Low 	Low 	Low 	Low/Medium/High
Ghost 	Event frequency 	The chance for the ghost to trigger an event 	Low 	Medium 	Medium 	High 	High 	Low/Medium/High
Ghost 	Friendly ghost 	The ghost will never hunt. Turning this setting on will result in zero rewards 	Off 	Off 	Off 	Off 	Off 	On/Off
Ghost 	Grace period (s) 	The duration before the ghost can kill you at the start of a huntOnly shows when Friendly ghost is off 	5 	4 	3 	2 	2 	0 - 5
Ghost 	Hunt duration (s)Hunt duration also depends on the map size and whether a player death will extend the hunt. See Hunt for more details.	The duration the ghost will hunt forOnly shows when Friendly ghost is offAdd 20 seconds for cursed hunts	Low 	Medium 	High 	High 	High 	
*Low (15s - 40s)
*Medium (20s - 50s)
*High (30s - 60s)
Ghost 	Kills extend hunts (s) 	The time added to the hunt duration when killing a playerOnly shows when Friendly ghost is off 	Off 	Off 	Off 	Low 	Low 	
*Off
*Low (15s)
*Medium (25s)
*High (35s)
Ghost 	Evidence given 	How many types of evidence you can gather 	3 	3 	3 	2 	1 	
*3 (reduction: Additional reward mulitpliers > x4 will give 50% of rewards)For example, changing a setting that adds a multiplier of x0.1 will now only add x0.05
*2 (reduction: Additional reward mulitpliers > x5 will give 50% of rewards)
*1
*0
Ghost 	Fingerprint chance (%) 	The chance of a ghost leaving fingerprints when interactingOnly shows when Evidence given is not 0 	100 	100 	100 	100 	100 	25 - 100 (4 options)
Ghost 	Fingerprint duration (s) 	The duration of fingerprints before they disappearOnly shows when Evidence given is not 0 	120 	120 	120 	120 	60 	15/30/60/90/120/180/Infinite
Contract	Setup time (s) 	How long before the ghost can start a hunt 	300 	120 	0 	0 	0 	
*0
*30/60/120/180/240/300 (clamp)
Contract	Weather 	Set the weather in the location 	Random 	Random 	Random 	Random 	Random 	Random/Light Rain/Heavy Rain/Snow/Windy/Clear/Fog/Sunrise
Contract	Doors starting open 	How many doors are randomly moved at the start of the contract 	None 	Low 	Medium 	High 	High 	None/Low/Medium/High
Contract	Number of hiding places 	How many hiding places are available 	Very High	High 	Medium 	Low 	Low 	None/Low/Medium/High/Very High (reduction: Player speed (%) > Ghost speed (%))
Contract	Sanity monitor 	Is the sanity monitor functional 	On 	On 	On 	Off 	Off 	On/Off
Contract	Activity monitor 	Is the activity monitor functional 	On 	On 	On 	Off 	Off 	On/Off
Contract	Fuse Box at start of contract 	The starting state of the fuse box 	On 	Off 	Off 	Off 	Off 	On/Off/Broken (reduction: Flashlights On, Fuse box at start of contract Off)
Contract	Fuse box shown on map 	Is the fuse box icon visible on the mapOnly shows when Fuse box at start of contract is not Broken 	On 	On 	On 	Off 	Off 	On/Off
Contract	Cursed Possessions quantity 	The number of Cursed Possessions available 	1 	1 	1 	1 	0 	0 - 7
Contract	Cursed Possession #1 - #7 	Number of options shown depends on the quantity setting 	Random 	Random 	Random 	Random 	- 	Random/Tarot Cards/Ouija Board/Haunted Mirror/Music Box/Summoning Circle/Voodoo Doll/Monkey Paw
Contract	Ghost responsiveness 	Displays whether the ghost responds to people who are alone or everyone 	On 	On 	Off 	Off 	Off 	
*Setup time = 0s: Off
*Setup time > 0s: On
==History==
Early Access Alpha 	Early Access Alpha
30 July 2020(Part 2)	Added Intermediate and Professional difficulties.
2 August 2020 	Reduced the interaction rate on Intermediate and Professional.
Early Access 	Early Access
0.4.0 	Added Nightmare difficulty.
0.4.0 	The existing difficulties have been reworked.
0.7.0 	Added Custom difficulty.
0.8.0 	Reduced the rewards from Custom by 80%.
0.8.0.2 	Changed the reward reduction for Custom difficulties to 60%.
0.8.0.3 	Removed reward reductions.
0.8.0.3 	Reward multipliers now have a maximum cap of x15.
0.8.0.3 	Incorrectly identifying the ghost type will round down your multiplier to the next default difficulty; e.g. x7 -> x4; x3.7 -> x3
0.8.1.0 	Added Insanity difficulty.
0.8.1.0 	Reformulated the custom difficulties.
0.8.1.0 	Added a new Challenge Mode.
0.10.0 	Renamed "Interaction amount" custom setting to "Activity level".
==Notes==
ru:Сложность
fr:Difficulté
Category:Settings