Demon

## Evidence

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> „*A Demon is one of the worst ghosts you can encounter. It has been known to attack without reason.*”
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>
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—The Journal

The **Demon** is a type of ghost in *Phasmophobia*. Demons are generally considered to be one of the most dangerous types of ghost to encounter: they are purported to attack more often than any other ghost.

## Behaviour

### Ability

The Demon has an ability that allows it to automatically start a hunt, regardless of current average sanity. There is no particular behaviour or condition (such as requiring line-of-sight with a player) that affects if it activates or not; if it decides to use its ability, it will hunt. This hunt can be blocked by normal prevention methods.

Because the Demon's ability hunt is governed by the "ability phase", these hunts occur much less frequently (about one attempt every few minutes) than hunts derived from being below its sanity threshold. Additionally, as this is not a "proper" hunt attempt, the Demon can *technically* activate its ability during the setup phase on Amateur and Intermediate difficulties; while the Demon will not hunt as a result of using it (as hunts cannot occur at all during the setup phase), it will still be listed as an ability used on the post-game statistics.

### Hunt

The Demon has a normal hunt sanity threshold of 70%, instead of the standard 50%. This does not affect and is independent from its hunt ability, although the hunt does not differ in any way.

Demons have a minimum cooldown of 20 seconds between hunts, instead of the usual 25 seconds.

Smudging a Demon will prevent hunts for only 60 seconds, as opposed to the standard 90 seconds.

As a weakness, the effective range of a crucifix is 50% larger than the standard range:

* 4.5 metres instead of 3 for Tier I
* 6 metres instead of 4 for Tier II
* 7.5 metres instead of 5 for Tier III

## Evidence

* Ultraviolet
* Ghost Writing
* Freezing Temperatures

## Strengths and weaknesses

These are the strengths and weaknesses as listed in the journal:

*Strength: **Demons** will initiate hunts more often than other ghosts.*

*Weakness: **Demons** fear the Crucifix and will be less aggressive near one.*

## Strategies

Generally, it is best to think of the Demon as having a 100% hunt sanity threshold, even if its hunts are rarer above 70% average sanity.

To identify a Demon via its traits, players may time the cooldown between hunts, or watch out for signs of a very early hunt. Given the Demon's relative aggressiveness in hunting, players should plan their route to the ghost room and what they wish to bring for any objectives, while considering whether to hide or to use Incense on the ghost if it hunts. Sprint may need to be conserved once approaching the ghost room in order to make a quick escape in the event of a sudden hunt.

With the crucifix's increased effective range, preventing hunts will generally be easier, though difficulties may still be encountered in massive rooms, such as the Basketball Court of Brownstone High School.

### Identification

Players can use two tests:

* Time the hunt cooldown: a cooldown of less than 25 seconds (excluding hunts caused by cursed possessions) may indicate a Demon. If it uses a crucifix charge in this time, this may also be indicative of a Demon.
* Time the smudge hunt prevention: a ghost hunting between 60 - 90 seconds after being smudged correctly may indicate a Demon

Take care to ensure that the timing is correct to avoid misidentification -- usage of a stopwatch may be helpful. In particular, if a ghost is still under the effect of a previous smudge, smudging again reset the timer, which may throw off timing; wait for the ghost to attempt another hunt before smudging. Note that ghosts do not necessarily hunt after the cooldown is over; having hunts consistently being more than 25 seconds apart do *not* necessarily eliminate the Demon as a possibility.

## Trivia

* On 42 Edgefield Road, if the Demon is in the Garage, Master Bedroom, or Hallway, it is able to trigger crucifixes that are sitting in the van, as their increased effective range causes them to reach towards the back of these rooms, where the ghost may happen to wander to when it tries to hunt. This can also happen with any ghost, but will be less common.
* In mythology, demons tend to have horrifying forms, being commonly depicted with horns, tails, claws, and other inhuman appendages. In-game, Demons draw from the regular pool of Ghost Models without any sort of modifications.

## History

 0.9.0 | Crucifixes will now have an extra 50% range (per Tier) against Demons.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcseKTlxsro