Obake

## Evidence

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> „*Obake are terrifying shape-shifters, capable of taking on many forms. They have been seen taking on humanoid shapes to attract their prey.*”
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—The Journal

The **Obake** is a type of ghost in *Phasmophobia*. Described in the journal as a shapeshifter, their primary power is their ability to create unique fingerprints.

## Behaviour

### Abilities

Each time the Obake interacts with a valid surface, it has a 75% chance of leaving Ultraviolet evidence, instead of the usual 100%.

When creating handprints or fingerprints, there is a one-sixth (~16.7%) chance for the Obake to create a unique handprint/fingerprint pattern:

* A six-fingered handprint instead of the usual five fingers
* Two fingerprints on a light switch instead of one
* Five fingerprints on keyboards and Prison cell doors instead of four

The Obake occasionally triggers an ability to reduce the remaining time for all existing fingerprints and footprints on the map by half. For example, two fingerprints lingering on the map with 40 seconds and 70 seconds before timing out and disappearing are cut in half to 20 and 35 seconds remaining respectively. This ability can be triggered multiple times in quick succession, making it possible for an instance of fingerprints to last for mere seconds before vanishing.

### Hunt

During a hunt, the Obake has a 1/15 (6.67%) chance each time it flickers to shapeshift into a different ghost model of the same gender[*verification needed*]. It will then return back to its original model. This is guaranteed to happen at least once per hunt. Dead players cannot see this shapeshift. The ghost changing into a different posture (e.g. going from standing to crawling) *within a hunt*, while otherwise retaining the same model, is also considered a shapeshift.

## Evidence

* EMF Level 5
* Ultraviolet
* Ghost Orb

On limited evidence (1/2 evidence) games, an Obake will always have Fingerprints as one of its evidence types. This does not affect its ability to occasionally not leave fingerprints and footprints on a surface.

## Strengths and weaknesses

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

*Strength: When interacting with the environment, an **Obake** will rarely leave a trace.*

*Weakness: Sometimes this ghost will shapeshift, leaving behind unique evidence.*

## Strategies

If the ghost touches a surface and leaves no fingerprints, then later leaves fingerprints on another surface, or vice versa, this usually points to the ghost being an Obake.

If an Obake is suspected, checking a touched surface with a UV Light each time it interacts with a door or the like is prudent to spotting the Obake's special fingerprints, both to maximize the chances of spotting them and to note any instances of them rapidly disappearing. Note that getting normal fingerprints, even several times repeatedly, does not rule out an Obake outright.

Although the Obake has a 75% chance to leave Ultraviolet evidence, due to probability, it is possible for the Obake to always leave fingerprints and footprints on surfaces that it touches much like any other ghost with Ultraviolet. It's also possible for an Obake to interact with nearby doors frequently enough that it can effectively "mask" an instance where it does not leave fingerprints during one interaction by instead providing them in a separate interaction moments later, as well as conceal its ability to quickly decay its fingerprints and footprints.

If you are on a zero-evidence run, the Obake will never produce fingerprints nor footprints, and hence can only be identified spotting its shapeshifting power during a hunt. Strong looping skills are very favorable in order to maintain sight on it for extended periods of time to catch it changing models during a flicker. Use of Incense or Tier III Salt can make the task significantly easier in that regard.

Note that there are difficulty settings that can change the default chance of a fingerprint being left on a surface, as well as the decay timer. Keep this in mind when playing on such custom difficulties.

## Trivia

* In Japanese folklore, an Obake (お化け), or sometimes "Bakemono" (化け物), is said to be a type of Yokai. Literally, the terms mean *a thing that changes*, referring to a state of transformation or shapeshifting. These words are often translated as "ghost", but primarily they refer to living things or supernatural beings who have taken on a temporary transformation, and these *bakemono* are distinct from the spirits of the dead. However, as a secondary usage, the term *obake* can be a synonym for *Yurei*, the ghost of a deceased human being.
	+ In English, the ghost is referred to as a general, non-specified type of an Obake. However, if set the language to Japanese, this ghost type is actually written as 化け狐 (Bake Kitsune), making this ghost specifically a fox Obake.

## History

 0.8.0 | The Obake now has a 1/15 (~6.67%) chance to appear as a different ghost model per flicker during hunts; will happen at least once per hunt