It's nearly impossible to complete a ghost hunt and gather enough evidence to correctly identify the ghost in Phasmophobia without some necessary equipment, but these items do not come cheap. In the game, the team takes on the role of a group of professional paranormal investigators trying to reach the top of their field. Like any professionals, they need to get paid so they can continue to invest in and improve their craft. The team has to purchase its own ghost hunting equipment. If a player character dies, they often lose most of this equipment and won't receive as large a payout for their investigation. Staying alive, earning money, and being strategic about what equipment to keep in inventory becomes incredibly important for a team's overall strategy and character progress.
Players can earn money in Phasmophobia in three ways: completing objectives, capturing photos of the ghost or ghostly activities, and insurance. At the start of the game, players have little money and can only afford low-quality equipment. As they improve and begin earning cash more quickly and easily, they'll be able to afford the better equipment, like motion sensors and night-vision video cameras. Of course, completing some of the objectives required to earn money and witnessing ghostly activity can also get players and their teammates killed, so it is a risky business. Here's how to earn money in Phasmophobia.
How to Make Money in Phasmophobia
The easiest way to make money in the game is by completing the random objectives the team is assigned at the start of a new game. These objectives appear on the whiteboard in the truck and can range from simple tasks, like using a smudge stick or discovering the ghost room using the thermometer, to more difficult and involved tasks like getting a picture of dirty water in the sink or witnessing a ghost event. Often, any objective that requires players to witness a ghost event, see a ghost, or force the ghost to interact with the environment is inherently dangerous and leaves the teammate or the entire team vulnerable to a ghost entering the hunting phase. If a player completes an objective and lives through the end of the match, they earn $10. If the player completes the objective but is killed by the ghost, they will still earn $5.
The main objective of the game, identifying the ghost, also earns the player's money upon completion. The exact amount varies based on the size and difficulty of the map.
Players can earn extra money by taking pictures of ghostly events. These are indications of the ghost's presence. Because this is a big moneymaker, it is important to get the digital camera early and bring it for each investigation. The different events and phenomena to take pictures of include:
- Fingerprints
- Footprints
- Ghost interactions with the environment (shutting doors, etc.)
- The ghost itself, or its shadow
- Ouija Boards appearing
- Voodoo dolls appearing
- The body of a player killed by a ghost
- Bones
- Dirty water in the sink
When a player snaps a photo of one of these, it should appear in the Journal with an appropriate label. Players will want to check after every photo to make sure it receives a label. If not, the image was not clear enough, and the player will need to retake it for it to count. Each properly labeled photo earns players another $10.
When players are killed during a hunting phase, they lose all the equipment they were carrying. However, they have Insurance, which will reimburse part of the losses. Insurance rates scale based on map difficulty levels. If a player dies on an Amateur-level map, they will receive back 50% of the cost of all the equipment they were carrying at the time so they can purchase replacements. On Intermediate maps, this scales back to only 25%. On Professional maps, there is no Insurance, and the player loses all the equipment and receives no reimbursement.
Equipment is important, both for earning more money and XP to unlock new and more difficult maps, and for identifying the ghost more quickly and accurately. To get better equipment, teams need more money, and to get more money, they need better equipment, so it is important to remember these two mechanics are always intrinsically linked, just like in real life.
Phasmophobia is available for PC.