Phasmophobia Difficulty Level Differences, Explained

If you've ever wondered how to change your difficulty level in Phasmophobia, you've probably taken a look at the fact that the game has four different difficulty modes: Amateur, Intermediate, Professional, and Nightmare. But what are the differences between the difficulty levels in Phasmophobia? Is Nightmare Difficulty really a 'nightmare?' In this article, we'll explain the differences between all four difficulty levels in Phasmophobia so you can determine which one you want to play.

April 17 2023 - We've updated this article to reflect any changes to Phasmophobia's difficulty levels, including the introduction of the Insane Difficulty level.

Amateur Difficulty Level In Phasmophobia

The Amateur Difficulty is designed to be approachable for beginners and cuts you some slack in a few ways if you're new to ghost-hunting. For example, you'll have more time to set up, hunts won't be so intense, and you'll regain more sanity by taking Sanity Pills.

• You'll have 5 minutes to set up at the start of the level.
• You'll receive normal cash rewards.
• You'll receive normal experience gain.
• No doors will start open.
• The ghost will be more active than usual.
• Hunts will have a shorter duration, with lengths varying depending on the size of the map selected.
• Players will also have a longer hunt grace period.
• Sanity Pills will restore 40% of sanity lost during the investigation.
• You will regain 50% of your lost equipment value if you die.
• The fuse box will be on at the start of the game.

Intermediate Difficulty Level In Phasmophobia

The Intermediate Difficulty level is one step up from Amateur, making the game somewhat more challenging for those who have begun to get the hang of ghost-hunting. While you'll lose sanity at a faster rate and ghost hunts will be more intense, you'll also reap better rewards than the Amateur difficulty.

You unlock the Intermediate Difficulty level at level 10.

• You'll have 2 minutes to set up at the start of the level.
• You'll receive 200% cash rewards.
• You'll lose sanity at a 1.5x rate.
• Ghost hunting phases will last for a medium length of time.
• Few doors will start open.
• There will be common ghost activity.
• Sanity Pills restore 35% of sanity lost during the investigation.
• The fuse box will be off at the start of the game.
• Some hiding locations will be blocked.
• You will regain 25% of your lost equipment value if you die.

Professional Difficulty Level In Phasmophobia

The Professional Difficulty level is one of the most challenging difficulty levels in Phasmophobia. Not only do you lose sanity at a 200% rate, but you also don't regain any of your lost equipment value if you die, making these ventures extremely risky. You earn 3x cash rewards, though, so it might just be worth it if you know what you're doing!

You unlock the Professional Difficulty level at level 15.

• You'll have no time to set up at the start of the level.
• You'll receive 300% cash rewards.
• You'll lose sanity at a 2x rate.
• Ghost activity will be uncommon.
• Sanity Pills restore 30% of sanity lost during the investigation.
• Ghost hunting phases will be long.
• 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.
• You will regain 0% of your lost equipment value if you die.

Nightmare Difficulty Level In Phasmophobia

The Nightmare Difficulty level once was the most challenging difficulty level in Phasmophobia. Not only do you lose sanity at a rapid rate, but many of your tools are damaged, making it even harder to determine whether it's safe to enter at any given time. You'll earn 4x cash rewards, though, so for experienced players, Nightmare Difficulty is worth trying out!

You unlock the Nightmare Difficulty level at level 20.

• You'll have no time to set up at the start of the level.
• You'll receive 400% cash rewards.
• You'll lose sanity at a 2x rate.
• Ghost activity will be uncommon.
• Ghost hunting phases will be the longest they can be.
• Sanity Pills restore 25% of sanity lost during the investigation.
• You will regain 0% of your lost equipment value if you die.
• 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 will not be shown on the truck map.
• The ghost can kill multiple players in a single hunt because killing a player will extend the hunting phase.
• The ghost will only provide 2 pieces of evidence instead of 3.

Insane Difficulty Level In Phasmophobia

The Insane Difficulty level was added to Phasmophobia in a recent update and is the hardest difficulty level in Phasmophobia.

• Ghosts will hide two types of evidence (such as Ghost Writing, Ghost Orbs, etc)
• No Cursed Possessions
• The ghost's room will change more often
• No setup time
• Short hunt grace period
• Long hunt duration and kills increase duration
• Sanity pills restore much less sanity
• Fuse box starts off
• Almost no hiding places

Those are all of the different difficulty levels in Phasmophobia - from Amateur to Nightmare - as well as what you can expect when playing each of them.