Beginner Questions about Items and Mechanics

[JetpackDinosaur]

Hi! Just downloaded the game a few days ago, I am LOVING it but I feel like I'm not very good at it, and not sure if it's because I'm just dumb, because it's meant to be random/chaotic, or if it's just because it's early access and is still working out some stuff.

After playing with a few friends who also are brand new, I have a few questions that I can't seem to find easy answers to, and any help is appreciated!

Also re: spirit box/voice questions, yes my mic works, I tested/calibrated it using the Dev suggestions!

___________________
1. Spirit Box - Do you NEED the Spirit Box out to talk to the ghost? I've read that the ghost can hear you at all times, so you could ask questions/give commands, but I'm confused. I think the Spirit Box's main purpose is just an evidence-checker, but on the big list of compatible phrases, I see "commands" when using the spirit box and "questions" when NOT using the spirit box, i.e. "Turn off the light" when spirit box is out, or "Are you female?" just in general; I would assume asking for an action should be when you don't have the spirit box active, and asking for a reply when you do have it?

2. Spirit Box - I've failed multiple contracts when the ghost was one that uses the Spirit Box as one of its evidence points, but even in the midst of high ghost activity, I still get "nothing detected" or an endless cycle of the channels. The spirit box HAS worked for me, but I can't identify what factors make it work? Is it a proximity thing?

3. EMF Reader - I have been using the EMF as my primary tool to locate ghost activity/the ghost room, but what does the meter represent? Level 5 is evidence, but is there a difference between level 2-4? Does that mean I'm close, or is it just a binary identifier that you're in the right room? For example, if I I walk down a hallway and it goes off, does that mean the hallway is likely the ghost room or that I'm just close to it?

4. Freezing Temperatures - When the temp on the thermometer drops significantly but ISN'T freezing, I think that's a sign that you're in the right room, but that "Freezing Temperatures" just isn't the evidence, right? Is this consistent with seeing your breath, meaning that's the same as seeing 0 degrees on the thermometer? And if you see your breath, does that mean the ghost is nearby or just that you're in the right room? I've seen my breath but then hear the ghost off in the distance.

5. General - Obviously the ghost can move, but am I constantly hunting the actual location of the ghost, or just the "main room" of the ghost? I'll be in a level where I see fingerprints on a door and it's freezing but then hear the ghost in a completely different area of the house, and vice versa - encounter the ghost directly in one room but find literally no evidence (EMF, Spirit Box, Fingerprints, Ghost Orbs) in that room?"

6. Voice - Do you have to say the ghost's full name or can you just say its first name?

7. Voice - Do the ghosts alternate between what phrases will trigger them? I say as many as I can and it does seem random - which is fine because it wouldn't be as fun if it was the same question every time - but it seems very hit-or-miss, to the point where it gets a little tedious walking through rooms repeating phrases over and over. I guess my issue is that if I ask a handful of questions or commands in one room and nothing happens, should I ask those same questions/commands in a different room or just ask as many different ones as possible? I'd hate for the trigger to be "Show us a sign," but after saying it in one room and doing nothing, I go to another room and try other phrases that don't work.

8. Voice/Spirit Box - do you HAVE to use global/local chat to talk to the ghost? I've read that it's always listening but also read that you SHOULD press the local chat button (like a walkie talkie) in order to try to communicate. I am asking this both in general and for the spirit box.

9. Flashlight - does turning the flashlight off help? I've heard the spirit box works best in a room, alone, with lights off but not sure if that includes the flashlight. I've tried it both ways and haven't noticed a difference, but for the sake of my sanity (both in-game and real-life) I'd prefer to have the flashlight on if it's not treated the same as lamps, etc. But if it does help, I'll turn it off more often.

10. Video Camera - will a video camera capture a spirit orb no matter where you put it, or does it HAVE to be in the "ghost room?" Like I said above with the spirit box, I'll encounter ghost activity in a room, put the video camera down (somewhere good like a counter top with a wide angle), check the feed and don't see anything... only for the ghost to end up being one with "ghost orb" as its evidence. Also asking because it feels slightly tedious to have to do it in every room. My usual strategy is to use the EMF to find the appropriate room and set up the camera, but alas, I won't see a ghost orb and it'll end up being one of THOSE ghosts.

11. UV Flashlight - It seems like the ONLY thing that will light up using the UV flashlight is a handprint; my question is: is there any other form of evidence that can be seen using it? Such as a partial handprint/fingerprint, a smudge, etc.? This is another case of me using it in a room I am certain the ghost has interacted with (like knocking things off walls, closing/opening doors) and I see nothing, and then the ghost ends up being one with Fingerprints as evidence.

12. General - I read that you don't ALWAYS find 3 pieces of evidence, you're only guaranteed 2, and MAYBE 3. Is that true, and if so, is there any hint at this? I know you can use the journal to also check ghost behavior but that's not always as obvious.

13. General - does each ghost always look the same? Is the shadow figure that stands in doorways ALWAYS a revenant or is the butcher looking guy ALWAYS a wraith, etc? (I don't know if those were the actual ghosts, just hypothetically speaking.) Same for sound - that Grudge-style croaking or the loud breathing in your ear... are those attributed to specific ghosts or can ANY ghost do these?

14. Photo Camera - does this provide any benefit aside from bonus cash? Like can you see something in the dark through the camera that you wouldn't see just by walking around with a flash light? Also can a photo camera capture a spirit orb?

15. Ghost Writing Book - much like the video camera, this can feel a little tedious to throw down in multiple rooms for trial and error. Is there any sort of rationale to how/when it works? Do you HAVE to leave the room, does it take a minimum amount of time, do the writings mean anything (like a hint at which ghost it might be), etc.?
_________

I know it's a lot. I am LOVING this game and have plenty of patience, but I've shown a handful of friends and while it's still fun and scary, I think the mechanics are a little inconsistent... a little demoralizing to be confident you're doing everything right just to be TOTALLY wrong at the end.

Thanks in advance for any help at all, and always looking for people to play with (pros or noobs)!

[VanillaLucia]

Keep in mind that my answers are based on the current beta (which is accessible by right-clicking them, going to the "Properties," and then opting into the Unstable Beta build.

1. The Spirit Box is only used for evidence to find if the ghost can communicate with you in that way. You can ask it most of the same questions that you would use for the Ouija Board to get a response and if you do get a response it narrows down the ghosts that it can be. You do not need to have it on you but it simply has to be on. You can "mute" the static on your side by throwing the Spirit Box on the ground while it is one and then pick it up while you have another item in your hand (such as a flashlight or an EMF Reader, for example).

2. Keep in mind that for the Spirit Box the ghost will only respond if you are next to it or if you are in the ghost room in which asking it "where are you?" will give an approximation of where the ghost is in relation to you regardless of where the Spirit Box is. You can anticipate an answer even if you are in another room and you ask the ghost a question while a Spirit Box is on nearby. Furthermore, you can also get the ghost to answer you during a hunt if you are luring the ghost.

3. I recall that the EMF Reader at least indicates that the ghost is doing "something" around it such as interacting with objects, turning on lights, or doing something that isn't just standing around. Typically you can amp up the activity by calling the ghost's name or command them to "Do something" or "Give us a sign." It is like the Activity Meter in the truck that summarizes the amount of "activity" going on but you will only see EMF Level 5 if it is relevant to that type of ghost. During a Hunt (in the beta) the EMF Reader becomes unstable and will flicker between Levels 1-4 until the hunt is over.

4. Freezing Temperatures can be spotted with a 0 degrees Celsius reading or a 32 degrees Fahrenheit reading or below. In the current beta the Thermometer is much slower and on Professional the Breaker is off by default which reduces the temperature of all rooms to being "cold" and therefore misleading. As a result you want to rule out the warm rooms as the relevant ranges are now between zero-to-five degrees Celsius (32-41 degrees Fahrenheit) or below which should be obvious with the sight of your breath. In order to get accurate readings you want the Breaker turned on and to let the house/building warm up (which should take a minute or two) and then you will start finding that rooms are "warm" and will have to look for colder spots. The use of the Thermometer was made much less important but will still help you pinpoint where the ghost is if they happen to be wandering or traveling from their rooms. Some ghost types will follow the players and the thermometer will give you a much more obvious reading than an EMF Reader when the ghost isn't doing anything in particular which can help with objectives like the Crucifix placement or finding out where to place Salt.

5. In general you are looking for the ghost's room because that is where most of the evidence will be such as the presence of Ghost Orbs, the most consistent place for colder temperatures, the most consistent responses from the Spirit Box, and so on. Finding the ghost's room is a priority in order to simplify the amount of work you would need to do. If the ghost is roaming or wandering elsewhere outside of its room then you can use that as additional evidence/proof to rule out certain ghosts (Phantoms can wander and follow players around, Wraiths can teleport to other players across the map, and during a hunt the Jinn can teleport around the map if the Breaker is on to locate players).

6. For the voice I typically only use the ghost's full name to attempt creating activity for an EMF Reading. I usually get around and get by with "Give us a sign," "Do something," and "Show yourself" before resorting to calling their name within proximity.

7. I believe there is a two-to-three second cooldown on what responses can be said but you can overlap them as can be seen with the Spirit Box when you can ask it multiple questions in a row and it will show "Not Detected" or give you an answer for each one if you are in the right circumstances. Again, I believe that the commands and questions work within proximity of the ghost room or the ghost itself so if you are not getting a response you are likely not in the correct area.

8. Unless you have push-to-talk turned off you must always use push-to-talk for either the local or global voice chat in order for the ghost to respond and answer you. This gives you a chance to survive hunts in the current beta where your voice (and the noise you make) becomes further tracking parameters for the ghost.

9. The flashlight does not count as a "light" like the lightswitches so you can leave the flashlight on with absolutely no issues. In terms of the Spirit Box I believe having a candle (which preserves your sanity) will also allow it to remain functional. As of the current beta, the ghost is no longer identified as an "alone" or "everybody" ghost in Professional so it is always easier and more consistent to be alone in the ghost room with the Spirit Box for an answer.

10. The ghost orb typically gives a hint of where the ghost's "spawn" point is if they start a hunt and aren't already wandering around. These are always found in the Ghost Room and having a video camera (or someone with a head-mounted camera) will make this easier to locate and to place salt and a crucifix for. You would likely want to have other cameras set up if you wanted to watch the ghost's hunting behavior or for pinpointing where it actually spawns if you do not have anyone standing in the room baiting the ghost for a hunt (which can be very dangerous depending on the type of ghost).

11. With the UV Flashlight you are typically looking for fingerprints, yes. In the current beta footprints were made to be more consistent so you can drop salt on a ghost who manifests and is walking and throw an UV light there to see if there are footprints. You can take a picture of that as Footprint evidence. However, this is largely used to determine if you have a Wraith or not (Wraiths do not leave footprints so if you do get Footprint evidence you likely do not have a Wraith).

12. In general you should be able to get all three pieces of evidence. The challenge is how fast you can get it before your sanity drops low enough to start becoming a threat or for the ghost to start hunting you. Some ghosts are much more obvious than others without evidence such as Demons starting hunts and likely chain-hunting (back-to-back hunts) at about 65% sanity, Mares starting hunts at 60% if they are in the dark (not just their ghost room but if where they are currently standing is dark with the lights off) or if they only start at 40% because the lights were on, or if you faced a Banshee because it started at hunt at 100% sanity (or anywhere around there). Some ghosts like the Phantoms have extremely obvious tells if it is lured by the Ouija Board (and a Demon if you notice your sanity did not tank upon using one) and if you take a picture of the Phantom as they disappear immediately (and likely you will get a "Ghost" photo with no ghost in the photo as a result).

13. Ghost models are random per ghost and each ghost has the ability to manifest either as a "shadow" version of itself or as the actual model. As far as I can tell the model has no bearing on what the type of ghost is. That Grudge-style croaking is the sound of a ghost manifesting (showing itself) so when you hear that you know they are very close. You will also hear this during a hunt if they are within range as you are running.

14. Photo Cameras cannot capture a Ghost Orb and are used primarily to help rule out evidence if you don't have all the tools. You can use them to instantly snap pictures of fingerprints, footprints, interactions, the ghost photo (to verify if it is a Phantom or not), and for the bulk of your money from jobs if you manage to get things like the Bone as well. These are among your most important tools as you no longer have objectives like Dirty Water on the current Beta but you still do get some extra cash for it.

15. The ghost can write in the book at any time if you are within range. I have had encounters (in fact one a few days ago) where I walked outside the farmhouse, and dropped the book just shortly after the ghost already wrote in it from the entrance. As long as the book is in hand or placed within proximity it will choose to write in the book or not. Sometimes like the Spirit Box and EMF Level 5 readings, the ghost can get stubborn and withhold that information from you.

And lastly, if you are interested in it I would heavily recommend trying out the current beta if you would like to see the other tools being made more usable (Parabolic Microphones being useful for finding the general "direction" of where the ghost may be due to its massive increase in range as well as the Candles preserving your sanity even in dark rooms and for finding ghost activity if it blows your candles out) and for having hunts becoming more thrilling in the sense that ghosts can "remember" where its target last was and being smarter about navigating corners and finding players. As a note for the beta, hiding in rooms is no longer safe because ghosts can now open and close doors and will search rooms to gain line-of-sight of a player so lockers and closets are the safest places now unless you have a method and path for kiting and looping ghosts (such as the upstairs attic in Bleasdale Farm). As a result the most dangerous ghost now is a Revenant due to their increased running speed if they do gain line-of-sight on a player.

[AdumaMum ᓚᘏᗢ]

Hello!
1) Some ghosts require the spirit box. personally, I would try get spirit box on one of the first evidence each game.

2a) I believe proximity is affected on spirit boxes, as well as the fact the ghost can say "Close". "Here", "Far" and "Away" when you ask it "Are you here?".

2b) EMF 1 - Nothing Happens
EMF 2 - Ghost Interacted With An Object
EMF 3 - Ghost Throws An Object
EMF 4 - Ghost Has Manifested
EMF 5 - EMF 5 Evidence (25% Chance)

3) You will get freezing temperatures in the ghost room and/or close to the ghost. The entire room will be freezing temperatures. Anything detected under 2C (idk in F) will 100% of the time be freezing temps.

4) Yes, the ghost can move around whilst it is hunting, and when it isn't. Sometimes evidence may be a bit dodgy when in places, for one, I had cooler temperatures in one part of Ridgeview, but the ghost was in a place where it was 14C.

5) You don't really need to say it's name to get the spirit box, but this is something I've never experimented with just it's first name only, or both names.

6a) I don't know how to answer this one, but I think it's just based off luck. Most of the time, if you talk too much in the room, you will annoy the ghost and it may hunt.

6b) I haven't experimented with finding the ghost via the spirit box through global chat (B) but I know for a fact that everyone I have played with uses local chat to talk to the ghost (V).

7) You can use a flashlight whilst on whilst using a spirit box. This may include lamps, ceiling lights, etc.

8) Video cameras will catch ghost orbs, if the ghost requires it. This will have to be in the same room as the ghost spawns in.

9) You will find handprints on cupboards, wardrobes, doors and windows. You will also find fingerprints on light switches (and the circuit breaker maybe). You will find footprints at some points too if the UV light shines at the floor. This all counts to fingerprint evidence.

10) Some rounds I may get 2 evidence and struggle to get the 3rd. At this point, I first go through what is required for the 3rd evidence. If I know it definitely isn't one evidence, I will cancel it out until I get to the final few. After I have two or three evidence/ghost types to figure out, I go through the behaviour of the ghost to determine what the ghost is.

11) I believe there is no certification of ghosts just via their character model. Some points, you'll get a little girl, to an old lady, or you will get a messed up looking zombie ghost.

12) Photo cameras are used purely for extra cash and for objectives. To my knowledge, ghost orbs can't be obtained from a photo camera. You may also get the occasional "Fingerprints" through a camera that you cannot see from a regular flashlight.

13) Personally, I wouldn't put them in random rooms. I would normally put all the ghost writing books in the ghost room and put them on two opposite sides to determine which side it is more likely to be on. You do not need to leave the room for the ghost to be written in. I believe Oni's give evidence when you are nearby the ghost, meaning it is more likely to catch an Oni just by being around the ghost, (at least I think it is an Oni). I do not know how long the ghost will take to write in the book, it may just be by chance. Also to my knowledge, I am unaware that the ghost writing book pictures/messages actually relate to any ghost, but I may experiment this in the future and record down the pictures to the ghost.

Anyways, if you wanna play some time, I'm down to help you out :)

[RattyRattington]

Originally posted by JetpackDinosaur:

snip

Eh why not, I got time right now.

1. Spirit Box - Spirit box only works when the ghost is near you (while visible or invisible). Typically this will only be in the room the ghost resides in (referred to as ghost room). Keep in mind the lights have to be off in the room and sometimes you have to walk around with it a bit as it might not be nearby. Spirit box can work in your hand or on the ground but it has to be turned on of course (loud static sound). You can turn it off after the ghost replies atleast once since that's all its needed for. If it says "Nothing detected", that means your phrase was recognized but the ghost didn't hear you or spirit box just isn't one of its evidence and therefore it will never respond.

Ghosts will only respond to certain questions. Personally I just stick to "where are you?", "how old are you? and "are you friendly?" for quick variety. Saying its name along with the question might get your query ignored.

2. EMF Reader - Anytime a ghost touches a light, object, door etc. or it manifested, it will create an EMF signal at that spot for about 20 seconds if I recall correctly. It's random if it's EMF 1-4 as far as I know. Doesn't mean anything. However if EMF 5 is one of the evidence then there's about a 20/25% chance (can't remember which) that any interaction would be an EMF 5 one. If it's not one of the possible evidence, then EMF 5 will never happen. While EMF can be a good tool to figure out where the ghost room is, occasionally it can lead you astray since it might touch something outside its room or in a nearby room instead. If you're not in the beta, then the thermometer is better for finding the ghost room.

3. Freezing Temperatures - If you're not in the beta, then ANYTHING below 13 degrees Celsius is the ghost room 100%. If it EVER goes below 3 degrees Celsius then that means it will be freezing (aka it will reach 0) even if it hasn't yet. (It starts on a slow drain when you first enter the house). Anytime It's 0 degrees or below then your breath will be visible and it is indeed freezing which means it's easily possible to tell if a room is freezing or not without even using the thermometer at all. Also beware a mistake that alot of new players make is not pointing the thermometer towards the ground and getting confused where the low temps are at. It can also detect temps through walls a bit, so beware where you point it.

4. General - Ghosts have a room they will reside in always. A square of the building if you will. However they can wander a bit away from their room and their activities are never restricted to just their room. Some ghost types can also teleport elsewhere or near you when you're in a random area and could happen to do something near you like touch a door and it might confuse you if you're not careful. Also try not to be fooled by the sound occlusion. Sometimes things sound like they're somewhere where they're not.

5. Voice - Not entirely sure. Have never bothered experimenting, but I always use the full name. Even then, it's not needed to get activity. Many other phrases are far more effective than its name. Keep in mind, I'm fairly sure its name has a 20 sec cooldown to being reacted to.

6. Voice - You can use the same phrases or switch them up for variety if you want. I use specific swears or just "bloodymary" and alternate between them when I'm trying to agitate the ghost. I only find a point to using phrases when I need the ghost to produce some evidence or when I need help finding its room. A good thing to know is that asking it to give you a sign when you enter a building and as you wander around looking for it can work. Keep your ears peeled for a door creaking or a footstep in the distance as the ghost often gives itself away. Of course nothing is ever guaranteed and the ghost won't do something every command. Some mechanics are a mystery but the ghost is always listening. If the ghost isn't doing much, try keeping the lights off and as your sanity drains you may get the activity you desire, patience is key even if it may seem tedious.

6. Voice/Spirit Box - Use the push to talk button and make sure you get into the habit of holding down the button for an extra second or half second after you finish saying something. The game is always listening even without holding your push to talk button and the proof of this is that the game can recognize your phrases if you say something without holding the talk button and then you hold the talk button at the end of your query. You can test this on the spirit box too. I always had friends that would make it seem like the spirit box was talking on its own, but in reality they were saying their phrase off-mic and then only holding the push to talk button at the very end just as they finished their phrase.

7. Flashlight - Flashlight is merely only light for you as the player. Beyond that it means absolutely nothing and has no effect on anything in the game at all. Nothing works better with or without it nor can the ghosts see it during a hunt.

8. Video Camera - Absolutely has to be in the ghost room to see ghost orbs. Sometimes you'll need to change angles or get multiple angles because it's not visible in one bit of the room. Very rarely it'll be bugged and end up clipping in another room or somewhere else you'd never know, but I don't recommend suspecting this unless all other evidence are dead ends or that you're absolutely positive it would be ghost orbs based on the ghost doing a unique behavior only a certain ghost would do (such as Phantoms and photo cameras...)

9. UV Flashlight - Handprints and Fingerprints are the only thing this will ever light up. You only ever need to check light switches and either sides of doors. (The ghost cannot leave prints on the entrance door to a building btw). Keep in mind on the Prison map that fingerprints can potentially be left on each single jail cell door in the area where food trays would be passed through.

10. General - There's always 3 evidence. The ghost type is pre-determined as soon as you load into the map and 3 pieces of evidence will always equal to 1 unique ghost and said ghost will always be capable of producing all 3 needed evidence. Although you don't necessarily need 3 pieces of evidence to figure out the ghost. Some ghosts have dead giveaways.

11. General - Ghost models are randomly decided on map load. Of course it'll only pick from a male or female pool depending on if the name is a female or male name. Nothing to do with models will give away ghost types nor is there any connections there at all. They're also just pre-bought zombie asset models (excluding the crawling grudge thing, but it may also be a pre-bought asset of some sort), but they get the job done and are decently spooky. It's random if they'll be a shadow or fully visible when they manifest. Every ghost makes the grudge noises when they have line of sight on you from any distance and a heartbeat will play in addition to the grudge noise if they're also within a few meters of you and still have line of sight on you.

12. Photo Camera - Nope to everything. It's just bonus cash. I believe only 1 photograph of each unique category is needed to net the bonus cash. You can get Interaction, Ghost, Fingerprints, Footprints, Dirty Water, Bone, Ouija Board and Dead Body if in multiplayer and someone died.

13. Ghost Writing Book - Ghosts will write in it if it interacts with it much like how it could interact by moving a random object or a light switch or a door etc. but this is of course only if it's one of its possible evidence. You can agitate the ghost or move other random props out of the room to increase the chances of it writing but honestly I just throw the book in the ghost room early and focus on other things and it often writes while I'm doing other stuff.

Hopefully this was insightful and hopefully I actually answered them properly. I play this game alot but mostly solo. There's alot of misinformation and rumors about this game, but I tried to give as many solid facts as I could. I used to play this game every day.

EDIT: Looks like some people beat me to it while I was typing lol.

[AdumaMum ᓚᘏᗢ]

Originally posted by DeadlyCreature:

Originally posted by JetpackDinosaur:

snip

EDIT: Looks like some people beat me to it while I was typing lol.

we're all friends here :) <3

[JetpackDinosaur]

Originally posted by noot noot ♥♥♥♥♥ boi:

Originally posted by DeadlyCreature:

EDIT: Looks like some people beat me to it while I was typing lol.

we're all friends here :) <3

No kidding, what a great little community!

[JetpackDinosaur]

Originally posted by DeadlyCreature:

Originally posted by JetpackDinosaur:

snip

Eh why not, I got time right now.

1. Spirit Box - Spirit box only works when the ghost is near you (while visible or invisible). Typically this will only be in the room the ghost resides in (referred to as ghost room). Keep in mind the lights have to be off in the room and sometimes you have to walk around with it a bit as it might not be nearby. Spirit box can work in your hand or on the ground but it has to be turned on of course (loud static sound). You can turn it off after the ghost replies atleast once since that's all its needed for. If it says "Nothing detected", that means your phrase was recognized but the ghost didn't hear you or spirit box just isn't one of its evidence and therefore it will never respond.

Ghosts will only respond to certain questions. Personally I just stick to "where are you?", "how old are you? and "are you friendly?" for quick variety. Saying its name along with the question might get your query ignored.

2. EMF Reader - Anytime a ghost touches a light, object, door etc. or it manifested, it will create an EMF signal at that spot for about 20 seconds if I recall correctly. It's random if it's EMF 1-4 as far as I know. Doesn't mean anything. However if EMF 5 is one of the evidence then there's about a 20/25% chance (can't remember which) that any interaction would be an EMF 5 one. If it's not one of the possible evidence, then EMF 5 will never happen. While EMF can be a good tool to figure out where the ghost room is, occasionally it can lead you astray since it might touch something outside its room or in a nearby room instead. If you're not in the beta, then the thermometer is better for finding the ghost room.

3. Freezing Temperatures - If you're not in the beta, then ANYTHING below 13 degrees Celsius is the ghost room 100%. If it EVER goes below 3 degrees Celsius then that means it will be freezing (aka it will reach 0) even if it hasn't yet. (It starts on a slow drain when you first enter the house). Anytime It's 0 degrees or below then your breath will be visible and it is indeed freezing which means it's easily possible to tell if a room is freezing or not without even using the thermometer at all. Also beware a mistake that alot of new players make is not pointing the thermometer towards the ground and getting confused where the low temps are at. It can also detect temps through walls a bit, so beware where you point it.

4. General - Ghosts have a room they will reside in always. A square of the building if you will. However they can wander a bit away from their room and their activities are never restricted to just their room. Some ghost types can also teleport elsewhere or near you when you're in a random area and could happen to do something near you like touch a door and it might confuse you if you're not careful. Also try not to be fooled by the sound occlusion. Sometimes things sound like they're somewhere where they're not.

5. Voice - Not entirely sure. Have never bothered experimenting, but I always use the full name. Even then, it's not needed to get activity. Many other phrases are far more effective than its name. Keep in mind, I'm fairly sure its name has a 20 sec cooldown to being reacted to.

6. Voice - You can use the same phrases or switch them up for variety if you want. I use specific swears or just "bloodymary" and alternate between them when I'm trying to agitate the ghost. I only find a point to using phrases when I need the ghost to produce some evidence or when I need help finding its room. A good thing to know is that asking it to give you a sign when you enter a building and as you wander around looking for it can work. Keep your ears peeled for a door creaking or a footstep in the distance as the ghost often gives itself away. Of course nothing is ever guaranteed and the ghost won't do something every command. Some mechanics are a mystery but the ghost is always listening. If the ghost isn't doing much, try keeping the lights off and as your sanity drains you may get the activity you desire, patience is key even if it may seem tedious.

6. Voice/Spirit Box - Use the push to talk button and make sure you get into the habit of holding down the button for an extra second or half second after you finish saying something. The game is always listening even without holding your push to talk button and the proof of this is that the game can recognize your phrases if you say something without holding the talk button and then you hold the talk button at the end of your query. You can test this on the spirit box too. I always had friends that would make it seem like the spirit box was talking on its own, but in reality they were saying their phrase off-mic and then only holding the push to talk button at the very end just as they finished their phrase.

7. Flashlight - Flashlight is merely only light for you as the player. Beyond that it means absolutely nothing and has no effect on anything in the game at all. Nothing works better with or without it nor can the ghosts see it during a hunt.

8. Video Camera - Absolutely has to be in the ghost room to see ghost orbs. Sometimes you'll need to change angles or get multiple angles because it's not visible in one bit of the room. Very rarely it'll be bugged and end up clipping in another room or somewhere else you'd never know, but I don't recommend suspecting this unless all other evidence are dead ends or that you're absolutely positive it would be ghost orbs based on the ghost doing a unique behavior only a certain ghost would do (such as Phantoms and photo cameras...)

9. UV Flashlight - Handprints and Fingerprints are the only thing this will ever light up. You only ever need to check light switches and either sides of doors. (The ghost cannot leave prints on the entrance door to a building btw). Keep in mind on the Prison map that fingerprints can potentially be left on each single jail cell door in the area where food trays would be passed through.

10. General - There's always 3 evidence. The ghost type is pre-determined as soon as you load into the map and 3 pieces of evidence will always equal to 1 unique ghost and said ghost will always be capable of producing all 3 needed evidence. Although you don't necessarily need 3 pieces of evidence to figure out the ghost. Some ghosts have dead giveaways.

11. General - Ghost models are randomly decided on map load. Of course it'll only pick from a male or female pool depending on if the name is a female or male name. Nothing to do with models will give away ghost types nor is there any connections there at all. They're also just pre-bought zombie asset models (excluding the crawling grudge thing, but it may also be a pre-bought asset of some sort), but they get the job done and are decently spooky. It's random if they'll be a shadow or fully visible when they manifest. Every ghost makes the grudge noises when they have line of sight on you from any distance and a heartbeat will play in addition to the grudge noise if they're also within a few meters of you and still have line of sight on you.

12. Photo Camera - Nope to everything. It's just bonus cash. I believe only 1 photograph of each unique category is needed to net the bonus cash. You can get Interaction, Ghost, Fingerprints, Footprints, Dirty Water, Bone, Ouija Board and Dead Body if in multiplayer and someone died.

13. Ghost Writing Book - Ghosts will write in it if it interacts with it much like how it could interact by moving a random object or a light switch or a door etc. but this is of course only if it's one of its possible evidence. You can agitate the ghost or move other random props out of the room to increase the chances of it writing but honestly I just throw the book in the ghost room early and focus on other things and it often writes while I'm doing other stuff.

Hopefully this was insightful and hopefully I actually answered them properly. I play this game alot but mostly solo. There's alot of misinformation and rumors about this game, but I tried to give as many solid facts as I could. I used to play this game every day.

EDIT: Looks like some people beat me to it while I was typing lol.

yeah it was a long list haha thank you, I really appreciate the input!

[RattyRattington]

Originally posted by JetpackDinosaur:

yeah it was a long list haha thank you, I really appreciate the input!

Think nothing of it. Best of luck in your ghost hunting adventures.