Special weekly challenges are one of the best ways to see how good your ghost-hunting abilities in Phasmophobia really are. These trials are designed specifically to test how skilled you are, and one of the most daunting ones you can face is Detectives Only.
As the name of the challenge hints, this weekly trial is for ghost hunters capable of investigating and finding the ghost with little to no information. Detectives Only is a very tricky trial to navigate, so here’s how you can complete this special Phasmophobia challenge.
What is the Detectives Only challenge in Phasmophobia?
The Detectives Only challenge is one of Phasmophobia’s many weekly trials. A different challenge rotates into the game each week and is available for a full week before another challenge then arrives.
Successfully completing any weekly trial mode rewards you with 5,000 experience and $5,000 cash. You also earn a lot more of both along the way, depending on how many contracts you finish and what kind of bonuses you gain from them, so this is a great way to make money, gain experience, and level up very quickly in Phasmophobia.
Detectives Only Phasmophobia challenge rules
The Detectives Only challenge has a particularly tricky set of rules you want to know about before heading into this difficult challenge. These modifiers change important contract details, so make sure you know all of them when tackling this trial.
- This weekly challenge mode has to be completed on 42 Edgefield Road.
- The ghost won’t give you any official evidence.
- You always have access to the Ouija Board Cursed Possession.
- There isn’t a grace period for setup.
- All screens in the truck are on and working.
- The fuse box is accessible, always marked on the truck map, and starts turned off.
- Your sanity starts at 100 percent.
- You have access to all gear, but all of it except the Head Gear is Tier I.
- Tier I: Sanity Medication, Head Gear, Salt, Incense, Firelight, Sound Sensor, UV Light, Ghost Writing Book, Crucifix, Parabolic Microphone, Flashlight, Spirit Box, Thermometer, Video Camera, EMF Reader, Photo Camera, DOTS Projector, Tripod, Igniter, and Motion Sensor.
- Tier II: Head Gear.
How to complete the Detectives Only Phasmophobia weekly challenge
To finish the Detectives Only weekly challenge, you need to correctly identify the ghost type in three different contracts on 42 Edgefield Road. You can only make progress in this challenge when you get the ghost type correct, so precision is key if you want to claim the rewards.
Phasmophobia Detectives Only challenge tips
Detectives Only is one of the most difficult weekly challenges you can attempt in Phasmophobia, so you might want to know some tips for how to get it done.
Use No Evidence rules
The Detectives Only challenge is very similar to No Evidence, so any tips you already know about for that mode can be applied here too. Just like the No Evidence challenge, identifying the ghost in Detectives Only is extremely tricky since you can’t actually test for any of the official evidence types and instead have to carefully search for other identifiers.
Pay attention to behaviors and unofficial evidence
Many ghosts have special kinds of evidence and behaviors you can still find even when the challenge rules dictate no evidence. The Mimic is a good example of this since this trickster ghost will always present fake Ghost Orbs, even in this challenge, since this is not one of its official evidence types. So if you see any Ghost Orbs during the Detectives Only challenge, you can mark The Mimic and take off.
Other unofficial evidence and behaviors you can either test or watch for in this challenge are as follows.
- Salt: If you place Salt and the ghost steps in it, you can rule out a Wraith since this ghost is afraid of it.
- Photos: Try snapping a photo of the ghost. If you get a photo in your journal marked as a “ghost photo,” but you can’t actually see a ghost in it, then you have likely caught a Phantom. This also means you can rule out a Phantom if you do see a ghost in the photo.
- Lights: Watch out for light sources that are turned on by the ghost including computers, televisions, and general light sources. If the ghost turns any of these on, you can rule out the Mare, which is a darkness-loving ghost. When you turn on a light source and it is immediately shut off, it’s also likely a Mare since most other ghosts don’t turn them off right away.
- Singing: If singing events seem to be happening frequently, it might be a Banshee. All ghosts can perform these events, but Banshees do them a lot more often.
- Parabolic Microphone scream: Banshees have a chance of emitting a special screaming wail on the Parabolic Microphone. It’s not guaranteed to happen, but this is the only ghost type that can produce this sound.
- Airball event: If a ball of white air comes barreling at you, you can rule out an Oni since this ghost is incapable of performing this ghost event.
- Shyness: When the ghost seems super unwilling to do anything, it might be the very shy Shade.
- Activity chart: Some specific strange patterns on the activity chart can be used to identify The Twins depending on what kind of behavior they perform and how close in time they do so.
- Fuse box: Some behaviors relating to the fuse box can help you identify the ghost.
- If the ghost turns on the fuse box, you can rule out the Hantu.
- If the ghost turns off the fuse box, you can rule out the Jinn. The fuse box can also turn off if too many lights are turned on, so be sure to watch for how and why this occurs since the fuse box could turn off this way while the ghost is a Jinn.
- Early hunt: If you get a ghost hunt early on without purposefully triggering one, you might be able to guess the ghost based on how and why the hunt started.
- If a hunt began while your sanity was very high, the ghost is probably a Demon. This ghost has a special ability that allows it to hunt at any sanity, even 100 percent. It generally doesn’t hunt until you are at 80 percent or lower, but if it uses its rare ability then it can hunt whenever.
- If you’ve been talking a lot around the ghost and a hunt happens very early on, it might be a Yokai. Talking by this ghost increases the chance it will initiate a hunt sooner.
- If three flames have been extinguished, the Ornyo can initiate a hunt at any sanity level.
- The Mimic can copy all behaviors of other ghosts, so if it chooses to mimic an early hunter, you might be chased by this ghost fairly early on.
- Sanity changes: The rate at which your sanity changes is a factor that varies with specific ghosts and one you can use to identify them.
- If your sanity is draining twice as fast as usual after you have witnessed a few ghost events or hunts, the ghost could be a Phantom. This ghost drains your sanity more quickly when you look at it.
- A door slamming shut or suddenly opening near you can result in a dramatic sanity drain and is indicative of a Yurei.
- If the fuse box is turned on and you notice around 25 percent of your sanity vanishes seemingly out of nowhere, the ghost might be a Jinn. When the fuse box is on, this ghost has a special ability to zap some of your sanity away.
- If there have been many singing ghost events and your sanity seems lower than you’d expect, it could be the work of a Banshee. The Banshee can drain more sanity than other ghosts when it performs these types of events.
- A whisper in the Parabolic Microphone followed by a continuous decrease in the rate at which your sanity drains can be indicative of a Moroi’s curse.
- Having lots of objects thrown at you plus a higher decrease in sanity than expected may be the work of a Poltergeist.
- If you experience a ghost event and notice your sanity drains at twice the expected rate, the ghost could be an Oni.
- Ghost speed: The speed at which the ghost moves can help you identify it.
Start with an equipment pile
The trek between the truck and front door isn’t as bad as it is on most other maps when you’re at 42 Edgefield Road, but every second is precious which means it’s still worth starting every contract by assembling an equipment pile near the front door. Before you head inside for the first time, continuously make trips between the truck and the front door to get everything you need as close to the map as possible.
As long as you don’t open the door, the contract won’t officially begin which means you’ll save yourself precious time down the line. With no grace period for setup and no official evidence, you need all the extra investigation time you can get. Not all of your gear will be useful in this challenge since the ghost won’t give you any evidence, but some of it is, so carefully select which items you want to bring.
Ghost hunt with others
It’s better to tackle all trial modes with allies to help you out, but especially Detectives Only so you can have some extra eyes and ears watching out for the subtle ghost behaviors. Playing with others also means you can get equipment down and investigate the map to pinpoint the location of the ghost more quickly.
Extra players also give you a bit of a safety buffer. The contract continues as long as at least one player is alive, so there’s a chance you could get the right ghost type even after perishing. You can either team up with friends or use matchmaking to find allies.
Use the Ouija Board
The Ouija Board Cursed Possession will always be present in the Detectives Only challenge, which means you can use it to your advantage. This is a deadly yet powerful tool since using it can trigger a cursed hunt if you’re not careful. You need to be exceptionally cautious if you choose to use this item.
There are lots of questions you can ask the Ouija Board, but for this challenge, your best bet is to ask where the ghost is. A specific room name will be spelled out for you, which will help you determine exactly where the ghost is so you can get to work investigating it.
If you’re struggling to find the ghost, the Ouija Board is certainly worth using as long as you quickly head back to the truck to take some Sanity Medication right after. This Cursed Possession spawns at the same place in every match on this map.
Try again
Luck plays a huge factor in how easy or difficult this trial is, so if you’re struggling to get it done, try again to reroll the contract stats. With no evidence, some ghosts can be identified with very little effort while others are exceptionally tricky. This means some matches will just be tougher than others.
Since this is a featured challenge mode, there’s nothing to lose. All equipment is provided free of cost and you don’t lose anything from dying or guessing incorrectly. You can attempt this trial as many times as you like while it’s active, so give it your best shot and keep trying as long as you’re up for it.
