Looking for Ghosts in Phasmophobia
Image via Kinetic Games

How to Level Up Quickly in Phasmophobia

A ghostbuster's guide to ghoulish growth!

Phasmophobia is a uniquely captivating horror game that plunges players into the eerie world of ghost hunting. Developed by Kinetic Games in 2020, it quickly gained immensely deserved popularity for its eerily realistic atmosphere, tense gameplay, and cooperative multiplayer experience.

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Like in any game, many new players (and even veterans who had their progress erased) are eager to climb the levels in Phasmophobia as fast as possible. Wanting a shortcut to the top of the ghost-hunting food chain isn’t anything to be ashamed of, and there are more than a few ways to go about doing it! Read on to find out the best ways to level up quickly in Phasmophobia!

How to Level Up Quickly in Phasmophobia

Climbing the ghost-hunting ladder of levels in Phasmophobia requires a combination of strategy, dedication, and intense familiarity with the game mechanics. Whether you’re a fledgling ghost hunter or a seasoned pro looking to speed up your progression, this guide will provide you with valuable tips and tricks to ascend the ranks with ease!

There’s no shame in wanting a shortcut to the top. If you’re on a fast track to becoming the best virtual ghost hunter that ever lived, then you’ll want to try utilizing some of these fool-proof methods to get you there even faster:

Play on Higher Difficulties or Custom Difficulties

Custom Presets in Phasmophobia
Image via Kinetic Games

One of the best ways to level up quickly in Phasmophobia is to conduct investigations on high difficulties. This may be a bit difficult if you’re a newbie, but it should be a walk in the park for experienced players. As long as you’re familiar with most of the ghost types and how they behave, this shouldn’t be too difficult.

Additionally, playing Phasmophobia on custom difficulties can help you level up quickly as well. Even slight changes, like raising the multiplier or lessening interactions and roaming, can make a huge difference in the XP outcome of your hunt!

Investigate Smaller Maps

Footprints in Phasmophobia
Image via Kinetic Games

Choosing to conduct your investigations on Phasmophobia’s smaller maps is a great way to level up quickly, especially if you’re playing in single-player mode.

Larger maps make identifying the ghost much more difficult, which can make victory that much more difficult to achieve. By only conducting investigations on smaller maps, you’ll be able to get through investigations faster and with a higher rate of success, which makes leveling up incredibly quick!

Learn Their Behaviors

Horror Ambience Phasmophobia Mod
Image via Kinetic Games/crunchyphasmo

If you’ve been playing Phasmophobia for a long time, then you’ve likely already begun to recognize certain behaviors and traits of specific ghost types during investigations.

Learning and memorizing the particular behaviors, traits, and hunting styles of each ghost type will help you immensely in your investigations; the faster you can get through your investigations, the faster you can level up in Phasmophobia!

Complete All Objectives

Camera in Phasmophobia
Image via Kinetic Games

Every investigation in Phasmophobia comes tagged with some optional objectives. Obviously, the main objective (identifying the ghost) should always take priority, but you shouldn’t overlook the optional objectives if you happen to have the time.

Completing the optional objectives during investigations rewards players with extra XP, which really starts to add up after a while. Making sure you complete every objective that an investigation has to offer is one of the best and most overlooked methods of leveling up quickly in Phasmophobia!

Related: Phasmophobia: Best Strategy for Success


Trying to level up quickly in Phasmophobia isn’t always easy, but that’s part of what makes it so much fun! Even if you combine all of these methods and gain unlimited amounts of XP, just always remember to enjoy the ride and have fun playing!

If you ever need further assistance in this game, just check out Gamer Journalist’s enormous stockpile of Phasmophobia content. We have all of the latest and greatest Phasmophobia-related guides and news that a ghost hunter could ever want!

Author
Image of Allysen Pierce
Allysen Pierce
Allysen Pierce is a freelance writer with a passion for gaming who has been a part of the Gamer Journalist team since May 2022. Her main passions are horror games and dating sims (especially combinations of the two), but she has been known to play literally anything that is put in front of her. Her current favorite games include Skyrim, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, Cult of the Lamb, Slaughter Horse, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. When she's not playing games (or writing about them), she can be found reading, baking, watching horror movies, or playing with her cat.