1. Introduction
   
2. The Mechanics of Sanity
   
3. Passive Sanity Drain
   
4. Active Sanity Drain
   
5. Ghost Abilities
   
6. Cursed Possessions
   
7. Tier I Sanity Medication
   
8. Optional objectives
   
9. Conclusion
   
10. Credits and References

Sanity is effectively the measure of health in Phasmophobia with each player having an individual Sanity level and the team having an Average Team Sanity level. It'll fluctuate a bit, much like Temperature, so assume the lowest value is the actual value in most cases. It's displayed as a percentage that scales between 0% and 100% and is the key relationship between the team and the Ghost.

Sanity normally begins at 100% for each player at the start of an investigation; however, it starts at 75% on Insanity difficulty and can be initially set to any value for a Custom difficulty as well as it is often lower for weekly challenges. There are certain challenges where the team starts with 0% Sanity either to get an immediate Hunt, practice dealing with chain Hunts, or fulfill certain objectives quickly.

Sanity Drains

• Cursed Possessions
  
• Passive Sanity Drain
  
• Specific Ghost abilities
  
• Model collision during Ghost Events
  
• Player deaths

Sanity can be drained in five different ways -- the use of cursed possessions, the passive sanity drain from being in darkness, model collision between Player and Ghost during a Ghost Event, certain Ghost Abilities, and the death of a player.

Sanity can be regained through some of the Tarot Cards (if that Cursed Possession is present) or through the use of Sanity Medication.

Passive Sanity Drain is a mechanic affecting members of the team who are not currently in a well-lit room which nominally means a room where the primary lights of the room aren't currently on or have been broken. There are exceptions to this, such as the hallways in Sunny Meadows which only reduce Passive Sanity Drain by 80% instead of the usual 100%.

This has changed back-and-forth by game developers in the past so always be aware of what it means in the current patch of the game.

While many players might think that the Flashlight, providing a light source, would negate or slow Passive Sanity Drain, that isn't generally the case. It has been reported, sometimes, that players near and in the path of the light from the Flashlight have had reduced sanity drains but I haven't been able to independently verify this.

However, there is one piece of equipment that can slow but not completely negate the Passive Sanity Drain which is the Firelight. It will reduce the Passive Sanity Drain by a certain percentage based on the tier of Firelight you bring along to the investigation.

It should be noted that the Passive Sanity Drain doesn't affect team members who are outside of the location such as being right outside of the Exit Door or in the Truck. This is often a good way to manage sanity drains, both passive and active, is to have team members take turns being outside and inside the location.

Passive Sanity Drain is affected by Difficulty with Amateur having 100%, Intermediate having 150%, and all other difficulties having 200%. This is a settable option for a Custom Difficulty with a higher reward modifier for having a higher drain percentage.

If playing with a setup grace period, usually on Amateur or Intermediate, the passive sanity drain will be less for the duration of that period. It is also affected by Map size to take into account that investigations will probably take longer on Medium and Large-sized maps.

As a precaution against disadvantaging single players, the rate of Passive Sanity Drain is cut in half for single-player games.

Passive Sanity Drain Formula


Example

A multiplayer game at 6 Tanglewood Drive has an investigator spending 1 minute in unlit rooms on Amateur difficulty during the setup period and another minute also in unlit rooms after the setup grace period has expired.

They lost 0.09% Sanity per second for 60 seconds and another 0.12% Sanity per second for 60 seconds for a total of 12.6% of their individual Sanity. If the game had been single-player instead it would have only been 6.3% of their Sanity.

If the same player had been holding a Tier I Firelight, for the duration of 3 minutes, it would have been reduced both values by 33% for a total of 4.2% Sanity loss instead.

It's extremely unlikely that the only drain on Sanity will be from the Passive Sanity Drain so we'll move on to things that actively drain a Player's sanity. They are usually divided into Ghost abilities, Ghost Events, player deaths, and the use of Cursed Possessions.

Ghost Events, as described in some of my previous guides, are manifestations by the Ghost that can potentially drain Sanity. The most common way for it to do this is to collide with the player model during a manifestation and drain approximately 10% of their Sanity. In certain circumstances, it may be possible to avoid the collision and thus avoid the Sanity drain altogether.

If the Banshee collides with its chosen target during a singing event they will lose 15% Sanity instead of the usual 10% Sanity for most ghosts.


The Jinn has an ability to drain 25% of the Sanity of a target player which it will indicate with an EMF signature left at the Fuse Box without turning it off. It cannot perform this action if the Fuse Box is off or broken.


The Moroi can place a curse on an investigator who gets a response from the Spirit Box, through a Parabolic Microphone, or from a paranormal sound via a Sound Recorder which drains double the passive sanity drain.This curse pauses while the investigator is outside and is cured by the use of Sanity Medication. This can't be negated by a lit Candle or being in a lit room.

Its speed during a Hunt (normal or cursed) increases as Average Team Sanity decreases and becomes the fastest ghost in the game presently if it has line-of-sight with a player.


A collision between the player and the Oni's ghost model during a manifestation causes a 20% Sanity loss instead of the usual 10% but otherwise doesn't affect nearby players.


If the Phantom manifests, all investigators within 10 meters of it and in a pseudo-line-of-sight will lose 0.5% Sanity per second. This can be determined by the sound of a heartbeat during the manifestation, i.e. if you hear the sound you are within range.


The Poltergeist can use it's ability to throw multiple objects at the same time and any nearby investigator will lose 2% of their Sanity per object thrown for a maximum of 5 objects and 10%.


The Yurei has an ability that allows it to fully close one door in its present room and drain the Sanity of all nearby investigators by 15%. This is only possible if the room has at least one open door, this can include certain drawers and cabinets.

The Music Box will drain up to 75% of the user's Sanity if they hold the Music Box or are within ~2.5 meters of the Music Box for the entire duration of the song. This can result in a normal Hunt even if the Music Box didn't trigger a Cursed Hunt by the Average Team Sanity reaching the Hunt threshold through the sanity drain of nearby players.


The Ouija Board will drain anywhere from 5% to 50% of the user's Sanity depending on successfully answering questions it's asked -- it won't drain Sanity for invalid questions or questions it doesn't understand. The most frequently asked questions asking it where it is or where it's favorite room is drains 50% of the user's Sanity.


The Voodoo Doll drains 5% of the user's Sanity for every non-heart pin that is pulled and 10% for the heart pin -- for a total of 55% if the user pulls all of the pins.


The Haunted Mirror drains approximately 7.5% of the user's Sanity per second of use or 20% of the user's Sanity per use (whichever is higher) and counts the animations of raising the mirror as part of this time. If viewed for long enough it will break and this is an indicator the user has reached 0% Sanity.


The Summoning Circle drains approximately 16% of the Sanity of nearby players for each candle lit for a total of approximately 80% of nearby players' Sanity although lower numbers have been reported.


Certain Tarot Cards drain sanity but the actual drawing of the card doesn't drain sanity.



Lastly, the Monkey's Paw may incur a Sanity drain depending on the wish:

"I wish to be sane" or "I wish for sanity" will set the user's Sanity to 50% and the Passive Sanity Drain will be increased by 1.5x for the remainder of the contract.

"I wish for <weather>" will incur a cost of 25% Sanity from the user in exchange for changing the Weather type.

Tier I Sanity Medication is unlocked at Lvl 16 and is the last Tier I item to be unlocked. It can extend the time of investigation by restoring some Sanity lost during the course of the investigation, restoring Sanity due to starting with a reduced Sanity, and nullifying the Moroi curse (if present). The amount of Sanity it restores is based on the difficulty or difficulty setting but takes 30 seconds to restore the full amount -- a change from previous updates where the restoration was instantaneous.

The amount that is restored is fixed at certain difficulties but can be set to any value for a Custom Difficulty and is frequently set to 0 during weekly challenges.


Tier II and Tier III Sanity Medication restore sanity more quickly but the amount restored is still dependent on the difficulty or custom difficulty setting.

There is one optional objective, "Get an average sanity below 25%", which is related to Sanity, and keep in mind this applies to the Average Team Sanity and not an individual Sanity level.

The Sanity mechanics can be a bit confusing for some newer players and even more experienced players don't fully understand every nuisance. I hope the guide has given you a basic look at Sanity, how to manage it, and how to use the Tier I Sanity Medication.

Contributors to Phasmophobia Wiki. “Sanity | Phasmophobia Wiki | Fandom.” Phasmophobia Wiki, Fandom, Inc., https://phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Sanity. Accessed 24 Sept. 2023.