Demonologist Beginners Tips and Tricks for How to Survive

Track down everything that goes bump in the night in Demonologist, a thrilling co-op ghost hunting game. Utilizing a variety of spirit detection tools, you and your team must collect evidence and correctly identify the type of evil spirit haunting the site, but be careful, as they are not exactly social butterflies.

Do not worry if you are a rookie paranormal investigator, as our Demonologist beginners tips and tricks for how to survive will guide you through your first steps.

Demonologist beginners’ guide to surviving

The main objective of Demonologist is to identify the type of evil spirit haunting the investigation site, then escape or exorcise the spirit. Before you can do either action, you need to collect evidence to determine the spirit’s type, all the while surviving any retaliatory attacks from the spirit. Here is everything you need to know about a typical investigation.

Know the tools of the trade

You have seven investigation tools to help you collect evidence. Spirits respond differently to tools depending on their type, so you need to experiment with them all to narrow it down. When a spirit reacts positively to an investigation tool, be sure to mark it down in your journal with the J key.

• EMF: Detects electromagnetic fields left behind by spiritual disturbance. The strength of the field is measured from 1 to 5, with 5 being the strongest field.
• ESG: Place the ESG down in a room, and if the spirit reacts strongly, the ESG displays the spirit’s visible form above it.
• Easel Canvas: Place the Easel Canvas down in a room, and if the spirit is feeling creative, they may paint you a message or picture.
• Ecto Glass: Look through the Ecto Glass’ lens to find hidden substances left behind by the spirit, namely glowing white ectoplasm.
• Spirit Box: Activate the box and speak into your computer’s microphone to talk directly to the spirit. It is a good evidence when the spirit responds.
• UV Light: Shine the UV Light to reveal ghostly fingerprints on doors and light switches.
• Thermometer: Measures the temperature of a room. A freezing room is clear evidence. Alternatively, you can see your own breath if you are standing in a freezing room.

In addition to the main investigation tools, you also have miscellaneous tools that can help you survive.

• Flashlight: A small pipe flashlight to light up the darkness in front of you. Always have one with you!
• Candle: Provides a small aura of light around you, slowing down sanity drain while lit.
• Sanity Pills: Restores 25% sanity.
• Crucifix: Hold it out to repel the spirit during a hunt, destroying the Crucifix in the process.
• Tripod Camera: A stationary camera that can be viewed through the tent monitors.
• Photo Camera: A handheld camera that lets you take photos.

You can carry up to three tools with you. You can drop tools by pressing the G key, so you can switch out at any time. For beginners, we recommend taking a Flashlight or Candle, and then two evidence tools of your choice. Start taking Crucifixes or Sanity Pills when your sanity gets low.

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Monitor your sanity

Similar to other ghost hunting games, your “health” in Demonologist is your sanity, which can only be monitored accurately from the spawn tent. Your sanity starts at 100%, and slowly drains over the course of the investigation.

Naturally, wandering a dark and spooky locale while witnessing startling supernatural events can be taxing on one’s mind, so your sanity decreases over time as you proceed with your investigation. Some spirits are able to drain your sanity even faster just by being near you, as well.

It is a good idea to take a break and exit the investigation site occasionally to go back to the tent for a sanity check-up. The lower your sanity is, the higher the chance the evil spirit will initiate a hunt.

True to the name, hunts are events where the spirit actively searches for any investigators trapped in the investigation zone. All exit doors close during hunts, so you are trapped in the house until it is over. If the spirit catches you during a hunt, it is a game over!

Soothe your mind with pills and light

Now that you know how important keeping an eye on your sanity is, there are a couple of ways that you can improve it.

First and foremost, never go into investigation sites without a light of some sort. The basic pipe Flashlight works well enough because your sanity drains slower when you are near a light source. The Candle, although it provides the least amount of light, provides the most protection from darkness sanity drain.

As you explore the investigation site, keep an eye out for any light switches, and flick them on if you see them. Creating natural light around you is a great way to keep your sanity from dropping too fast; just keep in mind that the spirit can mess with the lights.

Sanity Pills are there for when you need an immediate sanity boost, as they restore 25% sanity on the spot. Use your own discretion on when to use them, but most players like to save them for when their sanity is critically low.

Surviving spirit hunts

Depending on how long your investigation takes, you may encounter a hunt. Watch for your flashlight strobing, as that is the telltale sign a hunt has begun. You must rely on your wits and quick reflexes if you do not have a Crucifix on you.

During a hunt, all exit doors lock, and the spirit becomes mostly visible while it actively hunts down any investigators trapped in the building. You suffer an excruciatingly painful death if the evil spirit catches you! Once the spirit catches an investigator or a certain amount of time passes, the hunt ends.

Either hide or run during a hunt. Unlike Phasmophoria, there are no designated hiding spots like closets and lockers, so all you have left are small rooms. Hiding can work, but you may get unlucky if the ghost decides to randomly wander into your hiding spot.

Most of the time, we have better luck with simply running away. Most of the spirits do not move fast enough to have a significant speed advantage over you, so as long as you manage your sprint stamina efficiently, you can usually stay ahead of a spirit.

You can sprint by holding down the SHIFT key. You can only sprint for a short amount of time, but walking normally refills your sprint stamina. It is best to sprint in short bursts just to maintain distance with the spirit, but not for the full duration.

Try to break the line of sight with the spirit by ducking behind large furniture or into other rooms as fast as you can. Breaking the line of sight enough makes the spirit lose interest, putting them back into “searching mode”.

If you are feeling especially daring, an even better tactic is to loop the spirit. Spirits cannot phase through objects and must take normal paths just like you, so you can get a spirit stuck chasing you around an object. This takes some practice to pull off, but with time, this method helps you dodge spirits like a pro.

End your investigations early

Your main objective is to find three pieces of concrete evidence in order to correctly identify the spirit. Once you are sure you have the correct spirit type, lock it in using the journal.

At this point, you can either take the car and leave the investigation site, or stay and complete optional objectives, and even exorcise the spirit.

It is perfectly fine to take the car and leave if you have all the evidence, and we actually recommend doing this for your first couple of investigations. The reason for this is that you still get paid, and if you end up dying to a hunt, you lose all the tools you bought for the investigation.

It is a good idea to build up some money first and get comfortable using the basic investigation tools. Once you feel ready enough, you can start tackling the optional objectives and try exorcising.

Completing optional objectives and exorcisms are worth lots of money, so they are definitely worth doing. Be sure to check out our Demonologist guide on how to find and banish all entities.