How to complete the Deja Vu challenge in Phasmophobia

I hope you're feeling nostalgic.

The 6 Tanglewood Drive map decorated for the holidays.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Since ghost-hunting game Phasmophobia first launched in early access in 2020, it’s continuously undergone many improvements and additions to improve its appeal. The Deja Vu challenge is a fun yet challenging return to how the game used to function.

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The Deja Vu weekly challenge is all about cranking up nostalgia, which makes it a fairly easy task for seasoned players and a rather tough one for newer ghost hunters. Regardless of what kind of player you are, here’s what you need to know to successfully complete the Deja Vu weekly challenge in Phasmophobia.

What is the Deja Vu challenge in Phasmophobia?

The Deju Vu challenge description in Phasmophobia.
Play the game as it used to be. Screenshot by Dot Esports

The Deja Vu challenge is a special weekly feat you can tackle to earn a massive cash bonus of $5,000, plus a ton of extra cash and experience. It’s based on nostalgia and essentially reverts most functions back to how Phasmophobia used to work.

Deja Vu Phasmophobia challenge rules

Before you set off to tackle this challenge, you’ll want to learn what rules and modifiers Deja Vu implements since these affect how the contract plays out.

  • This challenge must be completed on 6 Tanglewood Drive.
  • You cannot sprint.
  • The ghost speed is reduced.
  • The fuse box is accessible but always starts turned off.
  • You do not have a setup grace period.
  • You have access to all equipment except for a DOTS Projector which is missing.
  • You have a mix of Tier I and Tier II equipment to work with.
    • Tier I: Flashlight, Tripod, Video Camera, Thermometer, Sound Sensor, Parabolic Microphone, Motion Sensor, Head Gear, and Salt.
    • Tier II: Ghost Writing Book, Spirit Box, EMF Reader, Photo Camera, Crucifix, Igniter, Sanity Medication, and Incense.
All the Deja Vu challenge equipment in Phasmophobia.
It’s a pretty solid selection of items to work with. Screenshot by Dot Esports

How to complete the Deja Vu Phasmophobia weekly challenge

To finish the Deja Vu weekly challenge in Phasmophobia, you must correctly identify the ghost type on 6 Tanglewood Drive three times. This feat is part of the weekly challenge pool, and will rotate in occasionally as the one available to complete for a massive bonus during the week.

Phasmophobia Deja Vu challenge tips

The Deja Vu challenge mostly adheres to a fairly normal structure in Phasmophobia, which makes it decently easy to tackle, but if you’re struggling, here are some tips.

1) Locate the ghost room as quickly as possible

Since you have no setup time or grace period before the ghost can hunt, it’s critical to track down the ghost room as quickly as you can. I usually find using the Thermometer to be the most reliable way to do this, but you’ll need to turn on the fuse box first since it will be fairly cold everywhere until you do.

The fuse box always spawns in the garage on your right side immediately after you enter the room or down in the basement straight ahead from where you enter. Once it’s on, look for freezing temps or a lower than average temperature to find the ghost toom.

Sound Sensors and Motion Sensors are another good way to pinpoint the ghost’s location, but since you can’t sprint and move slowly, it’s quicker just to make your way around the map with the Thermometer to find where the temperature drops.

Using the Thermometer to check the temperature in Phasmophobia.
You’re looking for anything below 10°F or 50°C to identify the ghost room. Screenshot by Dot Esports

2) Place Crucifixes

The reason you want to find the ghost room as soon as possible is so you can place Crucifixes down for protection. In some challenges, like No Evidence or The Apocalypse Draws Near, you’ll want the ghost to hunt you since you can’t rely on evidence to figure out what you are working with, but for this challenge, you can definitively figure out what kind of ghost it is based solely on evidence.

This means you want to avoid hunts at all costs, especially early hunters. You can use a Crucifix in a couple of different ways, but the most reliable method is to place it in the ghost room as early on as you can in case you end up having a Demon as the ghost type.

3) Use Sanity Medication

Since you want to avoid hunts, I recommend taking Sanity Medication anytime your sanity dips below 80 percent. You have four bottles which will last a long time if you’re playing alone but it will be a bit tougher if you are tackling this challenge with friends. Do your best to keep your sanity high so you don’t end up having to try to escape a ghost.

You can also use Incense to temporarily deter the ghost and ensure your safety for longer.

Burning Incense in Phasmophobia.
Incense grants you temporary protection. Screenshot by Dot Esports

4) Play it safe

With the previously mentioned tips and your overall gameplay, the best way to successfully complete Deja Vu is generally to play it safe and take your time. If you’re a seasoned pro who is great at identifying the ghost based on its hunting patterns, then trying to get hunted might be faster for you, but for the average player, it’s just better to take your time and test all of the equipment to figure out what kind of ghost it is.

5) When in doubt, guess and try again

If all else fails, you can always make your best guess and try your luck at a new contract if you are struggling. Every contract is randomly generated, meaning some will be easier than others since each ghost has its own unique behaviors, some goals are easier to tackle than others, and different ghost events can lead to sanity drains faster than others.

Author
Image of Kacee Fay
Kacee Fay
Staff Writer at Dot Esports covering new releases and a wide array of topics including Minecraft, Disney Dreamlight Valley, Phasmophobia, general gaming, streaming, and more. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.