How do you complete the Inmate challenge without becoming one? The Sunny Meadows Survival challenge was introduced in the Crimson Eye update in 2024.
This challenge will send you to the largest map Phasmophobia has to offer. Unlocked at level 17 and having 69 rooms, a ghost may pick any of them to haunt. This challenge is a grind, so here are the best ways to complete it.
What is Phasmophobia’s Sunny Meadows Survival Challenge?
To complete the Sunny Meadows Survival challenge and unlock the Inmate ID Card and Badge, ghost hunters must start an investigation in Sunny Meadows, correctly identify the ghost, and survive a whopping 50 times. The requirements aren’t huge, but the map is.
Like its cousin, the Apocalypse Challenge, this is an extremely grindy requirement with plenty of things that can go wrong. But whether you play it safe and slow, or fast and risky - here are our top tips to make the challenge easier.
Sunny Meadows Survival Challenge Tips
Although the requirements aren’t as strict as the Apocalypse Challenge, it is still time-consuming and stressful. Here’s our best tip to help you through it. Good Luck!
Play on Sunny Meadows Restricted
One of the easiest ways to complete this challenge is by playing on the Restricted version of Sunny Meadows. While the challenge doesn’t specify which version to use, this scaled-down map limits access to the immediate entrance area and one randomly selected wing, blocking everything else. This means you only have the main section and one wing to search, making the investigation much more manageable.
You will skip the tedious chore of searching all 69 rooms individually—saving time, effort, and probably your sanity. While also speeding up the ghost-hunting part of your investigation.
Hunt with friends
This challenge requires finding the ghost, identifying it, and surviving 50 times. That might not sound too bad—until you realize the map has between 30 and 60 possible ghost rooms. Did I mention the FIFTY TIMES?
So, our next tip: team up with friends or use the multiplayer Matchmaking feature. Have each player bring some equipment and split up to search for clues, with everyone exploring a different wing of the building. You’ll track down the ghost room much more efficiently.
Just remember: you only get progress if you correctly identify the ghost and survive. If you die, no progress for you. Jinkies.
Bring the Right Equipment
Bringing the right equipment will help speed up the process as you check every room. We recommend grabbing a Video Camera, a Parametric Microphone, and a Spirit Box as you investigate where the ghost is.
Use the Video Camera to scan rooms for Ghost Orbs. If you don’t see any, switch to the Spirit Box and try to communicate with the ghost. Ask things like “Are you here?” or “Can you give us a sign?” Then wait for a response or some activity. The Parabolic Microphone can also help by picking up sounds like thrown items or door interactions, which can narrow down the area you need to search.
Once you find the ghost room, set up your Video Camera, drop the Spirit Box (ideally leave it on), and head back to the van to grab more equipment. The top 3 things you should bring next are:
- · Ghost Writing Book
- · UV Light
- · Thermometer
Get these in early as they usually take the longest to confirm!
Use a Parabolic Microphone
As we’ve discussed, one way to narrow down your search is to go in with certain equipment, including a parabolic microphone (ideally Teir II or III). The best strategy is to search one wing at a time, moving slowly and pausing frequently to scan. Stand still while aiming the parabolic mic down hallways or into rooms, and listen carefully for sounds like footsteps, doors, or thrown items.
Just be careful — don’t mistake ambient noise or those creepy screams for actual ghost activity.
Play on a Custom Difficulty
Thankfully, like other map challenges in Phasmophobia, there’s no difficulty requirement for this challenge. Which means you can (and probably should) create a custom difficulty. Sunny Meadows is a massive map, so having more Cursed Possessions can help you locate the ghost faster. It also beats wandering around for half an hour only to die in a hunt you didn’t even realize had started.
Recommended difficulty settings to adjust:
· Friendly Ghost - True This option will prevent the ghost from hunting completely · Cursed Possessions - 7 This will force the maximum amount of Possessions to spawn, covered later in this guide. · Activity Level - High A higher chance of ghost activity means an easier time with EMF, D.O.T.S, and Ghost Writing · Event Frequency - High Somewhat less helpful, but ghost events are a good way to test for EMF or poltergeists · Sprinting - Infinite. This will save a lot of time if the ghost decides it enjoys the bathroom six floors up.
You won’t technically earn money or XP to finish a contract with these settings, but you will still make progress in this challenge.
Learn the Map
One thing that makes this challenge even harder is the maze of endless corridors and nearly identical rooms, all in pitch darkness. And then the Ouija Board tells you the ghost is in Male Room 3, and you’re left wondering, “Where the bloody hell is that?”
Take some time to learn where the different wings are. For example:
- The Male Wing is on the left side of the building.
- The Female Wing is on the right.
- The Restricted Wing is on the right side as you enter the basement corridor.
- The Hospital wing is on the left side as as you head down into the basement corridor
Knowing the layout ahead of time can save you a lot of wandering and dying.
Tip: You’ll find a weathered, hard-to-read map in the entrance corridors to help navigate the institution. This is a great way to get around and find rooms!
Use Cursed Possessions
Because the flaming cross still isn’t enough to deter you from messing with these things
Okay, hear us out. Usually, playing around with cursed possessions is a dreadful idea —Sunny Meadows is the exception. The map is so massive, you’ll need all the help you can get to track down your ghost, even if it may kill you. Set up a custom difficulty with all seven cursed possessions turned on for the best results.
They’ll always spawn in the Institution’s chapel, as long as your settings allow them. Look near the cross. Most of the items tend to appear around there.
Keep Some Lights On
Even on Sunny Meadows Restricted, you’ll likely spend much time moving between the van and the building in complete darkness. Our final tip is to keep the hallway lights on along the exterior path. This will help maintain your sanity while you investigate and set up equipment, reducing unnecessary sanity loss.
Check the map for the breaker. It’s an old, large wooden box, different from what we see in the houses.
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