In Phasmophobia, Tarot Cards are a deck of unique cards with varying effects that players can draw at random. Similar to other cursed possessions, the Tarot Cards will spawn randomly. You may not always get this item during an investigation, but if you do, they can trigger ghost interactions or affect the player directly. Each card has its own draw rate, so you may get repeats in the same deck.
This guide will cover the basics of the Tarot Cards cursed possession and what each individual card does.
Tarot Card Basics
During Phasmophobia contracts Tarot Cards have a 1 in 7 chance of being the cursed possession during that contract. As a cursed possession, tarot cards have a 1 in 7 chance per contract of being chosen as the cursed possession to spawn on a default difficulty (except Insanity), with one specific spawn location per map. They will have one specific spawn location on each unique map.
If players find Tarot Cards, they will be given a deck of 10 randomly generated cards. Each Tarot cards deck contains 10 randomly generated cards. There are 10 unique cards that can be drawn, but each card has a different draw chance. There are 10 possible card types the player can draw, each having a unique effect on either the player or the ghost.
You can receive multiple of the same card type in one deck, such as drawing The Sun twice. Different card types will have different and independent chances of being drawn. The Hanged Man being the lowest.
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Once all 10 Tarot Cards have been used there will be no more to use or any more given. When all the Tarot Cards have been used all hunts that occur in the future will be extended by 20 seconds, even if no Tarot Cards that cause hunts are drawn.
When a card is used, it will burn in a colored smoke. After being used, each card will burn up and vanish in a uniquely-colored flame. When a Tarot Card is drawn, it will vanish in a colored flame.
You can choose to draw cards until the deck of 10 is complete. Players can choose to draw cards until the deck of 10 is complete.
The Tarot Cards are a random cursed possession that can spawn in your map.
Each Tarot Card has its own unique ability that will immediately take effect upon use. However, sometimes a card will turn out to be The Fool (similar to a Joker) and no effect occurs. You can draw up to 10 cards from the deck altogether, and doing so will not drain sanity.
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Cursed Possessions often carry as much risk as reward during investigations in Phasmophobia and Tarot Cards are a prime example. If you come across the Tarot Cards during your contract, it is best to use them in a safe location on the map such as near a hiding spot or the entrance.
Only one Cursed Possession will spawn on the map per contract (unless you alter it in Custom settings), and each type will always spawn in the same specific location. Some Cursed Objects are safer to use than others, depending on their abilities, and it’s up to you and/or your party to decide whether to use them or not. There is no penalty for not doing so, but no reward-related bonus if you do.
In Phasmophobia, there are currently seven cursed possessions: the Music Box, Ouija Board, Voodoo Doll, Haunted Mirror, Summoning Circle, Monkey Paw, and Tarot Cards. When these items are found and used, players can provoke the entity to interact with them. This can be useful when determining the ghost, though all objectives can be completed without them. One cursed possession is selected randomly at the start of every game (except with the Insanity difficulty).
You can take a picture of the Tarot Cards for extra money.
Tarot Cards Explained | Phasmophobia
How To Use Tarot Cards
Once the Tarot Cards have been located pick them up using your pick up key-bind(E) once in hand you can draw one card by pressing right mouse click. Tarot cards can be picked up with an empty hand and one card can be drawn at a time. Repeat until all cards have been used.
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If you're using Steam, use a Tarot Card by picking up the item with E and then pressing E again to draw.
Explore the investigation area, paying close attention to the floor and tables. Make sure to stay in the investigation area. Right-click on your mouse to draw a card.
It is recommended to use one card at a time and analyse what is occurring as you may potentially make contracts more difficult, if not dangerous.
Though tarot cards cannot be drawn outside of the investigation area, this can be bypassed by drawing a card and walking outside of an exit door during the card-pulling animation. You can only draw the cards within the investigation area for them to be used and work. There is a method that can be used to use Tarot Cards outside of the investigation area, but this is not an intended feature. To do this stand at an Exit Door enter the door and quickly leave while drawing a card in the process. This will make the card take effect and will still use up 1 card. If the card you draw is the Death card, then the hunt that would be caused from that card will not occur. Note that the Hanged Man card will still take effect regardless of where the player that used the card is.
Tarot Card Effects
Each Tarot Card will have a unique effect on either the player or the ghost. Different card types will have different and independent chances of being drawn.
Here's a breakdown of each card and its effect:
| Card | Description | Effect | Burn Color | Draw Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sun | This Tarot Card will restore the player's sanity to 100%. | As the opposite of The Moon, this card fully restores the player's sanity level to 100%, regardless of the starting level. Higher sanity will prevent the frequency of ghost events, hunts and flickering lights. | Yellow | 10% |
| The Moon | This Tarot Card will instantly drop the players sanity to 0%. | At a 5% draw chance, this card will immediately drop the player's sanity to 0%. When your sanity is low, you become the ghost's top target. Lower sanity will increase several aspects of the game such as the frequency of ghost events, hunts and flickering lights making them more common. | White | 5% |
| The Wheel of Fortune | This Tarot Card will either give the player + 25% sanity if the card burns green, or will take 25% sanity if the card burns red. | With the same draw rate as The Tower, this card can either help or harm you. If the card burns green, you'll get 25% sanity, but if the card burns red, you'll lose 25% sanity. If the card burns green, the player gains 25% sanity. Having lower sanity will make ghost events, hunts and flickering lights more common while having higher sanity will reduce the frequency of ghost events, hunts and flickering lights. | Green or Red | 20% |
| The Tower | This Tarot Card will cause a interaction and will double all ghost activity for 20 seconds. | This is one of the most common cards at a 20% draw rate. When this card is drawn, it will cause a ghost interaction and increase activity for 20 seconds. Ghosts can interact with objects, doors, electronics, and more. If you have a D.O.T.S. Projector, you may be able to see the ghost. | Blue | 20% |
| The Lovers | This Tarot Card will trigger a ghost event towards the nearest player to the ghost. | At a 10% draw rate, this card triggers a Ghost Event towards a player. In most cases, this will affect the player closest to the ghost. | Pink | 10% |
| The Hanged Man | This Tarot Card will instantly kill the player. This card only affects the player that draws it. | At a 1% draw chance, this card is the rarest and deadliest card to pull. When drawn, the player is killed instantly. It is impossible to draw the real version of this card if the 'Friendly Ghost' custom difficulty option is turned on. This card will also apply even if the player is outside the investigation area. | N/A | 1% |
| The Fool | This Tarot Card will appear as another card at first, before turning into The Fool as it burns. When this card is drawn no effect is applied. | Selects another random card to mimic with the same chance for each, before turning into The Fool as it burns. This card has the ability to disguise itself as another card. When drawn, this will appear as a randomly selected card before turning into The Fool. No effects will be applied. | Light Purple | N/A |
| The Devil | This Tarot Card will trigger a cursed hunt. | There's a 10% chance to draw the Death card. When drawn, a cursed hunt will begin. Drawing a Death card initiates a cursed hunt. Cursed hunts cannot be prevented, examples of this would be using cursed possessions such as Tarot cards or the Voodoo Doll. This is similar to a regular hunt, but it will ignore any hunt cooldowns and sanity thresholds. | Purple | 10% |
| The High Priestess | This Tarot Card will revive a random chosen dead player at their corpse where they died. | If you're nearing the end of your investigation and have a few teammates dead, this card will resurrect a player at random. Revives a random dead player where they died. If no one is currently dead, it will revive the next player who dies. If no player on your team is dead, this card will instantly revive the next player who dies. Multiple cards will not stack. If a player is killed during a hunt and is revived, they cannot be killed again in the same hunt. If you are playing solo this card will revive you after you die. Keep in mind that if a player dies and is revived during the same hunt, they won't be killed again until the next hunt. | Light Yellow | 5% |
| The Empress | This Tarot Card will teleport the ghost back to it's ghost room and will trap it there for 1 minute. | When this card is drawn, it will teleport the entity back to its "room" and traps it there for one minute. Forces the ghost to walk to its favorite room and prevents it from roaming out for 1 minute. The ghost room is the specific room that is favored by the ghost. You'll usually find the ghost interacting with the objects in the room, fingerprints, freezing temperatures, or others. This will make it easier to locate the ghost. This does not affect hunts. | Cyan | 10% |
During hunts you should not draw any extra cards as all cards drawn will turn into The Fool which makes them all have no effect.
That concludes how to use Tarot Cards in Phasmophobia.