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Ghost 16 of 30

Obambo

Two personalities: every 2 minutes it switches between calm and aggressive, even in the middle of a hunt.

Hunt threshold
10% / 65%
Speed
1.445 to 1.955 m/s
Speeds up on sight
Yes
On this page

The journal

StrengthWhile aggressive, the Obambo is quicker to start hunting.

WeaknessWhile calm, the Obambo is slower to start hunting and easier to track.

How it hunts

Hunt sanity threshold

  • Calm: 10%
  • Aggressive: 65%

Standard: 50% average sanity.

Speed

Calm 1.445 m/s · aggressive 1.955 m/s.

Standard: 1.7 m/s; speeds up with line of sight to 2.8 m/s over 13 s.

All its footsteps
  • It starts calm; it switches 1 min after the exit door is opened for the first time and then every 2 min, including during a hunt.
  • If a hunt starts while it’s aggressive, it lasts 20% less.

How it behaves

  • Fixed activity: high while calm (90) and low while aggressive (25).

How to test it

  • Short hunt

    Conclusive

    How: Time a hunt that started fast.

    Result: If it lasts 20% less than normal for the map and difficulty, it’s an Obambo.

  • Mid-hunt switch

    Strong

    How: Listen to its footsteps for the whole hunt.

    Result: If it goes from slow to fast (or the other way around) for no reason, it’s very likely an Obambo.

Often confused with

Share two evidence

If those two are all you’ve found, it could still be any of these.

How to survive

  • Above 10% sanity it only hunts while aggressive: be ready for a fast but shorter hunt.

Why it happens

Why it seems backwards: its “activity” (how often it touches things and does ghost events) is fixed in each state, and it’s high while calm and low while aggressive. So if everything suddenly goes quiet, don’t relax: it may have just turned aggressive and, with a 65% threshold, be ready to hunt.

More facts

Edge cases

  • While calm, it’s the ghost with the lowest chance of pulling off a hunt in the whole game (10% threshold).

    Wikiphasmophobia.fandom.com

Folklore

  • Among tribes of Central Africa, the obambo (or obambou) is the spirit of someone who wasn’t buried properly, and it can possess the living and make them sick.

    Wikiphasmophobia.fandom.com

In depth

Based on the article “Obambo” on the Phasmophobia Wiki on Fandom (version of July 24, 2026, authors), under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Rewritten and adapted by Phasmopedia.

Activity

  • It has two states: calm and aggressive. It always starts calm and switches to the other state 1 minute after an exit door is opened for the first time. After that it alternates every 2 minutes, even in the middle of a hunt.
  • Its activity level is fixed in each state (an internal game value): 90 while calm and 25 while aggressive.

Hunt

Calm Aggressive
Hunt sanity threshold 10% 65%
Base speed 1.445 m/s 1.955 m/s
Hunt duration normal 20% shorter

The hunt lasts 20% less if it starts with the Obambo aggressive, even if it switches to calm partway through.

How to identify it

  • Don’t mistake it for the Twins: their speeds are similar. If the average sanity isn’t extremely low and every hunt starts fast, it’s much more likely to be the Obambo. Between 10% and 65% it can only hunt while aggressive, so at high sanity all its hunts start at the fast speed.
  • Conclusive test: time the hunt. If it’s faster than normal at the start and the hunt lasts 20% less than expected, it’s an Obambo.
  • Since it can switch states (and speed) in the middle of a hunt, if it snaps from slow to fast (or the other way around) for no apparent reason, it’s very likely an Obambo.
  • In general, clear “phases” of high and low activity point to it. Other ghosts can have streaks by chance, but the Obambo’s are much more pronounced and longer.

Trivia

  • The obambo (or obambou) is a supernatural being from peoples of Central Africa. It’s described as evil, though it can do good or evil if it chooses, and it can possess people and make them sick. Among some peoples it’s called a devil, or the spirit of someone who wasn’t buried properly.
  • The Commi people believed that an obambou was often the cause of serious illness, and that a healer could confirm it. To drive it out, family, friends and neighbors would surround the sick person and make as much noise as they could: singing, dancing, yelling or banging things.
  • While calm, it’s the ghost with the lowest chance of succeeding in a hunt attempt.

Change history

Version Change
0.15.1.0 Added the Obambo.

Source: phasmophobia.fandom.com/wiki/Obambo. Verified for game version v0.19.0.2 (September 26, 2026).