Crucifix and Incense: What Actually Stops a Hunt

Two consumables in Phasmophobia can stop a hunt before it starts: the Crucifix and Incense. Both are misunderstood, and both have hard limits that matter most against the high-threshold ghosts on the hunt threshold page. This page gives the exact ranges and the one case where neither works.

Crucifix range by tier

• Tier I — prevents one hunt attempt within a 3 metre radius (single charge).
• Tier II — two charges, 4 metre radius.
• Tier III — two charges, 5 metre radius.
• Demon exception — all three ranges increase by 50% (roughly 4.5m / 6m / 7.5m), because the Demon hunts at 70% and needs more coverage.

Each use triggers a cooldown (about 25 seconds, 20 for the Demon) before the ghost can try again.

Incense

Lighting Incense within the ghost’s range prevents a normal hunt for 90 seconds (180 for a Spirit, 60 for a Demon). It is a consumable, so use it strategically — often to escape a hunt already in progress rather than to prevent one.

The critical limit: cursed hunts

Neither Incense nor a Tier I or II Crucifix stops a cursed hunt. Only a Tier III Crucifix that is completely unused (both charges remaining) can prevent one. This is the single most important fact on the cursed hunt page: if you are using cursed possessions, a fresh Tier III crucifix is your only real insurance.

How to use them together

Place a crucifix to cover the ghost room and the path you will run, and keep Incense for when a hunt is already on you. Against a Demon, prioritize the higher tiers because of the extended range. The sanity management page explains why keeping sanity high reduces how often you even need these tools.

A worked example

Imagine the ghost room is a bedroom with one doorway. A Tier II crucifix (4m, two charges) centered on the doorway covers the threshold and a slice of the hall — enough to stop two hunt attempts while you grab evidence. If the ghost is a Demon, that same crucifix reaches roughly 6m, so it also covers part of the adjacent room, which is why the Demon exception matters in tight maps. If you have used a cursed possession, swap in a fresh Tier III crucifix instead: the two-charge, full-radius coverage is the only thing that can interrupt the 1-second-grace cursed hunt described on the cursed hunt page. Incense in this scenario is your escape tool — light it as you break line of sight, not as a substitute for the crucifix’s prevention.