The gear featured in the Ghostbusters films is now iconic, featuring in all kinds of media from Rick and Morty to Stranger Things and being the essential kit for plenty a Halloween costume over the past 40 years. And you get to play with all of it in Illfonic’s asymmetric multiplayer game based on the jumpsuit heroes, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed.
From the moment you enter the Firehouse, you’ll have access to the Particle Thrower, the Proton Pack, the P.K.E. Meter, and the Ghost Trap. This guide will explain how to upgrade gear (or customize gear, as the game calls it) and include all of the attributes for each piece of kit at each upgrade level.
How to Upgrade and Customize Gear Mods
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed calls kit unlocks Gear Customization. While you won’t actively swap out skins as you would in something like Apex Legends or add charms similar to Rainbow Six: Siege, you will be able to swap out gear mods that come with various upgrades that bring their own pros and cons.
You’ll unlock gear customization after completing the tutorial (which ends after your very first job). Visit Eddy’s Lab upstairs, and you’ll see a workbench that says “Customize Gear” behind Eddy. You can also find a workbench in the alley where you initially trained with your Particle Thrower with Catt. Interact with either one to bring up the Gear Customization menu.
You’ll see four categories:
- Particle Thrower
- Proton Pack
- P.K.E Meter
- Ghost Trap
Select a tab to bring up that item’s parts menu, then select a specific part via the menu on the left side to bring up that section’s mods menu. You’ll see various mod upgrades you can apply, alongside their stats and blurbs on their ideal uses.
Each piece of gear levels individually based on how much you use it; gear experience bars are hidden, so you can’t keep track of exactly where you are, but you’ll be notified when a new level’s been reached.
Depending on your role within a team, you may opt for Proton Pack mod that does less damage to Rifts but helps you self-revive more quickly, or you might swap out a Ghost Trap foot pedal for one with better throwing velocity.
Secondary Gadgets
You also have access to four secondary gadgets in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed:
- V.A.D.
- Ionizer Pods
- Radar Puck
- Ecto Goggles
Unlike other pieces of kit, these cannot be modded or upgraded; what you see is what you get. You can change the secondary gadget you have equipped by:
- Accessing the workbench.
- Choosing “Secondary Gadget Menu” underneath the primary gear tabs.
- Selecting a gadget from the left-hand menu.
Research Contracts
Research Contracts are a great way to get experience points toward your gear. There are 14 Contracts, one for each upgrade modification. They all have two tiers with specific completion criteria, and all tiers reward 5,000 XP toward the gear piece. Completing both tiers rewards an additional 25,000 XP and
It’s easy to overlook these challenges; I didn’t find them until after I’d beaten the game. Go to Eddy’s Lab on the second floor of the Firestation, and interact with the computer nestled in the servers on the right side of the room just as you enter.
Once you’ve unlocked a Contract by leveling the appropriate piece of gear (the gear symbol and lock symbol will disappear in the Contract menu, showing only a Ghostbusters logo), access the computer, and select a challenge set from the list. Contracts must be selected and set to active to gain progress toward them; switching to a new Contract will wipe the progress of an active challenge set.
Here’s a full list of all available Contracts and their criteria.
- Remote Receiver Research Contract:
- Ghost Trap Lvl.20.
- Tier 1: Throw the trap for a total of 500m
- Tier 2: Trap a ghost within 3 seconds of the trap settling
- Centrifugal Thruster Research Contract:
- Proton Pack Lvl.20.
- Tier 1: Sprint for a total of 15km with the Particle Thrower
- Tier 2: Knock a rift out of a ghost’s hands 5 times.
- Wielder Grip Research Contract:
- PKE Meter Lvl.21.
- Tier 1: Track a ghost signal for 5 minutes total.
- Tier 2: Pulse stun a ghost in mid air 10 times.
- Governor Release Research Contract:
- Proton Pack Lvl.22.
- Tier 1: Reveal 25 rifts.
- Tier 2: Deal 5,000 Rift damage.
- Lithium Ion Battery Research Contract:
- Ghost Trap Lvl.22.
- Tier 1: Recharge trap battery 50,000ma total.
- Tier 2: Discharge 10,000ma of battery in a single job.
- Outboard Chipset Research Contract:
- PKE Meter Lvl. 23.
- Tier 1: Pulse flush a ghost out of a possessable 25 times.
- Tier 2: Pulse kill 50 minions.
- RTV Kit Research Contract:
- Ghost Trap Lvl.24.
- Tier 1: Get the final capture 5 times.
- Tier 2: Resupply your trap from the gear cart 10 times.
- Overclock Module Research Contract:
- Ghost Trap Lvl.25.
- Tier 1: Trap 5 ghosts with your own Primary tether.
- Tier 2: Trap 3 ghosts without tethering.
- Cryogenic Isolator Research Contract:
- Proton Pack Lvl.25.
- Tier 1: Overheat while tethered 15 times.
- Tier 2: Vent while above 90% heat 25 times.
- Whip Pulser Research Contract:
- Particle Thrower Lvl.42
- Tier 1: Hold primary tether for 5 minutes.
- Tier 2: From 10 primary tethers in one job.
- Snub Nose Research Contract:
- Particle Thrower Lvl.44.
- Tier 1: Form a tether after finishing a mantle 10 times.
- Tier 2: Complete 3 primary tethers while falling.
- Dual Vertical Grip Research Contract:
- Particle Thrower Lvl.46.
- Tier 1: Pull a ghost into a trap pull field as primary tether 25 times.
- Tier 2: Reinforce 15 existing tethers.
- Particle Thruster Research Contract:
- Particle Thrower Lvl. 48.
- Tier 1: Destroy 50 minions with your particle thrower.
- Tier 2: Deal 1,000 fracture damage to rifts.
- Neural Frequency Emitter Research Contract:
- Particle Thrower Lvl.50.
- Tier 1: Calm 25 scared civilians you disturbed with your thrower.
- Tier 2: Kill 25 minions who have recently attacked a civilian.
Gear Stats
Below is a complete list of gear mods and stats for each of the four primary pieces of kit, meant to act as a companion to your playthrough. It includes the level at which each unit or mod is unlocked, as well as the modifiers they carry.
Particle Thrower
- Particle Thrower Central Unit:
- Default Unit: Unlocked at Lvl.1
- Quantum Accelerator: Unlocked at Lvl.2
- Tether creation speed ++
- Cryo Venter: Unlocked at Lvl.12
- Venting Speed: ++
- Object Damage: –
- Minion Damage: –
- Rift Damage: –
- Rift Fracture Damage: –
- Heat Sink: Unlocked at Lvl.22
- Tether Creation Speed: –
- Heat Generation: +
- Stream Extender: Unlocked at Lvl.28
- Recoil Control: –
- Tether Extend/Contract Speed: ++
- Stream Range: ++
- Whip Pulser: Unlocked at Lvl.42
- Recoil Control: –
- Whip Pulsar: +
- Heat Generation on Pulse: –
- Particle Thrower Nozzle:
- Default Nozzle: Lvl.1
- Blast Release: Lvl.4
- Tether Health: +
- Sidewinder: Lvl.14
- Tether Control: +++
- Tether Creation Speed: –
- Firing Movement Speed: +
- Focused Tip: Lvl.24
- Stream Control: ++
- Stream Range: –
- Breaker: Lvl.34
- Recoil Control: +
- Tether Health Regen: – –
- Firing Movement Speed: –
- Snub Nose: Lvl.44
- Stream Control: – –
- Recoil Control: – – –
- Movement Speed: +
- Firing Movement Speed: +
- Mantle Duration: ++
- Equip Speed: ++
- Sprint to Action Speed: ++
- Particle Thrower Grip:
- Default Grip: Lvl.1
- Verticle Foregrip: Lvl.6
- Recoil Control: +
- Ergonomic Grip: Lvl.16
- Equip Speed: +
- Horizontal Grip: Lvl.26
- Mantle Duration: –
- Sprint to Action Speed: ++
- Grip Taped Handles: Lvl.36
- Stream Control: ++
- Mantle Duration: +
- Sprint to Action Speed: –
- Knockback Recovery Duration: –
- Dual Vertical Grip: Lvl.46
- Recoil Control: –
- Knockback Recovery Duration: +
- Landing Recovery: +
- Particle Thrower Side Component:
- Default Side Component: Lvl.1
- Cryo Skins: Lvl.8
- Heat Generation: +
- Containment Monitor: Lvl.18
- Tether Control: – –
- Heat Generation While Tethered: ++
- Equip Speed: +
- Stream Amplifier: Lvl.28
- Tether Creation Speed: –
- Venting Speed: –
- Object Damage: ++
- Minion Damage: ++
- Rift Damage: ++
- Rift Fracture Damage: +
- Ionic Reverser: Lvl.38
- Heat Generation While Tethered: –
- Tether Strength: ++
- Sprint to Action Speed: –
- Particle Thruster: Lvl.48
- Tether Creation Speed: +
- Stream Range: ++
- Tether Strength: –
- Firing Movement Speed: –
- Ghost Stun When Flushed out: +
- Particle Thrower Top Attachment:
- Default: Lvl.1
- Active Heat Isolator: Lvl.18
- Stream Control: – –
- Heat Generation: ++
- Heat Generation While Tethered: ++
- Small P.K.E. Monitor: Lvl.35
- Sprint to Action Speed: –
- Simple P.K.E. Distance Detection: +
- Neural Frequency Emitter: Lvl.50
- Mantle Duration: –
- Horrified Civilian Calming: +
- Area Calming: +
Proton Pack
- Proton Pack Injection Booster:
- Default Injection Booster: Lvl.1
- Energy Isolator: Lvl.2
- Rift Damage: +
- Efficiency Optimizer: Lvl.11
- Heat Generation: +
- Heat Generation While Tethered: +
- Tether Creation Speed: –
- Centrifugal Thruster: Lvl.20
- Heat Generation: –
- Movement Speed: +
- Firing Movement Speed: +
- Overheat Cooldown Duration: –
- Knockback Recovery Duration: –
- Sprint Boost: +
- Proton Pack Generator:
- Default Generator: Lvl.1
- Cyclical Exhause Port: Lvl.5
- Venting Speed: +
- Lightweight Module: Lvl.14
- Rift Damage: –
- Movement Speed: +
- Mantle Duration: +
- Self-Revive Speed: +
- Stamina Usage: +
- Governor Release: Lvl.22
- Venting Speed: –
- Overheat Protection: ++
- Proton Pack Cyclotron:
- Default Cyclotron: Lvl.1
- Enhanced Regulator: Lvl.8
- Cooldown Delay: ++
- Nitrogen Tank Expansion: Lvl.17
- Idle Cooldown Speed: +++++
- Cryogenic Isolator: Lvl.25
- Overheat Cooldown Duration: +
- Venting Speed: –
- Idle Cooldown Speed: –
- Sabotage Repair Speed: +++
P.K.E. Meter
- P.K.E. Meter Arms:
- Default Arms: Lvl.1
- Extended Arms: Lvl.7
- Ghost Detection Distance: ++
- Pure Selenium: Lvl.18
- Reboot Duration: –
- Ghost Stun Duration: +
- P.K.E. Handle:
- Default Handle: Lvl.1
- Grip Taped Handle: Lvl.2
- Equip Speed: +++
- Synthetic Wrap: Lvl.11
- Ghost Detection Distance: –
- Rift Detection Distance: –
- Sprint to Action Speed: +
- Movement Speed: +
- Wielder Grip: Lvl.21
- Equipe Speed: –
- Sprint with PKE Meter: +
- P.K.E. Attachment:
- Default Attachment: Lvl.1
- Detection Amplifier: Lvl.4
- Ghost Detection Distance: ++
- Rift Detection Distance: –
- Artifact Detection Distance: –
- Pulse Booster Bypass: Lvl.15
- Pulse Range: +++
- Reboot Duration: –
- Ghost Stun Duration: –
- Outboard Chipset: Lvl.23
- Ghost Detection Distance: –
- Ghost Object Highlight: +
- False Positive Detection: +
Ghost Trap
- Ghost Trap Inner Mechanism:
- Default Inner Mechanism: Lvl.1
- Deferred Aperture: Lvl.2
- Trap Field Angle: +
- Trap Field Height: +
- Battery Life: –
- Supercharger: Lvl.10
- Trap Field Angle: –
- Trap Pull Strength: +++
- Trap Minigame Sweetspot Size: +
- Battery Usage: – –
- Remote Receiver: Lvl.20
- Remote Receiver: +
- Pedal Use: –
- Ghost Trap Battery:
- Default Battery: Lvl.1
- Large Capacity Battery: Lvl.4
- Throw Velocity: – –
- Battery Usage: +++
- Lipo Battery: Lvl.12
- Trap Pull Strength: +++
- Battery Usage: – –
- Lithium Ion Battery: Lvl.22
- Trap Pull Strength: –
- Battery Recharge Speed: ++
- Ghost Trap Base:
- Default Base: Lvl.1
- Skid Stop: Lvl.6
- Throw Velocity: –
- Trap Settle Speed: +++
- Trap Instant Activation: +
- Base Anchor: Lvl.15
- Trap Minigame Difficulty: +
- Deploy Time: –
- Trap Instant Stick: +
- Floor Anchor: +
- R.T.V. Kit: Lvl.24
- Battery Recharge Speed: –
- R/C Trap: +
- Pedal Use: +
- Ghost Trap Pedal:
- Default Pedal: Lvl.1
- Extended Cable: Lvl.8
- Throw Velocity: ++
- Seismic Proximity Pedal: Lvl.18
- Battery Recharge Speed: –
- Activation Interaction Distance: +++
- Overclock Module: Lvl.25
- Trap Field Angle: +++
- Trap Pull Strength: ++
- Battery Usage: – –
- Battery Recharge Speed: –
- Overclock Function: +
And there you have it: how to upgrade and customize gear in Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. With access to Research Contracts, you’ll gain even more experience for your character, and now you have a complete list of mods and attachments at your fingertips. The only thing we didn’t cover was which are the best, though that’s a topic for another guide.
