The Trial Grounds — Realms and Maps
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I awoke to find myself in this strange place. I have no memory of how I came here. | 
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| ~ Benedict Baker |
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Every place feels mysterious, yet is somehow the same. Every time I wake up I shiver with fear for what new nightmare awaits. Each departure from the campfire is into confusion. Slowly I learn the different places, recognising features and buildings but I never really understand the pattern. As if some powerful force is shuffling the world as if we were a deck of cards. Maybe we are just pawns on a scrabble board? |
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| ~ Benedict Baker's Journal |
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In Dead by Daylight, Killers and Survivors face off in sinister arenas known as Realms. Fabricated by The Entity from the memories of its victims, Realms contain one or more locations – or maps – whose layouts change every time you play. |
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The Trial Grounds, also known as "Environments" or "Maps" are located in pockets of space referred to as "Realms", which themselves are all located in the overall Realm of The Entity.
Overview
The Realms and the Maps within them are twisted recreations of locations The Entity abducted its victims from, fashioned after their memories.
They now serve as the Trial Grounds for the endless cycle of Trials used to feed and sustain The Entity.
Lore
The Realms are small pockets within The Entity's malevolent universe and are constructed from Auric Cells
.
They do not coexist at all times, but are rather created whenever needed, including Sub-Realms such as the Campfire.
Anything beyond the border walls of the Trial Grounds or the woods and black fog found surrounding the Campfire are just a façade to mask the boundaries of the pockets.
Terminology
Realm
A Realm is the themed location fashioned from the memories of The Entity's victims, mimicking a twisted version of the location they were abducted from.
It usually consists of multiple Maps (though new Realms often just feature one Map) and dictates their shared theme, but is itself not a playable environment.
Map
A Map is the actual playable environment in which the Trials take place.
It is located within a Realm.
Multiple Maps within the same Realm all share the same assets, fog and sky colour, and colour palette, but feature different unique landmark buildings, based on a Map's individual lore.
Map Variation
- Map Variations have been disabled with Patch 8.6.0.
They can, however, still be selected for Custom Games.
A Map Variation was a slightly altered version of an existing Map and marked with a Roman numeral, with original Map being marked 'I'.
Map Variations shared the same landmark buildings among them, but differed in the layout tiles, building locations, and sometimes even in size and shape.
They were originally added to the Game to provide Players with more gameplay alternatives without requiring the design of new Maps entirely, which would require a new landmark building and new Lore.
Realm Selection
When loading into a regular Trial, The Entity randomly chooses one from all available Maps.
Players may influence the Realm by burning a Realm Selection Offerings
, which usually (it is not a guaranteed chance) causes The Entity to still choose a random Map, but within a specific Realm, with Players generally unable to influence the specific Map.
This excludes edge-cases in which a Realm only features a single Map or when Players burn either the Alien Flora
or Airlock Doors
Offerings, which are tied to specific Maps instead of Realms.
Repetition Prevention Mechanics
Over the years, the perceived frequency of playing on the same Maps back-to-back was a frequent complaint of the Community.
The Developers eventually introduced a system that would prevent the repetition of Maps, and later replaced it with one preventing the repetition of Realms instead, since playing the same Realm back-to-back could actually feel more repetitious than Maps.
Map Repeat Prevention
- This system is no longer in use.
This system was introduced in Patch 6.6.0 and used until Patch 8.4.2.
It affected the Map-Selection process in the following ways:
- The chances to play the same Map back-to-back was reduced to near zero.
- The chances to play recently played Maps in upcoming Trials was reduced to unlikely levels, but not zero.
This system, however, could be overridden with the use of Realm Selection Offerings and would not affected Custom Games.
Realm Repeat Prevention
- This system is currently in use.
This system was introduced in Patch 8.5.0 and replaced the previous Map Repeat Prevention mechanic.
It affects the Realm-Selection process in the following ways:
- The chances to play the same Realm back-to-back is reduced to zero.
- The chances to play recently played Realms in upcoming Trials is reduced to unlikely levels, but not zero.
List of Realms and Maps
There are currently 20 Realms and 72 playable Maps (includes variations of the same Map) featured in Dead by Daylight:
The MacMillan Estate
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Autohaven Wreckers
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Coldwind Farm
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Crotus Prenn Asylum
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Haddonfield
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Backwater Swamp
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Léry's Memorial Institute
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Red Forest
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Springwood
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Gideon Meat Plant
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Yamaoka Estate
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Ormond
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Hawkins National Laboratory
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Grave of Glenvale
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Silent Hill
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Raccoon City
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Forsaken Boneyard
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Withered Isle
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The Decimated Borgo
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Dvarka Deepwood
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Recurring Structures
These are structures that appear on most if not all Maps:
| The Basement | The Killer Shack | Hills | Maze Tiles |
|---|---|---|---|
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Unused Maps
Over the course of Dead by Daylight's existence, several either unreleased or unused Maps have been found in the Game files.
It is not known whether they will be released at some point or be removed from the code eventually.
Maps listed in gold can (still) be found in the Game code, Maps in fuchsia have been removed over time.
Their names are generally WIP names of Maps and a Map's actual name upon release would likely be different:
- The MacMillan Estate
- Mini
- Seb's Dream
- Crotus Prenn Asylum
- Infinite Gym
- Haddonfield
- Facility
- Backwater Swamp
- Dead Lake
- Grim Gully
- Mound
- Ormond
- Shack
Sub-Realms
Sub-Realms come in two varieties: different planes of existence existing in the Trial Grounds and small Realm pockets outside of the Trial Grounds.
There are currently 8 known Sub-Realms:
- The Campfire
- Location to which The Entity brings the Survivors and the Killer before a next Trial.
- The Dream World
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Nightmare
and Survivors affected by his Power.
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Nightmare
- The Ethereal Plane
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Spirit
while using her Power.
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Spirit
- The Otherworld
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Onryō
while using her Power.
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Onryō
- The Spirit World
- The Upside Down
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Demogorgon
while using its Power.
- Another plane of existence that is accessible to The Demogorgon
- The Void
- Location to which The Entity discards both Killers and Survivors that no longer serve their purpose and have been drained of all emotion.
Map Intro Themes
Upon loading into a Trial, during the initial camera pan, each Map will play a short intro theme, that is unique to each Realm, with the exception of Dvarka Deepwood and The Decimated Borgo, which both have a unique intro theme for either of their Maps.
These intro themes, with the exception of those for Haddonfield and Silent Hill, were added with Patch 5.5.0 for the Coldwind Farm and Patch 5.6.0 for all other Realms and are now an integral part of new Realms.
| Realm Intros | |
|---|---|
| Autohaven Wreckers | |
| Backwater Swamp | |
| Coldwind Farm | |
| Crotus Prenn Asylum | |
| Forsaken Boneyard | |
| Gideon Meat Plant | |
| Grave of Glenvale | |
| Haddonfield | |
| Hawkins National Laboratory | |
| Léry's Memorial Institute | |
| The MacMillan Estate | |
| Ormond | |
| Raccoon City | |
| Red Forest | |
| Silent Hill | |
| Springwood | |
| Withered Isle | |
| Yamaoka Estate | |
| Map Intros | |
| The Decimated Borgo: Forgotten Ruins |
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| The Decimated Borgo: The Shattered Square |
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| Dvarka Deepwood: Nostromo Wreckage |
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| Dvarka Deepwood: Toba Landing |
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Map Sizes
The Trial Grounds in Dead by Daylight come in a variety of sizes and consists of Tiles that are placed semi-procedurally between different Trials on the same Map.
Minor tiles can be placed and rotated randomly, whereas major tiles with large structures tend to remain in the same location.
Most Map tiles come in one of three sizes: 16x16, 16x32, or 32x32 metres.
Measuring Size
All Map Sizes have been measured manually by the Wiki Guardians of the Dead by Daylight Wiki as there are no official measurements available.
The Map size mentioned on the Wiki generally just regards the area a Map covers and disregards all structures placed within it that reduce the actual playable size, as there are no means to measure them accurately.
Methodology
The Wiki measures Map Sizes based on the length and structure of the outer walls surrounding all outdoor Maps, as it was discovered that they are constructed from segments that are exactly 8 metres in length (column to column) and never change between different iterations of a Map.
This is the most accurate method available to measure Map Sizes without requiring access to Developer Tools.
However, it creates an issue for measuring indoor Maps, as they have no visible outer wall segments and it has been noted that their repeating wall segments (if available) have varying sizes.
There have been found other methods to measure indoor Maps, but they require several hours of painstaking work and have been deemed not worth the trouble in the case of the Raccoon City Police Station Maps, which are excessively difficult to measure.
Square Tiles
The Wiki gives a Map's size in two different units: metres squared (m2) and Square Tiles (sqT).
A square Tile was defined to be an area of 8x8 metres, the length of an outer wall segment.
It is not to be confused with the three Tile sizes mentioned previously, as it is much smaller.
Size Table
| Rank | Map | Size (sqT, 8x8 m2) | Size (m2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mother's Dwelling (2v8) | 200 | 12,800 |
| 2 | Rancid Abattoir (2v8) | 192 | 12,288 |
| Sanctum of Wrath (2v8) | |||
| 3 | Disturbed Ward (2v8) | 188 | 12,032 |
| 4 | Suffocation Pit (2v8) | 184 | 11,776 |
| Azarov's Resting Place (2v8) | |||
| Gas Heaven (2v8) | |||
| Family Residence (2v8) | |||
| 5 | Shelter Woods (2v8) | 180 | 11,520 |
| The Thompson House (2v8) | |||
| Father Campbell's Chapel (2v8) | |||
| Mount Ormond Resort (2v8) | |||
| Dead Dawg Saloon (2v8) | |||
| 6 | Shelter Woods I | 176 | 11,264 |
| Shelter Woods II | |||
| Azarov's Resting Place I | |||
| 7 | Disturbed Ward I | 172 | 11,008 |
| 8 | Torment Creek I | 168 | 10,752 |
| Grim Pantry | |||
| 9 | Wretched Shop I | 164 | 10,496 |
| Garden of Joy | |||
| 10 | The Pale Rose | 161 | 10,304 |
| 11 | Ironworks of Misery I | 160 | 10,240 |
| Suffocation Pit I | |||
| Rotten Fields | |||
| Mount Ormond Resort II | |||
| Greenville Square | |||
| 12 | Groaning Storehouse I | 156 | 9,984 |
| Ironworks of Misery II | |||
| Blood Lodge | |||
| Gas Heaven I | |||
| Family Residence I | |||
| Family Residence II | |||
| Sanctum of Wrath I | |||
| Mount Ormond Resort I | |||
| Mount Ormond Resort III | |||
| 13 | Suffocation Pit II | 152 | 9,728 |
| Fractured Cowshed | |||
| The Thompson House I | |||
| Mother's Dwelling I | |||
| Nostromo Wreckage | |||
| 14 | Groaning Storehouse II | 148 | 9,472 |
| Badham Preschool V | |||
| Sanctum of Wrath II | |||
| Eyrie of Crows | |||
| 15 | Wreckers' Yard I | 144 | 9,216 |
| Badham Preschool I | |||
| Badham Preschool II | |||
| Badham Preschool III | |||
| The Shattered Square | |||
| 16 | The Game | 142 | 9,088 |
| 17 | Rancid Abattoir I | 140 | 8,960 |
| Father Campbell's Chapel I | |||
| Badham Preschool IV | |||
| Dead Sands | |||
| 18 | The Underground Complex | 138 | 8,832 |
| 19 | Coal Tower II | 136 | 8,704 |
| The Temple of Purgation | |||
| Dead Dawg Saloon I | |||
| Toba Landing | |||
| 20 | Coal Tower I | 132 | 8,448 |
| Lampkin Lane | |||
| Forgotten Ruins | |||
| Ormond Lake Mine | |||
| 21 | Midwich Elementary School | 113.5 | 7,264 |
| 22 | Treatment Theatre | 98 | 6,272 |
Realm Nature Guide
In celebration of Earth Day 2021, the Developers published a "totally accurate nature guide to The Entity's Realm":
Cover Page
"Don't eat these corndogs. I've tried."
"they told me I was crazy"
"This crow is Rick. These barrels are being delivered to his crowbar."
"Alternatively: The Stalk Market."
"They're hanging out."
"Maurice really is his name."
"Mum, can I have Maurice? We have Maurice at home. Maurice at home:"
"The Cuddle Puddle is at capacity, you cannot join."
"It says right there. Can't you read?"
"A.k.a. Hamlet. We usually don't use his real name since he's in the Witness Protection Program."
"POV: You're on the Hook and your team mates need to rescue you."
"Real name: Wingy McFlapflaps"
"₮ⱧɆ ₵ØɄ₦₵łⱠ Ⱨ₳₴ ĐɆ₵łĐɆĐ ɎØɄⱤ ₣₳₮Ɇ"
Change Log (incomplete)
Patch 4.2.0
- Updated the visuals of the Springwood and the Yamaoka Estate Maps.
Patch 4.3.0
- Updated the visuals of the The MacMillan Estate Maps.
Patch 6.6.0
- Updated the visuals of the Red Forest Maps.
Patch 6.7.0
- Reworked the Blood Lodge and Gas Heaven Maps.
Patch 7.3.0
- Added 5 Map Variations to the The MacMillan Estate Realm, 1 for each Map.
Patch 7.4.0
- Reduced the sizes of the then largest Maps in the game: Mother's Dwelling and The Temple of Purgation.
Patch 8.0.0
- Updated the lighting of the The Decimated Borgo Realm to be turquoise rather than red to improve accessibility.
Patch 8.1.0
- Added 2 Map Variations of Mount Ormond Resort.
- Added 1 Map Variation of Family Residence.
- Added 1 Map Variation of Sanctum of Wrath.
Patch 8.5.0
- Modified the Map Repeat Prevention system to now be based on Realms instead.
Patch 8.6.0
- Disabled all Map Variations for ranked Trials.
- Only the original Map is chosen by the Map Selector:
- For most Maps, this refers to the one marked by the Roman numeral 'I'.
- For the RPD Map, this refers to the West Wing.
- All Map Variations can still be selected for Custom Games
- Only the original Map is chosen by the Map Selector:
Trivia
- The average Map has a size of 144 square Tiles or 9184 m2.
- The largest Map in the Game is Mother's Dwelling II with 200 square Tiles.
- The smallest Map in the Game is Treatment Theatre with 98 square Tiles.
- Even though The Underground Complex used to be the Map covering the smallest surface area from a technical POV, its numerous catwalks increased its actual playable surface, estimated to be in the neighbourhood of ~138 square Tiles.
- In almost every Realm there are newspapers that are titled Behaviour Times, referring to BHVR.
- There are numerous paintings found all throughout the Realms depicting sceneries of certain Maps. Currently, there exist paintings of the Coldwind Farm, Crotus Prenn Asylum, Yamaoka Estate, Ormond, and Withered Isle Realms.
Gallery
A Behaviour Times newspaper in one of the Autohaven Wreckers Maps.
Model of the Behaviour Times newspaper.
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