Darkwoods

## Map Layout

top-down view of map

**Darkwoods**, also called the **Forest of No Return**, is a map available in Identity V. It was officially announced on July 11, 2021, and introduced to the game during the Time of Reunion: Act 2: About "Her" Event. The map currently will show up in Match Mode (Quick Match only) and can be selected in Custom mode. There are 6 chests that spawn on this map.

## Background

This map depicts the private forest surrounding the Oletus Manor. It once had a poaching problem, until a tragedy befell the Gamekeeper of the forest and he lost his mercy. After that, it soon became known as the "Forest of No Return". It was the location where the game with Novelist, "Nightmare", Entomologist, Prospector and presumably "Little Girl" as the players, took place.

## Notable Locations

### Hunting Cabin

A large, rectangular log cabin takes up the South-West corner of the map, with large openings on the North and South sides. It has a second-floor loft with a staircase leading up to it in the center, while on the first floor is a large stone fireplace.

### Ruins

All along the Eastern side of the map are ruined wooden walls, all that is left of old buildings. Additionally, the ruins of two larger shacks are in the center of the map.

### Treetops

Scattered around the map are various large trees with wooden platforms surrounding them, which can only be reached by going up their respective stairway. There are five of these treetop platforms on the map, with four of them next to the toxic river. The last treetop platform is in the South-East quadrant of the map.

#### Swinging Ropes

The four platforms have two swinging ropes that allow any player to swing over the river from one platform to another, although only one can be on the rope at a time.

Survivors have a limited power to how often they can swing on the rope, and cannot swing while under the effects of Tide Turner or if the stamina runs out until 30 seconds have passed.

Hunters can swing on the rope indefinitely but they swing slower than the survivors.

If the Hunter or a Survivor is interrupted doing the swing, they will teleport to the starting or the endpoint of the swing instead.

If a Hunter manages to attack a Survivor who has just jumped on the rope, and the hit is a success, it will count as a Terror Shock. Certain Hunter abilities are also able to hit a successful attack in the middle of the swing, such as The Ripper's foggy blade or Gamekeeper's Chain Hook.

### Toxic River

A curving green river is the most notable landmark on the North-East quadrant of the map.

Formerly, the toxic river makes players who step in the river have decreased movement speed by 2%. After leaving the river, the effect will disappear in 2 seconds. This is removed in May 25th 2023 update in Season 26.

### Bonfire

An enormous bonfire is on the North-West side of the map, surrounded by small log piles and other junk. South of the bonfire are two huge parallel log piles, with a swinging rope in between them.

## Exit Gate Locations

As with the other maps, Forest of No Return only has two Exit Gates, which are always in these two locations:

1. Middle of the West wall (more North), close to the bonfire.
2. Middle of the East wall (more South), close to the lone treetop platform.

## Character Spawn Locations

There are 5 possible character spawn location groups on this map.

Note: The actual spawn points of Survivors will be refreshed at random within 15m of the marked positions on the map.

Spawn point group 1Spawn point group 2Spawn point group 3Spawn point group 4Spawn point group 5
## Cipher Locations

There are 5 possible cipher spawn point groups on this map.

Cipher spawn point group 1Cipher spawn point group 2Cipher spawn point group 3Cipher spawn point group 4Cipher spawn point group 5
## Basement Locations

As with the other maps, Forest of No Return only has two possible basement locations:

1. In the large Hunting Cabin.
2. Under the treetop platform near the swinging vine.

## Dungeon Locations

There are a few possible locations for the dungeon hatch to spawn in.

1. In the most South-West corner, outside of the Hunting Cabin.
2. Northernmost end of the toxic river, across from some wolf cages.
3. Easternmost end of the toxic river, on the Southern side with the most ruins.
4. In the South-most edge, in the middle of a square wooden ruins.

## Gameplay Tips

* Control Freak (Deceit) is a good choice as there are many platforms above ground level on the map.
* Destructiveness may be helpful to continue pursuit among the many pallets on the map.
* If the basement is below the treetop platform, hunters may make use of the falling attack trick twice in quick succession.
* As the treehouse area is a strong kiting spot, hunters should avoid chasing survivors through the area when possible.
	+ Consequently, survivors should definitely use this kiting spot but they should avoid being incapacitated nearby if the basement spawns there.

* Toy Merchant can glide from the second floor of the cabin and treehouse platforms.
* Patient can hook onto nearly every obstacle on the map, with plenty of high obstacles providing good jump spots.
* Explorer can hide in many locations on this map, as there is a lot of ground cover.
* Geisha can dash across the treehouse platforms, negating the need to use the swinging vine. However, if a survivor is staring at her, she can fall to the ground mid dash, or fail to dash entirely.
* Wu Chang can also bypass using the vine to swing by using Summon.
* Evil Reptilian can leap directly onto or across platforms of the treehouse.

## Map Changes

The following changes refer only to adjustments that affect gameplay. Cosmetic effects and other easter eggs can be found under the trivia section.

Season 18
* A pallet at one of the entrances of the animal enclosure next to the cabin house was removed.
* The swing was made to be interactive.

Season 26
* Increased the brightness and improve the overall ambiance.
* Relocated the basement from the middle of the map to the riverside.
* Removed the river's speed reduction debuff. Splashing sounds and visual effects were also removed.
* Removed all the traps.
* Increased the survivors' interaction speed when using the Rope Swing.
	+ Survivors will consume all the stamina when interacting with the Rope Swing and they have to wait for 30 seconds before using it again.
* If a Survivor or the Hunter is interrupted when using the Rope Swing, they will teleport to the starting or endpoint of the Rope Swing instead of falling down.
* Relocate the pallets, windows, and scene objects.

**Please press "Expand" to see the list of scene changes made.**

* The window near the cabin basement location was moved to the adjacent wall and now faces the basement entrance.
* The previously removed pallet at the animal enclosure was replaced and a gap in the fence was added.
* The basement location in the middle of the map was relocated to be under one of the treehouse platforms.
* The treehouse platform above the new basement location was lengthened.
* The stacked log piles in front of the cabin were rotated.
* Several pallets were added in the kiting spot in front of the cabin where there was previously open space.
* A pallet was added in the enclosure in the middle of the map where the basement could have spawned previously.
* The layout of the obstacles under where the canopy was previously was changed, and a pallet was removed.
* The shape of the walls near the treetop gate was changed, and a pallet was removed.
* Many walls of the treetop ruins have been removed, as well as several pallets.

Season 27
* Adjusted some of the pallet areas.

Season 29
* Slightly adjusted the direction and position of a Cipher Machine in Darkwoods.

## Trivia

* This map was one of the places teased in the Time of Reunion trailer
	+ During the Time of Reunion event, this map appeared during the *About "Her"* and the *About "Him"* events.
* Previously, there were Traps on this map that exposed the location of the player who stepped on them to the other player(s) for 10 seconds. But if the hunter chose Gamekeeper on this map, the traps would work as Gamekeeper's Traps (Survivor imprisoned for 8 seconds).
	+ Hunters could remove the expose debuff by emoting.
* The lore of Season 3 Essence 1 also mentions a "Darkwoods" (previously "Forest of No Return") in several of the related cosmetics' descriptions.
* A ghostly figure of a girl can be seen playing on the swing. If a player gets within a certain range, the image will disappear.
	+ All survivors can play on the swing, but "Little Girl" is the only one who laughs while swinging.
* If a Survivor is eliminated using one of the three Rocket Chairs around the bonfire, the fiery outline of a Dream Witch Follower will appear in front of where the chair once was.
	+ If three survivors are eliminated using the three Rocket Chairs surrounding the bonfire and three followers are summoned, a fiery outline of Yidhra will appear above the bonfire.

## Gallery

Darkwoods Introduction Image (Twitter)Darkwoods Concept Art by BIN XUDarkwoods Release Day Artwork (Lofter)Early Darkwoods Concept Art by 头冷, notice "Nightmare" in the corner with glowing red eyes.Darkwoods Promotional ArtDarkwoods Concept Art by 头冷Ashes of Memory Trailer Concept Art by Liu YaocenAshes of Memory Trailer Concept Art by Liu YaocenThe Dream Witch bonfire easter egg.Dream Witch's follower dancing when a survivor is eliminated with a chair in front of the bonfire.A ghostly version of "Little Girl" swinging.
### Before Adjustment

The following section shows the style and gameplay elements of Darkwoods prior to the adjustments made in Season 26.

**Please press "Expand" to see the map's previous scene objects and appearance.**

#### Style Changes

The lighting style of the bonfire location on the map.Treetop platforms with the map's previous ambience. The river also still has bubbling effects.The interactable swing with the map's previous lighting.The background of the map before the adjustment.The sunken walkway over the toxic river.
#### Scene changes

The previous orientation of the stacked log piles.The previous formation of the walls in front of the treehouse gate.The location of where the basement could previously spawn.The treetop platform before adjustment. Note the shorter length.The previous orientation of the obstacles under the old canopy location.The fence near the cabin before the scene changes.The previous placement of the window near the basement in the cabin.The previous position of the obstacles near the small tents.The animal enclosure next to the cabin before the adjustment.One of the Beast Traps that would spawn on the map before their removal.All possible spawn locations of the traps previously found on the map.

## References

1. ↑ Time of Reunion
2. ↑ Lore trailer "Reunion Time" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLy\_zxjWBRM&t=30s

## Navigation

 Both Modes