[Top 5] Dead By Daylight Best Ways To Find The Hatch

By

Updated:

12 Sep 2021

The Hatch, in all its mythical, magical glory, spawns at pre-selected and random locations throughout each map. Its precise whereabouts are almost impossible to predict. If you find yourself facing an experienced killer or your teammates are just not meeting your expectations, you will likely be the last survivor standing.

You hate fixing generators (we all do), plus the killer will be watching your every move, which leaves your only possible taste of freedom: The Hatch.

1. Check The Main Building

Escaping through the Hatch in Dead by Daylight - A Beginner's Guide

In most playable maps (not all), there will be a large monument, typically in the center. Really, that thing is hard to miss. For example, the gas station at Autohaven Wreckers. These places tend to spawn the hatch much more often, especially if you burn the offering “Vigo’s Blueprint” before the match begins.

Doing so will tremendously improve the chances of spawning the hatch within the main structure, however, the offering is visible to all other players, so it increases the risk of the killer reaching it and closing it before you can jump through it.

Main buildings have an increased chance of spawning the hatch.

Locate the central structure on the map (only applicable if the map has a main building).
Search throughout that building, including upper levels and around corners, even in darker areas.
Listen closely for the “wind tunnel” sound of the hatch. This is essential to isolate the exact location.

2. Search Outer Circle Then Progress Inwards

How to find / hear the hatch - Dead by Daylight

This tactic seems to be the most favourable in terms of actually searching (painstakingly) for the hatch. It shows an attentiveness that is not only smart gameplay, but allows you to stay ahead of the competition, as most killers will search around without any apparent strategy and hope to stumble across the hatch based on pure luck.

As many experienced players will agree, the hatch can be tricky to find unless you use your initiative; this technique follows the “outside-in” principle and prevents any rookie errors where you might blatantly walk past the hatch without knowing it, especially if it has spawned, but not opened yet.

Start on the outer perimeter of the map, as the hatch loves to spawn in dimly lit and grassy areas.
With each full lap of the perimeter, move inwards and gradually progress towards the centre, moving around either clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Either run (if you feel brave) or walk, eliminating sections of the map with each full circle.

The sheer size of Dead By Daylight maps can seem daunting.

3. Check Small Monuments

Escaping through the Hatch in Dead by Daylight - A Beginner's Guide

It goes without saying that if you check the main building, then you have to check the smaller ones. It may sound daunting, but smaller monuments are just extra indoor areas around the map. These include: the machinery and cranes on Autohaven, the combines on Coldwind Farm and the boats on Backwater Swamp.

Essentially, any unique placement that does not include jungle gyms and fields. Needless to say, the Killer Shack is the most obvious place to start. If you burn the “Annotated Blueprint” offering beforehand, it improves the chances of spawning the hatch within the Killer Shack, if the map has one.

Killer shacks are a hotspot location for the hatch to spawn.

Always check the main building first and pay close attention to the offerings that are burnt pre-game, as this can be hugely helpful.
If that fails, check the smaller monuments, starting with the Killer Shack. Again, pay attention to the offerings.
Move around the map stealthily and implement both of the tactics above: complete full loops around the map whilst also checking important buildings to decrease the workload.

4. Maps (Rainbow and Regular + Add-Ons)

The Hatch Guide - Dead By Daylight

Maps are fairly straightforward; as we all know, maps give you directions and pinpoint precise places. Maps and Rainbow Maps are rare and ultra-rare items, so consider yourself extremely lucky if you happen to have one spawn in your bloodweb. The Rainbow Map is the more favourable choice, as it actively tracks the location of the hatch when the survivor is within an 8-metre radius.

No add-ons are required, but it only lasts for twenty seconds and costs 7,000 bloodpoints, which is not ideal. The regular Map, when used with the add-on “Black Silk Cord” unlocks that same ability to track the hatch; both options are feasible, except one includes extra steps.

Always consider bringing a map along when hunting for the hatch.

Choose either the Map (plus the “Black Silk Cord” add-on) or the Rainbow Map (by itself).
Do not burn the map, save it for when the time comes and the hatch spawns.
When it spawns, periodically use the map whilst wandering around (using the technique stated above) to further increase the chance of finding it.
Even if the hatch is not an available option, track the exit gates instead to be fully prepared for when all generators are fixed.
Also, take along the “Odd Stamp” add-on to increase the range of the map by 12 metres and lessen the distance needed between yourself and the hatch before it becomes trackable.

5. Research and Experimentation

Midwich Elementary School All 24 Hatch Locations in Dead By Daylight

As far as finding the hatch goes, the major points are covered, at least those relevant to in-game items and tactics. There are those of us that spend hours (often without sleeping or eating or interacting with the outside world) searching for all the potential hatch spawning locations on each playable map within Dead By Daylight.

Thankfully, any worries you might have regarding “how to” and “where is” are solved on this marvellous invention called the World Wide Web. For every question, there is an answer.

The hatch spawn location is seemingly random, but more predictable than it seems.

If you want exact locations and the predictability secured, then research and experiment.
Watch other players and make a mental note of the most probable locations for the hatch to spawn.
Experiment yourself. The more you play, the more you get to know the areas around which you run for hours on end.
Spend games specifically waiting for the opportunity to escape through the hatch and practice learning its behaviour, including where it spawns and how to find it.
Watch videos detailing all the locations that the hatch can spawn, then get to know those locations and try it for yourself.