How to Find a Hatch in Dead By Daylight

When there’s a homicidal psychopath bearing down on you with a pointy object, it’s important to have multiple avenues of escape. For example, when the front door is inevitably locked, break a window! If the windows are reinforced, exit out through a basement! If the basement’s no good, then look for a shadowy, metaphysical escape hatch. Here’s how to find a hatch in Dead By Daylight.

As a Survivor in Dead By Daylight, your primary goal and point of egress will always be the Exit Gate powered by the Generators. Of course, when the Killer starts picking you off, it obviously becomes a little more difficult to repair enough Generators to open the gate. This is the reason for the existence of the Hatch, occasionally known as the “Black Lock.” When a certain number of Survivors have been killed, relative to the number of Generators repaired, the Hatch will appear at a random point somewhere on the map. If only one Survivor is left alive, the Hatch will pop open, and the Survivor can use it to escape the Trial.

How to Find a Hatch in Dead By Daylight

Now, there’s a few technicalities one should be aware of when hunting for a Hatch. Firstly, as I said, its appearance is predicated on the number of Survivors versus repaired Generators. 

• 4 Survivors/5 Generators Repaired
• 3 Survivors/4 Generators Repaired
• 2 Survivors/3 Generators Repaired
• 1 Survivor/Appears and opens no matter how many Generators have been Repaired

Secondly, even when the Hatch appears, you can’t actually use it to escape unless it’s open. The only way to open it aside from being the last Survivor standing is to use a Key add-on. If the Hatch is forced open with a Key, it’ll remain open until all Survivors escape or the Killer closes it. Incidentally, even if the Killer finds and closes an open Hatch, it can be reopened with another Key.

Finally, when you’re actively looking for a Hatch, you need to rely on your eyes, ears, and spatial reasoning. While a Hatch’s spawn is technically randomized, there are a few rules to its appearance. The Hatch can only spawn on a flat, ground-level surface, so don’t bother looking for it on higher levels of buildings. In the case of indoor maps like Hawkins Laboratory, you should usually look on the lowest possible levels.

Hatches also have a tendency to appear near important landmarks on maps like central buildings or the Killer Shack, and you can improve the odds of this occurring with certain Offerings. When the Hatch pops, it makes a distinctive creaking sound, followed by a soft, whistling wind. Listening for that wind is the best way to find a Hatch.