Underkeep Map: Areas, Routes and Waystones
An Underkeep map guide: every confirmed area, the route order that keeps you alive, how the automap legend works, and where Waystone Gates shorten the walk.
Underkeep is partly open, so there is no single corridor from start to finish. The map still has a reliable spine: starting dungeon, village, Hollowgrave Tunnels, then the western and southern branches. This page gives the area order, the connections that matter, and the map habits that prevent backtracking.
What does the automap show?
Press M to open the map. The legend marks doors, treasure, statues, pressure plates, pits, rocks, shrines, teleports, and portals. The automap fills as you walk, but notes and custom markers are manual.
| Legend mark | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Door | Normal passage | Open or note the lock |
| Treasure | Container or loot | Clear the room, then open |
| Statue | Puzzle piece | Note the position before pushing |
| Pressure plate | Trigger | Step once, watch what changes |
| Pit | Hazard or drop | Note before crossing |
| Rock | Collapsed passage | Pickaxe, or Reinforced Pickaxe |
| Shrine | Buff or restore | Use before a boss |
| Teleport | Waystone Gate | Touch to activate |
| Portal | Fast travel point | Activate and mark |
Mark every blocked door and unopened chest the moment you see it. The map does not remember why you skipped something; you have to.
What are the confirmed areas?
| Area | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starting dungeon | Tutorial | Tools, food, first gear |
| Underkeep Village | Hub | Shops, revival statue, quests |
| Hollowgrave Tunnels | Early branch | Silver Key door to the northwest |
| Fangroot | Western pits | Herbs, animal fights |
| Orc Camp | Southern branch | Orc Chieftain, private chest |
| Gravewood Crypt | Optional | Four-gargoyle puzzle |
| Duskhollow Woods | Mid-game | Quests and mist routes |
| Blightvein Mines | Resource area | Ore and gold veins |
| Underkeep Tower | Late landmark | Visible from the village |
| Swamp | Mid-game branch | Frog King reports |
| Forgotten gardens | Optional | Herbs and hidden corners |
| Misty maze | Late route | Mist Walker achievement |
The names are confirmed from the game and community reports. The exact connections between every optional area are not fully mapped in public sources, so treat the order below as a route, not a graph.
What is the best route order?
- Finish the starting dungeon and return to the village.
- Clear Hollowgrave Tunnels up to the silver door.
- Push west into Fangroot for herbs and animal fights.
- Descend past the spider boss and take the southern passage to Orc Camp.
- Open the chieftain's chest for the Silver Key.
- Return to Hollowgrave Tunnels and open the northwest door.
- Explore Gravewood Crypt if you want the optional puzzle.
- Move into Duskhollow Woods and the swamp.
- Clear Blightvein Mines for ore and gold.
- Push the tower and the misty maze for the late game.
This order front-loads the two upgrades that matter most: the Silver Key route and the village shops. It also keeps the optional crypt before the difficulty spike, so you can skip it without losing progress.
The Silver Key page→ walks the Orc Camp route step by step.
Where are the Waystone Gates?
Waystone Gates are the fast-travel network. Touch each gate you pass to activate it, then travel between activated gates from the map. The first activation unlocks Way to Go!.
Activate gates even when the route is short. The value is in the return trip, and a gate skipped early is a long walk later.
How do you avoid getting lost?
Use a three-pass habit per area. First pass: follow the main corridor and activate the gate. Second pass: open every side room and mark blocked obstacles. Third pass: clear the leftover treasure with the right tools.
Do not try to clear an area in one pass. The game gates progress behind tools and keys, so a second pass is expected, not a failure.
If you find a crack, a gold vein, or a locked chest, mark it and move on. Coming back with the tool is faster than carrying every tool at all times.
What is easy to miss?
Three things: the southern passage after the spider boss, the northwest silver door in Hollowgrave Tunnels, and the optional Gravewood Crypt. The first two gate the Silver Key route; the third is a puzzle that can trap a party if you push the gargoyles wrong.
The hidden walls page→ covers the wall-listening trick. The bosses page→ lists the named fights that sit on the route.
Is the map complete in-game?
The automap shows explored rooms, not the whole world. It is a memory aid, not a strategy map. That is why notes matter: the game expects you to build the map yourself.
FAQ
Is Underkeep open world?
It is partly open. You can tackle several areas in different orders, but progression is gated by tools, keys, and bosses.
How many areas are in Underkeep?
At least twelve named areas are confirmed, including the village, tunnels, camp, crypt, woods, mines, tower, swamp, gardens, and maze.
Do Waystone Gates cost anything?
No cost is reported. Activate them all.
Official source: Underkeep store page ↗
Community source: Steam community player guide ↗
Official source: Underkeep news hub ↗
More Underkeep Guides
All seven Underkeep classes explained: main stat, resource, front or back row, weapon requirements, and the race that fits each one.
How Underkeep combat works: one action per hero, free actions, damage and armor math, crit and evasion formulas, status effects, and turn order.
What is confirmed about Underkeep endings: multiple outcomes, the quests that matter, why special dialogue is not always best, and how to save for branches.
Underkeep equipment explained: weapon types per class, armor slots, how armor and sharpness change damage, which tools share the budget, and when to upgrade.
How Underkeep exploration works: which tools open which obstacles, how to search walls and graves, food and resting, and Waystone fast travel.
The Underkeep first party for a blind run: four heroes, race picks, early skills, gear priorities, and the first purchases that keep the run alive.
How Underkeep front row and back row positioning works: who can melee, when Reach bypasses the rule, what swapping costs, and the safest four-hero layout.
What to do when the four gargoyles get stuck in Underkeep Gravewood Crypt, why there is no reset lever yet, and how to recover without losing the run.