54 stages total. 27 primary maps and 27 adventure mode variants.
Vampire Survivors ships 54 official stages as of patch v1.14, split between 27 primary maps in the Stage Selection menu and 27 adventure-mode variants. The wiki specifies the primary count as 20 base game stages plus 7 DLC stages, with the base game breaking down into 5 normal, 5 bonus, 7 challenge, 2 special, and 1 hidden stage.
Every stage past Mad Forest gates on a specific achievement rather than a gold purchase. The wiki notes the only exception is Mad Forest itself, which is unlocked by default. This means a fresh save sees one playable map until the level-20 unlock for Inlaid Library fires, after which the standard 5-stage progression chain opens up via level thresholds (40, 60, 80) on the prior map.
Stages also carry their own modifier sets, hyper-mode bosses, stage-item pools, hidden characters, and coffins. According to the wiki, the stage chosen has a meaningful impact on which passives and weapons can be picked up from the ground without random chest rolls, which makes stage selection a strategic decision on every run, not just a backdrop.
This guide covers the full primary roster, the unlock conditions for each stage, the hyper-mode boss requirements, the DLC additions including the recent Hectic Highway and Ode to Castlevania, plus the four mode toggles (Hyper, Hurry, Inverse, Endless) that change every stage you already have.
Inlaid Library for evolution farming. Empty Tome and Stone Mask spawn on the floor, which simplifies passive collection. Mad Forest. Unlocked by default, 30-minute time limit, open arena, low pressure curve.Stages are the playing fields where the player fights enemy waves until a time limit, which the wiki specifies as either 30:00, 20:00, or 15:00 depending on the map. Once the timer ends, the run is considered complete, at which point one Reaper arrives every minute to slay the player unless Endless mode is on. A clean clear grants 500 gold coins plus 100 per unused revival.
Each stage carries its own modifier set baked into the map. Mad Forest gives +10% Move Speed, Cappella Magna stacks +40% Move Speed and +40% Gold, and the challenge stages layer extra Enemy Health on top. According to the wiki, hyper mode replaces the base modifier set with a much harsher one (typically +100% Move Speed, +50%+ Gold, +10% Luck, +60% Enemy Health) after the player defeats the stage boss at the 25-minute mark.
Per the wiki, stages also gate hidden characters, coffins, stage items (weapons and passives that spawn on the ground), and relics. Mad Forest hides Boon Marrabbio. Inlaid Library hides Avatar Infernas. Il Molise hides Peppino. Stage items mean the build does not need to roll those passives from chests, which speeds the evolution gate dramatically for kits that need a specific pickup.
Pick the stage by what the build NEEDS, not by what looks fun. In our testing, the Cappella Magna Crown + Tirajisu + Duplicator pickup chain speeds evolution unlocks for any kit that needs those three passives. Inlaid Library does the same for Stone Mask and Empty Tome builds, while Dairy Plant covers Wings, Attractorb, Candelabrador, and Armor.
The normal stage chain is the spine of base-game progression. Each new map unlocks at a specific character level inside the prior map, with Mad Forest opening by default. The wiki specifies the chain as Mad Forest, then Inlaid Library at level 20, Dairy Plant at level 40, Gallo Tower at level 60, and finally Cappella Magna (level 80), with each stage running a 30-minute time limit and a hyper-mode boss unlock at the 25-minute mark.
| Stage | Unlock | Hyper boss | Notable items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mad Forest | Default | Giant Blue Venus (25:00) | Spinach, Clover, Hollow Heart, Pummarola, Skull O'Maniac. Coffin: Pugnala Provola |
| Inlaid Library | Reach level 20 in Mad Forest | Hag (25:00) | Stone Mask, Empty Tome. Relic: Grim Grimoire. Hidden: Avatar Infernas |
 Dairy Plant | Reach level 40 in Inlaid Library | Sword Guardian (25:00) | Attractorb, Candelabrador, Wings, Armor. Relics: Milky Way Map, Ars Gouda |
 Gallo Tower | Reach level 60 in Dairy Plant | Giant Enemy Crab (25:00) | Bracer, Spellbinder. Relics: Randomazzo, Sorceress' Tears. Hidden: Leda |
 Cappella Magna | Reach level 80 in Gallo Tower | Trinacria (25:00) |  Crown, Tirajisu, Duplicator. Relic: Great Gospel (needs Yellow Sign) |
Per the wiki, Mad Forest and Cappella Magna both allow weapon evolutions from the first chest before the 10-minute mark, which is a base-game quirk that speeds early-evolution speedruns. Dairy Plant extends that window: all chests before minute 10 can evolve weapons, not just the first one.
Bonus stages unlock through hyper-mode milestones rather than character levels. The wiki specifies that unlocking hyper mode on the first normal stage opens Il Molise, while four hyper-mode unlocks open Moongolow. Holy Forbidden is the hidden stage gated behind a Moongolow secret encounter, and it is permanently inaccessible once the Yellow Sign relic is collected.
| Stage | Type | Unlock | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Il Molise | Bonus | Hyper mode on 1 normal stage | 15:00 limit. Hidden character: Peppino. Molisano Anfora swarm at minute 21 |
 Moongolow | Bonus | Hyper mode on 4 normal stages | 15:00 limit. All 16 base passives spawn on the ground including  Stone Mask. Hidden: Big Trouser |
 Holy Forbidden | Hidden Ground | Survive to 14:00 in Moongolow with a non-secret character, then defeat the special Trinacria moon boss | 2:00 limit. Drops Yellow Sign relic. Permanently inaccessible after |
According to the wiki, Moongolow also has a one-time scripted event the first time the timer is reached: instead of the Reaper, the player is sent to Holy Forbidden with everything except their starting weapon removed. After that first visit, the Reaper takes over on subsequent runs.
Moongolow is the fastest passive-farming stage in the game. In actual play, the 15-minute time limit plus the full 16-item ground spawn means a single run can equip Tirajisu, Duplicator, Empty Tome, and Bracer without any chest rerolls, which is a setup the other base stages can't match. Use it for evolution unlock runs that need rare passive coverage.
Challenge stages crank specific mechanics to extremes. Green Acres mixes enemy waves from every other normal stage. The Bone Zone scales enemy stats by 15% health and 2.5% speed per minute with no cap. Boss Rash front-loads recycled stage bosses into the wave list. Tiny Bridge funnels enemies through a narrow horizontal corridor that breaks most kiting patterns.
| Stage | Type | Unlock | The hook |
|---|---|---|---|
 Green Acres | Challenge | Hyper mode on 2 stages | Random enemy waves pulled from every unlocked normal stage |
 The Bone Zone | Challenge | Hyper mode on 3 stages | No item drops. Enemy scaling 15% health and 2.5% speed per minute |
 Boss Rash | Challenge | Hyper mode on all 5 normal stages | 15:00 limit. Waves include recycled bosses from every base stage |
Per the wiki, Holy Forbidden and Moongolow round out the special-stage category alongside the challenge maps. Each one breaks a normal-stage assumption in a different way, which is part of why the base game roster feels deeper than the 5-stage chain suggests.
Each DLC adds at least one new stage with its own enemy roster, stage items, coffins, and hyper-mode boss. The wiki lists 7 DLC stages across the seven released packs as of patch v1.14, with Hectic Highway and Ante Chamber as the most recent additions. All of them require Inlaid Library to be unlocked first, plus ownership of the relevant DLC.
| Stage | DLC | Unlock | Coffin character |
|---|---|---|---|
 Mt.Moonspell | Legacy of the Moonspell | Unlock Inlaid Library | Miang Moonspell |
 Lake Foscari | Tides of the Foscari | Unlock Inlaid Library | Eleanor Uziron |
 Polus Replica | Emergency Meeting | Unlock Inlaid Library | Crewmate Dino |
 Neo Galuga | Operation Guns | Unlock Inlaid Library | Bill Rizer |
 Hectic Highway | Operation Guns | Evolve the C-U-Laser | Side-scrolling jetbike map |
 Ode to Castlevania | Ode to Castlevania | Unlock Inlaid Library |  Alucard, Leon Belmont, Julius Belmont |
 Emerald Diorama | Emerald Diorama | Obtain the Emerald Disk from Moongolow | Tsunanori Mido, Siugnas |
 Ante Chamber | Ante Chamber | Obtain the Joker Disk from Moongolow | Jimbo |
According to the wiki, Hectic Highway is the only DLC stage that gates on a weapon evolution rather than an Inlaid Library prerequisite. The C-U-Laser evolution opens the side-scrolling jetbike map, which inverts the standard top-down arena layout entirely. Ode to Castlevania ships the largest stage-item pool of any DLC including Shuriken, Parm Aegis, Curved Knife, and Discus.
Every stage carries four optional mode toggles that change the run from the Stage Selection menu. The wiki specifies them as Hyper, Hurry, Inverse, and Endless. Hyper unlocks per stage by defeating the stage boss at 25:00 once. Hurry compresses run time. Inverse mirrors the map and shifts enemy spawn patterns. Endless removes the Reaper at the time limit and continues the run.
| Mode | Effect | Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Hyper | +100% Move Speed, +50% Gold, +10% Luck, +60% Enemy Health (typical). Replaces normal modifier set. | Defeat the stage boss at 25:00 once |
| Hurry | Run timer accelerates so the full duration plays out faster | Available after Hyper unlock on the stage |
| Inverse | Mirrors the map layout and shifts enemy spawn directions | Available after Hyper unlock on the stage |
| Endless | Removes the Reaper at the time limit. Run continues indefinitely | Available after Hyper unlock on the stage |
Per the wiki, all four mode toggles stack on top of each other on the same run. In real runs, Hyper + Inverse + Endless on Cappella Magna is the standard Limit Break grinding setup since the +40% Gold modifier pairs with the stage item Crown for the fastest level climb in the game.
Pair stage selection with passive items, evolution gates, and the weapons that spawn on the ground for the picks listed above.
Game data and screenshots adapted from vampire.survivors.wiki, used under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Poncle.