Map IDs in DSMapStudio

Open the Map Editor and the left panel lists every level as a code, not a name: m30_00_00_00, m60_42_36_00, and dozens more. Those are map IDs — FromSoftware's naming scheme for the .msb map files (MSB = Map Studio Binary), and how you load and reference an area. m30_00_00_00, for instance, is High Wall of Lothric in Dark Souls 3. Once you can read the format, a wall of codes becomes a navigable list — and you'll recognize the same number when it shows up in entity IDs and filenames.

What a map ID is

Every loadable area is one MSB file, named by its map ID. The ID is both the filename and how the game and tools refer to that map — there's no separate human name stored inside, so the ID is the identifier. DSMapStudio's map list is just the set of IDs it found for your game; selecting one loads that MSB into the viewport. Knowing the ID of the area you want is the first step in any map work.

The mAA_BB_CC_DD format

m followed by four two-digit numbers separated by underscores. Each segment narrows the map down:

The first number (AA) is the broad grouping you'll use most — maps sharing it belong to the same region. The rest subdivide, and exactly how depends on the game: linear hand-built levels use them as block/sub-block numbers, while open-world maps repurpose the middle segments as grid coordinates. The last segment often distinguishes tiers or variations of the same physical space.

Dark Souls vs Elden Ring

Same format, filled in differently:

• Dark Souls and the linear games give each discrete level its own AA group, the later segments acting as block/sub-block numbers. m30_00_00_00 (High Wall of Lothric) is self-contained; its regional neighbors share the 30 prefix. Classic "one area, one ID."
• Elden Ring's open world is a grid of overworld tiles, so the middle segments (BB, CC) act as the tile's coordinates across the world map, with a tier in the last segment. Its legacy dungeons (Stormveil, Leyndell…) are separate hand-built maps with their own IDs, much closer to the Dark Souls model. So Elden Ring mixes both — coordinate-based overworld tiles plus area-based dungeons.

Reading IDs follows from the scheme: a shared first segment means "same region," and for Elden Ring overworld tiles, neighboring coordinates mean physically adjacent tiles.

Where the same ID shows up

• The map list — every entry is a map ID; your index of all maps.
• MSB filenames — the .msb is named with its ID.
• Entity IDs — an object's entity ID is typically structured to reflect the map it lives in, so a row of entity IDs echoes the map's number.
• Other map data — textures, collision, and navmesh for a map group under the same ID.

Because everything for a map keys to its ID, getting the ID right is what keeps placements, scripts, and assets pointing at the same place.

Finding the map you want

You discover IDs, you don't memorize them:

1. Scan the map list. Loading an ID shows the area in the viewport, so you can confirm visually.
2. Use the region prefix. Know one map's AA group and its neighbors share it — a quick way to find adjacent maps.
3. Cross-reference a name list. Community wikis maintain ID-to-area tables per game; pair those with the in-tool list to jump straight to "High Wall of Lothric" or a specific Elden Ring legacy dungeon. Game-specific setup: Elden Ring, Dark Souls 3.

Loaded the right map by ID? The rest follows: place and move objects, give each a unique entity ID, and match their draw groups to the area. The Map Editor hub and place enemies guide carry on from there.