diff --git a/lib/routes/world/world_map.dart b/lib/routes/world/world_map.dart
index e3f187a7ec..6284750c5d 100644
--- a/lib/routes/world/world_map.dart
+++ b/lib/routes/world/world_map.dart
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import 'package:flutter_map/flutter_map.dart';
 import 'package:go_router/go_router.dart';
 import 'package:latlong2/latlong.dart';
 import 'package:matrix/matrix.dart';
+import 'package:vector_map_tiles/vector_map_tiles.dart';
 
 import 'package:fluffychat/features/activity_sessions/activity_plan_repo.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/features/course_plans/courses/course_plan_room_extension.dart';
@@ -89,6 +90,15 @@ class WorldMapController extends State<WorldMap>
     with SingleTickerProviderStateMixin {
   final MapController _ownController = MapController();
 
+  /// #7077: the OpenFreeMap dark vector style, loaded ONCE. A single Style read
+  /// fans out to the tilejson, glyphs, and sprite; the dark base layer
+  /// FutureBuilds on this and falls back to the CartoDB raster until it resolves
+  /// (or if it errors), so dark mode is never blank. `late final` so it is
+  /// created on first access only — i.e. only in dark mode.
+  late final Future<Style> darkMapStyle = StyleReader(
+    uri: 'https://tiles.openfreemap.org/styles/dark',
+  ).read();
+
   /// The activity pins currently shown — the active context's set (the whole
   /// world, or a selected quest's activities). Thin: id, title, point.
   List<QuestActivityCard> _pins = [];
diff --git a/lib/routes/world/world_map_view.dart b/lib/routes/world/world_map_view.dart
index 635048a0ba..8267089a29 100644
--- a/lib/routes/world/world_map_view.dart
+++ b/lib/routes/world/world_map_view.dart
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_map/flutter_map.dart';
 import 'package:flutter_map_marker_cluster/flutter_map_marker_cluster.dart';
 import 'package:latlong2/latlong.dart';
+import 'package:vector_map_tiles/vector_map_tiles.dart';
 
 import 'package:fluffychat/config/app_config.dart';
 import 'package:fluffychat/config/themes.dart';
@@ -197,16 +198,39 @@ class WorldMapView extends StatelessWidget {
         onPositionChanged: (_, _) => controller.handleMapPositionChanged(),
       ),
       children: [
-        // Base tiles, switched by app theme: OpenStreetMap (light) / CartoDB
-        // Dark Matter (dark). Retina (@2x) keeps the dark basemap's small
-        // labels sharp; CartoDB serves @2x, light (OSM) stays 1x.
-        TileLayer(
-          urlTemplate: dark
-              ? 'https://a.basemaps.cartocdn.com/dark_all/{z}/{x}/{y}{r}.png'
-              : 'https://tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png',
-          retinaMode: retina,
-          userAgentPackageName: 'com.talktolearn.chat',
-        ),
+        // Base map. LIGHT is Phase-1 OSM raster (already legible, zero client
+        // CPU). DARK is Phase-2 OpenFreeMap VECTOR (#7077): one styled source so
+        // the label contrast + water are ours, no second request. The vector
+        // style loads async; until it resolves — and if it ever errors — we fall
+        // back to the CartoDB raster so dark mode is never blank. layerMode
+        // defaults to raster (each vector tile is rasterized once and blitted),
+        // which keeps the per-frame cost off the UI thread on CanvasKit web.
+        if (dark)
+          FutureBuilder<Style>(
+            future: controller.darkMapStyle,
+            builder: (context, snapshot) {
+              final style = snapshot.data;
+              if (style == null) {
+                return TileLayer(
+                  urlTemplate:
+                      'https://a.basemaps.cartocdn.com/dark_all/{z}/{x}/{y}{r}.png',
+                  retinaMode: retina,
+                  userAgentPackageName: 'com.talktolearn.chat',
+                );
+              }
+              return VectorTileLayer(
+                theme: style.theme,
+                sprites: style.sprites,
+                tileProviders: style.providers,
+                maximumZoom: 18,
+              );
+            },
+          )
+        else
+          TileLayer(
+            urlTemplate: 'https://tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png',
+            userAgentPackageName: 'com.talktolearn.chat',
+          ),
         // world_v2: activity pins by relevance tier + state. Small dots (the
         // long tail) and mid pins (promoted matches) are clustered for
         // Google-Maps de-overlap; the 1–3 large featured cards render
@@ -260,7 +284,8 @@ class WorldMapView extends StatelessWidget {
         RichAttributionWidget(
           attributions: [
             TextSourceAttribution('OpenStreetMap contributors', onTap: () {}),
-            if (dark) TextSourceAttribution('CARTO', onTap: () {}),
+            // Dark uses OpenFreeMap vector tiles (OpenMapTiles schema) — #7077.
+            if (dark) TextSourceAttribution('OpenMapTiles', onTap: () {}),
           ],
         ),
       ],
diff --git a/pubspec.lock b/pubspec.lock
index 8a6e83bf8b..875fab2f81 100644
--- a/pubspec.lock
+++ b/pubspec.lock
@@ -293,10 +293,10 @@ packages:
     dependency: "direct main"
     description:
       name: characters
-      sha256: faf38497bda5ead2a8c7615f4f7939df04333478bf32e4173fcb06d428b5716b
+      sha256: f71061c654a3380576a52b451dd5532377954cf9dbd272a78fc8479606670803
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
-    version: "1.4.1"
+    version: "1.4.0"
   charcode:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
@@ -546,6 +546,14 @@ packages:
       url: "https://github.com/busslina/excel.git"
     source: git
     version: "4.0.6"
+  executor_lib:
+    dependency: transitive
+    description:
+      name: executor_lib
+      sha256: "95ddf2957d9942d9702855b38dd49677f0ee6a8b77d7b16c0e509c7669d17386"
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "1.1.2"
   fake_async:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
@@ -1199,6 +1207,14 @@ packages:
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
     version: "4.1.2"
+  idb_shim:
+    dependency: transitive
+    description:
+      name: idb_shim
+      sha256: "48be1c95f06c4b059d0f5b9888dc5d7384e4a9e4d71824ae2deeb1e1546c6c07"
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "2.9.2"
   image:
     dependency: "direct main"
     description:
@@ -1496,18 +1512,18 @@ packages:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
       name: matcher
-      sha256: dc0b7dc7651697ea4ff3e69ef44b0407ea32c487a39fff6a4004fa585e901861
+      sha256: dc58c723c3c24bf8d3e2d3ad3f2f9d7bd9cf43ec6feaa64181775e60190153f2
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
-    version: "0.12.19"
+    version: "0.12.17"
   material_color_utilities:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
       name: material_color_utilities
-      sha256: "9c337007e82b1889149c82ed242ed1cb24a66044e30979c44912381e9be4c48b"
+      sha256: f7142bb1154231d7ea5f96bc7bde4bda2a0945d2806bb11670e30b850d56bdec
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
-    version: "0.13.0"
+    version: "0.11.1"
   material_symbols_icons:
     dependency: "direct main"
     description:
@@ -1877,6 +1893,14 @@ packages:
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
     version: "2.1.1"
+  protobuf:
+    dependency: transitive
+    description:
+      name: protobuf
+      sha256: "68645b24e0716782e58948f8467fd42a880f255096a821f9e7d0ec625b00c84d"
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "3.1.0"
   provider:
     dependency: "direct main"
     description:
@@ -2117,6 +2141,14 @@ packages:
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
     version: "0.3.2"
+  sembast:
+    dependency: transitive
+    description:
+      name: sembast
+      sha256: "139cf71496105de32e7a08a4e3a1ead0f81c4a616ec9703ed07e8f0d10cdd505"
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "3.8.6"
   sentry:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
@@ -2438,26 +2470,26 @@ packages:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
       name: test
-      sha256: "280d6d890011ca966ad08df7e8a4ddfab0fb3aa49f96ed6de56e3521347a9ae7"
+      sha256: "75906bf273541b676716d1ca7627a17e4c4070a3a16272b7a3dc7da3b9f3f6b7"
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
-    version: "1.30.0"
+    version: "1.26.3"
   test_api:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
       name: test_api
-      sha256: "8161c84903fd860b26bfdefb7963b3f0b68fee7adea0f59ef805ecca346f0c7a"
+      sha256: ab2726c1a94d3176a45960b6234466ec367179b87dd74f1611adb1f3b5fb9d55
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
-    version: "0.7.10"
+    version: "0.7.7"
   test_core:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
       name: test_core
-      sha256: "0381bd1585d1a924763c308100f2138205252fb90c9d4eeaf28489ee65ccde51"
+      sha256: "0cc24b5ff94b38d2ae73e1eb43cc302b77964fbf67abad1e296025b78deb53d0"
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
-    version: "0.6.16"
+    version: "0.6.12"
   timezone:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
@@ -2666,6 +2698,14 @@ packages:
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
     version: "1.1.20"
+  vector_map_tiles:
+    dependency: "direct main"
+    description:
+      name: vector_map_tiles
+      sha256: ec9c59c9254f57930f514a523967d5e7082e956878dd9fec942b168b64270c1f
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "9.0.0-beta.9"
   vector_math:
     dependency: transitive
     description:
@@ -2674,6 +2714,22 @@ packages:
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
     version: "2.2.0"
+  vector_tile:
+    dependency: transitive
+    description:
+      name: vector_tile
+      sha256: "7ae290246e3a8734422672dbe791d3f7b8ab631734489fc6d405f1cc2080e38c"
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "2.0.1"
+  vector_tile_renderer:
+    dependency: transitive
+    description:
+      name: vector_tile_renderer
+      sha256: "982ae5d8f0ab285463a4cd62e711c8f9a36b9b3112b5a471ae8d4f4838f31537"
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "6.1.0"
   video_compress:
     dependency: "direct main"
     description:
diff --git a/pubspec.yaml b/pubspec.yaml
index d7a909eed2..a04a3e66d2 100644
--- a/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/pubspec.yaml
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ dependencies:
   flutter_localizations:
     sdk: flutter
   flutter_map: ^8.2.2
+  # #7077: OpenFreeMap vector tiles for the dark basemap (single request, client-
+  # side label/water styling). Pinned EXACT (prerelease) — a caret could resolve
+  # up into 10.x betas that need Flutter's main channel + Impeller (useless on
+  # CanvasKit web). 9.0.0-beta.9 targets flutter_map ^8.1.1, which our ^8.2.2 meets.
+  vector_map_tiles: 9.0.0-beta.9
   flutter_new_badger: ^1.1.1
   flutter_secure_storage: ^9.2.4
   flutter_shortcuts_new: ^2.0.0