DAVE THE DIVER: Complete Guide

A practical guide to DAVE THE DIVER's day/night loop: how to dive efficiently, which upgrades to buy first, how to run Bancho Sushi for maximum profit, and what the DLC packs add in 2026.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Windows v1.0.6.2113 (9/15 patch, GGST collaboration). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. The day is split into dive shifts and a dinner shift. Morning and afternoon dives gather fish and materials; in the evening you run Bancho Sushi. Night dives unlock later in the story.
2. Oxygen is your health. Taking damage drains oxygen; hitting zero means you pass out and lose almost everything you carried except one item of your choice. Surface early when the tank is low.
3. Cargo weight matters. Your cargo box has a weight limit. Big fish and heavy materials fill it fast - pick what's worth the most for tonight's menu.
4. Upgrade the diving suit and oxygen tank first. Depth limits and oxygen capacity gate everything else; weapons come second.
5. Harpoon kills are fine, but nets and tranquilizer rounds capture fish alive, which gives you better-quality ingredients and lets you stock the fish farm once it unlocks.
6. Keep the menu to your best dishes. A short menu of high-level, high-price dishes beats a long menu of cheap ones.
7. Level up dishes by feeding Bancho duplicate fish. Recipe level raises the sell price and taste, which drives Cooksta followers.
8. Hire staff early and train them. A good server and a good cook make the dinner shift far less hectic and more profitable.
9. Follow the story markers. Most systems (farm, fish farm, weapons crafting, night dives, deeper zones) unlock through main quests, not upgrades.
10. Don't panic about missing fish. The Blue Hole's layout shifts each dive, and you'll see nearly every species many times.

The Daily Loop

Every dive shows a map of the current area. The Blue Hole's upper layers are shallow reef and kelp; deeper layers bring new species, stronger threats (sharks, jellyfish, territorial fish), and eventually areas tied to the main story.

Diving: Equipment and Priorities

Core gear (upgraded with gold through the equipment shop on Dave's phone; weapons also through Duff's workshop)

Weapons

Guns (rifle, shotgun, crossbow and others) and special harpoon heads are crafted and upgraded at Duff's weapons workshop as the story unlocks it, using gold plus materials found while diving. The practical priorities:

• A net gun or tranquilizer weapon for catching fish alive.
• A strong damage weapon for sharks and aggressive fish, which can drain your oxygen fast.
• Upgraded harpoon heads (elemental/special tips) for bigger fish.

Diving Tips

• Scan the area before committing. Swimming slowly lets you spot supply boxes, oxygen refills and materials.
• Use the drone for big catches. Large fish and heavy crates can be sent up with a salvage drone so they don't eat your cargo space.
• Grab oxygen refills and ammo boxes you see on the sea floor - they are how long dives stay safe.
• Avoid fighting everything. Sharks and aggressive fish aren't worth the oxygen unless you need them for a recipe or quest.
• Watch for glowing points of interest. Many main and side quests start from underwater items or NPCs.
• Know where the nearest exit is. Leaving via the closest exit point when oxygen is low preserves your catch.

Running Bancho Sushi

Menu and Recipes

• Set the menu each evening from Bancho's list of dishes. Each dish shows its ingredient count and price.
• Upgrade recipes by giving Bancho the required fish or ingredients. Higher level = higher price and a better taste rating.
• Some upgrades need Artisan's Flame, a special currency you earn over time; spend it on the dishes you serve every night.
• Balance cost and supply. A dish you can only make three portions of won't carry the night; mix one or two premium dishes with a filling dish you have lots of ingredients for.

Serving

• Customers come in with an order bubble; pick up the dish from the counter and bring it to them.
• Keep green tea and wasabi stocked - some customers want them, and they add to the tip.
• Clean up and move quickly. Customer patience runs down; angry customers leave without paying.
• VIP and special customers sometimes request a specific dish. Serving them grants big rewards and progresses quests.

Staff

• Hire staff from the staff app on Dave's phone. Candidates have stats for cooking, serving, procurement, and more.
• Train staff with gold to raise their stats and unlock skills.
• A strong cook reduces the burden on Bancho; strong servers mean fewer missed orders.
• Procurement staff can gather ingredients for you, which frees up dives for quest objectives.

Cooksta and Rank

• Cooksta is the in-game social network. Positive reviews and good nights earn followers.
• Follower count raises your restaurant rank, which unlocks better customers, bigger events and more story beats.
• Special events such as tasting parties require you to prepare a set of dishes to a quality threshold - prep ingredients during the week before.

Side Systems

• Farm: grows rice and vegetables used in many recipes. Once unlocked, check it daily.
• Fish farm: raise fish you caught alive, so you always have a supply of a key ingredient.
• Marinca (fish encyclopedia): photograph and catalog species. Many completionist rewards and achievements come from filling it out.
• Minigames: the game includes rhythm game segments, seahorse racing, and many other one-off activities tied to quests. The GGST collab (9/15/2026) added a new rhythm track, "The Disaster of Passion".
• Weapons crafting: blueprints plus materials at the weapons workshop; check back after story beats for new options.

DLC and Content Packs (as of September 2026)

In the Jungle highlights

• Freshwater lake with a new ecosystem and an ancient underwater civilization.
• Bancho Grill, a second restaurant cooking jungle ingredients; villagers from Utara Village can visit as guests.
• Villager affinity: raise relationships with gifts and meals. The 8/6/2026 patch added hidden Spirits you meet once every villager is at max affinity; rescue them in the lake and place them to gather materials.
• Post-game content (8/6 patch): a returning Giant Wild Boar in Setah Forest, three high-level monsters (Asian Water Monitor, Reticulated Python, Asian Forest Scorpion), and a Bull Shark in the lake after clearing Sulong.
• Beetle Battle minigame, which gained special jellies (each usable twice per insect per battle) in the 8/6 patch.
• Jungle Achievements app (7/7 patch) that tracks in-DLC achievements and rewards a house decoration when complete.

GGST collab notes

• Free, but the special mission starts on a specific night, so keep playing normally until it triggers.
• May's Anchor summons a dolphin alongside your attack.
• May Speaker in the restaurant plays GGST music and attracts cosplaying guests.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Staying down too long. Losing a full cargo to an empty tank costs far more than surfacing early.
2. Overloading the menu. Too many low-level dishes dilutes profits and reviews.
3. Selling everything you catch. Keep ingredients for dish upgrades and VIP requests.
4. Neglecting staff training. Untrained staff are the main reason late-game nights fall apart.
5. Ignoring the farm and fish farm. Rice and vegetable shortages silently limit what you can serve.
6. Chasing every shark. Big predators are dangerous; fight them only with the right weapon and oxygen buffer.
7. Spending Artisan's Flame randomly. Focus it on dishes that stay on your permanent menu.

Advanced Tips

• Plan dives around tonight's menu. Look at your menu first and dive for exactly what it needs.
• Use the tranquilizer on high-value fish to get better quality portions and stock the fish farm.
• Check your phone apps after every story beat - new upgrades, blueprints and staff usually unlock quietly.
• Keep one "emergency" dish you can always make in bulk so a bad dive doesn't mean an empty restaurant.
• Supply crates can hold materials for crafting upgrades - open them even on quick dives.
• Night dives are riskier but offer species and materials you can't get in daytime; bring your best weapon.
• For completionists: Marinca entries, recipe levels and Cooksta rank all feed into achievements. Late-game content patches have added more fish and recipes, so check your encyclopedia after updates.
• Title screen: the 8/10/2026 hotfix lets you choose Region/Blue Hole/Jungle as the title screen in Options.

FAQ

How long is DAVE THE DIVER? The main story takes most players roughly 25-35 hours; completionists and DLC players will spend much longer. In the Jungle is advertised as 10+ hours of new content.

Can I miss anything permanently? The base game is forgiving: the Blue Hole regenerates each dive and most quests remain available. Timed events and specific story nights are the main things to pay attention to.

Is In the Jungle worth it? It's a paid expansion (released June 18, 2026) with a new region, restaurant (Bancho Grill), village relationships and post-game content added through summer 2026 patches. Steam reviews for the DLC are positive overall.

Are the collab packs free? DREDGE, Godzilla and GGST content packs are free. Ichiban's Holiday and In the Jungle are paid.

Is there multiplayer? No. DAVE THE DIVER is single-player.

My game crashes after an update - where are the logs? On Windows, the developer's patch notes point to %LocalAppData%/../LocalLow/nexon/DAVE THE DIVER. Zip that folder and send it through the official Discord support channel.

What languages were added recently? Thai, Polish and Turkish were added in the 9/15/2026 patch.

Sources

• DAVE THE DIVER on Steam
• DAVE THE DIVER DLC list on Steam
• In the Jungle Content Pack on Steam
• Steam news: 9/15 patch notes (GGST collab)
• Steam news: 8/6 patch notes and 8/10 hotfix
• Steam news: 7/7 patch notes