DREDGE: Complete Guide & Walkthrough Outline

A spoiler-light guide to DREDGE, Black Salt Games' eerie fishing adventure. It covers the day/night and Panic systems, boat upgrades, region order, the Collector's relics and abilities, both endings, and the two story DLCs.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the October 2025 Unity security patch (base game plus The Pale Reach and The Iron Rig). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: DREDGE (Team17) released 30 March 2023 and is content-complete. The last update (3 October 2025) patched a Unity security vulnerability. Paid DLCs: The Pale Reach (16 November 2023) and The Iron Rig (15 August 2024). Blackstone Key is a small launch-day DLC (30 March 2023) that unlocks a mysterious workshop on Blackstone Isle with extra equipment. The game was 60% off in the Team17 Publisher Sale in June 2026.

Quick Start

Time only passes while you move or act. Sailing, fishing and dredging advance the clock. Standing still in open water doesn't.
Night is dangerous. After dark, fog rolls in, Panic (the eye icon) builds, and strange things happen: phantom rocks, monsters, even your lights malfunctioning. Early on, dock before dark.
Turn your boat Light on at night. You need it to spot rocks in the fog. Panic falls when your boat is in good lighting (docks, lit settlements, lighthouses) and climbs in darkness, so hop between lit areas on night trips.
Sleep at a dock to reset Panic and skip the night.
Fish fill your cargo grid like Tetris. Rotate them (the on-screen prompt shows your rotate button) to fit more. Don't let fish rot, since they lose value over time.
Sell at the Fishmonger. Each port buys fish. Fresh fish pay the most.
Upgrade at the Shipwright in Greater Marrow. Hull upgrades need money plus materials (lumber, cloth, scrap metal and refined metal from dredging).
Research Parts unlock new equipment (rods, nets, engines, lights) in the research tree. Pick them up whenever you see them.
Match your rod to the water. Fish have habitats (coastal, shallow, oceanic, abyssal, hadal, mangrove, volcanic and more). Rods only catch the habitat types they're built for.

The Day/Night and Panic System

Condition	Effect
Daytime	Safe fishing; normal fish
Dusk to night	Fog; Panic rises; rocks can appear out of nowhere
High Panic	Hallucinations, hostile events, hazards more likely
Near land/lights/docks	Safer; Panic slows or resets when you dock
Night fish	Some species (including aberrations) only bite at night

What high Panic looks like: the eye icon flashes an increasingly intense red, the screen distorts, and you start seeing mirages (islands, houses, shipwrecks, boats or pirate ships that aren't there). Hostile events also kick in, including phantom sharks, monster rays and tentacles. Townsfolk will warn you off night sailing for a reason. If the eye is flashing hard, head for the nearest lit dock rather than pushing on.

Hull damage: hitting rocks or getting attacked costs hull slots and can knock out equipment or cargo. Lose all your hull and you sink, losing your cargo. Repair at any Shipwright or dock repair service.

Boat Equipment

Rods: each rod type covers certain habitats. Check which spots your rods can fish (they show on the spot when you approach).
Dredge crane: pulls up materials and trinkets from dredge spots.
Engines: raise speed. Faster boats spend less time at sea, which means less time for night to catch you.
Lights: stronger lights show more of the water ahead, so you can see rocks and hazards sooner at night.
Nets (Trawl Net): passively catch fish while you sail.
Crab Pots: drop them in the right water and collect them later.

Abilities

Non-magical: Light, Foghorn, Spyglass (reveals nearby fish spots), Trawl Net, Crab Pot, Bait and Camera.

Magical (from the Collector as you return relics):

Relics returned	Ability	What it does
1	Haste	Temporary speed boost; costs engine heat and Panic
2	Manifest	Instantly teleports you back to Blackstone Isle for a lot of Panic
3	Banish	Wards off certain enemies with a protective barrier; moderate Panic cost
4	Atrophy	Instantly harvests a fishing spot (lower quality, possible aberrations and infection risk)
5	Ending	Starts the final sequence

The Relics (The Collector's Quest)

The Collector on Blackstone Isle asks you to recover five relics, one from each region:

Region	Relic
The Marrows	Key
Gale Cliffs	Music Box
Stellar Basin	Ring
Twisted Strand	Necklace
Devil's Spine	Watch

Every region's relic is tied to a local quest line. Talk to everyone at each dock.

Region Walkthrough Outline

The Marrows (start)

Docks: Greater Marrow (Shipwright, Fishmonger), Little Marrow, Blackstone Isle (the Collector) and Steel Point.
Learn the dredge crane. Upgrade your hull at least once before you leave.
The first relic, the Key, comes from the Marrows quest line.

Gale Cliffs

Docks: Dusty Pontoon, Ingfell and the Ruins.
Tall cliffs and the most dredgeable material spawns of any region, so it's a great place to stock up on upgrade materials.
The regional quests involve explosives to open up dredge spots. You'll earn the Music Box here.

Stellar Basin

Docks: Old Fortress, Research Outpost and Starlight Pontoon.
It has the most unique fish species of any region, so it's the best place to fill out the encyclopedia.
The Ring is here.

Twisted Strand

Mangrove swamp. Docks: Camp and Rickety Pontoon.
It's home to the only enemies in the game you can actually defeat.
Needs mangrove-capable rods. The Necklace quest is here.

Devil's Spine

Volcanic islands with temple ruins. Docks: Ancient Temple, Charred Pontoon and Ancient Ruins.
It has the fewest unique fish species, so come for the story rather than the catch.
Volcanic rods needed. The Watch is the final relic.

Suggested order: Marrows → Gale Cliffs or Stellar Basin → the other one → Twisted Strand → Devil's Spine. Upgrade your hull and engine before each jump. Distant regions punish slow boats at night.

The Two Endings

Ending 1 (Collector's ritual): return all five relics to the Collector. After 1 A.M., sail west of Greater Marrow to where the Fisherman's loved one was lost. The Collector performs the ritual, and it goes catastrophically.

Ending 2 (the truth): find the Old Mayor, who tells you about the Fog and aberrations and suggests talking to the Lighthouse Keeper. Then confront the Collector about his Book. Following the sequence through (including the lighthouse beam and the Book of the Deep) gives the alternate, more hopeful ending.

Tip: both endings start from the same point (all relics found), so if you want to see both, finish your other goals first and read up on the second ending's steps before you hand in the last relic.

DLCs

DLC	Released	What it adds
Blackstone Key	30 March 2023	Unlocks a mysterious workshop on Blackstone Isle with extra equipment
The Pale Reach	16 November 2023	Icy region with five docks (the most of any region), new fish and a new questline
The Iron Rig	15 August 2024	An oil rig story with a town you help build and new craftable equipment. Its new fish spawn across the other regions rather than at the rig itself

The DLC regions are reached from the main map once installed. Bring a strong hull and lights.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Sailing at night early. With a weak hull and dim lights, a single night can end in a sinking.
Hoarding fish. They rot. Sell regularly.
Ignoring Research Parts. They're the only way to unlock better gear tiers.
Buying the wrong rods. Check which habitats you need before you visit a new region.
Spending all your Panic on abilities. Haste and Manifest add Panic. Use them carefully after dark.
Skipping side characters. Many quests and rewards (including relics) come from talking to locals repeatedly.

Advanced Tips

Aberrations are mutated fish worth more. Some quests need them, and Atrophy or night fishing can produce them.
Fish at dawn. Leave port at first light with an empty hold and come back before dusk.
Use the Spyglass to scout spots without burning time sailing to them.
Trawl nets are free money on long crossings.
Encyclopedia completion: some species only appear in specific weather, at night, or in DLC regions.
The Pursuits log tracks side quests. Check it when you're stuck.

FAQ

How long is DREDGE? The main story takes roughly 10–15 hours. Completionists and DLC players will spend much longer.

How many endings are there? Two in the base game.

Do I need the DLCs? No, but The Pale Reach and The Iron Rig add big chunks of content.

How do I reduce Panic? Stay in well-lit areas (docks, settlements, lighthouses), get home before dark, and rest at any dock to bring it down. Being attacked makes it skyrocket.

What happens if my boat sinks? You lose cargo and respawn at a dock. Repair your hull after every scrape.

Why can't I catch the fish at this spot? Your rods don't cover that habitat. Research and buy the matching rod type (e.g. abyssal, hadal, mangrove or volcanic).