Dredge (game mechanic)

Dredging is one of the primary game mechanics in DREDGE and is its namesake. Dredging is very similar to fishing. Both use a bubbling effect on the surface of the water, and keep track of how many more items can be extracted with a High, Medium, or Low stock value. Instead of having a chance to catch aberrations, when dredging the player can sometimes retrieve Research Parts without depleting the stock at that dredge spot.

Materials

Materials locations can give the player a variety of different Materials, dependant on the specific type of Dredging location, which can be determined by looking at the silhouette seen during the Dredging minigame or by looking at the debris around the location. Sometimes Materials locations can also give the player Research Parts, without reducing the locations stock. Locations for Refined Metal are rare, single use and are usualy found behind destructable walls.

Research Parts

Research Part locations are rare, and never respawn. They only occur in material rich locations, such as behind Gale Cliffs, next to the destroyed Research Outpost, and near some airplane wrecks.

Trinkets

Trinket locations give the player a trinket that can be sold, and usually only have one item before being depleted permanently.

Pursuit items

Pursuit Item dredge spots have a yellow sparkle effect above them. They always have the same Item related to either the main Pursuit, or a side Pursuit. Some examples of these spots are the mortar parts in Twisted Strand and the Bronze Belt Buckle location behind Little Marrow.

Relics

Relic spots contain one of the Relics required for the main story Pursuit. They are marked with red particles and a red column of light at night.

The Ring is the only dredge location that requires a fishing ability (Hadal fishing rod) to be able to dredge it up.