Regions
See also: Interactive Map
The main gameplay loop of DREDGE has the player explore various regions throughout the world. In each region, the player must complete a main Pursuit to collect the key item for the Collector. Some regions also have other Characters that offer side pursuits. There are a total of six regions in the base game, as well as two DLC regions, The Pale Reach DLC and The Iron Rig DLC.
There are a few terms that need to be defined to understand each region. Within each region, a Point of Interest (POI) is any location the player can interact with while sailing. This includes shipwrecks, disturbed waters, docks, and hooded figures, among others. This means a dock is a POI, but not every POI is a dock. When attached to a dock, the various clickable menu locations are called Destinations. Examples include the Fishmonger and Dry Dock.
The main regions of the game are outlined in a dark grey on the in-game map. These are sometimes further divided into sub-regions, such as the Marrows being divided into Greater Marrow and Little Marrow. The other liminal regions are all inclusive in the region Open Ocean, and are named only by the regions between which they lie.
The Marrows
Main Article:The Marrows
The Marrows is the starting region in DREDGE. Black Salt Games considers anything beyond this region to be spoilers. The Marrows acts as a tutorial area as well as a kind of hub for the player. The Marrows have some of the most variety in locations and biomes compared to the other regions. The Marrows consist of three main subregions: Greater Marrow, Little Marrow, and Blackstone Isle.
Greater Marrow
Main Article:Greater Marrow
Greater Marrow is the original spawn location of the game. The dock at Greater Marrow is the game’s [0,0] location for the whole game world. The town of Greater Marrow contains many main story events and has the most unique Characters and Pursuits of any region, or even subregion, in the game.
Little Marrow
Main Article:Little Marrow
Little Marrow is directly across from Greater Marrow. It is the home of two unique merchant characters, the Trader and the Painter.
Blackstone Isle
Main Article:Blackstone Isle
Blackstone Isle has a unique colour palette from the other islands in The Marrows, with orange grass and crows instead of seagulls. The hexagonal pillars of basalt resemble those of the obelisks. The Isle has two locations: the workshop, where the contents of the Blackstone Key DLC can be found, and the Manor where the Collector lives.
Steel Point Isle
Main Article:Steel Point
While not officially named in-game, this is the only island north of The Marrows included within the region. It has only one dock, Steel Point, and no destinations or characters until the player starts the pursuit A Place to Rest. After the pursuit, the Builder’s house will eventually appear.
The three islands northeast of Steelpoint Isle, where the Castaway can be found, are not officially a part of the Marrows. These islands are one of the many #micro-regions.
Gale Cliffs
Main Article:Gale Cliffs
Gale Cliffs is in the southeast corner of the map and is recommended as the second region the player visits. It contains two docks, Ingfell and the Ruins, as well as a pontoon. Gale Cliffs has the most dredgable material spawns of any region. The Traveller’s Pontoon here is called the Dusty Pontoon and plays The Resilient Travel from the DREDGE Original Soundtrack.
Docks
Stellar Basin
Main Article:Stellar Basin
Stellar Basin is in the southwest corner of the map and is recommended as the third region the player visits. It contains two docks and a pontoon. Stellar Basin has the most unique fish species of any region. It also has the only rod/crab pot fish in the game, the Glowing Octopus.
Docks
Twisted Strand
Main Article:Twisted Strand
Twisted Strand is in the northwest corner of the map and is recommended as the fourth region the player visits. It contains two docks and a pontoon. Twisted Strand has the only defeatable enemies in the game, as well as the only region-exclusive panic event.
Docks
Devil's Spine
Main Article:Devil's Spine
Devil’s Spine is in the northeast corner of the map and is recommended as the fifth and final region the player visits. It has two docks and a pontoon. Devil’s Spine has the fewest unique fish species in the game. It also has the most destroyable debris of any region.
Docks
The Pale Reach
Main Article:The Pale Reach
The Pale Reach is the first new region to be added as DLC in The Pale Reach DLC. It can be found to the far south of the map, past Stellar Basin and Gale Cliffs. The Pale Reach can be visited at any time, but it is often recommended to be played after the player has returned two or three relics. The Pale Reach has the least variety in fish-types of any region, with a single coastal species apart from the rest of the fish, being the new Ice type. The Pale Reach has the most docks of any region with four docks and a pontoon.
Docks
The Iron Rig
Main Article:The Iron Rig
The Iron Rig is the second new region to be added as DLC in The Iron Rig DLC. It can be found to the far north of the map, between Twisted Strand and Devil's Spine. The Iron Rig can be visited at any time, but it is recommended to be played alongside the vanilla storyline after The Marrows. The Iron Rig has no special fish within its own region; instead, as the story progresses, it spawns several new species of fish in all other regions except for The Pale Reach, though they are only able to be caught with specially-upgraded Ironhaven equipment. The Iron Rig has the least docks of any region with a singular dock at one leg of the platform.
Open Ocean
Main Article:Open Ocean
The Open Ocean is a region that encompasses all the other areas that aren't a part of other regions. The Open Ocean is made of a collection of small island clusters that are named by the regions between which they lie. There are 8 of these liminal regions in total.
Trivia
Some elements in the game create a continuity across the regions. Most regions (The Iron Rig excluded from all except point 4) have the following:
- One exotic fish (does not naturally respawn).
- The Marrows excluded.
- A Rock Slab and aberrated item.
- A Makeshift Dock.
- Marrows Excluded.
- The Makeshift Dock for Stellar Basin and Devil's Spine are in liminal spaces east and south respectively.
- Unlocks a game mechanic through the main pursuit.
- A Travelling Merchant Pontoon.
- Marrows Excluded.
- Each has a custom soundtrack.
- A persistent monster.
- An environmental hazard.
- Two Messages in bottles.
- One or more Refined Metal.
- Two Obelisks.
| Region | Rock Slab | Aberration Item | Game Mechanic Introduced | Pontoon Name | Merchant Soundtrack | Persistent Monster | Environmental Hazard | Exotic Fish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Marrows | Cod | Sinew Spindle | Dredging | N/A | N/A | Night Angler | Appearing Rocks | N/A |
| Gale Cliffs | Crabs | Mouth of the Deep | Explosives | Dusty Pontoon | The Resilient Traveller | The Serpent | Waterspout | Oarfish |
| Stellar Basin | Sharks | Viscera Crane | Hadal Tech-tree | Starlight Pontoon | The Exotic Traveller | Stellar Basin Creature | Jelly Bomb | Gulper Eel |
| Twisted Strand | Aberration | Tendon Rod | Mixed Bait | Rickety Pontoon | The Cautious Traveller | Mind Sucker | Shifting Roots and Mushrooms | Goliath Tigerfish |
| Devil's Spine | Fathomless Flame | Encrusted Talisman | Game Ending | Charred Pontoon | The Brave Traveller | Unseeing Mother | Vents | Coelacanth |
| The Pale Reach | Frozen Heart | Radiant Trawl Net | Icebreaker & Ice Blocks | Bleak Pontoon | The Shivering Traveller | Narwhal | Icebergs | Sleeper Shark |
| The Iron Rig | N/A | N/A | Abberated Bait, Insta-Crab Bait, Exotic Bait, & Siphoning Ooze | N/A | N/A | N/A | Miasma | Deep Form |