DREDGE Guide | How To Beat All Sea Monsters

As you begin playing DREDGE, you soon learn that the ocean is more than a peaceful fishing ground—it is home to threatening ocean creatures that will hunt you mercilessly. Unless you take precautions, these creatures can destroy your ship, plunder your fish, and even cut short your adventure. However, using the right strategies, you can sail around or fend off such creatures safely. This guide instructs you on how to handle each of the sea creatures you meet in the game.

Basic Survival Techniques

First, you need to know basic survival strategies. As soon as a sea creature sees you, do not sail in any direction; take a brief glance at your chart and sail to a harbor. There is a better chance of a monster attacking you in open seas, though Greater Marrow and in front of Gale Cliffs, areas of safety provide a refuge. Docks in any harbor put you in safety immediately.

The other helpful method is using the Banish ability, which is available after you've delivered three artifacts. Tapping it briefly intimidates most creatures, buying time to get you to safety. The problem is that it has a lengthy cooldown, so use it sparingly. Also, strengthening your ship's hull increases its strength. You begin at three hit points, though strengthening your hull increases durability, making your battle less likely to send you to Davy Jones.

Crows

Crows spawn during the day when you have a high terror level and are more of a nuisance than a threat. Crows do not destroy your ship, yet take up to three fish in your inventory. This is infuriating if you need a certain fish to complete a quest. The most practical way of getting rid of them is to anchor them in a harbor or banish them using the Banish ability.

Jelly Bomb

These explosive creatures spawn during the night in Stellar Basin. In a darkened area, they glow, making it easy to detect them. The moment that these creatures collide with your ship it is destroyed, dealing a great deal of damage. As a defense, they can be banished, yet to avoid them is as easy as steering around them carefully and keeping a watchful eye open.

Rocks and Tornados

Not technically a monster per se, these natural hazards pose just as great a threat. As night falls and terror begins, pebbles will begin to spawn in areas you've never found previously, even in areas you know to be secure. This is often around towns, so it always creeps during nighttime hours and uses lights.

By day, tornadoes have become the most dominant threat. Tornadoes are easy to steer around compared to rocks in that you can see them coming. The best option is to just sit tight until it passes, then steer in a different direction. Unfortunately, tornadoes and rocks can't be avoided, so staying vigilant is your best defense.

Unseeing Mother

The Unseeing Mother protects the Devil's Spine seas. She is a blind creature that is guided to prey by piranhas. She cannot be banished, but you are in general safety if there are no piranhas around you. The small fish cannot hurt you or your ship in a direct way, but they impede you and tell the Unseeing Mother where you are.

To escape, sail towards a steam vent that is submerged in the ocean, and it will send the piranhas underground. Avoiding the piranhas is the best course of action to stay safe, but in the unlikely chance you get surrounded by them, making it to a steam vent is your best option.

Night Angler

The ship monster in disguise disguises boats in thick fog at night, making it earn the label of "Ghost Ship." If you see one, turn off the lights and be quiet, or else you invite it to you with a fog horn or lights. If it sees you, it attacks your ship.

As soon as it reaches close proximity, it drops its disguise to become its anglerfish self. The creatures ram your spacecraft and destroy it. The best method of escape is to outrun it or use Banish. If you can get to a point of safety, it stops pursuing you.

Mimic Crab

The mimic crab disguises itself in their environs in order to take on the appearance of rock formations and the wreckage of a ship's inshore areas. They won't attack when you use Banish, though they cannot be banished in total. Be cautious when visiting islands, for these creatures can be difficult to tell apart from their backdrop.

Serpent

The Serpent, a one-eyed gigantic monster, is in Gale Cliff's seas. Quick and ferocious, it attacks your ship if it spots you. Escape is accomplished using quick turns around objects around you. Banish is useless to it, so you better use quickness and speed.

Phantom Shark

Phantom Sharks happen when you are under high stress, often in Gale Cliffs and Stellar Basin. The Phantom Sharks are among the fastest creatures in the game, and they easily overtake boats. In comparison to the Serpent, it is hard to outrun it. Escape is accomplished using the Banish power when you spot one of them.

Mind Suckers

The creatures hide in Twisted Strand, causing extreme terror when you get their view. The creatures even use roots to shove you aside, making it hard to get away. There are just three of these Mind Suckers in the location, and completion of The Airman's quest annihilates them permanently. In case you fail to accomplish it, you can use Banish to act as a temporary defense.

The Tentacle Monster

The gigantic monster is in the interior of Stellar Basin and attacks boats using gigantic tentacles. The monster is impossible to banish. The only method of temporarily disempowering it is to complete the quest of the Research Assistant, resulting in a machine that keeps the monster at bay. If you do not have access to the machine, be careful when you sail in sight of visible tentacles.

The Leviathan

The scariest monster in the game is also its most powerful monster, The Leviathan. The monster appears randomly in open seas, yet it always attacks whenever you sail beyond the limit of the map. The monster engulfs your ship immediately, making it impossible to get away.

This creature also appears in DREDGE's great ending when you throw the Crimson Book into the ocean, destroying the protagonist's ship. The Leviathan is a guardian of the ocean, preventing it from apocalyptic disasters.

Closing Thoughts

DREDGE's ocean is home to many of these fearsome creatures, which move in various ways and pose different threats. Understanding their weak spots and using tools like Banish, areas of safety, and natural barriers will greatly increase your chances of survival. Whether you avoid a Phantom Shark or go around a Serpent, a cool head and a planned route of escape are the keys to survival in this intense fishing adventure.