Advice needed for a new player

[GeneralRei]

I cant tell if this game is just insanely hard or if I'm not understanding it quite right. It seems like everything is extremely grind-y and expensive. Is there a fish I can go for that reliably gives good money or is the game just... like that?

Meanwhile the very first enemy at gale cliffs is impossible to get passed without tanking a hit, and if it just so happens to hit your strong engine, you're going to get caught and need to restart. It CANT be that you just have to get lucky with this guy right? Did someone give me a hint to deal with him that I didn't notice? I don't know how I'm going to get through this game if that first guy was so seriously tough so I need some advice if possible.

[Kylnoffey]

Hello, the game is quite grind to complete quests yes (or just fish for money and upgrades/paints/... meanwhile). Best value fishes are different on each area, more risky fishes (night, ...) give more value, aberrated fishes or gold ones (bigger so more value) also help.
But anyway filling the boat of mid-value fishes gives money too and is more sure than finding good enough rare fishes, both strategies are good
You can also use crab pots and trawl for almost passive money

I didn't start with Gale cliffs as first far island but even when I went later it wasn't so easy yet to get away of this big fish
Without saying much I hope, you can play with the surroundings or depending on your progress try another strategy towards your engines
If you still can't make it yet, you can eventually go to another of the four far islands that could be more peaceful until you get your boat better and come back there later

[GeneralRei]

Originally posted by Kylnoffey:

Hello, the game is quite grind to complete quests yes (or just fish for money and upgrades/paints/... meanwhile). Best value fishes are different on each area, more risky fishes (night, ...) give more value, aberrated fishes or gold ones (bigger so more value) also help.
But anyway filling the boat of mid-value fishes gives money too and is more sure than finding good enough rare fishes, both strategies are good
You can also use crab pots and trawl for almost passive money

I didn't start with Gale cliffs as first far island but even when I went later it wasn't so easy yet to get away of this big fish
Without saying much I hope, you can play with the surroundings or depending on your progress try another strategy towards your engines
If you still can't make it yet, you can eventually go to another of the four far islands that could be more peaceful until you get your boat better and come back there later

I guess I don't know what you mean by "strategy". I don't have any engines that do anything specific or special so I'm saving for the fastest ones.

Not to sound like a jerk, but is the game just... like this? Cuz it's not... super fun. Is there ANYTHING I can do to make my game play experience easier or BETTER? (Any option that isn't just turning the game to the easy setting would really be appreciated)

[Kylnoffey]

Originally posted by GeneralRei:

Originally posted by Kylnoffey:

Hello, the game is quite grind to complete quests yes (or just fish for money and upgrades/paints/... meanwhile). Best value fishes are different on each area, more risky fishes (night, ...) give more value, aberrated fishes or gold ones (bigger so more value) also help.
But anyway filling the boat of mid-value fishes gives money too and is more sure than finding good enough rare fishes, both strategies are good
You can also use crab pots and trawl for almost passive money

I didn't start with Gale cliffs as first far island but even when I went later it wasn't so easy yet to get away of this big fish
Without saying much I hope, you can play with the surroundings or depending on your progress try another strategy towards your engines
If you still can't make it yet, you can eventually go to another of the four far islands that could be more peaceful until you get your boat better and come back there later

I guess I don't know what you mean by "strategy". I don't have any engines that do anything specific or special so I'm saving for the fastest ones.

Not to sound like a jerk, but is the game just... like this? Cuz it's not... super fun. Is there ANYTHING I can do to make my game play experience easier or BETTER? (Any option that isn't just turning the game to the easy setting would really be appreciated)

The big engines break as soon as they have one square broken. They are quicker but once broken they aren't helping at all, a mix with smaller (or only small) engines is an alternative that can be safer if you expect to get damages. That's the stategy I was thinking about

Yes the game is going around, fishing and doing quests mostly about fishing and getting the story to continue
Not too much of an horror game, more chill than tendious.
However fishing gameplay can get repetive after some time but the fishing puzzle changes for DLC fishes, could have been the case for the main game too but I guess at least it's done in the new content

[Tolkien Book Fan]

DREDGE is an open world game. You don't have to follow the path of the main story, you can always head to the Stellar Basin, the southwest area, instead of continuing with the Gale Cliffs. The enemy there is much easier to deal with, the only issue is that a lot of the fish are big for a Tier 1 boat.

Regarding the Gale Cliffs, the most price-effective fish is probably the Sturgeon. It needs an Oceanic rod but it's small, high priced, and easily found. The next best are probably the Tiger Mackeral during the day and the Bass during the night.

For engines, smaller is actually better. The best engine is the Jet Engine, which is one space and fast, so you can have a lot of little engines rather than one big one that is easily damaged.

For the Gale Cliffs Serpent, the key is to set it off in one place, say in the western channel, and then speed around to wherever you need to go. Also, past the arch is a spot with a sunken ship. If you go there it will set off the serpent but it can't reach you.

[The Sandal Bomber ™©]

Catch fish in the local area do the small side jobs in the township, unlock the crab pots and head to the devils spine to drop crab pots. You'll make a ♥♥♥♥ ton of money to get some very much needed upgrades.

Easy Money
Do jobs around The Marrows until you've unlocked the Basic Crab Pot at the Fish Market.
Buy both Basic Crab Pots if you can.
Go North-East to P12 to find the Charred Pontoon and buy both of their Crab Pots
Drop the Crab Pots nearby the Charred Pontoon and then rest for 3-6 hours.
Grab the Crabs, sell them at the Charred Pontoon and buy more Basic Crab Pots if you can.
Repeat this until you have $4000-5000 and you'll never worry for money again.

What it doesn't tell you is there are some great dredging spots across from the charred pontoon that will give you stuff to upgrade your boat and you definitely need these.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956614324


there's a ton of great guides to give you a hand getting started, if your at the gale claw cliffs and you are struggling you just need to grind and come back a bit later. The quests do tend to direct you a little bit.

I'd recommend this guide that gives you access to very good equipment early on without being impossible.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956798303

[GeneralRei]

Originally posted by Hunting Horn Main:

Catch fish in the local area do the small side jobs in the township, unlock the crab pots and head to the devils spine to drop crab pots. You'll make a ♥♥♥♥ ton of money to get some very much needed upgrades.

Easy Money
Do jobs around The Marrows until you've unlocked the Basic Crab Pot at the Fish Market.
Buy both Basic Crab Pots if you can.
Go North-East to P12 to find the Charred Pontoon and buy both of their Crab Pots
Drop the Crab Pots nearby the Charred Pontoon and then rest for 3-6 hours.
Grab the Crabs, sell them at the Charred Pontoon and buy more Basic Crab Pots if you can.
Repeat this until you have $4000-5000 and you'll never worry for money again.

What it doesn't tell you is there are some great dredging spots across from the charred pontoon that will give you stuff to upgrade your boat and you definitely need these.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956614324


there's a ton of great guides to give you a hand getting started, if your at the gale claw cliffs and you are struggling you just need to grind and come back a bit later. The quests do tend to direct you a little bit.

I'd recommend this guide that gives you access to very good equipment early on without being impossible.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956798303

Thank you for the guides. I guess I really don't want to buy a ton of crab pots if they don't work forever. I haven't figured out how to fix them or toss them so the first 4/5 I bought are just clogging up my storage... How do I stop that from happening? Or do I just never pick them up again?

[The Sandal Bomber ™©]

Originally posted by GeneralRei:

Originally posted by Hunting Horn Main:

Catch fish in the local area do the small side jobs in the township, unlock the crab pots and head to the devils spine to drop crab pots. You'll make a ♥♥♥♥ ton of money to get some very much needed upgrades.

Easy Money
Do jobs around The Marrows until you've unlocked the Basic Crab Pot at the Fish Market.
Buy both Basic Crab Pots if you can.
Go North-East to P12 to find the Charred Pontoon and buy both of their Crab Pots
Drop the Crab Pots nearby the Charred Pontoon and then rest for 3-6 hours.
Grab the Crabs, sell them at the Charred Pontoon and buy more Basic Crab Pots if you can.
Repeat this until you have $4000-5000 and you'll never worry for money again.

What it doesn't tell you is there are some great dredging spots across from the charred pontoon that will give you stuff to upgrade your boat and you definitely need these.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956614324


there's a ton of great guides to give you a hand getting started, if your at the gale claw cliffs and you are struggling you just need to grind and come back a bit later. The quests do tend to direct you a little bit.

I'd recommend this guide that gives you access to very good equipment early on without being impossible.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2956798303

Thank you for the guides. I guess I really don't want to buy a ton of crab pots if they don't work forever. I haven't figured out how to fix them or toss them so the first 4/5 I bought are just clogging up my storage... How do I stop that from happening? Or do I just never pick them up again?

You need to repair your gear at the shipyard.

[GeneralRei]

Originally posted by Hunting Horn Main:

Originally posted by GeneralRei:

Thank you for the guides. I guess I really don't want to buy a ton of crab pots if they don't work forever. I haven't figured out how to fix them or toss them so the first 4/5 I bought are just clogging up my storage... How do I stop that from happening? Or do I just never pick them up again?

You need to repair your gear at the shipyard.

My ship is fine tho? It's the crab pots that are broken. I can't do anything with them, even sell them. Do you just have a map full of crab pots?

[The Sandal Bomber ™©]

I can't help you if you can't read or look at menus.

[zombygunner]

Two reasons i stopped playing is the same as op and the rude people who make fun of people for not GETTING it.