A coward's guide to the threats in DREDGE!

A guide detailing the creatures, encounters, and other threats faced in the game. I'm trying to give as much information as I can on the mechanics and behaviours of any dangers that might find you, from the perspective of somebody who usually hates horror games.

Intro

I hate horror games, and Dredge was pretty difficult for me to get through because I was so scared of all the creatures and encounters. The intention of this guide is to make the game more accessible to people like me who struggle with the scarier stuff but still want to enjoy the game, or people who just want to know what the creatures mechanics are!

I've tried to avoid spoilers as much as possible, but I have to list the creatures and their locations in order to make the guide usable, so please be cautious if that's something you're worried about! I have included a small table of basic information on each encounter, for anyone who just wants to skim and find out the basics without spoiling too much.

Thanks to the writers of the Dredge wiki for supplying names for some creatures, & info for some encounters I was struggling to find! Thanks as well to everyone for giving info in the comments of this guide, or in the Dredge official discord!

This guide is for the base game only. When I can get the DLC I will work on adding that content as well!

NIGHT ANGLER

Location	The Marrows
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

The 'ghost ship' you will see on the water at night. It seems to spawn around midnight, typically around The Marrows*. I assume it spawns in two locations - one near Greater Marrow, and one near Steel Point (sometimes when sleeping in these locations, you can see it spawn on the Horizon) but I have no way to confirm this.

*Other players have seen Night Anglers in other areas, such as Stellar Basin. I wasn't able to replicate this, and only ever saw Night Anglers in the distance near The Marrows.

(I suspect the 'Night Anglers' people are seeing elsewhere are actually Ghost Ships (see 'GHOST SHIPS' in the 'OTHER' section!) If anyone has been attacked by the Night Angler anywhere outside of the Marrows and has video/screenshot evidence, please let me know!)

Keeping your ship lights off make it harder for the Night Angler to detect you, making it possible to sneak by it, but this only works if it hasn't yet started chasing you. If it catches sight/starts pursuing you, it'll make a very distinct blaring foghorn noise. It's not especially fast, so it's possible to outrun it if you want to, especially with decently upgraded engines. It can be easy to get lost in the fog while being chased, so it's safest to try and keep an idea of your nearest dock's location if you're out late at night.

It is sensitive to bright lights, so will avoid chasing you close to buoys and docks. It's also vulnerable to the Banish spell.

If it catches up to you, it will attack you once, causing hull damage, and then swim away.

THE SERPENT

Location	Gale Cliffs
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

The large, eel-like creature that lives inside the cliff caves at Gale Cliffs. It will always cross across the 'path' between the cliffs in the same spot, rising out of the water once to attack you before swimming away. Once you know this spot, it's easy to just wait for it to swim by and avoid the hit entirely. (Some info on how to do that spoilered below.)

Entering from the large stone archway next to the ruined village, stick to the right wall and wait behind the rock/over the underwater shipwreck for a few moments. The Serpent will pass through the caves ahead of you without aggro-ing. At this point it will head into the bay, and shouldn't be a problem within the caves themselves.

After a time the creature will begin to swim around the bay at Gale Cliffs regardless of time of day/night. (This may require you entering the caves themselves to draw it out, but I'm unsure.) It's quite slow, so you can avoid it if you like, but it does make it hard to get to fishing/dredging spots, and it will attack you even if you're idling (ie., not passing time by sailing.)

The Banish spell will cause it to disengage from the player, and it won't attack for the duration of the spell. It can begin pursuing you again once the spell ends, however.

Upon attacking, it will cause hull damage, and then swim away. After this, it seems to despawn for a few in-game hours. Letting it attack you so you can explore the area more freely is a valid option, especially since navigating the tight areas can be a bit of a pain.

THE KRAKEN

Location	Stellar Basin
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

The giant octopus at Stellar Basin. It lives inside the deep pit at the centre of the ring of islands. The spot is easily identifiable as it's surrounded by glowing blue plants/coral during the day, and bright pink jellyfish at night (see 'Jellyfish' in the 'OBSTACLES' section). The Kraken has large, harmless tentacles that rest around the edge of the pit, and several smaller, moving tentacles within.

It doesn't leave the pit at any time, and will not attack you if you don't stray into the water above the pit. Looking into the pit from above, you may (depending on time of day & weather conditions) be able to see the Kraken's tentacles and mouth glowing blue. This blue glow will turn red if you are within attack range, and you will have a brief window of time to retreat. If you do linger above the pit, it will make a rumbling sound for a few seconds, and then quickly hit you with a tentacle. This attack causes hull damage.

This creature is probably the easiest to avoid, as it doesn't pursue or seek you out in any way, and is only a danger if you deliberately cross above it.

At a certain point in the story, you will gain access to the ability to activate a device that will scare the Kraken deeper into the pit, and you'll be safe to explore the entire area for as long as the device is running. It seems to run for about half of an in-game day, and can be re-activated an unlimited number of times. When the device turns off, you will get a few seconds of warning as the Kraken climbs back up into the pit (via a rumbling sound).

MIND SUCKERS

Location	Twisted Strand
Threats	Panic
Banishable	Yes

Mind Suckers are (relatively) small, worm-like creatures that hide in the water at set locations within Twisted Strand. They are easy to see if you're vigilant, as they have bright yellow glowing orbs/eyes on their heads. They are initially invisible under the surface, but will slowly peer out of the water as you approach, giving you time to spot them, before emerging fully.

Mind Suckers are sensitive to movement, so when you see one emerge, just hold completely still for a few seconds until it sinks into the water again. In my experience, once they've disappeared into the water, they won't respawn for a while, similar to the other creatures. (Note that there are several Mind Suckers scattered around the area, and having one despawn won't despawn the rest of them - you'll need to repeat for each one.)

They're very easy to avoid if you're cautious, but if one does spot you moving, its yellow eyes will turn red and it will begin pursuing you. They're not especially fast or nimble, so you can outrun them, but the tight spaces can make it difficult to navigate, so the 'Banish' spell is a pretty safe way to get rid of them.

If they get within range of you, they will begin to cause the fisherman significant panic, similar to the whispering fog that spawns late at night. When at high panic, vines can be summoned that will lash out at the player from the water, and roots will appear to block your path. (See 'vines' below, and 'roots' in the 'OBSTACLES' section!)

As the story progresses, you will gain access to traps that can permanently remove the Mind Suckers from the area. After trapping and killing all three, the area will be safe to explore.

VINES

Location	Twisted Strand
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

Vines are a secondary threat within Twisted Strand that can spawn when the Fisherman is at high panic. A group of small, thorny vines will emerge from the water and lash out towards your boat, causing hull damage. The Mind Sucker's panic effect can cause vines to attack, so care should be taken when fleeing a Mind Sucker so as to not be hit by them.

Vines can be evaded with care, and are also vulnerable to the Banish spell, but avoiding Mind Suckers and keeping your panic low should prevent them from being a problem.

FIRE FISH AND UNSEEING MOTHER

FIRE FISH

Location	Devil's Spine
Threats	Slowing, Hull Damage (via Unseeing Mother)
Banishable	Yes

Fire Fish are small, orange/red fish that live in small groups around the ruins in Devil's Spine. They're pretty harmless on their own - they have a fairly small detection radius and will begin to chase you if you get too close. If they reach your boat, they'll begin making a lot of noise, but won't do any damage. They will, however, slow down your boat, which is very noticeable if you have a large crowd on you. They're nimble, but not particularly fast, so you should be able to outrun them if you have a decently upgraded boat.

They're easy to see due to their bright colours, but they can look similar to the lava veins that also appear in the area. You can fairly easily avoid them by being very cautious and vigilant, so as to avoid getting too close to them.

The area has lots of barriers that you can destroy with bombs in order to reach certain locations without disturbing the Fire Fish. They're also afraid of the hot vents scattered around the area, and will flee if you cross over one, so try to plan your routes if need-be. Banish is very effective, and will cause them to immediately despawn, though they will re-appear at their original spawn points once the spell ends.

UNSEEING MOTHER

Location	Devil's Spine
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	No

The Unseeing Mother is a much larger, paler version of the Fire Fish. She slowly patrols the area, and won't pay much attention to you for the most part. You can hear her from pretty much anywhere in the Devil's Spines, and her 'roars' will be louder the closer she is (and be especially loud when she is actively chasing you - see below.)

Mother is blind, and relies on the sound of her babies (Fire Fish) to target you. If her babies reach your boat and start making noise, Mother will start to head towards you. She's pretty slow and easy to avoid, so out-running her is a good solution. Getting rid of any Fire Fish currently harassing your Boat will cause Mother to immediately stop pursuing you. This includes outrunning them, leading them over a hot vent, or using the Banish spell. The Banish spell will not affect Mother herself, however.

When she catches up to you, Mother will attack your boat once, causing hull damage. At this point, both Mother and the Fire Fish will disengage from you, allowing you to get away, and will not attack again unless you re-aggro the Fire Fish.

MIASMA/WHISPERING FOG

Location	Everywhere, except within Twisted Strand
Threats	Panic
Banishable	Yes

Iridescent purple patches of fog that appear late at night. They will pursue you and cause significant panic, but don't damage your boat at all. They're fairly easy to avoid, but you can run into them if you're already fleeing from another creature or attempting to navigate obstacles, so care should be taken.

Turning off your ship's light will cause them to turn grey, disappear, and become harmless. They will re-appear immediately if you turn your lights back on, so be sure to move out of range before re-enabling your lights.

MIMIC CRABS

Location	Various
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

Giant crabs that disguise themselves as regular wrecks* in set positions around the map. They will look exactly like a normal shoreline wreck, even having scrap dredging spots nearby, but will become active when you approach. They'll quickly stand up and lash out with their claws, but won't pursue you, and are easy to avoid as long as you don't get too close. If you do get hit, you will receive hull damage. The Banish spell will prevent them from attacking for the spell's duration.

*Note that while the majority are disguised as shipwrecks, there is also one disguised as a plane wreck, and one disguised as an obelisk.

WATERSPOUTS

Location	Everywhere, but especially Gale Cliffs
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

Waterspouts are tall tornado-like columns of water that appear across the map, but are especially abundant in the Gale Cliffs region. Colliding with a Waterspout will cause hull damage and may fling a fish into the boat's cargo. Regular Waterspouts are white/gray in colour and are mostly stationary, making them easy to avoid.

Aberrant Waterspouts can appear when the Fisherman is at high panic. They resemble regular Waterspouts, but are red/purple in colour and will actively pursue the player. Colliding with an Aberrant Waterspout will cause hull damage, and may fling an Aberrant fish into the boat's cargo. Aberrant waterspouts can be outrun with enough speed, and can be destroyed with the Banish spell.

BIRDS

Location	Everywhere
Threats	Steal fish
Banishable	Yes

A flock of birds that can appear if the Fisherman has high panic. They are black with red eyes, and make a distinctive crow 'caw' sound. They will fly in circles above the boat, occasionally swooping down to 'attack'. They do not cause any damage to your boat.

They will steal fish and aberrations from the player's cargo, but can be scared off using the ship's horn, or with the Banish spell. If you run out of fish in your cargo, they will fly away.

PHANTOM SHARK

Location	Everywhere (presumably)
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

A shark-like creature that can spawn if the Fisherman has high panic. It's black, but its eyes and mouth glow a bright white, making it easy to identify. The wiki states that it can be encountered near Gale Cliffs and Stellar Basin, however I was attacked by it near Blackstone Isle, so I'm unsure of it's location limits.

It's very quick and spawns fairly close to your boat, so is difficult to avoid. It is vulnerable to the banish spell, if you can use it quickly enough.

Upon reaching your boat it will attack once, causing hull damage. It will then swim away & despawn.

MONSTER RAY

Location	Shallows
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

A large dark-coloured ray with pink/purple stripes, and a flatfish-like upward-gazing face. It can appear in shallow water at any time of day or night when the fisherman is panicked (Note that the Monster Ray seems to have a much lower panic requirement than many other enemies, and can spawn at relatively low panic levels.) It will make a unique hissing 'sizzle' noise upon spawning, somewhat similar to the sound of the 'Banish' spell.

It will persistently pursue the boat at a reasonably rapid pace. Upon reaching the boat, it will pause for a brief moment, before attacking. The two attacks I know of are:

• The ray will rise quickly from the water to bite the boat.
  
• The ray will spin rapidly, hitting the boat with its tail.
  
  Both attacks cause hull damage. The ray will swim away and despawn following an attack.
  
  It can be outrun with enough speed, and is also vulnerable to the 'Banish' spell.
  
  

TENTACLE

Location	Open ocean
Threats	Hull Damage
Banishable	Yes

A large tentacle that can appear when the Fisherman is travelling the open ocean while at high panic. It will emerge from the water and crash down onto the boat, causing hull damage. It can be evaded with enough speed and a good reaction time, and is also vulnerable to the Banish spell.

GIANT LEVIATHAN

Location	Open ocean
Threats	Hull damage, possible instakill
Banishable	No

A creature that will occasionally spawn following a 'water rumble' (see the 'OTHER' section) in the open ocean. (Since there has been some confusion, 'open ocean' includes the deep water between different regions, the deep water surrounding regions near the edge of the map (ie., The Devil's Spine) and the deep water beyond the main map boundary. The leviathan doesn't have a set spawning location, and seems to be able to spawn anywhere the game defines as 'open ocean.')

It's an enormous, serpent-like creature with large spines along its back. There are three possible encounters it can have:

1. The Leviathan will swim nearby your boat, while making a roaring sound.
   
2. The Leviathan will swim in tight circles around your boat, forming obstacles with its spines that cause hull damage upon impact. (This encounter may be related to panic, it seems less common than the other encounters.)
   
3. The Leviathan will rise from the water and consume your boat, killing you instantly. This attack only occurs following at least one of the previous attacks listed here. This attack cannot be avoided once it has triggered.

Pursuing the Leviathan or remaining in-range following its first appearance can trigger its attack encounter. Panic levels may have an impact on its spawn chance, and whether it performs it's 'circling' attack.

Leaving the Leviathan's proximity and returning to shallower waters, docking, or using the 'Manifest' spell to return to Blackstone Isle are all ways to avoid being attacked. The 'Banish' spell has no effect.

Note: this same creature will instakill you in a scripted event if you stray too far out-of-bounds. You have to travel extremely far off of the main map, and the game will warn you with an on-screen message when you are nearing it, so it's impossible to encounter this accidentally.

It also appears in a story-related cutscene.

OBSTACLES

ROCKS

Rocks exist naturally in all areas except the open ocean. They can cause hull damage upon impact with your boat.

Around The Marrows, high panic can cause the fisherman to hallucinate rocks that will appear suddenly in your path. Despite being hallucinations, these rocks still cause hull damage upon impact with your boat. Your ship lights extend the range at which these rocks become visible, making them easier to avoid. These rocks will have a distinctive pink outline, distinguishing them from regular rocks.

Keeping your panic level low and exploring cautiously when panicked makes them easier to navigate. They are not vulnerable to the banish spell.

JELLYFISH

Bright pink jellyfish that spawn at night in the water around the pit at Stellar Basin. They move slowly and aimlessly through the water, and are very easy to avoid. Upon impact with your boat, they will explode, causing hull damage. They are vulnerable to the 'Banish' spell.

ROOTS

An obstacle that appears in Twisted Strand. When at high panic, large roots will sometimes grow between the narrow waterways, blocking your path. They can make exploration difficult, and are especially troublesome if you're trying to avoid an attacking Mind Sucker. They can damage your boat upon impact, like every regular obstacle in the game.

They are not vulnerable to the banish spell, so waiting for them to recede is the only way to navigate them. Keeping your panic level in check will let you avoid them altogether.

OTHER

WATER RUMBLES

The deep, roaring noises that you'll sometimes hear when crossing the ocean. Almost always completely harmless - just audio design that makes you nervous. The one exception I know of being the Giant Leviathan above.

EYES IN THE DARK

At high panic, crowds of eyes will often appear at the periphery of your ship's lights. They have no effect on sanity and cause no damage - they only serve to be unsettling.

GHOST SHIP & GHOST ISLAND

A large ghost ship can appear at night when the Fisherman has high panic. It may also be attracted by using your Foghorn*. There are different styles of Ghost Ship that can appear - at least one that resembles the Night Angler, and one that has large sails, like a classic pirate ship.

It will not pursue you, and will vanish once within range of the ship's lights.

There are also Ghost Islands that can spawn - typically small silhouettes of Islands that may appear to have buildings and/or docks. These islands will not be visible on your map, and will vanish once within range of the ship's lights.

*High panic and using my foghorn is how I managed to spawn it, but I need to test more to tell for sure!

BONUS: DOLPHINS, ORCAS AND WHALES

Completely harmless! They can bump your boat a little but won't cause damage and won't actively pursue you in any way. They're just normal little guys (:

Final notes

Please bear in mind that this guide is a WIP and is subject to further info & testing! Please let me know if you spot anything incorrect, or have any info I've missed! I'm especially missing info on some high-panic encounters.

I don't know the official names for a couple of the creatures, so I just used the names that I've been using for them personally!

If anyone wants to use this info for their own guides, feel free! Please just don't copy my entire guide word-for-word, and let me know it's been used - I'd love to see it!

If you have any questions, please go ahead and ask and I'll do my best to let you know what I can! Thanks for reading!

[crunchy]

@DarkWolf13 No, as far as I'm aware, any of the creatures can move/aggro/attack you while you are idling, if they've already spawned. I'm unsure if they will spawn while time is paused, though.

[DarkWolf13]

Is The Serpent the only creature that will attack/move while time is paused due to idling?

[ReedsofTerror]

Unseeing mother CAN be banished, i have done it before

[potato]

what about the rock creature in Stellar Basin behind the big island that is next to the girl with the boat, sorry for the bad location info ):

[Garry mod]

found these guys
https://steamcommunity.com/id/AGGRESSIVEPEANUT/screenshot/2318854171382010850/
https://steamcommunity.com/id/AGGRESSIVEPEANUT/screenshot/2318854171382010255/
https://steamcommunity.com/id/AGGRESSIVEPEANUT/screenshot/2318854171382009495/
https://steamcommunity.com/id/AGGRESSIVEPEANUT/screenshot/2318854171382009236/

[Homestuck.FM]

I thought the pirate ships only spawned in Stellar Basin.

[Jaculus]

I can confirm that the Night Anglers people have been seeing outside of The Marrows are ghost ships. They look like Night Anglers, but they don't chase me and they disappear when I try to get close.

I don't know if it was the Phantom Shark, but there was one time that I saw a Great White swimming south of Devil's Spine, near the island with the campsite. It got close to me, but I don't think it attacked. It missed me if it did. Around the same area I also saw a whale bite a tentacle.

[Franz-Gabriel 🏳️‍🌈]

It's funny how I named the creature "Leviathan" just by seeing its spine-thingy and you also call it Leviathan. It's quite obvious as a name for a huge sea creature, yet still funny. Thanks for the information here!

[The Interference]

if you manage to dodge the Phantom Shark it will leave you alone.
by dodge I mean have it dash at you and get out of the way.

[[FOR]mica]

Don't forget the sea turtles and crocodiles!