Night and Panic in DREDGE
In DREDGE, night is darker and riskier. Panic (the eye icon under the clock) rises when you stay out in nighttime darkness. A calm, closed eye means lower danger, while a twitchy red eye means risk is spiking.
As Panic rises, you get visual distortion and more hostile hallucination-style threats. That is when small mistakes can snowball into expensive hull and cargo damage.
If you are new, keep it simple: when Panic gets high, cash out and dock. Resting at a dock is the fast reset. Daylight and strong nearby lighting lower Panic more gradually. If you need night fish, run short routes between one target fishing spot and the nearest safe dock instead of wandering far offshore.
Practical Panic Control Loop
- Sell and repair before dusk so you are not gambling with a damaged hull.
- Prioritize light upgrades early; better lighting buys safer time at sea.
- When the eye gets jumpy, stop pushing for one more catch and head in.
- Plan each trip around the nearest safe dock before you leave port.
What Aberrations Actually Do
Aberrations are corrupted fish variants. They usually sell for more than normal fish, are tracked in your Encyclopedia/collection progress, and are required in several pursuits.
You find them in disturbed water fishing nodes, especially spots with a colorful (often green) distortion glow above the water. Best early approach: target those glow spots, bank the profit, and keep at least one aberration in storage for turn-ins. Later, once you unlock Atrophy, it is a strong cleanup tool because it instantly harvests the nearest fishing spot and gives a very high aberration chance for targeted collection runs.