Best Material Farming Loop in DREDGE
In DREDGE, most early upgrade materials come from dredge spots - salvage nodes with bubbling water and debris, not regular fish-only spots. Lumber, Scrap, and Cloth are your core early building materials, while Refined Metal is the rarer one used for hull-tier upgrades. On a fresh run, make daytime trips resource-first: sweep nearby dredge spots, keep a few cargo tiles open, then sell fish after your materials are secured.
Keep the early loop simple and safe: run short circles around Greater and Little Marrow, grab salvage on the way, and dock before night panic climbs. Basic material spots restock over time, so revisiting known nodes is better than waiting for a "perfect" route. If cargo gets tight, drop low-value fish before dropping upgrade materials.
How to Get Refined Metal Efficiently
Refined Metal is limited in the world compared with basic materials, so prioritize it for hull progression first. Reliable sources are hidden or blocked-off pickups and caches you uncover while exploring (often after opening routes with explosives), plus purchases from the Traveling Merchant at pontoon docks for $500 each.
If you hit a hull-upgrade wall, run a focused salvage day: daylight dredging, minimal detours, early dock-in. That steady loop keeps upgrades moving and makes the rest of the game safer and more flexible.