Dredge: Where to find Refined Metal

While most of the salvage material in Dredge—the Lumber, Scrap Metal, and Bolts of Cloth you’ll need for minor boat upgrades—is readily available in salvage spots near the shore, the Refined Metal you’ll need for the major hull upgrades is another story. This is an elusive commodity, tucked away in hidden areas and sold at high prices by opportunistic merchants. If you want to maximize your vessel’s potential, however, you’ll need to know where to find Refined Metal in Dredge. Read on to learn how to do just that.

How to hunt down Refined Metal in Dredge

Uses for Refined Metal

Refined Metal in Dredge is used for a single purpose: upgrading your boat with three major hull upgrades. In addition to a mix of Lumber, Scrap Metal, and Bolts of Cloth, you’ll also need Refined Metal for each of these upgrades: one for the first, two for the second, and three for the third. This means that you’ll need a total of six Refined Metal in order to max out your boat.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

An important thing to note is that Refined Metal, despite its relative rarity, doesn’t receive any kind of special protection while in your cargo, meaning you can lose it overboard if you take damage while moving it around. For this reason, be extra careful whenever you have some in your hold, and put it in storage as soon as possible after finding it.

Now that you know what Refined Metal in Dredge is used for, we’ll move on to where you can find it.

Bought from the Travelling Merchant

By far the easiest way of acquiring Refined Metal is to simply purchase it from the Travelling Merchant. This character appears on all four of the Pontoons that you’ll find in the world, these being the Dusty Pontoon at Gale Cliffs, the Starlight Pontoon at Stellar Basin, the Rickety Pontoon at Twisted Strand, and the Charred Pontoon at Devil’s Spine.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

It’s easy to overlook the fact that the Merchant sells Refined Metal since it’s found in the far-right tab on the Shipyard screen there, something that doesn’t exist for the Shipwright on Greater Marrow. Once you figure it out though you’ll have access to a steady supply of Refined Metal for $500 a piece, less if you have discounts from certain Books. You can only buy one piece at a time, but the Merchant will restock with another after an in-game day passes, so you can just rest repeatedly to grab as many as you need.

Refined Metal 1: Behind Debris at The Marrows

You can find a piece of Refined Metal just south of Greater Marrow, in a small cove blocked off by debris. You can use Packed Explosives to clear this debris and collect the Refined Metal from the salvage spot beyond.

Refined Metal 2: Between the debris at Gale Cliffs

You’ll likely see this piece of Refined Metal on your first visit to Gale Cliffs, but you won’t be able to access it until you’ve progressed the quests in the area and unlocked the ability to purchase Packed Explosives on Ingfell. Once you have, buy a couple and use them to clear the narrow cave just across from the Ruins. You’ll find a Refined Metal in the salvage spot within.

Refined Metal 3: Behind the waterfall at Gale Cliffs

At the back of Gale Cliffs, there’s a tall mountain with a waterfall running down into the sea below. In classic video game fashion, you can sail right through this waterfall to find secrets beyond, including the rare Oarfish and a treasure chest containing a Refined Metal and a Big Bag of Doubloons you can sell to the Trader on Little Marrow.

Refined Metal 4: In the abandoned village at the Stellar Basin

If you stick to the coast and head east from the Starlight Pontoon in the Stellar Basin, you’ll find what appears to be an abandoned village, blocked off with two pieces of debris. Clear this using Packed Explosives to access the salvage spot within, which contains a piece of Refined Metal.

Refined Metal 5: In a floating chest near the Stellar Basin

Head north-west from the Starlight Pontoon, out into the open ocean, and you’ll see a treasure chest on a chain floating in the middle of nowhere. Approach it to grab its contents, which include a piece of Refined Metal, a Research Part, a Silver Plate, a Silver Trinket, a Ruby Ring, and a Big Bag of Doubloons.

Refined Metal 6: Between the debris at Twisted Strand

North of the Camp in Twisted Strand, you’ll find a narrow stretch blocked off by two sections of debris. Use Packed Explosives to clear it, and you’ll find a salvage spot within, where you can find a piece of Refined Metal.

Refined Metal 7: In the midst of the Devil’s Spine Ruins

Deep within the Devil’s Spine Ruins, you’ll find a salvage spot just past an arch. This contains a Refined Metal, but be very careful when attempting to collect it, since it’s located in a danger zone when it comes to the piranha enemies you’ll find in the area. It may be worth grabbing this one later, once you have speedy engines to make a quick getaway.

Refined Metal 8-9: As a ritual reward at Devil’s Spine

While pursuing the main story path in Dredge, you’ll end up on a quest to retrieve three Fathomless Flames from three different shrines at Devil’s Spine. Each of these requires specific combinations of fish to complete. For the shrine on the far east of the area, you’ll need to deliver a Ghost Shark and a Ghost Skate, two fish that can be found around the Devil’s Spine area. Once you do you’ll receive your reward, which includes two pieces of Refined Metal, a Research Part, and the Fathomless Flame you need to advance your quest.

So there you have it: where to find every piece of Refined Metal in Dredge. Now that you know where they all are, you’ll be able to access the major hull upgrades early in your playthrough, thus smoothing out your fishing experience with extra cargo space.