Key Takeaway
Here’s every way to get Research Parts in DREDGE:
- Harvest them from dredging spots
- Common resource dredging spots (Metal Scrap, Lumbar, and Cloth) all have a small chance to give you Research Parts
- There are some dredging spots that only give Research Parts
- Loot structures, shipwrecks, and other locations
- Complete pursuits (Recording Rarities is arguably the best for this, as, overall, it gives you eight Research Parts—two per Exotic Fish)
You need to get Research Parts in DREDGE if you want better equipment. However, there’s more than one way to do so! Explore the high seas, scenic coasts, as well as the depths of this digital world to find what you need.
Table Of Contents
DREDGE: How to Get Research Parts Video Guide
Where to Look to Find Research Parts
True to the name of the game, your best chance to get Research Parts is to dredge them up from below the waves. At all common resource dredging spots (Metal Scrap, Lumber, and Cloth), there’s always a small chance to find a Research Part.
With that said, there are dredging spots that only give you a Research Part or two. The symbol for Research Part-only dredging spots looks like the outline of a bunch of gears (00:16 in the Video Guide).
Like most dredging spots, these do not respawn once you harvest the goods from them. On a semi-related note, dredging spots for Refined Metal never give you Research Parts.
Looting Locations
Another great way to get Research Parts is to loot them from shipwrecks, structures, and other places you can search. For this reason—and more—it’s best to explore far and wide in DREDGE. Keep an eye out for bluish-green particles on the wind, as these gusts sometimes point you in the direction of lootable areas.
Pursuing Pursuits
The last of the lucrative ways to get Research Parts is to complete pursuits. The rewards for each pursuit vary a lot, however, a large number of them give you Research Parts.
One of the best for this is “Recording Rarities”, which gives you the task of finding the four Exotic Fish. For every Exotic Fish you find, you get two Research Parts from the Travelling Merchant. Overall, that means you can get eight from this pursuit alone!
How to Farm Research Parts (01:40 in the Video Guide)
For the most part, dredging spots do not respawn in DREDGE. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Around The Marrows, there are six dredging spots that respawn after eight to ten days (each spot’s respawn rate varies slightly). Two of these are for Metal Scrap, two are for Lumber, and two are for Cloth.
As we mentioned before, you always have a small chance of getting a Research Part from any common resource dredging spot. In turn, that makes these six spots farmable for gear-like goods—albeit slowly. It’s far more efficient to get Research Parts elsewhere, however, if you’ve exhausted other options, you can use this method reliably.
Here are the locations for each of the respawning dredging spots around The Marrows:
- Metal Scrap Spot #1: southeast corner of coordinates 9J (01:55 in the Video Guide)
- Cloth Spot #1: northern side of coordinates 7J (02:56 in the Video Guide)
- Lumber Spot #1: southeast corner of coordinates 8K (03:57 in the Video Guide)
- Lumber Spot #2: northern side of coordinates 8K (04:49 in the Video Guide)
- Metal Scrap Spot #2: southwest corner of coordinates 8L (05:33 in the Video Guide)
- Cloth Spot #2: south side of coordinates 8L (06:10 in the Video Guide)
Once you have all the parts you need, you can use them at the nearest dock to unlock new and better equipment! Afterward, these new bits of equipment can be purchased from any merchant in the game.
You’ll definitely want to research better engines early on, as doing so makes sailing across the map much less tedious. As they say: knowledge is power—and research is the key to unlocking newfound knowledge.
