DREDGE Endings Guide: How to See Both Base-Game Outcomes

Spoilers: prepare the alternative before the final hand-in

The base game has two ending paths. The direct route begins when you return the fifth relic to the Collector: the Key, Music Box, Ring, Necklace, and Pocket Watch. The alternative route needs preparation before you commit to his ritual. If you only want the normal progression route, stop here and return to Main Pursuits Route.

Before triggering either ending, clear any optional jobs you care about and pause at the final decision. The game returns you to a save after credits, but a deliberate stop makes it easier to see both scenes without guessing which dialogue advanced the story.

The Collector path

After the fifth relic returns to Blackstone Isle, speaking with the Collector leads to the original ritual route. Follow his direction to the location behind Greater Marrow and complete the sequence. This is the direct ending path that follows the Collector’s request.

The final voyage is the commitment to this ending. Read the warning before accepting it, and reload your pre-ending save after the credits if you want to explore the other outcome.

The Lighthouse Keeper path

After you have returned four relics, look for the Old Mayor at one of the abandoned-camp docks at F15, J3, O2, or P10. He moves between those camps, so P10 is not a fixed location. Exhaust his dialogue, then return to Greater Marrow and ask the Lighthouse Keeper about the Book he mentions.

Return to the Collector at Blackstone Isle and question him about the Book instead of agreeing to the ritual. If you are carrying the Pocket Watch, you can conceal it while pursuing this conversation; handing it over is not a requirement for taking the Book. Keep pressing until you can step closer and take the Book of the Deep. This confrontation is the required middle step; finding the Old Mayor and speaking with the Lighthouse Keeper does not send you straight to an ending.

Take the Book back to the Lighthouse Keeper at Greater Marrow and speak with her again. She marks the sea location with her lighthouse beam. Sail to that marked patch of water at G8 and interact with it to choose Throw it back. That starts the alternative ending.

Avoid the common sequence mistake

The alternative route is easy to miss because it is tied to people and story state. Follow the Old Mayor, first Lighthouse Keeper, Book confrontation, and second Lighthouse Keeper sequence before committing to an ending. If you have already given the Collector the Pocket Watch, that hand-in alone does not force you to accept his final voyage.

This guide avoids presenting the optional Devil’s Spine shrine work as an ending requirement. Flames of The Deep, Stone Tablets, and the fish shrines have their own rewards and story context, but the sources inspected do not support treating them as a mandatory checklist for either ending. Use Devil’s Spine Pursuits for the Watch route and Stone Tablets and the Ancient Lighthouse for the optional light.