DREDGE Packed Explosives Guide: Unlocking and Clearing Blocked Routes
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The unlock is a Gale Cliffs pursuit reward
Packed Explosives do not appear as an ordinary early-shop upgrade. Complete Hermitage in Gale Cliffs: find the Family Crest, reconcile the Hermit and Retired Whaler, use the pursuit’s planted charge, and deliver the Hermit safely to Ingfell. After that, the Whaler sells explosives and the Travelling Merchant can stock them as well.
That order matters. If a loose debris pile is blocking the route you want, the answer is not to search every pontoon for a hidden menu. Finish the Gale Cliffs quest chain first. Gale Cliffs Pursuits covers the handoffs and the passenger leg.
Use one as a route key
An explosive uses two cargo squares. That is small enough to ignore until you also have a relic, a passenger, materials, and fish on board. Before buying one, name the obstruction and the reason to clear it:
- a shorter line between two docks;
- access to a needed shrine, dredge spot, or quest item;
- a channel that removes a dangerous detour on a repeat route.
If you cannot name the destination beyond the debris, leave the item in storage. Clearing a random pile can be satisfying but it does not make the next Pursuit easier by itself.
Spend them where the return improves
Devil’s Spine has the heaviest concentration of destructible debris, and its Stone Tablets are a reason to arrive prepared. The tablet route is easier after Hermitage because one tablet needs explosives for access and the others become less awkward with cleared channels. This does not mean every debris pile must be cleared before you take the Pocket Watch home.
Put an explosive in the hold at a dock, sail to the exact obstruction, interact with the debris, then look at the map before rushing through. A new passage is most useful when it connects a known safe dock to a target you will visit again. Mark it after opening it. The first time through is for learning the route; the next trip is where you save time.
Avoid two common mistakes
Do not treat Packed Explosives as a combat item. They clear marked debris; they do not solve Panic, repair a damaged slot, or make an unsafe night crossing safe. Also do not buy a pile and keep it permanently in the grid. Buy a single one when its destination is current, use it, then free the space for the actual quest item.
For the related endgame detour, read Stone Tablets and the Ancient Lighthouse. For fitting decisions, use Ship Upgrades.