v2.2: APOTHEΩSIS¶

Drehmal v2.2: APOTHEΩSIS is the most recent major content update to Drehmal v2. Made over the course of more than three years by a greatly expanded team of over 15 developers, 2.2 is by far the largest content update for Drehmal.

2.2 was released in beta form on August 19, 2023, and was fully released on April 5, 2024. It has since received two major updates.

Version 2.2.1, released on July 16, 2024, was the initial port of the map to Minecraft 1.20.1.

A second update, 2.2.2, was officially released on April 15, 2025, acting as a more finalized and polished version of the 1.20.1 port, with some very small content additions.

Development and Release Buildup¶

2.2's development began as early as the months leading up to the release of v2.1 in mid-late 2020, with the recruitment of additional developers from the community. DomeMaster and Yllusive, the creators of the Emperor's Estate build, were brought onto the team first, with the size of the dev team slowly growing to over 20 people, encompassing builders, coders, writers, artists, and more.

2.2 was originally planned for release in late 2021, but was delayed several times due to a combination of developer time conflicts, scope creep, and persistent bugs.

In the months (and years) leading up to the release of the 2.2 beta, the update was teased in several ways.

The revamped Burnt Palace was released as a Patreon-exclusive early access level in August 2021, and a demo version of 2.2 (containing only the Central Regions) was released in June 2022.

Spoiler/Teaser images—images of new content in 2.2—were published by developers, accompanied by lore-relevant captions. These images and captions can be found in the #announcements channel of the Discord. In the final days leading up to the official release of the 2.2 beta, a series of teaser dialogue lines were given by a mysterious figure in the Discord server as well.

Changes¶

2.2 brought sweeping changes to the gameplay systems, story, world, and lore of Drehmal, almost entirely present from the very first beta. Small tweaks and additions have been made in subsequent updates, but the main changes are all listed below under the beta/full release notes.

Main Changes (Beta/Full Release)¶

You feel an arcane presence...

This section contains significant spoilers for Drehmal: Apotheosis. Read the additional message below for specific spoiler information.

This section about new content in 2.2 is very spoiler-heavy!

These notes are more comprehensive than the official patch notes for Drehmal, and as such, will spoil MUCH more about the experience. The default notes below will be somewhat more intentionally vague, but if you would like to see the full, spoiler-filled extent of the content added in 2.2, see the dropdown at the end of this section.

For official developer changelogs, see drehmal.net/blog. The official update announcement for 2.2's full release (minimal spoilers, short summary of major changes only) can be found here. The original changelog for the first beta version, which is more in-depth (and more spoiler-heavy) can be found here.

MAJOR CHANGES (Mild Spoilers):

The main story was reworked from the ground up, with changes made to every single existing story location, including the addition of larger puzzles and changing the rewards for completing these areas. Entirely new story areas were also added, especially in the late game (75% and onwards) and end-game (after Mt. Yavhlix).
Holotexts were created and added to story locations, as a more direct form of providing hints and key lore.
15 new pieces of Legendary Gear and 2 new Mythical Weapons were added, with several others receiving updates to their textures, abilities, stats, or some combination thereof.
All legendaries were given their currently existing passive abilities, rather than simply having strong enchantments and custom textures.
Artifacts and Artisan Items were established as item classes, adding over 160 unique pieces of gear to the world with the former and 140 purchaseable pieces of gear with the latter. Some of these items formally replaced previously existing custom items which were named but had minimal lore implications, but the majority of these items are new in 2.2.
Added the Devotion mechanic and devotion sites for players to give offerings to the Deities and Major Aspects, and by extension, Relics.
Added custom Adventuring Merchant and Runic Blacksmith merchants, which offer specialized trades for adventuring/exploring materials and unique Artisan gear, respectively.
Added Runic Catalysts, an uncommon type of loot found throughout the world used as currency with the aforementioned new merchant types.
Added the city of Rhaveloth.
Added eleven new small settlements to the world.
Fully rebuilt all 39 ruins across Drehmal to be visually distinct from one another, and to have clear lore that sets them apart. Previously, all ruined towns were, for the most part, generic stone brick ruins.
The terrain of the Frozen Bite and Highfall Tundra regions in the northeast were fully rebuilt to stand out more from neighboring Faehrcyle and add variety.
A complete custom soundtrack was added to the game, replacing the previous soundtrack which was made up of tracks from popular video games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Hollow Knight, and Bloodborne.
Massively expanded several ruins and inhabited towns. Most notably, these include Firteid, Highfall, the Kiln of Virtuo, the Burnt Palace, and Sal'Anyr.
Added various new non-settlement points of interest throughout the world, ranging from small loot structures to massive dungeons and complex structures. These include Teiruun Monastery, Ancehl Castle, and Drehua Temple, to name a few.
Added well over 100 new lore books.
Removed access to the Nether. Nether portals now self-destruct almost immediately after being lit.
Re-textured default villagers to be Drehmari consistent with Drehmal's lore, making them look like regular humans with antlers. Other races were also given custom textures, including the Maelmari and Tehrmari, found throughout the world.

MINOR CHANGES (Mild Spoilers):

Abolished class by removing the class boots, replacing them with the much more diverse system of artifacts, artisan items, and relics.
Added the /trigger Settings menu.
Restructured the advancements tabs.
Approximately doubled the number of Cat Maps found in the map.
Re-textured and re-named some vanilla items, including the rebranding of emeralds to "scales".

Full Spoiler Changelog¶

WARNING!!! The summary of changes below contains EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT spoilers for the ENTIRE map.

If you have not FINISHED THE MAIN STORY OF THE MAP IN ITS ENTIRETY, we strongly recommend that you DO NOT read the contents of this section.

Note: The true end of the storyline will take you to a dedicated credits room, NOT the vanilla Minecraft end credits.

2.2 Changes: Full Spoilers

Story Changes

In general, the story of 2.2 is greatly more ambitious and intricate than that of any previous version. It shifted to focus more on the specific reasons for the Fall of Avsohm, including much more attention on the actions of Emperor Anyr in the final years of the empire's reign. It also gives Drehmal a much more definitive ending, adding significantly to the end-game sequence and concretely determining the fate of the world.
- The player's starting location was changed from a tomb where the player mysteriously awakens to a temporal stasis facility. In turn, the player character's identity, previously not established, was solidified as a member of the Stasis Eight, significant remnants of the empire of Avsohm.
- The Av'Sal Repository was added, and the hilt of the Mythbreaker was moved there.
- The current acquisition method of the Mythbreaker was implemented, splitting it into three parts, with the two blade fragments being located at the 25% and 50% locations.
- 25%: Added holotexts and the temporal engine puzzle to Sal'Mevir.
- 50%: Reworked the Exodus Citadel, adding the rune circuit puzzle and the entirety of the underground Exodus Vault, the true location of the new 50% event. Changed the S21 series of shields from legendaries into artifacts.
- 75%: Added the Admin Wing of the Repository, and the Aphelion. The Aphelion did not exist at all in 2.1.
- Post-75%: Added the entirety of Lo'Dahr. The terrain of the Lo'Dahr dimension, its custom structures and mobs, and its role in the story, did not exist prior to 2.2. The majority of references to Lo'Dahr in the overworld were also not present in previous versions.
- Yav: Changed the method of entry for Mt. Yavhlix and the Primary Energy Collection Facility. In previous versions, the door could only be opened by pressing a button outside of the door after reaching 100% tower linkage (not including the tower inside the facility itself). In 2.2, this is replaced by the Mythbreaker Run sequence, in which players must charge the Inert Mythbreaker at the Numencore, then escape the attacks of an angered Khive to break down the door. The Mythbreaker Run does not require any specific tower percentage to initiate, meaning that 2.2 can be beaten without reaching 100% towers. The "dialogue" in the facility is also a 2.2 addition.
- Post-Yav: Completely rewrote all of The Mythoclast's dialogue, and added new sections at the end of the end-game (previously referred to as the "post-game"). This begins with the repurposing of the "Divine Ruins" at the Sunken Astral Body, which were turned into Azimuth Labs, the site of the new God Machine. The Resonant Halls also received a large expansion and more explicit lore/story relevance. The entrance to the Court of Nothing was moved to the Stasis Facility, after the acquisition of the True Mythbreaker rather than just before it. The entire Maddened Path and True End sequences are new additions in 2.2.

Fabled Equipment

Drehmal 2.2 added and changed several legendary and mythical pieces of gear. The 15 new legendaries are:
- Aeongale
- AvPOD
- Eldermead
- Eyebiter
- Festering Strides
- Magestep
- Parenchyma
- Penumbra
- Proxigea
- Pure Corruption
- Stasis Bolt
- Thundercrux
- Tul'Vohaln
- Warp Horse
- Whispersong
The two new mythical weapons added are Zenith (in the Foundry) and Syzygy (as a reward for completing the Trials).
The start of the quest for Oblivion was moved to Highfall, with the Compass of Nihility previously being found beneath the Tidal Palace in Firteid.

New (Non-Story) Content

2.2 adds many new settlements and other points of interest, many of which are listed below.
- The moon of Lo'Dahr was added as a secondary, late-game open world, contained within its own entirely new dimension. Every town and point of interest on Lo'Dahr—including the likes of Ytaj, Naharja, Greyspire Castle, and the Numencore—is new in 2.2.
- Almost all interactions with dialogue were introduced in 2.2, including dialogue from Maelihs and Drehmal (the latter somewhat indirectly). - The city of Rhaveloth, the first official town inhabited by Maelmari, was added in The Carmine.
- Large points of interest such as Teiruun Monastery, Ancehl Castle (built over what used to be a nondescript ruin), Shatterhorn Gulch, the Black Jungle Ruins, Xor'Huul, Drehua Temple, The Foundry, Caer Adacia, Star-Rise Bastion, Wokonori, and more.
- Smaller settlements, including: Schlonko, the ICS Arbiter, Elvett, Tahva, Port Solitude, Thesund, Solvei, Morah, Helmshire, and Marahza.

Updated Locations

2.2 updates several pre-existing structures and towns within the world, expanding towns to cities and giving ruins new life. Some of the most prominent updated areas include:
- Av'Sal, which was previously contained to only the central island in 2.1, and did not exist at all in 2.0. The Repository, as well as all of the content on the land surrounding the lake, are new to 2.2.
- Firteid has been overhauled from a modest-sized town to the largest city in the map by far.
- Highfall received a full makeover, moving the Grimm Troupe to its own location outside of the town and adding more buildings to the eastern outskirts.
- Okeke was expanded with houses to the east and docks to the north.
- The Burnt Palace and Kiln of Virtuo were both fully re-built and greatly expanded.

2.2.1 Changes¶

Version 2.2.1 made very few real content changes, mainly focusing on being a serviceable port of the map to Minecraft 1.20.1. This port was done by new developer tworoundcats, with some small content additions from the Drehmal team.

While the port to 1.20 does mean that blocks can now be placed as low as y=-64 and as high as y=324, this ability is not utilized in any new builds, cave systems, or other terrain features. Almost all major builds exist exactly as they were in the initial full release, with a few small exceptions.

Read the official changelog for 2.2.1 here.

2.2.2 Changes¶

Version 2.2.2 aims to serve as a polished final product of Drehmal: Apotheosis, seeking to fix almost all of the existing text errors and bugs in the map. It also adds a small amount of content, including a new secret advancement tied to a late-game story area, three new artifacts, an upgrade for the Nail artisan item, textures for a few select artifacts, and more.

The doLimitedCrafting gamerule is set to true by default in this version.

Read the official changelog for version 2.2.2 here.

How to Play¶

Drehmal 2.2 is the current version of the map, and thus, can be played very easily by utilizing either the installer or manually downloading its parts. See the Getting Started page for more detailed help with this process.

An archived download of the initial full release (the 1.17.1 version of the map) can be found here, if you would like to play this version:
World Download: Drehmal v2.2.0
Resource Pack: Primordial Pack 2.2

In addition, you will need Fabric for Minecraft 1.17.1 and all of the required mods. An archived version of the modlist page can be found here.

Release Trailer¶

The video below is the official release trailer for Drehmal: Apotheosis, uploaded on the same day as the full release.