Everything New in Hytale Update 2: Ore Changes, Cosmetics, Necromancy, and More!

What to know

• Ore spawning has been refactored across all zones, with noticeably more ore (especially in the Devastated Lands underground), but you’ll need newly generated chunks to see changes in existing worlds.​

• Mining progression now scales properly with pickaxe quality, and Adamantite has a stricter pickaxe requirement (Thorium or Cobalt).​

• Cosmetics get meaningful upgrades (masks, new mouth variants, and an armor-visibility toggle that hosts can enforce).​

• UI/UX, accessibility, and server stability all get real improvements (FPS counter option, compass player markers, Ophidiophobia mode, server self-updater).​

---

Hytale’s Update 2 (available January 24) brings big changes to gameplay, cosmetics, ore spawning, and a whole lot else. It reads like a foundation and feel patch, improving how the core gameplay loops – mining, travel, inventory, farming – while quietly prepping bigger tech like WorldGen V2 documentation and templates.

Category	What changed	Why you’ll notice it
Ore & mining	Ore placement refactor; more ores; pickaxe speed scales by quality	Faster, more consistent progression and fewer “dead” mining trips.​
Cosmetics	New masks, mouth variants; armor visibility toggle	More expressive avatars and cleaner PvP readability options.​
Magic/item	Necromancy Grimoire drops from Skeleton Praetorian; summons minions	New combat utility and experimentation hook.​
Worldgen	WorldGen V2 prep + new templates; hub portal change	Better modder support and future-ready world systems.​
QoL & tech	Inventory keybind updates; FPS overlay; server updater; stability fixes	Smoother play, better usability, fewer server headaches.​

Ore redistribution

Ore spawning has been reworked with a “major ore placement refactor across all zones,” and Update 2 also increases overall ore availability, with a specific callout for more ore in the Devastated Lands underground. If you’re on an older world/server, the new distribution won’t magically rewrite what already exists—ore changes require generating new chunks (so exploring farther out matters).​ 

Key changes to the distribution are as follows:

• Emerald Wilds (Zone 1): Copper is now the primary ore found at higher levels. Iron has become rarer and generally only spawns at level 55 or below.
• Howling Sands (Zone 2): This zone is now the main source for thorium. Gold and silver, which were previously present in the desert, have been removed from this area in the new update.
• Whisper Frost Frontiers (Zone 3): This is the primary location for cobalt. A significant change is that gold is now extremely rare and found primarily in the shallow waters of the ice biome.
• Devastated Lands (Zone 4): This zone remains the source for adamantite, but it is now much harder to find. Small caves have been replaced by massive dinosaur biomes, and silver is now exceptionally rare, found only within volcanic lava fields.

What this means in practice

• You should see fewer stretches where a zone “feels wrong” for your tier, because the goal is better distribution between tiered zones rather than huge feast-or-famine pockets.​

• Devastated Lands mining runs become more rewarding thanks to the explicit “more ores” boost there, especially underground.​

Mining progression and pickaxe rules

Mining speed now scales with pickaxe quality, making upgrades feel immediately valuable. On top of that, Adamantite now requires a Thorium or Cobalt pickaxe, tightening the intended equipment ladder.​

How to take advantage

Step 1

Treat pickaxe upgrades as a speed upgrade, not just an access check, because quality now directly affects mining speed.​

Step 2

Plan for Adamantite by ensuring you’ve progressed into Thorium or Cobalt pickaxes first (and adjust your crafting/material targets accordingly).​

Cosmetics and customization upgrades

Update 2 adds new mask face accessories and new mouth variants (Vampire, Cute, Orc) across editions, expanding character-creation without forcing gameplay power changes. It also introduces an armor visibility toggle, and servers/hosts can enforce it for PvP readability or immersion rules.​

What to check after patching

• New face masks in your customization options.​

• Armor visibility settings (especially if you play on hosted servers with PvP rules).​

• Visual polish updates (haircuts, cape animations, petals/cloth visuals, plus a Berserker haircut tiling fix).

Necromancy Grimoire and combat changes

The headline “new magic” item is the Necromancy Grimoire, which drops from the Skeleton Praetorian and lets you raise up to five skeletal minions from bone piles for five minutes (or until you die). Combat difficulty also shifts with buffs to polar bears and multiple skeleton types, and a long-standing cheesy tactic gets addressed: NPCs can now throw rocks if you’re safely out of reach (“tower exploit” fix).​

How to use necromancy effectively

Step 1

Target Skeleton Praetorian encounters if you’re specifically farming for the Necromancy Grimoire drop.​

Step 2

When you find bone piles, raise minions for short-duration pressure and distraction, especially when you need breathing room to heal or reposition.​

Step 3

Avoid relying on vertical cheese in fights; ranged rock throws mean you’ll need real cover and spacing rather than just height.​

Travel, items, and block updates

Rail karts are faster than before (with the dev note that they’re “still not great, but faster”), which makes early travel slightly less of a slog. A few practical crafting/building gaps are also patched: missing decorative light blocks were added to the furniture bench, and hide drops were adjusted (Light → Medium for some NPCs like cows).​

World generation groundwork and exploration polish

Update 2 doesn’t ship “WorldGen V2 everywhere,” but it does prepare WorldGen V2 for public documentation to support modders and adds new Default_Flat and Default_Void templates using V2. The Hub Portal now spawns with V2 flat worldgen features like clear weather and limited fog, but only applies to newly created worlds.​

Zone 1 dungeon environment fixes are included, along with broader environment fixes (including a note that you might hear new soundtracks).

Farming changes that reduce frustration

Farming gets reliability and “cozy building” support: Eternal crops no longer break from weapon damage, tilled soil lasts longer, and soil decay under fully grown crops has been fixed. Also, all crops can now place produce in the world, which is a small change that matters a lot for decorating farms, markets, and kitchens.​

UI/UX, accessibility, and creation tools

UI and usability get several targeted upgrades: improved editor block tooltips, added clothing color tooltips, better hotbar active-slot contrast (with a diamond indicator), and memory categories sorted alphabetically. Inventory interactions improve with a new keybind to pull all items from chests, and creators get Scripted Brush QoL improvements.​

For accessibility and visibility, there’s now an optional FPS counter overlay, player markers on the compass, and an Ophidiophobia mode.​

Tech, stability, and bug fixes you’ll feel on servers

Servers get a self-updater and major improvements across stability systems (including validation, ECS, localization, and timeouts), which should reduce the “random weirdness” that accumulates on longer-running servers. A wide set of fixes land too: pick block works when the hotbar is full, asset editor documentation fixes, mantling fixes, keybind persistence fixes, smoother weather transitions, teleporter offset fixes, rail kart item consumption/placement fixes, and bed respawn fixes in unloaded chunks.

How to get the pre-​release update

If you want to get Patch 2 early, you can get the pre-release from the Hytale launcher. Here’s how:

Open Hytale’s launcher. Then click on the gear icon (Settings) in the top left corner.

Click on the option under ‘Patchline’ and select Pre-release.

Go back and click Install.

Full patch notes (Update 2)

Here’s the full patch notes.

Cosmetics & Customization

• New mask face accessories (available for all editions).​

• Armour/armor slot visibility toggle (host-enforced for PvP/immersion).​

• New mouth variants: Vampire, Cute, Orc (all editions).​

• Berserker haircut tiling fixed.​

• Updated haircuts, cape animations, petals & cloth visuals.​

Gameplay & Balance

• New magic: The Necromancy Grimoire (drops from Skeleton Praetorian), lets you raise up to 5 skeletal minions from bone piles (5-min duration or until the summoner dies).​

• Adamantite now requires a Thorium or Cobalt pickaxe.​

• Pickaxe progression reworked: mining speed now scales with pickaxe quality.​

• Faster rail karts (still not great, but faster!).​

• Tower exploit fixed (NPCs can now throw rocks at players).​

• Buffed polar bears and multiple skeleton types.​

• All crops can now place produce in the world.​

• Missing decorative light blocks added to the furniture bench.​

• Adjusted hide drops (Light → Medium for some NPCs like cows).​

• Added permission for world map teleporting.​

• Magma Rhino Toad attack updates (…maybe accidental buff).​

World Generation

• WorldGen V2 prepared for public documentation (modder support).​

• New Default_Flat & Default_Void templates using WorldGen V2.​

• Hub Portal now spawns with V2 flat worldgen (clear weather, limited fog, new worlds only).​

• Major ore placement refactor in all zones.​

• More ores, especially in the Devastated Lands underground.​

• Requires new chunks in existing worlds.​

• Zone 1 dungeon environment fixes + new environment fixes (you might hear new soundtracks).​

Farming

• Eternal crops no longer break from weapon damage.​

• Increased tilled soil lifetime.​

• Fixed soil decay under fully grown crops.​

UI / UX

• Improved editor block tooltips.​

• Clothing colour tooltips added.​

• Better hotbar active-slot contrast (diamond indicator, helpful in Howling Sands).​

• Memory categories sorted alphabetically.​

• Scripted Brush QoL improvements.​

• Inventory interaction updates (e.g., new keybind to pull all items from chests).​

• Optional FPS counter overlay.​

• Player markers added to the compass.​

• Ophidiophobia accessibility mode.​

Audio

• Added basic Rex sounds + additional audio fixes.​

Bug Fixes, Tech & Stability

• Server self-updater.​

• Shadow improvements.​

• Pick block works when the hotbar is full.​

• Asset editor documentation fixed.​

• Mantling fixes.​

• Keybind persistence fixed.​

• Improved weather transitions (still not perfect, but smoother).​

• Teleporter offset fixed.​

• Rail karts now consume & place correctly.​

• Bed respawn in unloaded chunks fixed.​

• Food particle tint updates.​

• Major server stability, validation, ECS, localisation & timeout improvements.​

If you like mining and gear progression, Hytale’s Update 2 is the kind of patch you feel immediately – better and more logical ore availability, better pickaxe scaling, and fewer annoying edge cases in basic play loops. If you care about servers, building, or long-term modding, the WorldGen V2 groundwork plus server and UX improvements are the quieter changes that add up over time.