Snow Dram

Snow Dram is a trickjump in the Snow Kingdom that allows the player to get from the top of the Odyssey to the nearby Warp Painting platform and obtain the Secret Path to Shiveria! moon. Since the platform is relatively close to the Odyssey, this moon is fast enough to save time in some speedrun categories if the player is skilled enough.

The trick is satirically named after the speedrunner Dram55, who had no relation to the discovery of the trick, since after the naming of Dram Strat it became a running joke to name tricks after him.

Execution

This trick requires a lot of precise movement to land on the platform, which is barely in reach.

Firstly, Mario needs to have a precise position and orientation on top of the Odyssey. This is usually achieved through a camera setup using first-person mode, which varies slightly from player to player. However, very advanced players can forgo the first-person setup in order to save a small amount of time, or even use a divevault for the most optimal variant of the trick.

The player should then execute a vault and vector strongly to reach maximum velocity. When Mario is roughly on the same level with the top of the platform, perform a cap throw and dive into a cap bounce (which can optionally be vectored for extra distance). After Cappy returns to Mario, perform a cap return spin (which can also be vectored) with a bit of delay. One last properly timed cap throw and dive should allow Mario to reach the platform.

If everything was executed well enough, Mario will reach the platform at the peak height of his final dive.

In some cases, if Mario is just shy of reaching the platform, he will seam clip through the edge instead of landing or bonking.

Two-player variant

Due to the unique properties of two-player mode, the trick is significantly easier than it is in single-player. Instead of needing to reach the platform as Mario, Cappy simply has to get far enough to activate the checkpoint, which Mario can then warp to. The trick involves Mario jumping toward the platform, which in turn gives Cappy enough height and distance to reach the checkpoint.

This version of the trick is frequently used in two-player Any% runs. Instead of performing the Snow Dram jump at the end of the kingdom, it is performed at the beginning, but the action of Mario warping to the platform is saved until the end. Since Mario needs to warp out of Shiveria Town regardless, it is faster to simply warp out to the painting platform.

Speedrun usage

Any%

The most notable use of Snow Dram is in the Any% category. This trick negates the need to fetch an additional moon in the Snowy Mountain level in Shiveria Town. The resulting reroute of the kingdom effectively eliminates two loading zones and a long movement section up to the Snowy Mountain moon.

World Peace

While this trick also saves time in World Peace, it saves much less than it does in Any%. It is theorized to save around three seconds by cutting the movement to the Fishing in the Glacier! moon.