Once I roll the firmware back to 3.33, do I have to complete all patches up to the current version 3.85 or can I jump from 3.33 to 3.85?  Just don't know if the updates are cumulative or not.

I'm guessing that you are talking about a modular iDRAC6. That is the only version of the iDRAC I can think of that has revisions that high.

Stepping is not required unless explicitly stated in release notes. If stepping is required or backflashing is limited then it should be listed in the important information section of the download page, but you should always check the release notes as well. It is not always in the important information section, and the important information section is not present on all download pages.

The release notes state that when upgrading from 2.1 or 2.2 you must first upgrade to 2.30 or 2.31 before installing anything later. It also warns about using Internet Explorer when performing updates older than 3.4.

Regarding backflashing, the release notes state that backflashing is limited by your hardware configuration. The general rule is to not backflash beyond a revision that has been installed and functioning on the system.

Thanks