Did Rubies Exist in Minecraft?

No, rubies ultimately never made it into the final Minecraft game. But they came surprisingly close during early development of Minecraft Java Edition 1.3! As a hardcore Minecraft gamer and expert, I have all the inside scoop on the rubies that almost were.

Rubies Were Originally Planned as a Trading Currency

Back in 2012, Mojang was gearing up to release the big Minecraft 1.3 update. This included a long-awaited trading system that would enable players to buy and sell items with computer-controlled Villagers. Originally, Notch and Jeb planned to have rubies as the currency for this trading:

"Initially it used rubies. It wasn‘t until a few weeks later they were replaced by the emeralds that we recognise today." [according to minecraft.net]

As a devoted Minecraft player myself, finding this out blew my mind! Given how intrinsic emeralds now are to trading, it‘s hard to imagine rubies instead.

So What Happened to Rubies in Minecraft?

If rubies were so central to the initial village trading designs, why were they suddenly yanked at the last minute? According to Minecraft lead developer Jeb, two key issues emerged with rubies:

1. Ruby ore was too similar in color to existing redstone ore. This caused visual confusion for players, especially when mining underground. Given how vital redstone is for crafting mechanics, Mojang felt distinguishing the two ores was important.

2. Jeb himself was red-green colorblind. This made it extremely difficult for him to actually see any contrast between the red ruby designs and the other ores. Definitely an important factor when the lead developer can‘t properly see a new item!

Emeralds Ultimately Replaced Rubies

With Minecraft 1.3 release just around the corner, the ruby plans were scrapped entirely. Emeralds were selected to fill the currency role instead:

• "It wasn‘t until a few weeks later they were replaced by the emeralds that we recognise today." [according to minecraft.net]

Likely reasons why emeralds succeeded where rubies failed:

• Vibrant green color stood out from other ores
• Extreme Hills spawn made them challenging to find
• Could generate in rare, small single blocks rather than veins

This rarity factor was critical. As a gamer, having an exclusive rare currency that demanded effort to amass sounded far more intriguing than a plentiful material!

How Rare Are Emeralds Compared to Other Ores?

According to official Minecraft statistics, emerald ore spawns with an absolutely miniscule frequency compared to other ores and materials. Check out this breakdown of ore rarity in Java Edition 1.19:

As you can see, not only do emeralds have by far the lowest vein frequency, but far less blocks generate per vein compared to gold/iron too.

This explains their coveted status for trading! Outside spawners, emerald ore is over 25 times rarer than diamond and 50 times rarer than iron. Finding that first emerald deposit feels like striking the lottery, especially on multiplayer servers. No wonder we fight so hard over village access!

What Properties Might Rubies Have Had?

Part of me ponders an alternate Minecraft reality with rubies instead of emeralds. How might they have functioned? Based on real-world rubies and rough early plans, my best guesses are:

• Durability/strength on par with iron tier gear
• Trade values higher than diamond since ornamentally precious
• Found below Y16, competing with diamond/redstone layer
• Generating in small 2-4 block veins

Of course, just speculation on my part! Still fun to imagine inserting an iconic gemstone into Minecraft though.

Would Rubies Have Worked as Well as Emeralds?

Personally, I think emeralds were the smarter choice for Mojang long-term. The bright color provides better visual contrast. Difficulty finding them gives a great reward loop and prestige for wealthier players. And decoupling ornamental gems from gear progression better serves game balance and hierarchy.

That said, ruby gear with intermediate strength could have been an interesting gear bridge above gold. And the red color would provide some nice build palette variety compared to endless green! At minimum, I hope ruby gets reconsidered someday if they overhaul the gem tier with a future update.

So in summary: nope, rubies definitely never officially appeared in any Minecraft version so far! But we came surprisingly close back in 2012 during early trading system development. Discovering this secret abandoned ore a decade later was a genuine shock! Hopefully you found this insider history lesson as fascinating as I did researching it. Let me know if you have any other Minecraft mysteries you want me to dig into!