Is the Ore Generation In 1.17 Caves (up to 21w14a) Well-Balanced?

In this rant, I will be reviewing how I find the placement of the ores in the 1.17 CAVES. I can't yet say how I feel about strip-mining since I haven't done extensive strip-mining since the ore distribution was changed up.

The ore distributions were first changed in 21w07a, the week after the underground got a big extension. Since then, they've gone through several changes and iterations. I am reviewing the ore distribution as of 21w14a. I don't think they changed it at all in the latest snapshot, so I guess this applies to 21w13a too.

I will be looking at all 8 of the ores, but will also discuss Amethyst Geodes, as they are... kinda like an ore.

To a degree, the y-levels of the ores in the Minecraft world are based on how early or late-game the resource is supposed to be. Early-game ores are found nearer the surface, whereas later-game ores are found in higher abundance further down. Many ores have a "bell-curve" distribution, where they peak at a certain y-level, but some have a linear ascending or descending abundance as you go higher up or further down.

Essential(ish) Minerals

Coal

Coal is found only in the upper regions of the underworld, and I can still find plentiful amounts. It does feel maybe slightly less abundant than it was before, but it's still really easy to find. I don't think there's any issues here.

Iron

Iron is actually surprisingly difficult to find in the deep caves. It is fairly abundant just below the surface in caves however. In caves reaching the surface and ravines, iron is fairly easy to find. Its abundance peaks at y32. As you go deeper than y32, the abundance of iron reduces, and it is actually fairly rare to find in the deepslate caves. In the context of game progression, it makes sense to have iron mostly spawn at the mid-higher levels. The deepslate iron is really only there for reserves if you happen to run out when you're very deep underground. I do think maybe a bit more iron could generate in the deepslate layers, however. I don't know why it has to be so rare at low levels. If you're mining for diamonds, it's always nice to have high amounts of iron as a by-product. This is partially mitigated with iron now being fortune-able, but again I don't think iron should be so rare at low depths.

Gold

This ore probably has the worst balancing of all of them. It follows a bell-curve distribution starting from mid-way down the stone levels, peaking at y-16, just below the stone-deepslate transition zone, then becoming minimal again at the very lowest y-levels. This bell-curve distribution is fine, but the simple problem here is that there is too much gold. When I go around a deepslate cave, particularly a megacave, I find gold absolutely everywhere. Way more gold than iron in fact. I reckon I find one vein of iron for every four veins of gold. Especially with the raw-mineral change in 14a, I feel gold is far too abundant and its overall "spawnrate" should be considerably lower.

Diamond

In caves, I wish diamonds were slightly more abundant than they are. They reduced the air exposure to them a little too much I feel. In the early new-cave snapshots, I felt that there was too much diamond, but now I felt they went the other way. I do like that you can find a lot more diamond in flooded caves, however. Flooded caves are definitely far riskier than normal caves, so finding a lot more diamond in them makes a lot more sense and is a good risk-reward system. As for the actual distribution, I like it. Unlike other ores, diamond never "peaks" in abundance, but rather increases gradually from y16 all the way down to the bottom of the world. The abundance increases dramatically in the bottom 16 layers of the world. The deeper you go, the more diamonds you find, and I think that's good. The reason I wish there was more of it in caves is that it would encourage cave exploration rather than strip-mining.

Lapis Lazuli

I like how we have a mineral where the distribution actually mostly straddles the mid-layers of the world, peaking at the y0 boundary and being able to generate in caves up to 32 blocks above and below that. Lapis can also occasionally found at any y-level between y64 and y-64, but not exposed to air. I like how it can be found most in the middle depths though, as it gives the player a reason to explore the stone-deepslate boundary instead of just descending straight to deepslate. This also makes sense given Lapis' integral use in enchanting. Most players gain enchanting tables and begin enchanting around the mid-game.

Non-Essential Minerals

Copper

Copper is highly abundant at the surface, peaking at y48, and its abundance drops off until it stops generating outright at y0. It does not generate at all in the deepslate layers. Given copper does not serve as a core-progression mineral, I think it's fine where it is. Currently, its only real uses are far from end-game, and for what it is it is fine being a surface-only mineral. Copper's current main use is a building block, so it's fine being where it is.

Redstone

One thing that has always baffled me is why redstone is only found at the bottom of the world. It's really not an essential mineral, I don't see why it can't just spawn equally at all y-levels. In keeping with tradition, 1.17's distribution of redstone excludes most of the highest levels. In the lowest quarter of the world, the abundance dramatically increases. In very deep caves, you can find quite a lot of this stuff just by walking around. But again, I question why redstone is only found in abundance so deep in the world. Why should redstone be such a challenge to obtain when it's not essential for survival or progression? This is not new to 1.17, I've always wondered this.

Emerald

This ore has a very unique distribution, and I love what they've done. Unlike all other ores, its abundance increases with INCREASING y-levels above the surface. This is a really great idea. As emerald ore is exclusive to the mountains, they have really worked very well with this concept by having emerald's abundance linearly increase with y-level and, like diamond, never peaking but rather increasing right up until y256, the height limit of a mountain. This is a great move as it rewards the player for ascending a really tall mountain. And while emerald may not be essential for game progression, it is an extremely important mineral to have lots of. Climbing a tall mountain to its peak and finding the lofty peak absolutely swimming in emeralds will give you a great headstart with Villager trading.

Amethyst

Amethyst is very unique in its way of obtaining, as it is farmable and comes in geodes instead of simple ores. I can't really say much about this mineral as it really doesn't do much in the game yet. I find geodes are fairly hard to find though. Before they changed the caves, they were pretty easy to find. Smooth Basalt really blends in with deepslate too. I'm fine with them being rare but amethyst really needs more uses for it to feel worth hunting for them. They can be found at any y-level which is good, though. I don't feel they need any y-level distribution as they are so unessential currently.

Room for More?

For many years, Minecraft's underground stayed the same. 6 ores (7 in mountains) in 64 underground y-levels. Now we have 8 ores/geodes (9 in mountains) in 128 underground y-levels. But is there room for more?

Absolutely. There is always room for more ores in Minecraft. Since all these ores except copper were added before deepslate, all of them have had to generate in the stone layers too, to keep the traditional stone-based ore. Because of this, we have no deepslate-exclusive ores. There are currently no ores which can ONLY be found at the very bottom of the world. But even aside from y-level, there are SO many places that could harbour ores. For example, andesite, granite, diorite or tuff could have an exclusive ore as well. There are also new underground biomes coming (eventually), which could theoretically harbour unique ores. As for what these new ores could be, I have several ideas which I will discuss in a separate post.

All-in-all, there is absolutely more room for new ores now that we have an extended underground. I don't think there is enough room to go totally mad with ores, especially due to inventory limitations (another rant!) but there could definitely be at least two more new ores.