How to Farm Jungle Emeralds, Ocean Sapphires, and Desert Rubies: Locations and Best Methods
The Jungle Emerald, Ocean Sapphire, and Desert Ruby are Epic materials you need to upgrade gear past Lv.15. They cannot be crafted or bought from merchants, so the only way to get them is by defeating bosses and breaking open chests and crystals. This article covers where each gem comes from, the drop chances, and which sources are the most efficient to farm.
Key takeaways
- Start by defeating the three titans. Druidra the Wild Titan drops Jungle Emeralds, Crydra the Ice Titan drops Ocean Sapphires, and Pyrdra the Fire Titan drops Desert Rubies, always 2 each.
- To collect a lot, farm the Core Commander. Each kill has about a 57% chance to drop 1–2 of each of the three gems (about 1.2 of each per kill on average).
- Sun Crystals in The Shimmering Frontier also drop gems, but which gem you get depends on the nearby biome (Jungle Emerald near Azeos' Wilderness, Ocean Sapphire near The Sunken Sea, Desert Ruby near The Desert of Beginnings).
- They are used for the upgrades Lv.15→16 (Jungle Emerald), 16→17 (Ocean Sapphire), and 17→18 (Desert Ruby), one per piece of gear. They only sell for 15–17 Ancient Coins, so don't sell them.
What are Jungle Emeralds, Ocean Sapphires, and Desert Rubies? Uses and how many you need
All three are Epic-rarity materials. Each in-game description mentions the region it comes from (for example, that it is rarely found in an area overgrown with crystallized plants). Their main use is upgrading gear at the Upgrade Station. Each one is used once, at a specific step of the upgrade path.
| Upgrade | Gem used | Full cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lv.15 → 16 | Jungle Emerald ×1 | 398 Ancient Coins, 30 Solarite Bars, 1 Jungle Emerald |
| Lv.16 → 17 | Ocean Sapphire ×1 | 432 Ancient Coins, 33 Solarite Bars, 1 Ocean Sapphire |
| Lv.17 → 18 | Desert Ruby ×1 | 468 Ancient Coins, 35 Solarite Bars, 1 Desert Ruby |
Because it is one gem per item per step, getting all eight slots (weapon, helm, chest, pants, necklace, two rings, and off-hand) to Lv.18 or higher takes 8 of each gem. You will need more every time you rebuild your setup, so it pays to stockpile extra. Upgrade costs and mechanics are covered in Upgrading (Upgrade Station) and Reinforcing.
Where to get Jungle Emeralds, Ocean Sapphires, and Desert Rubies (with drop chances)
Each chance is the probability of getting at least one of that gem from a single attempt (one boss kill, one chest opened, or one crystal broken). When all three gems drop from the same source at the same rate, they share a row.
| Source | Jungle Emerald | Ocean Sapphire | Desert Ruby | Amount (per gem) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Druidra the Wild Titan | Guaranteed | — | — | 2 |
| Crydra the Ice Titan | — | Guaranteed | — | 2 |
| Pyrdra the Fire Titan | — | — | Guaranteed | 2 |
| Core Commander | 57.1% | 57.1% | 57.1% | 1–2 |
| Urschleim | 38.9% | 38.9% | 38.9% | 1 |
| Cultist Chest (Oasis Temple, Oasis House) | 42.3% | 42.3% | 42.3% | 1 |
| Cultist Chest, Solarite Chest, Alien Tech Chest (rooms in The Shimmering Frontier, etc.) | 31.8% | 31.8% | 31.8% | 1 |
| Solarite Chest (Lucent Oak Spiral) | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | Guaranteed | 3 each |
| Large Alien Tech Destructible | 8.0%* | 8.0%* | 8.0%* | 1 |
| Sun Crystal | 1.6%* | 1.6%* | 1.6%* | 1 |
| Large Sun Crystal | 12.1%* | 12.1%* | 12.1%* | 1 |
| Mimite | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 1 |
"Amount (per gem)" is how many of each gem you get when it drops, not the total across all three. For example, Druidra drops 2 Jungle Emeralds only, while the Core Commander drops 1–2 of each gem that rolls. The Solarite Chest in Lucent Oak Spiral holds 3 of each gem (9 in total).
* Sources where the nearby biome decides which gem drops (explained below). The Large Sun Crystal drops the nearby biome's gem at 12.1%, and each of the other two at 3.1% (calculated from the drop tables in the game's config files). The Tassel Top, Tassel Skirt, and Tassel Earrings each use 1 Desert Ruby in their recipe, and salvaging one at a Salvage and Repair Station gives back 0–1 Desert Ruby: the game returns 30–49% of the materials (more at higher durability) and turns the leftover fraction into a chance of one more, so at full durability you get the ruby back about half the time. It is a way to recover a ruby from armor you no longer wear, not a way to farm them.
The most reliable source: the three titans (2 guaranteed each)
The three titans in The Shimmering Frontier always drop 2 of their own gem when defeated: Jungle Emeralds from Druidra, Ocean Sapphires from Crydra, and Desert Rubies from Pyrdra. Since there is no luck involved, beat these three first as soon as you need gems.
The titans are among the toughest enemies in The Shimmering Frontier, so we recommend getting a full set of Solarite gear and bringing healing potions and food before you go. Each titan can be located with its scanner. Spawn locations and full drop lists are on each boss page.
For large amounts, farm the Core Commander
If you need dozens of gems, repeatedly fighting the Core Commander is the most efficient method. The Core Commander's loot is rolled 6 times, and on each roll every gem has a 13.2% chance to be picked, in a stack of 1–2. Per kill, each gem has a 57.1% chance to drop at least once, for an average of about 1.2 of each.
After the first kill, you can fight it as often as you like with the Core Commander Summoning Idol. The Cloaked Merchant sells it for 500 Ancient Coins once you have beaten the Core Commander. Besides gems, it also drops Core Commander gear and Ancient Coins, so the coins are well spent.
Urschleim also drops each of the three gems at 38.9% (about 0.5 of each per kill on average). Its summoning item, the Primeval Slime Cell, is made from 40 Cytoplasm and 30 Ancient Gemstones, so it is a good farming target if you have Cytoplasm piling up.
The nearby biome decides which gem a Sun Crystal drops
Breaking a Sun Crystal, a Large Sun Crystal, or a Large Alien Tech Destructible in The Shimmering Frontier can drop gems. Which gem you get, however, depends on which biome the crystal is next to.
- Near Azeos' Wilderness → Jungle Emerald
- Near The Sunken Sea → Ocean Sapphire
- Near The Desert of Beginnings → Desert Ruby
According to the drop tables in the game's config files, Sun Crystals and Large Alien Tech Destructibles only drop the nearby biome's gem. The Large Sun Crystal is the exception: it favors the nearby biome's gem (12.1%) but can also drop each of the other two (3.1% each).
If you are short on just one type, for example Desert Rubies, break the crystals on the side of The Shimmering Frontier closest to that biome. The chance per crystal is only a few percent, so the best approach is to smash them as you go while gathering other materials or exploring.
Chests: Oasis Temple, Lucent Oak Spiral, and more
Chests in fixed locations also contain gems. In particular, the Solarite Chest in Lucent Oak Spiral always holds 3 of each gem. If you come across it while exploring The Shimmering Frontier, be sure to open it.
The Cultist Chests in the Oasis Temple and Oasis House in The Desert of Beginnings give a 42.3% chance for each gem per chest. Gems can also come from chests in the Crystal Melody Room, the Crystal Materializer Puzzle, and the Colossal Cicada Study in The Shimmering Frontier. Chests can only be opened once, so treat them as loot to grab when you find them rather than a farming route.
Things to keep in mind when collecting these gems
- They can't be crafted at any workbench and no merchant sells them. The only sources are the bosses, chests, crystals and enemy (Mimite) covered in this article.
- They sell for only about 15–17 Ancient Coins, so keep them. Each upgrade step uses only one, but you need one for every piece of gear.
- Upgrades beyond Lv.18 don't use gems (Lv.19 uses Pandorium Bars; Lv.20 uses Relucite Bars and Corrupted Alloy).
- Drop chances and locations can change with game updates. The chances in this article were calculated from the drop tables in the game's config files (the Conf folder), following the game's own loot roll logic. The titans' 2 guaranteed gems and the upgrade costs are also from the game files (boss prefabs and the upgrade cost table), and the Summoning Idol's price and condition from the merchant's stock in the game files. Which scenes the chests are placed in (including the Solarite Chest in Lucent Oak Spiral) comes from the Core Keeper Wiki (Fandom) scene data (CC BY-SA 3.0), and sell prices are also based on that wiki's data.
Every source for each gem is listed on the Jungle Emerald, Ocean Sapphire, and Desert Ruby pages.
