Hardcore

Hardcore is a variant of Survival and one of the main game modes in Minecraft. In this mode, the world is locked to Hard difficulty and the player is unable to respawn after dying.

Features

While in Hardcore mode, the hearts representing the player's health look different, as they include dark red marks inside the icon

The key feature of Hardcore mode is that the player is not given the option to respawn upon death as they would in other game modes. Instead, the player is given two options: to spectate the world, which sets the player's game mode to Spectator mode and respawns them at the world's spawn point, or return back to the title screen. Re-opening the world after death simply returns to the same death screen or the Spectator mode depending on the outcome.

In addition, Hardcore mode worlds are restricted to Hard difficulty and cannot be changed, being the second key feature.

When creating a Hardcore mode world, the Allow Commands, Starting Map,‌ and Bonus Chest world options are locked and disabled. On the world selection menu, Hardcore mode worlds display dark red text reading "Hardcore Mode!"

Hardcore mode is specific to worlds, not players; the variable determining whether the world is in Hardcore mode is saved in level.dat. Thus, the player can use /gamemode creative (if commands are enabled) to set themselves to Creative mode. Players in Creative mode while on a Hardcore mode world still see Hardcore mode's death screen upon death.

It is normally impossible to toggle Hardcore mode once the world has been created, though it is possible to use external programs such as NBTExplorer to change it by setting the [Boolean] hardcore tag to either 1 (hardcore) or 0 (normal).

However, it is possible to enable commands through the Open to LAN feature in the pause menu.‌ From here, the player can, while spectating the world after death, type /gamemode survival to bring themselves back to Survival mode, being able to play again by cheating death.

It is also possible to enable "Immediate Respawn" in Hardcore mode, allowing a player to skip the death screen and automatically switch to Spectator mode.

• 
  The Hardcore death screen in Java Edition, where it says 'Game Over!' instead of 'You Died!'
• 
  The Hardcore death screen in Bedrock Edition.^[1][2]

Multiplayer

Hardcore mode is an option for multiplayer, and its functions are similar to those in singleplayer. All players have Hardcore mode enabled — it is impossible to have some players in Hardcore and some not. Server operators can use the /gamemode command to change the game mode of themselves or another player.

Video

History

Java Edition Beta
November 22, 2010							The idea of Hardcore mode came to Notch from a Minecraft gameplay blog on the PC Gamer site.[3]
Java Edition
September 23, 2011							Notch tweeted an image of a button that enables Hardcore mode.
September 28, 2011							Notch tweeted an image of the Hardcore mode death screen.
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2				Hardcore mode added. Upon death, the "Delete world" button and "You cannot respawn in Hardcore Mode!" text are shown.
1.3.1			12w17a				The "Bonus Chest" and "Enable Cheats"​ world options can no longer be enabled in Hardcore mode (server operators' commands are not affected by Hardcore mode).
			12w18a				Hardcore mode can now be used in multiplayer.
1.9			15w37a				Rather than deleting the world upon death, the player now has the option to be put into Spectator mode. Also, the "You cannot respawn in Hardcore Mode!" prompt is removed.[4]
1.15			19w35a				"Delete world" and "Leave server" on the Hardcore death screen has been replaced by "Title screen", meaning players must manually delete the world.
1.21.2			24w38a				Hardcore mode is now available in Realms and is accessible by creating a new world or recreating an existing one.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.11.0			build 1				icons.png has been updated to feature hearts from Hardcore mode, which went unused.
Bedrock Edition
February 29, 2024							The changelog for Preview 1.20.80.20 states that Hardcore mode is to be included in Bedrock Edition.
1.21.0			Preview 1.21.0.20				Added Hardcore mode. It currently is preview only.
			Preview 1.21.0.21				Changed the appearance of the Hardcore death screen, caused by the fix of MCPE-180287.
1.21.20			Preview 1.21.10.20				Added new visual elements to Hardcore mode in Create New World and new Edit World, and a sound effect when toggling Hardcore mode on or off.
			Preview 1.21.10.21				Added a button for exiting the world from the death screen when in Hardcore mode.
September 28, 2024							Hardcore mode is announced to be added in the Bundles of Bravery drop.
1.21.40							Hardcore mode is no longer preview only.

• 
  The Hardcore mode button posted on Twitter by Notch.
• 
  Notch's first image of a Hardcore death screen.

Issues

Issues relating to "Hardcore" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• When Notch announced Hardcore mode on Twitter, he jokingly posted an image of an 'ultra hardcore' mode where the premium status of the player's account is revoked on death.^[5][6] This is not to be confused with the custom game mode of Ultra Hardcore, which was invented later.
• When a Hardcore mode world is loaded on a version released prior to Hardcore mode, the world is converted into a Survival world. Loading this world in a version featuring Hardcore mode does not revert the world back to Hardcore mode.
• The longest Hardcore world record lasted for 5 years. It ended in April 2019 when a baby zombie and a spider killed the record holder in a cave. A splash text called "Ph1lza had a good run!" was added in reference of him.^[7]
• Preview 1.20.80.22 added a grayed-out toggle for Hardcore mode, which had Hardcore mode misspelled as "Harcore mode". Later, Slicedlime jokingly tweeted "It's the mode where the lave [sic] is extra dangerous."^[8]

References

See also

• Tutorial:Hardcore mode
• Tutorial:Ultra Hardcore survival

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