Hardcore

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

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

The Hardcore death screen in Java Edition, where it says 'Game Over!' instead of 'You Died!'
The game mode button showing Hardcore in Java Edition.

The Hardcore death screen in Bedrock Edition.[1][2]
The Hardcore toggle in Bedrock Edition.
The "Welcome to Hardcore Mode" popup in Bedrock Edition.

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, Allow Commands/Cheats, Starting Map,‌[BE only] and Bonus Chest world options are locked and disabled. On the world selection menu, Hardcore mode worlds display dark red text reading "Hardcore Mode", and an icon.‌[BE only]

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.‌[Java Edition only] 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.

In Bedrock Edition, Hardcore can be switched on and off along with other world creation settings on any world by converting it to a world template and "re-creating" it. This will keep all world data, however, and even achievements can still be earned.

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.

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.

Videos

History

Development

November 22, 2010The idea of Hardcore mode came to Notch from a Minecraft gameplay blog on the PC Gamer site.[3]
September 23, 2011Notch tweeted an image of a button that enables Hardcore mode.
September 28, 2011Notch tweeted an image of the Hardcore mode death screen.
February 29, 2024The changelog for Preview 1.20.80.20 states that Hardcore mode is to be included in Bedrock Edition.

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.0.0Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2Hardcore mode added. Upon death, the "Delete world" button and "You cannot respawn in hardcore mode!" [sic] text are shown, and the difficulty in the options menu appears as "Hardcore".
1.3.112w17aThe "Bonus Chest" and "Allow Cheats"​[more information needed] world options can no longer be enabled in Hardcore mode (server operators' commands are unaffected).
12w18aHardcore mode is now properly supported in multiplayer. Previously, running a hardcore mode world on a server would force the difficulty to Hard, but players could still respawn as normal and the HUD displayed regular hearts.
When the player dies in hardcore mode on a server, the "Delete world" button is replaced by "Leave server", which automatically bans the player from the server when clicked.
Deleting the world/leaving the server after dying in hardcore mode now displays the message "You have died. Game over, man, it's game over!"
12w21aMultiplayer death bans now specify the reason "Death in Hardcore", shown when attempting to rejoin.
1.7.213w36aClicking the delete world/leave server button now displays a prompt asking if the player wants to quit to the title screen or respawn, as a result of the same prompt being added to the regular death screen. Choosing to "respawn" deletes the world/bans the player as normal, while "title screen" quits without doing anything special.[4]
1.814w02aThe difficulty in hardcore worlds is now displayed as "Hard" instead of "Hardcore".
14w31aChoosing "respawn" on the confirmation screen in singleplayer now causes the game to freeze, although the world is still deleted, and multiplayer behavior is unchanged.
1.8.1pre1Hardcore worlds can no longer be uploaded to Realms, as the auto-banning on death would cause the host to be permanently locked out of the realm until resetting it or restoring a backup.[5]
1.8.3The delete world/leave server button no longer shows the quit confirmation - instead, it opens the main menu screen but leaves the world/server loaded in the background without deleting it/banning the player.[6]
As a result, the ability for hardcore mode to automatically delete worlds/ban players and the "Game over, man" message are effectively removed from this point forward, although the button labels have not yet been changed to reflect this.
1.915w37aThe player now has the option to be put into Spectator mode on death instead of attempting to delete the world (which remains broken).
Removed the text "You cannot respawn in hardcore mode!" from the death screen.[7]
1.1519w35aThe "Delete world"/"Leave server" button on the Hardcore death screen has been changed to "Title screen" and no longer leaves the world loaded in the background, officially removing the option to delete the world/ban the player on death.
1.21.224w38aHardcore mode is now available when creating a new world in Realms, and hardcore worlds can once again be uploaded.

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.11.0build 1
icons.png has been updated to feature hearts from Hardcore mode, which went unused.
Bedrock Edition
1.20.80Preview 1.20.80.22Added a grayed-out toggle for Hardcore mode. It is currently mislabeled as "Harcore mode".[8]
1.21.0Preview 1.21.0.20Added Hardcore mode. It currently is preview only.
Preview 1.21.0.21Changed the appearance of the Hardcore death screen, caused by the fix of MCPE-180287.
1.21.20Preview 1.21.10.20Added 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 1.21.10.21Added a button for exiting the world from the death screen when in Hardcore mode.
September 28, 2024Hardcore mode is announced to be added in the Bundles of Bravery drop.
1.21.40Hardcore mode is no longer preview only.
  • The Hardcore mode button posted on Twitter by Notch.
    The Hardcore mode button posted on Twitter by Notch.
  • Notch's first image of a Hardcore death screen.
    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

The joke "ultra hardcore" button.
  • When Hardcore mode was announced, Notch jokingly posted an image of an 'ultra hardcore' mode where the premium status of the player's account would be revoked on death.[9][10] This is not to be confused with the custom game mode of the same name.
  • When toggling Hardcore mode on Bedrock Edition, the sounds of a flint and steel igniting and a zombie infecting a villager are played.
  • 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.[11]
  • When a Hardcore mode world is loaded on a version released prior to Hardcore mode, the world is permanently converted into a Survival world.

References

  1. ↑ MCPE-180564 — Hardcore death screen main button is "Game Menu" instead of "Spectate World" — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  2. ↑ MCPE-182107 — Clicking "Exit world" button on death screen in Hardcore mode goes to the title screen — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  3. ↑ https://www.pcgamer.com/2010/11/20/the-minecraft-experiment-day-1-chasing-waterfalls/
  4. ↑ MC-10979
  5. ↑ MC-71981
  6. ↑ MC-30646
  7. ↑ MC-121007 — "You cannot respawn in hardcore mode!" message no longer appears as of version 1.9 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  8. ↑ "It's the mode where the lave is extra dangerous." – @slicedlime on X (formerly Twitter), March 16, 2024
  9. ↑ "http://i.imgur.com/1DNGn.png" – @notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), September 23, 2011
  10. ↑ "Ultra hardcore mode!"
  11. ↑ "Meet a Minecrafter: A Hardcore Tragedy" by Kelsey Howard – Minecraft.net, July 27, 2019.

See also

Navigation

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