Hardcore



Hardcore is a Java Edition exclusive variant of Survival. In this mode, the world is locked to Hard difficulty and the player can't respawn after they die.

Features
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, there are two buttons on the death screen: "Spectate world" and "Title screen". "Spectate world" sets the player to Spectator mode and respawns the player at the world's spawn point, making them only able to view and explore the world in that mode. The "Title screen" button leads the player to the main menu screen with their hardcore mode world deleted from their list of worlds.

In addition, Hardcore mode worlds are restricted to hard difficulty.

When creating a Hardcore mode world, the Enable Cheats and Bonus Chest world options are locked to OFF. 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. Thus, the player can use (if cheats 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  tag to either 1 (hardcore) or 0 (normal).

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

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.

Upon death, the player has the option to choose whether set to Spectator mode or go back to the main menu.

Server operators can use the command to change the game mode of themselves or another player.

Video
Note: This video is outdated - after death, the player now has the option to either go into spectator mode, or go back to the title screen.

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, which may reference the custom gamemode of Ultra Hardcore.
 * 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.