One life. High stakes. Turning on Hardcore mode makes every decision matter on your Minecraft server. Need stability? Check our optimized Minecraft hosting.
server.properties (or use the Config Editor if available). a) Using the editor: find the “Hardcore” toggle and set it to “Enabled” or “True”. b) Manual edit: locate hardcore=false and change it to hardcore=true. If the line is missing, add hardcore=true on a new line.
server.properties to confirm it shows hardcore=true. Optional: verify difficulty=hard (Hardcore forces Hard anyway, but it’s good to be explicit). If you see extra spaces or odd characters, fix them—write exactly hardcore=true.
server.properties syntax. If changes didn’t apply, you likely edited while the server was running—stop, edit, save, and restart again.
/kill on a test account. In Hardcore, that player will be set to spectator and can’t respawn normally. Without op, you can test with a safe fall using an alt. If the player respawns like normal, hardcore=true didn’t apply or a plugin/mod is overriding death behavior.
world, world_nether, world_the_end) to world_backup etc., then start the server. A fresh world will generate with Hardcore active.
– Schedule automatic backups every 30–60 minutes to avoid total progress loss.
– Lock access with an allowlist: set white-list=true (or enforce-whitelist=true on Paper) and add players with /allowlist add Player.
– On Paper/Spigot, consider a death-ban plugin if you prefer bans over spectator mode.
– Keep performance stable: Paper + view-distance=8 is a solid survival baseline.
No. hardcore=true applies to the current world. For a fresh start, back up/rename world, world_nether, world_the_end and restart to generate a new Hardcore world.
Not natively. Hardcore is a Java setting. On Bedrock, you’d need behavior packs/add-ons to simulate perma-death. On Java, just set hardcore=true.
As an operator, you can bring them back with /gamemode survival Player (technically cheating, but it works). If a death-ban plugin is used, unban first, then change gamemode.
Check these: 1) You saved and restarted the server. 2) server.properties contains exactly hardcore=true. 3) No plugin/mod overrides death/respawn (some modpacks do). Fix, restart, and test again with an alt.
You’re set for true Hardcore survival. Keep backups, play smart, and push your team to the limit. Good luck—don’t die!