How to make a hardcore Minecraft server
Hardcore with friends is one life each, on hard, and a lot of shouting. Here's how to set it up so everyone starts together.
Turn it on
- Stop the server and open
server.properties(on Jump, in Files). - Set
hardcore=true. Difficulty is locked to hard, and players who die become spectators. - Start a fresh world so nobody has a head start: on Jump, Settings → Reset world, with a seed if you have one in mind. Download the old world first if you want to keep it.
- Start the server and have everyone join.
When someone dies
A dead player stays in spectator. To give a second chance, an op can run /gamemode survival <player> and teleport them back with /tp. Agree on the rule before you start, so nobody argues about it later.
Optional extra rules
/gamerule naturalRegeneration false: health only comes back from potions and golden apples (UHC style)./gamerule keepInventory true: if you're giving second chances, at least keep the items./worldborder set 3000: keep everyone in a smaller world, so you run into each other.- A whitelist, so only the people in the run can join. See whitelisting.
Questions
Can I turn an existing world into hardcore?
Setting hardcore=true and restarting changes the rules, but a fresh world is fairer, since everyone starts with nothing.
Can I back up before a big fight?
On Jump's paid plans, yes: take one from Backups any time, on top of the hourly ones.