Half Heart Only?
Half Heart Only? is a NeoForge minigame that starts players at half a heart and asks them to survive a run on that single margin.
What it does
Players begin each run at half a heart instead of a full health bar, so a single fall, mob encounter or mistake can end the run at once. Even small mobs and hazards such as cactus, lava and drowning become serious threats. Survival depends on building safe shelters and timing jumps carefully, since playing smarter and harder is required from the first minute.
Server owners install the mod on a server that the players join, and the server needs it running. Clients can add it too, but the server alone is enough. Files are published for NeoForge only, for five game versions 1.21.4 – 1.21.8, with 1.0.0 for 1.21.8 as the latest release, and the code is not open source, under All rights reserved.
Key features
Half-health start
Every run begins with only half a heart, instead of the full health bar used in regular gameplay.
Instant-failure encounters
A single fall or mob encounter mistake ends the run instantly, so each risk carries real weight.
Hazards become lethal
Cactus, lava, drowning and small mobs can all bring a run to an end.
Shelter and timing
Building safe shelters and carefully timed jumps become the main ways to stay alive through the journey.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Survival challenge runs
Players who want a harder survival world can use the half-health start to test their skills from the first moment.
Who it’s for: Players looking for a harsher survival experience, and server owners who want a challenge mode for groups of players who join their world.
How it compares
Half Your Hearts is server-side only, under the MIT License, with files for 1.21.4 – 1.21.5, so players join without installing anything. The random deadly keybind needs the client and server and is published for 1.21.1 – 1.21.3 under All rights reserved. Both differ from this mod in version range and environment.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half Heart Only? | NeoForge | 1.21.4 – 1.21.8 | Server required, client optional | 2025-08-28 |
| Half Your Hearts | NeoForge | 1.21.4 – 1.21.5 | Server-side only | 2025-05-03 |
| The random deadly keybind | NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 1.21.3 | Client and server | 2024-11-07 |
Questions
Does Half Heart Only? need to be installed on the client?
Which loader does Half Heart Only? support?
Can the half-health start be used with other survival mods?
In the catalog
Half Heart Only? is one of 2,135 Minigame mods on ModsFinder, and one of 712 Minigame mods for NeoForge. 17,695 mods support Minecraft 1.21.8.
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What the author says
If you think you’ve mastered Minecraft, this mod will truly test your skills. Are you ready to survive on just half a heart? The Half Heart Mod is a thrilling Minecraft challenge that pushes your survival skills to the absolute limit. Unlike regular gameplay where you start with a full health bar, this mod begins you…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/half-heart-only
- Owner
- DynamixLuffy69
- Published
- 2025-08-28
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-08-28
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15