Half-life Hardcore
by JollyWinter
Half-life Hardcore changes death into a shared mechanic: a player who dies loses half a heart of life, and friends can restore it with a crafted Full Half-life item.
What it does
When a player dies, the run does not end outright. The player keeps a reduced health pool and loses some of the freedoms they had before, such as phasing through the ground, while mineral gathering and exploration become harder. Recovery depends on other players: a living friend holds an Empty Half-life item and right-clicks until it is filled, then uses a Full Half-life item on the dead player within 10 blocks to bring them back. The mod requires Fabric API on Fabric, and it runs on the server with clients optional.
Half-life Hardcore is published for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt, and as a Data pack option for server platforms. Its files target only 1.21.4, and the latest build for each loader is dated 2026-09-02. The license is All rights reserved, so the code is not open source. Public issue tracking is available for bug reports and feature requests.
Key features
Shared revival
A dead player can be brought back by a friend who fills a Half-life item and right-clicks them from close range.
Reduced health pool
Dying lowers the maximum health a player can reach, and the lost portion is restored only through revival.
Crafted revival items
Empty and Full Half-life items are crafted from rare crystalline minerals, which players gather before a revival is possible.
Limited movement after death
A player who has died cannot phase through the ground, and visibility of the surroundings is reduced until they are revived.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Hardcore survival servers
Server owners can run a hardcore mode where death has a lasting cost and surviving players have a reason to help each other.
Who it’s for: Server owners who want a permadeath-style game with a cooperative revival path. Players who enjoy group survival and long quests for resources will find the revival loop central to play.
How it compares
Hardcore Revive works on the server alone, with clients free to skip it, and is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0; it covers 1.20 – 1.21.10. Hardcore Revive Reloaded also works on the server alone, with clients free to skip it, and is licensed under the Apache License 2.0; it covers 1.21 – 1.21.4. Half A Heart Mode runs on Fabric only and needs both client and server, under All rights reserved. Half-life Hardcore covers only 1.21.4 and is not open source.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half-life Hardcore | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21.4 | Server required, client optional | 2026-09-02 |
| Hardcore Revive | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.20 – 1.21.10 | Server required, client optional | 2026-02-15 |
| Hardcore Revive Reloaded | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21 – 1.21.4 | Server required, client optional | 2025-01-07 |
| Half A Heart Mode | Fabric | 1.21.8 – 1.21.11 | Client and server | 2026-04-11 |
Questions
Does Half-life Hardcore need Fabric API?
Do players need to install Half-life Hardcore?
Which game versions are supported?
In the catalog
Half-life Hardcore is one of 29,952 Game mechanics mods on ModsFinder, and one of 19,630 Game mechanics mods for Fabric. 17,979 mods support Minecraft 1.21.4.
More from JollyWinter
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What the author says
To begin, you must die. After you die, you will notice that you no longer have the freedom you once enjoyed. This is to be expected. You can't phase through the ground to find diamonds for your buddies, and your vision is severely limited. I hope you can still find your friends. After you have died, you…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/half-life-hardcore
- Owner
- JollyWinter
- Published
- 2025-02-02
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-02
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15