Heartcore
Heartcore turns Minecraft's hardcore mode into a system where each death costs maximum health, and a world ends only after the last heart is gone.
What it does
Instead of ending the world on a single death, Heartcore makes every death remove a configurable number of hearts from the player's maximum health. When a player runs out of hearts, that player dies permanently. Hearts can be regained through items, with enchanted golden apples restoring a heart by default; the healing items can also be turned off entirely in the config.
The mod also includes a random respawn option, which sends players to a random location after death within a configurable minimum and maximum radius, with caves excluded to improve safety. Values such as heartsPerHealingItem, minHearts and maxHearts can be changed, and enforceMaxHealth keeps returning players within the set limits. Server commands are included for managing the settings in play.
Only the server host or world owner has to add Heartcore, since it runs on the server alone and players can connect without installing anything. It requires Cloth Config API and Fabric API, and Mod Menu is optional. It is published for Fabric only, for game versions 1.21 – 1.21.5, and the code is open source under the MIT License.
Key features
Hearts lost on death
Each death removes a configurable number of maximum hearts, so the cost of dying accumulates over a world's lifetime.
Permanent death at zero hearts
A player who loses all hearts dies permanently, while the rest of the world continues.
Heart recovery items
Enchanted golden apples restore a heart by default, and healing items can be disabled entirely.
Random respawn radius
Players respawn at a random location after death, within a minimum and maximum radius set in the config, with caves excluded.
Configurable limits
Settings such as heartsPerHealingItem, minHearts and maxHearts, with enforceMaxHealth to hold players within set limits.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 2
Optional 1
How it compares
Heartcore is server-side only, open source under the MIT License, and published for Fabric for 1.21 – 1.21.5. XP Health is also server-side only and open source under the MIT License, but it targets 1.21.1 only. Mob Lifesteal needs the server but lets clients add it, and is under a custom license for 1.21.11. Heartcore is unlike lifesteal-style mods in that it removes hearts rather than transferring them.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heartcore | Fabric | 1.21 – 1.21.5 | Server-side only | 2025-05-21 |
| XP Health | Fabric | 1.21.1 | Server-side only | 2026-02-08 |
| Mob Lifesteal | Fabric | 1.21.11 | Server required, client optional | 2026-04-25 |
Questions
Does Heartcore need to be installed on the client?
Which dependencies does Heartcore require?
Can players recover lost hearts?
In the catalog
Heartcore is one of 7,555 Cursed mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,235 Cursed mods for Fabric. 15,307 mods support Minecraft 1.21.5.
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What the author says
Heartcore is a twist on Minecraft's Hardcore mode. Instead of a single death ending your world, every death costs you a maximum heart. Run out of hearts, and you die forever.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/heartcore
- Owner
- HalfFishHalfMan
- Published
- 2025-05-15
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-05-21
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15