Semi-Hardcore
by Insane96
Semi-Hardcore lets a server set limited lives, so a death costs a life and a heart of maximum health instead of ending the world.
What it does
Players start with five hearts and six lives by default. Each death removes a heart, and reaching a set time without dying grants one back up to the normal ten points. When a player runs out of lives, the game is over for that character, as in a hardcore world, but otherwise the limited lives sit on top of the usual survival rules. The mod works only in Survival mode, and a hardcore world still has a single life.
The mod depends on InsaneLib, which must be installed alongside it. Semi-Hardcore runs on client and server, so both the server and every player need it. Builds are published for Forge and NeoForge for 1.20.1 and 1.21.1, under All rights reserved, and the source code and issue tracker are public.
Key features
Limited lives
Each player has a set number of lives, and a death uses one up instead of ending the run outright.
Health penalty and recovery
A death removes maximum health, and surviving for a set time restores one heart.
Lives and health commands
Commands let operators add or remove lives and maximum health, or opt a player out of the lives and health mechanics.
Advancement reward functions
Function commands grant or remove two maximum health or one life, so other mods and advancements can award them.
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 1
Use cases
Survival servers
A server can use lives to raise the stakes of survival play without making every death final.
Reward systems
Advancements and datapacks can call the gain and lose functions to hand out extra health or lives.
Who it’s for: Server owners who want a middle ground between normal survival and a hardcore world, and players who run a single-player survival world with limited lives.
How it compares
Player Lives is a NeoForge-only mod for 1.21.8 – 1.21.10, released under the MIT License and not open source. Player Death Reworked covers Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt for 1.20.2 – 1.21.4, is open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later, and is server required with an optional client. Semi-Hardcore differs by targeting Forge and NeoForge for 1.20.1 and 1.21.1 and needing both sides.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-Hardcore | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-07-16 |
| Player Lives | NeoForge | 1.21.8 – 1.21.10 | Client and server | 2025-12-06 |
| Player Death Reworked | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.20.2 – 1.21.4 | Server required, client optional | 2024-12-12 |
Questions
Does Semi-Hardcore need InsaneLib?
Does Semi-Hardcore need to be installed on both sides?
Which loaders does Semi-Hardcore support?
Does Semi-Hardcore work in Creative mode?
In the catalog
Semi-Hardcore is one of 29,952 Game mechanics mods on ModsFinder, and one of 13,316 Game mechanics mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
More from Insane96
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What the author says
Semi-hardcore is a Minecraft mod that lets you set up player lives and health penalty on death. Hardcore but if you had more than one life. By default, you start with 5 hearts and 6 lives. Each time you die, you gain 1 heart, up to the normal 10, but, at which point, you'll have only one life left.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/insane-semi-hardcore
- Owner
- Insane96
- Published
- 2025-10-29
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-07-16
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15