This datapack is a gamemode addition to the game. It lands somewhere in between hard and hardcore. On death you will enter spectator mode for a configurable amount of time. After the countdown is finished you will be spawned at a bed, respawn anchor, or worlds spawn (whichever you had set). There are many config settings to change to get it just the way you would like it to be.
Supports MC versions 1.20.2 through 26.2
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SET UP:
1. Put the SoftHardcore file into the datapacks folder located in your world folder and reload/leave and rejoin your server/world
2. At world spawn (or where you would like to change world spawn to) run this command:
/function softhardcore:setspawn
3. OPTIONAL Set the amount of time in ticks (20 ticks = 1 second) the countdown is when a player dies:
/scoreboard players set sh.DeathDuration SHconfig 1200
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EXTRA CONFIG SETTINGS/COMMANDS
Only runnable while dead, return to your death location to see what went down (any player can run this):
/trigger back
1= true
0= false
Turn off the countdown and gamemode switch on death:
/scoreboard players set sh.SkipSpectatorCountdown SHconfig 1
Turn off instant respawn gamerule (this will now show the main menu button on death:
/scoreboard players set sh.GameruleDoImmediateRespawn SHconfig 0
Lock "Dead" players to only move a short distance away from world spawn:
/scoreboard players set sh.PreventDeadSpectatorsMoving SHconfig 1
Force player out of death early:
/scoreboard players set <PlayerName> SHticksLeft 5
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If you are running a server
This data pack will not pass dead players time if the server is paused or if it is offline. Change this property so that if no one is online players timers continue to go down.
pause-when-empty-seconds=-1
Another thing you can do to prevent server lag is prevent spectators from generating chunks.
/gamerule spectatorsGenerateChunks false
- Edition: Minecraft Java
- File type: .jar
- Minecraft versions listed: 1.21.8, 1.21.7, 1.21.9
- How to install: Install the matching mod loader (Forge, Fabric or NeoForge) for your Minecraft version. → Download the .jar. → Put it in the .minecraft/mods folder and launch that loader profile.
- Where to get it: Opens on CurseForge — not every file is mirrored on our own servers.
Install steps are the general flow for this file type — see the MC Java Mods guides for the full walkthrough.
SoftHardcore is a free Minecraft Java datapack. Compatible with Minecraft 1.21.8, 1.21.7, 1.21.9, 1.21.10 and newer. Downloaded 2,344 times (via CurseForge). Download it and open it directly in the game.