Palworld can offer a lot of experiences, which range from a casual session or bring on difficult challenges depending on what you are looking for.
One of the difficulties though will put a player’s abilities to the test and this is Hardcore Mode, a common feature that several games have.
To make things short, this is a difficulty where death is permanent, and players are urged to be extremely careful if they decide on Hardcore Mode but it can be thrilling too.
What is Hardcore Mode?
Hardcore Mode is a more challenging difficulty for players who want more thrills in the game as this alters the settings of your world.
Aside from some of the settings being changed to make the game more difficult, you are also penalized for deaths in the game.
This means that you or your Pals will face permanent deaths in the game, which is a huge loss of progress or even the end of your game unless alterations are made.
What Happens if You Die in Hardcore Mode?
Dying in Hardcore Mode will prompt you with the Defeat Screen but instead of being able to respawn, your only option will be to return to the Title Menu.
Attempting to join a Hardcore Session or to start one that you have died in will result in you still being dead, preventing you from continuing.
This can be disabled by turning off the “Hardcore Mode: Permanent Loss upon Player Death” option.
What Happens When Your Pals Die in Hardcore Mode?
While in Hardcore Mode, you may find yourself surviving by being careful but most of the time you may be using your Pals to keep you safe.
If a Pal is defeated in Hardcore Mode, they will end up being killed and this will be permanent as they cannot be revived and will be gone forever.
Altering the “Hardcore Mode: Pal permadeath” option can prevent this from happening.
How To Continue Playing After Dying in Hardcore Mode?
If you have died in Hardcore Mode and can no longer continue playing, the only option you have available would be to alter the game settings or to change the difficulty.
By changing the difficulty, you will be able to remove the Permanent Loss upon Player Death setting (Or just toggle this option) and will respawn when the game starts.
Another option for Hardcore Servers would be to permanently delete your character from the save files so that you can create a new one.
If you wish to simply respawn your character, you may change the difficulty and start the game and repeat this after switching the game back to Hardcore Mode if you wish.
Hardcore Mode Settings
When setting a world to Hardcore Mode, some of the base settings will be changed as a way of adjusting the difficulty.
These are the following settings that change when you set a game to Hardcore Mode:
Day Time Speed | 1 |
| Night Time Speed | 1 |
Auto Save Interval | 30 Seconds |
| EXP Rate | 0.8 |
Pal Capture Rate | 0.8 |
| Pal Appearance Rate | 1 |
Damage from Pals Multiplier | 1 |
| Damage to Pals Multiplier | 1 |
Pal Hunger Depletion Rate | 1 |
| Pal Stamina Reduction Rate | 1 |
Pal Auto Health Regeneration Rate | 1 |
| Pal Sleep Health Regeneration Rate | 1 |
Damage from Player Multiplier | 2 |
| Player Hunger Depletion Rate | 1 |
Player Stamina Reduction Rate | 1 |
| Player Auto Health Regeneration Rate | 1 |
Player Sleep Regeneration Rate | 1 |
| Damage to Structure Multiplier | 1 |
Maximum Number of Dropped Items in a World | 3,000 |
| Gatherable Items Multiplier | 1 |
Gatherable Objects Health multiplier | 1 |
| Dropped Items Multiplier | 1 |
Item Weight Rate | 1 |
| Meteorite/Supplies Drop Interval | 180 |
Time to Incubate Massive Egg | 4 |
| Enable Raid Events | On |
Enable Predator Pals | On |
| Death Penalty | Drop all items and Pals on team |
Max Number of Guilds | 20 |
| Maximum Number of Bases Per Guild | 4 |
Maximum Number of Work Pals at the base | 15 |
| Max Structures Per Base | No Limit |
Random Pal Mode | Chosen when starting the world |
| Enable Fast Travel | On |
Hardcore Mode: Permanent Loss upon Player Death | On |
| Hardcore Mode: Pal Permadeath | On |
Hardcore Mode Tips
When it comes to Hardcore Mode, it is best to always be prepared for challenging encounters as one mistake can result in what would be a “game over.”
Make sure that you level up your character and pals and stay in areas where your level matches the difficulty.
Always bring items that can heal your character in case a battle becomes too intense and be sure to put up defenses in your base in case you get raided.
Verdict
Hardcore Mode is intended to be a fun way to challenge you and your friends as this is intended to make risky acts more penalizing.
Even if you die in Hardcore Mode, you can keep your progress by continuing in another difficulty or disabling the option to continue playing.
Settings for Hardcore Mode may be altered if you do not like how they have been set, and this will change them to Custom Difficulty.
