Make a Hardcore-Only Terraria Server

A hardcore-only server turns away players whose character is Softcore or Mediumcore. TShock does the checking when a player connects, and a single switch in the Server Settings tab turns it on. Two more settings in the config file decide what happens to a Hardcore player who dies.

These settings need TShock, which is the default software. A tModLoader server has nothing like them. Checked against TShock 6.2.1 (Terraria 1.4.5.8), October 2026.

Character mode and world difficulty are different

A character's mode is chosen by the player when they create the character, and it can't be changed in game afterwards. Terraria's character screen lists them: Classic characters drop money on death, Mediumcore characters drop items on death, and "Hardcore characters die for good." Journey is a fourth mode.

The world has its own difficulty (Classic, Expert, Master or Journey), set when it is made on the Worlds tab. That is a different thing. Making the world harder doesn't make the server hardcore-only, and this guide doesn't change the world.

Allow only Hardcore characters

1. Open the Server Settings tab and find the Characters allowed section.
2. Switch Hardcore only on.
3. Press Save changes in that section.
4. Restart the server from the Console tab.

A player who connects with a Mediumcore or Softcore character is kicked with the message "You need to join with a hardcore player." They need to make or pick a Hardcore character before trying again.

The same section has two similar switches, and TShock treats them as a ladder:

TShock checks the character's mode number: Softcore is 0, Mediumcore 1 and Hardcore 2, and a Journey character is 3. So Hardcore only turns away only Softcore and Mediumcore characters, and a Journey character gets past it.

Switch on only one of them. Softcore only together with Hardcore only would turn every player away.

Decide what a Hardcore death costs

These settings aren't in the tab, so edit the file. Open the File Manager, go into the tshock folder, select config.json, press Edit, change what you need, then press Save and restart:

• KickOnHardcoreDeath: kicks a Hardcore player when they die. Default false.
• BanOnHardcoreDeath: bans a Hardcore player when they die. Default false.
• HardcoreKickReason: the message shown on a kick. Default "Death results in a kick".
• HardcoreBanReason: the message shown on a ban. Default "Death results in a ban".

There is a matching set for Mediumcore, such as KickOnMediumcoreDeath. If both the ban and kick settings are on, the ban comes first.

For the ban list, kicks and who can do what, see Terraria TShock admin commands and groups. The File Manager guide explains editing and saving a file.

Tell your players

A hardcore-only server only works if players know to bring the right character. Say so in the Server name setting (switch Use server name on in the same tab), and send them the address using how to join your Terraria server.