Changes From Vanilla

Game mechanics

• [O] - Optional - this mode can be turned off or on in config file
• [D] - Default - Despite being optional this mode is considered the default BtW setting and is recommended for proper and balanced BtW experience.

Change	Summary
Hardcore Spawn	Players will often respawn at a random location after death.
Hardcore Buoy [O][D]	Causes some items to float, some to sink, and some to be neutrally buoyant based on their density.
Hardcore Bucket	Buckets cannot place source blocks or pick up lava, but can collect flowing water.
Hardcore Player Names [O]	Allows server owners to disable player name plates (intended for anarchy play).
Hardcore Info	The "F3" debug display no longer displays biome info and coordinates.
Hardcore Movement	Movement speed is dependent on surface
Hardcore Wood	Obtaining wood and wood planks has become much less efficient without the proper tools.
Hardcore Tools and Weapons	Some of the tools and weapons can't be crafted from low durability materials like wood or stone.
Hardcore Bouncing	Players cannot place blocks while jumping or falling.
Hardcore Hunger	Players get hungrier faster even when doing nothing. Penalties are added for hungry and obese players.
Hardcore Grinding	Various items require a Millstone to grind them into other forms (e.g. Bones grind into bonemeal and flowers grind into dye).
Hardcore Fishing	Change in recipe and functionality of Fishing Rod
Hardcore Bonemeal	Bonemeal no longer forces growth (except for tall grass and flowers), but will instead increase the rate at which crops grow (approximately 2 times faster).
Hardcore Melons	They are now affected by gravity and can break into seeds after a long fall.
Hardcore Torches	Torches now require a piece of coal or charcoal for every torch, and charcoal must be made in a Kiln.
Hardcore Stratification	Stone generated under Better than Wolves is separated into strata. Deeper strata are darker in color, and require better picks to mine. Ores are not affected by stratification, and only need their appropriate tool level (e.g. iron ore in the deepest strata only needs a stone pick to harvest).
Hardcore of Darkness	Areas that are in total darkness, will appear absolutely pitch black regardless of your gamma settings and status effects for the player being in total darkness that will seriously impede the ability to function under such conditions.
Hardcore Ores	Iron Ores smelt into Iron Nuggets instead of Iron Ingots.
Hardcore Armor	Metal and diamond armor have weight. Heavier armor makes the play grow hungry faster. Too much heavy armor will cause the player to sink in water.
Hardcore Redstone	Vanilla recipes for redstone reactive blocks have been changed so they actually include redstone in the recipe itself. Wooden doors, trapdoors, and fencegates no longer respond to redstone.
Hardcore Chests	Ender Chests behave like normal chests unless placed on an obsidian Beacon.
Hardcore Explosives	TNT is replaced with Powder Kegs, and Gunpowder must be crafted.
Hardcore Beacons	Major change in how Beacon work
Hardcore Villagers	Villagers need diamonds to go into breeding mode. Iron golems can only be created by the player.
Hardcore Lactation	Cows and Mooshrooms can only be milked when their udders are full. Similar to sheep, they need to eat grass several times for their udders to refill.
Hardcore Sheep	Dyeing sheep only works for one shearing session and must be bred for new colors.
Hardcore Chicken	Chickens cannot give live birth, and must be fed seeds to produce Eggs.
Hardcore Smelting	smelting times in a furnace are determined by the item being smelted. Food cooks normally, glass is slower and costs more fuel, stone takes longer and burns more fuel than glass, and ores take the longest amount of time.

Crafting recipes

Some of the vanilla crafting recipes has been changed. They can be found here.