There are more difficulty options and game modes than you'd expect in Mojang's survival game, here are all of your gameplay options in Minecraft

All Minecraft Game Modes And Difficulty Settings Explained

There are more difficulty options and game modes than you'd expect in Mojang's survival game, here are all of your gameplay options in Minecraft

Survival

Minecraft's traditional experience is nestled within Survival. Here, you'll have to work to collect the resources you need, craft upgrades and new items, and build your structures. You'll have to face deadly mobs and enemies, and your hunger bar will decay. While Survival can be challenging for new players, it's easily the best way to become acquainted with the game as you'll be forced to learn the mechanics and recipes quickly if you want to survive.

You'll be dropped into the world at a random spawn point at dawn, giving you a full day to get your bearings and craft something resembling a safe house. From there, you can continue to gather resources and upgrade your surroundings before setting off on the hunt for iron and diamond to make more powerful armor and tools. Don't forget to find a good food source so you don't succumb to hunger.

Eventually, you'll have to build a Nether portal to seek out a Stronghold for Blaze Rods which are required to reach The End. Heading to The End, you'll meet the Ender Dragon. Defeating the Ender Dragon means you've technically beaten the game, but with so many Minecraft biomes to explore, there are endless hours of enjoyment in this mode.

Hardcore

Hardcore is Survival with a malicious twist. You only get one life in Hardcore mode, and when you die you'll have to reset your world. The only exception to this is if you're playing with friends who don't meet the same fate, where you have the option to spectate the world. It's not possible for some players to be in Survival and some in Hardcore in the same world; everyone will need to face the perils of Hardcore.

Once you've entered Hardcore mode you cannot change the difficulty level, so make sure it's something you're willing to commit to and grind through. The difficulty itself will also be much harder than normal Survival mode, with enemies dealing more damage, and cheats and bonus chest options are automatically turned off. While there are many Minecraft Java vs Bedrock differences, a large one is that Hardcore was not added to Bedrock until September 2024, while it was in the Java version of the game from the beta stage.

Creative

While Hardcore is the ultimate test of a Minecraft player's skill, Creative is the absolute opposite. There's no hunger bar, resources are unlimited, and you won't get hurt by enemies, fall damage, or even falling into a lava pit. This is the best option if you want to build something truly monumental, like a massive castle, or some of the most lavish Minecraft houses you can think of.

In Creative mode you can fly, meaning structures that are extremely tall are much easier to build. Resources can be selected from the menu and you'll have unlimited amounts of any of them. Similarly, you can access every tool, weapon, and book in the game.

Adventure

Adventure mode is one of the lesser-known Minecraft features. Visitors to your world won't be able to break or place blocks unless they own special items that allow them to. These player-created adventure worlds allow for things such as Skyblock and RPG servers to exist, as they change permissions to add or remove challenge if needed. You can create custom maps and puzzles, making parkour a popular Adventure mode creation.

Similarly to Survival, you will receive damage from the environment and can die, and keeping an eye on your hunger bar is essential. However, you can respawn so it's not as challenging as Hardcore. Players often make use of Minecraft Redstone builds to create interactive and engaging environments.

Spectator

Spectator mode is the mode you'll enter if you die in Hardcore but want to continue to experience your friends' playthrough. It can also be entered from the main world creation screen, or by using '/gamemode spectator' in the command bar on PC. You won't be able to interact with anything, meaning you can't assist with construction or help your friends take down a difficult enemy, but it comes in handy for tracking down foes such as the Warden without alerting him.

You can fly through blocks and easily traverse the world, meaning Spectator mode could be useful for anyone wanting to give their friends a helping hand without the risk of death. It's a good way to view a world you've been working on from another perspective though, and switching to this mode in the middle of a huge build will allow you to soar above it to check whether it's symmetrical, or just look for expansion potential.

Difficulty Levels

There are four difficulty levels in Minecraft as follows:

• Peaceful - This is the easiest game difficulty. There are no hostile mobs, and your hunger bar will not deplete. It's an alternative to Creative mode if you still want the challenge of having to mine and craft for the items and resources you want.
• Easy - This sticks pretty closely to the standard Minecraft game rules, but mobs don't deal as much damage and you can't die from hunger. Spiders also can't poison you. If you're a younger player, or new to the game, this might be a good option to choose.
• Normal - The standard game rules, where hunger can kill you and mobs deal the usual amount of damage.
• Hard - This is more challenging than the normal mode, but not quite as brutal as Hardcore as you can still respawn. Zombies can break through doors and call for reinforcements, so your safe house needs to be as protected as possible.

Now that you know all of the game modes and difficulty levels in Minecraft, as well as what they do, check out our Minecraft guides hub for more helpful information. We've also got everything to know about how to show Minecraft coordinates if you're feeling a bit lost.

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This story originally appeared on: GameSpot - Author:UK GAG