Editing Hardcore Factions

{{DISPLAYTITLE:Hardcore Factions}}
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{| align="right" width="300px" cellpadding="6" style="border:1px solid #3a7a8c; background:#f2fafc; margin:0 0 1em 1em; border-radius:6px; font-size:90%;"
|- style="background:#3a7a8c; color:#ffffff;"
! colspan="2" style="font-size:120%; padding:8px; border-radius:5px 5px 0 0;" | Hardcore Factions
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[File:HCF banner.png|280px]]
|-
! style="text-align:left; background:#dff1f6; width:38%;" | Genre
| Competitive PvP
|-
! style="text-align:left; background:#dff1f6;" | Based on
| Minecraft [[Factions]]
|-
! style="text-align:left; background:#dff1f6;" | Emerged
| c. 2012
|-
! style="text-align:left; background:#dff1f6;" | Peak era
| 2013–2018
|-
! style="text-align:left; background:#dff1f6;" | Key rule
| [[Deathban]]
|-
! style="text-align:left; background:#dff1f6;" | Session length
| Timed maps ([[SOTW]] to [[EOTW]])
|-
! style="text-align:left; background:#dff1f6;" | Common versions
| 1.7 / 1.8
|}

'''Hardcore Factions''', usually shortened to '''HCF''', is a competitive Minecraft game mode built on the Factions land-claiming system. It is distinguished from ordinary factions servers by two rules: dying removes you from the server for a set period, and the world runs for a fixed season before being wiped and restarted.

Those two changes reshape everything else. Because death has a real cost, fights are cautious and gear is precious. Because the map ends, factions race a clock rather than settling in permanently.

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'''In short:''' claim land, build a base, gear up, and fight other factions for control of the map — knowing that every death locks you out and the whole world resets when the season ends.
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== Core rules ==

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=== Deathban ===
When you die, you are banned from the server for a fixed duration — commonly anywhere from thirty minutes to several hours depending on the server and the stage of the map. Your gear stays where you dropped it, which usually means the enemy takes it. This single rule is what makes HCF cautious and tactical rather than a constant brawl. See [[Deathban]].
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=== Maps and seasons ===
A map begins at [[SOTW|Start of the World]], when a protection period expires and PvP switches on, and ends at [[EOTW|End of the World]], when claims are disabled and the server descends into a final free-for-all before the reset. Maps typically run for a few weeks. Everything is wiped afterwards. See [[Map archive]].
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=== Factions and claiming ===
Players group into factions, buy claimed territory with in-game currency, and set a faction home inside it. Claims block enemy building and provide a safe spawn point. A faction loses its claim when its power drops — usually through repeated member deaths — which is how territory actually changes hands. See [[Factions]] and [[Claiming]].
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== Classes ==
Armour sets grant abilities, and the set you wear defines your role. This is the mechanic that turns HCF from individual PvP into team combat.

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|- style="background:#3a7a8c; color:#ffffff;"
! Class !! Armour !! Role
|-
| style="background:#eaf6f9;" | '''[[Diamond class|Diamond]]''' || Diamond || Frontline. Highest armour, no abilities.
|-
| style="background:#fdf8e8;" | '''[[Bard]]''' || Gold || Support. Buffs allies and debuffs enemies via energy.
|-
| style="background:#f5faec;" | '''[[Archer]]''' || Leather || Ranged. Tags enemies at distance for bonus damage.
|-
| style="background:#f7eef7;" | '''[[Rogue]]''' || Chainmail || Assassin. Speed and burst damage from behind.
|-
| style="background:#f2f2f2;" | '''[[Miner]]''' || Iron || Utility. Night vision and haste underground.
|}

Specifics vary between servers — see [[Class comparison]] for a side-by-side breakdown, and always check the ruleset of the network you play on.

== Events ==
Scheduled events give factions something to fight over on a timetable, which is what keeps a map active between raids.

* '''[[KOTH|King of the Hill]]''' — capture and hold a zone for a continuous timer against everyone else
* '''[[Conquest]]''' — multiple simultaneous capture points scored over time
* '''[[Citadel]]''' — a large fortified structure contested on a longer cycle, usually the map's biggest fight
* '''[[End portal]]''' — control of access to the End and its loot

== History ==

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HCF grew out of the wider Factions genre around '''2012''', spread rapidly through YouTube coverage across '''2014–2015''', and reached its largest player counts between '''2013 and 2018''' — the period the community generally calls its golden era.

The turning point came in '''February 2016''', when Minecraft 1.9 rewrote combat with attack cooldowns and an off-hand slot. The HCF community overwhelmingly rejected the change and stayed on 1.7 and 1.8, which preserved the format it knew but gradually cut it off from the version most players were running. Numbers declined through '''2019–2020''' as networks closed, and the scene has since continued at a smaller scale around a committed core.

'''<span style="font-size:110%;">→ Full article: [[History of Hardcore Factions]]</span>'''
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== See also ==
* [[History of Hardcore Factions]]
* [[Servers]] and [[Notable factions]]
* [[PvP techniques]]
* [[Glossary]]
* [[Rules and punishments]]

[[Category:Hardcore Factions]]
[[Category:Game mechanics]]