The rule is one life. The detail is which deaths count, and the list surprises people who have played Hardcore Ironman, because the ruleset here follows Hardcore Group Ironman rather than the solo mode.
What happens when you die
- The normal death is processed first. You keep three items, four with Protect Item, and the Wilderness rules apply in PvP.
- The Reaper then offers a reset, which wipes everything and triggers a three-day cooldown on the Stronghold of Security’s gold, or a transfer, which moves the character to the main game permanently with its protected items and bank.
- Anything that would have gone to a gravestone is deleted. There is no retrieval.
Unsafe: dying here is a real death
- Barbarian Assault and Pest Control, which is why the activity worlds for them are busy and dangerous at once.
- The Camelot training room, the Fishing Trawler, the Magic Training Arena and the Rogues’ Den maze.
- Chambers of Xeric, the Inferno, the Nightmare Zone, the PvM Arena and random events.
- The Lunar Diplomacy dream world and a death in a player-owned house.
- The TzHaar Fight Cave, unless you hold the elite Karamja diary’s resurrection.
Safe
- Castle Wars, Clan Wars, Soul Wars, the Emir’s Arena and the TzHaar Fight Pit.
- The fourth phase of the Fremennik Trials duel, and replays of the Galvek and Glough fights.
- Zulrah only with the elite Western Provinces diary’s resurrection.
- Last Man Standing is disabled at launch.
The worlds
Thirty-two worlds: 634 to 648 in the US east, 649 US, 650 to 659 US west, 669 to 672 in the UK, 673 in Brazil and 674 in Singapore. Several are tied to activities (Wintertodt, Barbarian Assault, group PvM, Pest Control, Tempoross, Forestry, Blast Furnace). The live table on the Hardcore Worlds page shows players per world.
Three habits
- Buy a second escape crystal the moment you can afford it and bind it to a key you will actually press.
- Bank before every unsafe activity and carry exactly what you will use.
- Treat lag as a reason to stop. The mode does not distinguish a disconnect from a mistake.