OSRS Hardcore Worlds Guide: Rules, Deaths, Reaper's Raffle
OSRS Hardcore Worlds rules: one life, reset or transfer on death, what carries over, safe and unsafe activities, the economy and the Reaper's Raffle.
In this guide 12 sections
OSRS Hardcore Worlds are a permanent, members-only game mode that opened on November 4, 2026, where a fresh character gets one life on separate worlds with their own economy and hiscores. When you die, you choose to reset to Tutorial Island or transfer the character to the main game, keeping your bank but never returning. This guide covers how to start, the death rules, which activities are safe, how trading works, and the Reaper's Raffle that runs through November.
Checked against Jagex's Hardcore Worlds OUT TODAY and Reaper's Raffle posts on November 12, 2026.
Hardcore Worlds are not an ironman mode. Your character is a normal account in every other way: it can trade, use the Grand Exchange and join group bosses, but only with other Hardcore World players (Jagex).
Quick summary
- Launched November 4, 2026 at 11:00 UTC, according to the OSRS Wiki. It's permanent, not a seasonal league.
- New characters only. You start a brand-new character that hasn't finished Tutorial Island, and you need membership.
- One life. Deaths follow the Hardcore Group Ironman ruleset, then you choose Reset (wipe everything, unlimited times) or Transfer (move to the main game for good).
- Same pace as the main game: no XP boosts and no drop rate changes, but a separate economy and separate hiscores.
- Reaper's Raffle: Hardcore-only tasks earn entries from November 4 to November 30, with a livestream draw on December 8 (Jagex).
How do you start on Hardcore Worlds?
Make a new character and, before leaving Tutorial Island, speak to Death's Delegate near the Magic Instructor's house. That opens Death's Office, where you accept Death's challenge and hop to a Hardcore World (Jagex, OSRS Wiki).
A few things change once you're in:
- Home Teleport goes to Death's Office instead of Lumbridge Castle.
- You start with one free escape crystal. Death, Rick at the Wizards' Tower and the Mysterious Stranger in Ver Sinhaza sell more at 10,000 coins each, and activating one also clears poison, burn and similar effects.
- Death's Office is a shared hub. It's no longer instanced, so you can see other players there, and it's the only place you can hop between Hardcore and main-game worlds to meet friends, join clans or gift membership. Trading isn't allowed there.
- A mirror in the office shows your Death Report, a record of your character's progress and achievements.
The OSRS Wiki lists 32 Hardcore Worlds, numbered 634 to 659 and 669 to 674, across the US, UK, Australia, Brazil and Singapore. Several are themed for activities such as Wintertodt, Tempoross, Pest Control, Barbarian Assault and Group PvM.
What happens when you die on Hardcore Worlds?
Your death is first processed like a normal one: most deaths keep 3 items, or 4 with Protect Item, and Wilderness deaths follow Wilderness rules. Then Death asks you to choose (Jagex).
| Choice | What happens | What you keep |
|---|---|---|
| Reset | The character is wiped back to a fresh Tutorial Island start. You can reset as many times as you like | Bank PIN and game settings only |
| Transfer | The character leaves Hardcore Worlds for good and joins the main game | Your 3 or 4 protected items, your bank and all other storage |
Either way, anything that would normally go to a gravestone is lost permanently. After a reset, the gold from the Stronghold of Security can be claimed again only after a 3-day cooldown (Jagex).
Jagex support won't restore Hardcore status for individual deaths, and says it will review only issues that affect many players at once. Plan as if every death is final.
Example: a player dies at 1,200 total level with a well-stocked bank. If they transfer, the bank arrives in the main game but the character can never return to Hardcore Worlds. If they reset, they start from nothing with their settings intact.
Which activities are safe on Hardcore Worlds?
Almost nothing. Jagex says 99% of deaths count, because the mode uses the Hardcore Group Ironman death rules. Several minigames that are safe for a regular Hardcore Ironman are not safe here.
| Unsafe (a death counts) | Safe (a death doesn't count) |
|---|---|
| Barbarian Assault | Castle Wars |
| Camelot Training Room | Clan Wars |
| Chambers of Xeric | Soul Wars |
| Dream World during Lunar Diplomacy | TzHaar Fight Pit |
| Fishing Trawler | The Fremennik Trials, only the 4th phase against Koschei |
| Inferno | The TzHaar Fight Caves resurrection from the Karamja Elite Diary |
| Magic Training Arena | Zulrah, only the resurrection from the Western Provinces Elite Diary |
| Nightmare Zone | |
| Pest Control | |
| PvM Arena | |
| Random events | |
| Rogues' Den | |
| TzHaar Fight Cave | |
| Inside a player-owned house |
The OSRS Wiki also lists capsizing your boat, Emir's Arena, Pete Kayer's challenges and the Galvek and Glough replays as safe. Last Man Standing and Bounty Hunter are disabled. Newer content such as The Fractured Archive is not on the safe list, so assume a death there counts; our Fractured Archive guide covers that raid.
The biggest surprises for returning Hardcore Ironmen are the Fight Cave, Nightmare Zone and your own house. Our Fire Cape guide explains the Fight Caves if you plan to attempt it with a single life.
How does the Hardcore Worlds economy work?
It's a separate, permanent economy. Items bought and sold on Hardcore Worlds can only be traded there, and the Grand Exchange works normally within the mode (Jagex). Every death removes items or coins, so Jagex expects prices to drift away from the main game and suggests a million coins may feel worth more.
Gold from the main game can't come in. On launch day one player left Tutorial Island as a Hardcore character before the worlds opened and moved wealth across; Jagex banned the character and alts about 1.5 hours after launch and says it removed 103,175,293 of the 115,563,777 coins involved (Jagex). Main-game prices are not a guide to what things cost here.
What is the Reaper's Raffle?
The Reaper's Raffle is a November event for Hardcore Worlds players. You earn entries by completing tasks on Death's Bounty Boards, split into PvM, Skilling and Wilderness, and each completed task is one entry. Logging in during the first month gives you an entry too (Jagex).
| Detail | What Jagex says |
|---|---|
| Dates | November 4 to November 30, 2026 |
| Entries | One per completed bounty task, plus one for logging in |
| Deaths | Tasks and entries carry over between deaths |
| Tracking | The official post doubles as a tracker; you mark tasks yourself and Jagex validates them |
| Draw | A livestream on December 8 |
| Prizes | Over 100, including official OSRS merch, a custom Death statue, a Starforge PC bundle and OSRSBricks sets |
| Shipping | Early 2027; winners are told only through in-game messages |
Community World Goals add prizes when all Hardcore players together reach targets such as 100,000,000 XP, 100,000 quests, 250,000 Achievement Diary tasks, a combined total level of 250,000, or 10,000,000 trees, fish or ore. Terms and conditions apply; read them in the official post.
What are Hardcore World Firsts?
World Firsts recognize the first player to reach a milestone on Hardcore Worlds, with prizes awarded by Jagex (Jagex). The list includes the first death, the first 99 in each skill, the first Quest Cape and Max Cape, the first Fight Caves, Inferno and Fortis Colosseum completions, the first Chambers of Xeric, Theatre of Blood and Tombs of Amascut clears, the first Fractured Archive completion and the first Grandmaster Combat Achievements. Each first is broadcast once, and the OSRS Wiki keeps a records page.
How to survive your first week
- Use the escape crystal. Keep the free one in your inventory and learn how it works before a fight goes wrong.
- Skip the unsafe minigames early. Pest Control, Nightmare Zone and Barbarian Assault feel safe on other modes but not here.
- Quest for safe XP. Quest XP rewards build a character without long fights; our OSRS beginner guide has a starting route.
- Bank often. Gravestone items are deleted on a Hardcore death, so carry only what you need.
- Pick the transfer plan in advance. Decide which milestone makes your bank worth keeping in the main game, so the choice isn't made in the moment.
Want a hand with this?
If you would rather not grind this part yourself, OSRS leveling services and OSRS quest services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Jagex's Rules of Old School RuneScape before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission. A one-life character is personal progress, so think twice before letting anyone else play it.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when you die on OSRS Hardcore Worlds? You keep your 3 or 4 protected items, then choose Reset or Transfer. Reset wipes the character back to Tutorial Island; Transfer moves it, with its bank and storage, to the main game permanently.
Can you transfer a Hardcore Worlds character to the main game? Only by dying and choosing Transfer. You keep your bank and other storage, lose gravestone items, and can never return that character to Hardcore Worlds.
Can you use an existing account on Hardcore Worlds? No. You need a brand-new character that hasn't finished Tutorial Island, and the mode is members-only.
Can you trade on Hardcore Worlds? Yes. Hardcore characters can trade and use the Grand Exchange, but only with other Hardcore World players, because the economy is separate.
Do Reaper's Raffle entries reset when you die? No. Jagex says tasks and entries carry over between deaths. The raffle runs to November 30, and the draw is on December 8.
Are Hardcore Worlds a limited-time mode? No. Jagex describes the worlds and their economy as permanent. Only the Reaper's Raffle has an end date.
Sources
- Jagex: Hardcore Worlds Are Coming On November 4th
- Jagex: Hardcore Worlds | OUT TODAY
- Jagex: The Reaper's Raffle
- Jagex press release: Hardcore Worlds are now live
- OSRS Wiki: Hardcore Worlds
- OSRS Wiki: Update: Hardcore Worlds - OUT TODAY
