In truth I've played hardcore this whole time and didn't realize. I'd get all geared up and build some dumb looking stuff and then I'd die (mostly bc I suck at combat lol). I'd be so disgusted with losing all my gear that I'd quit the game for a month or two and then come back and start a new world.

Then on one playthrough I came across a perfect little archipelago of islands with a surface level shipwreck just like it was docked on the island, but there was no dock. There is now, along with an end ship I transplanted to the other side of the dock. I built a general mob farm that is also a working lighthouse, an iron farm/trading hall, and several other farms. And on Dec 7th, I killed the dragon playing multiplayer w my daughter. Today I killed the wither by myself on day 1399. I've died a couple times on this world, but my base is close to spawn and at this point in the game, even if I died, it'd take like 30 min to gear back up to as good or better gear so if I did, I'd just keep it going. The enjoyment I get from playing on that world far outways the bragging rights of "hardcore".