Character Modes

Choose Normal, Hardcore, Ironman, or Hardcore Ironman and understand death, storage, offline progression, and deletion.

### Where to choose and review a mode

- Choose a mode first when creating a Character. Review the current mode on Character Selection, the Character panel, or the pause-menu roster.

### Choose a mode

- Normal is selected by default. After choosing a mode, choose class, gender, and name. `Begin Journey` is the final action: Normal starts immediately, while each non-Normal mode asks you to confirm its consequences before the Character is created and the game starts. The mode cannot be changed later. - Normal uses ordinary death recovery. Inventory and Character progress stay with that Character, while Stash items, boss keys, and boss challenges are shared with your Normal Characters. - Hardcore shares Stash items, boss keys, and boss challenges with your Hardcore Characters while Hardcore remains active. The first death ends the run, removes Hardcore, and changes the same Character to Normal; the shared Hardcore Stash stays behind. - Ironman uses ordinary death recovery, but Inventory, Stash items, boss keys, boss challenges, and Character progress stay with that Character alone. - Hardcore Ironman keeps Inventory, Stash items, boss keys, boss challenges, and Character progress with that Character alone. The first death ends the run, removes Hardcore, and leaves the same Character as Ironman without deleting that progress.

### Death and offline progression

- Normal and Ironman always use Death Recap. They explicitly choose `Spawn` or return to Bahast unless the remembered `Automatic Respawn` setting completes its visible two-second countdown. - A Hardcore death resolves any activity loss, ends the run, restores the converted Character in Bahast, and shows a conversion summary. Inventory, equipment, build, and progression stay on the Character. - `Settings > Game > Offline Progression` applies to every Character and is enabled by default. Enabled offline combat can remove Hardcore at the first fatal result. Disabling it skips all offline rewards, deaths, attempt use, and progression. - Modes add no experience, loot, difficulty, Magic Find, or hidden economic bonuses. Hardcore and Ironman achievements check the Character's current mode when the qualifying event occurs.

### Legacy choice and deletion

- A Character created before official modes must choose Normal or Ironman before gameplay or offline progression. Ironman keeps its Inventory, Stash items, boss keys, boss challenges, and Character progress. Normal moves Stash items, stored currency, boss keys, and boss challenges into the shared Normal Stash without loss. - Deleting Normal or non-Ironman Hardcore Characters never deletes the shared Normal or Hardcore stash. - Deleting Ironman or Hardcore Ironman permanently deletes that Character's Inventory, Stash items, boss keys, boss challenges, and Character progress, so the confirmation requires the exact Character name.