It’s a controversial move in Hooves of Fire to decide to go “Hardcore”. The concept of Hooves Hardcore has been around for more than 10 years but not all players choose to take up the challenge for understandable reasons!

There are some serious downsides to switching to Hardcore from a player’s perspective – the freezer clean out and freezer slot limits, the cash wipe, the loss of “sell now”, no more ‘gift’ horses and the prospect of starting the game all over again – it’s a hard sell!

So what’s to gain from going Hardcore, one could well ask? Over the years, we’ve been adding and expanding the Hardcore aspect of Hooves of Fire to reward those players who took the leap of faith by risking it all for a Hardcore saddle and bragging rights.

Hooves Hardcore players have their own leaderboards in the Hall of Flame to compete against themselves and others for top spot. They also have the option to breed beyond pedigree 30 by competing in the Race of Evolution and “evolving” their pedigree 30 horse to a pedigree 31.

“Evo” horses (pedigree 31+) have their own countries to race in. Cup Races in Evo countries will award Golden Hay to winners which can then be used to obtain rare items from haystacks. Hardcore players will have the option to choose from either rare saddles or rare horseshoes.

“Evo” players can obtain the new “Riches” saddle which increases the amount of Hofcoin winnings from races. Evo players also have a better chance of finder rarer horseshoes and saddles in haystacks.

Is Hooves Hardcore for everyone? Probably not. It does require more dedication and strategy than the original game; some luck and helpful friends are also useful to have on your Hardcore journey. For those of you who went Hardcore, do you regret it? For those who haven’t gone Hardcore, what stops you from taking the plunge?