I’ve played irregularly over the years. My favorite way to play is in hardcore, and just see how long I can survive without making a dumb mistake. In the past this typically meant I could play for 2-3 weeks, with an hour or two of play per day.

I just started playing again after a year or two off, and it seems much more difficult now. By day 5 or 6, there are skeletons with armor that can walk around in the daylight, pillagers, and basically many very deadly mobs.

First question - am I correct that this has changed?

Second question - any way I can still play hardcore but get those more deadly mobs to spawn later?

I know I can always play survival and control the difficulty that way but I like that finality of HC mode. Thanks!