I've only ever played a few times on a HC server. But just because a server is
displayed as HC doesn't mean it's got all the HC options on. If any of these settings exist a server will display as Hardcore.
isHardcore = true
infoFriendlyFire = true
infoAutoBalance = false
infoKillCam = false
infoMiniMap = false
infoCrosshair = false
info3DSpotting = false
infoMiniMapSpotting = false
info3PersonVehicleCameras = false
So a server might just have the 3rd person camera for vehicles disabled and it will display as a HC server but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll die any quicker or whatever
I usually tend to filter out HC servers for the simple reason that I just want to have some casual fun. I haven't touched a shooter in 6 or 7 years for reasons I will not be going into right now, so I'm not at all interested in these supposedly more realistic settings.
And if anyone knows of a "no snipers" server then let me know, I'm there
They can just remove the Recon class from the game altogether, I wouldn't mind