Survival in Difficulty: Brutal requires more than just keeping track of your health and hunger. The Health Monitor provides a way to track your thirst, body temperature, and limb health.

Every player who joins a world with the Difficulty: Brutal Add-On enabled will receive this item.

Crafting

If you ever lose your monitor, you can craft a new one like so:

Crafting Recipe

Using the Monitor

When you hold the Health Monitor item in your main hand, it opens a detailed menu where you can check all your vitals.

If you keep it in your offhand, a condensed version appears next to your hotbar for quick access.

Health Monitor held in Mainhand.

Health Monitor held in Offhand.

On the right side of the menu (or above if in the offhand) you can see your currently active adverse effects¹. While holding the menu item, an overlay of your limbs² will also be active. The more damaged a limb is, the more intense the red overlay will be.

[1] Health Monitor Menu in game.

[2] Player with damaged limbs.

The Health Monitor item changes color to warn you when things are getting critical:

Health

Warning

Critical