Resident Evil 2 Tips - Surviving the Nightmare in Resident Evil 2's Raccoon City
No matter which character you pick to play as at the beginning of Resident Evil 2, you're going to have a tough run of it in Raccoon City. In this Resident Evil 2 tips page, we'll be providing you with all the essential information that you need to know to make it through the game as either Leon Kennedy, or Claire Redfield.
- Resident Evil 2 Tips
- You Don't Need to Kill Every Zombie
- The Inventory is Your God Now
- Don’t Bring a Knife to a Gunfight
- Actually, Do Bring a Knife to this Gunfight
- You’re Going to Want to Play as Both Leon and Claire
- Resident Evil 2 Guides
- Resident Evil 2 Hidden Guides
- Resident Evil 2 Weapons Guides
- Resident Evil 2 Enemy Guides
- Resident Evil 2 Costumes
Resident Evil 2 Tips
Even if you’re a veteran of the Resident Evil series, in general, this new entry in the franchise is by no means an easy ride. To start off with, if you want a full beginner’s guide to the game, including a list of all the new features that Capcom has added in for the remake, head over to our Resident Evil 2 walkthrough.
Otherwise, read on for our essential Resident Evil 2 survival tips, to make your journey through Raccoon City as smooth as possible (for the middle of the apocalypse).
You Don't Need to Kill Every Zombie
Resident Evil 2 features zombies. In fact, it features a whole lot of zombies, slowly shuffling towards Leon and Claire, trying to chow down on them. Although it’s tempting to fire off shot after shot, and check that they’re all dead, this really isn’t necessary.
On the ‘Standard’ difficult mode for Resident Evil 2, a single zombie can take as many as seven bullets to the head before actually dropping dead. Doing this for every single zombie in the game is going to burn through your ammo pretty quickly, so once a zombie has dropped to the ground, move past it as quickly as possible, and conserve your ammo.
The Inventory is Your God Now
Inventory management is everything in Resident Evil 2. This might be a complete reimagining of the classic from 1998, but it very much retains some old traits of the historic franchise, giving Leon and Claire a very limited amount of inventory items to work with.
There’s only one way to expand your inventory in Resident Evil 2: collect hip pouches. There’s a very limited amount of these items scattered in the far corners of the game, but each one can increase your inventory slots by two at a time, so they’re basically worth their weight in gold. For a full walkthrough of where these items are located, head over to our Resident Evil 2 hip pouches guide.
Don’t Bring a Knife to a Gunfight
Weapons are the only thing standing between Leon Kennedy/Claire Redfield, and a lot of hungry zombies. After the prologue section of Resident Evil 2 in the gas station, the game properly opens up in the Raccoon City police station, and it’s here that you can get your hands on some pretty decent weaponry.
There are a number of powerful guns you can find in the police station. Head over to our Resident Evil 2 magnum guide for an extensive list of instructions on how to obtain the most powerful weapon in the game. Otherwise, you can check out our pages on how to get the shotgun, or how to get the grenade launcher for Claire.
Actually, Do Bring a Knife to this Gunfight
Look, disregard what we said above. There’s one thing that can truly stand between you and the ravenous hordes, and that’s a combat knife. Combat knives come in very limited supply in Resident Evil 2, and whenever you’re grabbed by a zombie, you can use a knife to keep them at bay, instead of getting eaten.
The golden rule of Resident Evil 2 is never be without a combat knife. If you’ve stabbed a zombie with a knife, you can only retrieve the knife from them once they’re confirmed dead. It’s actually a really good idea to try and get a combat knife back once you’ve used it up, because they’re a slight rarity in Resident Evil 2.
You’re Going to Want to Play as Both Leon and Claire
Just because you’ve played through Resident Evil 2 once, don’t think you’ve even come close to seeing it all. Claire and Leon’s campaigns actually have different story beats, and after the police station section is over, both venture out to different parts of Raccoon City, if only for a short while.
Make sure to complete Resident Evil 2 as one character, and then return for a completely new playthrough as their counterpart. Also, remember that completing the game as Leon will unlock a second, shorter campaign for Claire, and vice versa, and in this ‘2nd run’ mode, you play out the events from Leon’s campaign, but seen through Claire’s eyes. Yes, it’s a little confusing.
Resident Evil 2 Guides
Now that we're all done with our Resident Evil 2 essential tips, we can introduce you to our comprehensive guides list for Capcom's remake. Just below, you can see our complete list of guides so far, covering areas like level walkthroughs, puzzle solutions, weapon unlocks, and much more.
Resident Evil 2 Hidden Guides
Since Resident Evil 2 is harkening back to the old days of survival horror, there's a whole lot of secrets buried within the game. Just below, you can find all our guides on hidden details within the game, including items, modes, and more.
- Resident Evil 2 Mr. Raccoon Locations
- How to Unlock Fourth Survivor in Resident Evil 2
- How to Unlock Tofu Survivor in Resident Evil 2
- How to Find the Hip Pouches in Resident Evil 2
- How to Unlock the Portable Safe in Resident Evil 2
- How to Find the Bolt Cutters in Resident Evil 2
- How to Use Roll Film in Resident Evil 2
- How to Unlock Leon's Desk in Resident Evil 2
- How to Get the Detonator in Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 Weapons Guides
Weapons and equipment are the only things that are going to get Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield safely through the zombie apocalypse in Raccoon City. Just below, we’ve rounded up a complete collection of all our Resident Evil 2 guides to do with weapons. This includes guides on, for example, how to unlock the shotgun inside the Raccoon City Police Department, and many others.
- Resident Evil 2 Shotgun Guide
- Resident Evil 2 Grenade Launcher Guide
- Resident Evil 2 Magnum Pistol Guide
- How to Unlock Infinite Ammo Weapons in Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 Enemy Guides
It wouldn't be Resident Evil without some truly memorable enemies and boss battles. In the list below, we've rounded up all our guides on the various enemy types in Resident Evil 2, as well as all the boss battles we've completed so far.
- Resident Evil 2 Lickers Guide
- Resident Evil 2 William Birkin Boss Guide
- Resident Evil 2 Tyrant Mr X Guide
- Resident Evil 2 Birkin Sewer Battle Guide
Resident Evil 2 Costumes
Speaking of things that all Resident Evil games have: Costumes. There's a ton of outfits that you can earn and obtain for Claire and Leon throughout Resident Evil 2, some of them downright insane. Just below, you can find a full list of all the costumes that are available as DLC for Resident Evil 2.
Capcom has already revealed that more outfits for Leon and Claire will be added to Resident Evil 2 as future DLC. While we don't know all that Capcom has planned, we do know that two of the character skins will be reminiscent of the character design from the 1998 game.
If you want more Resident Evil content, check out USG's definitive ranking of the best Resident Evil Games.