Resident Evil 2 Birkin Stage 2 Boss - How to Defeat William Birkin Using the Crane
When you eventually face off against Stage 2 Birkin in Resident Evil 2, you'll need to put a crane to good use to see out the boss. In our Resident Evil 2 Birkin Stage 2 guide, we'll be walking you through how to easily use the crane in order to win the boss encounter that takes place in the sewers section of the game.
But if you instead need any additional information on Capcom’s remake, you can head over to our complete Resident Evil 2 walkthrough. It’s here that you can find a full beginner’s guide to getting to grips with the nightmare in Raccoon City, and much more.
This guide will firstly detail how you can dodge Birkin's attacks in the initial section of the fight, before moving onto defeating Birkin through using a shipping container.
Resident Evil 2 Birkin Sewers Boss Guide
This boss battle with William Birkin takes place directly after Claire/Leon has to be collect all six plug pieces in the sewers of Resident Evil 2. If you need a complete walkthrough on how to obtain all six pieces and proceed to this boss battle, head over to our Resident Evil 2 plug locations guide.
So then, down to business. After collecting all the plugs in the sewer, lining them up in the correct sockets, and opening the vault-like door, Claire/Leon will come face to face with Birkin for the second time. For the first bit of this boss fight, Birkin will jab his hand through the ceiling repeatedly in an attempt to grab you, so make sure to stay on the move in this small room.
When Birkin has reached through the ceiling four times, he’ll break down the shutters that are in the corner of the room, entering the room. You now need to quickly shoot the eye on Birkin’s shoulder a few times to successfully stun him, so you can sprint past him, out through the broken shutters.
Keep following this pathway, sprinting away from Birkin, and eventually you’ll come to a ledge. Jump down from this ledge, and run forward, going round the shipping container on the left, and pressing the button on the yellow panel straight in front of you.
How to Defeat Birkin Using the Container
Doing this will swing the shipping container off the platform that you’re stood on, and away to the other end of this area. However, pressing the button again will swing the shipping container back around, so that it comes back onto the platform that you and Birkin are both stood on.
The goal here is to time your press of the button perfectly, so that the container swings round when Birkin is in the opposite half of the platform to where Claire/Leon is when they press the button. An excellent tactic to use is the stun grenade that you can pick up near the button, after you’ve baited Birkin into pursuing you onto the other side of the platform.
This can be a very tough fight, especially if you’re running low on ammo at the time. Remember that hitting the eye on Birkin’s shoulder enough times will temporarily stun him, so doing this and then swinging the container around is the way to go.
If it's more content for Capcom's remake that you're after, head over to our essential Resident Evil 2 tips page. Alternatively, you can hit up our page on how to unlock Fourth Survivor in Resident Evil 2 with the enigmatic Hunk, our article on how to unlock the magnum in Resident Evil 2, or our Resident Evil 2 Leon's desk locks guide. If you want more Resident Evil goodness, check out our definitive ranking of the best Resident Evil Games.