Resident Evil 2 Remake Beginner's Guide - Tips & Tricks

Getting Started

Resident Evil 2 Remake (RE2 Remake) drops you into the shoes of either Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop on his first day, or Claire Redfield, a college student searching for her brother. Both characters have arrived at the Raccoon City Police Department (RPD) only to find it overrun by zombies and other horrifying biological anomalies. Before you even fire a bullet, it is crucial to understand that this is not a traditional action shooter. Your mindset must shift from "clear every room" to "survive and evade."

Upon starting the game, you must choose between Leon and Claire. For a complete beginner, Leon is generally recommended as the starting character. His default weapon, the Matilda pistol, holds more ammo per magazine than Claire's M19, giving you a slightly larger margin for error when learning the game's shooting mechanics. Furthermore, Leon's campaign introduces you to the game's most iconic antagonist in a way that feels incredibly natural to the pacing of a horror title. Claire's campaign is equally brilliant, but her unlockable weapons and specific enemy encounters are slightly more challenging to manage without prior knowledge of the game's maps.

After selecting your character, you will be thrust into a brief, chaotic driving sequence that serves as a tutorial. Pay close attention here. The game will teach you the basic movement, aiming, and defensive mechanics. Most importantly, it will teach you how to use a knife. In RE2 Remake, knives are not infinite-use weapons; they have a durability meter. However, using a knife to break free from a zombie's grasp does not cost durability, making it your most valuable defensive tool.

Core Mechanics

The Health System

Unlike games that rely on regenerating health or simple health bars, RE2 Remake uses a visceral, visual health system. You must actively check your character's condition by bringing up the inventory menu. There are four primary states of health:

• Fine (Green): You are at full health. You move at maximum speed and can aim without any shaking.
• Caution (Yellow): You have taken mild damage. Your movement speed is slightly reduced, and you will notice a minor crosshair sway when aiming.
• Danger (Red): You are heavily injured. Your character clutches their stomach, movement is severely stunted, and aiming becomes incredibly difficult due to heavy screen shake. You will also emit an audible heartbeat that enemies can hear.
• Poisoned (Purple): Caused by specific enemies like the giant spiders or Mr. X’s biological attacks. Your health will slowly drain from Caution to Danger until you use a Blue Herb or a Mixed Herb containing blue.

You can heal using Green Herbs, which restore a full block of health. Red Herbs do not heal on their own but massively increase the healing potency of a Green Herb. Blue Herbs cure poison. Combining herbs is an essential skill you must master early on.

Ammunition and Crafting

Ammunition is brutally scarce. You will find Gunpowder scattered throughout the RPD, which must be crafted at the inventory screen. Crafting is instantaneous and does not pause the enemies around you, though the inventory screen itself does pause the game. Gunpowder comes in three varieties:

• Gunpowder (Standard): Crafts 9mm Handgun Ammo.
• Gunpowder (Large): Crafts Shotgun Shells (if playing as Leon) or Magnum Ammo (if playing as Claire).
• Gunpowder (Flame): Crafts High-Explosive (Flame) Rounds for your secondary weapon.

You can combine different gunpowders to create different types of ammo. For example, combining Standard and Large gunpowder yields SMG ammo, while combining Standard and Flame gunpowder yields Acid Rounds. Pro tip: Crafting ammo in bulk yields more total rounds than crafting single rounds repeatedly.

The Incredibly Important Defensive Items

In your inventory, you have a dedicated slot for defensive items. You can carry one Knife, one Grenade (Flash, Frag, or Flame), or one herbs at a time in this slot. When a zombie grabs you, if you have a defensive item equipped, a prompt will appear allowing you to use it to instantly escape. Flashbangs are the ultimate defensive tool. Not only do they break a zombie's grasp, but they also blind and stun every enemy in a small radius, allowing you to simply run past them. Save your Frag Grenades for massive damage on tough enemies, and rely on Flashbangs for crowd control.

Damage Localization

Where you shoot a zombie matters. Shooting a zombie in the head deals high critical hit damage and can result in an instant kill, though the RNG (random number generation) for critical hits can be unpredictable. Shooting a zombie in the legs will stagger them and, after enough damage, completely sever their leg, forcing them to crawl. A crawling zombie is practically harmless and much easier to step over. If you are low on ammo and need to get past a group, shooting their legs is often the most economical choice.

Early Game Tips

The first few hours of RE2 Remake take place almost entirely within the Raccoon City Police Department. This building is a massive, non-linear puzzle box. Here is exactly what you should prioritize during your first playthrough:

1. Learn the Layout Immediately
The RPD is divided into three floors and two wings (East and West), connected by the Main Hall on the first floor. Your first major goal is to explore both wings to find three medallions to unlock the courtyard. Take your time. Memorize the locations of the safe rooms (rooms with a typewriter and a green save ribbon). Safe rooms are your sanctuary; no enemy can ever enter a safe room.

2. Hoard Your Resources
During the early game, you will be tempted to kill every zombie you see. Resist this urge. You simply do not have the ammunition to clear the RPD. Unless a zombie is blocking a narrow hallway that you must pass through multiple times, it is almost always better to just run past them. Zombies are slow, and you can easily dodge their lunging attacks by simply running in a wide arc around them.

3. Prioritize the Spade Key and the Hip Pouch
Inventory space is incredibly limited. You start with a meager 8 slots. Early in your exploration, you will find the Spade Key, which opens several doors in the east wing. Use this key to access the Disco (Safety Deposit Room) where you can use the Valve Handle to retrieve a Hip Pouch. This permanently increases your inventory space to 10 slots. Getting this early makes the rest of the game significantly less frustrating.

4. Grab the Shotgun and Matilda Upgrades
As Leon, your first major weapon upgrade is the W-870 Shotgun, found in the Armory locker in the East Wing. You need the Armory Key (found in the Stars Badge) to get it. For Claire, she finds the GM 79 Grenade Launcher almost immediately, which is a phenomenal tool for crowd control. Furthermore, both characters can find upgrades for their starting pistols scattered in the RPD. These upgrades increase magazine size or allow for burst firing, making your standard weapon much more viable later in the game.

5. Do Not Forget the Red and Blue Jewels
As you explore, you will find a Red Jewel and a Blue Jewel. The Red Jewel goes into the statue in the Main Hall to yield the S.T.A.R.S. Badge (which becomes the Armory Key). The Blue Jewel is used in the Maiden statue to net you the precious Hip Pouch. If you miss these, you are making the game significantly harder for yourself.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

RE2 Remake is designed to punish bad habits. If you find yourself constantly out of ammo or dying repeatedly, you are likely falling victim to one of these common rookie errors.

• Mistake 1: Killing Every Zombie. As mentioned, ammo is finite. Some zombies are placed specifically to drain your resources. Unless a zombie is actively blocking a path you need to traverse frequently, ignore them. If you must shoot, aim for the legs to stagger them and run away.
• Mistake 2: Ignoring Boarded-Up Windows. Early in the game, you will find wooden boards and be prompted to board up windows in the main hall. Do this immediately. Boarding windows prevents zombies from spawning inside the safest area of the map. It takes thirty seconds and saves you immense headaches later.
• Mistake 3: Standing Still While Shooting. Zombies can grab you if you stand too close. If you stand perfectly still while shooting a zombie that is right in front of you, you are guaranteed to get grabbed the moment you lower your gun. Always back up while shooting, or strafe sideways to create distance.
• Mistake 4> Keeping Too Much in Your Inventory. You do not need to carry three First Aid Sprays, fifteen herbs, and four different types of ammo all at once. Store excess healing items and ammo in the Item Box. Only carry what you need for your current objective. A good rule of thumb is to keep two healing items, a stack of pistol ammo, a stack of shotgun ammo, and a defensive item on your person at all times.
• Mistake 5> Wasting Gunpowder on Single Rounds. Always craft in bulk. If you have enough Gunpowder to craft 60 rounds of ammo, craft the 60-round stack. If you craft six individual 10-round stacks, you get fewer total rounds due to how the game's rounding mechanics work.
• Mistake 6> Panicking During Mr. X Encounters. Later in the game, the Tyrant (Mr. X) will begin stalking you through the RPD. He is invincible. Do not shoot him unless you have Magnum rounds or Acid Rounds to spare and absolutely need to create distance. When you hear his heavy footsteps, simply plan a route to your objective that avoids him. He cannot enter safe rooms. If he is blocking a hallway, walk slowly; sprinting only alerts him to your exact location faster.
• Mistake 7> Ignoring the Map. The map in RE2 Remake is your best friend. It tracks every door, the color of the key required to open it, and whether a room still contains uncollected items. If a room's icon on the map is red, you have picked up everything there. If it is blue or white, there is still something to find. Use the map to avoid backtracking through dangerous areas unnecessarily.

Essential Controls & Settings

Before you dive too deep into the RPD, take a moment to optimize your settings. The default controls are serviceable, but changing a few options will drastically improve your experience.

Recommended Control Adjustments

• Toggle Run vs. Hold Run: By default, you must hold a button to sprint. In a game where you are running 80% of the time, this causes thumb fatigue. Go into the settings and change Run to "Toggle." Tap the button once to sprint, tap it again to walk. This frees up your thumb for camera control.
• Control Type: Experiment between Type A and Type B to see which feels more natural for aiming. Type A is the standard modern shooter layout, while Type B swaps the aim and fire buttons, which some players find more comfortable for heavy revolver-style weapons.
• Camera Speed: Increase the camera sensitivity slightly above the default. In a horror game, being able to quickly look behind you is vital, especially when being chased by Mr. X or Lickers.

Recommended Display Settings

• Subtitles: Turn these ON. The game's audio mixing can sometimes muffle important dialogue, and reading item descriptions is crucial for solving puzzles. Subtitles ensure you never miss a clue.
• Difficulty Selection: Choose "Assisted" if you strictly want to experience the story without stress. Assisted mode gives you more ammo, weaker enemies, and an auto-aim feature. Choose "Standard" for the intended survival horror experience. Do not choose "Hardcore" for your first playthrough. Hardcore removes the auto-save feature, limits your saves to a finite number of ink ribbons, and makes enemies drastically more aggressive. Save Hardcore for your second or third run.
• Film Grain and Vignette: These are personal preference. Leaving them on enhances the gritty, dark atmosphere of the original game, but turning them off can improve visibility in dark corners. If you are struggling to see in the dark, turn off film grain and increase the in-game brightness slightly.

Progression System

Resident Evil 2 Remake features a unique progression system designed to reward multiple playthroughs. Understanding this loop is key to getting the most out of the game.

The A/B Campaign System

RE2 Remake is not one continuous story; it is two intertwined perspectives. When you finish Leon's campaign, you unlock Claire's "B Scenario," and vice versa. You must play both an A and a B scenario to see the true ending of the game. The B scenario takes place concurrently with the A scenario. You will visit the same areas, but puzzles will be different, item placements will change, and you will encounter a different set of bosses in different locations. Playing the B scenario immediately after finishing the A scenario is highly recommended so the map layout is fresh in your mind.

Ranking and Unlockables

At the end of the game, you are graded on a ranking system from S to E. This rank is calculated based on your total playtime, the number of saves you made, the number of first aid sprays you used, and the number of times you died. Achieving an S rank on Standard or Hardcore difficulty unlocks unique weapons for the Item Box in future playthroughs, such as the infinite-ammo Samurai Edge pistol or the powerful LE 5 submachine gun.

The Record Shop (The Ghost Survivors & Infinite Ammo)

As you find Mr. Raccoon toys hidden throughout the RPD and complete specific challenges, you earn points in the in-game "Records" menu. You can spend these points to unlock special bonus modes like The Ghost Survivors, which are short, challenging what-if scenarios featuring characters who died in the main game. More importantly, you can use these points to purchase Infinite Ammo for your weapons. Once purchased, you can toggle infinite ammo on or off from the item box menu. Turning it on gives you a god-like power fantasy, which is incredibly fun after surviving the grueling initial playthroughs.

Resources & Where to Find Help

Even with this guide, you will likely get stuck. The RPD is deliberately confusing, and the game does not hold your hand. When you need help, turn to these reliable community resources.

Interactive Maps

If you are missing a puzzle piece, a key, or a Mr. Raccoon toy, do not waste an hour running in circles. Use an interactive map. Websites like Map Genie offer highly detailed, filterable maps for RE2 Remake. You can toggle icons on and off to show exactly where every Hip Pouch, weapon upgrade, lockpick, and file is located in the game. This is the single best tool for 100% completion without spoiling the story.

Video Walkthroughs

YouTube is home to fantastic text-free, spoiler-free walkthroughs. If you are stuck on a specific puzzle (like the Chess Plug puzzle in the Sewers or the Goddess Statue in the Laboratory), search for the specific puzzle name. Channels dedicated to Resident Evil often have 30-second clips showing exactly what to do without showing any surrounding story context. Avoid watching full Let's Plays if you want to preserve the game's incredible pacing and jump scares.

Community Hubs

• Reddit (r/residentevil): A massive, active community. If you have a question about lore, gameplay mechanics, or boss strategies, searching this subreddit will almost certainly yield an answer. Be mindful to mark your posts with spoiler tags if you are discussing late-game events.
• Resident Evil Wiki: Hosted on Fandom, this is the ultimate encyclopedia for everything Resident Evil. If you want to read up on the exact damage values of different ammo types, the spawn conditions for Lickers, or the backstory of the Raccoon City Police Department, the wiki has you covered.
• Speedrun.com: If you are interested in seeing how the game is played at the absolute highest level, check out the RE2 Remake leaderboards on Speedrun.com. Watching top runners manipulate Mr. X or skip entire sections of the police station is mesmerizing and can teach you advanced movement techniques, like quick-turning and door-buffering, to incorporate into your own playstyle.

Resident Evil 2 Remake is a masterclass in atmospheric level design and tense resource management. By keeping your head, conserving your ammo, and relying on the map, you will not only survive Raccoon City—you will thoroughly enjoy the terrifying journey. Good luck, rookie.