If you’ve stumbled onto this article because you’re having a little bit of trouble figuring out what’s the very best ways to kill all of the different types of zombies in Resident Evil 2, trust me, you’re definitely not alone in this struggle! Instead of having to admit to your friends that you’re having a hard time finishing the game, instead, let me help you to finally prevail and earn that sweet, sweet end-credits screen!
Now, I’m sure you know all too well that zombies come in many unique yet utterly horrifying forms in the Resident Evil universe, and Raccoon City’s police station is certainly no exception to this general rule.
Whether you’re getting grabbed over and over by those pesky generic zombies in the game’s early stages, or you’re simply burning way too much shotgun ammo trying to defeat a terrifying licker or those infamous zombie dogs, my tips will help you through any and every obstacle that’s blocking you from finishing this incredibly tough title… and don’t worry, I’ll be covering the very best strategies for both Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield.
1. Standard Zombies
Best Way to Kill: Shoot ‘em in the head!
I know that this will probably sound rather obvious to most of you, but landing a headshot on the many generic zombies that you’ll end up facing in Resident Evil’s early game is the most effective way to permanently kill them by far. Suffice to say, if you were hoping that I was going to let you in on a lesser known, top-secret method that’s a bit easier to execute than hitting headshots, I’m sorry to tell you that no such method exists… but don’t get disheartened! Let’s explore how you can achieve this in some more detail.
If you’re losing hope after learning that your only real shot at defeating these standard zombies is landing consistent headshots, you really shouldn’t feel too intimidated! After all, I’m here to offer you some super helpful tips and, of course, practice makes perfect!
Unlike some of the strategies that we’ll be employing against some of the more unique zombies that’ll appear later on in the game, Leon and Claire’s best methods for defeating standard zombies are essentially identical. Both playable protagonists start off with standard pistols that boast the same damage outputs and crit-rates… for Leon, this is his ‘Matilda’ while Claire’s default gun is her ‘SLS 60’.
First thing’s first, in a survival horror game like this one, you really want to choose which zombies you should set out to permanently kill very deliberately; you don’t want to waste your precious bullets needlessly, and you’ll never have enough to end all of them. To this end, make sure that you kill those that are shuffling around in areas that you’ll have to return to eventually; trust me, your future self will be so extremely grateful!
Now, let’s examine exactly what makes the tried and true headshot the hands-down best strategy when it comes to killing these frustratingly durable enemies…
How it works:
- First, give yourself as much distance as humanly possible before you even think about lining up your shot…make sure your back’s against a wall or a locked door though, you don’t want anything creeping up on you!
- When you’re aiming down your pistol’s sight, wait until the reticle is fully focused… you’ll deal roughly 30% more damage by waiting.
- Before you shoot, take a deep breath and remember that in this game, time is your friend.… These generic zombies are slow, that’s their fatal flaw, so there’s no need to rush things.
- Headshots do 10% more damage than body shots and are three times more likely to crit, so even if you miss your first shot and end up hitting the zombie’s body, it’s worth your time to keep trying to land the hit.
- If you haven’t been all that successful and the zombie’s gaining on you, remember that headshots are much more likely to cause the enemy to stagger, and you know what that means! A staggered zombie is a zombie that you can safely run right past in a pinch.
2. Lickers
Best Way to Kill: Sneak up slowly with your most powerful weapon loaded and ready to go!
If you’re getting unreasonably frustrated with yourself because you just can’t seem to defeat that terrifying first licker that’s sitting right in the middle of the game’s critical path, don’t beat yourself up too much because this is a lot more common than you might have first imagined.
Lickers are without a doubt the most difficult enemy in the game relative to just how early they appear in both Leon and Claire’s campaign, so these relatively early deaths really aren’t an accurate representation of your overall skill level… phew! Thankfully, Claire should already have her trusty grenade launcher while Leon will have his iconic shotgun before either character runs into that first licker… this is just past the shower room on the second floor.
Make sure that you have this powerful weapon of yours loaded before walking through the door that leads to the second floor hallway, and move as slowly as you possibly can before you dare to even open that door! Remember, lickers can’t see, but their hearing is amazing; you’ll want to sneak up on this formidable foe with your most powerful gun at the ready. Let’s go through my process beat by beat, so you know exactly what you need to do…
How it works:
- If you’re anything like me, you’re probably way too used to legging it whenever you’re feeling even slightly threatened by this point in the game. I know all too well that this is a habit that you’ll need to break when you’re coming up against a licker. Move the left stick forward as slowly and delicately as you possibly can to make sure that your character moves at their slowest possible speed.
- If you’re playing as Claire, defeating a licker will be surprisingly easy. Pick up the fire rounds sitting on the couch right next to you; as you now know, if you maintain slow and steady movement it won’t hear you at all.
- Then, simply aim your grenade launcher at the licker (if it hasn’t heard you, it’ll still be standing on the roof, hanging upside down like an insect). Luckily you don’t really have to worry about aiming precisely in this situation because a single fire round will take it out no matter where you hit it.
- For the majority of you who are playing as Leon for your first run through, you’re going to have to face the terrifying reality that you’ll have to creep up very, very close to this horrifying zombie. After all, your most powerful weapon is a shotgun, so it’s not known for its impressive range.
- I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, lickers are blind; I know that it’s horrifying, but if you keep walking as slowly as you can as Leon, you’ll be able to get right up close to lickers in order to aim your shotgun directly at their very vulnerable weak spot. you can’t miss it, it’s their completely exposed brains after all.
3. Zombie Dogs
Best Way to Kill: Confuse Them with Unpredictable Movement Options!
From the release of the very first Resident Evil game back in 1996 right up until this very day, the franchise has forced all of us to endure their most annoying type of zombie by far… zombie dogs. There’s no doubt in my mind that we were all praying that they wouldn’t be so bad this time around, and I hate to break this to you but if anything, they’re somehow worse than ever before!
There is a silver lining though— these guys are pretty much entirely concentrated in only one area, near the kennels which is next to the carpark. Unlike lickers or your standard zombie, the best and most optimal method for killing these annoyingly swift dogs relies on your movement skills more than any other factor
If you’ve already faced these infamous zombie dogs this probably won’t be news to you, but for those of you who are reading this so you can start your campaign without being totally blind, I’ll let you in on a little secret…
...You’ll pass a bunch of zombie dogs before they become active enemies, so when you’re walking past their secured kennels, act preemptively and shoot them through the bars while they’re still locked up. Now, this won’t eliminate the future threat of dog-related attacks completely, but when you finally do turn the power back on there’ll be a lot less of them for you to deal with.
Your best method when it comes to killing zombie dogs is heavily movement- based. Essentially, you’re going to have to confuse them by running around in a circular, zig-zag type pattern or side-stepping them as they run straight at you or begin to lunge. To put it in even simpler terms, you should aim to move as unpredictably as you possibly can, and never in a straight line. This way, they’ll find themselves in a vulnerable position… if you’re still not feeling all that confident in knowing how to execute this, allow me to elaborate a little bit more...
How it works:
Zombie dogs are universally hated because they’re just so god damn fast and there’s a high likelihood that they've jump scared even the bravest of us, but don’t let their speed intimidate you.They may be fast, but their movement is actually extremely limited too.
After you turn the power back on in the kennels, listen carefully… you’ll hear the dogs approaching, so there’s really no excuse to let these horrible animals get the jump on you.
- Run in circular, zig-zag patterns and ensure that you’re moving unpredictably by utilising your quick-turns… and listen carefully, because when these dogs let out a soft growl this means that they’re definitely preparing to lunge right at you.
- If you dodge this lunge by relying on the sort of movement that I’ve described above, you’ll avoid their dreaded attack and you’ll also be in the position to monopolise on their staggered state following their missed lunge.
- While they are fast and they are admittedly scary, at the end of the day, they’re still just dogs— suffice to say, it doesn’t take a lot of bullets to defeat them for good. With your already loaded pistol, shoot them while they’re staggered or alternatively, when they’re still running in the same premeditated straight line after you’ve already avoided their linear pathing.
- Did you follow these instructions to the letter and these pesky dogs are still somehow alive? Just rise and repeat, this is the best and most reliable method by far… and the best part? You won’t have to see these stupid zombie dogs ever again…. or, until you inevitably decide to replay the game in a year or two at least!
- It’s worth saying that, in the event that you’ve really drained most your ammo supply but you’re stubbornly forging ahead in spite of this misstep, if you manage to get behind them your knife will do more than enough damage to kill any zombie does… just do yourself a favour and practise aiming low to the ground beforehand.
4. G-Adults
Best Way to Kill: Burn them or Aim for their Eye!
These massive sewer zombies are arguably the most physically revolting enemy types in the entire game, and there’s more than enough competition in that particular race! Don’t let their grotesque deformed entities disarm you… although it feels like no amount of bullets is ever enough to bring these goliaths down, I have a tried and true strategy that’ll guarantee that you’ll progress through this very difficult section of, well, a very difficult game in general.
I wish I had better news for you, but you’ll have to pass these G-Adults not once but twice to get through this infuriatingly difficult late-game section, but don’t worry, it’ll be so much easier for you the second time around when you’re on your way back. If you’ve died before getting to the very end of the sewer, you probably don’t yet know that you’re actually heading towards a room where you’ll earn yourself a brand new weapon. Incidentally, it’ll be perfect for killing these massive zombies… for Leon, it’s the chemical flamethrower and for Claire, it’s the spark shot.
So, what’s the best method that you can possibly employ here? Don’t concentrate on killing them on your way to the supplies storage room which sits at the very end of the sewer, just concentrate on getting past them on the way there. If you have stun grenades to spare, this is an ideal time to make use of them just to get by the G-Adults unscathed. Failing that, it’s deceptively easy to bait them into coming to the water’s surface from a safe distance so you can run right past them when they’re entirely submerged in the disgusting sewer water once again.
Inverse to the lickers that we covered earlier on in this very article, players who are controlling Leon will have a much easier time with this specific type of zombie. The chemical flamethrower doesn’t require you to aim with any precision, just burn them to shreds and you’re good to go. However, if you’re wielding Claire’s spark gun, you’re going to have to hit the G-Adult’s hideous eye to finish it off. So, let’s take a closer look at this method step by step.
How it works:
- Grab any spare stun grenades that you might have lying around in your inventory box before you head off to the sewer.
- If you’ve got stun grenades, bait the G-Adults into surfacing by shooting the water above them. Then, simply throw the grenade and you’ll be giving yourself a large window of time to walk right by them.
- If you haven’t saved any stun grenades, don’t fret! Pull out whichever gun fires your most expendable ammo (this will probably be your default handgun) and employ the above method. However, without the stun gun, your window to pass right by them will be much, much smaller; you only have the length of time that it takes them to reenter the water fully.
- Once you’re on your way back through the sewer, you’ll finally get the chance to try out this brand new weapon of yours. As Leon, bait the G-Monsters into surfacing by either moving close towards them or shooting the water above them as previously mentioned… and I’m sure that you already know the next step by this point! Simply unleash the fury of your flamethrower on the G-Adult until they finally die for good this time.
- Alternatively, if you’re playing as Claire, your way back through the sewer with your new spark gun won’t exactly be a breeze. Bait the G-Monsters into surfacing in the same way, and aim your new weapon directly at the single eye that rests on their back… if you hit this weak point successfully and hold your weapon until it’s fully charged, this is actually a one hit kill against G-Adults. Hitting the eye successfully will stun it, so you’ll have nothing to fear as you charge the spark shot to full capacity.
Please note that if you struggle in your first few attempts this is pretty much par for the course— the spark shot is notoriously difficult to use at first, but if you’re patient enough to learn how to use it you’ll be rewarded. It’s actually the strongest weapon in Claire’s entire arsenal in terms of sheer damage numbers.
5. Plant 43 Zombies
Best Way to Kill: Burn ‘em with Fire!
As you may have already guessed by now, the very best method to beat these annoyingly tough late-game Plant 42 Zombies is Leon’s chemical flamethrower or Claire’s grenade launcher… and I’m referring to her fire rounds rather than her acidic rounds, of course! A lot of aspects of the Resident Evil universe are needlessly complex, but sometimes things are refreshingly simple… plants burn easily after all.
If you’ve got enough ammo to spare for these respective fire based weapons, you’re already good to go… but I’d hazard a guess that more than just a few of you have burned through your ammo supplies just to make it this far through the game’s main story.
If this sounds like you, not to worry! It’s not like you’ve soft-locked yourself out of beating the game altogether as you may have feared. Even though this plan B of sorts won’t kill them for good, shooting the yellow puss-like bulbs that appear all over their bodies will disable them temporarily, giving you a chance to run right past them before they attack. Alternatively, if you’re playing as Claire and you don’t have many fire rounds to spare, the Spark Shot will stun them and knock them down for a much, much longer stretch of time.
How it works:
- If you’ve already read that one ominous note that tells you to burn these enemies ‘until they are black ash’, I’m here to tell you that whoever wrote that isn’t being dramatic at all. In this level of the game, both Leon and Claire will obtain ammunition for their respective fire weapons for this very reason.
- While wielding Leon’s chemical flamethrower, burn the Plant 43 Zombies until they are literally charred black… that’s literally the only way to kill them permanently.
- If you’re wielding Claire’s grenade launcher instead, it only takes a single fire round to char them, so don’t stress out wondering if you’ve done enough damage or not unnecessarily.
- Claire’s spark shot will stun them too, but for an even longer window. I’d urge you to only resort to this method if you’re in an incredibly desperate situation though, as needle cartridges are so very rare.
- In a pinch, both standard grenades and stun grenades will stun them too… this way, you’ll save on the handgun ammo that you’d otherwise waste hitting the bulbs that seem to infect these ghastly foes.
- If you don’t have enough chemical flamethrower or fire rounds to spare, you can shoot the puss-infected bulbs all over their bodies to stun them and, in turn, run right past them.
