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Resident Evil 2 - Enemy and Boss guide

by Volke

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Resident Evil 2: Enemy and Boss guide + Weapons information
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--
BY
--


-----
Volke
-----



------------
Introduction
------------

After a break, I decided to continue writing guides on enemies and bosses in the Resident Evil series. Currently, 
I have only written such a guide for all versions of the original Resident Evil, which I wanted to get out of the 
way so I could concentrate on the games in the series that I actually like.

Resident Evil 2 is the game that got me into the Resident Evil series, and this time around I am actually going to 
enjoy doing this. Since I am far more enthusiastic about this one, it should be as in depth as a guide on this can 
actually get. Since I love this game so much, I'll examine all the weapons in detail and tell you exactly how and 
when to use them and what to use them against. Lots of hard work went into this guide, so I hope you will find it 
useful.


-----
Story
-----

I am not going to go into this in detail. Basically, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield run into each other in 
Raccoon City. Unfortunately for them, the city is full of zombies. They then decide to find the Raccoon Police 
Department and take refuge there because they do not seem to have a better plan. Unfortunately, they get split up 
along the way. Separated, Claire teams up with Sherry Birkin and Leon teams up with Ada Wong in the hopes that they 
can get out of the zombie infested R.P.D., and out of the city.


----------
Characters
----------


----------------
Leon. S. Kennedy
----------------

Leon is the male protagonist of Resident Evil 2. He is a rookie cop whose first day on the job happens to be when 
Resident Evil 2 is set. Arriving at the city later than intended for reasons I have never found out, he gets a hell 
of a welcome. He teams up with Ada Wong. He later becomes the protagonist of Resident Evil 4.

---------------
Claire Redfield
---------------

Claire Redfield is Chris Redfield's (one of the protagonists from the first Resident Evil) sister. She arrives in 
Raccoon City looking for Chris, but insteaad of her brother she finds a zombie snacking on a dead customer in a 
diner. She teams up with Sherry Birkin. She later becomes a protagonist of Resident Evil: Code - Veronica.

--------
Ada Wong
--------

A mysterious woman who teams up with Leon and is playable for two parts of Leon's story regardless of the scenario. 
She claims to be searching for her missing boyfriend, but it is quite obvious she has other agendas. She was 
mentioned in a file in the original Resident Evil left by John, who she names as her boyfriend.

-------------
Sherry Birkin
-------------

A twelve-year-old girl who teams up with Claire. Her parents are William and Annette Birkin. Her derranged dad is 
after her in order to implant her with the G-Virus.

--------------
Annette Birkin
--------------

Sherry's mother and William's husband. She stays in Raccoon City to make sure that nobody steals the G-Virus, 
which Ada and HUNK are trying to get their hands on.

--------------
William Birkin
--------------

Former Umbrella researcher, now constantly mutating monster who seems to have some sort of disliking for human 
beings, which is bad news for Leon, Claire and friends. He injected himself with the G-Virus in order to stop 
Umbrella obtaining it, which fared well for neither Umbrella nor himself.

----
HUNK
----

The only surviving member of the team sent by Umbrella to obtain the G-Virus. He manages to aquire a sample of the 
virus, so now he has to escape. He does not appear in the main game. He instead appears in his own mini-scenario. 

--------------
Ben Bertolucci
--------------

Ben is a reporter only encountered in Leon's story. He managed to obtain information regarding Umbrella's secret 
activites and also Brian Irons' secret deals with the company. He helps Leon and Ada escape the R.P.D.

-----------
Brian Irons
-----------

The very insane chief of police in Raccoon City who only appears in Claire's story. He was reponsible for the 
deaths of several survivng police officers and also the Mayor's daughter when he decided to completely lose his 
sanity and hunt them down. Thankfully, he does not last long.

--------------
Marvin Branagh
--------------

Marvin is the wounded police officer you find in the western office upon entering the R.P.D. He presumably stayed 
behind to hide the key to the basement so that the other surviving officers could escape through the sewers without 
being pursued (but were probably killed by Irons). He stayed behind because he was infected with the T-Virus. He 
only appears in the A scenarios.

------------
Robert Kendo
------------

Robert is the gun shop owner you encounter right at the beginning of the game in the A scenarios only. He is a 
friend of the former STARS member Barry Burton (who appeared in Resident Evil), and also supplied the STARS with 
their weapons.

--------------
Chris Redfield
--------------

One of the protagonists from the original Resident Evil, he only appears in Extreme Battle mode, where you can play 
as him alongside Leon, Claire and Ada. He later becomes a protagonist in Resident Evil: Code - Veronica and in 
Resident Evil 5.

------------
Brad Vickers
------------

The former STARS Alpha Team helicopter pilot from the original Resident Evil. If certain requirements are met, you 
can find a zombified Brad wandering around down the trench outside the R.P.D. entrance. He re-appears in Resident 
Evil 3, where you find out why he becomes a zombie.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------
Character info
--------------

Here I will give you information on the playable characters in the game, including Chris as he can be unlocked in 
Extreme Battle.

----
Leon
----

Leon has the highest health in the game, so he can take more hits than the others. His scenarios are easier than 
Claire's, as he also gets a slightly better weapon selection and the ability to upgrade his Handgun, Shotgun and 
Magnum.

------
Claire
------

Claire has slightly lower health than Leon (continuing with the gender stereotype that females characters HAVE to 
be weaker), so it takes les shits to kill her. Her weapon selection is not as good as Leon's. The Grenade Launcher 
is great, but the rest of her weapons are not. You cannot upgrade any of her weapons either.

---
Ada
---

Ada can run faster than Leon and Claire, and she has about the same amount of health as Claire. She has little play 
time in the game, but she at least comes equipped with a Handgun. She is also unlockable in Extreme Battle.

------
Sherry
------

Sherry cannot use any weapons, is the slowest character in the game, and also the most fragile. As an additional 
bonus, if you use the First Aid Spray she is carrying, you cannot get any higher than a B ranking. Oh, the fun. 
Although she has very little play time.

---------------------------
Chris (Extreme Battle only)
---------------------------

Chris has even higher health than Leon, and can run just as fast.


------------------
Health information
------------------

I will lay out health information here, and also how to use the herbs.

---------------
Health statuses
---------------

------------
Fine (green)
------------

Your health is above 60% (it seems to last longer here than in most other Resi games). No need to worry here, 
and your character will easily take a few more hits. Have caution though, if you fall below this, your health drops 
quickly.

----------------
Caution (yellow)
----------------

Your health is between 30% and 60%. Use a Green Herb or two to get out of this - you do not want to stay in this 
status. You will know when your health falls into this level as your character cluthces their side, and moves more 
slowly with a slight limp.

----------------
Caution (orange)
----------------

Your health is between 10% and 30%. Use a healing item immediately. In terms of appearance, your character will 
remain the same as if they were in the Caution (yellow) stage, so beware.

------------
Danger (red)
------------

You will know when you are in this stage - your character will move very slowly with a strong limp. This status 
means your health is under 10%, and that one more attack from anything at all is more than likely to kill you. Heal 
youself immediately, unless you like dying.

---------------
Poison (purple)
---------------

If your character limps with more of a slouched posture, it means they are poisoned. The only thing that can cure 
this status is the Blue Herb. Your health will decline slowly, but steady. Heal yourself of this status as soon as 
you can.

----------------------------
Herbs and their combinations
----------------------------

----------
Green Herb
----------

Restores 25% health.

---------
Blue Herb
---------

Cures poison.

--------
Red Herb
--------

Useless alone.

----------------------
Mixed Herbs (Green x2)
----------------------

Restores 50% health.

----------------------
Mixed Herbs (Green x3)
----------------------

Restores 100% health (I know, it makes no sense).

--------------------------
Mixed Herbs (Green + Blue)
--------------------------

Restores 25% health and cures poison.

-----------------------------
Mixed Herbs (Green x2 + Blue)
-----------------------------

Restores 50% health and cures poison.

-------------------------
Mixed Herbs (Green + Red)
-------------------------

Restores 100% health.

--------------------------------
Mixed Herbs (Green + Blue + Red)
--------------------------------

Restores 100% health and cures poison.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------
Weapons
-------

Here I will give you information on the weapons found in the game.


------------------------
Knives (Leon and Claire)
------------------------

The Knife is useless. As soon as you get the opportunity, drop it in an Item Box and never look back. It is far too 
weak to be used effectively, as it takes about eight slashes to kill ONE zombie on the EASY difficulty. If you run 
out of Handgun Ammo in the Streets section and you have a zombie to get past, then fine, use it if you have to. 
However, I would just concentrate on using it to knock the zombie over, and then run, as there is no value in 
killing any zombies you do not need to in the Streets. If you are feeling confident, you can run around the RPD 
knifing zombies if you are 'hardcore' enough. However, turning this thing on anything else is suicidal.

Use it against - Nothing, unless you really have no other option to kill a zombie that is is your way.

--------------------------
Handguns (Leon and Claire)
--------------------------

Leon's Handgun has a capacity of eighteen, whilst Claire's has a capacity of thirteen. Other than this, there are 
not differences between the two handguns. Naturally, they are the weakest weapons in the game, and should only be 
used against the lesser enemies. You will probably stop using the Handgun altogether once you gather a steady 
collection of Shotgun Shells or rounds for the Grenade Launcher.

Use it against - Zombies, Cerberi (dogs), Brad (if you are in a hurry)

--------------------------
Custom Handgun (Leon only)
--------------------------

Leon's Handgun can be upgraded with the Handgun Parts into this. It has a capacity of twenty and can fire up to 
three shots in rapid motion. It is easy to control how many bullets you use at a time, but it still seems to drain 
your ammo like there is no tomorrow. It is a useful weapon, but I would still advise against pulling this out on 
Lickers.

Use it against - Zombies, Cerberi, Brad

-------------------
Shotgun (Leon only)
-------------------

Once you pack enough Shotgun Shells, you will want to use this for the remainder of Leon's game. It is far more 
useful at taking down zombies and I recommend that you use this to dispose of Lickers. Useful against most early 
bosses.

Use it against - Zombies (if necessary), Cerberi (if necessary), Brad, Lickers, bosses

--------------------------
Custom Shotgun (Leon only)
--------------------------

In the latter portion of the game, you find Shotgun Parts that increase the capacity of Leon's Shotgun to seven, 
and add to the firepower. Powerful enough to blow limbs as well as heads off zombies, this bad boy will provide you 
with some serious fun. Do not miss the opportunity to upgrade the Shotgun into this, as it really helps you out, 
and packs a powerful punch to boot.

Use it against - Zombies (if necessary), Lickers, bosses

--------------------
Bowgun (Claire only)
--------------------

The Bowgun is what Claire gets instead of a Shotgun. It has a capacity of thirty, but fires three arrows every time 
you fire the weapon. The one bolt will shoot directly foreward with the other two arching over to the right and the 
left respectively. It is neither as powerful nor as useful as the Shotgun, and since Bowgun Bolts are far less 
common in Claire's game than Shotgun Shells are in Leon's game, you will probably only use this to deal with 
Lickers early on.

Use it against - Zombies, Cerberi, Brad, Lickers, bosses (only if you have nothing better to use)

------------------------------
Grenade Launcher (Claire only)
------------------------------

The Grenade Launcher is the most versatile weapon in the game. There are three types of Rounds for it - Grenade 
Rounds, Acid Rounds and Flame Rounds. Grenade Rounds are standard explosive rounds and are the most common. Acid 
Rounds are more powerful, but are less common. Flame Rounds are the most powerful in most cases, but are rarer than 
hens' teeth. The Grenade Launcher is my favourite weapon in the Resident Evil series because it is so damn FUN. It 
makes up for Claire's poorer selection of weapons, and due to its versatility it provides something that can handle 
all the enemies in the game. I would keep Flame Rounds for bosses only, and Acid Rounds should be used on nothing 
less dangerous than a Licker. The only rounds that should be used on zombies are Grenade Rounds, unless you want to 
use Acid Rounds to quickly dispose of Brad's zombie. But you should have finished him off long before you obtained 
the Grenade Launcher if you wanted to kill him.

Use Grenade Rounds against - Zombies, Lickers, Brad, early bosses

Use Acid Rounds against - Zombies (only if absolutely necessary), Lickers, Brad, bosses

Use Flame Rounds against - Lickers (only if absolutely necessary), Ivies (if you need to kill one), bosses

------------------------
Spark Shot (Claire only)
------------------------

You find this in the same place where Leon finds his Shotgun Parts. I recommend you try to avoid using it until 
William Birkin #4/#5 (depending on the scenario). It is useful against Birkin, but the percentage based amount of 
energy left in the weapons runs out fairly quickly, so take your Grenade Launcher along to whichever fight it is so 
that you have a backup.

Use it against - William Birkin #4, William Birkin #5

---------------------------------
Sub-Machine Gun (Leon and Claire)
---------------------------------

In the A scenarios, you get the option of choosing between this and a Side Pack. I recommend you save this for the 
B scenarios, because it works wonders when used against Mr. X. With the exception of the very first encounter, I 
used the Sub-Machine Gun to take down Mr. X every time he attacked from the second encounter in Chief Irons' office 
until the encounter in the Vacant Factory, after which I ran out of ammo for it. Ammo runs out more slowly 
compared to other weapons with percentage-based ammunition. Against other enemies though, I would recommend you use 
another weapon if possible, since it is nothing special in that field. Claire can find an extra ammo clip for it in 
her B scenario, but you no longer really need the weapon that late in the game.

Use it against - Mr. X (except for the final battle)

------------------------
Flamethrower (Leon only)
------------------------

I am sure that you can only pick this up in the Leon B scenario. Either way, it takes up two item slots and has a 
100% oil meter that runs out faster than you would run if you were being chased by the Nemesis. Just tapping the 
'fire' button whilst armed with the Flamethrower causes a 4% loss in oil, and there are no additional oil supplies 
for it, so once you have used it, that is all. I would use it only to take care of a few of the Ivy (plant) enemies 
that block your path in the laboratory, and then drop it in an item box because it will probably have run out by 
the time you are finished.

Use it against - Ivies, other lesser enemies (if you see the need)

---------------------------------
Rocket Launcher (Leon and Claire)
---------------------------------

Obviously, this is the most powerful weapon in the game. You can only obtain it on the B scenarios, where it is 
given to you by Ada (presumably) during the final battle with Mr. X. It has two Rockets equipped, one of which you 
have to use against Mr. X in order to finish him off. I recommend you use the remaining Rocket on William Birkin 
#5 to hasten the pace of the battle.

Use it against - William Birkin #5 and Mr. X (final battle)

------------------------------------------
Infinite Rocket Launcher (Leon and Claire)
------------------------------------------

Your gift for beating the game under, I believe, two and a half hours. It was something like that. Anyway, there is 
not much to say. It can kill absolutely everything, almost always in one shot. Reap the reward of your hard work 
and go crazy - you will love it.

Use it against - Everything

-----------------------------
Gatling Gun (Leon and Claire)
-----------------------------

You have to option to grab this from the locker in the Darkroom provided you obtain the Special Key from Brad's 
body. It is very powerful and you can use this against pretty much everything to cut them down quickly, but the 
downside is that it takes two to three seconds to charge up before you can open fire, which can have devastating 
consequences in the wrong situation. If you are careful enough, it should not pose much of a problem. The choice is 
yours. It is a pain to use it against Super Lickers and Ivies, though.

Use it against - Everything

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------
Enemy Guide
-----------

In this section, I will overview the enemies you will encounter throughout the game. As is common in the Resident 
Evil series, Resident Evil 2 features hordes of creatures that you would not exactly like to invite to a tea party. 


-------
Zombies
-------

Scenario - A and B

Areas encountered - Streets, RPD, Sewers, Vacant Factory, Laboratory

Zombies are the basic and most common enemies in the game. Whilst they are slow moving and it takes only a few 
bullets to take them down, they can still cause problems in groups. Contrary to the first Resident Evil, where most 
of the zombies you encountered were alone, you will sometimes be forced to deal with large groups of zombies at 
once, usually in corridors and large rooms that you need to maneuver through. So, in many cases, you will have to 
kill them. In fact, you will probably have to kill at least 80% of the zombies wandering around the RPD, as they 
will be blocking corridors and offices that you need to frequently use and pass through. If you can avoid killing 
them, great. You will sometimes get the opportunity. However, that opportunity is far rarer than in the first 
Resident Evil, but in Resident Evil 2 ammo is not quite as rare.

Zombies do not deal any significant damage, but get bitten enough times and you will regret it, so try no to get 
too close if you can help it.

The naked zombies encountered in the Laboratory area are very similar to standard zombies, but can be blown in 
half with the Custom Shotgun, which makes things more fun.

-------------------
Brad Vickers zombie
-------------------

Scenario - A

Area encountered - The trench-like area outside the entrance to the RPD (if requirements are met)

As far as zombies go, Brad is in a class of his own. It takes far more shots to kill him than any regular zombie. 
His bites also cause far more damage than those of standard zombies. You may have also noticed that he is taller 
than regular zombies.

Brad will only appear on the Normal difficulty setting. In order to encounter Brad, you have to go through the 
entire Streets section without picking up any items whatsoever. If you do, Brad will not appear. Before you enter 
the RPD, head down the steps into the trench area and confirm that Brad is there before you go and pick up any 
items from the RPD. That way, you can come back later and he will still be there. 

If you want to kill Brad as soon as you encounter him, shoot him with any remaining Handgun Bullets you have and 
then run up to him and knife him. You will probably get bitten a few times, but after a few slashes he should fall 
foreward. When he does, let him bite at your leg so that your character will autmatically stomp on his head, thus 
finishing him quickly.

If you want to kill him once you have picked up a more powerful weapon (the Shotgun for Leon or the Grenade 
Launcher for Claire), he should fall more easily. With Leon, let him get close, and then quickly aim up and fire 
the Shotgun as that you decapitate him (poor guy). With Claire, one or two Grenade Rounds should do the trick.

Examine Brad's body once you have killed him and you will receive the Special Key to the Darkroom locker. This is 
the reason to why there is any point in going through the trouble of killing him.

Brad only appears in the A scenarios, as it is virtually impossible to access this area in the B scenarios without 
having to pick up any items. However, there are two items in the Darkroom locker, and the A scenario character will 
only be able to choose one so that the B scenario character can pick up the other, thus the B scenario character 
will not miss out.

If you want to know why Brad is a zombie, play Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. The reasons are not explained in this 
game.

-------
Lickers
-------

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - R.P.D.

Lickers are basically what Hunters were in Resident Evil - tougher enemies that are even more attractive than 
zombies. The main difference is is that they are very different types of enemies to Hunters (in fact, I much prefer 
Lickers as they are far less annoying nuisances than Hunters were).

Lickers have two different methods of attack. 

The standard one is to crawl up to you at high speed and slash at your legs. This deals a little more damage than
zombie bites, but is far deadlier as Lickers can attack much more swiftly and can also perform this simultaneously 
in groups of twos or threes.

The second, rarer attack is to whip their long tongues around in the air for a second and then strike it at you 
like a lance. It will slide right through your character, delivering an instant kill regardless of your health. 
The risk of them performing this attack is why you should never resort to using a standard Handgun on the things as 
they do not seem to feel the effect of the bullets.

-------------
Super Lickers
-------------

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - Laboratory

Super Lickers are virtually the same as regular Lickers, except that they are green and it takes more shots to take 
them down. They also do not seem to feel the effect of any kind of machine gun bullets, in addition to Handgun 
bullets, so the Sub-Machine Gun and Gatling Gun are not the best option to use against these. Nothing much else to 
say on them.

---------------
Cerberus (dogs)
---------------

Scenario - A and B

Areas encountered - R.P.D. basement and alley, Sewage Disposal Facility (Ada only)

Your average zombie doberman. These annoying puppies thankfully appear far less frequently than they did in the 
previous Resident Evil. You will probably have to face them at some point in any scenario, but it will only be 
about three or four overall.

Keep shooting at them so that they do not get too close, or they will cause you quite a bit of pain. One single 
Handgun bullet will floor them, but they will get back up several times until you finall kill them. They have a 
tendency to surround you if there is more than one of them (and there always is, as you never seem to encounter any 
standalones). Avoid these nuisances if you can.

They usually jump up to you and take a bite before leaping off and bounding away, only to circle and repeat the 
same thing. They will also occasionally bite your arm and tug at it, although this does not appear to cause any 
more damage than their standard attack.

-----
Crows
-----

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - R.P.D.

You only ever encounter these in one corridor in the R.P.D. precinct. It is the same corridor where you first 
exchange a nice, formal greeting with Mr. X. Unlike previously, they will not wait for you to fire a weapon before 
swarming on you, but it is easy enough to outrun them. Even if one gets lucky, the damage you will receive will be 
minimal despite what the corpse in the corridor tries to suggest.

Since you only ever need to use the corridor a few times fairly early on in the game, you will not see crows again 
afterward, so do not bother to waste ammo killing them unless you have infinite ammo and just want to have a little 
fun killing some birds.

An additional note regarding the B scenarios - Once Mr. X appears in this corridor, you will never see the crows 
there again, although I have yet to find a reason why you actually need to go back there after he does so.

-------------
Giant Spiders
-------------

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - Sewers

The first time you encounter these in Leon's scenarios, you will have to kill them as they are blocking a passage 
that you have to return to twice, and running past these two without getting hurt (or worse, poisoned) is no fun. 
However, the four that appear in the disposal facility itself can easily be outrunned, so there is no need to kill 
them. Only six appear in the entire game, two of which need only be encountered in Leon's scenarios.

Spiders have two forms of attacking you. The first is where they run up to you to try an take a bite. This does not 
cause any considerable damage, but like with attacks from other enemies, it makes things a lot easier if you do not 
get hurt by them whatsoever.

The second attack is basically the spiders dropping or spitting poisonous liquids aimed at you. These deal a little 
damage and will poison you more often than not. Just keep a Blue Herb handy when you are in the sewers and you 
should be fine.

-------
Locusts
-------

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - Sewers

These only appear in two small tunnels in the Sewers, one of which is only accessible as Sherry in Claire A. Just 
run past them, as they will not catch up to you in time and even if they do manage to attack you, they will cause 
barely any damage. They also disappear from the game after your first meeting with Annette, for reasons yet left to 
be explained.

---------------
Giant Alligator
---------------

Scenario - A

Area encountered - Sewers

This is hardly a boss, so I will just place it here instead.

Killing this is easy. When it chases you, run all the way to where the gas canister is. Examine it and it will fall 
out of its placement. Run further back and wait until the alligator reaches the gas cylinder, at which point it 
will get caught in its mouth. Then take aim and fire. The top of the alligator's head will explode, obviously 
killing it.

-----
Ivies
-----

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - Laboratory

Ivies are basically walking miniture variants of Plant 42 from the first game. They have two methods of attacking. 
One is to squirt poisonous liquids at you, which as you can guess will not have you jumping for joy. The other is 
to whip you with their vines if you get too close. Also, an apparently dead one can occasionally take one last 
whack at you before kicking the bucket, although this is rare and causes no considerable damage.

Most of the time you can run past these, as they are very slow moving.

----
Moth
----

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - Laboratory

The moth is basically a giant moth that has decided to make its home inside a room in the laboratory. I would have 
considered it a boss should it have been difficult to take down, but a few blasts from a decent weapon finishes it. 
It can attack you by biting you, but it will probably die before it can get you.

-----------
Moth Larvae
-----------

Scenario - A and B

Area encountered - Laboratory

Baby moths that drop from ceilings and latch onto you like leeches. Running fast enough will enable you to avoid 
them. Killing them is no sweat - one shot from any weapon will do. They appear in the room where the adult moth 
lives, and in the section of the corridor outside of the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------
Bosses
------

Time for the boss section. There are only three actual bosses in the game, as such - William Birkin, Mr. x and the 
G Larvae.

As William Birkin appears in both scenarios, I will take care of him first.


------------------------
William Birkin battle #1
------------------------

Scenario - B

Area encountered - Sewer chess puzzle room (Leon)/Cavern passage (Claire)

Info:

Birkin is quite similar to a human at this point, save for his mutated arm, and he moves quite 
slowly. He will grab a small pipe and swing it at you. About two hits of this at full health will drop you into the 
'Caution' status, so it is best avoided.

As Leon:

Equip the Shotgun or the Sub-Machine Gun. I recommend the Shotgun so you can save your Sub-Machine Gun ammo for 
Mr. X.

Birkin is quite similar to a human at this point, save for his mutated arm, and he moves quite 
slowly. He will grab a small pipe and swing it at you. About two hits of this at full health will drop you into the 
'Caution' status, so it is best avoided.

Since this is basically a narrow, one-way room, just concentrate on pumping lead into him until he gets too close. 
Then run around his left side and continue until the far end of the room. Now repeat the process. After taking 
several hits, Birkin will jump over the edge of the bridge.

As Claire:

Equip the Grenade Launcher + Grenade/Acid Round or the Sub-Machine Gun. I recommend the Grenade Launcher. Acid 
Rounds work best, but if you would rather save them for later then Grenade Rounds will do the job fine.

He is exactly the same as with Leon. He is basically a slow moving human who swings a pipe at you. As with Leon, 
shoot him until he gets too close, then run past his left side and start unloading again. After taking several 
shots, Birkin will jump off the walkway.

Overall:

This is a fairly easy battle. I would advise against taking many healing items with you - you will not need them. 

------------------------
William Birkin battle #2
------------------------

Scenario - A

Area encountered - Vacant Factory: Elevator tram platform (both characters)

Info:

After watching Birkin decide to grow himself a new head, it is straight into the action. You cannot re-access the 
inside of the tram at this point.

Birkin attacks more ferociously this time around. He will slash at you with one of his claws, and more often than 
not slash you again before you can get up and do anything about it. So if you get hit twice, it is probably a good 
idea to heal. So take plenty of healing items. He will also jump around to get close to you if you run too far away 
from him. So keep your distance, but not too much distance, and run past him as fast as possible from as far away 
from him as you can get. Enjoy the cool 'boss theme' playing in the background.

As Leon:

I recommend the Magnum this time around. You should have a decent storage of ammo for it at this point and Birkin 
is quite troublesome. If you would rather save your Magnum Bullets, then use the Custom Shotgun, although I prefer 
to save my Shotgun Shells for the monsters in the Laboratory.  Keep firing - every few shots he should stumble a 
little. After a while he will jump off the platform.

When he gets too close, run around him from as far away as possible. You do NOT want him slashing at you.

As Claire:

Acid Rounds. You can use Grenade Rounds if you would rather, but Acid Rounds take care of him more quickly. Since 
the Grenade Launcher fires pretty slowly, this battle will take a little longer than it does with Leon, and be 
careful of Claire's health as she cannot take as many hits as Leon can. After a while he will jump off the 
platform.

Birkin is quite similar to a human at this point, save for his mutated arm, and he moves quite 
slowly. He will grab a small pipe and swing it at you. About two hits of this at full health will drop you into the 
'Caution' status, so it is best avoided.

Birkin is quite similar to a human at this point, save for his mutated arm, and he moves quite 
slowly. He will grab a small pipe and swing it at you. About two hits of this at full health will drop you into the 
'Caution' status, so it is best avoided.

------------------------
William Birkin battle #3
------------------------

Scenario - B

Area encountered - Vacant Factory: Elevator tram platform (both characters)

Info:

Birkin sprouts a couple of new arms in addition to his two (large) current ones. This battle is similar to William 
Birkin battle #2, except that he can hit you more times in a row before you can do so much as breathe in between. 

As Leon:

Custom Shotgun or the Magnum. It depends how much ammo you have for either. Use the same strategy as Birkin #2. 
Just watch your health - he can knock off more this time.

As Claire:

Grenade Launcher with Acid/Flame Rounds. Acid Rounds are my number one pick. Use the same strategy as Birkin #2. 
Just watch your health - he can knock off more this time.

------------------------
William Birkin battle #4
------------------------

Scenario - A

Area encountered - Laboratory escape route: Elevator room

Since this is the last boss in the A scenarios, it is a timed battle. By Resident Evil series law, all final boss 
battles HAVE to finished in a certain amount of time, usually three or four minutes, and the timer also involves 
the time you take to get to the boss, and the time to get to Brad/the train/the helicopter or Barry/the airplane 
etc. depending on which game you are playing.

Info:

There are two parts to this boss battle. The first is just against a similar Birkin to #2/#3 back outside the 
elevator tram, except Birkin is on all fours and attacks with his newly formed teeth. He can deal a fair amount of 
damage, but nothing serious. The second is when Birkin takes a certain amount of damage, and decides to expand his 
mouth so that it is the size of a small cave opening, and with an extra set of teeth to boot. His attacks are more 
ferocious this time around - I will not eat you, but he can grab you in his jaws and swing you around, eventually 
tossing you to one side. This causes considerable damage, and you will probably need to heal if he manages to 
attack you like this. Especially on the Normal difficulty. You have a four minute time limit, and within that time 
you also have to watch all of the cut-scenes that take place before, during and after the battle, and also escape 
to the train after you have defeated Birkin. Try to defeat him with about 45 seconds to spare.

As Leon:

Custom Magnum. Start unloading your ammo (provided you had the brains to conserve as much as possible, and only 
ever used the weapon previously on Birkin #2 if at all) into Birkin until he gets too close, at which point you 
will want to turn tail and run. From a considerable distance, start shooting him again. Birkin will sometimes jump 
onto the platforms surrounding you and jump down right next to you. To avoid getting hurt as soon as he jumps down, 
start running around and do not stop. When he jumps down, just start shooting again. After a few hits, he will 
mutate into his second form. Continue your strategy, but be cautious as he jumps around more in this form and also 
moves faster. A few more shots should finish him.

As Claire:

Spark Shot with the Grenade Launcher + Acid Rounds as backup. Use the Spark Shot initially, as it is powerful and 
packs a punch when used on Birkin. If it runs out, use the Grenade Launcher with Acid Rounds (or Flame Rounds if 
you have no Acid Rounds remaining). Hopefully you picked up the Side Pack in the Weapons Storage earlier. As far as 
strategies go, just use the same one as you would with Leon (read above). The only noteable difference is that 
Birkin appears to jump around more in Claire's A scenario. 

------------------------
William Birkin battle #5
------------------------

Scenario - B

Area encountered - Train

Info:

Birkin is now basically a giant blob (looking at this state leaves it hard to believe he was once a normal human) 
and will attack you with tentacles. I have never bothered to get too close to him, so I am not certain on the 
damage he can cause, but I will bet that it is no small amount. You also have two minutes to enter this carriage, 
run all the way to the end, encounter and defeat Birkin and then get out.

As Leon:

Use the remaining Rocket in your Rocket Launcher, and then unload your remaning Magnum Bullets into him. The Rocket 
plus a few Magnum Bullets will do the trick, and Birkin will start melting. But is he really dead?

As Claire:

Use the remaining Rocket in your Rocket Launcher, and then unload any remaining Rounds (of any kind) that you have 
left in your Grenade Launhcer. The Rocket plus a few Grenade/Acid/Flame Rounds willd o the trick, and Birkin will 
start melting. But is he really dead?

--------
G Larvae
--------

Scenario - A

Area encountered - Sewer chess puzzle room (Leon)/Cavern passage (Claire)

Info:

Despite popular belief that this is yet another form of Birkin's, it is actually the thing that bursts out of 
Ben/Chief Irons. This is because it looks EXACTLY like the thing that burst out of Ben/Chief Irons before taking 
on a humanoid form. The G Larvae will attack with claws, that cause less damage than you would expect, but enough 
for you to avoid taking any risks. He also has a few annoying little pals that jump and bite you. They cause no 
noticeable damage (if any at all), but delay your actions so that the big guy can take a swing at you. Avoid them 
when you can. You can kill them, but it is a waste of ammo.

As Leon:

Use the Shotgun. Avoid killing any of the little G Larvae - just concentrate on the big guy. Blast at him until he 
gets too close, and then try and run around him (assuming the little guys do not get in your way). Repeat the 
process until the big guy dies. The little guys will still be around, but they will disappear from the game 
entirely once you leave the room. Not that you ever need to come back in here. Anyway, that was for Ben!

As Claire:

Use the Grenade Launcher, preferably with Grenade Rounds. This is because not only does the spread effect of the 
Grenade Rounds kill off some of the little guys as well as hurt the big guy, but also because it means you can save 
your Acid and Flame Rounds for more dire situations. You have less room to maneuver at the start, so run past him 
as soon as possible and you will have all the room you need. After you have done so, continue to fire your Rounds 
until the big guy dies. Ignore any surviving little guys, as they will have disappeared once you return here with 
Sherry.

--------------
Mr. X standard
--------------

Scenario - B

Info:

Mr. X appears in various locations. Since time and place are important in deciding what you want to do against him, 
I will include individual strategies for each of his appearances. Mr. X attacks by punching. Usually a swing of 
one of his fists, but sometimes with a more powerful double-fisted overhead down-cutting attack (similar to that 
attack that Jack-2 did in Tekken 2). It is best to avoid being attack by Mr. X at all - trust me, you do not want 
to. Sometimes, it is possible not to fight him at all, by simply running out of the room/corridor he is in, and 
then running back in. He will be gone once you do. Examine him when he is felled, as for some reason he is carrying 
some ammo. Every time.

-----

Area encountered - Crow hallway (both characters)

Since the door behind you becomes buried by debris, you cannot run away from Mr. X in here. It is possible to run 
past him, but this will probably result in you taking a punch in the process. As you will probably only have a 
Handgun, run up as soon as possible until he is in view, and then fire away. Retreat when necessary. You should 
fell him long before he corners you.

-----

Area encountered - Cogwheel puzzle room (both characters)

Mr. X's rather sudden lunge through the wall will probably make your heart skip a beat, but it is really easy to 
simply turn around, run past the desk and out the door before he can hurt you. If you want to reap the rewards of 
taking him down, run past the desk and fire (with your most powerful weapon - hopefully the Sub-Machine Gun) from a 
safe distance. There is plenty of room to maneuver here.

-----

Area encountered - Long hallway (both characters)

No matter how you dealt with him in the cogwheel puzzle room, Mr. X will jump through the wall (again, probably 
giving you a quick fright) in front of you, cutting you off. You can run into one of the rooms behind you if you 
would rather avoid fighting him. If you wish to take him down, run a safe distance back and fire with the 
Sub-Machine gun, which should be enough to floor him

-----

Area encountered - Stuffed Tiger hallway (Leon only)

You can easily enter the room you just exited and then re-enter the hallway so get rid of him here. If you wish to 
take him down, just open fire - he is far enough away and probably will not get anywhere near you before you floor 
him.

-----

Area encountered - Hall, third floor balcony (Claire only)

This is a really tight spot. Mr. X blocks off your only possible escape routes, and it is extremely difficult to 
run past him (virtually impossible without getting hit). Hopefully, you will have to Sub-Machine Gun equipped. 
Ragardless, the strategy you will want to use is to run as far back as you can and open fire. If you do not want to 
fight him, then tough luck. You have little choice here.

-----

Area encountered - Factory monitor passage (both characters)

Again, not much of an option here but to take him down. The corridor is very tight, making it impossible to run 
past him, but you have plenty of room to retreat if you run to meet him as soon as he appears. As usual, the 
Sub-Machine Gun is your best bet of taking him down. Otherwise, use your next most powerful weapon (except for the 
'boss-only' weapons like the Magnum). I never understood why he destroyed that camera beforehand, though...

-----

Area encountered - Laboratory B1: Elevator hallway (Leon only)

As usual, Mr. X stands between you and the door you want to go through. You have plenty of retreat room should you 
wish to take him down. If you want to run, then head down the elevator and then come back up. This is the last you 
will see of him in his standard form. And no, he does not appear here if you are playing as Claire.

------------------
Mr. X final battle
------------------

Scenario - B

Area encountered - Platform power room

Info:

This is the hardest boss in the entire game. Think the battle with the Tyrant on the helipad in the first Resident 
Evil, but with two claws and more running around. Mr. X will basically run towards you at high speed (faster than 
you can run) and slash you with one of his claws, usually resulting in another slash from his other claw before you 
can get up or get away. These attacks cause considerable damage, so take plenty of healing items. Again, this is a 
timed battle, and you will want to defeat him as quickly as possible. Thankfully, this fight will not last for very 
long, but that does not mean it is easy. Surviving should be your main concern, especially in Normal.

As Leon:

Custom Magnum with all the Magnum Bullets you have left. Despite what it might seem like, you will have more than 
enough Magnum Bullets to last out this battle. You will probably only be able to shoot him once before he starts 
running to close to you. Run past him when he arrives to slash at you, retreat to a safe distance and fire. 
Continue this strategy and after a few more shots, Ada will appear and drop a Rocket Launcher armed with two 
Rockets down. Run to it and pick it up. It only takes one of the Rockets to kill Mr. X, so make sure you are aiming 
in the right direction or you will waste a Rocket that will come in very handy later on. If you aim correctly, Leon 
will say something and blow Mr. X into pieces, as is Resident Evil custom for Tyrants to meet their end.

As Claire:

Grenade Launcher equipped with Acid Rounds or Flame Rounds. As long as you have enough of one kind of Round, do not 
bring any types of Rounds as reserves - they take up a valuable slot in your inventory where a healing item could 
go. I recommend you avoid using the Spark Shot for this reason. Sure, Leon had to use an extra inventory slot for 
his Magnum Bullets, but he can take more hits than Claire. Since Claire will probably only be able to use one Round 
before being in danger of getting slashed, the same strategy as with Leon should be used here. After Mr. X takes 
several Rounds, Ada will appear and drop a Rocket Launcher armed with two Rockets down. As with Leon, make sure 
your aim is true, because the other Rocket will come in handy later. Claire will utter a very badly worded 
catchphrase and will proceed to blow Mr. X into pieces, which is becoming Resident Evil custom for Tyrants to die 
in this rather gruesome way.


---------------------
Questions and Answers
---------------------

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding Resident Evil 2, most of which I have been asked myself. If you 
have any other questions, feel free to contact me.


Q: Which two scenarios are the true scenarios? Is it LeonA/ClaireB or ClaireA/LeonB?

A: ClaireA/LeonB. This was a question that, despite plenty of evidence, remained truly unanswered for years. The 
main hint is that, no matter who you play as or what scenario you choose, in the intro movie where Leon and Claire 
jump out of the police car to avoid getting killed by the truck, Leon jumps out the side where the B scenarios 
start, and Claire jumps out the A scenario side. Additional hints include Ben's death being far less gruesome in 
LeonB, Ada confessing her love for Leon before she 'dies' in LeonB and Claire having to save Sherry's life, 
therefore strengthening their bond in ClaireA. The only thing that strangely wasn't included was that Sherry never 
had the chance to see Annette before Annette's death. As confirmation that ClaireA/LeonB is the true depiction of 
events, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles' files 'Resident Evil 2 Digests 1 and 2' told the story from the 
ClaireA/LeonB route. Other confirmations have also been made.


Q: How many times have you beaten this game?

A: There are four scenarios, and I've long since lost count of how many times I've beaten them.


Q: What is the fastest time you've played through a scenario?

A: I clocked LeonA in 1'41'02 once. Could have done it faster too if I hadn't bummed around in the sewers. Others 
were all less than 2'00'00.


Q: How do I unlock Extreme Battle mode and the HUNK minigame?

A: Get and A ranking in an A scenario, and then get an A ranking again in the following B scenario. This can only 
be done on the Normal difficulty. Note that Extreme Battle is not available in the original Playstation version and 
the Nintendo 64 version. Not sure about the Dreamcast, but it's unlikely anyone has any of those these days.


Q: I had an A on an A scenario and then another A on the following B scenario. I didn't unlock Extreme Battle and 
the HUNK scenario. What happened?

A: First of all, it depends on what version of the game you're playing. The only versions of the game that have 
Extreme Battle are the Playstation DualShock edition, the PC version and the Gamecube version. I'm not sure about 
the Dreamcast as there's nothing on Wikipedia that says it does have it. Original Playstation version and Nintendo 
64 verisions don't have it. Secondly, you only get both of those minigames by achieving two A rankings playing 
through on the Normal difficulty. Doing it on Easy or Rookie won't unlock anything.


Q: What's your favourite Resident Evil game?

A: 3, 4, 2, 5, CV:X, 1 (remake), 0, 1 (original). In that order.


Q: How do you enter the room with the fingerprint scanner outside in the Lab? What's inside?

A: Have your A scenario character register their fingerprint. On the B scenario, have the other character register 
theirs and you can access the room. Inside is a Sub-Machine Gun.


Q: Will you ever write a full walkthrough/FAQ on Resident Evil 2?

A: I've considered this. Resident Evil 2, as you know, is one of my favourite Resident Evil games. Not only that, 
but the scenarios are relatively short and the general layout of the four is quite similar once you get up and 
going in the R.P.D. It will still take quite a long time to do, though, so I'm not sure if I will. Still, if I ever 
do write a full walkthrough/FAQ for a video game, it will be for Resident Evil 2 or Resident Evil 3, two games that 
I know inside-out and can recount almost entirely from memory (not that I would write a walkthrough based on 
memory), and are also relatively short games.


Q: What's the difference between the different difficulty levels?

A: Easy features more ammo clips and a slightly lower enemy count. The enemies are also more ignorant to your 
presence a lot of the time. Rookie is exactly the same as Easy mode, but you start the game with a Sub-Machine Gun 
with infinite ammo, and in your item chest there's a Rocket Launcher with infinite ammo and a Gatling Gun with 
infinite ammo. Normal features less ammo clips and a slightly higher enemy count (there's an extra zombie here and 
there). The enemies also take more ammo to kill, and you sometimes come across zombies that move unusually fast. 
Enemy attacks also cause slightly more damage. Additionally, a zombie version of Brad Vickers can be encountered 
outside of the R.P.D. entrance. The PC-only Hard mode is basically an unpscale from Normal mode - enemies take even 
more ammo to kill, their attacks are stronger, and ammo is even rarer. Also, healing items are supposed to be less 
common, whereas Normal mode contains the same amount of healing items as Easy and Rookie.


Q: How do I change the blood colour?

A: When you start a new game, you are given the option before you begin. Note that this option is only available in 
the Nintendo 64 version of the game, as are the Ex-Files (two exclusive additions that do nothing to make up for 
the fact that the N64 version doesn't have Extreme Battle). 


Q: Whose scenario is the easiest?

A: I'm going to say Leon's scenarios are easier as he has a slightly better range of weapons. He also gets far more 
ammo for his more powerful weapons than Claire does. Leon A is probably the easiest scenario of the four.


Q: What's the difference between the A scenarios and the B scenarios?

A: The main difference is that in the A scenarios you're up against the G Larvae at one point, with two William 
Bikrin fights towards the end of the game. In the B scenarios, you're pursued by Mr. X, who eventually becomes a 
proper boss at the end of the game. There are also three additional battles against William Birkin. The ending is 
also extended and there is different music in the credits. Additionally, you only spend about ten seconds in the 
Streets/City Area in the B scenarios. Ben (in Leon B) and Chief Irons (in Claire B) *SPOILER WARNING* also perish 
differently. In Claire B, you only take control of Sherry once.


--------------
Copyright Info
--------------

This guide is owned by Volke Fredrik Lindstrom and cannot be used or published with the
auther's permission. Any violaters can be reported to the law and immediate action will
ensue.


The only site that is currently permitted to host this walkthrough is www.supercheats.com.
Hosting this walkthrough on any other than the above mentioned site is illegal.
 

This walkthrough can be printed out for personal use, but selling it off as your own for
profit is strictly prohibited.


------
Thanks
------

This will be short:


Myself, for kindly writing this guide, all for you. Thank me in the forums if you see me,
but I am not giving out my e-mail addess as I don't like having any online contacts - only
offline firends.


Supecheats.com, for hosting this guide.


Sweden, for being a damn awesome country. I'm very proud of my homeland, and also of my
Finnish heritage, too.


(Want your name here? Then tell me something important that I haven't included. If it's
worthy, then I'll add it to the guide and glady add your name to the thanks list).