Resident Evil 2 Remake: Leon B Hardcore & Speed Running Guide

Master the art of survival in Leon B scenario with these expert strategies for hardcore difficulty and speed running.

Important Note: This guide focuses on survival strategies and resource management rather than route optimization. These techniques will help you survive hardcore mode efficiently while maintaining speed throughout your playthrough.

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Resource Management Fundamentals

Healing Items Strategy

The Two-Phase System:

Phase 1 – Building Your Boss Reserve: Pick up healing items and carry them ONLY to transport to your storage box. Store 2-3 healing items at save points – these are exclusively for boss fights. This initial phase requires discipline as you establish your emergency reserves.

Phase 2 – Once You Have 2-3 Stored: Stop carrying healing items entirely. Your inventory should have ZERO healing items during regular gameplay. This is where most players struggle because they’re conditioned to hoard resources.

Pick and Heal Philosophy: When you take damage while running your route, immediately pick up any healing items you find and use them on the spot. Don’t carry them – use them immediately and move on!

Critical Mindset Shift: You will NOT run out of healing items. The game provides plenty along your route. Stop hoarding! If you have 2-3 items stored for bosses, you only need to pick up and heal immediately when damaged.

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Combat Strategy: The Art of Avoidance

Zombie Dodging Fundamentals

In the early game, ammunition conservation is absolutely critical for hardcore success. Master the “skipping the zombie” technique through these core principles:

Movement Pattern Recognition: Study zombie behavior extensively to predict their movements. Each zombie type has specific attack patterns and movement speeds. Understanding these patterns allows you to position yourself optimally for evasion rather than confrontation.

Positioning Mastery: Use doorways and environmental layouts to your advantage. Practice the timing of doorway transitions and learn optimal positioning to slip past zombies without engagement. Avoid getting cornered in tight spaces.

Strategic Knockdowns: If you must engage, consider shooting legs to knock zombies down rather than killing them outright. This conserves ammunition while still neutralizing immediate threats. A knocked-down zombie poses no immediate danger and allows safe passage.

Route Intelligence: Identify areas where zombie encounters are unavoidable and plan accordingly. Some sections require combat engagement, so knowing when to fight versus when to flee becomes crucial for resource conservation.

Licker Avoidance Strategy

Critical Rule: You don’t need to kill ANY Lickers! Focus entirely on avoidance and evasion when encountering these enemies. Lickers consume significant ammunition to eliminate and can be bypassed through careful movement and positioning. Save your ammunition for encounters where combat is truly necessary.

Weapon Mastery and Strategic Usage

M19 Handgun: Your Primary Companion

The M19 handgun should be your go-to weapon throughout most of Leon B, serving multiple critical functions:

Extended Usage Timeline:

Primary weapon for all RPD sections and exploration
Continues to be highly effective throughout the sewers
Remains useful even in challenging boss fights, including Birkin encounters in the lab
Ammunition remains consistently available throughout the entire game progression

Strategic Advantage Over Matilda: The M19’s ammunition abundance makes it superior for regular gameplay. Reserve Matilda ammunition for the final sections by relying on the more plentiful M19 ammo supply. This strategy ensures you have sufficient high-powered ammunition when it matters most.

Matilda: Reserved for the Final Sections

The Matilda is primarily used in the very final sections of the game:

Final Birkin fight on the train
Fighting Mr. X in the final sections

Gunpowder Collection Strategy: Collect all gunpowder throughout the entire game to craft Matilda ammunition specifically for the final Birkin fight on the train. This requires disciplined resource hoarding throughout your entire playthrough.

Advanced Ammunition Management System

The Strategic Reserve System

Before attempting to kill any enemies or zombies, ensure adequate ammunition reserves:

Handgun: Maintain at least 25-35 rounds before attempting complete zombie kills
Shotgun: Keep minimum 12 rounds available before engaging in zombie elimination

This ammunition threshold ensures you can handle complete zombie kills without running completely dry. So while running your route you will inevitably pick some gun powders, but do not use them immediately – store those in your storage box to be utilized during boss fights.

Gunpowder Storage Discipline

Critical Strategic Rule: Don’t use gunpowder immediately upon finding it. This is perhaps the most important discipline in hardcore mode. Store all gunpowder in your item box and save it exclusively for boss fight preparation. This disciplined approach ensures you have essential crafting materials available when you need them most for critical encounters.

Long-term Planning: Your gunpowder collection strategy spans the entire game. Every piece of gunpowder you find contributes to your final boss preparation, particularly the climactic train sequence against Birkin’s final form.

Specialized Combat Techniques

Shotgun Deployment Strategy

Multi-Target Combat Scenarios: Deploy the shotgun when facing 2+ zombies simultaneously. The optimal strategy involves:

Shotgun eliminates the first zombie completely
Handgun finishes the second zombie efficiently
Always ensure adequate ammunition reserves before committing to complete elimination

Tactical Leg Targeting: Target zombie legs with the shotgun to incapacitate without killing, effectively conserving ammunition while maintaining tactical mobility. This technique is particularly valuable in areas where you need to create temporary safe passage.

When to use the Magnum

Reserve magnum ammunition for these specific encounters:

G-Creatures (Queen and King Chess Pieces Area):

Exposed Eye Variants: Direct magnum shots to the eyeball for instant elimination
Shelled Variants: Use shotgun to remove protective shell covering, then deploy magnum for precise eyeball targeting
Area Resource Utilization: Collect magnum rounds available in this specific section to supplement your existing ammunition supply

Boss Fights:

Birkin first form
Birkin second form
Birkin third form (in the lab)
Mr. X final fight
Birkin final form (in the train)

Grenade Usage Guidelines and Tactical Deployment

Multi-Target Engagement Rule: Deploy grenades against groups of 3+ zombies for maximum tactical efficiency and ammunition conservation.

Boss Fight Strategic Allocation:

Use 1-2 grenades per major boss encounter for crowd control or damage supplementation
Critical Reserve Management: Always maintain 2 grenades specifically for the final Mr. X confrontation to effectively counter his devastating instant-kill attacks
Flashbangs can substitute for one grenade in emergency situations, providing tactical flexibility

Location-Specific Tactical Strategies

Queen and King Chess Pieces Area: Complete Preparation Guide

Pre-Entry Combat Loadout:

Shotgun with at least 12 rounds
Magnum with at least 7 rounds (remember you can pick up magnum rounds in the area where you fight the 3 G-creatures)
1 grenade for dealing with the zombie and the third G-creature
Combat knife in case you get grabbed by one of these G-creatures
Ensure you have 4 inventory slots available for the Queen and King chess pieces AND the flamethrower

G-Creature Combat Strategy: This area contains 3 G-creatures. For creatures without shells covering their eyeballs, use your magnum to target the eyeball directly. For variants with shells covering the eyeballs, use the shotgun to remove the shells first, then use your magnum to target the eyeballs.

Special Area Notes: There’s a zombie right beside one of these G-creatures in hardcore mode – use your grenade to eliminate the zombie. Or if you can, you can also outrun both the zombie and the third G-creature in this area just before the third G-creature drops down to the water. You can also pick up healing items in this area if you get hit. Feel free to get rid of your knife when going back if you don’t have enough inventory space.

Save Strategy: Save your game before tackling this area, and don’t hesitate to reload if encounters go poorly.

Comprehensive Sewer Section Navigation

Additional G-Creature Management: Besides the three G-creatures you encounter when getting the Queen and King chess pieces, there are two more G-creatures in the sewer area:

First G-Creature (Sewer Entry): When you first enter the sewer area, try to outrun this G-creature. If that fails, use your knife to interrupt its grab. Don’t worry about losing the knife – you can find more knives throughout the game.

Second G-Creature (Rook Chess Piece Area): Try to outrun this creature before it falls down to the water. If you fail and get grabbed, you can either reload your save or just continue ahead – it’s not that serious if you take some damage here.

Final Zombie Horde: Post-Mr. X Strategy

Strategic Resource Management: After defeating Mr. X, you’ll face a final zombie group:

Optimal Approach: Use your remaining grenade from the Mr. X fight for maximum crowd elimination
Alternative Strategy: Deploy shotgun if grenades are unavailable due to prior consumption
Forward Planning: Manage Mr. X encounter resources carefully to ensure you maintain viable options for this subsequent encounter

Comprehensive Boss Fight Preparations

Advanced Crafting Strategy

Shotgun Ammunition Creation: Mix High-Grade + Large Gunpowder combinations for boss-fight shotgun rounds (maintain minimum 12 rounds)

Handgun Ammunition Production: Combine two Small Gunpowders for at least 25 handgun rounds for sustained combat. Again I rarely use this approach because my go to handgun for most of Leon B hardcore scenario is the M19. I rarely use the Matilda for most of my boss fights in Leon B hardcore. I only use the Matilda for the final Mr. X and Birkin fight (in the train).

Magnum Round Creation: Mix two High-Grade Gunpowders before the challenging Umbrella Lab Birkin fight (maintain minimum 8 rounds for boss fights in general). I only mix two-high-grade gunpowders before fighting Umbrella Lab Birkin because I always have enough Magnum rounds I picked throughout the game before fighting most of the boss fight.

Specialized Enemy Strategies

Plant Zombie Elimination: Reserve the flamethrower exclusively for plant zombies encountered in the Umbrella Nest Lab. Don’t waste this highly specialized tool on other enemy types, as it’s specifically designed for these particular threats.

Train Birkin Strategy

Critical Equipment Requirements

Non-Negotiable Essential Equipment:

2 Rocket Launcher rounds (absolutely critical – no exceptions)
3+ Magnum rounds (if successfully preserved after Mr. X encounter)
60+ Matilda rounds (craft from systematically saved gunpowder throughout entire game)
Matilda equipped with burst-fire attachment (absolutely crucial for fight success)

Detailed Battle Execution Strategy

Phase-by-Phase Combat Approach:

Opening Engagement: Immediately deploy Matilda with burst-fire attachment for sustained rapid damage
Giant Eyeball Critical Phase: Deploy both rocket launcher rounds for maximum damage output
Follow-up Elimination: Use all 3 preserved magnum rounds for precision targeting
Final Cleanup Phase: Continue with Matilla rapid-fire if additional damage required

Strategic Weapon Selection: The final fight’s intense pace makes shotgun reloading prohibitively slow. Matilda’s superior rapid fire rate is absolutely essential for this time-sensitive, high-pressure encounter.

Essential Skill Development Requirements

These comprehensive strategies provide the tactical framework, but ultimate success depends on developing these core competencies:

Fundamental Survival Skills:

Dodging Proficiency: Essential for ammunition conservation and damage avoidance
Shooting Accuracy: Critical for efficient resource utilization and enemy elimination
Spatial Awareness: Understanding enemy positions, movement patterns, and environmental advantages
Combat Timing Mastery: Knowing precisely when to engage versus when to avoid confrontation

Conclusion

Mastering Leon B in Resident Evil 2 Remake’s hardcore mode comes down to smart resource management, strategic avoidance, and knowing when to commit to fights versus when to preserve resources for boss battles.

These comprehensive strategies provide a solid tactical foundation, but remember that personal skill development in dodging techniques and shooting accuracy will ultimately determine your success rate. The key to continuous improvement lies in persistent practice and tactical adaptation.

Use these detailed guidelines as your strategic starting point, but remain prepared to adjust and modify based on your individual playstyle preferences and the specific challenges each unique playthrough presents. Mastery comes through understanding these principles deeply and applying them flexibly to ever-changing tactical situations.

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