Resident Evil 2 – Claire B S+ Rank Hardcore (Walkthrough)

This is a step-by-step text guide to gaining an S+ score in Claire’s B scenario on Hardcore mode.

Other RE2 Guides:

• Beginner’s Guide.
• Maps and Item Locations.
• All Mr Raccoons Locations.
• Claire A S+ Rank Hardcore (Walkthrough).
• 100% Achievement Guide and Puzzle Solutions.
• Lockers, Safe Codes / Combinations and Leon’s Desk.
• Circuit Board Puzzle Solutions.
• Weapon’s Upgrades Location.
• Laboratory Puzzle Solution.
• Items / Keys Location.
• Weapon’s Guide.

Disclaimer and Opening Words

All credit goes to MVP!

Before we begin, this guide is making several assumptions: I assume that you have at least played both Claire A and Leon B… if you have not played either of these scenarios, I suggest backing out and enjoying the game as designed before venturing further! In addition to ruining your own experience, the guide will likely be difficult to follow if you have not at least completed these two scenarios once. It’s not exactly necessary to have completed Claire B before, as Claire B is just a combination of Leon B and Claire A. This guide will not be doing in depth boss walkthroughs, as – again – I’m assuming you’ve played this game at least twice and have a good understanding of them. As a trade off, I’ve included all puzzle solutions in this guide so you don’t have to look back and forth like other guides on here…

This guide is not necessarily a speed running guide! While you will certainly complete the game “quickly”, don’t expect to break any world records with this guide. For reference, I completed the game while writing this guide in 1 hour and 30 minutes! Also for reference, other people are beating this game in less than an hour… so, this certainly is not a speed running guide, just a completion guide from a fellow amateur 🙂

Requirements to do this properly: You must complete the game in 2 hours or less, you must play on hardcore mode, you must not use any unlimited ammo firearms (the knife is okay, though I personally do these S+ runs without using “knife cheese”), and you can only save three times.

Regarding when to save: Everyone is different. The general consensus is before G1, G2, and G3. Personally, I find G1 and G2 to be extremely easy… I’ll consider saving after them, but for me, the hardest parts of the game are the moments after Mr X moves the helicopter, the G-adult sewer room toward the king/queen plug (while maybe not “hard”, it’s annoying to get “right”), and the G3 fight. So I will generally save before/after these three events. Again, it’s entirely up to you. This is another reason why it’s preferred for you to have played the game before… so you know when to save.

Important things to note: The time is ticking down at all times, unless you are paused or while you are watching the cutscenes. Keep this in mind before fiddling around in the inventory screen or item box for too long! Get in, and get out! If you happen to die, remember to load game instead of continue. You may or may not have to load the game twice… for some reason when I load the game once, it doesn’t reset my time correctly to that save. Try to make a mental note of your time at each save, and verify if/when you have to load game after a death.

Intro RPD up to G1 Battle

• Grab r+b herbs on way to door.
• Grab cutter, dodge zombies to save room.
• Grab and bank items except revolver, ammo, key, and cutter.
• Stun/dodge zombies, use/discard key, grab ammo head to east hall.
• If you took damage, go to restroom, grab first aid spray… if you are fine, consider going back and getting this later.
• Go to shutter door, grab knife by shutter and flame rounds on shelf by save room.
• In save room, grab/bank items except revolver, ammo, cutters, and fuse.
• Go to east office, use cutters, grab flashbang, ammo and valve.
• Use fuse on shutter to main hallway.
• Go to west hallway, grab ammo on the way, note that there is a green herb and first aid spray… take as needed, or leave for later. we are picking up a lot of items here, so you optimally only want to get healing items if you are injured.
• Walk in hallway to avoid licker, go to operations room.
• Grab ammo and map in operations, use/discard cutter on side door, grab detonator, herb, and flashbang.
• Run across to west office.
• In side office, open safe 9-15-7 for pouch, and optionally open NED MRG locks for speed loader (if you do this, you will probably have to stop at a safe room on the way as you’re going to run out of room. It’s not essential as we will barely be using the SLS, but it doesn’t waste much time if you have the space and really want it).
• Head toward dark room, but go to 2F to get rid of valve, then up to 3F, stunning/dodging as needed and grabbing handgun ammo on stairwell.
• Grab ammo and stun/leg zombie on 3F, open locker DCM for ammo, get spade key.
• Go through to the library, get red book, unlock spade door.
• If speed running, avoid zombies in library. If not, leg/kill all zombies. Use the knife in the library to help if you have room. After all zombies are dead, move the shelves in position as much as possible, and get the handgun ammo behind the left-most shelf. This helps you avoid sticky situations later in the game, and really does not take much time.
• If you have two open spaces, go to lounge and grab unicorn medal (twins, scales, worm) and upper floors map, otherwise we will get this later.
• Exit to main hall, get ammo to the right on bench, then get lion medallion (crown, fire, bird), place medal(s) in goddess, unlock spade door for west office, then go upstairs toward waiting room. Leg/kill female zombie on 2F main hall, or optionally try to lead her to fall over the railing onto the 1F.
• Unlock spade door in waiting room and discard key.
• Go to art room, get weapon keycard and red jewel. Walk out to avoid licker.
• Stun/dodge fire zombies as needed back to main hall… no need to kill them or waste much time or ammo as they will disappear the next time you are in this hallway.
• Go through west office to weapons room, get grenade launcher+flame rounds with keycard.
• Stun/leg/kill/flashbang zombies as needed in hallway. You will be returning here with Mr X and a licker on your tail. Consider clearing your path, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t want to waste the time/ammo (that’s why Capcom gave you flashbangs!)
• Go to 2F locker room, open bejeweled box for STARs badge, open CAP locker and others for ammo and get ammo on bench to STARs office.
• use badge in office for smg and bring the badge back with you for the smg upgrade on your way to G1, get ammo, flashbang, aid spray, and combine 9volt with detonator. depending on what you’ve been carrying, you may or may not be able to take everything in this room.
• If first time playing Claire B, grab the Leon note by the computer for Lore Explorer.
• Dodge, flash, or stun Mr X and go to library.
• If you previously couldn’t carry it, grab unicorn medallion on the way to the detonator room (twins, scales, worm).
• Go to 3F library to use the detonator, but stand in the doorway so that the shelf doesn’t block the door, grab maiden medallion (ram, harp, bird). this can be tricky depending on what you did with Mr X, but remember, flashbangs are your friend.
• Place the last medallion(s) in the goddess statue and prep for G1 fight… if you didn’t get the first aid spray/green herb in the main hall before, now is a good time.
• Fight G1 as you please, I personally use the revolver and the smg, with a knife and frag grenades (remember to grab the frag grenade and smg upgrade on the bottom stairwell on your way to G1, and to also collect any and all items in the G1 boss room).

You should be about 30 minutes in now.

Parking Garage up to Sewers

• Go up ladder, get herb in room on the right. follow path to parking garage. bank all items but revolver, ammo, defense item, and heal item. If you are scared of lickers, grab the grenade launcher+flame rounds as well… but trust me (I haven’t steered you wrong yet, right!?), you will be able to dodge them all! Remember that you probably just saved, so if you mess up, you can reload here. In any event, trigger chief irons
• Go to the unopened door in the garage toward kennel
• Once in kennel, WALK to avoid lickers… you can avoid every licker down here. Grab gun powder and herbs as needed and if possible
• Go to the morgue, open left most shelf on the right wall for a flashbang, then open the shelf on the left of the open space on the opposite wall for the diamond key. Stun zombies as needed on way out, but you should be able to dodge them as well
• Go back to kennel… WALK! You can avoid that licker by the stairs by hugging the wall on the left as much as possible. You should go over the stairs and avoid him.
• Walk back to parking garage, go to open door. Use diamond key, get m79 upgrade, go to irons’ office
• Get the heart key, and bank every thing but heart key, revolver, ammo, flashbang(s), and heal… we will not be using the diamond key again so you can bank that
• Go to 3F, get flash+ammo in lockers
• Get large gear and items in storage room; consider legging the zombies in there as you will be passing through here again later
• Use heart key in side door, get electric part and knife. Consider going back to the chief’s office and banking electric part and extra items, but keep large gear
• Uut to roof, go down ladder
• Down toward boiler room, flip water, stun/dodge zombies as needed.
• Flush water, get ammo on bench and r+g herbs toward Mr X
• Difficult part warning!
• Juke/stun/flash Mr X
• Go through 1F west office
• There will be zombies and a licker here, but if you dart to the left towards the records room, you should evade the hits. Alternately, drop a flashbang
• Get jack + frag grenade in records room with heart key
• Flashbang to get out of room if needed; you could have lickers, zombies, and Mr X in this hallway
• Go to 2F library via the west office/main hall, use jack and move shelves up to 3F main hallway
• Jump right into the clocktower (you can avoid the zombie if you’re fast enough, otherwise stun him, but this will alert Mr X)
• Solve gear puzzle, get electronic part
• Get green herb just outside of door, dodge/stun zombies, go across the hall to the 3F storage room
• Stun/dodge zombies in storage room, go down the stairs to 2F, down to chief irons’ office
• Get both electronic parts from bank and solve electronic puzzle:

0100
1031
0012
0101

• Grab parking pass and trigger sherry scene
• The sherry puzzle is random… the only help i can give is to find the block that has two half stars on the same face (there’s only one), that one is your left most block. The rest is up to you
• When irons is chasing you, hide behind the first white cabinet with the chair next to it… sneak around it as he goes around… when he stubs his toe have a snicker and head to the opposite side and hide under the table (he will bump into you as he passes you, but this is fine for some reason) til he triggers the cutscene and you know the rest
• Back as claire, consider if you want to kill the dogs on the way to the orphanage, or if you are comfortable enough to dodge the doges. If you wanna kill them, you’ll likely need the smg. If not, just bring the pistol, etc. i find them easy to dodge by running diagonally
• Nevertheless, head down the elevator to the garage. Use the parking pass. Dodge Mr X and head to the gate. The safe way is letting the zombies open the gate, then loop around the car to get them all away. But you can save time by stunning the zombie inside the gate
• Grab items in basketball court and just before the bus, as well as inside the bus, dodging/stunning/killing on the way to the orphanage, then follow path to sewers

Sewers up to G2 Battle

• Follow sewers, right at the fork to cable car room. In there, consider grabbing flame rounds on the left, and open the SZF locker for smg bullets if you can dodge the zombies.
• …and now, for possibly the most annoying part of the game…
• Bank extra items, bring what you are comfortable with to go to the king/queen room, while also leaving as much space open as possible (complicated… right?). everyone has their own method for this. the important part is to leave item space for the sparkshot, 3 plugs, and as many extra items as you can. i like to bring the sls (with high powered rounds to 1 shot the zombies on your path, and use the 9mm rounds to pop the g adult if you kept them) and revolver. also bring at least 1 defense item and a knife. you shouldn’t need to bring a healing item, there are some on the way to help you, but it doesn’t hurt to bring 1 as well
• In any event… if you’re bringing the sls, head over to the safe in the pool room and get the upgrade (2-12-8); if you aren’t bringing the sls with you, get this later. don’t bother with the herb by the zombie or else you’ll wake him from his peaceful slumber
• Go by cable car to get T bar and consider grabbing the herbs as well, or leave them for later
• If this is your first time playing Claire B, get a file from Leon next to the T bar for the Lore Explorer achievement
• Go down the stairs toward the sewer, leg/kill 3 zombies in this room (you can knife the one that is sleeping on the side). grab the green herb in here, or save it for later. there’s also a frag grenade in the water; if you brought a frag with you go stack it, if not, get it later
• Go down the other stairwell into the Hell Zone
• Skip the sewer key; we aren’t using that. go down ladder, again consider grabbing herb. shoot to wake up the first G-adult and run around it. as you continue on, another one will start lunging at you. if you hang enough to the right, you should avoid his grab. alternately, you can shoot his face a bit to “stun” him, or just let him grab you and shove a grenade (not the knife!) in him. a third one spawns from a pipe ahead, but if you hang all the way to the left, you should avoid him just fine. lastly, there is a zombie in the water. i highly recommend killing him. you can wait until you are out of the water before blowing his head off
• Get sparkshot, king and queen plug in the next room, along with any additional items you can carry (herbs, etc). stun/kill the zombies in this room. one trick is to walk up those stairs so that one zombie falls, then going to knife him, instead of letting him get up and wasting a bullet or two
• On the way back, hang to the left and use the sparkshot to stun any g adults in your way. No need to fully charge it up
• Go back where you came from, open sewer gate, and follow that pathway, grabbing frag grenade (if you didn’t get before) and high power powder if you can
• Use T-valve to go up lift, get rook key and extra items if possible, then head back to the monitor room. you may need to dodge a G-adult by using the sparkshot
• Solve chess puzzle:

King||||||||||||||Knight
Bishop||||||||||Rook
Queen||||||||||Pawn

• Prepare for G2 fight using the load out of your choice. I use the smg and flame m79, as he is very vulnerable to fire. optimally, you will want to only use the flame rounds and save as many smg rounds as possible. whatever you do, knock him down 3 times then use the crane. remember there is a g+r+b herb on the way, so you can choose not to bring a heal item if you feel comfortable with one. generator power is down up up up. there is an “invincible” spot if you stand near the garden hose/buckets by the generator power. shoot his arm when it comes down to speed up the process (if you do enough damage he will only strike twice)
• Make sure to retrieve any unused items in the boss room once he’s done, and follow path to sherry/lab
• Should be around an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes now

NEST and Several Boss Battles

• At the lab, put sherry in the security room and get items/map, bank extras (you are coming back to the bank soon and only facing one or two zombies, so pack light), and head toward the café
• In the café, avoid all zombies by running left of the eating lady. make sure to pause for a second for a brief announcement regarding your lunch tomorrow… or later, if you’re weird and playing this in the morning…
• Go up the ladder, down the ladder, grab items in kitchen
• Kill, leg, or stun the USS soldier zombie. he looks funny, and can be placed randomly in this hallway… some spawns are worse than others
• Go to the nap room, grab sparkshot upgrade, flame rounds, and security chip
• Go back to reception, bank extras, head toward main hall
• Grab the modulator off the fallen USS man
• Optional… go back to the nap room and use the modulator to get an extra pouch if you need it. it only takes a minute if you are free on time and want the extra storage space, but i personally skip it
• Head over to the east hallway… bring either the grenade launcher and flame rounds, or the sparkshot (if you have any ammo) for ivy’s… make sure to also have at least one knife on you, and of course the modulator and wrist band. there are some herbs on your way, and you really shouldn’t be taking any damage, so you probably won’t need healing. you’ll want as much open space as possible
• Follow the path, dodge/kill ivy, grab flash and cartridge, solve the two codes to open mixing station and the ladder (think of it as a keypad, 2048 & 5831)
• Go through the green house into that control room, grab frag and gun powder if possible and solve chemical puzzle: Blue, Red, Green, Blue, Red, Green, Blue, Red, Green
• Dodge/kill ivy’s down the ladder chute
• Knife sleeping zombies in the lobby area; you know why… then use modulator and grab items in the room
• Go to server room, get and bank extra items in there
• Walk down the licker hallway to the door on the left; be slow but be fast… you should avoid the automatic lunge of the second licker if you enter the door fast enough
• Make herbicide in the freezer room
• Walk back toward the ladder, avoid the stairwell area completely, and of course don’t wake the lickers… you knife the sleeping zombies in this area so you can avoid killing the lickers.
• Luckily Mr X won’t be crashing your party, so you don’t really need to kill all the ivy’s in the greenhouse. hit the ones in your way with the flame rounds, though. they don’t have to die, just get them on the ground. head to the control room
• Use herbicide, listen to a robot scold you for what you’ve done, get wrist band upgrade, and get out of there ASAP, stunning/killing ivy’s on your way. since there is no Mr X, there will be a couple extra ivy’s on your pathway out, but they are really no trouble
• Go to the west hallway, use modulator, get frag grenade on fallen USS man on the path, get antiviral agent, and gear up for the G3 fight. there is some high power powder in the room. if you’ve done all of this right, you should have ~600 smg bullets… that should be all you need for the G3 fight. bank any frag grenades, you want these saved for the G4 fight. flashbangs and knives with the smg, bullets, and healing items is all you need
• Note that before you begin the G3 fight, you will need roughly 20 minutes to complete the game at this point… if you find yourself over an hour and 40 minutes, you will need to restart at an earlier save and see what you can do faster
• After killing G3, make sure to get the first aid spray and the frag grenade in the room… the rest is pretty unnecessary. the pathway to the G4 fight is much easier as Claire, since the ivy’s are sleeping until you get to the locked door. you will want to bring the sparkshot/flame rounds though for the two ivy’s that try to eat you while sherry struggles to unlock the door for you
• For G4, frag grenades are your friend. hopefully you have at least 5 of them. you’ll want to hit him with the minigun when possible, but the real damage will come from the frag grenades. anytime he’s stationary (he stuns himself a lot), throw a frag at him to pop all of his eyes. wait until they regenerate, then repeat. try to save as many minigun bullets as possible; i was able to save ~150
• Bring everything possible to G5, and pray you made it all within 120 minutes…! you’ll want to put your back against the wall, and wait for him to open his eye fully, and then unload on him with whatever you have