Resident Evil Requiem Beginner’s Guide — Tips & Tricks

Resident Evil Requiem is the latest main installment in the legendary series about ageless heroes facing off against all kinds of zombies. This time, you control two protagonists: the iconic Leon Kennedy and a young FBI analyst, Grace Ashcroft. Both characters offer completely different gameplay styles, and the differences go much deeper than you might expect. To help you get started and save time adapting, we've put together this beginner's guide. Here you'll find everything you need for a successful playthrough.

Let's start with your very first launch of the game. The menu immediately lets you know the developers designed two camera perspectives: first-person for Grace and third-person for Leon. The idea is to keep the sense of horror for Grace and a feeling of control and confidence for Leon. In practice, things are a bit simpler.

When playing in first-person, you never really know what's happening behind you. The mansion, where most of the story takes place, is made up of long, winding corridors. Even if it feels safe, danger can show up just out of sight. With the third-person view, these situations almost never happen. The camera sits far enough back so you can see your surroundings and keep track of what's happening just a few steps from Grace and Leon. This lowers the horror factor, but makes the game easier to play.

As usual, the difficulty level affects how tough the zombies are and how many resources you get. But trust me, even on normal, things won't be too easy. The easy mode helps you aim straight for the head, which is a good choice if you're not great with a gamepad. If you want some tension but don't want to suffer too much, pick the normal difficulty and then turn on aim assist. The settings let you mix and match these options however you like.

Exploring the mansion and other locations follows a pattern fans will recognize. You'll see lots of possible paths, but only one is open at first. As you search the available rooms, you'll find more useful items and access cards that unlock new areas.

But the most important thing you can't do without is the map. By default, you won't have one right away, but it also won't be hidden in some random corner. Check the walls carefully so you don't miss a printed map pinned up somewhere. Grace only needs to look at it once for you to get all the information and use it whenever you want. The map shows you blood sources, ammo, coins, and much more. Most importantly, it marks which doors are open and which are locked. This helps both during action moments and regular exploration.

You'll quickly realize that melee weapons are your constant companion, but they come with a few rules. First, every blade has its own durability. Leon has an axe that never breaks. When its durability runs out, you can simply sharpen it. Grace, on the other hand, uses regular knives or even halves of scissors.

One important thing to remember—if a zombie has already grabbed you, using a knife to fight back isn't the best idea. It's usually better to take the hit and then stab the monster after. When you break free from a grab, your knife stays stuck in the zombie until you kill it. That means you could lose your knife, and if you run out of bullets, Grace will be left completely defenseless.

When a knife is about to break, you can dismantle it for materials. If you have enough blood, this lets you craft a full magazine of 8 bullets. Crafting is especially important in this game, so keeping an eye on your resources is critical—but more on that later.

Since the Resident Evil 2 remake, the new shooting mechanic has become a series staple. It's not enough to just aim at an enemy to hit the right spot. You need to hold your aim for a few seconds. You'll see the reticle change visually and a dot will appear in the center. It's always best to go for headshots—they use less blood and zombies die faster—but in the heat of the moment, shooting the legs is also effective. That will knock the monster down and slow it significantly.

A new twist in this game is that most zombies can't be killed with just a pistol. Even if you put 20 bullets straight into their heads, they'll get back up after a while. There's not much you can do about it, but some monsters are less dangerous than others. You don't actually need to kill most of them—just run past. You can also trick them with the light switch, since mutants now hate bright lights and will go to turn them off.

Some zombies are stuck in one spot or room. If you keep your distance and move quickly, they won't even react to you. The same goes for zombies lying on the ground. Get close enough and they'll start to get up. If you stick close to the wall, you'll usually get by without any trouble.

Most of the time, it's better to save your bullets for tougher enemies. They're easy to spot. Early on, you'll meet the cook and the singer—both are extremely dangerous and hard to kill. Then there are mutants. These zombies have unnaturally large heads and are much faster and more aggressive than regular ones. Usually, a zombie will mutate after being knocked down for the first time, so after you've already dropped it with a headshot, be ready for a tougher fight.

Headless monsters stay down. Sometimes, rotten skulls can burst from gunfire, so you don't need to worry about them getting back up. There's really no point in trying to kill mutated walkers with a pistol—it's better to just run. Leon will give Grace his two-handed Requiem revolver, though it only comes with a single bullet. This is an ultimate weapon that can help against tough enemies or mutants, but you'll need to learn how to use it properly.

The Requiem has heavy recoil and a long range. It can pierce through several enemies at once, but it's best to aim for the head. For example, our cook didn't die from the first shot because we missed the head. The ideal tactic is to lure a group of regular enemies into a hallway, wait for them to line up, and then fire. Over time, you'll learn how to craft ammo for both the pistol and the revolver—we'll cover that later.

There's an important detail for Leon. He can finish off zombies so they never get back up. Always use this feature when you see the special finishing symbol appear over a zombie. Grace can only push monsters away, which helps slow them down but won't get rid of them for good.

At first, Grace will only have Leon's revolver. You can find your first pistol in the dining room. Having it makes things safer, though you'll need to search for ammo. But there's an even better option—on the second floor in the lounge bar, you'll find two regular zombies and the singer. The danger with the singer is that she screams, and when that happens, Grace is slowed down for a few seconds and takes damage. It's best to deal with these enemies, because that's where you'll find a new pistol with much higher damage and a bigger magazine.

Leon is already pretty strong, but Grace will need upgrades. You can do this with stabilizers and steroids. Stabilizers boost her strength, while steroids increase her overall health. There are about five upgrades available in the game, including the first two you can unlock with coins, but you get to choose which ones to apply—health or strength. To make these injections, you'll first need to find an empty injector, then craft the active substance.

While playing as Grace, you'll eventually come across a blood lab. This is where crafting becomes available, even if it sounds a bit weird. Once unlocked, you can craft items at any time as long as you have the right resources. You'll always need blood and parts. Blood can be found in buckets or on zombie bodies, and the good news is that it's marked on your map. Just use a special syringe to extract it from the biomass. Parts are found in bags scattered around the map. At first, you can only craft ammo and hemolytic injectors, but you can expand the list as you go.

This is where your knowledge of dismantling items comes in handy. Even the worst knife gives you as many materials as a good one. You can easily turn those materials into eight bullets (which is a lot, trust me). So don't hesitate to break down heavily worn items.

Special recipes will take some searching. For example, you can only craft Requiem ammo after you get the level 1 access bracelet and visit the small storage room in the Waiting Area.

Any zombie can be taken out permanently. For this, you'll need hemolytic injectors. You'll unlock them as part of the story, so don't worry about finding them early. Injectors can be crafted. If Grace sneaks up on a zombie and uses one, the monster will explode in a pretty spectacular way. This works on any enemy, so use it when you can. Just remember that resources are limited—if you spend all your blood and materials on injectors, you won't have enough for other useful items.

Coins are an important resource. You can spend them in a special room that opens after Grace finds the ruby. The room is just before the kitchen and has a horse on the door. All upgrades bought with coins are relatively cheap but provide permanent boosts. It's best to collect them all.

Grace has major inventory issues. You can expand it with bags, but space is always tight. It's important to know that some items can be broken down or combined. Also, any consumables you throw away are gone forever. So never drop something just to pick up something else. It's better to wait and use your resources later or stash things in a safe room chest. Anything left on the map will stay put and wait for you.

Herbs have always replaced first aid kits in the series. Green herbs always restore health. You can combine up to three herbs into one mixture, making it much more effective.