is the game significantly harder if i skip grabbing the lightning hawk

[marty]

cbb to grab it and im in the sewers

[W@RRIOR]

First: you can still comeback from sewers to R.P.D. The game will tell via dialogue when is point of not return.
Second: It is possible to beat without lightning hawk. But final fight will require good reflexes or couple grenades because boss have one hit instant kill.

[Illusion of Progress]

As Claire, you can get away with skipping her two more major optional two weapons (SMG and spark shot) without missing as much. As Leon, you give up more (relatively) to skip either the lightning hawk or flamethrower, especially both.

That's been my opinion after doing a Hardcore run on both attaining for an S+ rank.

The flamethrower helps with both G2 and G3, and the lightning hawk helps with the final boss for Leon.

That being said, neither are anywhere near mandatory, and the lightning hawk especially can be skipped without much miss if you ensure you have a few or more grenades for the final boss as Leon. So, no, I wouldn't say "significantly harder" to skip the lightning hawk, but can arguably make one of the more risky bosses for Leon much more safe.

[marty]

Originally posted by W@RRIOR:

First: you can still comeback from sewers to R.P.D. The game will tell via dialogue when is point of not return.
Second: It is possible to beat without lightning hawk. But final fight will require good reflexes or couple grenades because boss have one hit instant kill.

do you mean the last mr x fight?

[Illusion of Progress]

Originally posted by Joey😊😊:

do you mean the last mr x fight?

Yeah, that's the one spot where the lightning hawk can really be a luxury.

[marty]

Originally posted by Illusion of Progress:

Originally posted by Joey😊😊:

do you mean the last mr x fight?

Yeah, that's the one spot where the lightning hawk can really be a luxury.

oh thats alright, all you have to do to win that "fight" is do nothing and wait. i plan on just dodging his attacks like u see speedrunners do

[Яedly Яed.暗赤色@Tsundere-Tiddy]

You can live without it just fine, I would save some flashbangs / grenades for the final boss though, just in case.

[Magma Dragoon]

The Lightning Hawk is for popping G3's eyes. You can use the shotgun instead, but it requires getting dangerously closer to him.

[littleChama]

I never pick up the Lightning Hawk on my Leon runs, fully upgraded shotty does the work but that's only if you reach the end of the game with a lot of shotgun shells to spare grabbing every yellow powder on the way

[Illusion of Progress]

Originally posted by Joey😊😊:

Originally posted by Illusion of Progress:

Yeah, that's the one spot where the lightning hawk can really be a luxury.

oh thats alright, all you have to do to win that "fight" is do nothing and wait. i plan on just dodging his attacks like u see speedrunners do

Just be prepared, since you might not be aware of it just by watching (unless it's commented on in the video), that one of the attacks is a one hit scripted kill. It is nearly (if not outright?) impossible to dodge on top of that, and even if you can, it is typically much more reliable to simply prevent it; you can stagger him to disrupt him before it connects. A grenade or the lightning hawk are the two recommended methods to do this, as either will do the job with one hit reliably.

[KuroLionheart]

Don't remember the last time I used the Lighting Hawk in a run so yeah, you don't need it. If you want to be super technical, all you really need is the knives. But realistically for most people, if you grab the shotgun then you're fine. Leon's shotgun is really versatile and has ammo up the butt so yeah, it'll carry you the whole way.