Best spots to save (fore an S+ on Hardcore)

[awg]

I am currently building up my strategy to get that perfect S+ rank on Hardcore, and was wondering where should I save to get it done. I discovered that it's only possible to save 3 times maximum, so I appreciate any useful recommendations in this regard. Thanks.

[dustbiter]

Unlock the infinite knife which can be used for hardcore S+. Play through hardcore once and make a lot of save points, this is to practice different parts of the game.

You should practice a lot to get a good timing as you reach G1 which makes the later part of the run less stressful. Everyman's guide on youtube is useful to follow, I also watched what some speed runners do to improve my timing early in the run. For example you can stand in front of the door as the zombie forces the door open, with fairly easy timing you can dash through the zombie when it breaks in.

I'd make the first save in the sewers just before I have to dodge the G adults. Every frag grenade you save will make the endgame boss fights easier. 2nd save before G2 crane/container fight, it's possible to practice and avoid using a save here. Then you have one or two saves in the labs which will allow you to get S+ pretty easily with a bit of practice.

[awg]

I got the knife at my third playthrough. I was saving 17 times during my first Hardcore run, and now after I completed a Leon 1st scenario on Hardcore I managed to get an S rank with 5 saves. I've completed probably 15th runs in this game already.

I improved my shooting skill by tweaking the mouse sensitivity settings a bit. Now I just need to determine which of those 3 saving points would be best for me. Sometimes I could fail simply at the alligator or G2 fight parts. But this mean I'd have to spend 2 saves at the Sewers.

Hoarding on hand grenades was one of the strategies I realized I have to follow if I want to complete those last two fights as fast as possible. I also noticed that buffed Tyrant burns pretty good.

I'll watch some of the speed runs that other players did, and that guide from Everyman you've mentioned. Thank you for this information and all your recommendations.

[Jalir]

Hi friend, it's been a while since I went for an S+ on this game, but if I recall correctly I did these:

I did both my S+ on A runs since they were more familiar to me.

1st save was right before G1 - around 23 - 25 mins is perfectly fine pace, but aim for as close to 20 as you can, as this is the easiest part to re-run to give you a great foundation
2nd was when I reached the chess plug room - about 1hr 20~
3rd was right before G3 - about 1hr 50 - 2hr
These times will leave you with ample room for mistakes, and honestly I found the limiting factor for finishing these runs was less about time and more about the saves, as you seem to have found as well.

You can push the 1st save back more if you feel comfortable with the knife G1 method. Once you practice it once or twice, it's basically fool-proof and pretty rare to fail a run there. If you are confident in dodging the adult meatballs in the sewer, you can also push this save back to after getting the plugs, so as to not have to re-do whole sewer if you die on G2. Your 3rd save for Leon may be a bit different from Claire's 3rd, as the greenhouse section on him is significantly more dicey due to Mr X reappearance along with the ivy zombies. Personal judgement call on that depending on what you feel is more likely to be your weak spot.

I agree with the above poster saying to hoard Frag Grenades, they are going to be your #1 tool to get those bosses down quickly. I also recommend eating a GRB herb mix prior to each boss encounter, and having another one ready to go during the fight, as the shield is pretty OP for hardcore difficulty.

For Leon, I grabbed the Shotgun in the RPD, skipped the Magnum completely.
For Claire, I skipped the Grenade Launcher in the RPD, but I did grab the SMG and all Flame Rounds, for use against the ivys/lickers in the Nest as you are given the Grenade Launcher for free when you make it to the Nest if you missed it.

[Danieke]

Hello, these are my save points, so experience might vary but:


1. After the first Birkin fight. You could also do it when you go back up the station if you wish, but I think this is a pretty good one. Another first save could be after the Ada / Sherry section, but that's riskier.

2. Sewers: the G adults can be run enders, practice them, learn how to avoid them. If you're playing Claire, use the electric gun to stun then, if playing with Leon... well, avoid, it's not that hard, check some speed strats. Another is just before Birkin 2, that fight can go wrong, so I'd just suggest that one, the Sewers are not that long.

3. Before or after Birkin 3. If you're sure of your Birkin 3 skills, do it after, but it just annoying having to do it again if you get instant killed by Mister X on Leon's route, so... I think Birkin 4 is a lot easier.

Also, skip the TMP if playing with Claire, but get the Magnum if playing with Leon. Another thing you can do, if you have a really good PC, play with uncapped FPS and Knife the bosses, it's really fast, but you have to practice.

With Claire you can stun-kill Birkin 3 with 30 acid rounds, btw. I am not sure if you can get enough of those triying to go fast, though.

[Pakratjr]

If you are still looking for pointers/ideas ect.... Look up a guy named Darkness on youtube. He did a couple of "everymans guides" for hardcore S+.
Basically walks you through the entire game and shows places to save and what items to take or not, along with the recommended times for each section.
Helped me get through. He only Has Leon/Claire A and Leon B tho, so you would be on your own for Claire B

[awg]

Originally posted by Jalir:

Hi friend, it's been a while since I went for an S+ on this game, but if I recall correctly I did these:

1st save was right before G1 - around 23 - 25 mins is perfectly fine pace, but aim for as close to 20 as you can, as this is the easiest part to re-run to give you a great foundation
2nd was when I reached the chess plug room - about 1hr 20~
3rd was right before G3 - about 1hr 50 - 2hr
These times will leave you with ample room for mistakes, and honestly I found the limiting factor for finishing these runs was less about time and more about the saves, as you seem to have found as well. ...

For Claire, I skipped the Grenade Launcher in the RPD, but I did grab the SMG and all Flame Rounds, for use against the ivys/lickers in the Nest as you are given the Grenade Launcher for free when you make it to the Nest if you missed it.

Hi, Jalir. I will note those timings you were aiming. I haven't consider to look at the time of my runs too much, it may take time valuable for the run. Also I didn't know it's possible to grab the Grenade Launcher later, so I will go for Clair's run B if I fail few of my next Leon's runs. Thanks a lot for your recommendations.

Originally posted by Danieke:

Hello, these are my save points, so experience might vary but: ...

3. Before or after Birkin 3. If you're sure of your Birkin 3 skills, do it after, but it just annoying having to do it again if you get instant killed by Mister X on Leon's route, so... I think Birkin 4 is a lot easier.

Also, skip the TMP if playing with Claire, but get the Magnum if playing with Leon. Another thing you can do, if you have a really good PC, play with uncapped FPS and Knife the bosses, it's really fast, but you have to practice.

Hey, Danieke. Thank you for stopping by this discussion.

I found Birkin 3 surprisingly easy, with his waving claw attacks that can hit me only if I do something really stupid during the fight. And those barrels he grabs helps a lot in the fight if I manage to shoot his eye while he do this.

I have a good PC, but I think my CPU/GPU temperatures will go very high if I uncap the FPS for this game. Sometimes my Intel Core i5 9400F CPU goes very hot when I play some games, especially those Unity Engine games.

Originally posted by Pakratjr:

If you are still looking for pointers/ideas ect.... Look up a guy named Darkness on youtube. He did a couple of "everymans guides" for hardcore S+.
Basically walks you through the entire game and shows places to save and what items to take or not, along with the recommended times for each section.
Helped me get through. He only Has Leon/Claire A and Leon B tho, so you would be on your own for Claire B

Yes, I consider every useful option, so I will take a look at those videos you have mentioned, thank you. Although, I almost have built a proper strategy for my perfect run, I just need to optimize my performance at some points.

[Jalir]

Oh yes, also, some more important things to note in case you weren't aware. Whenever you die, you should always go to main menu then re-load your save rather than just hitting continue. For some reason the timer continues from your previous run upon hitting continue, ruining your time. If you exit to menu, then re-load, your timer will re-set to where it was when you originally made the save.

If you need to pause, you must hit Esc (or whatever the controller button for pause menu is, if applicable) as this will also pause your timer. Inventory/Map/Etc will pause the gameplay, but the in-game timer will continue to run, also ruining your time.

[awg]

Originally posted by Jalir:

Oh yes, also, some more important things to note in case you weren't aware. Whenever you die, you should always go to main menu then re-load your save rather than just hitting continue. For some reason the timer continues from your previous run upon hitting continue, ruining your time. If you exit to menu, then re-load, your timer will re-set to where it was when you originally made the save.

If you need to pause, you must hit Esc (or whatever the controller button for pause menu is, if applicable) as this will also pause your timer. Inventory/Map/Etc will pause the gameplay, but the in-game timer will continue to run, also ruining your time.

One of the youtube speedrunners mentioned that continuing after death screen will count the time already spent on the current run. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made aiming for the Rank S.

Now, with all tips and recommendations you guys provided, I finally manage to get the Rank S+ on Hardcore. Thank you very much for the help.
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