Figuring out how to heal in Resident Evil 2 remake is a bit more involved than most games. There are multiple items that you can use to heal, but due to their limited amount, you’ll want to make sure you wait until the right time to use them. Below we’ll discuss all the Resident Evil 2 remake herb recipes, how much each herb combination heals, and any additional effects they may bestow. We’ll also cover the health system in RE2 remake, as it’s a bit vaguer than the health bars or percentages most games use.
How to Heal in Resident Evil 2 Remake: All Herb Recipes
There are two types of items that you can use to heal in RE2 remake: herbs and First Aid Sprays. First Aid Sprays are simple, they heal you to 100 percent health every single time. Herbs, on the other hand, are more complicated to use and are also much more plentiful than the relatively rare First Aid Sprays.
Herbs come in three varieties:
- Green Herb: Heals a small amount of health upon use.
- Blue Herb: Cures poison when used.
- Red Herb: Cannot be used by itself. Has an enhancing effect when combined with other herbs.
The usefulness of herbs really becomes apparent when you begin mixing them. By themselves, Green and Blue Herbs can help you in a pinch, but when you start combining them together and bring Red Herbs into the mix, you can start producing some powerful healing items.
There are a number of different herb mixes you can make in-game. Some will be familiar to Resident Evil veterans, while others are making their first appearance in the series with Resident Evil 2 remake.
The possible combinations are:
- Mixed Herb (G+G): A mix two Green Herbs will heal you by around 50 percent of your total health.
- Mixed Herb (G+G+G): Three Green Herbs mixed together will restore 100 percent of your health.
- Mixed Herb (G+B): By combining a Green and a Blue Herb you can restore around 25 percent of your health and cure poison
- Mixed Herb (G+R): This combination of one Green and one Red Herb will completely restore your health.
- Mixed Herb (B+R): This herb mixture is new to the series. By combining a Red and a Blue Herb you’ll cure poison status, gain immunity to poison for a short time, and any damage to the player will be reduced for a short period.
- Mixed Herb (G+B+R): By mixing all three varieties of herbs you’ll produce a combination that heals you completely, cures poison, and grants immunity to poison and reduces damage for a short time.
How Does Health Work in Resident Evil 2 Remake?
Unlike most games, which use a bar or percentage to signify how much health you have left, Resident Evil 2 remake leaves it a bit more ambiguous. There are four health “conditions” that signify how close your character is to death.
The four health conditions in Resident Evil 2 remake are:
- Fine (Green): Fine means your character is at around 75-100 percent of their full health. When at Fine your character can move at full speed.
- Caution (Yellow): You’ll enter yellow Caution condition when your health is around 50-75%. You’ll still move at normal speed, but you’ll notice your characters holding their sides and showing body language that they’re in minor pain.
- Caution (Orange): When your health is 25-50 percent you’ll enter the second stage of Caution: orange. When in orange Caution status your character will show more signs of being in pain and may stumble or move a bit sluggishly.
- Danger (Red): When you enter Danger condition you’re below 25 percent health. Your character will show signs of being in significant pain and may be significantly slower than usual. Another problem that comes with Danger status is that some enemies, like the Licker, can perform an instant kill attack on you. If you’re in Danger, you should heal at the earliest opportunity.
One of the challenges that come with Resident Evil 2 remake is figuring out when you need to heal. There’s no health regeneration and only a limited amount of recovery items available in the game. Therefore, it’s always a struggle of risk versus reward. You don’t need to be at full health at all times, in fact, as long as you’re careful even sitting in yellow Caution condition isn’t too worrying. Unless you know you’re about to face a fierce enemy you can’t slip past, you should almost never use a single Green Herb to heal. Instead, wait until you find a Red Herb and save it for when you’re in Danger status.
First Aid Sprays are rare and should be hoarded. These are instant full-heals but lack the versatility of herbs. They’re best used during boss fights when you’re low on herbs.
The key to staying healthy in Resident Evil 2 remake, though, is to just not have to heal. This isn’t a game where you have to fight every enemy. In fact, given how sparse ammo is compared to how many enemies there are, it’s almost an impossibility to take them all down. Instead, learn when to pick your fights and when to run. This will allow you to save your herbs and sprays for when combat is unavoidable.
