Resident Evil 2 lickers are absolutely the worst. Well… They would be if Mr. X wasn’t wandering the streets of Raccoon City, truly ruining Claire and Leon’s respective days. But lickers are awfully bad — easily the toughest “normal” enemies for the majority of the game. Which is why we’ve put together this nifty little guide on how to avoid and kill lickers in Resident Evil 2!

If you haven’t encountered a licker yet: don’t worry. You’ll know them when you see them. The skinless horrors with exposed brains are hard to miss. They show up at several times in the main story, too, no matter which character you play. That’s all the more reason to go in prepared to deal with these terrifying creatures, lest you blow too much ammo and healing items trying to get past them.

How to Avoid Lickers in Resident Evil 2

Resident Evil 2 lickers are, as the game explicitly states, completely blind. They hunt only using the sound of your footsteps. Although they will detect your presence if they manage to get within just a few footsteps of either Claire or Leon. So it’s key to keep your distance!

On that note, even lickers that haven’t “detected” you tend to walk in your general direction. It’s kind of a cheat, really, but what can you do? This inevitably leads to times where there is no forward… except through the horrible thing in front of you. In these cases, it’s best to back away, exit the room, and reenter after the licker takes its patrol away from whatever door you use.

That being said, lickers are actually pretty easy to avoid under the right circumstances: just don’t sprint. The sound of normal footsteps from any reasonable distance won’t attract them at all. Running, however, will immediately cause the creatures to shriek and leap your way. That’s your cue that the gooey, pink terrors know where you are. After that, your only options are to run to another room or kill them outright.

If a licker does detect you, there’s a good chance it will leap on top of you. Luckily, the usual anti-zombie countermeasures of Resident Evil 2 apply to lickers, too. Equipping combat knifes, grenades, and flash grenades will all peel them off you without causing permanent harm. In fact, flashbangs will temporarily “paralyze” a licker’s ears. That means they can no longer hear you, allowing your avatar to get to safety or use the opportunity to put them down for good.

Just watch out for lickers’ hideously long tongues! They can use these defining features to smack you around from a distance.

Resident Evil 2 Remake Licker 2

How to Kill Lickers in Resident Evil 2

Lickers, like every other basic enemy in Resident Evil 2, drop absolutely nothing of value. So the only reason to put them down permanently is because… Well, it’s permanent. Enemies don’t respawn in Resident Evil 2. So you might want to kill a licker just to keep it from bothering you on return trips to whatever area it’s infesting.

Likewise, lickers and Mr. X (a.k.a. Tyrant) don’t mix. The former requires you to walk slowly, while the latter forces you to run. Leaving a licker alive might wind up sandwiching you between a rock and an eight-foot-tall man in a trench coat’s fist. Killing lickers in Resident Evil 2 is rarely a bad bet.

And, wouldn’t you know it, the skinless monsters are surprisingly squishy! Regular pistol bullets practically bounce off of them. But the grenade launcher and magnum can both put lickers down in one or two well-placed hits (at least on normal difficulty). On the easiest difficulty, the shotgun even kills lickers in a single blast.

You just need to make sure you have the appropriate ammo. Consult our Resident Evil 2 gunpowder guide for recipes, if necessary. And bear in mind that, once you start shooting, there’s no going back. The licker will be alerted to your armed and dangerous presence. Be prepared to put them down quick, before they can skitter in close or swipe you with that indecent tongue.

And that’s it! Thanks for reading our Resident Evil 2 licker guide. Hopefully it will help you kill and/or avoid these nasty things as much as possible while you unravel the mystery of Raccoon City.

Resident Evil 2 Lickers Guide: How to Kill & Avoid Lickers

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