RE9 Difficulty Selection for Beginners

Standard difficulty is RE9's intended experience. But not for every player. This decision tree maps your RE history to the right starting difficulty.

The 10 essential tips

1. Equip Crafter’s Touch ASAP — Found in Care Center records office (Chapter 2). Don’t leave Rhodes Hill without it.
2. Don’t engage Chunk in Chapter 1 — Unkillable. Stealth past in boiler room.
3. Pick up the Family Photograph — Care Center records, trophy-required.
4. Save Antique Coins, don’t sell — Worth 60,000 currency total.
5. Upgrade Requiem Revolver T2 by Chapter 3 — 8,000 currency cost, dramatic damage boost.
6. Practice Mortal Edge parry on standard enemies — 0.6s window, master before bosses.
7. Stealth approach The Girl boss — Cannot damage in alert state.
8. Don’t fail Victor Gideon QTE for True Ending — 0.4s knife parry window.
9. Save First Aids for Chapter 8 finale — 4 back-to-back bosses.
10. Complete on Standard NG before attempting Insanity — 73% of fresh Insanity attempts give up.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Selling Antique Coins for short-term cash
• Engaging Chunk early when unkillable
• Skipping Care Center records office (Family Photograph)
• Wasting Magnum ammo on normal enemies
• Trying Insanity without NG+ first

What to focus on first hour

Familiarize yourself with the parry system, item pickup locations, save room mechanics, and the stealth approach for Chunk. Don’t rush — Wrenwood Hotel teaches the fundamentals.