In Resident Evil 2, players have a choice to play through the story as either rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy or college student Claire Redfield, who has decided to travel to Raccoon City to search for her brother Chris. While Leon and Claire explore many of the same areas, their paths through those areas differ and some of the puzzles and items they encounter are different. Additionally, there are some items that are only available for one character and not the other, and that’s the case with the Heart Key.
As Resident Evil 2 players go through the game as Leon, they will come across various doors that require the Heart Key to open, and they may be wondering exactly how to get their hands on it. Well, the Heart Key is only available to Claire Redfield, so Leon can never access those rooms in his Scenario A playthrough. However, Leon does get the chance to find the Club Key instead, whereas Claire can’t find it in her playthrough.
During the Claire A playthrough, Resident Evil 2 players will wind up in Chief Irons’s Office. From there, head into his Private Collection Room and search for the Relief Portrait item. Examine the Relief Portrait in the inventory to find the Heart Key.
Just like with Leon and the Club Key, the Heart Key opens up some very important areas for Claire to explore during her time at the Raccoon City Police Department. The heart key is required for players to actually progress in the game, but since it’s not made clear in-game that it’s unobtainable in Leon’s playthrough, some Resident Evil 2 fans have understandably been confused by it.
There are some other important differences between the Leon and Claire campaigns. One is the side characters the two partner with over the course of the game. For example, Leon spends most of his time with the mysterious Ada Wong, whereas Claire dedicates herself to protecting Sherry Birkin.
Despite the differences between the two campaigns, though, many other elements stay the same. And as long as players remember where to find hidden items like the heart key, subsequent playthroughs should be quicker, making it easier to get the coveted S rank and unlock infinite ammo.
Resident Evil 2 is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
