How to Stay Healthy in 'Resident Evil 7'

The horrors throughout the Baker household make Resident Evil 7 an extremely dangerous game. Between the tar-like Molders, the twisted members of the Baker family, and the various boss encounters the game puts you up against continuously, you’ll almost always run low on resources. Even though you may feel perfectly prepared with a hefty amount of supplies, a single encounter can use up every bit of it without proper management. Medicine’s no exception, and there’s no better alternative when it comes to keeping Ethan ready for combat.

Here’s a few tips that will help you keep your health bar green and your medical supplies stocked while playing Resident Evil 7.

You Don’t Need to Be Perfectly Healthy

One of the most common misconceptions about Ethan’s well-being in Resident Evil 7 is that you must keep his health in the green zone (as indicated by his handy smart watch) in case you stumble into an enemy. While doing so will certainly make your feel a little more secure while exploring areas you aren’t familiar with, you’ll be wasting a lot of medical supplies for the sake of keeping a favorable color on your watch. Since most enemies will drain the same chunk of your health (roughly 20 to 25 percent depending on the attack and enemy type), its best to instead anticipate when your medical supplies will be needed.

For example, if you’re going through a few Molders in the barn area, you’d be better off saving a Strong First Aid Med and healing at the end instead of consuming three First Aid Meds throughout. Missing some of your health isn’t a bad thing, it’s just something you should monitor.

Never Use Herbs to Heal

Like in previous Resident Evil titles, Resident Evil 7 features a set of basic green healing herbs which can be used to make First Aid Meds or consumed to restore a small amount of health. In most cases, especially during the late-game encounters, the amount of health you’ll receive for consuming an herb is nowhere near the amount of health you’ll receive for using a standard First Aid Med. While exploring make sure to collect and hold onto every green herb you find to craft and stockpile a supply of First Aid Meds instead, otherwise you’ll just be wasting valuable healing consumables to have a slightly different hue of red, orange, or green looking back at you

Carry a Single Stack of Medical Supplies

Theres no question that Resident Evil 7 is a terrifying experience to play through for most players. Enemies will consistently surprise you regardless of how prepared you are, boss fights will always drain your resources no matter how well you know the encounter, and you’ll use more medical supplies provided you keep them in your inventory instead of in your stash.

Never bring more than a single stack of standard First Aid Meds or Strong First Aid Meds in your inventory for the sake of conserving your supplies. Most encounters can be cleared with a single stack of regular First Aid Meds so long as you keep your distance, and they commonly offer a healthy dose of supplies in the room for you to quickly make a few in case you need them. You may not feel like you’ll heal your way through two stacks of medical supplies, but if you’ve got them, you probably aren’t going to be focused on how many times you press the button when a prompt comes up onscreen.

Use Steroids in Combat Scenarios

Steroids are one of the most valuable medical items you can come across in Resident Evil 7. These little syringes pack quite a punch because they permanently increase Ethan’s maximum health, allowing you to take more damage overall. These are often found hidden in rooms off the beaten path or locked behind puzzles, but when you get one in your possession make sure to save it for later. While the item description may not indicate such, Steroids also act as a Strong First Aid Med by healing Ethan’s wounds entirely in the process of upgrading his maximum health. Save them for when your health is in the red, and use them in place of spending valuable First Aid Meds.