Speedrun Strats: How Grace and Leon Sections Could Split Requiem World Records

Hook: Why Requiem's split personalities are a speedrunner's headache — and opportunity

If you're a runner worried about whether your hard-earned Requiem speedrun will be comparable to others', you're not alone. Capcom's January 2026 showcase made one thing clear: Grace and Leon deliver fundamentally different gameplay loops. That means time comparisons, leaderboards, and World Record debates are about to get messy — and fascinating. This guide breaks down how those differences could force official category splits, what new techniques will matter, and exactly how to plan routes and practice to stay competitive.

The core issue: exclusive sections make apples-to-oranges WRs

In late 2025 and early 2026, Capcom confirmed what many suspected — parts of Resident Evil Requiem are tied to a specific protagonist. As director Koshi Nakanishi put it, Requiem combines two poles of the franchise: the dread-focused horror of classics and the action-forward momentum of RE4. When certain rooms, puzzles, or encounters only occur in a Grace segment or only in a Leon segment, runs that include those exclusive sections become fundamentally different beasts.

“Requiem is an experience with an emotional range unlike any other Resident Evil game,” — game director, Capcom (2026 showcase summary).

That design creates an objective reason for category splits: if two runs traverse non-overlapping content, they cannot fairly compete for the same WR unless rules artificially constrain route choice.

Precedents: What the speedrun community learned from past splits

Speedrunning history gives us a playbook. When games have character-specific routes — think different protagonists in past Resident Evil titles or other narrative-driven games — the community usually does one of three things:

1. Create separate leaderboards per playable path (e.g., Leon vs Claire-style splits).
2. Define a combined category that forces the same choices for all runners (e.g., must play both characters' exclusive sections).
3. Introduce rule-limited categories (No-Glitch, Any%/All-Items, character-locked Any%).

Expect the Requiem community and Speedrun.com moderators to follow a similar evolution: chaotic hybrid leaderboards on day one, community polls and moderator proposals, then formalized categories within weeks to months.

Grace runs vs Leon runs: How each playstyle shapes route planning

Understanding the difference in core loops is the first step to building a competitive strategy. Here's how each protagonist's mechanics translate into speedrun priorities.

Grace: survival-horror efficiency

• Resource-limited gameplay: Grace is physically weaker and operates in a scarcer, horror-first loop. That makes inventory routing, ammo efficiency, and avoidance tech central.
• Crafting with blood: Grace can craft weapons from infected blood. Speedrunners will route pickups to ensure minimum crafting time while preserving materials for key skips or fights.
• Ink ribbon/save mechanics: The showcase preview indicates save behavior differences that affect risk management — runners will optimize save points or intentionally skip to reduce load/save time.
• Stealth and RNG mitigation: If Grace relies on stealth or scripted enemy states, route planners will prioritize deterministic approaches and early RNG-farming strategies to make runs reproducible.

Leon: action-forward optimization

• Combat tech matters: Leon's action orientation invites more combat-based time saves: reload cancels, animation interrupts, aggressive enemy manipulation, and weapon swap cancels.
• Upgrade routing: Leon will likely have a weapon-upgrade economy; optimal paths will balance pickup timing and upgrade order to maximize combat efficiency.
• Movement exploitation: Faster movement, tackle-style evades, or dash cancels will be crucial. Expect new movement tech to appear within days of the demo going live.
• Ammo abundance vs encounter density: More firepower opens up trick plays like intentional enemy stuns to clip through scripted sequences or faster boss DPS routing.

Possible official category models and how they affect WR legitimacy

Below are plausible leaderboard models you'll see on Speedrun.com and Twitch marathons. Each has implications for runner strategy and WR prestige.

1) Character-locked Any% (Grace Any%, Leon Any%)

Pros: Clean, fair comparisons within identical content pools. Cons: Splits records and reduces the prestige of a single “overall” WR. For runners, this means developing divergent routes and practice schedules.

2) Combined Any% (must pass through both protagonists' exclusive sections)

Pros: One unified leaderboard. Cons: Runs become longer and may prioritize content balance over pure speed. This category might exist for marathon-friendly runs but is less likely to dominate competitive scenes.

3) Restricted rule categories (No-Requiem, No-Crafting, Glitchless)

Fine-grained rules let the community preserve certain playstyles. For example, a No-Crafting Grace category or No-Requiem restrictions create a level playing field while still allowing the unique character mechanics to shine.

4) Glitched vs Glitchless

Initial speedrun attempts will find sequence breaks and movement exploits. The community typically splits glitched runs into their own category to protect the mainstream competitive WR from TAS-like tricks.

Route planning: practical steps for mapping shared vs exclusive chunks

Good route planning turns uncertainty into repeatable segments. Here’s a step-by-step process to build a competitive route for either Grace or Leon.

1. Segment the run: Play through the demo or release and mark every segment as shared, Grace-only, or Leon-only. Use consistent naming for splits (e.g., "Chapel - Grace", "Courtyard - Shared").
2. Identify gatekeepers: Locate any mandatory items, keys, or state changes that gate access to other areas. Speed saves are concentrated around these chokepoints.
3. Measure deterministic elements: Test enemy spawn and behavior variance across multiple runs to find RNG-sensitive segments.
4. Create alternate micro-routes: For each RNG-heavy segment, design 2–3 fallback strategies (e.g., stealth path vs combat path for Grace).
5. Optimize resource flow: Track every healing item, ammo pickup, and crafting ingredient. Build a flowchart that minimizes detours and crafting time.
6. Consolidate splits for practice: Use LiveSplit or equivalent and save split files into a community repo so others can compare segment times and suggest improvements.

Time-saving tricks to prioritize in early runs

Below are the most actionable, high-return techniques you can start practicing now — based on the showcased mechanics and 2026 community trends.

Movement and animation cancels

• Practice step-cancels and sprint-angle optimization to shave seconds in corridors. For Leon especially, aim to cancel reload or firing animations with dodge/aim to maintain momentum.
• Explore frame-window tactics on controllers (rumble off, high polling rate) and mechanical keyboards for PC — modern controllers and 1000Hz polling can tighten consistency.

Inventory micro-optimizations

• Plan a "hotbox" inventory: items you always hold vs items you always stash. Minimize menu time by ritualizing one-button craft/combos.
• Sequence item pickups so that crafting occurs en route rather than forcing backtracks. Grace will benefit most here.

Save strategy and load-time management

• Test save frequency vs time lost to reloads. Sometimes skipping a save and accepting a one-time risk is faster if load times are long.
• Use SSDs and optimized capture settings. In 2026, many runners stream and record in 4K; make sure encoding settings don't kill performance or add stutter that affects frame-perfect tricks.

Boss routing and damage optimization

• Map damage windows and test minimum-damage kills. For Leon, maximizing DPS during vulnerable frames will be a key skill. For Grace, learning evasion patterns to avoid lengthy damage phases is crucial.
• Practice bullet placement, stun shots, and critical hit spot consistency in a controlled practice mode. Community practice tools are trending toward integrated practice modes in 2026 remakes — use them early.

Preparing for exclusive mechanics: craft, Requiem gun, and save quirks

Three mechanics shown in early footage will define Requiem runs: crafting (Grace), the Requiem gun (Grace fallback), and differing save behavior. Here's how to approach each.

Blood crafting (Grace)

Practice minimal viable crafting — figure out the least material cost to achieve a skip or fight window. Runners will maintain a pickup ledger: which blood types are used for essential items vs optional time saves.

Requiem gun management

Because Requiem ammo is limited by design, map ideal firing windows. The gun is a powerful time-saver but can encourage sloppy play; build a frame-perfect firing schedule into your route to conserve ammo where it matters most.

Ink ribbon and save behavior

Saving is a time vs risk calculation. In 2026's speedrunning ecosystem, runners lock versions and patches — but also create standard rulesets around save/quit exploits. Decide whether your category allows save scumming and, if so, where you draw the line.

RNG, patches, and the meta: trends for 2026 speedrunners

Two trends that shaped the 2025–26 speedrun scene will impact how Requiem records evolve:

• Patch-locking and deterministic runs: Communities now routinely lock to specific versions for WRs. Expect debates on whether later patches that change enemy behavior or fixes should be allowed for legacy times.
• Integrated practice and route-sharing: Developers and modders are increasingly shipping community practice tools. In 2026 it's common to have map editors, spawn toggles, and precise state saves for segment practice.

Be proactive: archive your version, seed logs, and a route document. When a major WR is set, you'll want to prove your run matched the rules accepted by leaderboards and marathons.

Community dynamics: how leaderboards and WR strategies will evolve

Expect an initial scramble: runners will upload mixed-character runs, debates will pop up on Discord, and Speedrun.com moderators will create provisional categories. Historically, the fastest runners pivot quickly — you'll see separate Grace and Leon leaderboards within weeks.

WR strategies will bifurcate: Grace-focused runners will aim for surgical efficiency and RNG mitigation, while Leon specialists push combat and movement tech to extremes. Showdown races between specialists from each camp could become headline events at marathons and streams.

Practical checklist: what to do in the first 30 days post-release

1. Lock your game version and save a clean copy of your install — community consensus will often require replayable proofs from the same patch.
2. Segment the route and upload split files to a shared repo (Discord, GitHub, Speedrun.com resources).
3. Record practice clips of every exclusive section and share them with the community to accelerate discovery of tech and counters.
4. Decide your category focus (Grace or Leon) early — specializing yields faster mastery than splitting practice time equally.
5. Test hardware and streaming rigs: reduce input lag, use SSDs, and standardize capture settings for proof-of-run clarity.
6. Engage moderators early: volunteer to help define rulesets and share reproducible evidence for glitches and sequence breaks.

Advanced training: drills to train specific WR strategies

Use targeted drills to build muscle memory and consistency.

• Grace micro-runs: 10-minute segments focusing on inventory routing, crafting under pressure, and stealth-to-combat transitions.
• Leon DPS drills: Repeated boss face-offs to practice reload cancels, headshot sequences, and damage routing to shave tenths per second.
• Save-skip simulations: Practice full game segments from save to save to build reliability in runs that intentionally skip saves for time.

Final thoughts: Embrace the split — and prepare for a richer WR meta

Capcom's design means Requiem almost certainly generates multiple legitimate speedrun categories. That's not a problem — it's an opportunity. Splits allow more runners to specialize, create diverse WRs that reflect different skill sets, and spawn vibrant discussions about what constitutes the "best" way to play.

Whether you lean into Grace runs and surgical horror optimization or master Leon runs with blistering combat tech, the most successful runners will be the ones who document routes, contribute to community rule-making, and iterate quickly on tech discovered in the first weeks after release.

Actionable takeaways

• Decide early: Pick Grace or Leon and stick to it for at least your first 50 segmented runs to build baseline times.
• Segment everything: Mark shared vs exclusive sections and upload split files for transparency and collaborative optimization.
• Prioritize reproducibility: Lock versions, keep raw footage, and use standard split formats for leaderboards.
• Focus on high-return tech: For Grace — inventory/crafting routing and save strategy. For Leon — movement cancels and weapon DPS routing.
• Engage with the speedrun community: Share your discoveries, help define categories, and expect the meta to change fast.

Call to action

Ready to start? Join the Requiem speedrun channels on Discord, upload your first segmented run to Speedrun.com, and post your route notes. If you want a head start, download our starter LiveSplit file and route template (community repo launching week one of release) and tag your runs with Requiem speedrun, Grace runs, or Leon runs so the community can find and improve them fast. The WR landscape will shift quickly — be part of shaping it.

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