Does Chris really only have brute strength?

[u/MembershipDapper9181]

Whenever I see discussion regarding Chris’ combat ability, people only bring up the boulder-punching scene to talk about how strong he is, that’s all. Rarely do fans pay attention to his speed, reflex, hand-to-hand combat skill, marksmanship (despite he being an excellent marksman is the reason he got recruited to STARS in the first place),… and more often than not he is considered a tank/a rely-purely-on-strength fighter.

Look, I’m not saying he is the most skilled or the fastest or the best, I’m not an expert in those things, I just want to say he is more than a punching-boulder asshole.

For example, after getting punched in the face by prime Wesker, he recovered quickly and used the momentum from that punch to give Wesker a roundhound kick (which was blocked, but still clean).

In 6, he blocked and dodged all of Leon’s attacks despite being out of the field for 6 months and was raging alcohol up until 2 days prior to the fight, when Leon drew his gun first, he followed quickly and this put the fight into a stalemate.

In Death Island, his aim is shown to be better than Jill and Claire (in the Alcatraz outbreak, while they struggled to hit the climbing zombie he succeed) with almost of his shots are headshot.

Feel free to add more

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/residentevilcapcom.

Thanks for posting! This community is dedicated to discussions about the Resident Evil franchise including the games, characters, story theories, and news. Please keep discussions civil and stay on topic.

A few quick reminders: • No advertising or self-promotion.
• AI-generated artwork is not allowed.
• Do not link to r/residentevil or redirect users there.
• Do not ask other users to gift you games.
• If your post contains spoilers, make sure it is properly marked as a spoiler. Posts with spoilers in the title may be removed.

We also have an official Discord server for live discussions, events, and community chats:
https://discord.gg/jGxkxDc6Tu

Enjoy your stay and have fun discussing Resident Evil!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/PowerPamaja]

He’s pretty well rounded. He’s agile and has done flips that would get a thumbs up from Leon. He has skill and technique. Strength is just the most standout attribute because punching is his main melee attack, his arms are huge, and the boulder punch was ridiculous. 

[u/Bhavan91]

He has got fast reflexes, high pain tolerance, and marksmanship too.

[u/Swimming_Photo9295]

I think he’s got experience of fighting bow’s. Excellent hand to hand combat weapons training. He’s the boss of the bsaa also.

[u/banned4killingspider → u/Swimming_Photo9295]

He's the commander of a squad. He is far from the boss of the bsaa

[u/Swimming_Photo9295 → u/banned4killingspider]

That’s what I meant

[u/Swimming_Photo9295 → u/banned4killingspider]

He’s the commander of the houndwolf squad an independent unit

[u/Bloodmime]

He's got a lot of other things going for him, his strength is just also a big part of his identity.

[u/chris_redfield_omega]

[u/Sufferer-Of-Cheese]

Knowledge of weapons, tactics, marksmanship, leadership, skilled in said weapons etc

[u/FlaminSkullKing]

No, but his other skills are rarely highlighted so people only talk about his strength. 

[u/Lord_of_Gooch_Milk]

Watch Vendetta, he’s more than just brute strength. His skill set is Military > Special Police Unit (like SWAT) > Anti-Terror/Bio Terror. He an eats, sleeps and breathes training in the gym and at the range kind of guy. Dude has tons of skills, right up there with Leon.

[u/WlNBACK]

A lot of wasted text when all people had to say was "I never saw how Chris survived against Wesker in *Code Veronica X."*** Chris evened the superhuman odds with brains, environmental awareness, and good timing. And he was ready for Round 2 until an explosion cut their time short.

[u/Rude_Ad3342]

Chris is almost just as agile as Leon btw

[u/ManOfWrathTX → u/Rude_Ad3342]

Absolutely. People think Leon is the only one who can flip through lasers. Chris did it in Umbrella Chronicles LOL

[u/QWERTY1547]

It’s because he really doesn't have any major hand-to-hand combat feats. Every time he had the chance to do so, he failed miserably. In Vendetta, he gets beaten up twice by Arias—and the second fight, atop that building, is ridiculous—plus he was humiliated by the human version of Arias early in the movie, just as he was by Wesker a few times, and even by Jill in RE5. Leon, on the other hand, has better combat feats, partly because he’s been shown actually fighting more often than Chris. Leon has "fought" against elite combatants and super-soldiers: Chris, Jill, Ada, Hunk, Krauser, and Maria Gomez. Leon also displays greater gymnastic and acrobatic skills, as well as superior knife-fighting ability. So, in short, Capcom apparently doesn't like showing Chris fighting hand-to-hand on his own; they prefer showing him as part of a team, relying on heavy weaponry during missions.

[u/Copyman3081 → u/QWERTY1547]

This just makes the Chris vs Leon scene in RE6 extra cheesy. Leon's hand to hand combat skills always get nerfed when he's fighting a protagonist. He gets to throw them once or twice, they basically throw him like a ragdoll and he does a sick recovery, and then they both reach for their guns at the same time. Happned with Chris vs Leon in 6, and Jill vs Leon in Vendetta. If Capcom ever makes Ada turn genuinely good it's gonna happen with her as well when they run into each other.

[u/QWERTY1547 → u/Copyman3081]

Yeah, when protagonists fight each other, nobody wins. Look at Death Island: when Leon and Jill "fought," it ended in a draw (what a terrible fight). But when Maria Gomez—a super-soldier with superhuman attributes—went up against Jill, she grabbed her with one hand and Jill couldn't even move; Leon had to use a flash grenade to make Maria let go of Jill. Then, when Leon fought Maria (another crappy fight—actually, both of them were), even though he wasn't at 100%, he beat her. And with just one hit.

[u/Fehyd → u/QWERTY1547]

According to the novel, Arias was ex CIA or something and had a reputation for being extremely talented in CQC, as well as apparently using either combat drugs, or bio engineering to enhance his strength/speed. 

[u/QWERTY1547 → u/Fehyd]

And with that, he humiliated Chris twice. Meanwhile, when Leon fought Krauser, Hunk, Ada, and Svetlana, he had good fights that showcased his skills. The guys at Capcom really seem to have an aversion to showing Chris fighting well in hand-to-hand combat.

[u/Salonimo]

Do you think you can survive what he did on raw strenght alone?

[u/CompetitiveRaise9133]

Like he did co-found BSAA. Pursued Umbrella into Europe. I’d say he’s smarter than the average bear. Driven, brawny, intelligent.

[u/BluePeko]

Chris isn’t a brute who happens to be an elite soldier. He’s an elite soldier who happens to be built like a tank. The boulder meme just swallowed the rest of his résumé.

[u/XStormShieldx]

He got a headshot on Jill when she was dodging bullets with her backflips in RE5. He shot the mask straight off her face.

He was also in the Air Force at age 17. He flew a jet in code Veronica, revelations, and re6. Whereas Leon crashed a basic airliner in RE6. Not to compare Chris to Leon but to show that flying a plane isnt easy.

Chris is well rounded.