Care Center Courtyard Walkthrough — Resident Evil Requiem (RE9)

The Care Center Courtyard is an outdoor area between the Care Center Basement and the Raccoon City sewers. This RE9 walkthrough covers the Blister-borne boss encounter (4 cysts), the fountain Quartz puzzle, Safe #3, and the abandoned chapel save room.

Courtyard overview

After the close-quarters claustrophobia of the Care Center Basement, the Courtyard is the campaign's first real outdoor sandbox. It is also the first arena where you fight a multi-stage boss in the open, and the layout rewards players who scout before they shoot.

Two factions are active here: cyst-covered Blister-borne enemies that wander the open paths, and the boss itself, which sits in the central fountain plaza. You can ignore the wanderers if you stay on the perimeter — they reset when you re-enter from a save room.

Sewer entrance from the Care Center Basement

You enter through the rusted hatch at the southwest edge of the courtyard. The first ten meters are blind — pop a flare or use the rusted lantern hung on the hatch lip to see the layout.

1. Crouch through the broken trellis — standing alerts the first Blister-borne wanderer.
2. Loot the cracked cistern immediately to your right (gunpowder, Hemorrhetic Injector).
3. Skirt the perimeter clockwise until you reach the chapel — set up your save before approaching the fountain.

Courtyard layout: cisterns, statue, and hidden passages

The Courtyard is laid out like a four-pointed cross with the central fountain at the intersection. Each arm contains one or two interactables:

• North arm — broken statue (loot the base for an antique coin), passage to the abandoned greenhouse.
• East arm — three cisterns; one hides Safe #3 behind the rear panel.
• South arm — sewer entry (where you came in) and an emergency exit gate (locked, unlock from inside after the boss).
• West arm — abandoned chapel (save room) and the path down into the sewers to Raccoon City.

Blister-borne boss encounter

The Blister-borne boss spawns from the fountain itself when you approach within five meters. It has four large cysts on its body, and unlike the wanderers, it does not despawn until all four are destroyed. The fight is mandatory; the exit gates remain locked until the boss is down.

Full tactics, cyst-priority order, and Insanity-specific tips are in our Blister-borne boss guide. Quick summary:

1. Pop the shoulder cysts first — they cripple its right-arm slam.
2. Pop the back cyst from the perimeter (do not chase it into the fountain — the water slows you down).
3. The chest cyst is the last and the only one that drops the Mortal Edge Hatchet upgrade.

Fountain Quartz puzzle piece

After the boss drops, the fountain drains and reveals a sunken pedestal in the basin floor. The pedestal accepts the Quartz Piece you collected in the basement's Sterilization Chamber. Place it, rotate the outer ring once clockwise, and the pedestal sinks to reveal:

• Antique Coin (counts toward the 22-coin set)
• Eye Spy Charm refill — refreshes the charm's save-from-fatal-damage proc
• File: Groundskeeper's Notes (one of the 75 files)

Abandoned chapel save room

The chapel at the west edge of the courtyard is the only save point in this chapter. The door is sticky — push twice. Inside you have a typewriter, an item box, and a faint lantern that's safe to fully heal at.

Stock up on whatever you scavenged this chapter (you should leave with 50+ shotgun shells and at least one First Aid Spray for the Water Treatment Plant). If you have Hemorrhetic Injectors, leave one in the box — Grace will need it next chapter.

Sewer descent to the Raccoon City Water Treatment Plant

The west-side door of the chapel opens onto a steep iron staircase down into the sewers. The Care Center sewer network connects to the Raccoon City Water Treatment Plant, where the campaign transitions from Leon back to Grace for the next chapter.

There is a single Blister-borne wanderer halfway down the staircase. You can stealth past with a slow crouch — engaging wastes shotgun shells you will want later.

What comes next: Water Treatment Plant

The Water Treatment Plant is Grace's first proper boss chapter — three sunlight units to restart and the deeply unpleasant The Girl fight at the end. Save before the cutscene at the chapel; once Grace takes over, you cannot revisit the courtyard.

Continue with our Water Treatment Plant walkthrough, or jump straight to The Girl boss guide.