This game is pretty CPU dependent so chances are that's the weak link for you if you're having trouble seeing 120FPS constantly. I'm on a very outdated cpu now, a 3770K that's like 10 years old by now. My GPU is a 1060 with a pretty hefty overclock on it(still stable though) and my issue isn't getting to 120fps, it's keeping it there. There's a lot of FPS variance for me when I go through certain areas of the game, where I can go all the way down to 55'ish FPS and then back up to 120. For most of the game(outside of boss fights) I sit around 95-105 fps, and it's all because of the CPU. The amount of FPS increase I see from playing the game @ 1080p with pretty much the max recommended settings including FXAA+TAA, SSAO, 100% image quality, high shadows, medium volumetric lighting,etc.... or playing with strictly performance settings with everything essentially turned off... the performance increase I see is really negligible, maybe 5% at the most it seems...and it's because my GPU isn't having any issue rendering what's on my screen, it's the cpu failing to keep up between screen changes when loading new elements.

One example I can think of is looking towards where the first aid spray is as soon as you enter the police station. In that corner next to the east shutter switch. My fps will drop to about 75 in that area, but then after a moment it'll climb back up to my average around 90-100. If I were you, assuming your cpu is the weak link, pay more attention to the processor usage bar in the graphics option. Keep that as low as possible. If I'm speed running where all I care about is performance, I turn everything off(you can completely turn off volumetric lighting for example) or at minimum and run my image quality at about 70-80%. I keep it on 1080P resolution though. After you start the game, open task manager, goto the details tab and find the re2.exe. Right click it and set priority to high. Some other things you can do if you own a nvidia gpu, go into the control panel and check these options.

Texture Filtering Quality = High Performance Threaded Optimization = ON Power Management Mode = Prefer maximum performance

Also, on some older drivers(idk what you have) there's an option for display mode in 3D settings, and you want to make sure it's set to "Single display performance mode" if you have only 1 monitor. Even if you do have multiple monitors, you should set it to single display mode, just change the 3d settings specifically for RE2, not globally. If you don't see this option in your nvidia control panel, it's probably because nvidia removed the option somewhat recently I think. In that case, you can download a program called Nvidia inspector and it'll let you change that option still, I think Nvidia just hid it or something. Hope some of this info helps.

I wouldn't even be against a category that isn't handgun only but flat out eliminates the knife as both a self-defense item and a weapon for bosses. You'd have to bank the knife from Marvin immediately while the west shutter/gate is opening and then not pick up another knife for the rest of the game. When the game first came out I was excited about the prospect of trying different strategies for boss fights, different weapons, etc. We found out how incredibly powerful the knife was very early after the game's release and I always felt like it let us bypass a large part of the testing & strategizing when it came to the boss fights in the game. I don't dislike the knife being so powerful or anything but I've found it impossible not to wonder how the speedrunning communities approach to the game would've changed if the knife simply didn't exist in it's current form.

I'm not one of those people who like the idea of tons of different niche categories however with the knife being the way it is, a knifeless category is really intriguing to me.

I was gonna type that I simply shoot at the floor right in front of the door(excuse the sick rhymes) and it works most of the time it seems, but yeah...Hippo gave a much more detailed answer than I could ever hope to.

I haven't really had to experiment with shot placement. Ever since I started trying this strat, I've made sure to shoot the ground next to the doorway and it works about as often as it does for anyone else which seems like 60% maybe idk. You'll know it's worked if you go through the door and the fat zombie do a loud growl as you run past him to his left. If he just moans a little bit like they do while in an idle state, it usually means it's worked and he's not tracking you.

The only priority seems to be time of submission. The only exception to that rule is whether a moderator watched a run live on twitch and therefore has already gone through the verification process already because they've already seen the run obviously. They may still go back and double check a couple things just for thoroughness but yeah... they verify runs based on when they were sent in. If someone sent a run in days or hours before you submitted yours, it's only fair that they get taken care of first. First come, first serve.

If you're asking because you saw in the submit a run page about linking to your split i/o ID, don't worry about that it's only optional, not mandatory. That's merely a way of sharing your splits with the community and it's totally up to you. You've already been given your answer so you should be on your way by now. As long as your FPS is always displayed(and capped at 60/120), you show the difficulty select at the start and your IGT at the end with no breaks or cuts in the run, that's pretty much all you need.

Knifeless runs sound very interesting, actually.