Hiya!

I am now currently on my 4th playthrough of Resident Evil 4 Remake. I’ve already beat the Standard difficultly, started a new game on Hardcore, used that to start a New Game + on Assisted mode and now I’m embarrassingly on another Standard playthrough on New Game +. I’m still afraid of trying out Professional difficulty as Hardcore already kicked my butt so hard. Right now, I’m just trying to save enough pesetas to buy the Infinite Rocket Launcher. Even with the Rocket Launcher discount keychain, I’m still around ten thousand short! When I do, however, watch out, bosses!

For right now, though, I’m toughing it out with the weapons I already have. I actually managed to collect all of the available in-game weapons; none of the special guns, sadly. Even without the bonus guns, Capcom already filled Resident Evil 4 Remake with a very impressive arsenal of killing implements. I gave them all a fair shot and I came out with my personal favorite list of weapons I’ve been using throughout my subsequent playthroughs. My picks fit my personal playstyle so I’m not saying these are going to be the best weapons for you. I’m just sharing what worked for me.

So, let’s go through my favorite standard weapons, in descending order, found in Resident Evil 4 Remake!

#5 Bolt Thrower

I was initially unimpressed with the Bolt Thrower when I first got it. It only had a miniscule ammo capacity in the clip, being able to only hold 3 bolts at the start. It also has a very wonky aiming reticle and, at even not too far distances, you have to account for the bolts dropping while its flying at its target. I did keep it around for a couple of reasons. The first was it was a neat way to reuse disposable knives as you can use them to craft more bolts. The second is the bolts, as long as they don’t explore or you can reach them, can be picked up and reused. This meant it had virtually unlimited ammo as long as you bother picking up the spent bolts.

The Bolt Thrower does get really good after you upgrade it a bit. Once I raised the ammo capacity to around 5, it became more reliable in one-on-one situations as I could pump out damage more readily. What’s really surprising is the Bolt Thrower’s ability to stun enemies. I could easily shoot an enemy in the head or the leg and it’ll stun them, allowing me to run in with a quick melee attack. Not only that, you can attach explosive mines to it, making it so you can preemptively lay traps in tight corridors, like the ones found in the Water Hall. What made it a mainstay in my inventory is the fact it’s the only silent ranged weapon in Resident Evil 4. I used it exclusively during the Garrador fights and it was ridiculously easy to take them out safely.

However, I understand why the Bolt Thrower isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It just can’t keep up against hordes of enemies because of its lousy fire rate. It’s also ridiculously hard to aim at great distances because of the bolts flying in an arc. The bolts are also slow, making it impossible to shoot down quick and twichy baddies. I will say it’s great when you only have to deal with a couple of slow moving enemies and you won’t have to lose any ammo taking them out as well.

#4 Stingray

Is it just me or is sniping egregiously precise in Resident Evil 4 Remake? Nah, it’s probably just me. Still, there are sections in the game where taking out enemies from a distance is the smart tactical move. You also need sniper rifles paired with a bio sensor scope to defeat Regenerators and Iron Maidens as their weak spots are hidden under their icky, blubbery skin. Among the 3 rifles available in the game, I had the best luck with the Stingray… for better or worse. This actually hurts as I know it doesn’t excel in anything but it’s the one I had the best handle on.

When it came to stability, I felt more attuned to the SR Bolt Action rifle. I felt this was the easiest one to aim with, especially when moving around. The problem I had with it was the fire rate and the fact I would get disoriented each time the bullet casing would get ejected as the game would get out from looking through the scope. The CQBR assault rifle, on the other hand, feels too imprecise and there were so many times I would blow off 3 or 4 rifle rounds when I just meant to shoot off just 1 bullet. This led me to stick to the Stingray. It may not have the best damage nor the best ammo capacity, but this was the perfect middle of the road sniper I used throughout my playthroughs just because it had none of the issues of the other rifles in the game. Sigh.

#3 TMP

There are only a couple of sub-machine guns in Resident Evil 4 Remake if you’re not including the bonus and extra weapons. I honestly don’t really use any of the sub-machine guns too often as I mostly rely on the 2 top weapons on this list. However, I do like to keep the TMP handy at all times because it does have very good ammo capacity and a high rate of fire, which is super useful when my other weapons are running out of ammo and I need to spray a room with bullets to get some breathing room.

I picked the TMP over the only other sub-machine gun, the LE5, for a couple of reasons. The first is its compact size. The gun is very inaccurate if you don’t equip it with the stock but, on the upside, it takes up very little inventory space without it. Since I only use it when I either need to shower a mob of enemies with lead or when I’m short on ammo for my 2 main weapons, accuracy doesn’t really factor in all that much. The second is I just don’t like using the decidedly superior LE5 because you have to aim through it in first person mode. I simply have a harder time aiming and it certainly doesn’t help how the zoomed in view limits your peripheral vision. I know I can just not put on sights on it and it’ll work like your ordinary gun. Even then, it just felt weird because, when going full auto, it still shoots like the TMP with the stock. So, why not just use the TMP with the stock? Since I prefer the small size of the TMP, I just sold the LE5.

#2 Punisher

Now we’re getting somewhere!

Capcom really gave us an overabundance of handguns in Resident Evil 4 Remake and I had a blast trying them all. I generally like using all of them and, for the longest time, I stuck with the Matilda because, with the stock, you can almost use it like a sub-machine gun if you properly time your trigger presses. However, once I tried out the Punisher, I fell in love with it for one reason: penetration power.

The Punisher is the only handgun which can actually shoot through targets, making it invaluable in narrow corridors. Herding enemies in a row means hitting 2 enemies with one bullet as long as their lined up. This means it can also go through the wooden shields some of the castle enemies carry around. It also has a phenomenal fire rate, meaning you can fire at will when a ton of enemies are rushing at you. The Punisher is also super accurate as it’s the only other handgun which can use the laser sight.

I would love it if the Punisher was a little more powerful because it doesn’t really pump out a lot of damage per bullet, making some battles feel tedious and never ending. This also means it’s not really that good against most bosses as you’ll need a ton more ammo to get them to keel over. Even with these problems, the Punisher remained in my arsenal simply because I love lining up baddies and shooting through them.

#1 Riot Gun

Ah, the Yellow Diamond to my Elegant Crown. The Riot Gun is my all-purpose weapon in Resident Evil 4 Remake as it’s great at almost every aspect. It annihilates villagers, cultists and soldiers when up close. It can chew through mobs even at mid-range. It will stop chainsaw wielding brutes in their tracks if you blast them in their cranium. It can wipe out a swarm of Novistradors or anything else for that matter with a couple of shots. You don’t need to be super precise when you aim because it’s fairly generous with the spread. Heck, it’ll destroy Saddler’s mutated eyeballs in just two well-spaced shots! Honestly, the Riot Gun is my primary weapon of choice for every situation.

I’ve heard some Resident Evil 4 Remake player prefer the W870 because of the wider spread and more powerful damage or the Striker for its incredibly large ammo capacity, making it possible to same some inventory space as you can load up to 100 rounds when fully upgraded! However, it’s still the Riot Gun for me because I just love the tight spread it has. That just means I don’t have to be super accurate with it but, when I am, I’m sure all of that buckshot is going to be concentrated in that confined area! Honestly, it’s only real weakness is it’s a shotgun, which means crafting ammo for it gets really expensive! However, if you can keep it loaded, it’ll save your hide!

BONUS: Combat Knife (with fully upgraded durabilty)

We all should give more reverence to the humble Combat Knife. Yes, it’s your starting knife and it probably broke halfway through the opening village siege. However, this is also when you see how useful it is as you’ve probably parried a few strikes, stealth killed a couple of villagers, stabbed some downed enemies to keep them from coming back and even possibly stopped a chainsaw from hacking you in two!

All of this is the game telling you to upgrade the Combat Knife’s durability every chance you get. I’m betting that’s what we all did and we’re all glad we did so! You might get other knives throughout your progress through Resident Evil 4 Remake, however, even when I got the Fighting Knife after defeating Krauser, I still kept the Combat Knife by my side because, by that time, it was so durable it could survive parrying a chainsaw without breaking! Who wouldn’t want that with them!

Byee!

What are your favorite weapons in Resident Evil 4 Remake? Let me know what they are in the comments section below!