Best Weapons In Resident Evil 4 Remake

Key Takeaways

• Primal Knife’s Indestructibility perk makes it a top-tier melee weapon with unlimited parries and stealth kills.
• The SG-09 R pistol offers satisfying headshot explosions and realistic shooting experience but lacks firepower compared to late-game pistols.
• The LE5 SMG, with penetration power and rapid rate of fire, excels in fighting multiple enemies, making it a must-have for the endgame.

Resident Evil 4 Remake offers an arsenal of 22 weapons, each with distinct stats, capabilities, and potential. However, not all these guns can rank high on a tier list—some outperform the rest. While certain weapons are worth the investment and upgrades, others fall short. A few excel in any situation, while the rest are best left in the player’s storage.

This list aims to highlight the most worthwhile weapons in Resident Evil 4 Remake. It covers most weapon categories, including melee, handguns, shotguns, SMGs, rifles, assault rifles, and bonus weapons. The ranking evaluates not only performance within each category but also the overall effectiveness compared to weapons across all categories. Below is an explanation of the criteria used for ranking.

RE4 Remake Weapon Tier List Criteria

• Return on investment.
• Power and practicality.
• Ease of use (ammo efficiency, accuracy, recoil, etc.).
• Gameplay impact (sound design, effects, appearance, and feel).

The rankings consider the cost of each weapon, its effectiveness, and its impact on gameplay. Higher-ranked weapons justify their price, deliver deadly power, and enhance the overall gaming experience.

Updated on November 30, 2024, by Mohsen Baqery: With the new update for the Resident Evil 4 remake preparing it for the PS5 Pro launch, this list has been revisited to include more practical information. Readers can now better understand how the rankings work and what makes a weapon S-tier. Additionally, each entry now includes more details about stats to give readers a clearer idea of each gun’s strengths.

10 ​​​Primal Knife

This Melee Weapon Is Indestructible

• How to Get: Destroy all clockwork castellans
• Best Stopgap: Players who don’t own the Primal Knife can invest in the Fighting Knife instead, as it is the second-best blade in the Resident Evil 4 Remake.

The Primal Knife is an end-game collectible introduced in the Remake. Players get their hands on this blade after destroying 16 well-hidden clockwork castellans (one in each chapter). However, what makes this weapon unique is its Exclusive Perk: The Indestructibility.

After maxing out the Primal Knife’s stats, players can pay an extra 10,000 pesetas to the Merchant to unlock its hidden potential. After this one last upgrade, their blade will never break again, giving them unlimited parries and stealth kills.

In terms of Power, the Fighting Knife is the best melee choice. Krauser’s blade can inflict up to 3.6 DMG per hit, whereas the Primal Knife maxes out at 1.2. However, players can stab an enemy with the latter as many times as they want, yielding an overall higher damage rate.

9 SG-09 R

Shooting With This Pistol Feels Amazing

• How to Get: It’s a starting weapon.
• Best Stopgap: The Blacktail is an ideal replacement for the SG-09 R since it comes with consistent accuracy and firepower.

It’s impossible to make a list of the best RE4 weapons without including the iconic Silver Ghost. According to the game’s lore, Leon acquired this custom pistol from Joseph Kendo, the famous firearm designer. The MUP-inspired handgun proves effective against all enemy types, maxing out at 2.00 Power on top of a 5x Critical Hit Chance, which guarantees satisfying zombie head explosions.

In Resident Evil 4 Remake, the SG-09 R fails to outperform most late-game pistols in terms of firepower. However, if players are looking for the best weapon sound effects and a realistic shooting experience, the Silver Ghost is a must-have.

Players should purchase
the Laser Sight
for the SG-09 R as soon as possible for refined shooting, reviving the original game’s nostalgic aiming system.

8 LE5

A Rapid All-Around SMG

• How to Get: Freezer Puzzle (Chapter 11)
• Best Stopgap: The Chicago Sweeper is a must-have for RE4 fans who love SMGs. It’s rapid and reliable, but more importantly, shooting with the Sweeper feels much better than all other Sub-Machine Guns.

Submachine guns can be very useful in Resident Evil 4, especially when fighting against massive hordes of enemies. Players will face a lot of these as they finish this game, which means that they can truly benefit from this weapon. The best submachine gun in Resident Evil 4 is the LE 5, and players can find it in a locked freezer in Chapter 13.

The damage of the LE 5 is not too high, but its fast rate of fire and ammo capacity more than makes up for its lack of power. However, its best facet is its perk. The LE 5 has a penetration power that allows its bullets pierce through enemies. Couple this with its rate of fire, and the LE 5 is a reliable weapon to use against multiple threats throughout Resident Evil 4 Remake.

7 CQBR Assault Rifle

Fast As An SMG And As Powerful As A Shotgun

• How to Get: Chapter 10 (puzzle)
• Best Stopgap: The only other rifle that can match up to CQBR’s stats is the Stingray.

The CQBR Assault Rifle is a fully automatic weapon. It essentially functions similarly to SMGs, but this particular assault rifle is better because it has higher damage and better precision. However, it is a much bigger weapon; therefore, it occupies more space in the player’s inventory.

The CQBR Assault Rifle also has penetration power, making it the ultimate weapon to use against hordes. If the player has enough ammo, they can wipe out a camp of enemies with ease while using this weapon. Players will find the CQBR Assult Rifle in a lock box in the Library during Chapter 10. Alternatively, they can purchase it from the merchant starting in Chapter 11.

6 Broken Butterfly

The Power Of A Rocket Launcher In A Handgun

• How to Get: Buy from the Merchant (Chapter 7)
• Best Stopgap: For those looking to use a more accurate heavy-duty handgun, the Killer7 would be a better option.

The Broken Butterfly is the first magnum players can acquire in Resident Evil 4. Aside from the Rocket Launcher, magnums are the most powerful weapons in the game. However, their ammo is also the rarest. The weapon’s caveat is that its accuracy can be somewhat shaky. Given the rarity of magnum ammo, this can make the weapon very risky to use.

That being said, as long as the player can master the weapon’s aim, the Broken Butterfly is an absolute beast. It can be purchased from the merchant starting in Chapter 7.

5 Stingray

Everything That An Assault Rifle Should Be

• How to Get: Buy from the Merchant (Chapter 7)
• Best Stopgap: Players who don’t like the Stingray for whatever reason could replace it with the CQBR AR, the only other weapon that can match up to Stingray’s stats.

The Stingray is a semi-automatic assault rifle. It has an excellent range, which makes it perfect for killing enemies from afar. It becomes significantly more useful once it is fitted with a scope. With it, the gun becomes a sniper’s best friend.

Another strength of the Stingray is that it deals three times more damage to weak points. Its damage value is also decent enough. Both these traits make the weapon effective during boss fights. Players can purchase the Stingray from the merchant starting Chapter 7.

4 Riot Gun

A Great Crowd-Control Weapon

• How to Get: Buy from the Merchant (Chapter 6)
• Best Stopgap: For more firepower, players could go with the W-870 shotgun, which is slightly less accurate but quite deadlier.

The Riot Gun is a powerful piece of weaponry. It is a shotgun, after all, and shotguns are very reliable in Resident Evil 4. This semi-automatic shotgun has high damage, reduced recoil, and a decent rate of fire. It is a perfect weapon to use against bosses and mini-bosses due to its power and speed.

The gun is good against mobs, too, but that would be a waste of ammo. It’s best to reserve this weapon for tougher encounters. Players can acquire the Riot Gun from the merchant. It becomes available for sale during and after Chapter 6, and it costs 28,000 Ptas, which isn’t cheap, but it’s worth every buck.

3 Rocket Launcher

This Weapon Can One-Shot All Bosses

• How to Get: Buy from the Merchant
• Best Stopgap: The only other group of weapons that could rival the Rocket Launcher is magnums, as no other weapon in the Resident Evil 4 Remake can one-shot a boss.

The Rocket Launcher is a ridiculously powerful weapon. Rockets fired from this weapon can one-shot almost every single enemy in the game. However, the weapon is very expensive, and it can be deadly to the user as well. When fired from a close distance, the explosion can also damage the player.

Just like in the original, the merchant in the remake also offers an Infinite Rocket Launcher. Players can purchase this from the merchant during New Game+ for a whopping 2,000,000 Pesetas. It’s ungodly expensive, but nothing in this horror game will ever stand in Leon’s way with this enormously overpowered weapon.

2 Handcannon

A Beast Killer With Unlimited Ammo

• How to Get: Achieve S Rank in all Mercenaries stages or beat the game in Professional Mode without Bonus Weapons
• Best Stopgap: The Infinite Rocket Launcher is the only other weapon that could rival a fully upgraded Handcannon.

Reminiscent of the Elephant Killer from Resident Evil 5, the Handcannon is the strongest magnum in the RE4 Remake, but what keeps it among the top-tier guns is its Exclusive Perk. When fully upgraded, the Handcannon gets an Unlimited Ammo perk, becoming a never-ending powerhouse — one that one-shots all formidable enemies.

The only two downsides of the Handcannon are its high upgrade price and low fire rate. Players must pay 540,000 Pesetas to maximize its stats. However, even after the buff, the pistol will retain its below-average accuracy.

1 Red9

The Ultimate Pistol: Nostalgic, Strong, And Stylish

• How to Get: Found in a chest in the lake area (Chapter 4)
• Best Stopgap: The Sentinel 9 and SG-09 R are ideal replacements for the Red9, as they too offer immense firepower and stylish designs.

Inspired by the Mauser C96 (a real-life German pistol), the Red9 is the best handgun in Resident Evil 4 Remake. It is fast, fierce, and forceful, dropping Ganados like flies. But the main reason the Red9 outperforms all other weapons is its accessibility and power. Players can find this unmatched pistol in a chest for free, and after a few upgrades, it becomes a beast-killing firearm with a massive 4.05 firepower.

From the moment players get their hands on the Red9, they can remove all other pistols from the inventory. This semi-automatic weapon, with its stylish integral box magazine, can help Leon easily clear all stages in the game. The Red9 holds a special place in the hearts of RE4 fans, as it is Luis’ weapon of choice. With the Remake delving deeper into Luis’ fate and his short-lived friendship with Leon, his favorite pistol becomes even more special.