In the remake of Resident Evil 4, Leon starts off with a fairly small health bar. His initial HP is so low that even a Ganado could take him out with a few machete strikes. But the good news is that he can adapt to damage and increase his health. In fact, a fully upgraded HP makes Leon invulnerable to most attacks—other than those from bosses.
Diehard RE4 fans may already know that yellow herbs increase Leon’s max health, but what many don’t know is that the remake has a bunch of new methods on top of that. Along with healing potions, Leon can now eat a mysterious bug or wear a ridiculous hat to boost his HP.
How to Increase Maximum HP in RE4 Remake
To increase Leon’s max health, the player will need to consume healing potions containing a yellow herb, eat Rhinoceros Beetles, or wear the body armor or Chicken Hat. The first two methods—potions and beetles—give Leon a longer HP bar. The last one, wearing protective suits, reduces his received damage.
Consume Yellow Herb Potions
The best way to max out the HP bar is by eating yellow herbs. These items are not edible on their own but mixed with red or green herbs, yellow herbs increase Leon’s strength. The player will need to consume 12 of them to fully upgrade the health bar.
Yellow herbs can be found in most Chapters of the game, but the player can also trade them for Spinel at the Merchant sites. Each yellow herb costs about 3 Spinels.
Eat Rhinoceros Beetles
There are three Rhinoceros Beetles in the Resident Evil 4 remake, and although their description advises otherwise, eating them could max out the player’s HP.
But note that these rare bugs are expensive treasures that sell for good money. It’s best to keep them for trading in the first playthrough and eat them only in New Game Plus.
Wear Protective Suits
The body armor and the Chicken Hat can max Leon’s HP. They do not affect the health bar directly, but wearing them reduces the player’s received damage, protecting them against bullets, projectiles, and melee attacks.
How to Max Out Ashley’s Health
Unlike the original RE4, the remake has no way of maximizing Ashley’s HP. An alternative, however, is to unlock the armor for her in the Extra Content Shop. This protective suit removes her health bar altogether, making her completely invincible.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.