Resident Evil 4 Remake: 13 Best Weapons, Ranked

The Resident Evil 4 Remake includes 22 primary weapons. Of these, only a few are worth the player's time, effort, and money because the game is designed so that players can easily beat it using just the starter weapon pack — provided they upgrade the default pistol. So, the question is, which additional weapons are worth it?

This list aims to highlight the most worthwhile weapons in the RE4 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.

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Updated on January 30, 2026, by Vlad Mazanko: Resident Evil 4 Remake ended up so goodthat it essentially became the better version of the already perfect survival-horror action game. Standing as the new classic in the popular genre, RE4 Remake continues to draw new players in, with many veterans of the series also replaying it constantly, discovering new ways to freshen up the experience.

As always, the recurring debate about Resident Evil 4's best weapons remains a hot topic, with each fan having their own preferences and criteria to determine the ultimate weapon of the modern reimagining. While there are no universally best or useless weapons in the game, some just tend to perform better overall, so the list has been updated to highlight the advantages of top-tier weapons and provide more insight into their performances in various situations.

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.

13 TMP SMG

Best Feature: High Damage Plus Stock for Less Recoil

• How to Get: Can be bought from the Merchant starting from Chapter 3.
• Best Stopgap: Given that TMP SMG is actually the first in its class that players can get, there are few other options other than choosing LE5 (available much later) or using the Matilda handgun with a stock for a three-round fire mode.

Quick Review: TMP SMG can be described as a solid weapon overall, elevated by the fact of how early players can get one and how good it can serve in certain scenarios, like being surrounded by hordes of weaker enemies, which happens quite often in Resident Evil 4. Overall, it's a decent choice that, while not offering any especially strong perks, doesn't have any major drawbacks, resulting in a weapon that players won't regret investing in.

TMP SMG is the weapon some would call a workhorse, packing solid stats across the board, but it doesn't really offer any standout traits like its older brother, LE5. However, with its attachable stock that can notably boost accuracy and reduce recoil, TMP SMG becomes an unstoppable and very effective tool for eliminating hordes of enemies in close- to mid-range in RE4. In some gameplay sections, like the notorious cabin defense alongside Lois, TMP SMG truly shines, delivering power, practicality, and ammo efficiency. It can be surprisingly useful during boss encounters, with its “spray and pray” tactics that can be very rewarding when in need of quickly dealing damage to bosses' weak points.

When compared to LE5, TMP SMG is much more profitable for its return on investment, costing significantly less to fully upgrade, and delivering pretty much comparable results across the board with a higher damage output and larger magazine. This makes it no less useful and effective weapon, outside of very specific situations like eliminating Regenerators in later stages of the game.

12 Punisher Handgun

Best Feature: Penetration Power to Greatly Reserve Ammo

• How to Get: Can be traded with the Merchant for 5 Spinels starting from Chapter 2. To get Spinels, players need to complete optional tasks.
• Best Stopgap: If players are not into reserving ammo or positioning enemies for max efficiency, they can simply use and upgrade SG-09 R or Red9 instead.

Quick Review: Many Resident Evil 4 players believe that Punisher is actually the best handgun in the game overall, and it could be hard to argue. A choice of a true professional with a unique penetration perk. Using Punisher can feel especially rewarding and exciting, as players can line up their enemies before taking their shot for max effectiveness. Punisher's other stats are also quite remarkable, coupling decent damage with great capacity.

The Punisher Handgun becomes available rather early into the game, and can serve players very well up until the finale as their primary handgun. Punisher's unique benefit is its exclusive penetration perk, allowing players to hit up to five enemies with a single shot. Of course, it's easier said than done reliably in practice, but players can learn to line up at least two to three enemies without much issue, staggering and damaging them at once, reserving their ammo supplies as true professionals.

With the Punisher's penetration, it can also be much easier to achieve 100% accuracy when playing the game. Not only that, but this pistol is also compatible with the laser sight, making it a perfect alternative to a starting SG-09 R handgun. With a relatively low max upgrade cost of just over 200,000 Pesetas, players also get decent damage and an admirable capacity, which, coupled with the penetration perk, ensures that players won't need to reload their gun once, even during the most intense shootouts, if they keep a cool head.

11 Bolt Thrower

Best Feature: No Real Alternative, Combines Stealth-Focused and Explosive AOE Weapon

• How to Get: Can be bought from the Merchant starting from Chapter 3.
• Best Stopgap: Bolt Thrower is a pretty unique weapon in the game that has no real alternative. However, players can master various grenades in the game to use them effectively instead of their attachable mines.

Quick Review: Bolt Thrower is a one-of-a-kind weapon that most players should master for various reasons. It's a rare weapon for stealth-focused playthroughs, taking enemies down silently while also being a potent AOE tool with its explosive proximity mines as alternate fire mode. Bolt Thrower's true potential can be unleashed during certain boss encounters, allowing players to stick several explosives in place where a boss or elite enemy will appear, instantly killing them or skipping their first combat phase with ease.

Bolt Thrower may look pretty underwhelming early on, yet players would be wise to stick with it, upgrade, and master this unique tool in Resident Evil 4. Bolt Thrower uses silent arrows that can immobilize weaker enemies without attracting the others' attention, and even if the damage isn't that great, this is just one possible scenario for its usage.

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Most players would want to use Bolt Thrower as a mine thrower instead, for its alternate fire mode that attaches proximity mines to arrows, and then sticks them to any surface or even enemies. The alternate fire mode for Bolt Thrower requires time and patience, but can be as rewarding as very few weapons in the game allow for. Not only is the AOE damage with max upgrade strong enough to eliminate several enemies at once, but it can also be used effectively against specific enemies like shield wielders later on, by shooting a mine underneath them. Not to mention how Bolt Thrower can be used creatively to set up boss arenas by experienced players, essentially allowing them to skip certain bosses altogether.

10 ​​​Primal Knife

Best Feature: Indestructibility

• 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.

Quick Review: Knives are extremely useful in RE4 Remake, capable of saving the player's life on countless occasions. However, maintaining a knife can be quite unreliable and expensive. Adding the indestructible Primal Knife to their arsenal solves this major issue once and for all, and feels so convenient that players would hardly ever want to go back.

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.

9 SG-09 R

Best Feature: Compatibility with Laser Sights

• 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.

Quick Review: When combined with the Laser Sight, SG-09 R creates the closest gunplay experience to the original Resident Evil 4. It is also one of the most affordable handguns to fully upgrade, as it's a free starter gun. SG-09 R's only drawback is its average firepower, which can be offset by its exclusive perk that increases the critical rate by five times.

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 the 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.

8 LE5

Best Feature: Compatibility with Biosensor Scope

• How to Get: Complete the 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 othersubmachine gunss.

Quick Review: No other gun is as effective as a Biosensor-equipped LE5 against the annoying Regeneradors. It is accurate, acute, and rapid, giving the player a chance to counter highly mobile enemies. As for the downside, LE5's low firepower prolongs the TTK (time to kill), making this SMG weak against enemy herds.

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.

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The damage of the LE 5 is not too high, but its fast rate of fire and ammo capacity make up for its lack of power. However, its best facet is its perk. The LE 5 has a penetration power that allows its bullets to pierce through enemies. Couple this with its rate of fire, and the LE 5 is a reliable weapon to use against multiple threats throughout the RE4 Remake.

7 CQBR Assault Rifle

Best Feature: High Rate of Fire

• How to Get: Complete the Cubic Device puzzle in Chapter 10.
• Best Stopgap: The only other rifle that can match up to CQBR's stats is the Stingray.

Quick Review: If it wasn't for its high recoil, CQBR could easily rival for the top spot among the RE4 Remake's ARs. When the enemy is at long range, this automatic assault rifle can inflict immense damage as it fires up to 32 bullets with a rate of 2.50. Even better, when targeting the enemy's weak spots, CQBR's shots deal three times more damage, making the gun a perfect choice in some of the boss fights.

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 CQB Assault 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

Best Feature: High Penetration

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

Quick Review: Broken Butterfly is among the deadliest magnums in the Resident Evil 4 Remake. It packs a whopping 40.5 damage per shot (at max level), which is enough to one-shot even the strongest foes. However, the tradeoff is the slow fire rate and heavy recoil. Missing a shot with Broken Butterfly can be an unforgivable mistake, especially if it's against a fast-moving creature.

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

Best Feature: Extra Damage Against Weak Points

• How to Get: Buy from the Merchant starting from 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.

Quick Review: Stingray is the best option for sharpshooting in the RE4 Remake. It has an above-average precision rate, and when aimed at the enemies' weak spots, it deals an extra three-fold damage. From Chapter 13 onward, Stingray becomes a valuable weapon in the player's arsenal because long-range combat becomes more intense.

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.

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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 Rocket Launcher

Best Feature: The Ability to One-Shot 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.

Quick Review: Despite its hefty price tag, the Rocket Launcher is one of the best weapons in the Resident Evil 4 Remake simply because it can function as a skip button for boss fights. The player can eliminate the most daunting monsters with just one shot of this weapon, although it has a one-time-use limitation.

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 him 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.