Resident Evil 4/Weapons and upgrades

These are Leon's weapons. The weapons used in Mercenaries, Assignment Ada, and Separate Ways are not covered.

Pistols
Leon starts with the Handgun, others must be bought from the Merchant. All handguns use 9mm Handgun ammo, found in red boxes (and sometimes as red-aura drops from slain enemies). Handgun ammo is stored 50 rounds per two spaces. With the exception of the Red9 and the Matilda, all pistols take up a 2x3 space in your inventory.

Handgun
This is Leon's starting pistol. Weak power, but when given its exclusive upgrade will cause critical hits from headshots (Either instantly killing a human enemy, or destroying the head and bringing the Plaga within to near-death) five times as often. While it holds its own in the earliest sections of the game, it won't be long before bigger, bolder and all-round better guns start calling and this pea-shooter is sold and replaced. It's worth noting that regardless of the handgun you are equipped with, Leon will always be seen holding this gun in cutscenes where he is armed.

Punisher
A pistol that is able to pierce through two enemies at once (Five with the Exclusive Upgrade). Any handgun ammo saved by the piercing ability, however, tends to be negated by the lowered Firepower. It could be said that the gun's name may be a reference to the comic book anti-hero "The Punisher". A special objective in the main game both allows you to have the Punisher for free if the 10 blue medallions are found and shot (dotted around the farm and the church perimeter), while shooting all 15 before visiting the Merchant allows you to buy it with a free firepower upgrade (which, in this case, is a clear upgrade to the original Handgun). The best way to go is to upgrade this just marginally until you reach the castle and gain the Blacktail; but whatever pistol you choose won't affect you in the long run much (you can use the handgun all the way through if you want; not recommended). You may buy this the first time you meet the Merchant.

This is also the gun Ada Wong uses in the Assignment Ada scenario.

Red 9
Modelled after the famous Mauser C-96, the Red9 is a large and, shot for shot, potentially the single highest firepower Pistol you may possess. The drawback to this is the smallest clip size, slowest reload time, slowest refire rate, poor recoil, and a larger inventory footprint (2x4) than all other pistols. While a stock can be bought to negate the recoil, this increases the inventory footprint to 11 spaces (2x4 for the weapon, 1x3 for the stock). The Red9's firepower surpasses any low-level shotgun. Some argue that the efficiency of ammo usage makes this a good weapon; you'd probably be best with a quick pistol and a powerful shotgun or magnum. Choose this gun only if you like aiming over spraying, or if you'd like bit of a challenge. You may buy this weapon once you find Ashley, and the stock just before the rope bridge.

Blacktail
The last of the standard semi-auto handguns to appear, the Blacktail is the most well-rounded (and fastest non-burst firing when upgraded) pistol available. It has the same reload time as the Handgun, fires even faster, has roughly twice the Firepower, and a larger clip. However, it falls behind the Red9 in pure firepower, even after its Exclusive upgrade. You may buy this weapon once you enter the castle.

In the main game, Ada carries this pistol with her at all times (despite not using it in Assignment Ada).

Matilda (UNLOCKABLE)
The Matilda takes on the form of a HK VP70 with attached stock which is also the same gun that Leon used in Resident Evil 2 when you found upgrade parts for his handgun. It can be unlocked by beating the main game, purchasable immediately. It has somewhat average Firepower (on par with the regular Handgun), reloads quickly, and can belch out its bursts very rapidly in groups of three, meaning that your enemies can be felled in a third of the time. However, some gamers find that it really does nothing but eat up ammunition three times as fast. With its Exclusive upgrade, it gains a 100 round clip. The Matilda occupies a 2x5 space (the largest for a pistol) in your inventory.

Shotguns
Your shotgun is, in general, considered a crowd-clearing weapon. Even the weakest one has a penchant for being able to catch large groups in the blast radius of its shells. Note that, while the weapons are all hand-loaded weapons, the reload animation only has you loading two shells to get a full clip. With the exclusion of the Striker, shotguns have a 8x2 inventory footprint. Shotguns use Shotgun shells, which use 2x1 spaces to hold 20 rounds. All shotguns can be bought from the Merchant.

Shotgun
The Shotgun is your basic shotgun, of course. Average attack power, good spread. Unfortunately, it tends to be slower than other weapons. Good for knocking ganados off their feet. The Exclusive upgrade for the Shotgun allows it to do full damage from any range. You can pick up a free shotgun off the wall of the trap house, in Chapter 1-1 - and you will need it, to fend off the chainsaw ganado.

Riot gun
The Riot Gun is a very, very slight improvement on the Shotgun. Larger clip size, same spread, slightly greater attack power (unless you fully upgrade both weapons, but then don't get the Exclusive upgrade on the Riot Gun). It has a unique trait in that it actually aims slightly faster than other weapons (this is what "easy to handle" means). You may buy the Riot Gun when you enter the Castle.

Striker
An automatic, drum-fed shotgun. The Striker is, in essence, the best of all worlds - highest attack power, highest refire rate, fastest reload, and a relatively massive clip. The Exclusive upgrade for this weapon is a 100 round magazine - perfect for those huge crowds. The striker has a 5x2 inventory footprint. You may buy the Striker when you are partway through the Island.

Magnums
Your Magnum is, to be blunt, your heavy hitter. Even chainsaw ganados will drop within three rounds of a high-level Magnum. Magnum ammo comes in boxes of 12, and both Magnum pistols take up 4x2 spaces of inventory.

Broken Butterfly
This .45 calibre revolver-style Magnum is the single most powerful ammo-based weapon in the game. Its Exclusive upgrade makes its Firepower skyrocket (to what?). Unfortunately, the price for this is a slow reload even at maximum level, needing to pay for Exclusive upgrades in order to make it more effective than the Killer7, and the highest clip size possible being 12 rounds; although you won't find excess amounts of ammo for this weapon. Great weapon for bosses when maxed out. You may buy the Broken Butterfly when you enter the Castle, or, when you are reunited with Ashley, you can find your way to a certain window that you can boost her through (also in the Castle).

Killer 7
The Killer7 is the second version of the Magnum - a Desert Eagle-style automatic. The gun itself is a reference to another Capcom game called Killer7 - this weapon, with a sniping scope attached, is Kaede Smith's favored weapon. In that game, Kaede is the only character with any form of sniping weapon. While having no Exclusive Upgrade, the Killer7 is flatly superior to the Butterfly - the weapon does not kick as harshly, the raw firepower is superior, its clip size is greater, and it reloads much, much faster. The counterweight to this is the fact that the Killer7 possesses no Exclusive upgrade and you have to deal with more ammo in comparison with the Broken Butterfly. Choosing between the two magnums is a preference between speed and power and how much money you're willing to part with. You may buy the Killer7 at the first Merchant on the Island.

Handcannon (UNLOCKABLE)
Unlocked after beating the Mercenaries minigame with all unlocked characters on all 4 levels with 5 stars on every level. While it is, to be blunt, an astoundingly powerful weapon (even when not upgraded), it has the annoying disadvantage of requiring .50 caliber ammo, which never appears within the main game - this means you must find it via enemy drops, or Random Item barrels. Of course, after upgrading it all the way to exclusive, this weapon gains the advantage of unlimited ammo (thus, either don't use it or spend the money!).

Sniper Rifles
These weapons possess a unique advantage over the other weapons - a zoomable scope. Unfortunately, this comes with a nasty drawback - these weapons fire very slowly, and can take up plenty of room. The primary advantage of the sniper rifles is long-range precision - with a little practice, you can take out targets from great distances. They can also penetrate. The rifles possess two drawbacks, however. When aiming, you have a very, very small line of sight, and the firing speed can, at times (especially with the bolt-action) be somewhat glacial. All rifles, and their unique scopes, must be purchased from the Merchant. Both scopes occupy a 1x3 footprint in your attache case. Rifle boxes hold a maximum of 10 rounds, and, like all other ammunition, take up 1x2 spaces in your inventory.

Bolt-Action Rifle
The Bolt-Action Rifle is the weapon for those who value power over any other statistic. Reload? Slow, especially if your clip is not empty - as you have to pull back the bolt, then jam the cartridge in, then rework the bolt, then you will raise the weapon again. Accuracy and refire? The bolt-action will have you needing to reaim after every shot, because you will lift your eye away from the scope to manually work the bolt and chamber the next round. Magazine size starts at 5, and remains much smaller than the semi-auto. In exchange for this, an Exclusive Bolt-Action will do as much damage as a fully-upgraded Killer7 magnum. The Bolt-Action Rifle and its scope may be bought from the Merchant from your first visit. The Bolt-Action rifle occupies a 9x1 space in your inventory.

Semi-Automatic Rifle
The Semi-auto rifle is the well-rounded rifle. Two rounds per three seconds firing rate, a much faster reload (drop clip, jam a new one in), no need to work the bolt, and magazine sizes starting at 10 rounds. Until the Exclusive, the Semi-Automatic Rifle is also a far more powerful weapon, as well. Instead of increasing the Firepower of the weapon, though, the Semi-Auto's firing rate rises to around two shots per second. You may buy this weapon and its scope once you reach the Castle. The Semi-auto rifle has a 7x2 inventory footprint.

The Infrared Scope
You will find this in the Freezer on the Island. This can be attached to either rifle (which is why it's being listed separately), and casts the world in an infrared light when you aim. You may zoom, while this is in use, though it is not as effective as the special buyable scope. While you can, if you're willing to burn lots of ammunition, kill Regenerators without it (LOTS of ammunition. As in full clips of Magnum ammo.  Multiple clips.  You have been warned.), adding this to your rifle allows you to see the leeches on the Regenerators' bodies. Sniping them off will kill the Regenerator with much less wasted ammo. Like the other scopes, the Infrared Scope occupies a 3x1 inventory footprint.

Other weapons
These special weapons include both unlockable weapons and weapons that do not fit into any other category.

Leon's Trusty Knife
Never discount the knife. It is always instantly available, and does okay damage, for a weapon with infinite ammo. By knocking down an enemy, then slashing them, it is possible to save a fair amount of ammo, and you will find your knife has applications even in boss fights.

TMP
The TMP is a simple machine pistol. It uses its own style of 9mm ammunition (100 to a box), has a very large clip, very, very rapid firing rate (yes, obvious, fully automatic weapon), and, unfortunately, compares unfavorably in raw power to the normal Handgun, even when given its Exclusive upgrade. It occupies a 2x3 footprint in your inventory, and also has an optional stock (2x2 footprint). If you choose to use the TMP, the stock is highly recommended, as it turns a highly inaccurate weapon into a fairly precise stream of bullets. You may buy the TMP from the Merchant on your first meeting. You may buy the stock from the Merchant on your second meeting.

Chicago Typewriter (Unlockable)
The Chicago Typewriter is a weapon that does 20 Firepower worth of damage per round, and is a fully automatic, devastating weapon with unlimited ammunition. The ability to buy it is unlocked on completion of Assignment Ada at the price of 1 million Pesetas. It has a 3x7 inventory footprint.

Rocket Launcher/Infinite Launcher/Special Launcher
The Rocket Launcher is a single-use weapon that devastates anything it hits. It costs 30,000 Pesetas to buy from the Merchant (You do find one in the Castle, however.) After using it once, Leon will automatically throw it away, and you will need to enter your inventory to choose a new weapon. All rocket launchers are equipped with zoom scopes. They devour 8x2 spaces in your inventory.

Ada throws you the Special Launcher during your battle with Saddler. When you are given this weapon, using it on Saddler when his eye is vulnerable will end the fight.

The Infinite Launcher is, in essence, a rocket launcher that automagically reloads after every shot without any animation on your part. Leon draws this quicker than the regular launcher, as well. After your first playthrough, you may buy it from the Merchant for 1 million Pesetas.

Grenades
There are three types of grenades. All grenades take up a 2x1 space in your inventory.

Hand Grenades are your stereotypical fragmentation grenade. They explosively make life miserable for large groups of enemies.

Incendiary Grenades light up significant areas before you, doing moderate damage and stunning opponents for a few moments while they frantically try to put the fire out.

Flashbang Grenades stun enemies.. And instantly kill them! Any visible Plaga exposed to a flashbang is instantly fried, while any human enemy near a flashbang will be stunned while they try to clear their vision. An enemy damaged while stunned shakes off the blindness and will begin attacking, even if his friends are still affected.

Mine Launcher
This weapon fires Mine-Darts at enemies, which will then detonate (wounding you, if you're too close!). You may purchase a scope for this weapon, which gives it increased accuracy and a first-person zoom view. Most players agree that this is the worst weapon in the game for several reasons: 1) it has a large inventory footprint, 2) it has a slow firing rate and additional wait time for detonation, 3) requires the scope to be of any use, and 4) little to no additional ammo is ever found in game for it.

P.R.L.412 (PS2 exclusive UNLOCKABLE)
This weapon is unlocked once you have completed the game on Professional. A weakly or uncharged shot acts as a flashbang grenade that does a moderate amount of damage to enemies in front of the weapon. A fully charged shot kills literally anything caught by the beam, regardless of its rank or classification. This weapon is free (0 pesetas from any merchant) upon completion of Professional, in any file that has completed the game. It occupies 3x7 spaces in your inventory.