The 10 Most POWERFUL Weapons In Resident Evil Games

The 10 Most Powerful Weapons in Resident Evil

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at the 10 most powerful weapons in the Resident Evil games.

RAI-DEN “Resident Evil 3” (2020)

2020’s Resident Evil 3, while extremely short, is another fantastic modern remake of a beloved classic. And like its predecessors, upon completion you’re able to purchase a handful of new and more powerful weapons for subsequent playthroughs. RAI-DEN is one of these, offering you a one-shot kill on most regular enemies in the game. Did we mention it also has infinite ammo? Sporting an electrifying sci-fi-inspired look, it’s a speedrunner's best friend once you purchase it for 12,000 shop points.

LZ Answerer “Resident Evil Village” (2021)

Ethan Winters does his best Jedi cosplay with the LZ Answerer, a melee weapon available for purchase upon completing all of Resident Evil Village’s Mercenaries missions with a double-S rank. Costing a whopping 70,000 CP, it’s the strongest melee weapon in the game. On later playthroughs, you’re able to cut through weaker enemies like paper, making the early game a breeze. Also, you can change the color and activate a double blade configuration. How Capcom didn’t face legal trouble for this, we’ll never know.

Semi-Auto Rifle “Resident Evil 4” (2005)

A personal favorite of ours, the semi-auto sniper rifle in the original Resident Evil 4 is one of the most satisfying guns in the series. Staying zoomed in and popping Ganado heads back to back without reloading after each shot feels great. If you upgrade its reload speed to the max, you’ll even make quick work of armored enemies later in the game. It’s first available at the beginning of Chapter 3, costing you 35,000 pesetas from the merchant, and we highly recommend upgrading from the bolt-action rifle if a ranged playstyle is more your thing.

Gatling Gun “Resident Evil 5” (2009)

Another post-game powerhouse, the Gatling Gun is available by completing Resident Evil 5 for the first time, paying 50,000 gold, and you need to fully upgrade the VZ61 submachine gun. The juice is well worth the squeeze here, as once you’ve jumped through all these hoops, the Gatling Gun is the perfect heavy-duty tool to effortlessly take out hordes of enemies. Not only that, but you look like a certified badass lugging it around on your back throughout the game.

Katana “Resident Evil: Revelations 2” (2015)

The Katana in the episodic spinoff Resident Evil: Revelations 2 has another roundabout way of unlocking it: You have to beat every episode in Invisible Mode then purchase it from 50,000 battle points. Once you do, you unlock the Katana for repeat playthroughs. It replaces Moira’s crowbar and can kill almost any enemy in one swipe. She looks awesome doing it, and her Urban Ninja costume is the perfect pairing. It also becomes available for use in Raid Mode, making getting to the end of a run that much sweeter.

Chicago Typewriter “Resident Evil 4” (2005)

Resident Evil 4’s Chicago Typewriter allows Leon to live out his 1920’s gangster dreams, thanks to this gun and the Special costume unlocked by completing Separate Ways. To unlock the Chicago Typewriter, you’ll first have to complete Assignment Ada (or Separate Ways, depending on which version you’re playing), then buy it for a staggering 1 million pesetas from the merchant. It has the highest damage of an automatic weapon in the game and has infinite ammo, making this yet another Resident Evil speedrunner’s delight.

Lightning Hawk “Resident Evil 2” (2019)

This incredibly powerful weapon has been featured in a few games throughout the series, usually simply just called the magnum, but 2019’s Resident Evil 2 remake is where it shines brightest. Unlike many of the entries on this list, the Lightning Hawk can be found in the very first playthrough of Leon’s campaign by solving the Armory puzzle. Once you do, you’ll be kitted out with some serious firepower. Ammo for this beast is scarce, so we recommend holding onto your precious bullets for Lickers or tough boss battles.

Hydra “Resident Evil 5” (2009)

The Hydra in Resident Evil 5 is an assuming little sawed-off triple-barrel shotgun that packs quite the punch. It’s the strongest shotgun in the game, and is effective at both short and long ranges. At close range, it can deal anywhere from triple to quadruple its base damage. Its reload time is slow as hell, but you’ll be wiping out baddies like it’s nothing and will likely have cleared an area before even needing to reload. You unlock the Hydra by first fully upgrading the Ithaca M37 shotgun, so make sure you save up your Gold.

Red9 “Resident Evil 4” (2005)

In both the original and 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4, the Red9 handgun is an absolute staple for any playthrough. Purchased from the merchant for 14,000 pesetas during Chapter 2, it offers the highest damage output of all the handguns in the game, and has insane reload speed to boot. You can get an equippable stock for 4,000 pesetas that’s highly recommended, since it’ll help with your accuracy. Once fully upgraded with the Exclusive upgrade, its firepower is increased beyond the threshold, you just have to make sure you have the funds to get there.

Infinite Rocket Launcher “Resident Evil 4” (2005)

We won’t apologize for the amount of weapons from Resident Evil 4 on this list, there are just too many good ones! The most powerful weapon in the game, and of all the Resident Evil games, is the Infinite Rocket Launcher. You can get regular rocket launchers that do the same amount of damage, capable of taking out bosses with one hit, but they’re single-use only and take up a ton of inventory space. The infinite rocket launcher does the same amount of damage but is, well, infinite. Blast away to your heart’s content! To unlock it, simply beat the game once then purchase it from the merchant. Just be careful of firing too close to yourself and Ashley. We get it, there was a lot of Resident Evil 4 representation here, but it isn’t our fault it had some of the best weapons in the series!

Let us know what you’d pick in the comments below.