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The best weapons in Resident Evil 4

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Leon clearly wasn’t prepared for what he would encounter in the Resident Evil 4 remake or he would have come with more than a middling handgun and a knife. While those basic tools can get you through the opening stages of the game, it won’t be long before you will need to call upon some much stronger firepower in order to survive the tougher — and more grotesque — monsters that stand in your way. The Resident Evil 4 remake offers a ton of weapons you can collect, such as pistols, SMGs, rifles, and more. However, most will cost a lot of cash — and even more if you want to invest in their upgrades. You will have to make some tough choices about what weapons you want to stick with, and picking a dud can make your playthrough much more difficult. Instead of investing all your cash in a pea-shooter, check out the best weapons you can get in the Resident Evil 4 remake to blast your way through Ganados and Las Plagas alike.

The best weapons in Resident Evil 4

A handgun on a workbench.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Red9

Where else could we start but with the Red9? Almost certainly the most popular handgun — or gun in general — from the original Resident Evil 4 has returned in the remake and is just as potent as ever. Not only can you grab this gun as early as Chapter 3, making it a great choice for investing your upgrades in, but it can be altered and has essentially no drawbacks. By default, the Red9’s recoil is the primary point of criticism you could levy at it, but if you spend a few Spinels to give it the stock, you’ll be able to basically snipe with this pistol. By the time you unlock the Exclusive upgrade, which multiplies the gun’s power by 1.5x, you’ll hardly ever find a situation where this handgun can’t do the job.

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Bolt Thrower

The Bolt Thrower isn’t on this list for its high power, accuracy, or anything that you would traditionally look for in a gun. The reason it has to be here is due to the simple fact that you can recover the bolts it shoots into enemies after they’re dead to massively cut down on your ammo expenditure. Ammo for it is also crafted using knives, but it even has a secondary firing method where it launches mines, giving it a lot more utility. The Exclusive upgrade isn’t game-changing — it doubles the ammo capacity — but the less you have to reload, the less often you’ll be caught in a sticky situation.

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Stingray

In the rifle category, the Stingray is never going to let you down. This is a semiautomatic rifle, so the firing rate is mostly up to you, plus it has a great clip size by default. If you’re hitting those weak points, this baby will also deal 3x damage, and can be outfitted with almost any scope. The Exclusive upgrade boosts your final firing rate by an additional 2x, which shouldn’t be too necessary if you’re trying to be precise, though can help in a pinch.

LE 5

The LE 5 is a weapon you can easily miss that is kind of like a good version of the Punisher in that it has amazing penetration power. Being an SMG, it also boasts a far greater firing rate and clip size, as well as more power. This is the perfect weapon to rip through any shield-wielding enemies. Again like the Punisher, the Exclusive upgrade allows the LE 5 to pierce up to five targets at once.

Broken Butterfly

Another returning favorite, the Broken Butterfly magnum is not just the best-looking hand cannon in the game, but also the most deadly. If you don’t count a special weapon like the Rocket Launcher, the Broken Butterfly (after upgrades) deals the most damage of any gun in the Resident Evil 4 remake. The Exclusive upgrade plays a major part in this by boosting its final damage by 1.5x, again just like the Red9, but magnum upgrades are among the most expensive in the game, so this power won’t come easy.

Striker

What’s the worst part of a shotgun? The firing rate. Well, that is if you’re not using the Striker. This semiautomatic shotgun spits out damage like nobody’s business. It has power on par with any other shotgun, but way better firing speed, plus a massive clip size so you don’t have to worry about running dry out an enemy in your face. If you get the Exclusive upgrade, you can even double the already huge clip size.

Rocket Launcher

This is a big investment both in terms of cash and space, but the Rocket Launcher is too iconic to the series not to be amazing. Yes, this has a one-hit kill on just about everything and will cost more or less depending on what difficulty level you’re playing on. It has no upgrades because, well, what is there to make better? Unless you’re playing with the infinite ammo for it enabled, you do only get one shot, so make it count.

Primal Knife

While technically not a gun, the knife is so good in the Resident Evil 4 remake that it has to be mentioned. This tool will save your skin more often than you think thanks to the new ability to parry and finish downed enemies, but the obvious drawback is durability. The Primal Knife has to be unlocked by finding and destroying all 16 of the Clockwork Castellans in the game. What makes it the clear frontrunner of all knives is the Exclusive upgrade that makes it completely unbreakable, no matter how much you use it.

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Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox
Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…
Monster Hunter Wilds weapons guide
A hunter leaps at a Monster in Monster Hunter Wilds.

There are dozens of important tips and tricks you need to master in Monster Hunter Wilds, but they all pale in comparison to learning how to use your weapon effectively. All 14 are available right from the start and each one completely changes the flow of a hunt. Experienced hunters will be familiar with most of them, but there are some new aspects to take into account this time around. If you plan on playing with friends especially then you will want to make sure you're not holding the team back by just spamming attack. Before you put a new weapon on your wishlist, check out this quick weapons guide for Monster Hunter Wilds.
Weapons guide

As mentioned, there are 14 weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds. We will give you a basic idea of each one's strengths, weaknesses, and playstyle but the best thing you can do to decide is take on into the training area and try it out.
Great Sword
If you like a slow weapon that packs a massive punch, the Great Sword is still the king. This is the iconic weapon of the franchise capable of high-damage charge attacks and a block. You need to be brave and account for your slow swing speeds to land a hit, but once you do, it will count.
Long Sword
A sword so long even Sephiroth would be jealous. This weapon allows you to perform perfect dodges and counterattacks more like an action game. It also has nice wide, sweeping attacks for smaller mobs and hitting multiple parts of a monster at once. Landing hits builds a spirit gauge you can spend on a special combo that buffs your attack.
Sword and Shield
If you're new to the series, this is a great weapon to start with. It has fast attacks with the sword and shield, a decent block, dodge, and is the only weapon that lets you use items without having to put your weapon away first.
Dual Blades
For something a bit more fancy, the Dual Blades are just as fast but have more layers to consider. They give you a Demon and Archdemon gauge that buffs your attack power and speed as you build each one up. If you want to be fast and aggressive, give these a whirl.
Hammer
The Hammer is a lot like the Great Sword, only dealing blunt damage that can quickly tire a monster out or stun it if you target the right body parts. You're not as slow with this weapon and have a dodge, but no guard.
Hunting Horn
This weapon is one best saved for veterans or players who are part of a dedicated squad. The horn plays different tunes that buff yourself and other hunters in addition to attacks, meaning you need to pay attention to the entire battlefield and know which buffs to trigger when.
Lance
If you fancy yourself a tank, pick up the Lance. This weapon lets you attack from relative safety behind your big shield at the expense of speed and damage. What it lacks in damage, however, it makes up for in targeted damage. You can easily wound and exploit a monster's limbs with precise thrusts.
Gunlance
The Gunlance is basically what it says on the tin. You still have the heavy shield, but now focus on shooting explosive shells. It gives you a lot more range to work with and has a dodge.
Switch Axe
This weapon feels ripped right out of Bloodborne. You can use it as a heavy axe or transform it into a more nimble sword. Each one has their strengths, such as being able to cause explosions, but neither are the best in their class. If you want to be as versatile as possible, go with this.
Charge Blade
Another transforming weapon, the Charge Blade also has an axe mode as well as a sword and shield. Most consider this the most difficult weapon to master in the series since using one mode powers up the second and each has their own complete combo list to internalize.
Insect Glaive
Verticality is better in Monster Hunter Wilds than ever before. The Insect Glave will let you leap and sping around the environment and make mounting monsters a breeze. You will need to snag parts of monsters with your Kinsect during fights to buff yourself otherwise you will deal very little damage.
Light Bowgun
The first pure ranged weapon, this bowgun keeps you light on your feet and has a fast rate of fire for great DPS if you can keep the monster in your sights. Landing hits build up a gauge you can spend on a Rapid Fire ability to unload all at once. Just make sure you come stocked with ammo.
Heavy Bowgun
We suggest saving the Heavy Bowgun for party hunts since it is most effective from long-range while others draw aggro. You do have an auto-guard just in case, but an ideal run with this weapon will have you sniping from a distance with the correct ammo type to bring down your target.
Bow
The Bow is unique compared to the other two ranged weapons. It uses your stamina to draw and fire but encourages you to stay somewhat close since a perfect dodge will completely refill your stamina. The coolest feature, though, is the tracer shot. Once you land this, all the arrows you shoot after will home in on that spot. Eventually, the tracer explodes for even more damage.

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The best secret bosses in video games
The Moon Presence descending in Bloodborne.

Video games have been hiding secrets from us for decades. As far back as the first console generation we've been finding Easter Eggs, but developers didn't stop with simple hidden rooms or bits of text. Boss fights typically represent a barrier the player is forced to overcome to continue the story. Sometimes they're easy, but sometimes they're some of the hardest bosses in video game history. However, secret bosses are a real treat. Sometimes they represent a challenge far beyond anything the game would normally throw at the player, others serve more as jokes or fun references, or can even unlock a game's secret ending. Let's explore every nook and cranny to find all the best secret bosses in video games.
Moon Presence

FromSoftware is one of the few studios out there brave enough to hide entire levels behind obtuse secrets. There are secret bosses (usually multiple) in all of its games, but we decided to pick Moon Presence for how it both requires some arcane thinking to access and unlocks a new ending. As a Great One, most consider this the game's true final boss, but you can only fight it if you find and use one of three hidden umbilical cords before entering the final boss sequende. Then, as long as you choose to fight Gehrman and win, you can then attempt to beat Moon Presence and see a new ending. As usual, there's almost no way to figure this out on your own.
Akuma

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The best abilities in Avowed
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As a new arrival in the Living Lands of Avowed, your character has to learn a lot of tips and tricks to survive in this powderkeg of an island. You have an important mission to find a way to cure the Dreamscourge, but there's a lot of danger between you and that goal which will require more than just your weapons. Leveling up will let you spend your points on new skills, just like most RPGs, but they are split between several pages. You are not locked into a single class and can invest your points into one or all of them, but there are some skills that you will want to prioritize getting first. Here are the best abilities you should work toward unlocking in Avowed.
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Charge
Charge is an easy pick to invest your first few points into on the Fighter tree. It is a powerful dashing attack that can interrupt enemies with an explosive hit that breaks through guards. For bosses, saving this move to stop a deadly attack while staying in melee range is always reliable. The explosive damage is good for splash damage but also has utility outside of combat. Instead of wasting grenades to break walls, you can just use this skill to blast down cracked walls.
Constant Recovery
No matter what weapons you focus on, you're going to get hit eventually. Melee fighters especially will be tanking a ton of hits, so Constant Recovery will keep you alive without draining all your potions. When hit, you can recover 50% of your HP lost over time, and with further upgrades, this skill can eventually let you restore all the damage you took.
Devastating Criticals
There's nothing more satisfying than a critical hit. You can increase the chances of landing one with your character traits, but this skill makes each one count by upping the damage by 30% at the first level and 60% at max.
Reflect
The main issue with being a melee class is all those pesky rangers. Having a second loadout with a ranged weapon is always a good idea, but Reflect can almost do the job on its own. If you time your block perfectly when a projectile is about to hit, you can send it back to hit the attacker.
Best Ranger abilities

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