The Definitive Weapons Guide

In this guide, we will be taking an objective approach towards picking your weapons, something which most guides toss out the window in exchange for their opinions. I want to make it clear that most of these weapons can be useful to the right person. While I will share my opinions of these weapons, they should not be the deciding factor when it comes to what you'll run (unless it's "here's why this weapon is complete garbage for most of the game", in which case please take my advice if you're new to the game; you're free to ignore it, as it merely serves as a warning, but it's REALLY not recommended). Each weapon falls under a different category, depending on the class of ammo it uses. There are five categories: Handguns, Shotguns, Rifles, Magnums, and Other. Generally, you'll want at least one weapon from each of the first four categories, at least until you get a good feel for the game, around the time you complete Professional for the first time. There are also grenades and your knife, which are covered in separate sections.

Before we begin, I'd like to put up a quick list of the unlockables in the game and how you unlock them, so as not to break the flow of the guide. All weapons are only available for purchase in New Game+.

• Matilda: Complete the game once on any difficulty.
  
• Infinite Rocket Launcher: Complete the game once on any difficulty.
  
• Handcannon: Obtain a 5-star rank for all characters on all stages in The Mercenaries. (Yeah, really.) [VR: Obtain a 5-star rank on all stages, and then unlock it in the unlocks menu in The Mercenaries]
  
• Chicago Typewriter: Complete Separate Ways once. Unlock for Ada by completing Assignment Ada once. [VR: Obtain 40 medals from challenges, and then unlock it in the unlocks menu in The Mercenaries]
  
• PRL-412: Complete the game once on Professional difficulty.

While it's not a huge factor in choosing the gun that's right for you, it's certainly an important stat when it comes to fun. That's why I rate guns based on how awesome they sound when you use them. My rating system is onomatopoeic, and follows the following hierarchy, in order from lowest to highest:

• Pew
  
• Pop
  
• Pow
  
• Bang
  
• Boom

Keep in mind that this stat is not to be used for choosing your gun, and is only for fun. That said, if you're stuck between two choices, this can be a valid tie-breaker.

The VR version has vastly different controls to the "flat" version (As it should). Thus, it's a little confusing to go from the normal version to VR. There are two selection methods for VR: Quick Select, and Immersive. Quick Select involves holding down the trigger on the non-dominant hand, which brings up a wheel where you can use the left stick to select a weapon. You can switch between knife and weapon by tapping that trigger.

Immersive, which is the more fun and useful one, has them put onto your body where you can grab them. If you throw one of your weapons, it will come back to the place it holsters, which is tons of fun. Here's a table showing you where all the holster locations are for right-handed play. For left-handed play, these are mirrored.

Base Cost: 0
Total Cost: 0
Size: 0x0
Method of Obtainment: Be Leon, Ada, or Krauser in Mercenaries. That's it, that's all you need.
Boom Factor: WhoooooooSHIIIINNNNNNGG! (It's just that flippin' awesome)

Out of all of the weapons in the game, the one you will rely on the most is your knife. Your knife is the only weapon that takes no space in your inventory and has its own dedicated ready button. Your knife is what you pull out for breaking boxes, killing snakes you find in boxes, slashing at enemies on the ground, slashing at enemies climbing up to you on a ladder, intentionally triggering bear traps so you can safely walk past them, and so much more. It even appears to be highly effective for a certain boss battle. It doesn't do a ton of damage, but it is the only weapon in the game that has infinite ammo pre-New Game+. As such, you can use the knife to conserve ammo. This is a very good habit to get into, as ammo conservation is a big deal.

In VR, the knife will only damage if you use the leading edge and has a minimum swing speed. The knife also slows you down for a short time once you've swung. On the bright side, it's available for Wesker and HUNK, too.

You've got guns, but you need something to fire out of them (And no, you can't fire random crap you find on the floor, hopes and dreams, or your raging freedom-boner out of them). Ammo comes in ammo boxes, and you can fit a certain number of ammo into an ammo box before you have to carry around another ammo box to carry it all. The maximum number of ammo you can fit is determined by the type of ammo. All ammo boxes are 2x1 in size.

Grenades are one-time use items that take up a 2x1 space in your inventory for each one. They do not stack.

In VR, they act the same, but can be used in two different ways. Regardless of your settings, you can pull the pin on the grenade to arm it, which you can then throw or drop (you can also cook the grenade if you need more precise detonation timing, which is only really useful on the hand grenade). If you have grenade arming by throwing set, you can throw the grenade without pulling the pin, which will arm it anyways. This is useful if you have your other hand full, but you need to throw it hard enough for it to arm. Be careful picking up grenades with this setting, because even a short little flick when you release the grip can arm the grenade instead of putting it into your inventory. Yes, this has happened to me.

Hand grenades are what you think of when you hear the word "grenade". They explode a few seconds after throwing and tear up anyone in its vicinity.

Incendiary grenades, on impact with the ground, ignite a small area with hot flames, burning anyone inside. Quite a few things are especially vulnerable to this, so keep an eye out for the Fire Flaw in the Tactics Guide to find things to throw these at.

Flash grenades, on impact with the ground, create an intense flash of blue, violet, and UV light, as well as generating a very loud sound. On the surface, these seem only useful for stunning enemies, but after Chapter 1, these become useful for instantly killing any revealed parasite in its radius. They're also helpful for stunning bosses.

Handguns are the bread and butter of Resident Evil 4, your main method of taking out the baddies, so choosing the one that's right for you is essential to your survival. All handguns fire the cleverly-named Handgun Ammo. Ammo is plentiful, so don't worry too much about running out of ammo, though do try to conserve it. You never know when you may need to spam your handgun.

These handguns, with the exception of the Matilda, seem to follow one of two schools of thought: Traditional or Unorthodox. The Traditional handguns seek to conserve ammo by making each shot do more damage, making them well-suited for a more generalist play-style. The Unorthodox handguns, at least upon exclusive, seek to conserve ammo through the reliance on specific tactics. The Unorthodox handguns, if played perfectly, are more ammo efficient than the Traditional handguns, but require more patience and skill in order to properly execute their tactics to the point where it would actually have a noticeable effect.

In VR, handguns are almost always going to be equipped to your pistol slot, so get good at knowing where that is. Handguns arguably become even more useful in VR if you're good at one-handed aiming in VR.

Base Cost: 8,000
Size: 2x3
Exclusive: 5x critical headshot chance
Exclusive Cost: 57,000
Total Cost: 198,000
Boom Factor: Pop
Handgun School Of Thought: Unorthodox

Alternate Method of Obtainment: On New Game, Leon starts with this on any difficulty.

The Silver Ghost is Leon's handgun of choice. Sacrificing raw firepower for a much high critcal headshot chance (once you get the Exclusive), this gun is a little like the underpowered sniper rifle of the handguns: Shoot them in the body? No dice. Shoot them in the head? Later, d-bag!

In order to maximize the damage of this gun, your main priority is to...shoot them in the head. Surprising, ain't it? Well, it's only half of the story. See, if the shot doesn't blow their head up immediately, you should next run up to them and roadhouse them. Since the Roundhouse Kick is great for knocking over crowds, the Silver Ghost does a decent job of crowd-control compared to other handguns. It's just like the ol' one-two-knife, but instead of the usual capping in the leg, you cap in the head. And sometimes, you get fireworks.

Here's the absolutely crazy part, though: You see that 5x crit chance? Because of how crits work, while you have this thing equipped, that 5x crit chance applies to all attacks you make. That includes your knife and even contextual attacks.

This gun is also a great budget option, so take that into consideration as well.

In VR, the Silver Ghost is pretty much the same. To reload, grab some ammo with your other hand, put it into the magwell, and either pull the slide or the trigger. Either one will release the slide.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k firepower, just shoot 'em in the face.

Base Cost: 20,000
Size: 2x3
Exclusive: Penetration 4 (Penetrate through up to 4 enemies)
Exclusive Cost: 40,000
Total Cost: 266,000
Boom Factor: Pew
Handgun School Of Thought: Unorthodox

Special Ability: Penetration 1 (Penetrate through 1 enemy)
Alternate Method of Obtainment: Shoot at least 10 blue medallions and talk to the Merchant. He will offer the Punisher for free.
Alternate Method of Obtainment: Shoot all of the blue medallions and talk to the Merchant. He will offer the Punisher, upgraded to Firepower level 2 (1.1), for free.

I'll be honest: There's not much going for this gun on the surface. It's weak, even weaker than the Silver Ghost, and it sounds wimpy to boot. Nevertheless, even the "lowly" Punisher has its niche. For those who enjoy and excel at using every aspect of the environment to their advantage, the Punisher is a mighty weapon, capable of offing several enemies at once through clever tactics.

At first glance, you'll see that this weapon, much like the rifles and magnums, has penetration. Limited penetration, sure, but it has penetration. I'm sure that, if you're the kind of person to prefer the tactics that this weapon excels with, you're thinking about using choke points, the so-called "Funnels of Death". For those willing to set those up, it's a very effective and efficient weapon. But that's not all. Some choke points are very special in that they're next to water or a really long drop. This is where the Punisher shines, as with well-placed shots, you can send two to five enemies toppling off towards their doom with a single bullet.

In the castle, you begin to encounter enemies that have shields. Don't want to bother with those shields? Well, you have a Punisher, so just shoot your enemies through the shields. Pentration works with shielding and armor (Note: Apparently doesn't actually work with armor. Or at least not the ones on the Island. Lame.) as well as enemies. No need to waste three shotgun shells or a rifle bullet on these guys, just pop them in the lower leg and suplex their sorry cultist posterior. Maybe next time, they won't hassle you with such a waste of wood and metal. (Note: Apparently, you can't suplex someone holding a shield until the shield is completely broken. So lame. You can apparently kick them if you shoot them in the head, though.)

I've found that players that have mastered and genuinely prefer the Punisher excel at basic crowd management and are extremely creative and patient. They could be wallbanging through their own cover (if it's considered penetrable), taking out ganados without ever having to expose themselves, or they could just charge right in there, attract the attention of several enemies, and dance around them to group them all up into one little area and then line up a beautiful quadruple collateral headshot (i.e. five headshots with one bullet, also the Holy Grail of Punisher achievements) and do it all over again.

But y'know guys, there is such a thing as being too ammo-efficient.

In VR, the Punisher is the same, but becomes a bit more useful due to the nature of VR, allowing you to far more easily line up collateral shots. To reload, grab a magazine, pop it in the magwell, and either pull the slide or the trigger to release the slide.

Motto: Get f​​​u​​​c​​​kin' baited, losers.

Base Cost: 14,000
Stock Cost: 4,000
Size: 2x4
Stock Size: 1x3
Exclusive: Firepower 6.5
Exclusive Cost: 80,000
Total Cost: 331,000 + 4,000
Boom Factor: Pow
Handgun School Of Thought: Traditional

The Red9 is basically the gay guy of the handguns: Loud and proud. This gun makes a beautiful sound when you fire it, and it certainly has a lot to be proud of, with its maximum firepower rivaling that of a mid-level Remington, and only requiring two bullets to match the power of a fully-upgraded Striker. Even though it's very powerful, and sounds powerful to boot, it has some flaws, as Blacktail supporters are eager to point out. It has a lower capacity, starting with only an eight-shot magazine, and maxing out at twenty-two. Its firing speed is slightly slower that the other handguns, and its reload speed is quite long compared to the others.

If you like the feel of raw power, and can be patient with your gun, you can gain quite a lot of firepower in your arsenal with this baby.

In VR, the Red9 looks a little wonky, and reloads a little wonky too. To reload, grab a clip, insert it into the breach at the top, and pull the trigger.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k gimmicks, do you see how much damage I'm doing?

Base Cost: 24,000
Size: 2x3
Exclusive: Firepower 4.5
Exclusive Cost: 80,000
Total Cost: 362,000
Boom Factor: Pop
Handgun School Of Thought: Traditional

Special Ability: Handling (Faster aiming movement)

The Blacktail is your noob-friendly gun. That's not to say it's something you should skip over if you're experienced, but it's a gun that certainly eases new players into the game. It sports good firepower, a high fire rate and reload speed, and a big magazine. It doesn't choose to excel at anything in particular, it just says "I want to be good everywhere". And I can respect that.

In VR, I'm not really sure what the hell the Blacktail is for, as two of its really good traits, big magazine and fast reload speed, are entirely negated if you can reload fast enough anyways. Give it a pass.

Motto: For f​​​u​​​c​​​k's sake, where did all these enemies come from?

Base Cost: 70,000
Size: 2x5
Exclusive: Capacity 100
Exclusive Cost: 35,000
Total Cost: 303,000
Boom Factor: Pop
Handgun School Of Thought: Waste All Your Ammo

Special Ability: Burst-Fire (Fires three bullets in short succession)

This is the overactive cousin of the handguns. It fires three bullets in quick succession before pausing for half a second, and then firing off another three rounds, and so on. While it may be quite the crowd clearer, and it may sport a firepower that isn't laughable by any means, it uses up ammo very quickly. For those willing to train themselves in firing shorter bursts (and good luck with that, I can consistently fire only a single shot from the TMP, but can't with this), it's a pretty good weapon, but for most players, all this does is eat up ammo. The only problem is it's only available in New Game+, rather than being available in New Game after you've beaten the game, which makes this gun kind of useless, as there are far better alternatives to spend your money on.

In VR, this gun is a lot more useful now that it's actually quite possible to fire a single shot with this. I think that in the flat version, you have to stop aiming in order to interrupt the burst from the gun, but you only need to let go of the trigger in VR to stop the burst. Reloading is the same as with any other handgun.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k ammo, who needs it?

If you like to line up headshots all day, and like to keep your flash grenades on you for a rainy day, stick with the Handgun (Silver Ghost).

If you enjoy using and abusing every aspect of your environment to take down your enemies, shoot those blue medallions and pick yourself up a free Punisher.

If you can't stand the thought of having anything but the highest of firepower for your handgun, treat yourself to a Red9.

New to the game? Take a Blacktail, it'll serve you well.

The thing is, these guns DO have a ranking, but it's not a "Which gun is best?" ranking. I rank these on what it teaches you, and how far along your development as a player you should be using this gun at. The handgun you choose is a bit like a secondary difficulty setting: Some guns make things easier, some make it harder. I'm not saying "Use this gun, it's the best", but rather "Here's a gun that might fit how good you are at the game".

First is the Blacktail. It's just noob-friendly all around. It comes a little late, but it requires absolutely nothing else to make it great. The lesson to learn from this gun is the fundamentals. It teaches you a little about ammo conservation tactics, maintaining a distance between you and your enemies, and controlling a rowdy crowd, while not forcing you to get them down just right. It wants you to learn those things, but it's more forgiving about mistakes you may make.

Second is the Red9. With a high firepower, but a slower firing speed and reload speed, and a smaller magazine than most guns, the lesson to learn from this gun is spacing. It will teach you that making sure you have the room you need between you and your enemies is the key to not dying, and it will drive this into your brain whether you like it or not. It's still a fairly noob-friendly gun, and a favorite among those with some experience, but like it or not, you will be learning how to properly space yourself.

Third is the Handgun (Silver Ghost). This gun has a much weaker firepower than the other two, but it still holds its own. The lesson to learn from this gun is ammo conservation. You're going to end up using a fair amount more bullets than you would with other guns at this stage in your development as a player, and it's at this point that we really drive home the concepts of knife combat. You'll also learn a fair bit about crowd management as you go, making sure not to be overrun by enemies as you slowly build up your competence at knife combat.

Last, the most difficult, is the Punisher. This gun, while okay to use as a bridge between the Handgun and the Red9 or Blacktail in a run, is a gun that really takes some skill to use as your primary handgun. The lesson to learn from this gun is advanced crowd management. At this point in your development, you can easily control a crowd enough to take them down, but how good are you at making them do what you want them to? This is where the Punisher comes in. It teaches you how to shape the crowd to your advantage, and rewards you with the most satisfying of kills. You really feel like you've mastered handgun combat when you take this gun and pull off beautiful multi-kills with it. It's really a feeling to experience.

Shotguns are your close-up power weapons, good for taking out large crowds of enemies in a few shots. All shotguns fire the oh-so-cleverly named Shotgun Ammo. Ammo is fairly common, but exercise good ammo conservation. You never know when you may run out and be forced to switch to your pistol.

I think I understand the shotguns enough to briefly explain their mechanics. When a shotgun is fired, there are two different things going on. The first is your obvious spray of pellets, of which shotguns fire about three of per shell (this could be more for the Striker), randomized within a certain number of degrees of deviation, with exactly one pellet always, without fail, going exactly where you aim it (So for once, aiming with a shotgun is important).

The second thing going on is a little thing I like to call the "stun cone", an effect where enemies in front of your shotgun within certain distances to it can either be temporarily "stunned" for a second or so, or, if close enough and small enough, violently thrown backwards from the force of the gas exploding out of the barrel. This is, of course, ridiculously fun.

On to more technical mechanics, in addition to pellet spread, there seems to be a sort of damage falloff. As pellets go farther and farther away, they seem to be doing even less damage. This, of course, is not a huge problem for the archetypical video game shotgun, as most people tend towards using them as glorified melee weapons.

In VR, shotguns do the exact same thing they do here. Like, literally no difference there.

Base Cost: 20,000
Size: 2x8
Exclusive: Any Range (Removes damage falloff entirely...I think)
Exclusive Cost: 40,000
Total Cost: 257,000
Boom Factor: Bang

Alternate Method of Obtainment: Leon starts with this in his inventory on a New Game on Easy difficulty.
Alternate Method of Obtainment: Leon can find this shotgun in the central village area in the big house on the wall of the second story. Beware that if you enter this house before the church bell rings, Dr. Salvador will spawn.

This is a pretty poor shotgun. All the effort of getting it up to the exclusive, and what do you get? 8 Firepower and no damage falloff. This, of course, to those who intend to use shotguns only for getting crowds out of your face and vicious meatshots, is useless. The weakest of all the shotguns before exclusive, and what does it get? Just the ability to hit something at full force from whatever distance. Except it's not the full force of the shotgun, it's the full force of the pellet. While I still need to run more tests with this thing to see if I'm not mistaken, it seems like a really bad shotgun. It's almost a bad enough exclusive to justify not wasting your money on.

Realistically, the only times you should be using this shotgun is if you're doing a No-Merchant run, or you really need a budget shotgun. The one thing this shotgun is good for is saving you money. It only costs half as much to upgrade to non-exclusive max than it does to exclusive-max out the other two shotguns. So if you really feel like shotguns are overrated, or are just really poor, I guess this weapon could help you save some money. At least the exclusive makes it somewhat more effective for boss battles, where you really don't want to be that freakin' close to them, and they're big enough to hit with all of the pellets anyways, but if you're buying it just for that, just get a Riot Gun.

In VR, this shotgun seems abnormally small for some reason. I have no clue why. To reload, grab a shell, and put it into the breach. That's it. Don't even need to pump it. Pumping the shotgun is as you'd expect, and if you do it while there's a live shell in the chamber, it'll put it back into your inventory, which is very useful if you're changing shotguns.

Motto: Another budget cut? F​​​u​​​c​​​kin' hell. Guess I'm not eating tonight.

Base Cost: 32,000
Size: 2x8
Exclusive: Firepower 10
Exclusive Cost: 120,000
Total Cost: 415,000
Boom Factor: Bang

Special Ability: Handling (Faster aiming movement)
Special Ability: Long Range (Reduces the effects of damage falloff...I think)

The one bad thing about the Remington was that the whole "no damage falloff" thing was the exclusive for the gun with the worst firepower, and was practically a waste of money. The Riot Gun, while it doesn't get nearly the same effect, only getting a gentler damage falloff slope instead of none at all, at least has it from the f​​​​​u​​​​​c​​​​​king beginning, and at least has the sense to be somewhat viable as a contender for Best Shotgun with its exclusive and passive bonuses.

While it certainly costs more than the Striker in terms of total cost, and the Striker has an absolute beast exclusive, this gun actually has a purpose in the form of being a viable tank-shredder in addition to its crowd control and high-damage capabilities. With the Striker, you'd have to go suicidally close to get any sort of major damage out of it, but with the Riot Gun, meatshots are capable of being made from across the room, allowing you to at least output a decent amount of damage outside a range of one meter, something the Striker can't do.

In VR, this shotgun's the same. To reload, put a shell in the breach.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k off, El Gigante, I'm sick of your b​​​u​​​l​​​l​​​s​​​h​​​i​​​t.

Base Cost: 43,000
Size: 2x5
Exclusive: Capacity 100
Exclusive Cost: 60,000
Total Cost: 392,000
Boom Factor: Pow

Special Ability: Wide-Shot (Larger spread)
Special Ability: Draw Speed (Increased draw speed)
Special Ability: Ditman Glitch (Enables use of the Ditman Glitch)

Most players consider this to be the best shotgun, citing its high firepower, wide-shot capabilities, large magazine, smaller size, and the ability to activate the Ditman glitch (A glitch where, if you aim the gun, open the inventory before the laser shows up, and switch to another weapon, you move faster for a while). And it's the only shotgun that doesn't confuse the hell out of me with its mechanics. While it certainly has its advantages, there are also disadvantages as well.

For one thing, this shotgun comes out rather late. Whereas all of the handguns and rifles, as well as the TMP and Minethrower, are all made available by the beginning of Chapter 3, as are the other two shotguns, the Striker doesn't see the light of day until roughly halfway through Chapter 4, and it doesn't even get to see that when you consider that the game progresses to nighttime by Chapter 2. All it gets to see when it becomes available is a dark, dank cave. No, not that kind of dank, I mean wet and squidgey and ewww and all that.

Not only that, but when you do finally get it, it can hardly do any damage outside the range of a fly's fart, making it a glorified melee weapon. I'm obviously exaggerating, but the effective range on this thing is only about a foot (.3m for those using the metric system) farther than your knife, so just about the range at which having any enemy at all is practically begging for you to be hit. That said, this weapon is very good for getting whatever is in your face out of it. The problem is that, beyond raw damage output if the enemy is in that suicidally-close range, there's hardly anything else going for it. Sure, it's got a ridiculously-large capacity on exclusive, but I see that as more of an excuse to go ham with it on a Regenerador rather than an actual upside, as it already had a pretty good capacity on it to begin with, and the game won't usually drop more shells when you have a lot of them.

I'm not trying to scare anyone away from using the Striker. It is a very good gun, but I all too often see it picked over other viable alternatives, like the Riot Gun or the Discount Riot Gun (Remington). If you use it purely to get enemies out of your face while dealing insane damage to them, then yeah, you really can't go wrong with a Striker, but if you plan on using your shotgun more like an all-rounder that can both manage crowds and drop a boss without being ridiculously close to them, give the Striker a pass.

In VR, this thing has pretty deceptively wide shot angles, as I kept hitting the Ashley cutouts in the shooting range, so keep that in mind. To reload, insert shell and press the trigger.

Motto: Just...f​​​u​​​c​​​k it all up. All of it.

In this case, your priorities lie in three different categories. Do you just need a gun that can get these people out of your face, and deal extreme damage while doing so; do you need a gun that gets people out of your face when you need it, but also need a gun that can deal a fair amount of damage at a distance as well; or do you need the "get out of my face" gun while still saving money where you can?

If you don't have the money to spare, the Remington is a gun that will give you that "get out of my face" that you need while still being easy on your wallet.

If you need firepower at both close and medium range, opt for a Riot Gun instead.

And if you just want the best firepower and "get out of my face" you can buy, and don't care about anything outside knife-range, then do what everyone else is doing and buy a Striker.

Rifles are your long-range head exploders. These babies, while not entirely necessary, are quite useful for taking down enemies from far away. Both rifles fire the extremely-cleverly-named Rifle Ammo. Ammo for this is uncommon, so try not to use your rifle too much. Both rifles have a separate buyable scope that allows you to zoom in farther than the stock scope, and a special infrared scope can be found that fits onto either rifle (and it's hard to miss, so don't worry too much about missing it). The infrared scope is pretty much necessary for taking down Regeneradors unless you want to go for meat-shots with the Striker. The latter method of taking down Regeneradors is not recommended, as you may use up a lot of shells, but I hear it's super fun.

Note that both rifles have penetration, and thus can penetrate through multiple enemies, shielding, and layers of armor. Though the exact degree of penetration is unknown, both rifles are guaranteed to have at least Penetration 4, and can thus hit at least 5 enemies with a single bullet.

In VR, rifles kinda take a backseat as it's hard to aim the fu​​​ckers sufficiently at range, making them more of poor man's magnums. The scope's usable, but you'll be using these guns at much closer ranges if you can't keep your hands steady.

Base Cost: 12,000
Scope Cost: 7,000
Size: 1x9
Scope Size: 1x3
Exclusive: Firepower 30
Exclusive Cost: 80,000
Total Cost: 289,000 + 7,000
Boom Factor: Pow

Unscope Between Shots?: Yes

I know what you're thinking: That firing speed is atrocious. And the unscoping? Not cool either. So why use it at all once the Semi-Auto is available? Well, for one, the firing speed doesn't actually matter all that much, considering you're likely farther away from the action. The unscoping in between shots can actually save you by giving you an idea of your surroundings without having to unready the gun completely. The benefits of living with this gun's slow rate of fire is the high firepower on getting the Exclusive. There's a reason I call it the "Poor Man's Magnum", as the Exclusive upgrade will increase the firepower to match an unupgraded Handcannon.

In VR, this thing's kinda fun. I usually one-hand it at pretty close range to just fu​​​ck up a dude. To reload, take a magazine, put it in, and close the bolt. You can change the scope zoom with the context button while scoped in.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k firing speed, do you see how much damage I'm doing?

Base Cost: 35,000
Scope Cost: 10,000
Size: 2x7
Scope Size: 1x3
Exclusive: Firing Speed 0.8
Exclusive Cost: 80,000
Total Cost: 351,000 + 10,000
Boom Factor: Pow

Unscope Between Shots?: No

The faster brother of the Bolt-Action, the Semi-Auto can snap off shots twice as fast as the Bolt-Action without the Exclusive, and thrice as fast when you do have the Exclusive. It was even faster in the Gamecube version at 0.40. It also has a decent firepower and a large capacity, making it the rifle most people pick.

In VR, it's the same. To reload, insert magazine and push the bolt forward.

Motto: Get f​​​u​​​c​​​kin' headshot, noob! *dumb MLG montage*

If you can live with slow firing rates in exchange for more firepower, pick up a Rifle (Bolt-Action) today at your nearest Merchant. Otherwise, buy yourself a Semi-Auto Rifle at your earliest convenience.

Like handguns, I feel the rifles are a bit of a development sort of deal. One feels a bit more skilled than the other, and while that's true, I wouldn't say you should choose based solely on that. The Semi-Auto brings things to the table that the Bolt-Action doesn't and it's important to weigh them before you make your choice. The Semi-Auto is certainly more noob-friendly, but there's a certain charm to whipping it out and using it on a boss, which is much easier to do with the Semi-Auto. The Bolt-Action, while requiring more of a knowledge of spacing, can hit really hard, and that can also be kinda satisfying. It's really a matter of whether you want a gun that can take care of things quickly when you need it to, or a gun that drives home the importance of spacing and rewards you for it.

Then again, there's always the option of packing both, if you want to do that. I wouldn't, but it's not like I can stop you if that's what you want.

Magnums are your heavy-hitters, the gun you pull out when the s​​​h​​​i​​​t hits the fan and something big and hard to kill is blocking your way. Unlike the previous three categories, this category has two types of ammo. The Broken Butterfly and Killer7 fire Magnum Ammo, while the Handcannon fires Handcannon Ammo. Magnum Ammo is pretty rare, so don't use it all willy-nilly. Despite what I initially thought, Handcannon Ammo is surprisingly uncommon. A little more rare than rifle rounds, but not by a whole lot. This would be completely worth all the effort to unlock it if it wasn't restricted to just New Game+

Note that all magnums have penetration, and thus can penetrate through multiple enemies, shielding, and layers of armor. Though the exact degree of penetration is unknown, all magnums are guaranteed to have at least Penetration 4, and can thus hit at least 5 enemies with a single bullet.

Broken record here, but magnums are the same as usual in VR.

Base Cost: 38,000
Size: 2x4
Exclusive: Firepower 50
Exclusive Cost: 150,000
Total Cost: 455,000
Boom Factor: Pow

Special Ability: Badass (Makes Leon look like a badass)
Alternate Method of Obtainment: After reuniting with Ashley in 4-1, backtrack to the area just before the hedge maze, with the fountain. Boost Ashley up into the window near the fountain, wait for her to unlock the door, and grab the gun.

This is everyone's favorite magnum. It's got raw power, a good firing speed, and a decent capacity. But the big reason everyone loves it is the raw power part. At 50 firepower when exclusive-maxed, this baby drops El Gigante harder than a skydiving accident onto solid concrete.

But stay tuned, because I've got some choice words for this little f​​​u​​​c​​​ker. This weapon sounds good on paper, but oh boy, do I hate this little gun. Let me put into perspective just how wimpy this gun is when you first get it, and then how much you need to spend to get it to the point where it can actually be any better than the Killer7. A single bullet from the base Broken Butterfly is equivalent to:

• A little over 3 shells from the base Remington at point-blank range
  
• Approximately one magazine's worth of bullets from the base TMP (30)
  
• Exactly 2 shots from an exclusive-maxed Red9
  
• A little over a single shell from a maxed-out Striker at point-blank range
  
• A little under half a shot from an exclusive-maxed Bolt-Action Rifle

Okay, so you're probably thinking "So what? It takes a long time to bring things up to exclusive. Meanwhile, I have a 13 firepower gun in my hands in Chapter 4." Yeah, and I have a 30 firepower gun in my hands by Chapter 4, and although it shoots much slower, its ammo is much more common than magnum ammo. It's amazing how much firepower you can have so early in the game.

"But wait, by that time, you can upgrade it to 20 firepower, so it's still really good!" Yeah, you can...for 110,000 pesetas. I could use that kind of money to upgrade my other weapons. "But it's still really good for killing bosses!" Not when you can just get a Minethrower for less than an eleventh of the price, or use your TMP that you've been upgrading all game that just f​​​u​​​c​​​kin' shreds through bosses despite only outputting 8 firepower per second. My free Broken Butterfly in my recent Pro Mode run was practically unused for anything more than "another weapon to fire at the boss because I ran out of ammo for anything more effective". By the time I sold it and got a Killer7, I had around 22 magnum ammo. Twenty-two.

Quite frankly, there's just way better options for a magnum than this. The Killer7 has a firepower of 25 for the low price of 77,700, and the Handcannon is just a beast in New Game+ once you have it unlocked. Until then, yeah, sure, use a Broken Butterfly for your New Game+ magnum, but before New Game+, this thing is just a piece of s​​​h​​​i​​​t.

In VR, it's less of a bad option if you're good at the game, as you'll probably have plenty of pesetas to spare. I'm running a whole six weapons at the moment, and I've still got too many pesetas and not enough to spend them on. To reload, just grab the speedloader, put in the bullets, and flick it closed (or pull the trigger).

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k, I don't know, I just use it 'cause I got it for free.

Base Cost: 77,700
Size: 2x4
Exclusive: None (How lame)
Exclusive Cost: 0
Total Cost: 337,700
Boom Factor: Pow

Special Ability: Badass (Makes Leon look like a badass)

I'll be honest: I used to hate this weapon. Not only is there no Exclusive, but the Broken Butterfly outclasses it damage-wise when exclusive-maxed, and you can get a free Broken Butterfly in Chapter 4-1. So, why use this gun at all?

Well, many reasons, really. Its base firepower completely eclipses that of the Broken Butterfly's firepower even up to its Level 5 firepower. Sure, the Level 6 and exclusive Broken Butterfly throws the Killer7 completely out the window, but you've got a lot of money you'll need to spend to get the Broken Butterfly to that point, and by the time you do, you're within one or two subchapters to the end of the game, if you're lucky. With the Killer7, you just get the power now, and for a lot less pesetas, too. The big problem is that it's not available until Chapter 5, whereas the Broken Butterfly is available from Chapter 3 onward, and you can even get a free one in Chapter 4.

But oh boy, does the Killer7 rock when you finally get it. It's a bit of a steep entrance price, but it sure packs a punch for the rest of the game, even when you don't upgrade its firepower. A great budget option for newbs and veterans alike, perfect for the first playthrough of the save file. After that, though, it's a bit weak, because...well, Broken Butterfly.

Gee, I wonder how you reload it in VR. Honestly, it might be coming too late to recommend anymore when it comes to VR.

Motto: Come on, f​​​u​​​c​​​k off already, Hammer-Dude.

Base Cost: 0
Size: 2x4
Exclusive: Firepower 99.9, Infinity
Exclusive Cost: 200,000
Total Cost: 790,000
Boom Factor: Bang

Special Ability: Badass (Makes Leon look like a badass)

While it is definitely more powerful than the Broken Butterfly, accessibility is what prevents this from being a good pick. Not only is it hard to unlock in the first place, but it's only available in New Game+, and it's very expensive to upgrade completely. Nevertheless, if you do, it becomes a beast, getting infinite ammo and maximum firepower.

Mercenaries is a bit of a pi​​​sser in VR, and requires the same bullsh​​​it as the flat version (but now you only have to 5 star all the levels), but it's the same sh​​​it as usual. I'm sure you already know the song and dance of reloading by now. At the very least, it looks dope.

Motto: You can have it when you've proven that you don't fu​​​c​​​king need it.

Just...just get the free Broken Butterfly and trade it in for a Killer7 when you can. Just trust me.

Unless you're in VR, then just stick with the Broken Butterfly.

Unless you're EXTREMELY good at the game and don't need a magnum at all, then just continue being your badass self.

Each option with their own risks and rewards. All options involve backtracking to get the Broken Butterfly. Obviously, in New Game+, packing the Broken Butterfly (or Handcannon, if you have it unlocked) is a no-brainer, but for first round playthroughs, you need to choose carefully.

Taking the free Broken Butterfly and using it for the rest of the game will leave you relatively weak, in terms of magnums. Chances are, you're not going to have enough money to spend on the Broken Butterfly to make it all worth the effort, and you're probably going to try anyways, so you'll likely be short on cash from upgrading it. However, you won't have to wait until Chapter 5 to dish out the damage. And if you're very good and budget carefully, you may possibly find yourself with an exclusive-maxed Broken Butterfly before the final boss, which would probably make all the suffering completely worth it.
Selling the Broken Butterfly as soon as the Killer7 is available (after having used up all the ammo inside the gun) will leave you with more firepower at your disposal for the tough enemies of the Island, but you'll be with a very weak magnum for most of the game. That said, you'll be saving pesetas by not upgrading the money sink that is the Broken Butterfly.
Selling the Broken Butterfly immediately and just not bothering with magnums is a pretty ballsy tactic, at least for new players, anyways. If you're feeling particularly confident in your abilities, taking a rain-check on magnums will reward you with extra pesetas from selling that useless hunk of junk and the magnum ammo you find along the way that you could spend on other, more important weapons in your arsenal.
Not a recommended course of action, but still a course of action nonetheless, buying a Broken Butterfly as soon as it's available will give you a damage dealer for most of the game. This has the trade-off of costing even more than just getting the free one and using that from then on.
It sounds batsh​​​it insane, but it's actually a really sensible option when you get down to it: Packing a Minethrower as your magnum.

No, really. The Minethrower is available really early, the entry price is just under 10,000 pesetas, there are only 5 upgrades to get before hitting the exclusive, and since the exclusive is complete garbage, you don't even need to waste your money on that. The Minethrower is THE premier budget magnum, and is my personal magnum of choice. "But Shylok, the Minethrower isn't a magnum! How dare you even suggest replacing the Broken Butterfly or Killer7 with a Minethrower, Shylok!" When was the last time you hit multiple enemies with a single shot from a magnum? When was the last time you actually used your magnum outside of bosses and minibosses, and it wasn't a total desperation move? When was the last time you actually had some fun using your magnum? When was the last time you didn't sink a sh​​​itload of pesetas into upgrading your magnum just to make it good? Never? That's what I thought. The difference between a magnum and the Minethrower is that I can actually afford to use my Minethrower outside of bosses and minibosses. I regularly use it to take out Novistadores, clusters of dumb enemies, chainsaw maniacs, and more. I can't say the same for magnums.

Here's a weird one: You know how you can't buy two of the same gun? That doesn't apply to weapons you can pick up; the Shotgun, the Rocket Launcher, and of course, the Broken Butterfly. If you buy one early, you can then get the other one in Chapter 4, and now you have two magnums. Reloads are as easy as switching to the other magnum.

It's incredibly expensive to be upgrading two magnums at the same time, though.

This category is reserved for weapons that are unique in how they work. This does not include the unlockable New Game+ weapons, so this section only contains three weapons. Each of them has their own ammo type.

Base Cost: 10,000
Stock Cost: 4,000
Size: 2x3
Stock Size: 2x2
Exclusive: Firepower 1.8
Exclusive Cost: 100,000
Total Cost: 330,000 + 4,000
Boom Factor: Someone spitting at a rate of 10 spits per second

Firing custom 9mm ammo called TMP Ammo, this little guy is a versatile weapon most commonly used with the Spray-And-Pray technique. Ammo is somewhat common, but don't let it fool you, as you can blow through your ammo fairly quickly. Some players consider using the TMP a bad idea, but it does have use, and can even become a replacement for your handgun, if you use it in conjunction with your knife. Plus, it drops bosses harder than sedating Ozzy Osbourne enough for his colonoscopy. Just buy this thing, upgrade its firepower three times, and just sit back and laugh while you cleanse your enemies in atomic fire. Eat s​​​h​​​i​​​t, ganados.

In VR, I'd say this is practically essential. I'm not sure if the stock really does anything, but this gun kicks ass. To reload, grab a magazine, put it in the gun, and pull the bolt back to release it. Pulling the trigger works too.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k up everything. All of it.

Base Cost: 9,800
Scope Cost: 8,000
Size: 2x5
Scope Size: 2x2
Exclusive: Homing, Blast Radius Increase
Exclusive Cost: 30,000
Total Cost: 192,800 + 8,000
Boom Factor: Boom

Firing Mine Darts, this gun is considered to be a joke by some (We all know how bad the Mine Thrower was in RE3), and not worth the time or inventory space. I, along with other RE4 veterans, strongly disagree. Used properly, it can become your most valuable weapon, and I'd like to take some time to explain why.

Firstly, opponents of the Mine Thrower claim that it requires a scope to be of any use. This is highly exaggerated. While the scope is useful for firing mines at a long distance, you do not need the scope to make good use of the Mine Thrower, as long as you have good aim. Then there are the claims of it being too large, especially with the scope. While it is quite large, it should still fit into your inventory with ample room to spare. If this isn't the case, maybe you shouldn't have spent all your money on weapon upgrades, rather than getting the inventory upgrades at the earliest possible moments (If only because it lets you hold more things, and we all know how devastating it is to have to get rid of something or leave what we wanted to pick up behind). That being said, the earliest time at which having a Mine Thrower in your inventory is easily feasible is once you reach the Castle, at which point you can buy the large attachè case.

The biggest claim against the Mine Thrower is that its ammo is rarer than magnum ammo. This is false. Unlike most ammo drops, there is a hard limit to the number of Mine Darts you may hold before the game refuses to drop any more. The numbers people are seeing seem to vary, but it is my opinion that if you currently have a total of 10 or more Mine Darts, in the gun and in your inventory, the game refuses to drop any more, and only when your Mine Dart count is 9 or less will it consider dropping them. Note that this doesn't apply to drops that are waiting on the floor for you to pick them up, which enables an exploit that allows you to farm Mine Darts.

Anyone who claims this weapon sucks has no idea just how powerful it can be. The actual firepower of a dart is on par with that of a Hand Grenade (The Firepower stat on this weapon refers to blast radius, not firepower), essentially making it a bunch of straight-flying Hand Grenades with a potentially-bigger blast radius (Starting out, the mines have a smaller blast radius, but ends up matching the blast radius at Level 2 Blast Radius, and passing it at Level 3). It could even save space that the same number of Hand Grenades would normally have taken up.

Knowledge can be a dangerous weapon. Wield it wisely.

(Side Note: I would not recommend getting the Exclusive. You lose a lot of control over dart placement, which is arguably the entire point of having a Mine Thrower.)

As if it wasn't dope enough, the Minethrower is even better in VR. To reload, take a magazine, put it in, and push the bolt forward. After each shot, rack the bolt to load the next shot.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k hand grenades, what are you using that weak s​​​h​​​i​​​t for?

Cost: 30,000
Size: 2x8
Boom Factor: Boom

Meet your "I Win" button, the Rocket Launcher. Each one is a disposable one-shot weapon that will kill (almost) anything it catches in its blast radius in one hit. There are exceptions, but for the most part, what you hit dies immediately. All for the low, low price of 30,000 pesetas. Hooray for capitalism!

During the final boss fight with Saddler, Ada will eventually toss you a Special Launcher. This launcher is similar to the normal Rocket Launcher, except the rocket is red, it sells for 30,000 pesetas (rather than 15,000), and firing it at Saddler will play a cutscene where Leon fires it at Saddler, and Saddler is killed instantly. Unless you want the pesetas, or you want a challenge, just use it on Saddler, as it has no functional differences from the normal Rocket Launcher in-game.

Exceptions:

Bitores Mendez (He has two stages, so hitting him with a rocket simply ends whatever stage you're on. Best to save your rocket for the second stage.)
Verdugo (The Rocket Launcher is only a one-hit kill if you hit him with a direct hit while he is frozen from liquid nitrogen. He drops a nice treasure, so I'd be sure to have one on you so you can get it. Or you can just fire all of your ammo at him while he's frozen. Seriously, even frozen, he has a lot of hitpoints. Sometimes, even a Rocket Launcher direct hit while frozen doesn't kill him. Yeah, that's how many hitpoints he has.)
Salazar (The Rocket Launcher is only a one-hit kill if you hit his weak spot when it is open. You will have to manually open up his weak spot with other weapons before you can kill him with impunity.)
Krauser (That damn arm of his can protect him from the blast, so unless it explodes from behind him, it's not going to do much of any damage at all, and I'm uncertain that a direct hit to his back will down him in one shot anyways. If only you had some sort of sharp implement that you could use to even the odds a little...)
Saddler (He secretly has two stages: Before Ada throws the Special Launcher, and after. Hitting his eye with a normal rocket simply ends the stage you're on. Use it for the first stage, and then use the Special Launcher for a quick kill.)

In VR, you need to fire the weapon with the trigger on the LEADING grip. Don't pull the same trigger you usually pull. I know, it sucks.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k this guy.

These weapons are your main rewards for finishing the game: weapons with infinite ammo. While highly expensive, they make up for it by being complete beasts.

Cost: 1,000,000
Size: 2x8
Boom Factor: Boom

It's just like the normal Rocket Launcher, except it's infinite. You may be tempted to get this one first, but hold up for a second: Do you really think it's a good idea to sell all of your weapons to buy this? What if an enemy gets in close to you? You can still damage yourself with this thing (although the self-damage radius is FAR smaller than usual), so I would recommend packing it if you have 1,000,000 pesetas on hand without selling your weapons, already have the Chicago Typewriter, or if you want to do an Infinite Rocket Launcher playthrough, in which case you will want to select Special Costume 2.

In VR, this is the same as the other rocket launcher, but you have to reload it after every shot.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k, I blew myself up again!

Cost: 1,000,000
Size: 3x7
Boom Factor: Bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang...

The Chicago Typewriter, a nickname for the Thompson M1A1 submachine gun, is a fast-firing, high-damage gun of epic proportions. Who needs other weapons when you have this baby?

This thing is fu​​​ckin' dope in VR. You have to unlock it by earning 40 medals in Mercenaries' challenges, but that's easy enough to do if you don't die. Sadly, you cannot reload with this weapon, which is a heinous crime against the original. I know reloading didn't do anything, but it was fun.

Motto: F​​​u​​​c​​​k you, and f​​​u​​​c​​​k you, and f​​​u​​​c​​​k you, and f​​​u​​​c​​​k you, and f​​​u​​​c​​​k you...

Cost: 0
Size: 3x7
Boom Factor: BOOM, B​​​I​​​T​​​C​​​H!

As a reward for completing the game on Professional difficulty, you get this beauty: a charge-style weapon that deals the same damage as a rocket launcher, without the potential for self-harm, to everyone and everything in front of you, except for Ashley. That is, when you fully charge up the shot. If you don't charge it up, it acts like a flash grenade, stunning whatever is in front of you, perfect for giving yourself time to charge up a shot and kill them all. You literally don't have to aim the weapon, just point it in the general direction of your enemies and fire away.

Words can't do this weapon justice. Try to unlock it, and use it for yourself. Believe me, it's tons of fun.

In VR, this thing is actually not as good as the flat version's PRL-412. I know, it's actually quite shocking, but it takes about .6 seconds longer to charge up the beam. Honestly, it's not bad, it's just a bit underwhelming compared to the flat version's PRL-412.

Motto: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

This last section will cover common or useful loadouts. As already stated, most loadouts usually consist of at least one Handgun, one Shotgun, one Rifle, and one Magnum, at minimum. Oftentimes, synergy is a key factor in making a good loadout, but is not always the case.

Handgun: Blacktail (or Red9 w/ or w/o stock)
Shotgun: Striker
Rifle: Semi-Auto (w/ or w/o scope)
Magnum: Broken Butterfly into Killer7
TMP (w/ or w/o stock)

This loadout specifically caters to brand-new players. No shame in starting out with these, we were all there once.

The Blacktail, being the most noob-friendly handgun, takes the place for the handgun of choice due to its higher firing speed, faster reload, high capacity, and its above-average damage output. Start by swapping out the Silver Ghost for the free Punisher with firepower upgrade, and use that all the way to the castle and Blacktail. The Red9 is also a good choice if you're a bit more skilled at the game, swapping out the Punisher for the Red9 right before or right after the cabin fight (the Punisher's penetration may prove useful there).

The Striker has the highest firepower, a completely busted exclusive giving you what is basically a bottomless magazine, and it's only disadvantage is completely nullified because you're only using this thing inside the Social Distancing Radius. You really can't go wrong with a Striker if you're not meatshotting from across the room.

Semi-Auto is a no-brainer: You need the faster firing speed far more than you need damage out of your rifle. The scope is optional.

Here's a surprise: Broken Butterfly into Killer7. Normally, I'd tell you to save your pesetas on upgrading the Broken Butterfly, but you legitimately do want your hands on a magnum for the castle. Most of the time, us acclimatized players can do castle without a magnum, but you are probably not one of them. Spending pesetas on your Broken Butterfly only to toss it out for the Killer7 later can actually be a good idea for a player who relies on magnums for important damage output. It's not ideal, but when you're learning, it makes some sense.

Finally, the TMP is just the ti​​ts. Really, that thing is a powerhouse.

Handgun: Silver Ghost
Shotgun: Riot Gun
Rifle: Semi-Auto
Magnum: Killer7
TMP

All of these weapons are weapons Leon is shown using in Separate Ways (or educated guesses coming from RE2 and RE6), and are presumably his canon choices for guns.

Handgun: Red9 (w/ or w/o stock)
Shotgun: Remington
Rifle: Bolt Action (w/ or w/o scope)
Magnum: Killer7

Running theme here is that all these guns have wood furniture. That's it, that's the joke.

Handgun: Red9 (w/ or w/o stock)
Shotgun: Striker
Rifle: Bolt Action (w/ or w/o scope)
Magnum: Broken Butterfly
TMP
Minethrower

The weapons here have the highest damage per bullet of each category. This kind of loadout would be used by the patient type who can afford to pi​​ss away seconds in order to conserve ammo.

Handgun: Silver Ghost
Shotgun: Remington
Rifle: Minethrower (Lmao, and you thought I could actually afford a real rifle)
Magnum: Killer7, eventually

Probably the saddest of loadouts, being on a budget is not all that fun. The Silver Ghost should serve you well on your budget journey (despite being a Kendo Custom), and the Remington always has your back. The Killer7 is always a great choice for the cash-strapped government agent; just ask Parker Luciani.

Finally, let's talk about that Minethrower. Little weird of a choice for what needs to be a precision gun, no? Well, you're too damn poor for a rifle, so the next best thing is to get a Minethrower to supplement your damage output, and if you need to shoot anything near Ashley, just take out your handgun and pray.

But if you do get out of crippling debt and find yourself in the market for a rifle, please take that chance. It makes your life so much easier.

Handgun: Silver Ghost
Shotgun: Remington
Magnum: Broken Butterfly

Since you can just straight-up find these guns (or start with them), you don't need the Merchant in order to have them. Indeed, this is the loadout of someone playing through a No Merchant run.

Flat Version
Handgun: Red9 (w/ or w/o stock)
Shotgun: Riot Gun
Rifle: Bolt Action (w/o scope)
Magnum: Killer7
TMP (w/ stock)
Minethrower (w/o scope)

VR Version
Handgun: Punisher
Shotgun: Riot Gun
Rifle: Bolt Action (w/o scope)
Magnum: Broken Butterfly
TMP (w/ or w/o stock)
Minethrower (w/o scope)

Finally, my personal loadouts for both flat and VR versions.

On flat version, I prefer the Red9 for its high damage output and the Killer7 for its cheapness, but on VR, I prefer the Punisher for its penetration and the Broken Butterfly because I can actually fully upgrade it. Riot Gun is the same either way (good balance of range and damage), Bolt Action and TMP just absolutely destroy (with stock on flat version TMP for added stability), and the Minethrower does far too much work to not use.

Thanks, I stole them from the president.

There was also something I was supposed to remember about orange juice up someone's ass, but I can't find it.

Don't worry, you'll find my URL.