Weapons of Resident Evil 5

Personal guide on the entire roster of weapons that can be aquired through normal means in the main campaign only. All "hidden" guns or guns that can only be used in DLC missions are excluded from this list(IE: Samurai Edge)

Handguns(HG)

Handguns are the first class of weapons encountered in Resident Evil 5 and can be a very economical and reliable choice for new players.

Handgun ammo cannot be purchased in the shop and can stack to 50 rounds in a single inventory slot. Handgun ammo is also the most common ammo type available and is the default ammo drop when the player(s) have only infinite ammo enabled guns in their inventory and infinite ammo turned on.

Berretta M92FS: The starting handgun in game(store cost of 2K; two available for free in Chapter 1-1). Lowest HG damage, but it has the highest max capacity and can have its Critical Hit chance upgraded.
5 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 20K); 3 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 6K); 13 upgrades available for capacity(total cost of 35K)
*NOTE: with a fully upgraded magazine, a complete reload takes 2 full HG ammo stacks

H&K P8: The first unlockable pistol of the game, available in the shop on chapter 3-1. It beats out the M92FS by 50pts of firepower and beats out all other HG class guns in reload speed. With its penetration upgrade, this will be your best crowd control choice for players that specialize in handguns.
7 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 26K); 5 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 18K); 8 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 14K); 3 upgrades available for Penetration(total cost of 26K)

Sig Sauer P226: Available for purchase from the shop on Level 5-1(cost of 4K). The highest per damage handgun available in Resident Evil 5 as well as the lowest magazine capacity for handguns in the game.
13 upgrades available for firepower(total cost of 66K); 1 upgrade available for reload speed(cost of 2K); 5 upgrades available for capacity(total cost of 11K)
*Personally, I love this gun both in game and in real life, but it really has nothing special besides the firepower.

Beretta M93 Raffica: Available in the store only after fully upgrading the M92FS(cost 30K). This gun has a per-shot firepower rating of 400(80 less than the P226), but the effective firepower per trigger pull can be 400-1200, depending on how deep you go into a 3-round burst and how many shots land on target.
11 upgrades are available for Firepower(total cost of 58K); 3 available upgrades for Reload Speed(total cost of 6K); 9 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 22k)

Machineguns(MG)

Machine guns have, on average, lower per-shot damage than any other weapon in the game, but are the only class with truly automatic fire(barring Turrets)

Machinegun ammo cannot be purchased in the store and stacks to 150 rounds in a single inventory slot. MG ammo will only spawn if at least one player has a machinegun in their inventory without Infinite ammo enabled for that gun.

VZ.61 SKORPION: The first MG that you can acquire, available in level 1-1(purchase cost of 2K; Found for free in the survival section at the end of level 1-1 near the gate). This gun has the lowest potential damage in the game, but it offers a massive potential magazine and upgradable critical chance.
3 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 8K); 3 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 4K); 13 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 43K); 2 upgrades available for Critical Hit(total cost of 20K)

*NOTE: The maximum magazine size takes two complete inventory slots of MG ammo for a complete reload.

H&K MP5: Available for free at the beginning of level 2-1(purchase price of 2K). By far the best MG for crowd control with it's upgradeable penetration stat and can hold 150 rounds of MG ammo at max capacity.
5 available upgrades for Firepower(total cost of 23K); 3 available upgrades for Reload Speed(total cost of 6K); 9 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 23K); 2 available Penetration upgrades(total cost of 15K)

Ishmash AK-74: Available for free in an observation room in level 5-1(purchase price of 2K). Highest MG damage in game and highest recoiling MG in game.
13 available upgrades for Firepower(total cost of 64K); 1 upgrade available for Reload Speed for 3K; 4 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 6K)

Swiss Arms AG SG556: Available for free by the powered down conveyor belt lever in 5-2(cost of 4K in store). Fastest reloading and least recoiling(My perception. Results may vary.) MG in the game.
9 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 44K); 5 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 12K); 7 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 15K)

Shotguns(SG)

Shotguns have the highest potential damage of close to mid range guns in the game and deal variable damage based on how many pellets hit. The effective damage is the firepower # divided by the # of pellets hit.

Shotgun ammo cannot be purchased and stacks to 30 rounds in a single inventory slot.

NOTE: All shotguns start off firing 7 pellets with each shot, but the Jail Breaker and Hydra lie about having an upgradeable range stat. The upgrades actually increase the number of pellets by 50% per upgrade(equating to 15 pellets/shot at max upgrade after rounding up) instead of effective range, so the max damage after both "range" upgrades is multiplied by ~2.14.

NOTE 2: All shotguns are guaranteed to hit at least one pellet if you line up the Laser Sight or aiming reticle on target.

NOTE3: The Hydra is borderline useless when used by a Player Controlled Chris with the Gatling Gun in their inventory due to the animation shoving the backpack well past the sightline, completely blocking your ablility to use the shotgun effectively.

Ithaca M37: Available for free in a locked room near the first Majini Mutation encounter(store price of 2K). Highest possible capacity for shotguns and the only shotgun with an uprageable Critical Hit stat.
6 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 24K); 3 upgrades available for Reload speed(total cost of 4.5K); 13 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 36.5k); 1 upgrade for Critical Hit costing 5K.

Benelli M3: Available for free at the end of one of the second gate docks in level 3-3. Highest damage and lowest capacity barring special stats("Range" upgrades).
13 available upgrades for Firepower(total cost of 60K); 1 upgrade available for Reload Speed costing 3K; 5 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 10K)

Jail Breaker(Armasel Stryker): The weakest of the shotguns before the "Range" upgrades, but it does have the shortest reload time. Currently there isn't an upgrade chart on the Wiki, so I can't provide the # of upgrades per stat or the total cost of the upgrades.

Hydra: Available for purchase for 30K after fully upgrading the M37 Ithaca. This shotgun is either a middle of the road damage dealer or top of the class damage dealer depending on # of "range" upgrades(effective peak firepower is 1177 after the additional pellets).
11 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost is 64K); 1 upgrade available for Reload Speed, costing 2K; 6 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost is 8K); 2 upgrades available for "Range"( total cost is 21K)

Sniper Rifles(RIF)

Snipers serve the same purpose here as they do in other games, which is high damage to Critical Hit spots and single target elimination.

Marksman Rifle ammo cannot be purchased and stacks to 30 rounds per inventory slot.

S75: The first and overall best sniper available in the game. The rifle is found in a weapon case towards the end of level 2-1(store price is 2K). This sniper rifle has greater stability, the highest Firepower, and highest capacity available in class. Reload Speed and Fire Rate suffer heavily from it being a bolt-action.
13 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 51K); 1 upgrade for Reload Speed costing 3K; 11 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 36K).

Dragunov SVD: Can be aquired on chapter 2-2 in a locker after the Irving Cinematic(store cost is 4K). Only marginally better than the PSG-1 in damage and capacity. Personal recommendation is to only use this for the final BSAA emblem and the couple gems after you acquire the rifle.
9 available upgrades for Firepower(total cost of 44K); 3 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 3K); 7 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 15k)

H&K PSG-1: Can be acquired on chapter 5-3 near the moving platforms(store cost is 4K). Worst in class sniper except for Reload Speed(not that essential in a Sniper) and it's unique upgrade, scope zoom.
7 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 25K); 5 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 11K); 5 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 15K); 2 upgrades for Scope Zoom(total cost of 11K)

Magnum Handguns(MAG)

Magnum handguns have the highest potential damage out of all standard guns available to the the Player as well as being the only class of guns available that has Penetration upgrades available for all entries.

Magnum ammo cannot be purchased from the store and can stack to 12 rounds per inventory slot. Magnum ammo also has the lowest drop rate of all ammo types that can be found at random.

S&W M29: The first Magnum Handgun available, found on a BSAA operative corpse in a circular structure that, when entered, triggers a trap and spawns for half a dozen Majini(store cost of 4K). Middling damage, reload, and tied with the M500 for Penetration. Most noteworthy feature is that this revolver has the highest Capacity in class.
6 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 33K); 3 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 6K); 6 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 36K); One upgrade available for Penetration costing 3K.

Lightning Hawk(Desert Eagle .50AE): The L.Hawk can be acquired on chapter 5-3 during the Wesker+Jill fight(store cost of 5K). Lowest firepower in class, but it has the highest Reload Speed and Penetration in class.
6 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 35K); 4 upgrades available for Reload Speed(total cost of 15K); 3 upgrades available for Capacity(total cost of 6K); Two upgrades available for Penetration(total cost of 15K)

S&W M500: Available for purchase in the shop for 30K after fully upgrading the S&W M29. Highest finite damage in the game at the cost of all other potential upgrades.
13 upgrades available for Firepower(total cost of 83K); One upgrade available a piece for Reload Speed, Capacity, and Piercing, all costing 2K each.

Special Weapons

Special weapons, for the purpose of this guide, are weapons that can be kept in the player's inventory in the main campaign and have no upgrades available at all. All special purpose, mission specific weapons and inventory-based weapons exclusive to Versus/Mercenaries are excluded from this guide.

None of the Special weapons have any collectable form of ammo except for the Grenade Launcher, which has a few scripted ammo pickups(Two 3 round packs of Flash grenades in a second floor chest in the same area the grenade launcher can be collected in 4-1; A 5 round pack of Flame grenades available immediately before the 5-2 Uroboros fight; One pack of Liquid Nitrogen grenades in 5-3 prior to the first Wesker fight, in one of the closets above the trigger for Bulkhead #2)

NOTE: The backpack that comes with the Gatling gun can be used as moving cover if the need arises because the game treats it as a large metal plate.

Stun Rod: Can only be acquired from the shop for 3k after chapter 2-3. The Stun Rod is a replacement for the Knife. The Stun Rod deals higher damage with a slower swing and can almost always deal a stun effect to all enemies.

Grenade Launcher(M32 Rotary Grenade Launcher): First aquired in chapter 4-1, this non-upgradeable gun has the distinction of being the only gun to accept multiple kinds of ammunition and also being the only gun to have ammunition available in the store(Acid, Flash, Explosive, and Electric ammo being available immediately). Different ammunition types sans Nitrogen and Explosive rounds have different specific enemies they are "Super Effective" against:
Flame Rounds are super effecive against Mutated Wesker
Acid Rounds are super effective against Lickerß
Electric Rounds are super effective against Reapers
Flash Rounds are super effective against Bui Kitchawa and all Plaga mutations, causing an instant kill in most forms.
All ammunition types have a base damage before any weakness multipliers(Flash=100DAM; Electric=400DAM; Nitrogen=100DAM+freezing effect for non-Boss enemies; Explosive=1000DAM; Flame=500DAM; Acid=500DAM). Each pack can be bought for 10k from the shop.

Standard RPG-7: The classic russian-made RPG-7. Insta-kills everything except Wesker and has only one shot, being instantly discarded after use. Can be bought for 10K from the shop or found in chapter 3-1 on one of the small "islands" in the swamp.
If you get a total completion time for any given difficulty under 5 hours, you will unlock Infinite Ammo for the Standard RPG

NOTE: The RPG will knock you back slightly or stun you if you are caught in a friendly blast up until about a meter away. If the blast happens within a meter or so, it will insta-down you.

NOTE2: There are two near identical versions of the RPG available in Resident Evil 5. The Standard one is immediately discarded after use where as the second version, the RPG-7 NVS comes with a night vision scope and can be reloaded by yourself or a teammate with other ammo drops in the arena it spawns in. If you have Infinite Ammo enabled for the standard RPG, it makes the NVS variation useless since there is no reload and you're not limited by the ammo on the map.

Gatling Gun: Available in the store only after fully upgrading the VZ.61 for 50K. The gatling gun has excedingly poor stability, recoiling in a random direction with every shot, and will slow down Chris when used. When another weapon is equipped and the gatling gun is stowed, the movement speed penalty is removed. This is one of two weapons to have the distinction of being an infinite ammo weapon right out of the gate.

Longbow: Available in the shop for 50K after completely upgrading the S75. Deals damage comparable to the snipers available in game, so recommended use is to give this to Sheva with no other weapons if you lack any effective infinite ammo guns or choose not to use infinite ammo. This weapon is only available for use by Sheva and is the only projectile weapon with bullet drop and is the only normal weapon to not include a laser sight. This weapon is also the only other gun in the game to be infinite ammo right out of the gate.

[vader]

thanks man

[Nemesis_BotakBoy]

No amora shepard, I dont give sheva a weapon. I only let her pick up ammo/herbs and etc for me to collect so i can play with my friend ^_^

[Cdr. Amora Shepard]

Thank you for pointing out the mistake with the handgun ammo(I was probably thinking of mag capacity for the M92FS) and I'm glad you had a good time with the Stun Rod, bit for most people, it's probably just going to be achievement fodder. It's more practical to simply go for one of the high damage weapons with infinite ammo.

[Hex]

Uh...there's a typo for the handgun stacking per slot, and I would encourage you to try the stun rod more. It can regularly kill any normal boss, and I save all my ammo minus like two handgun shots to stun a boss each time. You don't even need to fire at a Reaper with practice. The range on the stun rod swing reaches farther than when a Reaper can attack, and electricity is one of three elements (the other two being acid and flash) to instantly expose a Reaper's weak point. Plus you don't even have to aim at the weak point. Just hit a Reaper twice to expose his stomach weak point. It also does a supposed 666 damage per strike, so taking into account the extra damage Chainsaw Majinis receive to the head, it's extremely easy to down these guys in reasonable time without wasting boss ammo. You can get five hits in, then use a quick melee cancel to knock him back on the fifth hit, and proceed to set up again by shooting him in the face.

[Cdr. Amora Shepard]

P.M.F-Mercenary, That's why you give her the bow or an infinite ammo Dragunov for support fire.

[Nemesis_BotakBoy]

"Dont ever ever give sheva weapon. She dont even know how to shoot. When i first time play this game. i gave her pistol. She go spent all 10rounds for just 1 zom zom. -.-. Even she shot 5rounds she reload reload. 1round also reload. I left with no ammo cuz of sheva. In the end i gave her the....electronic rod. I only give her weapon if we need to do the crane thing."

[lifelover]

Some positive things about the bow:
- It replaces magnum guns (on damage) when have no infinite ammo mods bought, Found it simplier to get 50k on swamps, than getting L.Hawk endless.
- Bow's ballistic mechanics are quiet challenging, but when master, you can hit even the guy, that triggering the cage on a main platform of ship. Then, it would be more useful than riffles, especialy because it has no scope and can be easily used in close combats.
- Arrow's flight trajectory lets you kill sheltered majini that lurks by the box\wallpiece\barricade.

Maybe it's just me, but it's the weapon, that taught me shooting right - after some time with it, I had my accuracy on the S-rank only (from A-B).

Thanks. Short and complex.

[Mikhail]

lol I have more then 1,982,833 dollars

[iHatetheWorldToo]