In the remake of Resident Evil 2, there's a deceptively large arsenal, on par with the remake of RE 3. Some weapons are exclusive to Leon, some to Claire, but regardless of who's using them, most of them have some type of utility.
Most of the weapons in the game are pistols and larger guns that use explosives, which are great for dealing with the Tyrant, who presents an increasingly more real threat as the player raises the difficulty, ranging from a minor annoyance to a run-ending juggernaut. Here, we'll be ranking all of the game's weapons on their ability to help deal with him and other threats.
Updated April 5, 2023 By Ben Jessey: Before the Resident Evil 4 Remake came onto the scene, 2019's Resident Evil 2 was the best remake in the series. It's great for many reasons, from the refined combat to the visuals. Resident Evil 2's weapons aren't bad, either.
There is a mix of handguns, machine guns, shotguns, power weapons, and sub-weapons. All of them have their uses, but some are better than others. We created this list to rank them all. Now, we've gone back to the piece to tidy it up and alter the ranking a bit.
21 Spark Shot
The issue with the Spark Shot is two-fold. First of all, the real damage it does is negligible, except when used on certain enemies. Generally, the real use is when the player wants to stun and bypass creatures.
Secondly, the ammo for this weapon is sparse. It can only be found in one location inside the police station, and shots must be charged. So, it isn't a weapon you can really rely on to get you out of most situations.
20 Anti-Tank Rocket
The Anti-Tank Rocket only appears at one very specific juncture in the game, but when it shows up, it does so with flair.
It comes with only four rockets, and there's no other ammo to be found in the game, although there was originally an infinite ammo version written into the code. It does what it came to do and takes out the Super Tyrant quickly. However, as it's only used for that one specific moment, it can't be considered as good as the more standard weapons.
19 Combat Knife
Every sub-weapon in the game, including the Combat Knife, is helpful because you can use them to stop yourself from being bitten. The Knife is also useful in damaging downed enemies or checking if they're alive.
Yet, as it is just a knife, it doesn't do much damage. And the base version of the weapon isn't even limitless, as it can be destroyed. So, it'll never be among the main tools in your arsenal, but it has its uses.
18 Hand Grenade
The gaming industry is filled with crazy explosive weapons. The RE 2 Remake Hand Grenade, though, is as basic as it gets. It's like every other grenade you've seen in games. The one difference is that you can use it as a defensive item when grabbed, which is handy.
It's also not bad to throw, as it damages groups of enemies at a time and hurts the bigger monsters. The problem is that there isn't an abundance of grenades lying around, so you can't always rely on them.
17 Flash Grenade
In a game filled with dangerous monsters trying to kill you, a Flash Grenade doesn't seem the best tool. But you shouldn't underestimate these items. They're actually very effective, despite not being deadly.
Almost every enemy in the game that gets caught in the flash is stunned. Therefore, it's good for either giving yourself some rest bite from enemies or running away from them. Like with the Hand Grenade, though, there isn't a large number of them around. Plus, their lack of damage hurts their overall appeal.
16 Chemical Flamethrower
When facing the Ivy creatures in the lab, the Chemical Flamethrower is among the best weapons in the game. Against most others, the weapon is only okay.
It does allow you to attack multiple enemies at once by lighting them all on fire. However, they don't generally burn to death that quickly, so in tight spaces, you still have to contend with your flaming adversaries.
15 Minigun
The minigun is perhaps the best heavy weapon available to Claire and it shows after about 2 minutes with it. The gun absolutely tears enemies apart, even making quick work of the Tyrant, Super Tyrant, and G.
The issue with this gun centers around the fact that Claire can't pick up any ammo for it. Therefore, you don't get much chance to use the thing. If you had tons of ammo and held the gun for the entire game, it would be one of the best in the series.
14 M19
Every handgun in the RE2 Remake is at least decent. They're all capable of taking out the standard zombie, and there is plenty of ammo for them. Out of them all, though, the M19 is the worst.
Part of the reason is that Leon decides to hold the M19 horizontally, which looks pretty cool but messes with the recoil. Plus, the weapon only holds seven shots, which is another negative. At least, it's a powerful pistol.
13 Broom HC
You use the Broom HC during Ada's section of the main campaign and throughout Daniel's run in the Ghost Survivors DLC. It certainly isn't the most powerful handgun. In fact, it does less damage than all the others.
Thankfully, it somewhat redeems itself when it comes to speed. Everything from aiming to reloading is quick with this gun. On top of that, it gives you a very high chance of landing a critical shot. So, it isn't an awful pistol overall.
12 Quickdraw Army
A lot of iconic characters in gaming swear by revolvers, but the Quickdraw Army is only an average-quality weapon in Resident Evil 2 Remake. It deserves some credit for the fact it's quite powerful without much recoil.
Unfortunately, there are also a few glaring issues with the revolver, mainly the problematic combination of only holding six rounds and having the longest reload time in the game. The weapon's incredibly fast fire rate could also be considered a negative, depending on the situation. While firing fast is usually a good thing, the Quickdraw Army is so fast that you end up wasting some ammo.
11 SLS 60
While Leon's starting weapon is pretty much a great introductory gun, this one suffers just a little bit from the fact that it's a five-shot revolver with a relatively slow reload time - still much quicker than the Quickdraw Army.
Other than the fact that the player can aim more easily while moving than with other guns, this one requires use by a skilled marksman to avoid emptying your chamber too quickly. At least the weapon's damage is pretty good.
10 Matilda
Ah, the old reliable. Matilda has a name for a reason, and that's because she's pretty much your go-to handgun, being the one the player receives at the beginning of a Leon run.
It's pretty much standard all across the board. It has decent damage, a decent fire rate, and a solid carrying capacity. So, it isn't incredibly special, but it's a nice all-rounder that is worth using for much of the game. But you may want to keep it holstered during major boss battles.
9 W-870
The Resident Evil series is known for having some of the best shotguns in gaming. In the case of the W-870, it might not be the greatest shotty in RE history, but it's an all-around great gun. Everything from the damage to accuracy is good.
There's ammo abounds, too, and it can take on pretty much any enemy with reasonable efficacy. Not only that, but when perfecting speed runs, it nearly guarantees decapitations with a close-range headshot.
8 GM 79
The GM 79 is a weapon anyone will come to rely on during a Claire run since it's pretty much her version of Leon's shotgun. Of course, it's not a shotgun, though. It's a grenade launcher that takes different ammo types.
Whether the GM79 is better than the W-870 or not is down to personal preference. But the great crowd control that can be achieved with the splash damage for this weapon means it's arguably a cut above the shotgun.
7 MQ 11
The MQ 11 is one of the more insane weapons in the game, especially because the noisy nature of a submachine gun can be fixed entirely with the suppressor upgrade, which means even lickers can't hear it.
It also shreds bosses if aimed correctly and can hold up to 50 rounds when fully upgraded. The only downside is the abundance of recoil you have to deal with when firing. Thankfully, this can be mitigated by shooting in short bursts.
6 ATM-4
The ATM-4 is one of the best heavy weapons in the game. After all, it does a large amount of damage - can kill most things in one shot - and has a decent fire rate for a rocket launcher. On top of that, it automatically has unlimited ammo.
This all makes it sound like the perfect weapon. Yet, one downside is the effort required to unlock it. You need to acquire an S+ rank on Leon's playthrough to unlock the thing. This is no easy feat and makes this weapon less accessible.
5 MUP
The MUP doesn't appear in the main campaign, but it does feature in the Fourth Survivor mode and Ghost Survivors. And it's a welcome addition to both those modes, as it's a very good handgun.
It's a solid all-rounder with decent damage, reload speed, critical chance, and rate of fire. Its magazine size of 16 is a nice touch as well. It's unfortunate that you can't get it in the story, as it's one of the best pistols in the game.
4 LE 5
The Fourth Survivor and Ghost Survivor modes include an SMG in the form of the LE 5. You can also unlock an infinite ammo version of the weapon for use in the main story. The infinite ammo aspect makes it preferable to the MQ 11.
After all, minus the suppressor, the LE 5 is just as good as a fully upgraded version of the other SMG. This means it has good damage and rate of fire. As such, you can take out a crowd of zombies very quickly with this gun.
3 Samurai Edge
The Samurai Edge is an iconic Resident Evil handgun. Sadly, the version that features in the RE2 Remake isn't the most deadly in series history. For example, it doesn't hold a candle to the one in Resident Evil 5's mercenaries mode.
Yet, it's still a really strong pistol that has an impressive 15-round capacity. On top of that, it comes with infinite ammo, which is a welcome treat and certainly useful in a title where ammo is limited.
2 Lightning Hawk
The Lightning Hawk has long been a favorite of Resident Evil fans, and the RE 2 Remake version hasn't damaged its legacy. After all, what's not to like?
The weapon fires much faster than the average magnum. In fact, it's not much slower than the average pistol. Yet, it still has the power of a typical magnum and can kill most enemies in one or two shots. It even has a quick reload speed, which means the 7-round capacity isn't much of an issue.