Resident Evil Requiem Best Weapons and Upgrade Priorities Guide

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Store links: Resident Evil Requiem on Steam

Spend Credits on a loadout, not a gun cabinet

The most important confirmed detail for any Resident Evil Requiem weapon guide is also the easiest one to forget in the dark: upgrades are limited by character, timing, and money. Vandal reports that weapon upgrading is exclusive to Leon, that Grace's weapons cannot be upgraded, and that the system is unlocked only after progressing far enough to access the Supply Box. Loot Strategist adds the practical pressure around that system, noting that Credits are limited, inventory space matters, and buying every weapon you see is a poor plan for a normal playthrough.

That creates the central survival problem. Resident Evil Requiem gives Leon several appealing weapons, but the safer path is to build around a small core that you can afford to feed and improve. A handgun should carry most hallway work. A shotgun should exist for panic distance and crowd control. A rifle should be your answer when the room opens up, a weak point appears, or a boss fight starts asking for precision under pressure.

This guide keeps story details light. It discusses weapon names, broad acquisition context where the sources provide it, and upgrade logic. It avoids boss identities and late-game story turns. Where the sources disagree, especially on rifle priority, the conflict is treated as a real decision rather than cleaned up into a fake consensus.

Your first priority should be the Silencer 9 handgun

For a first normal run, the strongest early investment case belongs to the Silencer 9. Loot Strategist calls it the best all-purpose handgun and says it costs 5,500 Credits at the Supply Box in East Raccoon City. The same guide points to its built-in suppressor, precision, stability, rate of fire, and 17-round starting capacity as the reasons it remains useful across much of the game.

The confirmed first-tier Silencer 9 upgrades listed by Loot Strategist are the Add-on Suppressor, which increases Power, the Aluminum Trigger, which improves Rate of Fire, and the High-Capacity Mag., which increases ammunition capacity. The outlet also says the second tier improves the same components, while a third tier becomes available through Advanced Tuning. Vandal frames the broader upgrade system as improvements to attributes such as power, stability, accuracy, magazine capacity, and reload speed, with sights handled separately.

My recommendation is to treat the Silencer 9 as Leon's Credit sink before you start experimenting. Power should come first if you are missing too many follow-up shots or spending too many bullets to finish standard enemies. Magazine capacity should follow quickly because a larger buffer reduces reload panic when an enemy staggers but does not fall. Rate of fire is valuable, but it becomes wasteful if you are firing faster than you can aim. In Requiem's tighter survival rhythm, the handgun upgrade that saves one bullet per encounter is often better than the one that lets you empty the room louder and faster.

The 990-TAC is the shotgun to build around early

Loot Strategist's short list names the 990-TAC as the shotgun to prioritize first, rating it as a top recommendation for a normal playthrough. The source material does not provide its full stat table, acquisition cost, or individual part names, so the safest conclusion is narrower: among the shotguns discussed by that guide, the 990-TAC is the one it recommends making room for early.

That still gives players a clear upgrade path. Since Vandal reports that compatible weapons can improve core categories such as power, stability, accuracy, magazine capacity, and reload speed, the 990-TAC should be upgraded for its job rather than treated like a second handgun. A shotgun is your mistake corrector. It buys space when an enemy gets inside your aim, interrupts a rush, and gives you a safer angle to heal, reload, or reposition.

For survival and boss safety, put early shotgun Credits into power before comfort stats. A harder first blast is the difference between stopping a threat and spending a second shell to solve the same problem. After that, reload speed and capacity become more attractive, especially before encounters where the arena gives enemies permission to close distance. Accuracy and stability are useful, but they should not come ahead of the upgrades that make each shell count.

The rifle slot is where the sources disagree

The rifle decision is the one place where the available guidance splits. Loot Strategist says the Classic 70 is the rifle it would keep once available and rates it as a five-star recommendation. WatchMojo, in a clearly subjective list of personal favorites, argues that the Marksman 1A is a major upgrade over the Classic 70 in almost every category. According to WatchMojo, the Marksman 1A is found inside BSAA Container #3 east of the Gas Station in East Raccoon City, fires semi-automatically, has a larger magazine, faster reloads, improved accuracy, and room for more than 25 rounds instead of six. WatchMojo also recommends the Reinforced Bolt for stopping power and the High-Capacity Mag. for the Marksman 1A.

The useful takeaway is not that one source has to be ignored. It is that you should avoid sinking too many early Credits into a rifle before you know which rifle you are actually going to carry. If you are following Loot Strategist's route and prefer a steadier, familiar rifle role, the Classic 70 can be your precision tool. If you find the Marksman 1A and its handling fits your play, WatchMojo's cited advantages make it a strong candidate for boss safety because follow-up shots and reload forgiveness matter when a weak point moves.

For upgrade priority, rifles should be built around damage first and sustained control second. Power upgrades make precision ammo more efficient. Magazine capacity has extra value on semi-automatic rifles because it lets you stay scoped or aimed during a dangerous phase instead of breaking rhythm to reload. If you are using the Marksman 1A specifically, WatchMojo's Reinforced Bolt and High-Capacity Mag. recommendation lines up cleanly with that logic.

Grace changes the weapon plan because her guns do not upgrade

Both Vandal and Loot Strategist state the key limitation plainly: Grace's firearms do not use Leon's conventional upgrade system. That means a Resident Evil Requiem upgrades plan cannot treat both protagonists the same way. Leon is about Credit discipline. Grace is about weapon choice, utility, and whatever systems sit outside standard firearm tuning.

WatchMojo highlights two Grace-adjacent options worth separating from Leon's upgrade economy. The outlet calls the Kotetsu Grace's strongest knife choice, citing its biggest advantage as the fact that it never breaks, unlike disposable knives that wear out. If you are trying to conserve crafting materials and avoid constantly hunting for replacement blades, that kind of durability changes how often you can risk close-range finishing work.

WatchMojo also describes the Redemption as a break-action handgun that fires powerful rifle rounds and reloads after every shot. Its cited strength comes from pairing it with the Power Shades charm, because every shot counts as the last bullet and therefore receives the charm's damage bonus. That is a specific combination rather than a universal first-run upgrade plan, but it is worth remembering if your build options support it. For Grace, the safest advice is to stop looking for an upgrade menu that the sources say does not exist and start thinking in terms of reliability, charm synergy, and resource preservation.

Save bonus weapons for later runs, unless you already know the route

Loot Strategist separates normal playthrough weapons from New Game Plus and bonus-content weapons, which is the right way to frame the arsenal. The outlet says weapons such as the Clatter Carbine, Ghost Grudge, Mortal Edge, and RPG-7 become much more attractive for players working through New Game Plus and bonus content. Its table also lists the Clatter Carbine as a top post-game automatic weapon, Ghost Grudge as heavy single-target damage, Mortal Edge as a strong bonus melee weapon, and RPG-7 as maximum firepower.

That distinction matters because availability changes value. A weapon can be excellent and still be irrelevant to your first real survival decisions if it arrives after the run has already taught you what you can afford. The same goes for the Stiri REVO3 A1 and Requiem, which Loot Strategist rates as four-star picks for general-purpose SMG use and heavy targets or specific enemies respectively. They may belong in your broader arsenal plan, but they should not pull Credits away from the handgun, shotgun, and rifle core unless you are certain you can keep them supplied.

For players chasing harder modes, speed routes, or post-game cleanup, bonus weapons naturally rise in value. For a first pass through the campaign, they should be treated as future tools rather than the foundation of your survival plan.

Advanced Upgrades are powerful, but they do not erase bad spending

Vandal reports that most upgrade paths begin with two levels and that a third level is locked behind Advanced Upgrades. To unlock that additional level, Vandal says players must find and destroy all 25 Mr. Raccoons, then open Special Content and unlock the Advanced Upgrades reward. After that, compatible weapons can be upgraded to Level 3 in playthroughs where the first two levels have been purchased.

There is one harsh catch. Vandal also states that upgrades do not carry over between playthroughs. Each new game returns weapons to their base state. That makes Advanced Upgrades a long-term reward rather than a reason to spend carelessly in the current run. Level 3 potential is useful, but a dead-end Credit purchase still hurts when you are short on ammo, healing items, or a crucial mid-game upgrade.

The clean priority order is this: buy and improve the Silencer 9 first, then commit to the 990-TAC as your early shotgun, then choose your rifle with care once the Classic 70 and Marksman 1A question becomes relevant to your route. Put power ahead of luxury on all three weapon classes. Add capacity when reload pressure is killing you. Add rate of fire only when your aim and ammo stock can support it. Resident Evil Requiem's best weapons are the ones that make the next room quieter, cheaper, and less likely to end with Leon reloading while something wet and furious crosses the floor.