The Resident Evil 4 remake is tough enough at normal difficulty, but players looking for an additional challenge might want to try Professional Mode. It makes enemies much more powerful, removes auto-save, and requires players to use perfect parries to counter attacks. Getting through it will definitely test your skills to the max.
7. Run Past Enemies
It’s easy to blow through your supplies on Professional Mode, but you can preserve your resources by skipping certain battles. Of course, not every battle can be skipped, but if you look at your surroundings, you can decide if certain fights are worth taking or not. Oftentimes, you’ll spend more ammo dealing with pesky enemies than you need to, so be prepared to run!
6. Use the Infinite Rocket Launcher
Depending on how cheesy you’d like to get with your Professional playthrough, you can get through this mode using Infinite Rockets. It’s not the most satisfying method, but an option, nonetheless.
To do so, you need to begin a New Game Plus playthrough on Professional after beating the main story once. After you start a New Game Plus playthrough, you’ll be able to buy the Infinite Rocket Launcher from the Merchant in Chapter 2 for 2,000,000 pesetas. You’ll then be able to easily breeze through the game. Make sure you sell all your items and treasures to rack up as much money as possible.
5. Obtain the Chicken Hat
If you’d like a little assistance without completely cheesing through Professional Mode, we suggest using the Chicken Hat. This item allows Leon to take reduced damage, making Professional Mode much easier.
To obtain it, you need to complete the game on Hardcore Mode with an S+ rank (which requires you to finish the game in under five hours and 30 minutes). Once you’ve obtained the Chicken Hat, you can wear it during your Professional run to take reduced damage.
4. Give Ashley Knight Armor
Like the previous tip, you can also give Ashley a specific costume to make things easier. For this, we advise unlocking the Knight Armor by earning an A rank on the Hardcore Mode. You’ll earn this ranking by achieving an S+ rank on Hardcore.
The Knight Armor essentially makes Ashley invincible, which will come in handy on Professional Mode.
3. Utilize YouTube Videos for Specific Parts
Professional Mode is ridiculously challenging and there are certain segments that will probably make you want to pull your hair out. One, specifically, is the Chapter 10 room with multiple Garradors, or the Chapter 13 area with Regenerators.
Thankfully, there are plenty of YouTubers who have excellent strategies for getting through certain encounters with ease. We advise being aware of any upcoming points that might cause problems and going into them prepared by watching certain players on YouTube. The video above shows how to get through the game on Professional Mode with an S+ ranking, which demonstrates completing specific sections quickly.
If you’re ever stuck on a particular part, look it up on YouTube and there will likely be a video showing you how to complete it.
2. Collect As Many Treasures As Possible
Professional Mode is known for throwing tough enemies at you, which will require you to use more resources to take them down. Because of this, it’s recommended to always be stocked up on supplies and powerful weapons, and to do so, you’ll need plenty of pesetas.
Sure, you can find currency throughout the world, but we actually recommend picking up as many treasures as possible, so you can sell them to the Merchant for cash. If you complete requests, you can actually get your hands on a map for each area of the game (Village, Castle, and Island), giving you a general idea of each treasure’s location.
Better yet, make sure to inlay treasures with the right gemstones to maximize your total pesetas earned.
1. Acquire the Handcannon
As part of the Mercenaries update, Capcom made it much easier to acquire the Handcannon, which is the best weapon in the game. To acquire it, you need to achieve an S-rank on the three Mercenaries maps, and doing so is much easier than you’d expect.
After you’ve unlocked the Handcannon, you can buy it from the Extra Content Shop for 1,000 CP. Then, it’ll be delivered to your Storage in-game. The Handcannon uses Magnum bullets, but if you fully upgrade it, you can acquire unlimited ammo. Doing so requires you to get your hands on the Exclusive Perk Ticket by fully upgrading every other Handcanon stat. You can also acquire the Exclusive Perk by trading Spinels with the Merchant, or by purchasing one using real money.
After you have the Handcannon with unlimited ammo, you can practically one-shot every enemy in the game — even some bosses. Just make sure you’re close enough to your targets, as the weapon is horribly inaccurate even at mid-range.
