The Baker house is a dark and dangerous place in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, and players must face the terrors within completely alone. While a friendly character sometimes appears, this is only a temporary reprieve before Jack inevitably shows up again to torment players. With the odds against them in this nightmare, players will need all the help that they can get. Just like in any Resident Evil game, players have no greater ally than the weapon they carry.

Over the course of Resident Evil 7, players slowly gather a small arsenal of weaponry. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses, and there will always be one that is better suited for a situation over another. These are the best of these weapons that will improve Ethan's chances of survival significantly.

Updated January 17, 2024 by Paul Woodward: At the time, Resident Evil 7 was a much-needed refresh of the Resident Evil series. By the sixth game, Resident Evil seemed to have abandoned the horror aspect that made the series so well known and loved. In addition to horror returning to the series, Resident Evil 7 took a new approach to the series by having it in first-person rather than third person like the previous three main games. Refreshingly, Ethan Winters was not a trained soldier or cop. He was as ordinary as can be, which made the premise of the game that much more terrifying. Yet with these weapons, players will be better prepared to face the horrors that lurk within the Baker house.

7 P19 Machine Gun

A Good Weapon When Rapid-Fire is Required

• Damage per shot: 50
• Magazine: 64
• Location: Captain's Cabin locker, wrecked ship

For proper firepower, players will want to grab their hands on the P19 Machine Gun as soon as they can. It's not hard to set this weapon as a goal; it teases the players just behind a cage. Now, despite the low damage per round when compared to pistols, the P19 Machine Gun still has good value

It fires rapidly and is generally easier to place all shots compared to the slower but more damaging weapons. Besides, it's one of the few proper military-grade hardware in Resident Evil 7. It's no peashooter and the ammunition is easy enough to find and hoard.

6 G17 Handgun

Despite Being the First Gun, It's Reliable Throughout the Entire Game

• Damage per shot: 100
• Magazine: 10
• Location: Garage of the Main House 1F during the first Jack boss fight

Turns out one of the earliest guns the players can get their hands on is already one of the best weapons in Resident Evil 7. The G17 handgun scales well up to the late game and usually never goes out of style even if bigger and stronger guns keep getting added to Ethan's arsenal.

The G17 deals respectable damage. It's also by far the most practical weapon to use against the regular Molded enemies in the game. In turn, this lets players save up their ammunition for the bigger guns because those are more useful against bosses. In any case, one can't go wrong with the G17 as it also works well as a panic weapon.

5 M19 Handgun

Useful When An Enemy Has a Lot of Health

• Damage per shot: 120
• Magazine: 7
• Location: Guest House 3F before the attic

The M19 Handgun is a more precise and powerful alternative for people who feel that the G17 falls a bit short. Its magazine holds fewer bullets but the damage more than compensates for it as M19 rounds deal 20% more damage per shot compared to the G17.

Players can certainly take advantage of this higher damage when dealing with Molded as some encounters with them might not necessitate an additional shot, especially if they have less than 100 HP remaining. Meanwhile, the M19's special ammo damage is also considerably higher compared to the G17. Players who have special bullets lying around will do well to fire them with the M19.

4 Albert 01R

A Great, Stylish Weapon For Players Who Beat the Game

• Damage per shot: 200
• Magazine: 3
• Location: Beat the game on any difficulty

It's Albert Wesker's signature weapon, and it's only one of the best guns in Resident Evil 7 in terms of damage and mobility. The magazine capacity is questionable or even laughable for some, but Wesker's gun here deals twice the damage of a regular pistol.

If players use enhanced ammunition, then the Albert 01R can even deal around half the damage of a 44 Magnum, which is the most powerful pistol in Resident Evil 7. If players can handle the excessive recoil and the low magazine capacity, then Wesker's gun is a real contender here.

3 M21 Shotgun

The Perfect Solution For Any Close Encounters

• Damage per shot: 80 per pellet; 800 total if all pellets hit
• Magazine: 2
• Location: Starts off as the Broken Shotgun; needs a repair kit and a Model Shotgun

The M21 Shotgun is a classic over-and-under design common among duck hunters or skeet shooters. Its pellets actually deal the same damage as the pump shotgun or M37 but the M21 adds one additional pellet thanks to the more concentrated spread. Consequently, this concentrated pellet spread also contributes to the weapon's longer range.

In addition to dealing higher damage per shot compared to the pump shotgun, the M21 also has a stronger kick and will knock enemies back more reliably. Overall, its only downside is the fact that it's a double-barrelled shotgun and needs more frequent reloading. That doesn't matter much as targets typically get staggered by this weapon.

2 Grenade Launcher

The Ultimate Boss Killer

• Damage per shot: 800-2400
• Magazine: 1
• Location: Supplies room of the Main House 1F, requires the Crow Key

The Grenade Launcher is a powerful weapon in Resident Evil 7. Players will want to save it for the most dangerous encounters. Because each explosive round of the Grenade Launcher can deal a hefty sum of damage depending on the angle of the hit.

Sadly, it only fires one round before needing to reload so that's all the more reason for players to keep it in reserve. The Grenade Launcher is best used against boss fights. It's particularly effective against Jack's final form since he has an absurd amount of health. Each Grenade Launcher hit is thus highly useful in such a fight.

1 44 MAG

The Ultimate Handgun for Completionists

• Damage per shot: 1200
• Magazine: 7
• Location: Zoe's trailer in the Yard outside the Main House

The 44 MAG or Magnum is easily the most powerful gun in Resident Evil 7. Other handguns simply can't compete with the Magnum's damage per round or per magazine. As a result, the 44 MAG's ammo is scarce and very rare — usually only reserved for the most inquisitive of players or completionists.

The payoff for all that snooping around and finding enough Antique Coins is a precise hand cannon capable of blowing off the heads of Molded enemies in one shot. Sadly, it doesn't look like a traditional Magnum revolver, but players can easily forgive the meeker aesthetics as the weapon more than makes up for that with its damage.