Crafting is by no means a new mechanic in Resident Evil, but it’s seen a major overhaul since its introduction in Resident Evil 3 for the PlayStation. Resident Evil Village features the franchise’s most robust crafting system yet. Ethan will need to purchase recipes along with finding all the necessary ingredients to craft new items.
Gone are the days of simply mashing Gunpowder together for ammo. Players will need to pick and choose what they craft, whether or not they waste ammo on killing enemies for potential material drops, and which recipes they end up buying. Resident Evil Village isn’t as resource heavy as earlier games, but recipe crafting is a great way of keeping item management important.
11 First Aid Med
Returning from Resident Evil 7, players can press R1/RB to heal themselves with a First Aid Med. Unlike in Resident Evil 7, Herbs aren’t actually a secondary healing item and are now exclusively a material – so get ready to craft a lot of First Aid Meds.
- Herb: 1
- Chem Fluid: 1
Herbs and Chem Fluid can both be found as drops from common enemies while also often hidden throughout the level design. There are usually enough Herbs and Chem Fluid to make a fair bit of First Aid Med in every major area, but this is where the resource management aspect of crafting comes in.
10 Handgun Ammo
The Handgun Ammo recipe nets players 15 Handgun Bullets, which is more than any other ammunition recipe in Village. Its material requirements are also on the light side, ensuring players can at least craft some bullets.
- Gunpowder: 2
- Rusted Scrap: 2
Gunpowder and Rusted Scrap can both be dropped by enemies. Gunpowder tends to appear more commonly, with Rusted Scrap generally relegated to the overworld (usually by heaps of junk).
9 Shotgun Ammo
The Shotgun Ammo recipe crafts 3 shotgun rounds. While this isn’t a lot, shotguns pack a stronger punch than Handguns and will be your main damage dealer inside of Castle Dimistrecu’s castle.
- Gunpowder: 1
- Rusted Scrap: 2
- Chem Fluid: 1
Since Chem Fluid is necessary for making shotgun ammo, you’ll need to decide how badly you need extra First Aid Meds. Keep in mind that you’ll find more shotgun shells in-game than you will First Aid Meds, though.
8 Sniper Ammo
Resident Evil Village’s Sniper Rifle is outstanding and arguably a bit too powerful for its own good. The Sniper Ammo recipe crafts 4 sniper rounds and they’re surprisingly easy to craft from start to finish.
- Gunpowder: 2
- Rusted Scrap: 1
- Chem Fluid: 1
Since a fully maxed out Sniper Rifle is only a bit weaker than the Magnum, it pays to invest in sniper ammo. Master the Sniper Rifle and even the hardest bosses will drop like flies.
7 Explosive Rounds
The Grenade Launcher always stands out as one of the better weapons when it appears in Resident Evil, usually taking different types of ammo and dealing massive damage. The Explosive Rounds recipe nets players 2 Explosive Rounds.
- Gunpowder: 1
- Metal Scrap: 1
- Herb: 1
You’ll need to give up an Herb as part of your crafting, but Explosive Rounds are extremely powerful and use so little Gunpowder or Scrap, that the tradeoff is honestly worth it. Stocking up on Explosive Rounds is one of the best ways of prepping for Hardcore.
6 Flash Rounds
The Flash Rounds recipe crafts 2 Flash Rounds which can be used to stun enemies. While Explosive Rounds are more useful (and don’t require a precious Chem Fluid to craft), Flash Rounds have their purpose.
- Chem Fluid: 1
- Rusted Scrap: 1
- Herb: 1
A well placed Flash Round can let you escape a horde of enemies without needing to waste any extra ammo. This loses its value as you unlock infinite ammo in the Bonus Shop, but the Flash Round also stuns enemies – which is useful for mini-bosses.
5 Magnum Ammo
The Magnum has a reputation for being one of the last weapons players unlock in Resident Evil games, along with requiring more ammo management than other weapons. This applies to Village as well, but on a lesser scale.
- Gunpowder: 4
- Rusted Scrap: 1
- Metal Scrap: 1
The Magnum recipe only nets 3 Magnum bullets, but that’s three guaranteed kills on lesser enemies. While needing to use up 4 Gunpowder is costly, it’s at least one of the most common materials in the game.
4 Pipe Bomb
The Pipe Bomb is a deceptively useful weapon that’ll rip through most enemies and is essential for breaking down armored Lycans who start appearing during the backhalf of the game.
- Gunpowder: 2
- Rusted Scrap: 1
- Chem Fluid: 1
Pipe Bombs have the benefit of downing any enemies in the general vicinity as well, which is the perfect way of creating openings on the higher difficulties.
3 Mine
Just like Pipe Bombs, Mines are very powerful and are a great choice for breaking down enemy armor. Unlike Pipe Bombs, Mines have to be placed down and not thrown.
- Rusted Scrap: 1
- Metal Scrap: 1
Due to the abundance of Rusted and Metal Scrap in the game, you’ll almost always be able to craft Mines. They’re very easy to use, too – just get an enemy’s attention from far away, drop the Mine, and watch as they blow themselves up.
2 Rifle Ammo
The Rifle Ammo recipe is locked to the post-game, since you need to purchase an Assault Rifle from the Bonus Shop first. On a normal playthrough, you’ll only get to use a Rifle when playing as Chris.
- Herb: 1
- Rusted Scrap: 2
- Metal Scrap: 1
The Rifle Ammo recipe creates 20 Rifle rounds, but eats up an Herb which is better spent elsewhere. It’s also worth noting that the Bonus Shop Rifles aren’t all that useful in the grand scheme of things.
1 Rocket Pistol Ammo
Just like the Rifle Ammo recipe, the Rocket Pistol Ammo recipe is locked to the post-game since you need to buy the Rocket Pistol from the Bonus Shop first. The recipe creates 5 Rocket Pistol ammo.
- Herb: 1
- Rusted Scrap: 2
- Metal Scrap: 1
Unfortunately, the Rocket Pistol isn’t all that useful. While it makes replaying the game interesting on a combat level, the Rocket Pistol isn’t as fun to use as other weapons and starts to wane by the end of the game. It’s a novelty more than anything.