RE4 Remake: How To Get The Bolt Thrower

Get the bolt thrower to defeat all your enemies in Resident Evil 4 Remake stealthily!

The Resident Evil 4 Remake has a lot of new weapons in store for the players, including the legendary Bolt Thrower. It is definitely one of the best weapons that will allow you to take down your enemies in a very stealthy way without getting any damage yourself. In case you want to kill your enemies without them knowing, then the Bolt Thrower is the best weapon to consider. You will be able to acquire the weapon from the Merchant in the game. 

Key Takeaways
  • The Bolt Thrower is one of the newest weapons in the Resident Evil 4 Remake that the players will be able to acquire early on in the game. 
    1. To get the Bolt Thrower, the players will need to make their way to the Merchant when they are going to the Church to save Ashley. 
    2. The weapon can be bought for 10,000 pesetas in the game. 
  • New Bolts can also be crafted using knives that you pick up from dead bodies. However, you will need to buy the Bolt Making Recipe from the Merchant in order to craft the ammunition.
  •  
  • There are five upgrades to the weapon, which will increase its Power, Ammo Capacity, Reload Speed, and Rate Of Fire as well as an exclusive upgrade that will further improve the ammunition. 
  • The players can also use mines with their Bolts to deal extra damage to enemies. 
  • A Bolt Thrower is considered a great weapon because it allows the players to reuse the ammunition. 
  • However, when it comes to long-range, the weapon performs quite poorly as the Bolts drop off midway. 
  • While they might not do as much damage, they are great for stealth attacks on enemies and for saving your ammunition in the game.  

Here is our take on how to get Bolt Thrower & if you should use it in Resident Evil 4 Remake.

How To Get The Bolt Thrower 

The Bolt Thrower is one of the best weapons in the Resident Evil 4 Remake that can be purchased from the Merchant.

Resident Evil 4 Remake The Bolt Thrower uses
The Bolt Thrower [Image Capture Credits: eXputer]
You will be required to pay 10,000 Ptas to the Merchant in order to get it. The best part about the weapon is that it can be obtained as early as Chapter 2 when you first meet the Merchant during exploration. Below you will see how you can get to the Merchant in the game. 

As soon as you start Chapter Two, you will find yourself in a room held captive. You will need to make your way toward the Church where Ashley is being kept in order to finish the chapter. 

Find The Merchant 

Below you will see a step-by-step process to get to the Merchant in the game. 

  • The first step is getting your gear back; you will need to exit the room and head for the Church. 
  • As soon as you exit the room where you are held captive, you can look around. 
  • The room will have some weapons you can collect for future battles. 
  • Keep moving until you reach the end of the hallway, where a dead body will be near the end.
    Killing the Villager
    Killing the Villager [Image Capture Credits: eXputer]
  • This corpse will have a kitchen knife on it that you can collect. 
  • After collecting the kitchen knife that you can use to parry you need to make way for the stairs nearby. 
  • Ascend the stairs and keep progressing until you reach a gate. 
  • There will be a Villager near the gate that you need to get past. 
  • Stealthily make your way towards him to kill him and go straight ahead. 
  • After that, you will come across your gear that will be on the other side of the wall. 
  • Before you can collect your gear, you will have to fight another Villager that will be guarding the way. 
  • To defeat the villager, you will have to dodge his attacks and use punches and kicks to kill him. 
  • There will be another villager nearby who will be patrolling the area. 

Getting The Weapon

After making your way in through the window, you need to stealthily creep up to him in order to take him down. 

  • The next step is to make your way toward a wheel in the area. 
  • This wheel can be interacted with to open the door. 
  • After opening the gate, you will be able to access your gear
    Resident Evil 4 Remake How To Get The Bolt Thrower
    Finding the Merchant [Image Capture Credits: eXputer]
  • Instead of going through the hallway, you need to make your way towards the wall where there will be a giant hole in it. 
  • Exit the building and keep moving forward, and soon you will come across the Merchant. 

Buying The Bolt Thrower  

You will be able to trade with the Merchant in the area before going to the Church. 

  • To get the Bolt Thrower, you need to access the shop when talking to the Merchant. 
  • Click on Buy and select the Bolt Thrower. 
  • After that, you just need to pay 10,000 pesetas to get the weapon. 
  • Make sure to get the recipe for Bolts which are used as the ammo in the Bolt Thrower. 

Bolt Thrower Upgrades 

In the Resident Evil 4 Remake, the players will get to utilize five different upgrades, each of them having different upgrade levels for the Bolt Thrower.

Resident Evil 4 Remake How To Get The Bolt Thrower
Best Upgrades [Image Capture Credits: eXputer]
These upgrades are the following. 

  • Power Upgrade will increase the explosive range of the weapon as well as its power, ultimately increasing the damage it does. It has five different upgrade levels for the players to obtain. 
  • The ammo Capacity Upgrade will increase the ammunition capacity that the Bolt Thrower has. It also has five upgrade levels. 
  • Reload Speed Upgrade will allow the players to load and shoot multiple rounds with a single reload and more reload In the game.
  • It also has five upgrade levels. 
  • Rate Of Fire Upgrade will significantly improve and increase the rate of fire, and it also has five upgrade levels. 
  • Exclusive Upgrades will increase the ammunition capacity and help you further improve the weapon in the game. 
  • The best upgrades to choose from them are definitely the rate of fire, power, and ammo capacity. Just by upgrading in these aspects, you will be able to make the Bolt Thrower a powerful weapon to use against higher-level enemies.

The base stats for the weapon when you start out will be quite normal. Therefore make sure to invest in these upgrades to make the weapon worth using. The exclusive upgrade can be ignored, as it won’t do any good with the minimal increase in the ammo capacity. 

Bolt Thrower Perks 

It is no doubt that the Bolt Thrower is perfect for when you want to take out enemies without attracting more.

Resident Evil 4 Remake The Bolt Thrower upgrades
Using Mines [Image Capture Credits: eXputer]
Furthermore, you can use the weapon to sneak up on villagers and kill them without getting any damage yourself. Make sure that whenever you use the Bolt Thrower on someone, you are not in a crowd. This is because the crowd can start screaming and attract more enemies. Below are some pros and cons that you can check out to see if the Bolt Thrower is worth it or not. 

Pros 

Following are some pros to consider if you are using the Bolt Thrower as your main weapon. 

  • The best part about the Bolt Thrower is definitely the infinite ammo it has. You will be able to make use of larger resources to craft Bolts and use disposable knives as well for the ammunition. 
  • These Bolts can also be picked up from dead bodies and used again. Therefore, it is one of the weapons that provide maximum ammo conservation in the game. 
  • The players can also utilize small resources in the game or use the gunpowder available to make mines that can be attached to the Bolt Thrower. 
  • This special ammo is very powerful against enemies with a bigger health pool. 
  • They can deliver high amounts of damage, but once you attach them to a Bolt, you cannot be able to retrieve the Bolt again. 
  • Any regular ammunition and Bolts you use can be removed from the enemies and used again. 
  • To attach the mines to your ammunition, you will need to aim the weapon toward the enemies and then press the left thumbstick. 
  • This will allow you to throw the mines using the Bolt Thrower on your enemies, causing an explosion that will deal higher amounts of damage. 
  • The biggest advantage that the Bolt Thrower definitely has over other weapons is ammunition retrieval. 
  • Furthermore, it can be bought for just 10,000 pesetas which is quite affordable as compared to other higher-damage weapons in the shop. 

Cons 

With notable strengths, there are some weaknesses of the weapon that you should consider too. 

  • It only works great at enemies who you are looking to kill stealthily. 
  • Against higher-level monsters and enemies, you will have to use other weapons, as the Bolt Thrower with its base stats won’t be able to deal much damage. 
  • While it is no doubt that you will get infinite ammo with the weapon, it still doesn’t make up for its poor stats. 
  • The Bolts tend to drop often, which makes you miss a lot of shots. 
  • The timing is very poor with the weapon, and if not done correctly, you will waste a Bolt and get overwhelmed by your enemies in combat. 
  • Even if you end up hitting the enemy, they will do very low damage. 
  • If you fail to kill your enemy, you will get spotted by others, which does not make it as stealthy as it may seem. 
  • Furthermore, in case you are planning to kill someone in the crowd and get spotted by a villager, you will still get caught. 
  • You can definitely use the Bolts with mines to deal a lot more damage to enemies, but they also come at a cost. 
  • Crafting them is pretty hard due to the scarcity of resources in the game. 
  • Furthermore, any Bolts you have used with the mines will be destroyed immediately, and you won’t be able to retrieve them to use them again. 

Alternative

You can always make use of the SRM 1903 Sniper Rifle instead of the Bolt Thrower against enemies. 

  • You will also be able to obtain the scope with their that will allow you to deal damage from a distance. 
  • The rifle can do a significant amount of damage to powerful bosses as well and works great at a distance. 
  • In case you manage to hit an enemy on its weak point, you will be able to take them down much faster. 
  • You can always use the Bolt Thrower later on in the game when you want to sneak up on enemies. However, for the main weapon, we highly recommend other options available in the game. 

Tips For Using The Bolt Thrower 

 If you want to use the Bolt Thrower in the best way possible, then you can consider the following tips. 

  • You can utilize the infinite ammo of the weapon in the main mode of the Resident Evil 4 Remake. 
  • When you first acquire the weapon, you will be able to load in only four Bolts. 
  • As compared to your handgun or other weapons, this can be quite a drawback; however, thanks to its ability to reuse ammunition, you will be able to make use of the Bolt Thrower for quite some time.
    Using the weapon
    Using the bolt thrower [Image Capture Credits: eXputer] 
  • Whenever using the Bolt Thrower, make sure to always aim towards the head or on a weak point of the enemy’s body. 
  • The most effective point is definitely the legs which can allow you to put the enemies down to the ground and escape or kill them depending upon the situation. 

Sneaking On Enemies

After that, you will be able to finish them off with the melee attack, which will help you save ammo. 

  • You will be able to pick up the ammunition for the weapon from dead bodies or from your surrounding areas. 
  • Furthermore, you will be able to use the mines attached to the Bolt Throwers as a proximity mine as well. 
  • For that, the players will just need to stick them to the floor and set up the trap for any enemies nearby. 
  • For convenience, it is important to always keep an eye on your map, as all the Bolts you will fire on your enemies and not pick them up later will appear there. 
  • In case you accidentally throw your Bolt in an inaccessible area, you won’t be able to retrieve it in the game. 
  • However, if you throw it in a high area, you will be able to recover it easily just by pressing against the wall and interacting with the Bolt. 

Best Upgrades

The best upgrade to consider for the Bolt Thrower is definitely the Power Upgrade. After that, you can focus on the Rate Of Fire upgrade and the Ammunition Capacity. 

  • These upgrades will make the Bolt Thrower a powerful weapon that you can use even in the end game. 
  • After you have invested enough in the weapon, you will be able to make use of it just like your handgun, as it will be capable of dealing enough damage. 
  • Keep in mind that the Bolt Thrower is quite slow when it comes to shooting the Bolts, so make sure that you use it in close combat. 
  • Make sure not to use the weapon against aerial enemies, as you might lose the Bolts in the process. 
  • You should try to avoid using the weapon against enemies that have a void or an opening behind them; otherwise, your ammunition will be wasted. 
  • In case you want to craft new Bolts, then you can always use the kitchen knives you pick up from dead bodies or during your exploration. 
  • Make sure to collect the Bolt-making recipe first before you make the ammunition. 
  • Another good way of using the Bolt Thrower is targeting crows to get random drops from them. However, make sure not to aim toward any crow flying high up in the air. 
  • You can use attachable mines to protect yourself against enemies by placing them as a trap. 
  • Moreover, you can also fight enemies while placing the mine Bolts near Ashley, so whenever an enemy comes near her, it will automatically detonate. 

Summing It Up 

With this, we conclude our detailed guide on the Bolt Thrower and how to obtain it in the Resident Evil 4 Remake. While you are at it, don’t forget to check out our guide on all editions of the Resident Evil 4 Remake and how to get the punisher weapon.

If you are curious about how long it takes to beat the game as well as its game length, then make sure to check out our guide on it. We have also formulated a detailed guide where we compare the Resident Evil 4 Remake vs the original that you should definitely check out. You can also check out our guide on all voice actors in the Resident Evil 4 Remake to see who voices your favorite character. 

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Kashaf Ul Khair


Kashaf has a knack for CRPGs, and she is always on the hunt for creating content after exploring dungeons, defeating waves of enemies of crushing down bosses with flawless strategies. When not writing at eXputer, Kashaf can be seen playing King Arthur: Knight's Tale.

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