Resident Evil 4 Remake: W-870 Shotgun Location & Upgrade
Blast through your enemies with a trusty W-870 shotgun in Resident Evil 4 Remake!
The W-870 Shotgun is one of the first major shotguns you get in Resident Evil 4 Remake right before the game’s prologue. Unlike the pistol, you should mainly reserve this weapon for dire situations when either surrounded by a horde of hostiles or up against a much stronger enemy. As such, getting this weapon early is a huge advantage!
- The W-870 Shotgun is located on the northmost house in Village Square, close to the watchtower next to Saddler’s Church.
- Once you enter the house, proceed to the second floor from the stairs and grab the shotgun from the glass case hanging on the wall.
- The W-870 is a strong all-rounder shotgun with exceptional 2.80 Precision and 0.60 Reload Speed but coupled with subpar stats like 5.60 Power, 0.45 Fire Rate, and only 5 bullets per Magazine.
- One key highlight of this weapon is that it has the lowest upgrade prices out of any shotgun in the game.
- After fully upgrading it, you get the Exclusive Upgrade option for double its Power output for 80000 Pesetas.
- For extra inventory space or currency, you can also sell the following weapon for 6000 Pesetas and rebuy it for 12000 Pesetas from the merchant.
Where Is The W-870 Shotgun?
After your initial encounter with the Ganados in the abandoned house after you start the game, you’ll find the shotgun in the next major horde encounter close in the Village Square in Chapter 1.
Here are further instructions on the W-870 Shotgun Location:
- After reaching the Village Square, take the narrow pathway to your left and stealth past the horde.
- Make your way into the northmost house closest to the Church, and barricade the door once you get in.
- Head to the second floor of the house via the stairs, and you’ll see the W-870 in a glass case mounted on the wall.
- Break the case and get the weapon as well as its Shotgun bullets from the side table.
W-870 Stats And Upgrades
| W-870 Info |
Base |
Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 |
| Power |
5.60 |
6.72 (15000) |
7.84 (23000) | 8.96 (42000) |
10.1 (58000) |
|
Ammo Capacity |
5 | 6 (8000) | 7 (10000) |
8 (12000) |
10 (14000) |
|
Reload Speed |
0.60 | 1.2 (8000) | 1.8 (10000) | 2.4 (12000) |
3.0 (14000) |
|
Rate of Fire |
0.45 | 0.51 (10000) | 0.56 (11000) | 0.63 (12000) |
0.85 (13000) |
| Precision | 2.80 | – | – | – |
– |
As one of the first guns you get in the game, the W-870 Shotgun is a good all-rounder but has the weakest firepower out of any later shotguns in your playthrough.
- However, its major advantage is having the lowest upgrade prices in its class, making it one of the best weapons for long-term use.
- You can upgrade each stat of the shotgun up to 5 times, and each upgrade will get costlier as you progress through the stats.
- It’s worth noting that you can sell this shotgun for 6000 Pesetas and rebuy it for 12000 Pesetas.
- Although this isn’t recommended early on, you can sell it later to make extra inventory space or salvage a sizeable currency for other in-game items and upgrades.
However, you cannot equip any attachments to the W-870 shotgun, unlike other guns in Resident Evil 4: Remake. This means that the upgrades you can perform on this weapon are only stat-based with Pesetas.
Which W-870 Stat Should You Upgrade First?
One of the highlights of the W-870 is the Precision which is better than any other shotgun in Resident Evil 4: Remake. This is coupled with a strong 5.60 base Power which makes it a deadly combination between accuracy and damage.
However, the weakest link of this shotgun is the Fire Rate which doesn’t make it viable against quicker enemies. As such, this should definitely be the priority stat to upgrade. Along with that, you should also look into upgrading the Ammo Capacity since having an extra bullet, or two can definitely come in handy.
My Experience With The W-870
Throughout the early-game and mid-game phases of Resident Evil 4 Remake, I extensively used the W-870 for close-range combat. It had impressive damage output and horizontal range and felt extremely satisfying to use. In my experience, I mostly used it against the parasite enemies whom I usually killed with a single shot of this shotgun.
However, after unlocking the Riot Gun, I personally didn’t find any meaningful reason to keep the W-870 since it was the inferior shotgun in almost every category. So, I sold it to the merchant to get some free space in my inventory and farm some extra Pesatas. And even after spending more than 20 hours in RE4 Remake, I encourage this same strategy for any players.
Wrapping Up
That wraps up my guide on the location, stats, and upgrade of the W-870 Shotgun in Resident Evil 4: Remake. With decent stats and modest upgrade costs, this weapon stands out as a great backup weapon to take out Elite enemies as well as massive groups of Ganados and Clerics in the game. You can even visit this Subreddit Post where people are comparing the W-870 with other shotguns like the Skull Crusher.
To make your inventory more balanced and versatile with a good pistol, here’s our guide on How to Get The Punisher in Resident Evil 4: Remake. And if you’ve yet to purchase the remake itself, consider reading a Comparison of All the game’s Editions to make a clearer decision on which one to buy!
Next:
- Resident Evil 4 Remake Vs Original
- Resident Evil 4 Remake: How To Parry
- Resident Evil 4 Remake: Church Dial Puzzle
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