Conserving Guns and Ammo
Avoid carrying any unnecessary guns/ammo. It may seem strange to you, but traveling light is essential if you want to keep going and have enough useful bullets. You'll only ever find ammo for the weapons you have in your attache case from random drops and boxes. If you don't have the Rifle? You won't get Rifle drops. If you don't have a mine thrower? Ditto. In general, you should stick to maybe three weapon types- plus a magnum for sticky situations and bosses. Try the Pistol, Shotgun, and Rifle, but feel free to mix and match and find your own play style.
Master the knife. Learning how to effectively use your knife will go a long way in preserving your ammunition. Use these tips and practice to master the knife! Slash boxes with the knife to open them. Slash downed enemies with the knife. The enemy AI in the game is programmed to start swinging early if you're running towards them. If you stop short when they wind up and back off, they'll miss and you'll have an opening to run in and slash their face- which will have the same stunning effect that shooting them in the head would, leaving them open for a melee attack.
Lay down the smackdown. In general (with a few rare exceptions towards the end of the game) you don't want to shoot at the body of a Ganado. Instead, aim for the face or knees. Shooting these targets will allow you to perform a melee attack that will knock an enemy down and send them flying. However, past the castle section, it's worth it more to shoot them in the knees. If you manage to send a Zealot or Militia Ganado to their knees, then you can perform a devastating suplex. It has a very high chance to decapitate your foe, and will never generate a Plaga. You're also completely invincible while performing melee attacks, so no need to fear. If you play your cards right, and use this strategy in conjunction with your knife-work, you can use as little as one handgun bullet to take out normal enemies.
Use the rocket launcher on bosses. It is one of the greatest tools in the game, especially for boss enemies. El Gigante, Salazar, Verdugo, U-3, whatever- nothing is a match for this weapon. 30,000 Pesetas for an instant boss kill you can easily waste whole stacks of ammo on is a winning exchange.
Use upgrades to get more ammo. If you run out of ammo and you're near or about to hit a merchant's stand, go and upgrade the weapon's capacity. The merchant will be kind enough to throw in the bullets to match the upgrade, so you're basically getting free ammo.
Run when it's smart to do so. Those who fight and run away, live to fight another day. Don't get wrapped up in a fight that you absolutely don't have to get involved in. Save your bullets for required fights.
Don't panic when a Plaga pops out of an enemy. Primarily because they can be insta-killed with a flash-bang. However, it should be noted that the crawler Plagas need to be crawling on the ground before you try it.
Shopping Smartly
Don't overbuy guns. It bears repeating- you don't want more than four guns in your attache case. They take up a lot of room, they're expensive, and upgrading them gets costly quick. Stick to four guns, and keep it simple.
Sell upgraded guns for a high price when it's time to buy the next round of upgrades. In addition, treasures are scattered all throughout the game. These items can be sold to the merchant for large amounts of money. They're all hidden in various places, but you can buy a treasure map close to the start of each area that marks their location with a star. Before you sell them, however, make sure to check the description. If it says anything like "This looks like it was once set in something" or "It looks like something was set here," then keep it and try to find what can be attached to it. This includes: The Beerstein (combine it with the Three Catseyes, Red, Yellow, and Green) The Elegant Mask (combine it with the Green, Purple, and Red Gem) The Butterfly Lamp (combine it with the 'Eye' gems you get from killing Novistadors) The Golden Lynx (combine it with the Blue Stone of Treason, the Red Stone of Faith, and the Green Stone of Judgement) The Crown (combine with the Crown Jewels and Royal Insignia)
Avoid certain weapons. This is somewhat a matter of personal opinion, but you're better off skipping these weapons and holding out for the betters to save on Pesetas. Red9 - The first offender. The power it packs is an incredible draw- and when fully upgraded, it packs 5.0 power, the equivalent of five standard handgun shots. However, while the punch it packs is nice, it's outperformed in all other areas by the other handguns in terms of reload speed, capacity, and firing speed. Not to mention the gun is so hard to aim reliably that you pretty much have to buy the stock if you want to do reliable damage. Also, the you have the option to purchase the Blacktail the minute you get into the castle, and it's fully upgraded power is still a respectable 3.4. TMP - The Machine Pistol is certainly a good weapon for crowds, admittedly. However, if you're dealing with a crowd of Ganados, you'll rarely find yourself in a situation that the Shotgun won't perform equally well in. Plus, in the Castle segment, the Blacktail is available for purchase, which hits harder per bullet, has more common ammo drops, and is far more precise than the TMP, which really needs the stock to be accurate. Killer7 - This is a powerful gun. 25 base power compared to the Broken Butterfly's 13. However, you're very rarely going to find yourself in a situation that needs that base power- in fact, you should rarely, if ever use the magnum. The fact that you find the Broken Butterfly for free in the castle is a far better deal than the 77,700 Pesetas you'd spend on it. It's a boss killer weapon, but so is the Rocket launcher- and you could buy two of those for that price. Mine Thrower - This is an incredibly dangerous weapon that takes up too much space in the inventory and has a tendency to blow up in your face without the additional scope. Literally.
Don't forget the freebies! There are several free weapons throughout the game, and they're all worth your time if you can spare it. Shotgun - Hanging on the wall in the two-story house in the Pueblo. Do not try to get it until the normal enemies head to the church in the opening chapter. Otherwise it will trigger a massive enemy rush. Punisher - Through the Village, you'll find blue medallions hanging around. Shoot ten of them and talk to the merchant to get the Punisher handgun for free. Shoot all fifteen, and he'll throw in a free firepower upgrade. Broken Butterfly - In the castle, if you give Ashley a boost in a certain segment, she can unlock the door to a free Broken Butterfly Magnum.
Using Strategies for Specific Stages
Try to use just one bullet in the Pueblo. The Pueblo is the first area you encounter- a small village with a few buildings. You have to kill a set number of enemies to progress, but if you play your cards right, you can get this section complete with only one bullet. Here's how: Once you enter, you'll see a barn on your right. Go to the house to the immediate left and kick the door open. Now run to the right and push the chest of drawers halfway in front of the door. Now, go in front of the door and shoot a hole in the door around the knob. This will open up a hole. Run towards it, get out your knife, and start swinging. There you go! You're untouchable, and are free to just slice away!
Make a chokepoint in the Cabin. Getting stuck in the Cabin with Luis is a nerve-wracking experience. You can make it easier on yourself, though. To start, push two bookshelves in front of the boarded up windows. Just two, not all three. Then destroy the boards of the one you left uncovered. This gives you a chokepoint that you can easily control. After they all start swarming in through all the openings, the Ganados are all in the small space with you. Try shooting the Ganados in the head and try to kick a lot of them at a time. When Luis urges you to go upstairs, this is where the Punisher really shines. Stay at the top of the stairs, and aim down them. The enemies will try to use ladders to get up to you, but Luis will always knock them down, forcing the enemies to use the stairs. As the Punisher blasts through two enemies at once for the same damage, it will make a troubling segment that much easier.
Go right at the Two Paths. Take the right path, buy a rocket launcher, and shoot El Gigante. The Sheer number of Ganados you have to shoot on the left path is simply ridiculous, especially with Ashley following you around.
Upgrade the Rifle so it has seven shots in it, then get on the Lifts. Now, scope up and shoot the zombies. Don't worry about hitting a vital point, they'll fall over when you hit them. Instant kill. Not to mention the Rifle pierces enemies, so you can potentially take out three Ganados with one bullet. If you run out, switch to the Pistol. No need to reload when the Semi-Auto Rifle is so close.
Be quick in the Castle Approach. After you take the truck out, run. Just keep moving and get inside the Castle, it's triggered by a cutscene after you're over the bridge.
Prepare for a challenge in the Water Room! But seriously, the worst part is when Ashley has to turn the two cranks on the upper level. If you still have some flash grenades, you can make them flinch while Ashley does her work.
Suplex as you go up the Spiral Elevator. Remember your suplex on the elevator! It makes you invincible, and is an insta-kill, most of the time. Use it! And remember, you can kick enemies off of the platform.
Don't be afraid to run on the Island. It's honestly better to run away from most of the fights here. Luckily, you have one of the best tools to do so- the Striker. There's a glitch in the game where if you take aim with the striker- and before the aiming laser can show up, switch to another weapon - once you resume the action, Leon will be moving at 1.5x speed. This is extremely handy, especially for slipping past "It".
Fighting the Bosses
Have your Rocket Launcher fallback strategy in mind. Just about everything here dies in one hit to a good Rocket Launcher. No bullets are needed to fight Del Lago, so luckily conservation isn't an issue there.
Pepper El Gigante in the face until the Plaga in its back bursts out. You can then mount it with the action button and hack away. Doing this twice should cut it, no pun intended.
Use three to four grenades on Chief Mende. This guy is very, very weak to fire. Once you separate his torso and legs, it only takes three or four incendiary grenades to kill him.
Use the Rocket Launcher on Verdugo. You can get a free Rocket Launcher before this. Freeze him with a nitrogen canister, and blow him up.
Shoot Salazar's eye with a handgun or other weapon until his core is exposed. Then blow him away with the magnum!
Use a knife on Jack Krauser. The normally pitiful damage is increased exponentially- you only need to hit him with your knife about twelve times during the final showdown on professional, and it's easy to bait him into missing on his attacks.
Go "old-fashioned" with U-3 (aka, "It"). Nothing else for it but a good old fashioned beat down. Blast it with the Striker and Magnum!
Go for Saddler's eye. Just like Salazar, shoot the eye. Hit the weak point with a Magnum.
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