If you plan on going for the Minimalist challenge, you may already know that you will have to play the game while using only handguns and knives, nothing else.
This means that you will have to go through all those enemies, including bosses, and finish the main story without any other weapons but those two types.
While this challenge may appear to be difficult due to the lack of weaponry you will have, it is still doable with the right gear and tactics.
How To Complete Minimalist Challenge?
Since you can only use handguns and knives, this will mean that you have to limit your equipment and focus on using some of your favorites.
We recommend having more than one handgun and knife with you as this can be situational to the point where it can help you out.
1) Assisted Mode
With the Minimalist Challenge only requiring you to use handguns and knives to complete the main story, it is best to do this in the easiest mode available.
Assisted Mode is your best bet as this will make the game easier and aiming at enemies becomes a walk in the park thanks to Aim Assist.
Playing on a New Game Plus is also good so that you can carry over your already-upgraded handguns to take enemies out easier in the early game to save ammo.
2) Get the Cat Ears Accessory
Knowing you will only be running on handguns as your way to shoot enemies, you will want to make sure you have a lot of ammunition, or you may find yourself running around for it.
The Cats Ears accessory makes it easier to fight enemies without the need to scavenge since it gives you infinite ammo, allowing you to make use of weapons such as Matilda often.
If you do not have access to the Cat Ears accessory, this may be a bit tough but it is still doable as long as you are careful with your ammo.
3) Bring More Than One Handgun
While others may find this weird, we recommend that you have more than one handgun so that you can switch between them in different situations.
Multiple handguns can be used in different situations as they all have different stats, and exclusive upgrades, and some even have parts that modify them.
It is good to have a handgun that you use as a main, one for shooting at distances and another to deal massive damage to enemies.
4) Stagger Enemies Often
Since you will only have handguns and knives, it’s best to make use of the melee attacks that Leon has to knock enemies away and deal large amounts of damage.
This makes it important to have a good handgun that you can use to stagger enemies to open them up for melee attacks.
Your knife will be handy most of the time as this can be used to block and parry attacks, which can lead to them being staggered.
Suggested Weapons to Get The Minimalist Trophy
- Punisher – can be used to stagger multiple enemies
- Matilda – a good substitute for a submachine gun
- SG09 R or Sentinel Nine – good critical rate for killing enemies
- Blacktail – high damage to enemies
- Red9 – is a good substitute for a rifle.
- Primal Knife – has unlimited durability
Verdict
One of the most important things to keep with you is a handgun that can stagger enemies and deal high amounts of damage.
The Primal Knife is vital for this challenge, since you only have a choice of handguns and knives so it’s best that the one you have does not break.
Being limited to 2 types of weapons does not make the challenge impossible if you can find a way to use the other handguns as replacements.
