Story Walkthrough — All 16 Chapters
CH 1VillageHunter's Lodge → Village Square → Farm
Everything in Resident Evil 4 is region-locked. The Village closes behind you at the Chapter 5 bridge and again at the Chapter 6 drawbridge, and there is no chapter select — whatever you leave behind is gone for that playthrough. Treat Chapters 1–6 as one long shopping list.
Road & Hunter's Lodge
1
You start with the SG-09 R handgun (10 rounds), the Combat Knife and the FILE Mission Brief.
2
Inside the lodge, examine the Crude Charm and loot the cabinet for a Green Herb. The first Ganado is the game's parry tutorial — he drops the KEY ITEM Hunter's Lodge Key.
3
FILE Officer's Badge is near the basement door. Unlock the basement, sweep it, then head upstairs to trigger the escape.
4
On the forest trail there is a small cabin with a Red Herb and barrels worth breaking — free crafting material before the siege.
Village Squarethe bell siege
5
The siege begins and Dr. Salvador (Chainsaw Man) joins partway through. You only have to survive until the bell — killing him here is optional.
6
MISSABLE WEAPON W-870 shotgun. It is upstairs in the two-storey defendable house on the north-east side of the square.
Get it in the first thirty seconds of the siege. It carries the entire village half, and fighting the rest of Chapter 1 with a starting pistol is a different game.
7
Same house: a Hand Grenade in a cabinet. Another village house holds a First Aid Spray.
8
Note the locked drawer in that house. It holds TREASURE Vintage Compass (8,000) and 8,000 pesetas — but there is no Small Key anywhere in Chapter 1. You come back in Chapter 3.
9
Once the bell empties the square, sweep it: TREASURE Velvet Blue (2,500) on the top floor of the shotgun house, out on the roof near the pyre, and TREASURE Ruby (3,000) in a box in the northern shack by the eastern exit.
Farmwindmill and barns
10
REQUEST Destroy the Blue Medallions — the blue note is posted here. Five medallions, reward 3 Spinels, redeemed at the Chapter 2 Merchant. They are: the corner of the south-westernmost derelict house, inside the first large barn, the ceiling of the westernmost shed, the large window of the central barn, and — after the second-floor gear room — under the opposite walkway on your left.
11
TREASURE Pearl Pendant (5,000) hangs on a windmill blade on the west side.
Wait until the blade is not over the water before you shoot it down, or you are fishing for it.
12
MISSABLE TREASURE Flagon (4,000, 2 round gem sockets). Enter the large north-east windmill, climb the ladder, take the left door onto the balcony and drop to the chest below.
This is the chapter's first socketed treasure. Never sell a socketed treasure bare — two matching round gems roughly double its value.
13
Take the KEY ITEM Wooden Cog from the east shed.
This spawns the Brute (Cow-Head), a hammer-swinging heavy. Shoot the head and knees until the melee prompt appears, and crouch or dodge the hammer — do not trade hits.
14
TREASURE Ruby (3,000) in the ground-floor drawer of the large barn, reachable through the windmill window. Then fit the Wooden Cog to the gate mechanism.
Lakeside Settlementtraps and bomb-throwers
15
New threat: dynamite Ganados.
Shoot the dynamite while it is still in their hands and it wipes the cluster around them. Bear traps and tripwire bombs are everywhere — knife the tripwires rather than shooting them.
16
CASTELLAN Clockwork Castellan 1 of 16. The boarded-up stone house on the south-west side has no usable door: climb in through the window on its south-east face, take the door on your right, and look up — the doll sits on a broken section of roofing.
Every Castellan ticks audibly. If you think one is nearby, stop moving and listen; the sound is a far more reliable guide than any written description.
17
Clear the cabin and inspect the body bag in the basement to end the chapter.
Chapter 1 of 16
CH 2Abandoned Factorythe first Merchant → Chief's Manor
The single most important stop in the game sits in this chapter: the first Merchant. What you buy here shapes the next four hours.
Abandoned Factoryweaponless start
1
You begin with nothing. Take the Kitchen Knife from the corpse — it is disposable and it is all you have. Stealth genuinely works in this section; the game is teaching it.
2
Turn the yellow valve to open the route to your confiscated gear and sprint through before the shutter drops. You get back the SG-09 R, the W-870 and the Combat Knife.
3
TREASURE Sapphire (4,000) inside the kiln on the right.
4
MISSABLE There is a locked drawer here holding TREASURE Elegant Mask (5,000, 3 round gem sockets). You get the key later this chapter — come back for it.
Abandoned Factory Groundsthe first Merchant
5
FILE Merchant Tip: Get Rich Quick! is beside him. Turn in Destroy the Blue Medallions for 3 Spinels.
6
REQUEST Pest Control opens here — exterminate the rats, 3 Spinels.
7
First-time stock: SR M1903 rifle 12,000 (the Scope comes bundled with it), Bolt Thrower 10,000, Punisher 5 Spinels, Laser Sight 10 Spinels, Recipe: Bolts 6,000, Treasure Map: Village, and attaché case upgrades.
8
Buy the case upgrades and the Treasure Map first. Inventory space is what lets you carry the treasure you are about to sell, and the map pins every treasure in the region. Then buy ammo recipes for the guns you actually shoot — you cannot buy ammunition directly from the Merchant, only craft it.
9
Spinels are zero-sum. The whole village half yields about 31 Spinels from requests, and the shop wants 10 for the Laser Sight, 9 for the Red9 Stock, 8 for the TMP Stock, 7 for the High-Power Scope and 5 for the Punisher. You cannot have everything. The Laser Sight improves every gun you own; the Red9 Stock fixes the recoil on the best free handgun in the half. Those two first.
Valley
10
MISSABLE KEY ITEM Small Key #1 is in the south-eastern building, in the smaller of its two rooms, inside a small case on a shelf.
Take it straight back to the factory drawer for the Elegant Mask. Small Keys are single-use and there are only five in the region.
11
FILE Scribbles About Dolls is in a hut north of the factory — the in-fiction hint that Castellans exist at all.
12
TREASURE Ruby (3,000) in a chest at the north-east corner of the Valley.
13
CASTELLAN Castellan 2 of 16. It is in one of the small sheds in the stretch between the factory and the Chief's Manor — sitting low, on a pile of dirt or a hay bale, near the door.
Guides describe this one three different ways because the sheds all look alike. Sweep that corridor with your ears; the ticking is the tell.
14
PUZZLE Hexagonal Emblem. It is on the shrine on top of the building on the right side of the Valley. Rotate it left once to seat it in the slot. TREASURE Sapphire (4,000) is in a chest in the west corner immediately past the gate it opens.
Chief's Manor groundsChainsaw Man, round two
15
BOSS Dr. Salvador.
Kite him into the tripwire explosive in the courtyard — it takes a huge free chunk off him. Then shotgun the head and use flash grenades to break his charge.
His chainsaw decapitation grab is an instant kill. Parry it with the knife — on Professional, only a perfect parry stops it. He drops TREASURE Emerald (5,000).
16
TREASURE Sapphire (4,000) in a container hanging from a tree near the wooden shack, and TREASURE Pearl Pendant (5,000) in the censer over the well — shoot the lid off first, then the censer.
Village Chief's Manor
17
TREASURE Ruby (3,000) in the entrance drawer. KEY ITEM Small Key #2 is on the low furniture in the ground-floor living/dining room.
18
FILE Photo of a Family (ground floor, large table), Illuminados 4:3 (first floor, near the typewriter) and Village Records Vol. 3 (first floor, unlocked room).
19
PUZZLE Combination lock. The answer is Crop – Pig – Baby, and it gives you the Crystal Marble.
This code changes on Hardcore and Professional. On those difficulties read the clue in your own game rather than trusting any written answer.
20
Use the Crystal Marble on the master bedroom mechanism for the KEY ITEM Insignia Key.
21
Note the tilted picture in the second-floor bedroom. Examining it reveals a lever for the attic ladder — but you cannot get up there without Ashley. You return in Chapter 5, and that attic holds a Castellan, a 10,000-peseta treasure and five files. Write it down now.
Chapter 2 of 16
CH 3Village Return & the LakeTown Hall → Quarry → Del Lago
The chapter that opens up the village again, gives you the only shooting range in the region, and ends on a boat.
Leaving the manor
1
FILE Luis Serra Report is granted automatically.
2
MISSABLE Free the dog. Outside the manor gate a wolf is caught in a bear trap. Releasing it costs nothing.
It comes back and fights beside you in the Chapter 4 El Gigante fight, holding aggro while you work. This is the single most valuable optional action in the village half and most players walk straight past it.
Village Square & Town Hall
3
Use the Insignia Key on the gate. Open the Chapter 1 locked drawer with a Small Key for TREASURE Vintage Compass (8,000).
4
The tower collapses and Colmillos attack — fast, low-health infected wolves.
A single flash grenade resets the whole pack. Otherwise shotgun them, or parry the lunge.
5
REQUEST Viper Hunter — sell 3 vipers, 4 Spinels. The note is on the wall near the Town Hall.
6
TREASURE Velvet Blue (2,500) hangs from the Town Hall ceiling — shoot it down. FILE Illuminados 4:9 and Merchant Tip: The Prudent Choice are here too.
7
Take the ladder left of the Town Hall entrance into the sewers for pesetas and ammunition.
8
Merchant (Town Hall). New stock: TMP 10,000, TMP Stock 8 Spinels, Recipe: Flash Grenade 6,000.
Church exterior
9
TREASURE Elegant Headdress (7,000) in the chest behind the church.
10
REQUEST Grave Robber — destroy the tombstone emblems, 2 Spinels. The note is in the shed behind the church.
The tombstones themselves are in the cemetery, which you properly reach in Chapter 5. Open the request now and finish it then — but do not forget, because the cemetery is behind the Chapter 5 bridge.
11
FILE Photo of Ashley and Lakeside Map in the church side room. Take the hatch near the typewriter into the tunnel.
QuarryMerchant, shooting range, medallions
12
REQUEST Destroy the Blue Medallions 2 — five medallions across the Quarry and Fish Farm, 4 Spinels. They are: on the scaffolding in the north-west of the Quarry (look up), underneath the docks where you first find the boat, above two breakable barrels in a mid-Fish-Farm shed, at ground level mid-scaffold in the western Fish Farm, and under a platform in the north-western Fish Farm (crawl through the opening).
13
TREASURE Ruby (3,000) hanging from a rope above the Quarry, and TREASURE Brass Pocket Watch (8,000) in the locked chest near the Merchant.
14
MISSABLE The Shooting Range. Take the lift immediately to the right of the Quarry Merchant down into it.
This is the only shooting range in the entire village half, and it dies at the Chapter 5 bridge. The next one is in Chapter 9.
15
How charms work: each challenge awards Silver and Gold Tokens by score — accuracy matters more than speed. Feed any three tokens into the machine beside the lift for one random charm; more Gold Tokens improves the rarity odds but never guarantees anything. Reloading a save does not re-roll it. You can equip three charms at once at any typewriter. Play every challenge once just to bank the completion tokens.
16
Charms worth having early: Merchant (−5% on all weapon upgrades — it compounds over everything you will ever buy), Ashley Graham (+50% green herb recovery), Cute Bear (−1 gunpowder per craft), and Black Bass (+100% healing from bass, which respawn free in the lake).
17
CASTELLAN Castellan 3 of 16. Take the ladder to the left of the Merchant down, follow the path right, and look up — the doll is on top of stacked crates.
If you cannot get a clean line from below, there is a crack in the wall you can shoot it through from the upper right.
18
Take Hexagonal Piece A from the chest at the Merchant. FILE Target Practice Rules and Merchant Tip: Get Cash Back! are here.
Fish Farm & the lake
19
KEY ITEM Small Key #3 is in a drawer in one of the shacks by the boat-fuel hut.
20
Get the Boat Fuel: drop into the water in the centre, up the ramp on the right, then the structure under the torchlit tower — it is on a table. FILE When Low on Boat Fuel is on the boards along the way.
21
BOSS Another Cow-Head Brute patrols the Fish Farm. Same rules: distance, heavy ammunition, head and knees until the melee prompt.
22
Hexagonal Piece B is in an underwater chest to the right of the fuel house. A Yellow Herb is in the hut by the docks, and black bass in the water are free healing.
23
BOSS Del Lago. Take the harpoons, fuel the boat and launch.
Your guns, grenades and knife are all disabled — the boat's infinite harpoon is your only weapon. Healing items still work.
24
Weak point: the open mouth. When it surfaces and charges head-on, put a harpoon down its throat to cancel the charge. While it is dragging you, keep throwing harpoons into its back.
25
It screams from a direction before it comes — that audio cue is your aim. Steer around the floating debris it herds you into. When it dives and leaps, that is the heavy attack: drop the harpoon and steer hard sideways. Harpoons are unlimited, so the only real cost of this fight is health — budget a herb or two.
Chapter 3 of 16
CH 4Lake Explorationthe free-roam chapter — and the first hard lock
The densest treasure chapter in the game, and the one that punishes rushing hardest. A free handgun, a 15,000-peseta idol and five wayshrines all live out on this lake — and the moment you leave the Quarry for the church, the whole region collapses behind you.
Dockhouse & the first shrine
1
New enemy: Plaga Parasites. Shoot a Ganado's head off and the parasite underneath erupts — either a blade-armed Guadaña or a whip type. A flash grenade instantly kills an exposed Plaga. That is the answer to this entire chapter; buy the recipe if you have not.
2
Interact with the lake painting at the tunnel shrine to mark the two investigation sites on your map.
3
MISSABLE Take the KEY ITEM Old Wayshrine Key from the chest near the shrine.
Unlike Small Keys, this one is reusable — it opens all five wayshrines in the game.
4
FILE Old Man's Journal in the eastern tunnel on the Lakeside Settlement side.
Large Cave Shrineinvestigation site 1
5
PUZZLE Cave buttons. On Assisted and Standard, press the 2nd, 5th and 8th buttons.
The yellow paint marks on the walls are the actual clue — read them and you can derive it yourself, which matters because Hardcore and Professional use a different arrangement.
6
Take the KEY ITEM Apostate's Head and TREASURE Velvet Blue (2,500) from the ceiling.
Small Cave Shrineinvestigation site 2
7
PUZZLE Second button puzzle — 4th, 6th and 7th on Assisted and Standard. Same caveat on the higher difficulties.
8
Take the KEY ITEM Blasphemer's Head, Hexagonal Piece C, and TREASURE Ruby (3,000).
9
PUZZLE In the Mural Cave, place both heads on the pedestals and rotate them to match — two rotations on Standard. You receive the KEY ITEM Church Insignia.
Free-roam the lakeeverything here is lost at the Quarry
10
Stop and read this before you go anywhere near the Quarry. Once you head past the El Gigante arena toward the church, the cliffside bridge collapses and the entire lake region is gone — including a free weapon most players never find.
11
MISSABLE WEAPON Red9 handgun. Boat out to the dilapidated shipwreck in the middle of the lake; it is in a chest at the ship's bow.
It is free, it is one of the best handguns in the game, and it is 100% missable.
12
TREASURE Alexandrite (6,000) is at the same shipwreck. Also on the lake: TREASURE Velvet Blue (2,500) on the east side, TREASURE Gold Bar (10,000) in a locked cabin chest, TREASURE Red Gemstone Ring (6,000) in a basement, and a second TREASURE Alexandrite (6,000) if you follow the river south-west.
13
MISSABLE TREASURE Depraved Idol (15,000) sits behind the hexagonal-panel puzzle — that is what the three Hexagonal Pieces are for. It is the highest-value single treasure in the village half.
14
MISSABLE The five wayshrines (Old Wayshrine Key): the Quarry path between the Quarry and the Merchant gives Butterfly Lamp (6,000); the river cave west of the Merchant dock gives Splendid Bangle (4,000); the Lakeside Settlement, left of the main house, gives Pearl Bangle (12,000); the Farm, north-east behind the barn, gives Antique Pipe (7,000); and the Checkpoint one in Chapter 6 gives Elegant Headdress (7,000).
15
CASTELLAN Castellan 4 of 16. Dock at the Lakeside Settlement, use the Insignia Key on the locked gate to the north, climb the ladder in the storage room and walk out past the Forest Altar and the body on it. The doll is in the woods beyond — aim through the gap between the fence beams.
16
KEY ITEM Small Key #4 is on the back of a cart by a barrel in that same Forest Altar / Lakeside Settlement area — boat access only.
17
REQUEST Egg Hunt (sell a Gold Chicken Egg, 3 Spinels) and REQUEST Catch Me a Big Fish (sell a Lunker Bass, 4 Spinels) both open here. Gold eggs come from the chickens around the farm and settlements; the big bass is in the lake.
18
Merchant (Quarry). New stock: Recipe: Attachable Mines 8,000, High-Power Scope 7 Spinels, Rocket Launcher 80,000.
The rocket launcher is a legitimate delete-Mendez button if you are rich, but it is 80,000 pesetas you never see again.
QuarryBOSS El Gigante
19
Use Hexagonal Piece C on the dock control panel to open the Quarry.
20
BOSS El Gigante — mandatory, and the only one in the village half.
If you freed the dog in Chapter 3 it arrives and pins its attention, which is the difference between a fight and a chore.
21
The loop: dodge the stomps and shoot the head until it staggers → the Plaga erupts from its back → throw a flash grenade at the back, which does heavy damage and instantly staggers it → close for the melee prompt and knife the parasite. Roughly four or five cycles, around four flash grenades on Standard.
22
Its overhead slam and grab both use on-screen dodge prompts — watch the prompt, not the animation. And loot the surrounding shacks during the fight while the dog holds it.
23
FILE Rearing Log is inside the El Gigante cage after the fight.
24
POINT OF NO RETURN Moving past the arena toward the church collapses the bridge and closes the entire lake region. Red9, Depraved Idol, both Alexandrites, the Gold Bar, Castellan 4, Small Key 4, the lake wayshrines and the two fishing/egg requests all go with it. Go back and finish them now if you have not.
Church
25
Colmillos ambush outside. Place the Church Insignia on the door.
26
KEY ITEM Small Key #5 is on the flower table next to the altar, and TREASURE Yellow Diamond (7,000) is in a locked chest here. FILE Broken Cell Phone on the ground floor.
27
PUZZLE Stained glass. The Blue Dial is in the cabinet by the wooden crates on the right. Rotate the red, green and blue dials until the Las Plagas insignia forms with no white light showing through.
This one is align-by-eye on every difficulty — any guide printing fixed rotation counts is publishing its own playthrough.
28
Up the stairs to find Ashley. Chapter ends.
Chapter 4 of 16
CH 5Village Escape with Ashleythe last call for the entire village
Ashley joins, which unlocks two things you could not reach before — and then the chapter ends by closing the village permanently. Everything you have not done is gone at the bridge.
Ashley — how she works
1
ASHLEY She has no health bar and two failure states. Downed: enemy hits or your own crossfire knock her over and you revive her with the right stick — but a second hit while she is down is an instant game over. Carried off: an enemy picks her up and a capture bar appears; close the distance and press the melee prompt to backstab the carrier before it fills.
2
The right stick toggles tight and loose formation — not follow and wait. Use tight in corridors and when retreating, and loose in any fight involving fire, explosions, grenades or Plaga tentacles, because area damage is what actually kills her. Where the game offers a locker or dumpster, put her in it — that removes her from the encounter entirely.
Church interior
3
TREASURE Yellow Diamond (7,000) — shoot the suspended censer in the sanctuary to drop it.
4
Boost Ashley up to reach the ladder, collect the ammunition and mines on the way, and exit through the window.
Cemetery
5
MISSABLE Complete Grave Robber here. Destroy the tombstone emblems for 2 Spinels.
The cemetery is behind the bridge lock at the end of this chapter. It is now or never.
Village Square & Town Hall
6
REQUEST A Savage Mutt — 8 Spinels, the largest single payout in the village half. The note is on the wall by the Merchant, beside the Town Hall door. The target is the mutated dog with a scorpion-like tail: you first glimpse it at the Chief's Manor gate, then double back into the village to kill it. It is much tougher than a Colmillos — shotgun or rifle, and keep Ashley far away.
7
MISSABLE TREASURE Elegant Bangle (5,000, 2 round gem sockets) is in the blue chest in Village Square, reachable only by boosting Ashley through a wall gap. Ashley-gated and easy to miss.
Chief's Manor atticthe Chapter 2 IOU
8
MISSABLE Go back to the second-floor bedroom, examine the tilted picture to reveal the lever, and pull it. Ashley kicks the ladder down.
This room is the densest single location in the village half and it is behind a Chapter-5-only, Ashley-only, bridge-locked door.
9
CASTELLAN Castellan 5 of 16 is up here.
Destroy the first box on your left to clear the firing line, or shoot through the hole in the centre of the far wall. It is near a chessboard and a bucket, and it is audible before it is visible.
10
TREASURE Antique Camera (10,000) on top of a drawer, plus a Yellow Herb.
11
MISSABLE Five files, all in this attic: FILE Photo of the Factory, Village Records Vol. 1, Village Records Vol. 2, A Father's Portrait and Photo of a Boy and His Grandfather.
Farm
12
The Farm wayshrine gives TREASURE Antique Pipe (7,000) with the Old Wayshrine Key.
13
The Cow-Head Brutes here can knock Ashley down in one hit. Send her to hang back before you engage.
The bridgePOINT OF NO RETURN
14
POINT OF NO RETURN Crossing the rickety bridge past the Farm ends the village. Gone permanently: Village Square, the Cemetery, the Chief's Manor attic, the Farm wayshrine, the Town Hall Merchant, and the Quarry Merchant and the only shooting range in the region. Every unturned request goes with them, including A Savage Mutt.
15
Before you cross: socket your gems, then sell every treasure. Spend every Spinel. Buy every upgrade you want. Finish every request. The Merchant will even hint at it in dialogue — take him literally.
16
Gem sockets, briefly. Round slots take Ruby, Sapphire and Yellow Diamond; rectangular slots take Emerald, Alexandrite and Red Beryl. For the 2- and 3-socket treasures in this half, matching colours beat mixed sets — three Yellow Diamonds in the Elegant Mask, matching pairs in the Flagon and Elegant Bangle. Only the big 5-socket treasures later favour all-different.
VillaStand Your Ground
17
Board the windows with the wooden planks lying around and kick down the ladders to slow the climbers.
Luis is invincible — play entirely for your own survival and hold a staircase corner.
18
BOSS A Brute closes the sequence.
Chapter 5 of 16
CH 6Village FinaleCheckpoint → Bella Sisters → Mendez
Short, dense, and it ends with the drawbridge that closes the village forever.
Villa exterior & the gorge
1
FILE Merchant Tip: Midnight Stroll east of the Villa, and Tighten the Defences on the boards to the north-east.
2
The game suggests stealth here; realistically it lasts about two enemies. Use the explosive barrels along the chase instead.
3
MISSABLE TREASURE Chalice of Atonement (7,000, 3 rectangular gem sockets) is in a chest inside the cabin on the wooden bridge before the Checkpoint.
This is the last socketed treasure of the village half — fill it before you sell anything.
4
CASTELLAN Castellan 6 of 16. Past the abandoned building, before the Checkpoint, there is a large bonfire — the doll sits on the ledge on its right-hand side.
CheckpointMerchant and typewriter
5
WEAPON Riot Gun — 28,000.
Buy it before Mendez if you can afford it at all; it is a straight upgrade on the W-870 and the fight is built for it.
6
TREASURE Yellow Diamond (7,000) in the chest on the west side of the Merchant's shop, and the fifth wayshrine — south-west, outside the chainsaw-villager house, reached from the second-floor platform — gives TREASURE Elegant Headdress (7,000).
7
A Yellow Herb is on the left stairs during the mid-chapter climb.
Bella SistersBOSS two chainsaws at once
8
BOSS Hide Ashley in a locker before you start. Clear the ordinary Ganados first so you are not fighting three fronts, then dump hand grenades, flash grenades and shotgun into the pair.
9
They drop the KEY ITEM Checkpoint Crank, which is required to progress.
SlaughterhouseBOSS Bitores Mendez
10
The Merchant and typewriter outside are the last in the village. Spend everything here.
11
BOSS Mendez, phase one (ground). Weak points are the head and the centipede-like spine segment between torso and legs — breaking the spine ends the phase.
12
Climb to the second-floor walkways early. Better angles, and there is ammunition and healing stashed up there.
13
Tells: the stinger jab is parryable; the tail sweep is dodgeable; and when he retracts his limbs and speaks, he throws two consecutive spinning charges — run, then dodge twice. If he grabs you, knife-break immediately. Stunning a weak point gives a leaping knife-stab prompt — take it every time.
14
BOSS Phase two (aerial). He loses his lower half and swings from the rafters, throwing burning wood and red explosive barrels.
Shoot the barrels while they are still in his hands. That is your main damage source in this phase. Stay on one side of the barn and move just before he throws; rifle at range, shotgun point-blank when he lands.
15
He drops TREASURE Mendez's False Eye (12,000).
16
Ashley breaks a window and you escape the burning slaughterhouse. TREASURE Emerald (5,000) hangs in a censer from a tree on the road to the castle — shoot it down.
17
POINT OF NO RETURN Crossing the drawbridge ends the Village half permanently. There is no chapter select and no way back. Any Small Keys you are still carrying become dead weight.
Chapter 6 of 16
CH 7Castle EntranceAudience Chamber → Dungeons → Treasury
A new region means a new Merchant stock, a new treasure map and a new bestiary. It also means a new lockout clock: the whole castle closes at the Chapter 12 gondola.
Castle entryMerchant
1
FILE Quarterly Findings — Excerpt is added automatically. Take the first door on the right for the castle Merchant and buy the Castle Treasure Map immediately.
2
WEAPON Four weapons unlock in his stock here: Blacktail handgun (~24,000), Stingray semi-auto rifle (~30,000), Broken Butterfly magnum (~29,400, discounted and bundled with its ammo recipe) and the Riot Gun (~28,000).
3
TREASURE Vintage Compass in a chest behind the Merchant's building, outside. WEAPON Boot Knife drops from the very first enemy of the chapter — free knife durability, always take them.
Chapel & Battlementsthe catapult gauntlet
4
New enemy: Zealots. Robed Ganados, two or three headshots — except the shielded variants, which need a shotgun blast, a grenade, or a knife parry into a kick. A new Plaga subspecies opens its head into a fanged maw: shoot into the open mouth for massive damage, and flash grenades still one-shot any exposed Plaga.
5
Clear the crossbow Zealots on the walls first, then push the spiral stairs between catapult volleys. Look for the green-domed tower.
6
TREASURE Elegant Bangle (2 large gem sockets) — after you destroy the cannon tower's counterweight bag and climb out, it is tucked behind yellow-painted barrels.
7
Board the cannon: shoot the red barrels beside each trebuchet to wipe them, then aim at the castle gate to blow it open.
Castle Gate
8
REQUEST Destroy the Blue Medallions 3 — the note is on the wall just past the gate you blew open. Six medallions, 5 Spinels: in the pavilion, in the window ruins, hanging directly above that one, on a room ceiling, at the next ladder, and just before the next door. Your map pins them once the request is active.
Audience Chamber
9
Salazar introduces himself, then a Zealot ambush including shield-bearers.
They start tightly bunched — a hand grenade into the centre of the pack on the opening frame is the single best opener in the chapter.
10
ASHLEY Boost Ashley up the north-eastern wall; she unlocks the metal gate. This route also yields TREASURE Elegant Perfume Bottle.
11
TREASURE Ruby — after you squeeze through the narrow gap, turn left and shoot the hanging silver container through the hole in the wall.
DungeonsBOSS the first Garrador
12
FILE Caretaker's Note beside the torture devices.
13
BOSS Garrador. It is blind and navigates entirely by sound.
Crouch-walk everywhere. Do not sprint, do not vault, do not reload in the open. Sprinting is what gets people killed here.
14
Weak point: the Plaga on its back. Shoot the back to expose it, then a flash grenade is an instant kill once the tentacles are out. Bells and other noise sources pull it away from you; Bolt Thrower bolts are silent and never give away your position.
15
TROPHY Never Heard It Coming — kill a Garrador with the knife only. Stealth-stab the back and keep stabbing; a stage-1 knife needs about five hits, so upgrade durability first and carry spare Boot Knives.
16
KEY ITEM Dungeon Key at the end of the left-hand path. Use the winch to leave, climb the ladders, rejoin Ashley and open the next gate.
Storage Room
17
CASTELLAN Castellan 7 of 16. In the storage room directly north of the Treasury. Walk between the shelving units keeping right — it sits on top of a shelf. A Spinel is on the floor right next to it.
TreasuryPUZZLE two puzzles
18
PUZZLE Animal gongs. The barred gate's lock displays three animal symbols. Pull the chain on the gong you can physically reach, then shoot the other two gongs bearing the gate's animals — they hang out of reach behind bars.
Do not memorise animal names. This puzzle's gong layout changes on Hardcore and Professional. Read the three symbols on the lock in your own game and match them.
It opens the alcove holding the Bloodied Sword.19
PUZZLE Knight reliefs. Four reliefs show stages of a knight's life; match each sword's condition to its scene. Left to right: Iron → Golden → Bloodied → Rusted.
A knight holding a plain hilt takes Iron; being knighted in gold armour takes Golden; run through takes Bloodied; a sword planted by a gravestone takes Rusted. This one is fixed on every difficulty.
20
TREASURE Gold Bangle in a chest in the corridor immediately after the Treasury.
Upper Audience Chamber & Water Hall
21
MISSABLE TREASURE Golden Hourglass. From the upper Audience Chamber, jump across the chandelier on the right, turn right, and drop through the hole.
Almost everyone walks straight past this one.
22
PUZZLE KEY ITEM Halo Wheel is on a statue in the Water Hall. Slot it into the statue pedestals to raise the walkway sections. ASHLEY This is a two-phase defence fight: Ashley works the cranks while you hold the room.
Put her in loose formation so she is not caught by grenades or fire, take the elevated platforms, and grenade the packs funnelling toward her.
23
ASHLEY Final boost over the wall, then cross the bridge. Chapter ends in the Courtyard.
Chapter 7 of 16
CH 8Wine Cellar & BattlementsLeon alone → Armored El Gigante
Ashley is separated for the whole chapter, which means no boosts and no Ashley-gated pickups — but also nothing to protect. It ends on a boss you cannot shoot to death.
OpeningMerchant
1
The Merchant is behind your starting position. WEAPON Body Armor is now in stock — buy it as soon as you can afford it.
It materially changes the Chapter 10 double-Garrador arena and the Salazar fight.
2
Shoot the fish in the pond by the Merchant for free healing.
Wine Cellarthe Summoner
3
New enemy: the Summoner, a red-robed priest. He stuns you from range and converts nearby Ganados into Plaga forms. He is physically weak and will run — kill him immediately with a magnum, a rifle shot or a melee rush. Letting him work costs you a magazine.
4
He drops the KEY ITEM Crimson Lantern. TREASURE Mirror with Pearls & Rubies is in a chest directly behind where he stood.
5
FILE Consign the Crimson Flame is nailed to the wall next to the stone statue.
6
PUZZLE Crimson Lantern. Place it in the hands of the statue that is holding nothing. That is the entire puzzle — it opens the door and a shortcut back to the Merchant.
BinderyPUZZLE lithographic stones
7
FILE Iluminados 3:2 on a table in the room north of the Bindery.
8
TREASURE Extravagant Clock (1 large + 1 small socket) in the chest left of the fireplace, and TREASURE Velvet Blue in the glass case left of the open window.
9
PUZZLE Lithographic stones. Four slots in a wall mural; one stone is already in place and you find the other three inside the Bindery itself — on the bookshelf left of the door, on a small cabinet near the entryway, and inside a hanging glass cabinet opposite the door (break the glass).
10
Each slot has a faded ghost image showing both the icon and the shape. The stones are double-sided — flip them with the shoulder buttons. Top: Shield, square. Right: Sword, square. Bottom: Armour, hexagon. Left: Helmet, hexagon.
11
The solution is the same on every difficulty, but the stones are hidden in different places on Hardcore and Professional. Sweep the whole room rather than going straight to the three spots above.
12
MISSABLE KEY ITEM Small Key is on a wooden crate in the corridor beyond the lithograph door.
Take it straight back into the Bindery and open the locked drawer near the entryway for TREASURE Brass Pocket Watch. Push on without backtracking and you lose it.
To the roofPUZZLE Sun and Moon gates
13
Shove the blocking bookshelf. Right-side stairs lead to a Merchant and typewriter — save.
14
At the drawbridge, three crossbow Ganados are above you. Shoot the left counterweight to drop the bridge.
15
PUZZLE Sun / Moon levers. Each lever opens one gate of a pair and closes the other. Ignore the first levers, climb the left stairs, clear the top, then loop left through the enemy room.
Use the hanging lantern for crowd control.
16
TREASURE Ornate Necklace (2 large + 2 small sockets) — flip the Sun switch, climb the yellow-painted planks, pull the next lever, drop through the hole, and the chest is in the side room to the right.
BattlementsBOSS Armored El Gigante
17
BOSS
You cannot meaningfully damage its armour with small arms. This is not a stand-and-shoot fight — it is a movement puzzle that ends with a cannon.
18
It throws boulders with pinpoint accuracy along the ramparts. Move using cover, shoot portcullis counterweights to duck indoors when it winds up, and let it friendly-fire the Ganados for you. The moment the rock leaves its hand is your sprint window.
19
MISSABLE CASTELLAN Castellan 8 of 16 and TREASURE Emerald. As soon as El Gigante appears, drop down the right side toward the west of the map, take the lower path and climb the ladder to the centre of the tower. The doll is on the boxes at the top; the Emerald is in a chest at the tower's centre.
This is the most-missed collectible pair in the castle, because a boss is actively chasing you while you look for it.
20
TREASURE Ruby — after the third tower, drop twice to the bottom floor, enter the room beneath and shoot the silver container hanging from the ceiling.
21
Enter the Moon Gate, pull the interior lever, exit the far side and drop down. Kill the crossbowman blocking the ladder.
22
Destroy the two counterweights to raise the cannon, wait out a rock throw, sprint to the top and line up a direct head shot with the cannon to kill it. Then swing the cannon left to blow the castle gate, and shoot the left counterweight to open your escape.
23
MISSABLE There is an Ornate Beetle in a locked chest of drawers in the first tower here — but the Small Key that opens it is not yours until Chapter 12. Write down the location; you come back via the gondola.
Chapter 8 of 16
CH 9Grand Hallthe three heads → Ashley alone
The biggest chapter in the castle. It has a hedge maze, three sub-puzzles feeding one statue, a shooting range, and then it takes Leon away and makes you play Ashley with no weapons at all — carrying a set of keys that leave with her when the chapter ends.
Courtyard hedge maze
1
Colmillos patrol the hedge lanes. Flash grenades are the hard counter. Keep Ashley in tight formation here — the lanes are exactly the kind of place she gets separated and carried off.
2
PUZZLE Three banner levers, one per tower, all three needed to open the way east. Lever 1 is down the stairs and left, in the central area. Lever 2 is along the path left of the stairs, then left at the first junction. Lever 3 (south-west) needs Ashley to hold a switch while you run to the tower's upper level.
3
While Ashley is holding that lever she cannot defend herself, and the western tower triggers an enemy rush. Clear the lane completely before you commit her.
4
CASTELLAN Castellan 9 of 16 is in the north-west corner of the maze, behind a pillar.
From the elevator staircase the turns are right, left, right, left, right, left, right.
5
TREASURE Elegant Chessboard on the east side of the maze.
Merchant & save room
6
MISSABLE Shooting range — challenges 2A, 2B and 2C, in the elevator next to the Merchant.
It dies with the castle at the Chapter 12 gondola.
7
REQUEST Destroy the Blue Medallions 4 — note on the table beside the typewriter. Six medallions, 5 Spinels: on the gate wall, behind a statue, the Dining Hall window, a chandelier, the Armory ceiling, and the far end of the Gallery.
8
WEAPON Matilda handgun becomes available as a 10-Spinel trade here. FILE Merchant Tip: Next-level Upgrades! is on a bag beside the shop.
Grand Hallthe headless statue
9
PUZZLE The centrepiece statue is missing three heads — Serpent, Lion and Goat. Each is behind its own sub-puzzle; this is a hub, not a riddle.
10
REQUEST More Pest Control — note on the wall left of the statue. Kill 3 rats, 3 Spinels.
Two rats are in Chapter 9; the third is in the Library hallway in Chapter 10. This is the request people most often fail, because they finish the castle without ever finding the third.
11
TREASURE Alexandrite — shoot the silver container hanging from one of the statues' hands.
Dining HallPUZZLE the Serpent Head
12
PUZZLE Two portraits on the back wall show a Lady and a Lord at specific place settings. Send Ashley to the Lady's chair (second on the right) and sit Leon in the Lord's chair (last on the left), then ring the service bell.
The tiebreaker if you cannot read the portraits: the queen's setting has two sets of silverware, the king's has three. Fixed on every difficulty.
13
The cage opens: KEY ITEM Serpent Head.
ArmoryPUZZLE the Lion Head — Armadura
14
KEY ITEM A Small Key is in the cabinet on the left in the small upstairs room before the Armory.
15
KEY ITEM Lion Head is on the lion statue in the centre. Taking it triggers the ambush.
16
New enemy: Armadura, animated suits of armour, in three or four waves. They cannot be staggered by small arms. Shoot the tentacled Plaga at the neck to expose it, then kick the helmet off and destroy the parasite. Flash grenades and blue lantern light are the hard counters; a shotgun to the helmet is the efficient opener.
17
ASHLEY Ashley helps from the floor above, throwing lanterns to stun them. She is safe up there — do not panic and recall her. Catch her when she drops down afterwards.
18
MISSABLE KEY ITEM Cubic Device is in a chest in the corridor immediately outside the Armory.
Do not skip this. It opens all five Square Lock Boxes in the castle — one of which contains the only assault rifle in the game.
GalleryPUZZLE the Goat Head
19
An enemy lowers the walkway; kill him, climb the ladder to the balcony, pull the lever to raise the path, then cross.
20
TREASURE Yellow Diamond is on the Gallery floor beneath the raised platform, visible once you have pulled that lever. KEY ITEM Goat Head is up the side stairs.
Cubic Device backtrackdo this before you place the heads
21
MISSABLE Square Lock Box 1 — Grand Hall Merchant's room → TREASURE Butterfly Lamp (3 large gem sockets).
22
MISSABLE Take the golden gondola from the door next to the Merchant back to the Audience Chamber: Square Lock Box 2 in the north-west corner → TREASURE Justitia Statue (~12,000), and the locked desk on the north wall (Small Key) → TREASURE Gold Bar.
23
MISSABLE Wine Cellar secret room. North-east of the Wine Cellar, boost Ashley to open a hidden room containing TREASURE Depraved Idol and FILE Salazar Family Chronology.
Only doable in Chapter 9, while Ashley is still with you.
Ashley aloneLibrary and Mausoleum
24
Place Serpent, Lion and Goat on the statue. Cutscene: Leon is caged and Ashley is on her own.
25
ASHLEY Ashley has no weapons. Her entire toolkit is run, crouch, hide and carry lanterns. A blue lantern placed on a pedestal freezes Armadura — that is your only defence. Armadura contact kills her outright; there is no downed state here.
26
TREASURE Elegant Perfume Bottle — crouch under the hole in the bookshelves in the Library.
27
KEY ITEM Bunch of Keys — on a table upstairs after you place the lantern on the second pedestal and crank the stairs down. Sequence: take the lantern → place it on pedestal 2 in the south library to shift the bookshelves → work the crank to lower the stairs → retrieve the lantern → climb → take the keys → use the third key to power the elevator on the north side.
28
MISSABLE TREASURE Sapphire in a key-locked decorated chest behind the bookshelf on the Library's second floor.
29
This is the worst missable in the castle. The decorated key-locked chests can only be opened by Ashley with the Bunch of Keys — and when she is taken at the end of this chapter, she keeps the keys. Leon never gets them. Open every decorated chest before you finish the Mausoleum.
30
PUZZLE Grandfather clock. FILE Way to the Hidden Mausoleum is by the first clock; FILE Librarian's Note and Hastily Written Note are in the room with the second — the Hastily Written Note is the actual clue, showing a time in Roman numerals.
31
Assisted and Standard: 11:04 (long hand on XI, short hand on IV). Hardcore and Professional: 7:00.
Guides disagree on the Standard answer — some print 10:10. The note in your own game is generated for your difficulty, so read it and trust it over any written guide, including this one. If you find two grandfather clocks, set both; there is no penalty.
32
PUZZLE Mausoleum chains. Four corners with chain-activated symbols — pulling the chains wakes the Armadura, so this is a timed pressure sequence. Keep moving and use the lantern to stall them. TREASURE Emerald is in a key-locked chest behind the shelves nearby.
33
PUZZLE Mausoleum lanterns. The cenotaph wall carries three reliefs — Star, Full Moon and Half Moon — and each lantern casts light in one of those shapes. Match the cast light to the relief it faces: Half Moon on the left pedestal, Full Moon on the back/centre, Star on the right. Fixed on every difficulty.
34
KEY ITEM Salazar Family Insignia. Backtrack through the Library, up to the balcony, and slot it into the wall. Cutscene: Ashley is taken.
Chapter 9 of 16
CH 10UndergroundBallroom → double Garrador → Verdugo
Leon alone, the two best Cubic Device boxes, an optional mini-boss worth 8 Spinels, and the fight the whole underground laboratory is built around.
Cage room
1
REQUEST Merciless Knight — blue note in the first room south of the cage, on the sideboard opposite the Ballroom doors. 8 Spinels.
Must be completed before the Chapter 12 gondola.
2
FILE The Chronicles of Pursuit 1 in the room next to the Ballroom.
Library returnthe two Cubic Device boxes
3
MISSABLE Square Lock Box 3 — Library upper mezzanine, east wall, up the hidden stairs Ashley created → WEAPON CQBR Assault Rifle.
This is the only assault rifle in the entire game. Do not leave the castle without it.
4
MISSABLE Square Lock Box 4 — the typewriter room off the Grand Hall's south-east balcony → TREASURE Golden Lynx (2 large + 1 small socket, ~15,000).
Both boxes are within thirty seconds of each other — sweep both rooms with the Cubic Device.
5
Rat 3 for More Pest Control is in the hallway leading to the Library.
MausoleumBOSS Merciless Knight — optional
6
BOSS Head south through the Library, through the clock door Ashley opened, down to the Mausoleum. One gold-armoured Merciless Knight plus two or three standard Armadura, in a tight pillared space.
7
It hits for roughly half of Leon's health per greatsword swing even on lower difficulties.
8
Kill the regular Armadura first. Shotgun to knock the helmets off, then one flash grenade wipes every exposed parasite at once. Then the boss: bait a swing, circle behind, shotgun the back parasite, and once the helmet drops finish with a second flash or rifle fire from range. Use the pillars to break line of sight from its thrust and slam. Its attacks are parryable with an upgraded knife.
9
All three drop jewels and Spinels. Entirely optional — skipping it costs 8 Spinels plus the drops.
BallroomNovistadors
10
New enemy: Novistador. Insectoid, wall-crawling and camouflaged until they attack. A camouflaged one dies to a single headshot; once awake they take two or three, or one shot into a kick and knife finish. Shotgun is the answer in the swarm rooms.
11
TREASURE Ruby — lower Ballroom floor, shoot the hanging silver container right of the stairs. TREASURE Ornate Beetle — walk the northern edge along the wooden scaffolding, past a ladder and around the rubble, to a chest.
12
PUZZLE Two levers. Do not fight the locked doors ahead — vault the railing and take the stairs to the upper balcony. Lever 1: drop from the north balcony, then take the other stairs to the south side. Lever 2: climb the ladder below the north section. Then shoot the two counterweights on opposite sides to lower the drawbridge.
AntechamberBOSS double Garrador
13
BOSS Two Garradors and a room full of Zealots — mandatory.
14
The key mechanic is the bells. Shoot the bells hanging in the corners and both Garradors charge the noise at once, presenting their backs. Shoot a back to expose the Plaga, then a flash grenade is an instant kill. Let them work for you — any noise pulls them, and they will shred the Zealots on the way.
15
Silent weapons are gold here. Bolt Thrower bolts make no noise, so you can whittle them without ever being located. Grenades pull both to one spot.
Never sprint in the open — a Garrador that locks on at close range can chain its claws into a kill.
16
Each drops a KEY ITEM Unicorn Horn. Slot both into the statues at the far end to open the way onward — which is why this fight is mandatory.
Throne Room → the Depths
17
Cutscene: Salazar drops Leon into the Depths.
This is only a soft lock. You regain access to the Ballroom, Throne Room, Battlements and Courtyard in Chapter 12 via the gondola room. What you genuinely lose is the Depths and the Mines, once cleared.
18
FILE Prisoner's Note by a skeleton in the western Depths.
19
MISSABLE TREASURE Elegant Crown (2 large + 3 small sockets) — in a small building in the north-west of the Depths, on the floor next to a corpse, right before you squeeze through the cracked wall.
20
TREASURE Red Beryl — heading west through the sewer tunnels, look up for a silver container in a ceiling alcove.
21
MISSABLE CASTELLAN Castellan 10 of 16 is directly opposite the Merchant's shop door, behind the sewer grate — shoot it through the bars.
Very easy to walk past, because the Merchant pulls your eye the moment you enter.
Underground LaboratoryBOSS Verdugo
22
FILE Emergency Liquid Nitrogen Showers on the wall at the lab entrance — that file is the game telling you how to win. Also FILE Chronicles of Pursuit 3 and Notice About Power Supply by the dead elevator.
23
Restore power: down the tunnel, into the side room, pull the lever, then hit the circuit breaker. This also arms the nitrogen showers.
24
BOSS Verdugo.
You must survive it, but you do not have to kill it. You can loop the lab dodging until the elevator arrives — and there is no way to speed the elevator up. Skipping costs you the Gold Monocle drop, the trophy, and the Yellow Diamond chest in the powered lab area.
25
The nitrogen tactic. There are about four shower stations on red wall buttons around the lab loop. Scout all four before the fight starts. Then run a full loop, and as it closes on you, stand at a shower and press the button so it runs into the spray. Frozen, it takes massively increased damage — dump the Riot Gun, Broken Butterfly and hand grenades into it. Expect three or four freeze cycles on Standard. A rocket launcher hit on a frozen Verdugo is an instant kill.
26
Tells: its claw and tail melee are knife-parryable; the multi-hit tail combo needs consecutive parries; the lunging grab needs a dodge on the prompt. When it unfreezes and vanishes, it re-emerges through a random vent with a sweeping tail — watch for the rattle.
27
POINT OF NO RETURN Riding the elevator out closes the Depths and the lab permanently. Elegant Crown, Red Beryl, Castellan 10, the Yellow Diamond and the Gold Monocle all go with them.
Chapter 10 of 16
CH 11The Minestwo Gigantes, minecarts, and Krauser's knife
Leon is partnered with Luis, who is effectively invincible and supplies the dynamite. The chapter ends with a duel in which none of your guns work.
MinesMerchant and shooting range
1
Spend everything at this Merchant. It is your last shop before two set-piece boss fights, and there is a shooting range here too.
2
Upgrade your Combat Knife's durability and power here. This is the single best pre-chapter investment in the castle half — the chapter ends in a knife-only duel.
3
FILE Foreman's Log near the shop, and Explosives Shortage Notice by the collapsed passage.
4
TREASURE Sapphire — take the north-west stairs and shoot the silver container hanging from the support beams.
5
Push west — Chainsaw Ganados return here — and pull the lever to lower the steel bridge. KEY ITEM Dynamite is in Storeroom M-4; use it on the rubble.
6
MISSABLE TREASURE Golden Hourglass — after lowering the bridge there is a small tunnel in the wall to the right of where you pick up the Dynamite, with a chest hidden in it.
Blast FurnaceBOSS two El Gigantes
7
BOSS One unarmoured and one armoured El Gigante in the foundry.
8
Kill the unarmoured one first — shoot until the Plaga bursts from its back, then unload and knife-finish. Then wait for Luis to attach dynamite to the armoured one; that is the only thing that cracks its plating.
9
You can also work the Blast Furnace controls and manoeuvre a Gigante over the central grate to drop it into the lava for an instant kill.
TROPHY Decide before you start: the No Hot Bath For You! achievement requires killing both Gigantes without using the lava. You cannot have the easy kill and the achievement.
Minecarts
10
On-rails shooting with unlimited ammunition.
Lean into the turns — push the stick in the direction of the bend — or the cart flips. Shoot the debris on the track, the track switchers, and the red barrels on enemy clusters.
11
TREASURE Flagon (2 large sockets) at the Stopover — go upstairs; the chest is on the balcony floor.
12
CASTELLAN Castellan 11 of 16 — in the Stopover building, from the ground floor look up toward the balcony; it is on a support beam.
13
The second cart run has a Chainsaw Ganado board the cart. Keep him staggered with continuous fire — there is nowhere to retreat to.
The Hive
14
REQUEST Insect Hive — blue note behind the explosive barrel, on a wooden pallet in the first cave after the minecart. Destroy 4 glowing yellow nests on the cave ceilings, 4 Spinels: one large one in the open cave, one before the tunnel entrance, and two immediately after you exit the tunnel.
15
TREASURE Gold Bar — shoot the red explosive barrel in a Hive cave to blow open a hidden path to a chest. Novistadors here are camouflaged and drop from the ceiling.
KrauserBOSS the knife duel
16
Take the elevator up. Cutscene: Luis is killed by Jack Krauser.
17
BOSS
Firearms are disabled. Knife only. Boot Knives are scattered around the arena as backups if yours breaks.
18
Watch the parry prompt in the bottom-right of the HUD, not Krauser's animation. Press on the prompt and the parry is guaranteed. Stand your ground and let him come — chasing him gets you countered.
19
Early on, one parry opens a punish window; later phases need several consecutive parries. Evade prompts are unblockable — dodge, do not parry. Clash prompts are a mash. Melee prompts are free critical damage — always take them.
If he grabs you, mash out rather than knife-escaping, to save blade durability.
20
POINT OF NO RETURN Clearing the minecarts and the Hive locks the Mines permanently. Castellan 11, all four treasures and the Insect Hive request go with them.
Chapter 11 of 16
CH 12Clock Towerthe castle backtrack → Salazar
This chapter hands you a Small Key and two requests and then gives you a free run of the castle — and it is your last run of the castle. Do the backtrack before you touch the gondola.
Gondola Roomcollect these first
1
MISSABLE KEY ITEM Small Key in a display case near the gondola, at the very start of the chapter.
This is the key that opens the Chapter 8 Battlements drawer. Nothing tells you that.
2
REQUEST Jewel Thief — note on the wall left of the elevator. Obtain and sell a Scratched Emerald, which is in a crow's nest in the Courtyard. 3 Spinels.
3
REQUEST The Disgrace of the Salazar Family — same wall. Throw an egg at Ramón's portrait in the Throne Room. 4 Spinels.
The castle backtrackyour final window
4
Everything below has to happen before you board the gondola. Once you do, the castle is closed for the run.
5
MISSABLE Throne Room: Square Lock Box 5 in the back-right corner → TREASURE Gold Chicken Egg (~9,000) — which is also the egg you throw at the portrait to finish The Disgrace of the Salazar Family. FILE Housekeeper's Memo 2, Ramón's Confession and Chronicles of Pursuit 2 are all in this room.
6
MISSABLE Castle Battlements, first tower → TREASURE Ornate Beetle, in the locked chest of drawers behind the ladder, opened with the Small Key from step 1.
This is the collectible most 100% runs lose, because it needs you to remember a Chapter 8 location during Chapter 12.
7
Courtyard → Scratched Emerald from the crow's nest; sell it to finish Jewel Thief.
8
Final castle checklist: rat 3 for More Pest Control, the Merciless Knight, Blue Medallions 3 and 4, any unplayed shooting-range challenges, any Cubic Device box you skipped, and your Castellan count — you should have 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 done, with 12 still to come.
Clock Tower
9
TREASURE Gold Bar immediately on entering, behind the boxes under the stairs.
10
CASTELLAN Castellan 12 of 16 — ground floor, under the stairs, sitting on a crate, right beside that Gold Bar.
11
TREASURE Alexandrite — up the stairs at a dead end on the first floor, shoot the metal container hanging from the ceiling.
12
Hazards: a fire-breathing Salazar statue gouts flame across the walkway — shoot the opening in the back of its head to destroy it. And rolling iron balls on the staircases — duck into the inset alcoves, do not try to outrun them.
13
Pull the ball-release lever and immediately rush to the lift and the rolling ball can crush the pursuing Summoner for you. The timing is tight but it deletes the chapter's most annoying enemy for free.
14
MISSABLE TREASURE Mirror with Pearls & Rubies near the top — do not take the ladder immediately; go through the gap in the handrail past it. Then descend that ladder for TREASURE Extravagant Clock (1 large + 1 small socket) on the left of the lift area.
Grab it before you pull the lift lever.
15
The lift ascent is a wave fight against Zealots and Crimson Zealots. TROPHY There is an achievement for reaching the top without the lift being stopped — kill aggressively.
16
TREASURE Yellow Diamond on the outdoor scaffolding after the lift — shoot the hanging metal container. Snipe the crossbowmen before crossing; the walkways are narrow and knockback is lethal.
17
POINT OF NO RETURN Boarding the gondola / taking the Clock Tower lift ends castle access permanently. You lose Castellans 7–12, every uncollected treasure, all five Square Lock Box contents including the CQBR Assault Rifle, the castle shooting-range charms, and all six castle requests — a combined 28 Spinels.
Ancient ChantryBOSS Ramón Salazar
18
BOSS Salazar's body is fused into the top of a giant Plaga mass.
Weak point: Salazar's human body inside the open maw. The mouth only opens after he finishes an attack — shoot the human form, never the armoured body.
19
The devour is an unavoidable one-hit death. If he locks on at melee range and the maw comes down, there is no QTE and no escape. The entire fight strategy is never being in melee range when the mouth is closing. Keep the pillars and staircases between you.
20
Other attacks: a telegraphed acid spit — dodge left or right; explosive acid pods he seeds around the arena — shoot them from a distance, they often contain items; acid rain from above at point-blank — get out from under him; and a horizontal sweep — reposition behind him.
21
Ranged: Stingray with a scope, Broken Butterfly, Bolt Thrower for the pustules. Close, only during his stun: Striker or Riot Gun. When he is stunned you get a special critical knife strike prompt worth a large chunk of his health — repair the knife beforehand. Roughly four full cycles.
22
TROPHY You Talk Too Much — throw a hand grenade into his open mouth. It also does enormous damage. He drops TREASURE Lip Rouge (~24,000).
23
Cross the drawbridge, run the Armadura tunnels (or simply run past them — they are linear), take FILE Housekeeper's Memo 1 on the way, and reach the speedboat. Krauser escapes with Ashley and the castle half ends.
Chapter 12 of 16
CH 13Island Arrivalthe facility → three keycards
The island is the last region and the last shop window. It opens with a warning: the moment Chapter 13 begins, the Village and the Castle are gone forever.
WharfMerchant
1
Anything you left in the Village or the Castle is now permanently out of reach. Nothing that follows can recover it.
2
Take the right-hand path and use the control panel to shut down the first security turret.
You can also rotate a turret from behind it to swing the laser arc and open a gap for yourself.
3
MISSABLE At the Merchant east of the Wharf, buy the MAP Treasure Map: Island — 5 Spinels straight away; it pins every treasure for the rest of the game. The WEAPON Killer7 magnum also unlocks in his stock here at 77,700.
4
Clear the soldiers and the minigun Brute on the rooftops.
5
TREASURE Pearl Bangle — in the first Wharf building, jump through the window and head left; it is beside the turret.
6
MISSABLE FILE Eroded Cave Epitaph — a tombstone plaque in a cave south of the Wharf. Easy to walk past entirely.
Cave & Container Yard
7
A rocket-launcher soldier appears on the cave path. He is the single biggest instant-kill threat in the chapter — kill him first, every time.
8
TREASURE Golden Lynx (1 rectangular + 2 round sockets, base 15,000) — after the rocket soldier, enter the building on the right and shoot the red barrel to blow open the path.
9
MISSABLE TREASURE Elegant Crown (3 rectangular + 2 round sockets, base 19,000) — in the open container area past the stairs, against the wall on the right, in plain sight.
This is the most valuable socketed item in the game — fully gemmed it is worth well over 100,000. Do not sell it bare. With five sockets, all-different gems beat matching ones.
10
CASTELLAN Castellan 13 of 16 — same open area, north of the Wharf: on the ground between the green forklift and the brown truck, low down behind a concrete barrier. Clear the enemies first, then crouch and line it up.
Surveillance
11
Wait at the end of the tunnel before entering and pick off the patrols from there. If you are spotted approaching, the facility sends a heavyweight after you.
12
Disarm the tripwire on the upstairs door — or leave it and lure enemies into it.
13
TREASURE Velvet Blue in an attaché case as you enter the Surveillance room. Press the control-room button to unlock the door below.
Utilities & DissectionLevel 1 Keycard
14
Merchant #2 is in the south part of Utilities. TREASURE A second Velvet Blue is in the small room off the Utilities hallway, through the silver door on the left.
15
FILE Laboratory Notice by the Power Control Lever, and FILE Subject Analysis: Regenerador in the lab room next to Dissection.
Read the Regenerador file — it is the game explaining why your bullets are about to stop working.
16
In the green-lit room, pull the Power Control Lever south of the terminal to route power to the right side of the facility. Raise the gate for TREASURE Red Beryl in the cabinet west of Dissection.
17
PUZZLE Electronic lock terminal. Concentric rings of circuit segments: move the red cursor between the outer, middle and inner groups and press interact to rotate the highlighted segment until current reaches every lightning-bolt icon, then move to the yellow confirm notch.
18
The counter in the corner is the whole technique. Fix the outer ring first, then the middle, then the inner, watching the count climb. Assisted and Standard have fewer bolts than Hardcore and Professional, so these puzzles have two different solutions — there is no fixed rotation sequence worth memorising.
19
The terminal reads System Restored. Take the KEY ITEM Level 1 Keycard from the back room.
Freezerthe first Regeneradors → Level 2 Keycard
20
A Regenerador activates and you do not have the Biosensor Scope yet. Do not fight it. Shoot its legs to drop it and walk away, or lure it through a doorway — it disengages. Skipping it here is the correct play.
21
TREASURE Gold Ingot behind glass in the Regenerador room at the bottom of the dissection area — smash the glass.
22
Reroute the electricity to the Freezer, use the Level 1 Keycard on the door, and start the Overwrite Terminal. A second Regenerador attacks during the overwrite — same trick.
23
PUZZLE Freezer terminal. Meter reads 0/5. On Assisted and Standard: notch 1 rotate twice, notch 2 rotate twice, notch 3 rotate three times, notch 4 rotate three times, then confirm at the yellow notch.
On Hardcore and Professional treat that sequence as unverified and solve by the counter.
24
MISSABLE WEAPON LE 5 submachine gun — on the shelf opposite the door once the Freezer opens. Free, and the best SMG in the game for popping parasites.
25
Collect the KEY ITEM Level 2 Keycard, then reroute power again to actually open the Freezer door.
Incubation Labthe Biosensor Scope → Level 3 Keycard
26
MISSABLE WEAPON Biosensor Scope — in an attaché case in the small room north of the Incubation Lab.
This is the most important pickup on the island. Without it you cannot see Regenerador parasites, and you will waste an enormous amount of ammunition guessing. Attach it to the Stingray or the LE 5.
27
FILE Case 2002-f: Escaped Test Subject is right beside it.
28
PUZZLE The Wrench. Scope the four Regeneradors in the incubation chambers — one, in the back right chamber, shows a wrench-shaped silhouette inside it. Shoot its weak points from the back of the room to release it, destroy both parasites, and it explodes and drops the KEY ITEM Wrench.
29
Use the Wrench on the final Overwrite Terminal.
Soldiers and a Bull-Head Brute ambush you while the terminal runs. Stay near the terminal, use grenades and the shotgun, and do not wander off.
30
Take the KEY ITEM Level 3 Keycard, use it on the locked door and swipe into the Holding Cell. FILE Captive Researcher's Note is inside. Chapter ends.
Chapter 13 of 16
CH 14Facility Ascentthe lift window → Krauser
The chapter with the most valuable single missable in the island half — an 8-Spinel request behind a lift you cannot come back through.
Holding Cell & Facility 1 Storage
1
TREASURE Crystal Ore on the trolley where you rescue Ashley. Boost her to unlock the north room.
2
REQUEST Destroy the Blue Medallions 5 — note at the entrance. 5 Spinels.
Cargo Depot
3
All five medallions are here: the eastern part immediately on entry; by the northern stairs, high up facing south; the north-west corner; the southern area between two containers; and from the western stairs, looking south and up.
You can destroy them before picking up the note and still complete the request.
4
MISSABLE TREASURE Alexandrite — shoot the container hanging above you as you enter. You have to look up, which is why it is missed.
5
TREASURE Gold Bangle — climb the stairs, turn right, take the ladder down, and it is in the bin on the left at the bottom.
Facility 2
6
ASHLEY Order Ashley to hold the lever, then jump out the window and run the narrow path to open the shortcut. Enemies storm in — clear them, then call her back.
7
MISSABLE TREASURE Velvet Blue hanging from the ceiling in the open back section — look up.
SewersIron Maiden
8
TREASURE Emerald on the floor in the back-left corner of the sewers.
9
PUZZLE Lever timing. The door levers must be pulled the instant the sweeping arrow enters the red band. Pure reaction — no code, no difficulty variant.
10
ASHLEY Order Ashley into the locker before the next fight.
11
BOSS Iron Maiden — an elite Regenerador covered in spikes. It fires spike volleys and explodes on death. Scope it, kill the head parasite, then get behind cover before it goes.
Waste Disposal
12
ASHLEY Ashley turns the wheel to raise the bridge. Cross and follow the path to the power switch —
flipping it immediately spawns an assault on Ashley. Turn around the moment you press it.
13
PUZZLE A third electronic lock terminal, same mechanic. The target configuration is shown on the calibration terminal itself.
14
REQUEST Even More Pest Control — note on a crate near the Merchant east of Waste Disposal. Four rats, 3 Spinels: one in the hallway near the entrance, one just before the control room, and two on adjacent walkways near the Power Control Lever.
15
TREASURE Ornate Necklace (2 rectangular + 2 round sockets, base 11,000) — in an attaché case on the control-room desk, after Ashley raises the bridge.
CraneASHLEY the wrecking ball
16
Ashley operates the crane and you defend her and the machine through enemy waves. This is one of the highest-risk Ashley moments in the game. Flash grenades are strong here, and the swinging iron ball is a usable weapon — bait enemies into its arc.
The liftMISSABLE the 8-Spinel window
17
REQUEST The Wandering Dead — note in the box on the left, just before the lift. 8 Spinels, the joint-largest payout in the game.
18
Do not take the lift yet. The target is a black Iron Maiden with eight parasites back in the Incubation Lab — open the nearby gate and take the stairs down. Once you ride the lift you cannot return and the 8 Spinels are gone permanently.
19
How to kill it cheaply: hide Ashley in a locker, equip the Biosensor-scoped rifle, and stop in the doorway without entering the room — you can scope and shoot weak points before it fully activates. The head parasite is the hardest. Fight near already-broken incubators so you do not wake more. TROPHY Killing multiple parasites with one shot earns a challenge.
Amber Storeroom
20
TREASURE Crystal Ore on the shelf in the north-east, plus a Yellow Herb.
21
FILE Transporting the Amber (chest), Superior Species Report (north-eastern section) and Defenses Development (desk in the small room to the south).
22
MISSABLE CASTELLAN Castellan 14 of 16. Past the Amber Storeroom, right before you drop down into the Campsite, turn around and go into the nearby building. It is on top of the lockers in that rest room.
You have to deliberately backtrack after the tunnel — this is very easy to miss.
Campsite
23
A Merchant sits south of the Ruins. TREASURE Gold Bar (L) is in the chest inside the tent.
24
MISSABLE Four files in the large tent: FILE [REDACTED] Case File, Photo of Leon, Krauser's Recording and Ashley Graham's Abduction.
Krauser's Recording is the strongest story beat in the chapter.
KrauserBOSS the real fight
25
BOSS Phase 1 — ranged. He opens with an SMG and explosive arrows, using flash grenades to reposition.
Break line of sight behind the pillars, and a well-timed headshot interrupts the bow before the arrow launches.
He then closes for a knife duel — here you may use other weapons, and a shotgun blast after a successful parry is the highest-value follow-up.26
Go upstairs, turn the wheel to raise the marked gate, then back down into the trap maze.
27
Phase 2 is not a fight, it is an exit. Proximity mines (shootable), bear traps and turrets, with Krauser sniping from above. Shoot the first mine from the alcove with the crate; the second is past the bear trap; turn left and shoot the turret ahead; look right for a passage and shoot the mine blocking it; a second turret is around the other side.
In the final arrow-spam corridor there is almost no cover — just run straight through the gate rather than trading shots.
28
BOSS Phase 3 — mutated Krauser. Climb the ladder to start it. Weak point: the head. The mutated arm works mechanically like his knife — it can still be parried.
29
The one attack that will kill you is the leap into an arena-wide plunging slam. Climb a ladder on either side of the platform and you are immune to it. Everything else is survivable.
30
The loop is parry → stagger → shotgun blast or magnum round into the head → repeat. With consistent parries this is a short fight; without them it is an ammunition sink. Retreat to a corner to heal — never in his face.
31
WEAPON He drops the Fighting Knife. A second Yellow Herb is in the ruins afterwards. Cross the drawbridge to end the chapter.
Chapter 14 of 16
CH 15Island AssaultStronghold → Specimen Storage
The most combat-heavy chapter in the game, and the one where the island quietly closes behind you.
Stronghold & the anti-aircraft gun
1
Mike's helicopter clears soldiers for you. Stay in cover and snipe from the back rather than pushing — let him work.
2
TREASURE Red Beryl — near the first barricade, go around to the back of the left building; the container hangs from the corner of the roof.
3
MISSABLE TREASURE Velvet Blue — at the Stronghold, climb the ladder and look up for a container hanging from a beam.
4
Push through the turret emplacements and lever gates, then mount the machine gun to destroy the anti-aircraft gun.
Mike returns briefly and is then shot down and killed — scripted and unavoidable.
Bulwark Gate & Cliffside Ruins
5
Armoured soldiers, turret gunners, Novistadors and a minigun Brute all appear in this stretch. It is the densest fighting in the game.
6
REQUEST Destroy the Blue Medallions 6 — note at the end of the main path the Cliffside Ruins run along. Five medallions, 5 Spinels: inside or atop the tower above the note; to the right of the note; in the ruins below, roughly opposite that one; on the left of the ladder as you descend, behind a ladder past an arch; and one visible through a tower window from below the ladder — use the Stingray for that.
The request menu keeps a counter; sweep with a rifle until it reads 5.
7
TREASURE Staff of Royalty — in the Cliffside Ruins underground section: climb down the ladder, chest against the back wall. FILE Cliffside Epitaph is on a tombstone in the lower ruins.
8
A Merchant sits on the cliff behind the Ruins — good place to bank the medallion Spinels. ASHLEY Ashley rejoins here after the gate mechanism and the fight.
Specimen Storage
9
FILE Biological Specimen Transfer on a desk nearby.
10
The room is full of hanging body bags containing Regeneradors. Hug the right-hand wall to avoid waking most of them — two fights are unavoidable, the rest are optional. Do not shoot bags speculatively.
11
TREASURE Splendid Bangle (2 rectangular sockets) — in the chest on the table in the small room north of Specimen Storage.
12
MISSABLE CASTELLAN Castellan 15 of 16 — same small room as the Splendid Bangle. From the chest, look up and to the left: it is on top of a wooden ceiling beam.
You will probably need the flashlight on the ceiling to spot it. Kill the Novistadors first.
13
A second Merchant is on the west side of Specimen Storage.
Upgrade Krauser's Fighting Knife here — fully upgraded it outperforms the maxed Combat Knife.
14
POINT OF NO RETURN The crank door in Specimen Storage closes the island behind you. Before you turn that crank: finish Blue Medallions 6, settle up at both Merchants, and confirm Castellan 15 is collected.
Warehouse & Sanctuary
15
Clear two defended buildings —
grenades through the windows is the efficient line here.
16
FILE Illuminados Final Chapter (the large book at the Sanctuary altar) and Provenance Monolith (the stone slab beside it).
You pass back through the Sanctuary in Chapter 16, so you get two chances at these.
17
KEY ITEM Luis's Key auto-unlocks the door into Luis's Laboratory here. Luis gave it to you at the end of Chapter 11, back in the castle — it is not found on the island. It has a sell value, so if you sold it as treasure you have a problem. Never sell key items.
18
ASHLEY Put Ashley in the treatment chair. Cutscene, chapter ends.
Chapter 15 of 16
CH 16FinalSaddler → the escape
One laboratory, one last Merchant, one boss and one two-minute run — which contains the single most missable collectible in the game.
Luis's Laboratory
1
MISSABLE Five files in one room — the biggest cluster in the game: FILE Emails (computer), Methods for Eradicating Las Plagas, Group Photo, Saddler's Animus and The Amber (computer in the southern part).
2
Collect the supplies including a First Aid Spray, then exit the way you came. ASHLEY Boost Ashley up so she can lower the ladder.
Sanctuary & caves
3
TREASURE Velvet Blue — after climbing the ladder and crossing the bridge, shoot the container hanging from the ceiling above you.
4
MISSABLE TREASURE Iluminados Pendant — in the Sanctuary, look for a small hole in the left-hand wall you can crawl through, then interact with the statue at the back of the hidden alcove.
This is the most-missed treasure of the chapter.
5
The Novistadors here are camouflaged — use the Biosensor Scope to spot them. Camouflaged ones still die to a single headshot.
6
TREASURE Gold Ingot — through the double doors, in a chest directly outside the Merchant room.
Loading Docksthe last Merchant in the game
7
This is your final chance to spend anything. Socket your gems, then sell every treasure. Fully upgrade your best weapons, repair the body armour, buy healing and craft ammunition, and cash out every Spinel. Move past this Merchant and the Saddler fight triggers — nothing after it is recoverable.
8
Recommended loadout: Red9, a shotgun (Riot Gun or Striker), the Stingray rifle, a magnum (Killer7 or Broken Butterfly), and an automatic for the Novistador swarms. And if you can afford a Rocket Launcher, bring it — see the next step.
SaddlerBOSS the final boss
9
BOSS Phase 1 — the eyes. His weak points are the eyeballs on his limbs and knees. Shooting out a leg eye drops him — run in and knife-stab the central eye in his mouth. That stab loop is the fight's main damage engine.
10
Tells: the claw rush brings up an evade prompt — take it, and fight in corners or wide areas so you are not cornered. The black acid stream can remove almost your entire health bar — strafe left or right. He has two breath variants: a trident-shaped spray (dodge sideways) and a horizontal sweep (crouch).
11
When he screams he summons a Novistador swarm. Ignore them where you can — they drop ammunition, so they are a resource, not a threat. Prioritise eyes over bugs. You can also lure him into the explosive canisters around the arena to stun him.
12
The rocket launcher shortcut: if you walk in with a Rocket Launcher in your case, one shot into the main eye ends Phase 1 immediately — and on Standard a single rocket can effectively end the fight. That is the single best reason to buy one at the Loading Docks.
13
BOSS Phase 2 — the giant eye. The arena collapses in sections and he becomes enormous, reduced to tendrils around a giant glowing orb. Focus everything on the central eye; magnum ammunition is the standout.
Upright, raised tentacles mean run to the opposite side of the arena; winding, coiling tentacles mean take the timed dodge prompt. This phase is mostly evasion — survive rather than trying to out-damage it.
14
Ada throws you a special Rocket Launcher. Equip it and fire immediately into the orb to end the fight.
This is scripted and unmissable, you do not keep the launcher, and there is no better outcome for firing it sooner or later. The only thing you can lose here is the fight itself.
Underground Passagethe two-minute escape
15
MISSABLE CASTELLAN Castellan 16 of 16 is DURING the escape, not before it. In the room with flashing red lights, look to the north-western side, just above the green forklift — it is on top of a storage container. Shoot it while running.
16
This is the single most missable collectible in the game. The countdown is about two minutes and there is no combat during the escape, so you have time — but only if you already know exactly where to look. If you are going for all sixteen, read this step twice before you start the run.
17
The jet ski finale is hold-to-accelerate and steer around the falling debris. TROPHY Never touching a wall earns the Smooth Escape challenge.
18
After the credits: your clear save unlocks New Game+ and, on a first clear, Professional difficulty. Weapons, upgrades, treasure and charms all carry over, which is what makes the harder difficulties and the S+ rank attempts realistic. See the Achievements & Unlockables tab for the full list.
Chapter 16 of 16
