Short Disclaimer
If you want a focus on weapon statistics or that kind of things you should check the complete Mercenaries Guide. In this guide I'll focus on how to beat each map with each character.
Characters
You got five different characters to choose from:
Leon: Starting character. Simple at first glance but compared to the rest of the crew he is hands down the worst of the five. He is the only character that represents a challenge in this gamemode. He is also the only reason why you're checking this guide.
Has a Blacktail and a Riot Gun.
Ada: Unlocked after beating the Village map with at least 3 stars or more. Has 3 weapons to choose from, The Punisher, a TMP and a Semi-Auto Rifle.
Her only issue is that there is inconsistency when getting ammo drops since, as stated before, she has 3 weapons, but honestly if you have a good ammo control you should't notice this at all.
Krauser: Unlocked after beating the Castle map with 3 stars or more. His only weapon besides a few occasional grenades enemies may drop, is the Bow, wich has a rather slow firerate and is quite tricky to use at long distances. Once you get used to his Bow you become unstoppable no matter what is the map or what you're fighting against, mainly because of his arm, wich he can use once in a while to one-hit kill everything you manage to touch with its huge hitbox.
HUNK: Unlocked after beating the Island Base map with 3 stars or more. My personal favorite. He has a Custom TMP and a pack of grenades. Since you get twice the ammount of ammo drops in Mercenaries, you're not really gonna run out of ammo, unless you just pray 'n pray as soon as you begin. Highly recommended to manage well your ammo the first minute while you get at least a 100 more bullets, then you can actually start prayin' 'n sprayin'. Fun as f*ck!
Wesker: Unlocked after beating Waterworld with 3 stars or more. Well, I personally don't like Wesker that much, mainly because he doesn't have any fun weapon to use and he also starts without ammo for his guns as well, literally a single magazine for each weapon. But that is ok since his special ability consist of having the most devastating melee attacks from all five characters. That is the reason why he doesn't has ammo from the start, you have to get advantage using your melee. I preffer the gun 'n run style so you can tell why I don't like him that much, but hey, at least he isn't the reason why nobody wants to play Mercenaries ever again once they get the Handcannon, right?
The Village
Probably the first map you will want to play, it is easy, small and you can get 60000 points quick if you use your brain.
Strats for Leon: For this map I always try to run for all time boosts first, since it is such a small map, try to get a 4 to 6 kills combo in between the time bonuses. Once you get them all you just have to start shooting the crowd, it is simple enough, switch your guns carefully, if a pack of Ganados get to sticky then it's time for the old classic "shotgun Diplomacy" session, if they are coming to you one by one, then use your handgun.
A useful info you may wanna know is that your handgun is the better way of killing enemies than your shotgun. Every guide you see on internet may tell you that you should always use your shotgun over your pistol, but I personally say that is absolute bullsh*t. If you think 5-6 body shots are too much to take down a single enemy then you should think more about it, Leon's Blacktail has its firerate maxed out wich means it has a actually good DPS (Damage per second) so you can kill enemies quick and a lot of occasions it may save your combo easier than your shotgun could do.
When Bella Sisters appear you should inmeadiatly run to the shack where you can find a time bonus and a ladder.
You climb the ladder, kick it down and open the chest containing the point bonus but don't use it yet.
Wait until the shack gets filled with Ganados, when you think you have at least 5-7 Ganados inside, you grab the point bonus and then shoot the explosive barrel that is down, next to the side entrance.
That will kill all the Ganados inside the shack and, hopefully, will kill a couple that were standing next to the main entrance while the doors were open. Obviously, Bella Sisters won't die only with that, if you have grenades, use them (try to get some Ganados with them as well, as you may know, grenades have a big blast radius), if you don't have any the it is time for your pistol to shine! Shoot one Bella Sister in the knee so she falls to the ground where her head is an easy target. It is way better to use to use the pistol here since the shotgun has spread and even at that distance it will not be as useful as it is normally when it is used in point blank.
Once you're done with that, usually you have a small window to get out of the shack and get a nice streak before another pair of Bella Sisters show up, when they do, then it is time to get to the high lands again.
When you get used to this strategy, this map becomes not only challenging but actually enjoyable with Leon.
Also note that there are only 3 pairs of Bella Sisters, after you beat the third, you are free to get out of you comfy shack and start serious and larger combos with ease.
- Strats for Ada: Just have fun.
- Strats for Krauser: Just have fun.
- Strats for HUNK: Just have fun.
- Strats for Wesker: Just have fun.
The Castle
Just like The Village, this map is easy peasy lemon squeazy when played correctly.
Strats for Leon: In this map things get a bit complicated for Leon since in this map Ganados get replaced by fanatics which can wield shields, crossbows ( andholy f*ck are they annoying) and deadlier weapons in general.
For this map I got a more specific route than the Village:
What you want to do is to break the two barrels that are behind you as soon as you start, you get ammo and a herb, you then go uptairs and ignore all fanatics and go straight for the time boost, then break the other two barrels, right after you do that there should be at least 4-6 fanatics running towards you, there is at least a shield.
I personally prefer to bait one to attack me so I can get as close as possible and use the shotgun. Once you get that first wave dispatched there should be a smaller one comming to you, 2 coming from the door, 1 to 2 coming from the stairs, I recommend using the explosive barrel with this one.
At this point you should have a 10 to 12 combo already, if any other fanatic shows up, use your pistol and try to get that to a 17 combo if you can, then you go upstairs and grab the time boost located up there and break the barrels too, if you're quick enough when you go back to the stairs there should be 5 fanatics patiently walking towards you in the stairs, just use your shotgun.
Once you're done you may literally jump from your sit to f*cking oblivion because a Garrador will come out from the door infront of the stairs and sprint right to your position.
Even though Garradores might look specially difficult to kill in this gamemode they actually have less health than they do have in the main campaign. The best way to kill them is to throw a grenade infront of them so their stun animation makes them expose their back, where you just need two well placed shotgun blasts, that should be enough.
You then have to go through the same door the Garrador came from, go upstair, equip a grenade since there is a big chance shield wielders may spawn there. You can also bait an attack from there and shoot point blank range the shotgun, that will completely destroy the shield and will do a bit of damage to the fanatic wielding it. You go to the next time boost , be careful with those crossbow wielders tho,
Also grab the point boost and go back to the place you just were and go upstair, be careful with corners in the stairs, they tend to wait for you there.
You get the last time bonus you'll need, since right after you take it, a big wave should come from both the stairs and the door that is opposite to the time bonus, get the point bonus and equip a grenade, although a fanatic carrying dynamite may come with that wave.
After you're done with that wave you should have 60000, but if you still need a couple thousands then go through the door and grab the time bonus so you have more than enough time to get 5000 or so more.
Get advantage of an event were purple tunic fanatics come from the big doors and conveniently get near an explosive barrel, you know what to do there but, please, be careful with those f*cking crossbows, they literally can ruin a great combo in a fraction of a second.
There is no need to go throught the big door, even though there is a point and time bonuses in there, two Garradores will spawn if you grab the time bonus, ultimately meaning you will get yourself killed since it is already quite tricky to kill a single Garrador as Leon.
Useful Tips For This Route:- In this scenario it is better to use the shotgun because of the shields, but you do have to switch to your pistol when you see the opportunity since ammo drops may be inconsistent.
- When facing a shield, you can get rid of the shield and deal a fair ammount of damage to the fanatic wielding it if you shoot at point blank range with the shotgun. Using your pistol against shields is a waste and it is not a viable as a last resource when you're surrounded.
- The first Garrador will be the only one that spawns after you achieve a certain ammount of points meaning that after you kill him, no more will spawn unless you grab the last time bonus located behind the big doors in the higher floor.
- Note that between time bonuses you'll neeed to get at the very least 8 to 9 kill combos to reach 60000 before reaching the purple tunic fanatics event.
- Strats for Ada: Just have fun.
- Strats for Krauser: Just have fun.
- Strats for HUNK: Just have fun.
- Strats for Wesker: Just have fun.
Island Military Base
This map is great for pretty much any character that isn't Leon, soldiers here are extremely weak, they don't take many hits before dying, wich means your combos will get big in a very short time if they happen to group too much.
Strats for Leon: As stated before, soldiers have reduced health, so most soldiers will die with only 3 body shots from the handgun, making it great to dispatch most of them. There are still shields, but in this map they aren't as common as they were in the Castle.
Spawn points are random for this map, but the best one by my experience is the one where you start from the highest point of the map, right next to a time and point bonuses.
"How can this map be harder to Leon if common enemies are weaker?" J.J's the answer to that. J.J is the minigun wielding mini boss of this map and can be really annoying since he can attack repeatedly from distance, causing a lot of damage. Again, same as with the Garrador he has reduced health compared to the main campaign (thank f*cking god), but he definetely is trickier to kill than the Garrador. You'll need to get in a small corner where he needs to come REALLY close to be able to shoot you, then you need to throw a granade at him and inmediately switch to your shotgun so you can stunlock him with it by shooting him in the head until he decides he has someone else to f*ck with in hell. That is the best way I have found myself to kill him, although you take the risk of being melee attacked by him. Also make sure you have killed nearby soldiers so they don't interfere with the process!.
There is only two J.Js, one spawns as soon as you start playing even though it is somewhat inconsistent as well, even might spawn after the first wave you take down. the second I'm not completely sure but I think he spawns after you get a certain ammount of points.
For the rest of the map you just need to try and get as many time bonuses as possible, since there are a f*ckton of them scattered around the map, the sooner you get them, the least you have to worry about running out of time before you hit 60000. Since enemies are so easy to kill, getting combos with Leon shouldn't be a problem, in fact, you should roam a bit and make them group behind you so you can get good use of your shotgun.
Useful Tips For This Map:- I forgot to mention that if you can make J.J come anywhere near an explosive barrel, that will make things easier for you.
- Strats for Ada:Just have fun.
- Strats for Krauser: Just have fun.
- Strats for HUNK: Just have fun.
- Strats for Wesker: Just have fun.
Waterworld
Hardest map without a doubt and you won't f*cking believe who is the reason for that!
Strats for Leon: Literally get lucky or get stunlocked by those damn crossbows then get yourself killed by Mega Dr. Salvador.
I honestly preffer to leave this YouTube video about how to beat it, it's simple, short, and even though I don't guarantee that with his method you will beat this map easily with Leon, you still can get a few useful tips from it.
- Strats for Ada: Just have fun.
- Strats for Krauser: Just have fun.
- Strats for HUNK: Just have fun.
- Strats for Wesker: Just have fun.
Summary
Just have fun, enjoy yourself, playing for fun is literally how you achieve 5 stars easily here, just don't pressure yourself... unless you're playing as Leon, then you just can go dig a hole in the ground and cry in fetal position for about an hour and a half trying to get 5 stars in every map with him, feeling frustrated and extremely angry.
Source: https://gameplay.tips/guides/4639-resident-evil-4.html