The Broken Butterfly is the first Magnum to appear in Resident Evil 4. The gun appears as a powerful top-break revolver. It is one of the few weapons that can be found instead of purchased.
Gameplay
The Broken Butterfly takes up 8 spaces (4x2) of inventory and uses rare Magnum Ammo. It can be bought from the Merchant for 38,000₧ first available in Chapter 3-1. However, one can be obtained for free in the Western castle wall in the castle. Leon will need Ashley's help to retrieve it.
The Broken Butterfly has a starting firepower of 13.0, but further upgrades will strengthen it. The fully upgraded Magnum is 25 times as strong as a fully upgraded Handgun, but its ammunition is quite scarce and almost never dropped by enemies.
The Broken Butterfly's exclusive upgrade increases its firepower to 50.0. This makes it the third most powerful weapon per shot in the game, after the Handcannon and the Rocket Launcher.
Tune up chart
Fire Speed and Reload Speed are given in seconds.
It takes a total of 493,000₧ to buy and fully upgrade the Broken Butterfly or 455,000 if you get the free one.
| Level | Firing Power | Cost | Chapter unlock | Firing Speed | Cost | Reload Speed | Cost | Chapter unlock | Capacity | Cost | Chapter unlock |
| 1 | 13.0 | N/A | N/A | 0.7 | N/A | 3.67 | N/A | N/A | 6 | N/A | N/A |
| 2 | 15.0 | 25,000₧ | Chapter 3-1 Castle entrance |
N/A | N/A | 3.00 | 15,000₧ | Chapter 3-1 Garden |
8 | 15,000₧ | Chapter 3-1 Castle entrance |
| 3 | 17.0 | 30,000₧ | Chapter 3-2 Garden |
N/A | N/A | 2.33 | 20,000₧ | Chapter 4-3 Old castle ruins |
10 | 20,000₧ | Chapter 4-1 Clocktower |
| 4 | 20.0 | 35,000₧ | Chapter 4-1 Clocktower |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 12 | 25,000₧ | Chapter 5-1 Wharf B |
| 5 | 24.0 | 50,000₧ | Chapter 4-3 Old castle ruins |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6 | 28.0 | 70,000₧ | Chapter 5-3 Underground cavern |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Exclusive | 50.0 | 150,000₧ | Chapter 5-3 Campsite |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Comments
- Examine Description:
"A very powerful .45 magnum revolver. This will make anyone's day." |
- Merchant comment:
""I see you have an eye for things. Gun's not just about shootin. It's about reloadin. You'll know what I'm talkin about." |
Strategy
- The Broken Butterfly is a boss-fighting weapon, as its ammo is rare and its damage is very high. Spending rare ammo on lesser enemies may be unwise.
- Many bosses temporarily expose a weak spot that can be attacked contextually to deal minimal damage or shot with a powerful weapon to inflict far more damage (like the El Gigante's Plagas or Saddler's eye). The Broken Butterfly is especially effective here.
- Acquiring the free one will prompt the Merchant to offer it with higher default firepower.
- Once every round in the Broken Butterfly's cylinder is used up, upgrade its capacity instead of reloading. Upgrading the gun's capacity fills it with new cartridges, saving precious Magnum ammo.
- The semi-automatic Killer7 is another Magnum that appears in the game, however it is advisable to obtain the Broken Butterfly first because the Killer7 cannot be obtained until late The Island segment.
- A comparison between the Broken Butterfly and the Killer7 reveals that the revolver has much more firepower when fully upgraded, while the semi-auto has an advantage in better stability, faster reload, and higher capacity. Considering the rarity of magnum ammo, firepower may be preferred over firing rate and reload time but you'll get the exclusive upgrade of broken butterfly at the end of the game, when there's no need for such firepower.
- While some players prefer the Broken Butterfly for its 50.0 firepower, fully upgrading it requires 455,000 pesetas. Furthermore, without the exclusive upgrade priced at 150,000 pesetas, the Broken Butterfly is 3 points weaker than an unupgraded Killer7, and the exclusive itself is only made available near the very end of the game.
Further Notes
- If you look closely at the recoil shield on the Broken Butterfly, you'll notice that it has a small cutout on the right side similar to what is found on cap & ball guns in the middle of the 19th century.
- The skin when you pick it up and the way it appears in your inventory are very different. When seen while you are picking it up, it has a "Wild West" look to it, with mostly silver and a wooden handle. When in your inventory, it is black and very modern looking.
- This weapon appears to be a Salazar family heirloom as one is seen in the picture Leon acquires the prison key from. This explain why Leon finds it in a chest in the castle.
Gallery
