Among all the funny apparel in the Resident Evil 4 remake, one definitely stands out: The Deer Antlers. As the name suggests, it’s a pair of horns that Leon wears on his hair, like an Alice Band. But the accessory also comes with a perk; it boosts Leon’s knife attacks so long as he has them on. Lucky for beginner RE4 players, the Deer Antlers are not Deluxe-exclusive items; anyone can get them by completing the campaign. The only catch is that they must beat the game in a non-assisted save file, not a New Game Plus file.
How to Get the Deer Antlers in the Resident Evil 4 Remake
To get the Deer Antlers, the player should beat a New Game with an S+ rank on the Standard—or higher—difficulty. This will unlock the antlers in the Extra Content Shop, which can be purchased for 2,000 CP.
The S+ rank is achieved when all 16 chapters of the Resident Evil 4 remake are beaten in under five hours. But since playtime carries over to the NG+, the players should dedicate a New Game to getting the Deer Antlers—New Game+ ranks do not count toward this challenge.
How the Deer Antlers Affect Gameplay
The way the Deer Antlers work is that they increase the power of knife attacks. With this apparel, Leon kills Ganados—and other comparable weak enemies—with one to three knife strikes, which is way faster than what it usually takes. But the difference becomes significant when the player uses stronger blades like the Primal or Battle Knife.
Note that the Deer Antlers do not affect Leon's melee damage; this particular apparel only boosts his knife attacks. (His spin-kicks or suplexes will have the same power.)
The Deer Antlers do not affect a knife’s durability; they only boost the damage.
Is the Deer Antler Worth It?
Compared to other utility accessories like the Chicken Hat, the Deer Antlers are not worth it. Their attack DMG increase is insignificant when striking tough enemies, and they do not improve Leon’s stealth kills in any way.
However, it’s beneficial apparel for getting the Minimalist achievement because, in that playthrough, the player is limited to using only handguns and knives. But generally, players are better off spending their Challenge Points on practical utility items like the Gas Mask or maybe even the Chicago Sweeper.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.