How to make money in Resident Evil Village

Finding Resident Evil Village treasure is a great way to make money in Ethan Winters' horrifying adventure. You should aim to collect as much money—aka Lei—as you can, to spend in The Duke's Emporium. There are a number of ways to line your pockets in Capcom's latest survival horror, but locating Resident Evil Village treasure, such as the items found in the Beneviento grave or Riverbank Treasure House, are by far the most lucrative.

As you progress further into the story, you'll want to make sure you're brandishing powerful weapons to protect yourself. But as these come with a fairly steep price tag, you should make sure you've got plenty of Lei at your disposal. Here's how to find the Resident Evil Village treasure, as well as more general money-making tips.

Resident Evil Village treasures: Which to combine

While I recommend selling your treasures promptly, it's worth holding onto some of them. I came across some combinable treasures that require two or more parts to make them very valuable. Towards the end of the game you'll need a big bank of Lei to afford the best items, so read each of your treasures' descriptions carefully. Here are the Resident Evil Village combinable treasures I've discovered so far, and how to find them:

Miss Madalina doll (20,000 Lei):

• Madalina (Head): In the well near the Garden, on the way to House Beneviento.
• Madalina (Body): In the small building next to the Luthier's House in West Old Town.

Wooden goat (15,000 Lei): 

• Wooden Animal (Body): In a house with an old tractor outside, close to the statue of the Maiden of War.
• Wooden Animal (Head): In the well outside the house where you found the body. You need the Well Wheel to access it.

Heisenberg's Hammer (45,000 Lei):

• Mechanical Part (Cylinder): At the bottom of a staircase after exiting the Engine Room. Break down the wall with the big 'X' to find a treasure chest hidden behind it.
• Mechanical Part (Shaft): Inside a big chest found in Heisenberg's Quarters. You'll need Heisenberg's Key to access it.

Dimitrescu's Necklace (three parts):

• Necklace with two holes: In the well by the village Church.
• Pigeon Blood Ruby: Use the Iron Insignia Key to hunt the chickens in East Old Town, then climb the ladder and walk along the ledge.
• Large Pigeon Blood Ruby: Take the boat near Lone Road downstream (left) and interact with the well. Take the ladder down into a cave and solve the platform puzzle. Open the small box.

Azure Eye Ring (two parts) 12,000 Lei:

• Azure Eye: In the coffin in the Special Chambers.
• Silver Ring: In the drawer in the Hall of Pleasure.

Resident Evil Village money tips

Kill enemies

This is one of the earliest and easiest ways to make money. Some enemies may drop ammo, gunpowder, and other useful resources. However, you can make a fair amount of cash by popping Lycan skulls in the village, and shooting winged enemies clean out of the air on the roof of the castle. The amount of Lei you'll receive will vary per enemy, but every little helps. 

Break crates, pots, and glass cabinets

If you're a seasoned Resident Evil player, you'll be used to breaking wooden crates by now, but you'll also want to break ornate pots and slash away at glass cabinet doors, particularly in Castle Dimitrescu. Similar to enemies, you'll usually pick up items like lockpicks, ammo, and treasures, but occasionally you'll find a small bag of Lei. Finding Resident Evil Village treasures is essentially like finding free cash as they're in the game solely for you to sell to the Duke.    

Don't sell your ingredients or lockpicks 

You still need herbs to craft First Aid Meds for healing, but you can hunt for animals in Resident Evil Village. Rather than rushing off to the shop to sell your meat, I advise that you hold onto it and save it for recipes. These give you permanent buffs that are far more valuable than some Lei.  

I'd also urge you to avoid selling your lockpicks. There are so many ways to make money that it's not worth the trade. Keep all your lockpicks and use them for their intended purpose: to open locked drawers and cabinets. Often, you'll unearth treasures as a result, and those are worth more anyway.     

Sell treasures...

Speaking of treasures, you can check whether an item is key to the story, or safe to sell by checking your inventory. You can't accidentally sell key items, thankfully. Head to the treasures tab to check out what you've collected so far, and how valuable those items are. Crystal body parts and weapons will appear here as you kill more enemies, and small statues and trinkets can be found in this menu, too. There are also combinable treasures that you won't want to sell immediately, and those have been listed in the section above.

... and old weapons

There are several pistols and shotguns in Resident Evil 8 and all of them have specific attachments that you can find and buy. As you'd expect, these weapons are more powerful than the ones you start with, so as a general rule, buy the new firearms when you come across them.

Handguns (apart from the Magnum) all, naturally, use handgun ammo, and shotguns, shotgun ammo. So, you can sell your current weapons for new ones guilt-free. If you've upgraded your weapon, or equipped attachments, don't sweat it. The Duke keeps your firearm in his shop and you can buy them back at any time. It goes without saying that you shouldn't dump all your weapons in The Duke's Emporium unless you have a replacement in mind.