20 Video Game NPCs You CAN'T Afford To Lose

6. The Merchant - Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil 4 is filled with psychotic mutants and freaks of all shapes and sizes. After playing for long enough, you begin to develop a habit of shooting first and wondering what you were shooting at later.

However, no matter how trigger-happy you are, make sure not to pull your gun out around the Merchant.

The Merchant is one of the few non-hostile NPCs in the game and provides the crucial service of selling ammo and buying your junk. Without the Merchant, you are forced to survive off of whatever Leon is able to scavenge in the world, probably lacking enough ammo to defeat certain bosses, so you’d think the masked stranger would be too valuable to be killable.

Well, the game does actually let you shoot him, and if you do it on Professional mode, the Merchant will permanently disappear. He will not offer his services to you anymore, meaning that just one stray bullet can potentially cost you one of the most useful mechanics in the entire game.

The Merchant might have a sinister voice and look like someone who’d stab you in the back, but he’s really the best ally you have, so don’t betray his trust.