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Bioshock Hints
Plasmid Tips
1 of 9: The Electro Bolt plasmid (and its two powered-up versions) can be very useful in combat. Hit a splicer with Electro Bolt to briefly paralyze him, then finish him off with a blow to the head from a weapon. Early in the game, a wrench blow will suffice for an instant kill. Later on, when you encounter tougher splicers, you'll have to use a pistol shot instead. Still later, you'll need a shotgun blast or crossbow bolt.
2 of 9: For a damage bonus with Electro Bolt, lure enemies into water before you zap them. That pretty much guarantees a one-zap kill for any splicer (except those few late in the game who are immune to electricity).
3 of 9: The Winter Blast plasmid can be used similarly to Electro Bolt. Instead of paralyzing enemies, it freezes them solid. However, note that the enemy isn't converted into ice, but only encased in it. In order to shatter the enemy, you'll have to attack him to get his "ice health" down to zero before he defrosts. The machine gun is good for this, as are head shots from the shotgun and crossbow.
4 of 9: When attacking a frozen enemy, his "ice health" takes most of the damage, but some does still get through. That means if someone defrosts before you can shatter him, you'll have done him some damage -- just not as much as if you had done the same attacks without freezing him. (Then again, if you hadn't frozen him, he'd have been harder to hit, and you'd be getting hit, too.)
5 of 9: Incinerate is another cool ... I mean, *hot* plasmid to use, even though it can't paralyze enemies. Instead, it sets them on fire, initiating a damage-over-time effect. Also, you can use Incinerate to light up oil spills and badly burn anyone (including yourself) who enters the fire. Oil spills with explosive barrels or gas cylinders next to them are particularly destructive when lit.
6 of 9: Aside from the "big three" plasmids discussed above, the Enrage plasmid is probably the most useful. Any time you're in an area with more than one nearby enemy, hit one or more of them with Enrage to get them to fight among themselves. This is especially useful to do if you're able to sneak into the area without being seen.
7 of 9: Telekinesis can also be used in combat, though it's rarely the best choice. You can use it to throw items (including corpses) at enemies, but it's best to throw explosive items like red barrels and gas cylinders. Also, with enemies who throw things at you (like nitro splicers), you can use Telekinesis to catch their thrown items and return them.
8 of 9: Even after you buy the max amount of plasmid slots from Gatherer's Garden machines (see the ADAM and EVE Tips), you'll still need to use Gene Bank machines to swap your active plasmids every now and then. (The same goes for tonics.)
9 of 9: It's a good idea to always keep either Electro Bolt or Winter Blast active, plus Enrage and Telekinesis if you have enough slots. As the ADAM and EVE tips will tell you, new plasmid slots are one of your top priorities when spending your first amounts of ADAM.
