Bioshock Hints

Weapon Tips

  • 1 of 7: To keep a good supply of ammo on hand, be sure to always search containers and corpses. Also, check Circus of Value and El Ammo Bandito vending machines for any type of ammo that you're short on. (Hack the machines first in order to get a wider selection of items and lower prices. See the Hacking Tips.)
  • 2 of 7: Remember that your weapons won't be automatically reloaded while not in use, as they are in some other games (like Half-Life 2). You should frequently go through your entire weapon inventory in safe areas to make sure everything is reloaded with the type of ammo you want to have in it.
  • 3 of 7: The chemical thrower weapon is a good alternative source for the effects of three of the most useful plasmids (see the Plasmid Tips). It has electric gel ammo that works like Electro Bolt, liquid nitrogen ammo that works like Winter Blast, and napalm ammo that works like Incinerate. When you're low on EVE and have lots of chemical thrower ammo, use it instead. (Also, the chemical thrower's effects are longer-lasting -- liquid nitro freezes targets for a bit longer than Winter Blast does, for instance.)
  • 4 of 7: The crossbow is a great sniping weapon, and can be used for one-shot kills with most splicers by hitting them in the head. If you can't sneak up on them, paralyze them with the Electro Bolt or Winter Blast plasmids before head-shotting them.
  • 5 of 7: Whenever you come across a "Power to the People" weapon upgrade machine, be sure to use it to upgrade a feature of your favorite weapon type. Each weapon upgrade machine can be used only once, and there are just enough in the game to upgrade all six of your ranged weapons with the two available improvements. You should always think carefully about which upgrade would do you the most good in the near future, since it may be awhile before you find the next weapon upgrade machine. (See the Weapon Upgrade Machine List to see exactly where they all are.)
  • 6 of 7: You may not think much of the wrench as a weapon, but it can be *very* powerful after you get the fourth bouncer research bonus (see the Research Tips) and the Wrench Jockey, Wrench Lurker, and Frozen Field Combat Tonics. The Static Discharge combat tonics can also help since they sometimes stun enemies who attack you, making them easy to head-whack with the wrench. The Bloodlust and Sportboost Physical Tonics are also good wrench-related ones.
  • 7 of 7: If you have most of the above-mentioned tonics spliced in (including the #2 versions of the ones that have #2 versions), your wrench will be so powerful that it'll be your best weapon for every combat situation except big daddies and remote targets that you can't easily reach.