Bioshock 2 Hints

General Big Daddy Combat Tips

• 1 of 12: There are four types of big daddy in this game. Besides the old bouncers and rosies, there are now rumblers and alpha series. (Though note that alpha series are special, and never act as little sister guardians.)
• 2 of 12: The general strategies for dealing with bouncers and rosies are about the same. For bouncers, you'll want to do a lot of running and strafing to dodge their charges while shooting them. With rosies, you'll need to find cover to avoid getting shot, then strafe out quickly to do some shooting before hiding again.
• 3 of 12: With rumblers, use Telekinesis to catch and throw back the powerful rockets they launch at you, and be ready to hit them with the Security Command plasmid when they deploy mini-turrets. That will cause the mini-turrets to attack them instead of you. (Or you can use Telekinesis to catch and throw away their mini-turrets before they land.)
• 4 of 12: The alpha series aren't as tough as other big daddies, but they are quite a bit faster, and they always attack on sight -- you won't have any time to plan out an attack strategy or set up traps (unless you know ahead of time when and where they'll appear). Try to keep your distance while pounding them with your best weapons and plasmids.
• 5 of 12: Actually, the best weapon to use against any type of big daddy is the drill, especially after you get its first two upgrades and some drill-related tonics like Drill Power and Freezing Drill. Buy drill fuel at a vending machine if you don't have a full tank, then move right up against a big daddy and start continuously drilling him. Be ready to quickly run forward when he knocks you back. If you run out of drill fuel before the big daddy dies, quickly back away and start dodging his attacks while attacking him with some other weapon.
• 6 of 12: The most powerful other weapon to use is the launcher. Before you get it, the best ones are the rivet gun loaded with heavy rivets and the machine gun loaded with armor-piercing rounds. The shotgun can also be very effective once it's fully upgraded.
• 7 of 12: It's often possible to weaken a big daddy without turning him hostile before you attack him. There are two ways to do this: splicers and security devices.
  • How can I use splicers to weaken a big daddy?
  • How can I use security devices to weaken a big daddy?
• 8 of 12: Another thing you can do is hurl explosive canisters and barrels at big daddies with Telekinesis. Stockpile several of them in one place where you know the big daddy will pass by, then quickly toss them all at him. (Or wait until he walks right up to them, then detonate them with gunfire.)
• 9 of 12: Once you get the launcher, set traps for the big daddies by stockpiling several explosive containers and then placing one or more prox mines next to them. You'll probably have to shoot the big daddy and lead him into the trap, so make sure you avoid getting hurt by the explosions. Another thing you can do is stick a few prox mines to an explosive container, then hurl it at a big daddy with Telekinesis.
• 10 of 12: Trap rivets and trap spears can also be used to set up effective anti-big-daddy traps, especially with bouncers. See the Trap Rivet/Spear Tips for more info on that.
• 11 of 12: If a big daddy is in an area where you've hacked some SMG or rocket turrets, they'll join in the battle as soon as you start attacking. If you keep hitting the big daddy with Electro Bolt or Winter Blast to temporarily immobilize him, your turrets can get in a bunch of free shots.
• 12 of 12: And don't forget the Vita-Chamber Tips. If a big daddy kills you after you do him a lot of damage, you don't have to restore a save and try again. Instead, exit the Vita-Chamber you appear in and return to the big daddy to finish the job. Note, though, that his little sister will have healed him by an amount that depends on your difficulty setting (more healing on hard difficulty, less on medium, and none on easy).

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