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Missable/Character Build Guide

by Chen Guojun

                                 ==========
                                  BIOSHOCK
                                 ==========

                 ==============================================
                   -=  MISSABLES AND CHARACTER BUILD GUIDE =-
                 ==============================================


Written by Mech Gouki / Cyber Akuma


===============
Version History
===============

Version 0.9  01-04-12
First Release

________________________________________________________________________________

========
Contents
========

1) Introduction
2) Checklist
3) Gatherer's Garden List
4) Missables List
5) Character Set-up
6) PC Issues
7) Frequently Asked Questions
8) Credits/References


________________________________________________________________________________


============
Introduction
============


This guide is usable for the PC and XBOX360 version of Bioshock. Also usable
for PS3 version.

Bioshock is one of the best shooters I have played, despite having one of the 
worst DRM systems possible. 

In most first-person shooters that I have played, there is only one way to go -
forward. Bioshock is different from other shooters, in the sense that you can 
go back and revisit most areas that you have already been to. In addition, you 
can also collect items, and customize your character. There are many different 
ways to play this game. I would say that Bioshock is like a Shooter, with RPG 
elements inside it.

I have seen many walkthroughs on the game, but what I had really hoped for, was
a guide that tells you where each item can be purchased, what are the things you
should look out for in case you miss them, and how you can build your 
characters. After much studying and analysing, I decided to write a guide 
myself, regarding what are the purchases available, and what are the things 
you should look out for to not miss out on it for good.


________________________________________________________________________________


=========
Checklist
=========

Intro-
This is a list of all the items you should find in each stage. If you are 
missing anything, refer to this list to find it. 

Remember that you cannot return to Welcome to Rapture and Rapture Central 
Control.

(The Power to the People Stations and Little Sisters are indexed on this list
accordingly.)
 


Welcome To Rapture
------------------
Plasmid:
- Electrobolt
Audio-Diary:
- New Year's Eve Alone
- Hole in the Bathroom Wall


Medical Pavilion
----------------

Plasmid:
- Incinerate!
- Telekinesis

Tonic:
- Hacker's Delight
- Security Expert
- Wrench Jockey
- Speedy Hacker
- Static Discharge

Audio-Diary:
- Released Today
- Adam's Changes
- Higher Standards
- Parasite Expectations
- Limits Of Imagination
- Love For Science
- Vandalism
- Surgery's Picasso
- Freezing Pipes
- Useless Experiments
- Testing Telekinesis
- Plasmids Are The Paint
- Enrage Trial
- Symmetry
- Aphrodite
- Not What She Wanted
- Gatherer's Vulnerability

Little Sister:
- (1)
- (2)


Neptune's Bounty
----------------

Plasmid:
- Security Bullseye

Tonic:
- Medical Expert
- Shorten Alarms
- Wrench Lurker
- Focused Hacker

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (1)

Audio-Diary:
- Bathysphere Keys
- Timmy H. Interrogation
- Fontaine Must Go
- Finding The Sea Slug
- Picked Up Timmy H.
- Masha Come Home
- Watch Fontaine
- Have My Badge
- ADAM Discovery
- Eden Leaking
- Fontaine's Smugglers
- Death Penalty In Rapture
- Meeting Ryan
- Rapture Changing
- Smuggling Ring
- Working Late Again
- Saw Masha Today
- Arresting Fontaine
- Putting The Screws On

Little Sister:
- (3)
- (4)
- (5)


Smuggler's Hideout
------------------

Audio-Diary:
- Meeting With Fontaine
- Kraut Scientist
- Offered A Deal


Arcadia
-------

Tonic:
- Security Evasion
- Hacking Expert

Audio-Diary:
- Seeing Ghosts
- Big Night Out
- Mass Producing ADAM
- Arcadia Closed
- The Market Is Patient
- Offer A Better Product
- Early Tests Promising
- Heroes And Criminals
- Shouldn't Have Come
- The Saturine
- What Won't They Steal?
- Teaching An Old Hound
- Lazarus Vector
- Lazarus Vector Formula
- Arcadia And Oxygen
- Maternal Instinct
- The Great Chain

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (2)

Little Sister:
- (6)
- (7)


Farmer's Market
---------------

Tonic:
- EVE Link 2
- Photographer's Eye

Audio-Dairy:
- Bee Enzyme
- Pulling Together
- First Encounter
- Hatred
- Desperate Times
- Water In The Wine
- Functional Children
- ADAM Explained 

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (3)

Little Sister:
- (8)


Fort Frolic
-----------

Tonic:
- Alarm Expert
- Frozen Field
- Extra Nutrition 2
- Medical Expert 2
- Electric Flesh 

Audio-Diary:
- Come To The Record Store
- The Wild Bunny
- Artist's Feud
- Fancy Cigarettes
- Stood Up Again
- The Doubters
- Musical Insult
- The Iceman Cometh
- Fontaine's Army
- Guns Blazing
- Pregnancy
- It's All Griff
- Bump Culpepper?
- Ryan's Stableboy
- Requiem For Andrew Ryan

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (4)
- (5)

Little Sister:
- (9)
- (10)
- (11)


Hephaestus
----------

Tonic:
- Frozen Field 2
- Security Evasion 2
- Damage Research
- Shorten Alarms 2

Audio-Diary:
- Ryan Takes F Futuristics
- Scoping the Gate
- Stopping Ryan
- Going to Heat Loss
- A Man or a Parasite
- Fontaine's Legacy
- Running Short on R-34s
- Assassin
- Impossible Anywhere Else
- Kyburz Door Code
- Genetic Arms Race
- Getting a Break
- Market Maintenance Code
- Device Almost Enabled
- The Dream
- Assembling the Bomb
- Great Chain Moves Slowly

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (6)
- (7)

Little Sister:
- (12)
- (13)
- (14)


Rapture Central Control 
-----------------------

Audio-Diary:
- The Vita-Chamber
- Mind Control Test
- Baby Status


Olympus Heights
---------------

Tonic:
- Clever Inventor
- Electric Flesh 2

Audio-Diary:
- Mozart Of Genetics
- Fontaine's Human Jukebox
- Mind Control Antidote
- Fontaine's Break-Up
- Sad Saps
- Artist Woman

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (8)
- (9)

Little Sister:
- (15)
- (16)


Apollo Square
-------------

Tonic:
- Medical Expert 3
- Focused Hacker 2

Audio-Diary:
- What's Happening Here?
- Atlas Lives
- Protection Bond
- Meeting Atlas
- The Longest Con
- Today's Raid

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (10)

Little Sister:
- (17)
- (18)


Point Prometheus
----------------

Tonic:
- Safecracker 2
- Damage Research 2
- Hacker's Delight 3
- Alarm Expert 2

Audio-Diary:
- Changing Employers
- Why Just Girls?  
- Extra Munitions
- Marketing Gold
- Protecting The Little Ones
- Protector Smell
- Mistakes
- Cheap Son Of A Bitch
- Missing Boots

Weapon Upgrade Station:
- (11)
- (12)

Little Sister:
- (19)
- (20)
- (21)


________________________________________________________________________________


======================
Gatherer's Garden List
======================

This is the price list of the Gatherer's Garden. Refer to this list, and see
what items are available where. 

Be careful when purchasing Plasmids, as there are price differences. Since a 
Rank 3 Plasmid always replaces the lower rank ones, you are recommended to skip,
and get the highest Rank plasmid at the lowest possible price.
(E.g. You can get Insect Swarm 3 by skipping Insect Swarm 1 and 2 altogether.)

For the Tonic and Plasmid Slots, some of the Gatherer's Garden sell more than
one of the same slot. For such slots, I will list out the amount you can 
purchase. (E.g. x2)


Medical Pavillion:
Enrage!                 60
Armored Shell           20
EVE Link                20
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80


Neptune's Bounty:
Plasmid Slot           100 x2
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80
Enrage!                 60
Target Dummy            60
Winter Blast            60
Armored Shell           20
EVE Link                20
Extra Nutrition         20
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom               1
Machine Buster           1


Arcadia:
Plasmid Slot           100
Physical Tonic Slot     80 x2
Engineering Tonic Slot  80 x2
Combat Tonic Slot       80 x2
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80
Enrage!                 45
Target Dummy            60
Winter Blast            60
Electro Bolt 2         120
Cyclone Trap            60
Armored Shell           20
EVE Link                20
Extra Nutrition         20
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom               1
Human Inferno           20
EVE Saver                1
Vending Expert           1
Machine Buster           1


Farmer's Market:
Plasmid Slot           100
Physical Tonic Slot     80 x2
Engineering Tonic Slot  80 x2
Combat Tonic Slot       80 x2
Insect Swarm            60
Armored Shell           20
EVE Link                20
Extra Nutrition         20
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom               1
Human Inferno           20
EVE Saver                1
Vending Expert           1
Machine Buster           1


Fort Frolic:
Plasmid Slot           100
Physical Tonic Slot     80
Engineering Tonic Slot  80
Combat Tonic Slot       80
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80
Enrage!                 45
Insect Swarm 2          80
Target Dummy            45
Winter Blast 2         100
Electro Bolt 2          80
Cyclone Trap            30
Incinerate! 2           80
Hacking Expert 2        50
Armored Shell           20
Extra Nutrition         20
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom 2             1
Human Inferno           20
EVE Saver                1
Vending Expert           1
Machine Buster           1


Hephaestus:
Plasmid Slot           100
Physical Tonic Slot     80
Engineering Tonic Slot  80
Combat Tonic Slot       80
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80
Enrage!                 30
Target Dummy            45
Winter Blast 2          80
Insect Swarm 2          40
Cyclone Trap 2          80
Electro Bolt 2          20
Electro Bolt 3         150
Incinerate! 2           80
Hacking Expert 2        50
Wrench Lurker 2         50
Armored Shell           20
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom 2             1
Human Inferno           20
EVE Saver                1
Vending Expert           1
Vending Expert 2         1
Machine Buster           1


Olympus Heights:
Plasmid Slot           100
Physical Tonic Slot     80
Engineering Tonic Slot  80
Combat Tonic Slot       80
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80
Enrage!                 30
Target Dummy            30
Winter Blast 3         150
Insect Swarm 3         120
Electro Bolt 3         120
Incinerate! 2           20
Incinerate! 3          150
Cyclone Trap 2          80
Hacking Expert 2        50
Wrench Lurker 2         50
Armored Shell           20
Speedy Hacker 2         50
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom 2             1
Human Inferno           20
EVE Saver                1
Vending Expert           1
Vending Expert 2         1
Machine Buster           1
Machine Buster 2         1


Apollo Square:
Plasmid Slot           100
Physical Tonic Slot     80
Engineering Tonic Slot  80
Combat Tonic Slot       80
Enrage!                 30
Target Dummy            30
Winter Blast 3         150
Insect Swarm 3         120
Electro Bolt 3         120
Incinerate! 2           20
Incinerate! 3          150
Cyclone Trap 2          80
Hacking Expert 2        50
Wrench Lurker 2         50
Armored Shell           20
Speedy Hacker 2         50
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom 2             1
Human Inferno           20
EVE Saver                1
Vending Expert           1
Vending Expert 2         1
Machine Buster           1
Machine Buster 2         1


Point Prometheus:
Plasmid Slot           100
Physical Tonic Slot     80
Engineering Tonic Slot  80
Combat Tonic Slot       80
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80
Enrage!                 30
Target Dummy            30
Winter Blast 3         120
Insect Swarm             5
Insect Swarm 3         120
Electro Bolt 3         120
Cyclone Trap 2          80
Incinerate! 3          120
Hacking Expert 2        50
Wrench Lurker 2         50
Armored Shell           20
Speedy Hacker 2         50
 (Version 1.1)
Sonic Boom 2             1
Human Inferno 2         50
EVE Saver                1
Vending Expert           1
Vending Expert 2         1
Machine Buster           1
Machine Buster 2         1


Proving Grounds:
Plasmid Slot           100 x3
Physical Tonic Slot     80 x3
Engineering Tonic Slot  80 x3
Combat Tonic Slot       80 x3
Health Upgrade          80
EVE Upgrade             80


________________________________________________________________________________


==============
Missables List
==============


-Introduction-
While much of the game is revisitable, there are some changes you cannot undo,
as well as some things that you miss out on forever, should you fail to get them
this first time. 

In this section, I will describe some of the things to watch out for, so that it
doesn't happen to you.


-Audio-Diary-

There are two stages not revisitable. Welcome to Rapture, and Rapture Central 
Control. In these stages, there are 2 Audio Diaries in Welcome to Rapture, and 
3 in Rapture Central Control. If you miss getting these, they are gone forever.


-Research-

There are 11 research categories. Most enemies you encounter in the game, can
respawn easily. Only 3 of these categories are limited in number. Be mindful of
these enemies. They are: Turrets, Cameras, and Little Sister.

You can get to full research with just a single Little Sister. All you have to 
do is to wait for her to climb in, then out a vent again. 
So long as a single Little Sister remains not dealt with, you can get to full
research.

Turrets and Cameras, you have to watch out, as they are not unlimited.


-Sander Cohen-

You must NOT defeat Sander Cohen in Fort Frolic. If you do so, you will not face
him again in Olympus Heights. This will result in you losing Power to the People
Station #09. You will also miss the achievement of getting to Sander Cohen's 
secret room if you are playing the Xbox360 version.


-ADAM-

The amount of ADAM you acquire in total is limited. In general, you should 
either always harvest, or always rescue. Having a mix and mesh doesn't grant 
you as good rewards as focusing on one. My personal recommendation, is to 
rescue them all. If you are on the Xbox360, you need them for the achievement, 
and even if you are not, the rewards are still worth the ADAM difference.

Now that we've covered the part on earning ADAM, let's look at the spending 
part. How you spend your ADAM, is MORE important than how you earn it. How you 
earn the ADAM, the amount is already set. How you spend it, will determine 
whether you make the most out of it or not. If you are not careful, you will 
spend unecessary ADAM on a Plasmid you could have gotten cheaper, or bought a 
Tonic which you could have gotten free, and you don't get refunds on that. In 
short, you will waste your ADAM needlessly if you don't plan properly.

Tonics which can be gotten free, DO NOT buy them.

For Plasmids, make sure you buy them at their lowest price. For example, if you
want Target Dummy, buying it at Arcadia would cost you 60 ADAM. Buying it at
Olypus Heights would cost you 30 ADAM only. You don't get the difference back.

And always make sure you buy a Plasmid at the highest tier. For example, if you
want Winter Blast, make sure you get Winter Blast 3, at the lowest price.
Winter Blast 1 would be overwritten by Winter Blast 2, and in turn be
overwritten by Winter Blast 3. You don't get the ADAM back when they are 
overwritten. Just buy only the highest tier.

Refer to the Gatherer's Garden pricelist, as well as the Character Set-Up 
section.

________________________________________________________________________________


================
Character Set-up
================


In this section, I will draw up a few plans of how you should set-up and build 
your character. Most unfortunately, the amount of ADAM given to you doesn't 
exactly allow you to purchase everything from the Gatherer's Garden. so you 
will have to spend wisely.

You have 3080 ADAM if you rescue all Little Sisters.
You have 3360 ADAM if you harvest all Little Sisters.


Build 1:
--------
All Achievements Build-

This build basically aims to fulfil most of the achievements, such as all 
tonics, all Little Sisters rescued, all the slots. At the same time, we attempt 
to make a strong build from what we have.

You buy all the slots available, all 8 purchase-only tonics from the Gatherer's
Garden. The Health Upgrades are especially important. EVE upgrades are less 
important, but should still be high. The only Plasmids bought are ElectroBolt 3
and Target Dummy.


Purchases:
4 x Plasmid slot 100 = 400
4 x Physical Tonic slot 80 = 320
4 x Engineering Tonic slot 80 = 320
4 x Combat Tonic slot 80 = 320

8 x health upgrade 80 = 640
8 x eve upgrade 80 = 640

8 tonics = 280

ElectroBolt 3 + Target Dummy = 150

All 7 tonics/plasmids from v1.1 = 7

Total = 3077


Build 2:
--------
Practical Build-

This build focuses on buying only the tonics you need, and as much possible good
plasmids. You won't be able to fulfil all achievements though. All Little
Sisters are rescued.

You have more Plasmids to choose from.


Purchases:
4 x Plasmid slot 100 = 400
4 x Physical Tonic slot 80 = 320
4 x Engineering Tonic slot 80 = 320
4 x Combat Tonic slot 80 = 320

8 x health upgrade 80 = 640
7 x eve upgrade 80 = 560

Wrench Lurker + Human Inferno 2 + Armored Shell = 120

ElectroBolt 3 + Winter Blast 3 + Target Dummy + Incinerate 3 
                                                OR Insect Swarm 3 = 390

All 7 tonics/plasmids from v1.1 = 7

Total = 3077


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommended Plasmids and Tonics to equip:

Plasmids-
Hypnotize Big Daddy
Target Dummy
Sonic Boom 2
Telekinesis
Also, any of the Rank 3 plasmids if you have them.

Physical Tonics-
Natural Camouflage
SportBoost
SportBoost 2
EVE Saver
Medical Expert 3
Medical Expert 2

Engineering Tonics-
Focused Hacker 2
Alarm Expert 2
Speedy Hacker
Shorten Alarms 2
Hacking Expert 2
Speedy Hacker 2
Also, replace with Prolific Inventor and Clever Inventor when necessary. Replace
Hacking Expert 2 and Speedy Hacker 2 if you didn't buy them.

Combat Tonics-
Armored Shell 2
Human Inferno 2
Electric Flesh 2
Wrench Jockey 2
For the remaining 2, you can either use Wrench Jockey, Armored Shell, 
Wrench Lurker 2, Damage Research 2. Also include Frozen Field when fighting the 
final boss. 
Keep Photographer's Eye 1 or 2 on until you no longer need them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plasmids and Tonics Setup strategies:

Electro Bolt 3 -
This move by itself doesn't do any damage, unless on water. When used, it stuns 
the enemy for a while. But unfortunately, they recover when they are hit. When 
Splicers are stunned by this move, if the next attack is a Wrench attack, it 
will damage them 5 times the normal attack, and will proc Wrench Lurker damage 
as well. You already get the first one free. Electro Bolt 3 stuns them for 
longer, making it more effective. 
If you shoot this at the water, it damages all in the water, including you. 
You can negate the damage with Electric Flesh, though. Damage for Electro 
Bolt 3 against enemies in the water is high, but not exactly uber. It has 
about the same damage as an Incendiary Bolt for a big daddy.
This also can be comboed with your melee attacks for better damage. 
Unfortunately, my main complaint is that this move is totally useless against
some enemies, first being Electric Thuggish Splicers, which are immune to all 
Electric effects, and second being the final boss. It has completely no effect
if you shoot this at the final boss directly, and even if you lure him into the
water, the damage from this move is reduced a lot.
(Some reports say Electro Bolt 3 in the water deals 8000 damage? How is that
possible? It barely deals more damage than an Incendiary Bolt on a Big Daddy.)

Target Dummy -
I highly recommend this one. When you use this, it distracts most enemies into
trying to attack the dummy instead of you. You are then given enough time to try
to pick your enemies one by one. An enemy will return to attacking you instead
of the dummy once you attack them. Basically, it will distract enemies, until
you attack them, but you can summon a new one to distract them again. In
addition, you can also use this to distract Cameras and Turrets. 
This plasmid will give you some tactical advantage in some battles. In 
addition, it will proc the extra damage from Wrench Lurker. I found it 
particularly useful in Proving Grounds, distracting the enemies to attacking 
the dummy. Several guides have rated this plasmid as low. I disagree, but it is
up to you to decide.

Enrage -
I don't recommend this. I still believe Target Dummy is more effective than
this one. It's useful if you want to make enemies attack Big Daddies, otherwise,
the Target Dummy is better.

Security Bullseye -
The only time I found this useful, is when I was trying to reduce a Big Daddy's
health without having him go hostile. It's usefulness may be situational, but
you get this plasmid free, so why not?

Insect Swarm 3 -
This is a special Plasmid. It causes DOT (damage over time) to multiple enemies,
and distracts them from attacking you. The damage is rather low, so don't count
too much on it. It doesn't paralyze enemies, just distracts them periodically. 
They can still attack you even under the effects, and if you attack them, they 
will focus their attention on you. This will not proc extra damage from Wrench 
Lurker. The distraction effect works on Big Daddies.
When you are fighting groups of enemies, this move can be useful. But when
there is a Big Daddy nearby, this move becomes a liability. This plasmid is 
not useless, but the question is whether or not, it is worth spending your ADAM 
to get it, and your EVE to use.

Incinerate 3 -
I do not highly recommend this. The damage is decent, but not fast enough to
kill enemies immediately, as it uses a DOT, rather than immediate damage. Using
it more than once increases the damage, but defeats the purpose of its lower
EVE cost. It doesn't kill enemies as quickly as most weapons that you have.
Unless you intend to set the enemy on fire, then run away and wait for the
enemy to die, you are better off without using a normal weapon to kill your
enemy.
This move actually has 2 varying effects. It can either set an enemy
on fire, or it can set the ground on fire. If you set it on an enemy, the
ground will not burn. If you set it on the ground, it will actually do slightly
more damage than setting the enemy on fire.
I personally have tried this on Big Daddies and the final boss. By itself, this
move does very little damage against them. 
The best use for this plasmid is probably use it for the DOT damage. 
Basically, start with this plasmid, then switch to a weapon once you set them 
on fire. Avoid spamming it.

Winter Blast 3 -
It puts enemies in a frozen state for a good amount of time.
When enemies are in a frozen state, you can see their health bar changing. They
will now start to take Shatter Damage. When their Shatter Health is depleted,
they completely shatter and die, leaving no loot behind. Unlike Electro Bolt, 
enemies hit after being affected by Winter Blast, do not immediately recover.
However, in their frozen state, while most enemies can still receive damage to
their health, that damage will be significantly reduced. So unless
you intend to freeze and Shatter your enemy, this move will not be very useful.
Big Daddies take NO health damage while frozen. After a certain period of time,
enemies will thaw out. They will also thaw immediately when hit by Fire attack.
You can freeze the enemy before they thaw to increase the time they stay frozen.
Once an enemy thaws, the shatter damage resets, and you have to redo it.
If you intend to stun enemy machines and hack them, you will find that Winter
Blast 3 is better than Electro Bolt 3, since it gives you hacking advantage
for Cameras. (The other 2 machines will become auto-success.)
I would say that this move is useless on Big Daddies, unless you intend to
Shatter them, which may as well be just as hard as trying to take them down
normally.
The good news is that this move affects even the last boss. Bad news is, you 
can't shatter him, and even though you can stop him from attacking, it reduces 
much of the damage you deal.

Cyclone Trap 2 -
This is next to useless to me. It can be good if you like setting traps like
Proximity Mine. It can also be used to immediately attack your enemies, but
there will be better attacks for that. Enemies going into the trap suffer
some damage, and have to take time to get back on their feet. It is completely
useless on machines and Big Daddies.
Unlike Sonic Boom, this works only on a single enemy, making it next to useless.
Do not try to spam this move. If you spam it too fast, it will consume your 
EVE, but give nothing. 

Sonic Boom 2 -
The damage isn't all that amazing, but it sends groups of enemies flying,
giving you time as they try to get back up. In addition, the coverage is wide,
so you don't even have to aim this directly at your enemy. Very useful against
splicers, useless on others.
It is completely useless on machines and Big Daddies. It's very cheap, and has 
its uses, so why not? Only available in patches/DLC.

Bloodlust -
I don't highly recommend this. The amount healed per hit is acceptable, but it
will not heal killing blows. So if you kill an enemy in one hit, you do not heal
at all. It's not useless, but I think it will be better to use other Tonics.
(I am aware that some people highly recommend this. Not me.)

Damage Research 2 - 
I tested this, on a fully researched enemy, using Damage Research 2 adds 
approximately 20% more damage than not having it. While this is still worth it,
I'll like to say that the effect has been much exaggerated. They way they
described it, I was expecting at least 50%.
20% on almost every enemy in the whole game is definitely still worth it. You 
may want to replace it before the final battle, though.

Medical Expert -
Late in the game, when you have more Health, this becomes important in tough
battles. Having more Health restored, makes you last much longer. Stacking
Medical Expert 2 and 3 together makes a First Aid Kit heal you twice as much.
Recommended to stack 2, unless you need the slot for something else.

Wrench Jockey -
Past the first stage, under no circumstances should you attack your enemies 
with the Wrench if you don't have Wrench Jockey 1 or 2, as the damage would be 
far too low. Personally, I comboed this with Sport Boost and Wrench Lurker, and 
my Wrench becomes a very efficient weapon on all splicer enemies. If you don't
intend to use your Wrench, then save the Combat Slot for other tonics. If you
intend to use a Wrench, try to stack Wrench Jockey 1 and 2, and use Sport Boost
and Wrench Lurker 2 if you can.

Armored Shell -
Armored Shell 2 is only available if you save the Little Sisters. It is very
worth it in my opinion. It reduces damage from even more attacks you receive.
If I am not mistaken, this is how it works. Lets say a normal attack does 8
damage to you. With the Big Daddy effect, it is reduced to 6 damage. With
Armored Shell 2, you further reduce that to 4 damage. If you stack it with
Armored Shell 1, you reduce that to 3 damage. This is just a rough estimate.
Armored Shell is still worth getting, even if you already have Armored Shell 2.
You probably won't have enough slots if you are going for Wrench Jockey, 
though.

Frozen Field 2 - 
Ice damage that you receive is reduced. This effect isn't really that useful, 
for the simple fact that I counted exactly 2 ice attacks in the whole game. 
The first is from Ice Houdini Splicers, the second is from the Final Boss. 
It will probably be useful for the final stage, but not so useful elsewhere. 
The freezing effect isn't too useful, in my opinion. Many people have
already said before, getting no loot isn't something advantageous. 
There is another additional effect from the Frozen Field tonics not mentioned. 
Whenever an enemy use melee attacks on you, they will be damaged, quite similar 
to Static Discharge. The damage is quite low though.

Electric Flesh 2 -
It reduces Electric Damage you receive, and increases Electric damage that 
you deal. You have some useful Electic attacks, quite effective on enemies
like Big Daddy, so it is recommended that you get it. It will increase damage
on Electric Gel, Electric Buck etc. In addition, if you have Electric Flesh 2
equipped, you do not suffer environmental Electric damage, including from Trap
Bolts, or your own ElectroBolt when you are in the water.

Human Inferno 2 -
This Tonic reduces Fire damage you receive, and increases Fire damage that 
you deal. Fire damage you receive is the most common, next to bullets and melee,
so this will help. In addition, it will also increase damage of fire attacks 
like Incendiary Bolt and Napalm, etc. 
There does not appear to be any significant increase of damage with Incinerate 
though, but maybe that is just me.
You will have to buy this from a Gatherer's Garden, since it can't be found.

Sport Boost -
If they actually increase your movement speed, I would rate them as the most
important Physical Tonic. Unfortunately, they don't. I have personally tested
this many times. In the PC version, it doesn't increase your movement speed.
It does increase your Wrench attack speed, so if you intend to attack with a
Wrench, get it. Pair it with Wrench Jockey, you will get some good DPS. 
Better movement speed would have meant better strafing and dodge as well. 
But unfortunately, IT DOESN'T WORK!! At least for the PC version. If you have 
the Xbox360 version, and the movement speed works for that version, get them 
both, and don't look back.

Wrench Lurker -
The first one is free, the second has to be purchased. When you become a Big
Daddy, most enemies ignore you, but you will still get bonuses when you hit
them with this for the first time. Wrench Lurker 1 boost your first hit to 250%
damage, Wrench Lurker 2 to 300% damage. You get bonus from using Electro Bolt
and Target Dummy as well. 
(The increase is is proportionate to the nett damage with Wrench Jockey.)
It's a question of whether Wrench Lurker 2 is worth 50 ADAM to buy, but 
if you intend to use Wrench Lurker, you might as well get the better version
of course. (I seriously doubt you will have enough slots to use both Wrench
Lurkers, if you still intend to equip those that reduce damage you take.)

Natural Camouflage -
Many people have stressed on this Tonic's usefulness, so I won't go into detail.
I would say it is a must-have, not a nice-to-have. Note that when you become a
Big Daddy, most enemies would just ignore you, making this Tonic less important.

Hacking Expert 2 and Focused Hacker 2 -
These 2 are very good Tonics for hacking, but they are only available through
purchase. The problem however, isn't with these two tonics. It's with the fact
that by endgame, you literally would have run out of things to hack. Hackable
objects are limited, so once you have hacked everything, you won't be needing
them again.

Shorten Alarms 2 -
Completely optional. Most of the time, you won't be triggering alarms. But in 
the rare occasions that you have raised an alarm, you would really wish that it 
was shorter than 1min.

Static Discharge 2 -
The effect should be clear, so I won't go into detail. But I will mention this,
you DO NOT want to have this on you when you are standing near a Big Daddy. If
it triggers, they go hostile on you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Wrench, or not to Wrench?-

Here, I will do a brief description on the pros and cons of using the Wrench.

First, why should you use the Wrench? Well, the Wrench costs nothing to use,
unlike other weapons that need ammo. With the right set up, your Wrench can
deal a lot of damage, at the cost of having Wrench Tonics in your Combat Tonic
slots which could have been used for others.

With Sport Boost 1 + 2, as well as Wrench Jockey 1 + 2, you will find yourself
having a very high DPS. Against a small group of splicers, you will find that
you can kill them a lot faster by strafing and running around with a Wrench,
then you would with a Machinegun or Shotgun, running around trying to shoot
them dead.

And because they cost nothing to use, you will find your gathering of resources
much faster, compared to if you were using a weapon that needs ammo. For
example, if you used a pistol to kill an enemy, the items and cash that you
loot from the enemy may not be able to effectively cover the cost of the ammo
used to kill him/her. Using a good Wrench set up ensures that you almost never
run out of resources to use, including ammo or First Aid Kits etc.

Next, we look at why should you NOT use the Wrench. First off, I'll like to say
that the Wrench may work very well on Splicers, but it will not work well on
every single enemy. And I'm not just talking about enemies that are in hard to
reach places, which would obviously make the Wrench useless in such situations.

Enemies like Big Daddies, using Wrench on them would be detrimental. For one
thing, they take much more reduced damage from your Wrench, so your DPS would 
not be very high. Secondly, you DO NOT want to get too close to the Big 
Daddies. The Bouncer, for obvious reasons, their attacks are most dangerous
up close. The Rosie may not be as dangerous up close, but every time you get
too close, he gun-butts you, and knocks you down. If you try to melee him, you
will still find yourself on the losing end. For the Final Boss, it is possible
to use the Wrench and win, just that I don't highly recommend it. Mostly
because his attacks are more dangerous up close.

Next, apart from SportBoost tonics, making the Wrench effective would mean
having to use up a few good Combat Tonic Slots. For example, Wrench Jockey
1 + 2 and Wrench Lurker. These slots could have been used for other things,
such as tonics that reduce damage you receive even more, or Damage Research
tonics.

The main disadvantage of using the Wrench, in my opinion, is that if you
specialize your character to be very effective with the Wrench, such as using
2 Wrench Jockey and 2 Wrench Lurker tonics, your character will have great
DPS with the Wrench, but when facing enemies that are strong against it, such
as Big Daddies, you will find yourself at a significant disadvantage. You need
to set some balance in short, as you can't exactly go through the entire game
only using the Wrench.

So, consider these facts carefully, and decide for yourself if you want to
be a Wrench user. My personal recommendation, go for it. Many people claim 
that the game becomes too easy if you do so, though.


________________________________________________________________________________


=========
PC Issues
=========

Settings-
The PC version has several settings. Should you wish to know what settings you
should use, you should refer to this guide.
http://www.tweakguides.com/Bioshock_1.html

For having higher performance, it is recommended that you use lower settings for
your graphics, as this will give it a smoother framerate. However, the offset of
doing that is that the game will not appear as nice, therefore affecting your
gaming experience as well.

I would recommend leaving High Detail Shaders on, but most of the other 
settings off, such as Distortion, Reflection, etc. Texture detail should be 
fine even at the highest setting. 

It is better for the game to be smooth, then it is to appear pretty at the 
cost of having the action choppy and laggy.


Patch 1.1-
When you patch 1.1, some of your settings a reset. 

Most notably, you have to reconfigure your Input Settings for Misc.


DRM Issues-
The PC version of this game has some annoying DRM features. In addition to the 
Disc Check from Securom, requiring the disc in your drive every time you play 
the game, the game also requires an online connection for installation, and for 
activation.

A lot of people, myself included, found this act to be extremely restrictive, 
and protested against it. Those without a constant internet connection felt the 
worst of it.

Thankfully, the 5-time activation limits was removed, meaning you can use the 
code to install as many times as you need. They however, refused to change 
requiring to go online to activate and install the game.

Personally, I have a great disatisfaction with games requiring to go online to
authenticate your game. As we have seen from Ubisoft, servers DON'T last 
forever, and they will fail at some point, and the companies will eventually 
discontinue their service after a few years. If that were to happen, it would 
mean you can't play your game any more.

Personally, when I buy a game, I expect to be able to play it any time I wish 
to. Requiring me to connect to the internet to ask for game company's 
permission to play the game, after they verify that I paid for it, is not 
acceptable.

If I read the fine print of the system requirements of this game before I 
bought it, I might actually have skipped it. I realized this fact only after I 
installed it. But it is a seriously good game, to be honest. I just wished the 
future releases don't have this kind of DRM shit. I buy original games, and I 
hate to be subjected to such bullshit. These DRM measures harm the consumers, 
not the pirates.


Bioshock 2 DRM-
Bioshock 2 is using a disc check, as well as an online date check. The online
date check can be flagged by using an offline activator from Securom support
site. Overall, the DRM of Bioshock 2 is more acceptable than Bioshock 1
in my honest opinion.

However, Bioshock 2 uses Games for Windows Live, and like all other GFWL,
they encode your saves. This basically means that you can't simply copy your
save files over to another computer. If you reformat your computer, or try to
bring your save file over to another computer, it will not work. In short,
if you want to backup your savegames, you're screwed.

(From what I heard, it is possible to use some tools that can allow you to
transfer the saves to a different profile, but you need to keep your profile
files from the GFWL program folder as well. Not too sure on the details yet.)


Bioshock Infinite DRM-
The worst DRM in my honest opinion. Using Steam means that all you pay for is
a bloody code. If you buy the retail box, the discs are bloody useless. After
installation, you don't need them, and no one else can use them. You can't 
resell the box either (unless you are trying to cheat the buyer).


Do you support pirating this game?-

First off, I'll like to say that I don't support piracy normally. But even 
though I paid for the retail version of this game, I have to say this is one
of the rare exceptions.

Any game that requires you to go online to connect to a server, simply for the
sake of verifying that you paid for this game, is UNACCEPTABLE NO MATTER THE
REASONS FOR IT. You are essentially going to that server to ask permission
to play the game, even though you paid for it.

For such games, I cannot honestly in good faith recommend paying for it. Such
games do not deserve our money, no matter how good they are.

Some people believe that no reason is ever good enough to be a pirate.
I believe in the reverse. No reason is ever good enough, for a game company
to force a legitimate buyer of a game to go on to a server to ask for 
permission to play it.

I do not recommend that you pay money for this game. Interpret that any way
you wish.

Perhaps one day, these game companies will actually get the message: 
LEGITIMATE BUYERS/OWNERS DO NOT WANT TO BE SCREWED BY YOUR CRAPPY DRM!

I can understand if you disagree with me, but please do not send me your
arguments. You are free to agree or disagree, just don't expect me to conform
to your views. I've seen too many of these arguments, and I have no intention
of starting another.


________________________________________________________________________________


==========================
Frequently Asked Questions
==========================


---

Q: Does SportBoost increase your movement speed?

A: I do not believe so. At least for the PC version.

   I ran many tests. With SportBoost 2, stacking SportBoost 1 and 2, and no
   SportBoost. The movement speed is all the same. There is no difference with
   the movement speed.

   It does increase your Wrench attack speed, but I really don't believe that
   in increases your movement speed.

---

Q: What is the total amount of ADAM you can get, if you harvest the Little 
   Sisters, or rescue them all?

A: If you harvest them all, you get 3360 ADAM. If you rescue them all, you get
   3080, including a few tonics and one plasmid.

   There are 21 Little Sisters. 
   Every Little Sister you harvest gives you 160 ADAM. 
   Every Little Sister you rescue gives you 80 ADAM.
   Every 3 Little Sister you rescue gives you 200 ADAM.
   (A net loss of 40 ADAM for every 3 Little Sister you rescue.)

---

Q: I can't find Human Inferno Tonics! How can I get them?

A: You must be using PC version 1.0. Human Inferno is not inside that version.
   It is an error, as it was intended to be included. Once you patch it to 1.1, 
   you can get it normally.

---

Q: What are the Tonics or Plasmids available from Tenenbaum's gifts?

A: They are:
   Hypnotize Big Daddy
   Safecracker
   Hypnotize Big Daddy 2
   Prolific Inventor
   Armored Shell 2

   There are 7 gifts, and 2 of them do not have significant rewards apart from 
   the ADAM.

---

Q: In order to get the best ending, do you really have to Rescue all 21 Little
   Sisters?

A: Let's assume that you don't need the achievement.

   Personally, I used a seperate save file. I had 20 sisters rescued, 
   1 harvested. I still managed to get the best ending. 

   People have been saying you need ALL. I'm not so sure that is entirely true.

---

Q: This is strange. I have both Sonic Boom and Sonic Boom 2?

A: This is normal. Sonic Boom 2 does not replace Sonic Boom.

---

Q: Is it possible to freeze and shatter a Big Daddy?

A: It is, but not highly recommended. When enemies are frozen, they receive
   normal damage, as well as shatter damage. Shatter damage always resets when
   the enemy thaw, so you have to get it done all at once. When their shatter
   endurance hits 0, they shatter.

   For Big Daddies, when they are frozen, they take Shatter damage, but they DO
   NOT take normal damage. Meaning if you fail, you gain nothing. For me, here
   was how I did it. I used Winter Blast 3, fired Shotguns, immediately go
   back to Winter Blast, reload, Winter Blast again, fired the shotgun,
   repeated this process, that's how I shattered the Big Daddy. There are
   better ways to defeat them.

---

Q: I have Wrench Jockey tonic. I just Researched a Bouncer to get the Wrench
   damage bonus, but the damage I deal is not increased?

A: Don't be fooled by the description. Here's how it actually works.
   Wrench base damage is 20. Wrench Jockey 1 and 2 adds 70 and 110 damage
   respectively. The permanent melee damage bonus from researching Bouncers
   only adds 10 more damage. Whoopee.

---

Q: What is the best way to defeat a Big Daddy?

A: Personally, I would say the best weapon is the Chemical Gun Electric Gel. 
   Other weapons like Shotgun Electric Buck, Incendiary Bolt, Frag Grenade, 
   Machine Gun with Armor Piercing rounds would also work.

---

Q: Should I Rescue or Harvest Little Sisters?

A: Again, the choice is completely yours, but I would still recommend Rescuing
   them. You can only get Armored Shell 2 this way. The difference is 280 ADAM,
   versus a few Plasmids and Tonics.

---

Q: I am trying to get the Brass Balls achievement. Do I have to complete the
   whole game in Hard, or just the final stage?

A: There are ways to achieve it without going through the whole game in hard.
   All you have to do is to have the setting at Hard before you complete the
   game.
   View here for details.
   http://www.trueachievements.com/a11309/brass-balls-achievement.htm

---

Q: I am playing the 360 version. The prices on the Gatherer's Garden you listed 
   are different from what I am having.

A: I checked a few FAQs, and their pricing on some of the tonics. The pricing
   is different from what I actually have. I don't have the 360 version, but
   after checking with Bioshock Wiki website, I am positive that these guys
   made the mistake, not me.

   There are no mistakes on the pricing for the PC version in my guide.

---

Q: Which are the areas that we cannot revisit?

A: The areas that you cannot return to, are:
   Welcome to Rapture
   Rapture Center Control

   Any Audio-Diaries you missed out in these two areas are gone forever.
   You also cannot return to Crash Site.

---

Q: You mentioned this tonic/plasmid as a loot. But I am seeing it in the
   Gatherer's Garden now? And you did not list the price of this tonic/plasmid
   either.

A: Any Tonics or Plasmids you have already acquired, whether through looting 
   or purchase, will not show up in the Gatherer's Garden. I did not list out
   the prices of those lootable Tonics/Plasmids. 

   You are not recommended to buy them this way either, because ADAM is the one
   thing that is limited. Most of these Tonics and Plasmids are not missable,
   you can go back and get them. Buying them just wastes your ADAM.

---

Q: What happens if we buy a tonic instead of taking it as loot?

A: The tonic where you could have found it as loot is gone forever.

---

Q: Is it just me, or is this game too easy? Even on Hard Mode with 
   Vita-Chambers off, it is still easy.

A: I do not agree, in the sense that I do not believe this game is easy by 
   default. However, it does have the potential to become very easy, depending
   how you play the game. Basically, it's not that the enemies are weak, it's 
   that you can become too powerful.

   Remember when you started the game, most of the enemies offered you some 
   challenge, even on Normal. Those Big Daddies are especially tough. Past
   Neptune's Bounty, after you get stronger, assuming that you build your 
   character right, most of the seem easier and easier. Good tonics, many 
   weapons, effective research, all these add up until you become a powerhouse.
   With the Big Daddy suit and the damage reduction tonics, you become very
   durable. But you didn't always start out like that. 
   Using your resources right, customizing you character effectively, all these
   add to your power. That gives you potentially the chance to be very powerful.

   If you did not conserve your resources, such as bullets, and if you did not
   build your character right, you will find this game harder.

---

Q: What is this Survival Mode I keep hearing about?

A: Survival Mode is basically a higher difficulty mode, higher than Hard 
   difficulty. It is only available on the PS3 version.

---

Q: I heard that there is a glitch that lets you harvest/save more than 21 Little
   Sisters. Is it true?

A: Yes, it does exist. It is more like an exploit than a glitch. Basically, in
   some parts, a Little Sister automatically spawns, as part of the storyline.
   And this happens even if you have already dealt with all the Little Sisters
   in the stage. If that happens, you can get extra one.

   More information can be found here. Unfortunately, I have not tested much of
   this myself. I hope to do so in future.

   http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/924919-bioshock/42810264

---

Q: I heard about a difficulty and balance mod for the PC version. Should I try 
   it?

A: I really wouldn't bother. They fix everything, except for the one thing that
   really needs to be fixed. Have they actually tested Sportboost, and check to
   see if it really was working the way it was supposed to?

   If they couldn't fix something simple such as Sportboost, I certainly 
   wouldn't want to be touching one of their mods. If they can fix Sportboost,
   I'll think about it.

---

Q: Can I contact you?

A: My email is strictly off-limits. If you wish to contact me, go to the
   Gamefaqs board if I am still around. If I am not there any more, contact me
   by my blog.
   http://cyberakuma.livejournal.com/

   Any emails sent to me will be deleted promptly, and possibly blocked.


________________________________________________________________________________


==================
CREDITS/REFERENCES
==================

Thanks to AboutLastNight's Walkthrough and Checklist, which was the one I used.

Thanks to Joystick's mechanics guide. His guide is very useful in describing
damage.

This website also has a lot of information on Bioshock.
http://bioshock.wikia.com/


Notes:
There were other walkthroughs from other people. But most of these walkthroughs
have a problem: they were missing a few items from their list. SHORTEN ALARMS
seems to be too hard for some of them to find.

TheCrimsonOmen's guide could have had a good checklist, but unfortunately, 
he's missing a few items, such as SECURITY EXPERT.

These guides may be useful if you are a first timer. But if you intend to get
all the tonics, achievements, and optimize your ADAM, then I cannot honestly
in good faith, recommend you these guides.

For example. Powerless listed SHORTEN ALARMS as available only through a
Gatherer's Garden. That is why I cannot recommend his guide.

________________________________________________________________________________

 ===================
- LEGAL INFORMATION -
 ===================

THIS DOCUMENT IS PROTECTED BY INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAWS. ALL COPYRIGHTS OF 
THIS DOCUMENT ITSELF BELONG TO THE AUTHOR. 

THIS AUTHOR IS NOT AFFLIATED WITH THE CREATORS OF THE GAME, 2KGAMES. 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

UNAUTHORISED COPYING OR REPRODUCTION WILL RESULT IN LEGAL ACTION BEING TAKEN 
AGAINST THE OFFENDING PARTY.

________________________________________________________________________________


-------------------
End of Document

By Chen Guojun
COPYRIGHT 2012

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
-------------------