Bioshock - Big Daddy Strategies?

[Incendiary Lemon]

I'm in the opening of the game with just four plasmids. Electric Shock, Incinerate, Telekinesis, and Hypnotize. It seems, at least for now, my best options are relying on conventional firepower?

[Jab2565]

Electric shock is your best bet at stunning them long enough for either conventional attacks, or setting them up for telekinesis attack.

[Tom McNamara]

There's a thread on this :)

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=37982

To answer your question specifically, I recommend TK'ing gas canisters and shocking him a few times. Try not to use too many first aid kits, because he's just gonna wallop the crap out of you anyway. Expect to make a few runs from a nearby Vita-Chamber. He won't be hostile towards you when you return, but his health will be where you left it.

[Kevin Grey]

If you've got hypnotize, try hypnotizing another Big Daddy and then setting him up against the one guarding the Big Daddy you want to take down.

[Vesper]

Expect to make a few runs from a nearby Vita-Chamber. He won't be hostile towards you when you return, but his health will be where you left it.
Am I the only one who refuses to use Vita-Chambers? If I die, I reload my game and try again. Respawning seems... wrong.

[StGabe]

Am I the only one who refuses to use Vita-Chambers?
Nope. Every Big Daddy kill I've had has been "to-the-death". Makes it a lot more interesting. There are times when you just aren't really in a position to take them or know you could take them but cost you all yourmedkits and so you are forced to be more strategic about it and look for better options. Makes it a lot more interesting.

We were just having a conversation here about this. IMO, the death mechanic is a cop-out for people who just aren't up to a hard game or for people who just literally run out of EVERYTHING and have little choice but to duke it out with a wrench. The latter case is pretty unlikely on medium but if it happened you'd really want a little help to let you finish the guy off.

It's clear that the overall game is quite challenging. I think they wanted that but didn't think that they could quite get away with it so they added an easy death penalty to bail people out who need it.

[Incendiary Lemon]

There's a thread on this :)

But it was labeled spoilers! Still trying to be a little careful not to get into plot details. Thanks though and the advice is appreciated. I haven't done have enough with the Telekinesis.

If you've got hypnotize, try hypnotizing another Big Daddy and then setting him up against the one guarding the Big Daddy you want to take down.

Oh I like the sound of that, clever.

Electric shock is your best bet at stunning them long enough for either conventional attacks, or setting them up for telekinesis attack.

Roger.

Am I the only one who refuses to use Vita-Chambers?

I really don't' like them at'll and I wish at the least they were using the System Shock 2 method where you had to enable them individually. Do they explain why the other residents aren't making use of the Vita Chambers?

[Killzig]

blech, forget about big daddies. anybody got tips on houdini splicers? :(

[Tom McNamara]

blech, forget about big daddies. anybody got tips on houdini splicers? :(

Stick and move. Don't stand still when they're around. You can also TK their projectiles.

[jim crawford]

Electric buck == easy mode, at least on normal difficulty. Dodge around a corner to reload once, maybe twice, and it's over.

[Jab2565]

The buck shot is one of my favorites to use, run up hit them once at close range, then again as you move away from them.

[Killzig]

I did hit him with electric buck. twice at least. Also got a good lick on him with his napalm balloon. Is the first houdini you face like the first spider slicer you face? (over-inflated HP for game designer jollies) ??

[nutsak]

blech, forget about big daddies. anybody got tips on houdini splicers? :(

Shock them and smash them in the face with the wrench.

[jim crawford]

I did hit him with electric buck. twice at least. Also got a good lick on him with his napalm balloon. Is the first houdini you face like the first spider slicer you face? (over-inflated HP for game designer jollies) ??
Meant that as a Big Daddy strategy, actually.

The trick is to learn to predict where they're about to show up; they're just as fragile as any other splicer. I don't remember the first one being tougher to kill, just tougher to hit because you need to learn how to fight him.

Oh, as I recall, they stay on fire even after disappearing. That could be useful.

[Killzig]

Meant that as a Big Daddy strategy, actually.

The trick is to learn to predict where they're about to show up; they're just as fragile as any other splicer. I don't remember the first one being tougher to kill, just tougher to hit because you need to learn how to fight him.

Oh, as I recall, they stay on fire even after disappearing. That could be useful.
It's entirely possible that I need to bump back down to easy given that I'm a lefty and I have lousy hand-eye coordination.

Thanks for the tips, guys.

[Jab2565]

I have trouble aiming as well in bioshock, you might want to try shocking enemies and then aiming for a head shot . Also something I noticed last night with the machine gun, it's alot easier to aim with it if you don't hold down on the button or mouse, but just click faster then with other weapons.

One nice touch I love when fighting big daddies is if you set them on fire any way you have, the suit actually starts to erode.

[gamadict]

Not a strategy for killing them, but the pistol actually becomes useful again for me once you get hypnotize 2. The Big Daddy won't attack until either you get hit or attack someone, and the cheapest way to 'tag' an enemy is with the pistol

[UncleSmoothie]

I've found freezing plasmid + explosive buck shotgun to be a pretty effective combo against big daddies. It also helps to lure them into an area where you've hacked a turret or two. The turrets don't last long against them, but it buys you some time.

[Hanzii]

I'm in the opening of the game with just four plasmids. Electric Shock, Incinerate, Telekinesis, and Hypnotize. It seems, at least for now, my best options are relying on conventional firepower?

Define opening.
I've just moved to Neptune's and I have Electric Shock, Incenerate and Telekinesis - but only two slots. Did I miss something?

[Tom McNamara]

Define opening.
I've just moved to Neptune's and I have Electric Shock, Incenerate and Telekinesis - but only two slots. Did I miss something?

There is a Gatherer's Garden in that area that offers a plasmid slot upgrade for 100 adam. I believe you can purchase this twice, from that machine.

If you miss some areas of the medical pavilion because you didn't have TK or Incinerate, I believe you can take the bathysphere back, after you've opened up more slots.

[Hanzii]

In the Medical Pavillion or in Neptune's?

[Tom McNamara]

In the Medical Pavillion or in Neptune's?

Neptune's, sorry.

[Unicorn McGriddle]

the pistol actually becomes useful again

Bite your tongue. The pistol never stops being useful. It is an accurate weapon at range, capable of great things with the right ammo (particularly when upgraded for damage -- the clip upgrade is unnecessary, though).

If I've mostly finished off a Daddy with specialty shotgun rounds, I'll switch to the pistol and AP to finish him.

Don't underestimate telekinesis. Throwing a burning gas tank can really mess shit up, and it's cheaper (in eve) than making a fireball from scratch.

[Lizard_King]

blech, forget about big daddies. anybody got tips on houdini splicers? :(
I like to keep flying bots with me, because them suddenly opening fire keeps me posted on where he's resurfaced. Once the tracers mark his position, I shock, take a picture, then empty one round of buckshot into his face.

Also, keep track of oil puddles as you want to stay near but not in them. On at least two occasions they've lit themselves on fire and died from that.

[Igor Muravyev]

After you take enough pictures, you will get the ability to predict where the houdini is going to teleport, giving you a few seconds to see him start reappearing before he actually fully reappears. So move right up there and shotgun him in the face as soon as he pops out :).

[Unicorn McGriddle]

Houdini splicers -- pistol headshots. Shotgun if necessary. I'm told you can also use telekinesis to grab their fireballs and throw them back.

[noun]

Don't underestimate telekinesis.

Hell yes, telekinesis is hands down my favorite power in the game. There's nothing more satisfying than catching a grenade and hurling it back at the splicer who threw it.

Back on topic: I've been fighting Big Daddies using grenades, for the most part.

[madkevin]

Once you get the grenade launcher, Big Daddies get easier. My favourite tactic is lacing the ground with proximity mines and then making the Daddy run through them. If you place 'em right, that usually ges rid of about 2/3rds of his hit points - a couple of shock rounds from the shotgun and he's pretty much meat.

My other hilariously entertaining thing to do is unload a crapton of electric gel from the chemical thrower, which is a sorely underappreciated weapon I think, and just fry him on the spot. That's deeply satisfying.

[NowhereDan]

Hands down, the most effective anti-Big Daddy weapon is the electro-shock gel from the chem thrower. It'll drain pretty much your entire supply (at least it did when I was playing through on hard) but it paralyzes them and drains their health faster than any other weapon. It's very Ghostbusters proton-pack!

Alternatively, set up a line of about five electric tripwires with the crossbow at head-level. Nail the big daddy once, then round a corner and crouch under the tripwires. He'll chase you, and the tripwires will bring him down, or at least soften him up for your armor-piercing machine gun rounds.

[DeepT]

Electro gel is the best once you can make it.
A pile of trip-mines is the 2nd best (maybe followed by a electro-buck-shot blast).

[Adam B]

+1 for the grenade launcher. I save my grenades for Big Daddy use only, but it serves me well.

Also, for fighting Bouncers (the run-at-you-and-punch-you-through-a-wall types), I found that using electric buck is my best bet for getting out of the run-smash-knockdown-smash death factory.

[quatoria]

I really don't' like them at'll and I wish at the least they were using the System Shock 2 method where you had to enable them individually. Do they explain why the other residents aren't making use of the Vita Chambers?

Yes, they do, though it's in an easily overlooked audio log.

[unbongwah]

I'm not very far into the game, but it seems to me your best bet is to lay an ambush for Big Daddies: hack turrets and bots, lay proximity mines or tripwires, etc. Remember that he won't attack you until you attack him or his Little Sister, so you have time to scout around for a good location to set your trap.

Some specific questions:
- Which ammo types work best on Big Daddies? Armor piercing? Electric? Explosive?
- Which plasmids are they most vulnerable to? In my last BD fight, I used freeze on him, then shot him, but he didn't seem to take any damage while frozen; so rather than softening him up, I was just wasting ammo. Can anyone confirm that's the case, though? [Even if true, freezing is still useful for buying yourself a breather to reload, heal, etc. Just need to know if I'm wasting bullets while he's frozen.]

[Jab2565]

For damage armor piercing is the best, but electric will stun it. Explosive is a close second, shocking then hitting them with a grenade is great in the early game. I don't think it's possible to shatter a big daddy, I tried that later on and never got it down enough.