Plasmid Tips

There are too many plasmids to cover each one of them in depth, but here are some tips on using some of the more common plasmids that you'll gain access to.

Telekinesis

Can pick up objects from a distance and bring them to you. Letting go of the button will send them flying away again, so be sure to grab the object as it's levitating in front of you if it's something you want to actually use. You can pick up explosives and throw them at your foes, as well, but be careful: if they shoot you while you're holding an explosive, it'll blow up and you'll take damage. You can also pick up objects and use them as shields. Offensively speaking, you can pick up almost anything and throw it at your enemy to deal damage, even the corpses of their fallen comrades. You won't gain a lot of instant kills as you would with Half-Life 2's gravity gun, but you can still deal a lot of damage if you use heavy items as projectiles.

Hypnotize Big Daddy

Hypnotized Big Daddies are great for taking out other Big Daddies.

You obtain the Hypnotize Big Daddy plasmid by rescuing three Little Sisters; it'll appear in a gift that's left for you at the Gatherer's Garden. You can obtain a higher rank by rescuing more Little Sisters. When you cast this on a Big Daddy, it will temporarily become your ally and fight against whatever enemies attack you. This can let you quickly clear out large crowds of splicers, but keep in mind that before a Big Daddy will attack an enemy, you'll need to either be shot by it or shoot it yourself; it won't automatically be hostile to enemies you see.

Video Walk-through

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Hypnotize Big Daddy drains an entire bar of Eve, so it'll cost you an Eve hypo if you want to use it. You can get around this by casting it, then immediately switching to a weapon and tracking down some coffee or cigarettes to regain a sliver of Eve, which will forestall the use of a Hypo and let you cast the spell again with the small amount that you regained. (If you have the Bloodlust tonic installed, you can simply whack an enemy with your wrench a couple times to get you above zero Eve.)

Note that you can still force the Big Daddy to turn on you by accidentally attacking it, so try not to use explosives while it follows you, and try not to get hit if you have Static Field active.

Cyclone Trap

Cyclone trap lays down a small trap where you target it. If a splicer runs over the trap, they'll be launched into the air, taking damage from hitting the ceiling and from their fall. This will also knock them over, allowing you to get a few licks in without fear of being attacked yourself.

You can set as many as five cyclone traps at a time, so if you know that enemies are going to be coming from a certain direction, you can make a little trap across a hallway to be sure you get them. Unfortunately, the traps themselves are pretty small, making them easy for your opponents to miss when they're charging you. However, you can lay them down at a good range, and they appear almost instantly, so these are a great way to get a first attack in on a Splicer that hasn't noticed you yet.

Insect Swarm

If you find yourself having problems with groups of enemies, you can use Insect Swarm to try and distract them. While the insects themselves deal little damage, Splicers that are caught in the swarm will be unable to act for a while, letting you attack them freely.

While the Swarm is most useful against Splicers, it can also be used against Big Daddies. They'll resist the effects, for the most part, but if you're lucky, a Bouncer might temporarily slash at the air around himself rather than attack you. Rosies will start firing in random directions, as well. This'll give you a bit of breathing room when taking on these behemoths.

Winter Blast

Of the elemental attacks, one of the least useful is probably Winter Blast. Freezing enemies is helpful since they can't attack you, but smashing their bodies will also prevent you from looting them. That said, if you're having trouble hacking some objects, use Winter Blast to freeze them before attempting the hack! Not only will this stun hostile mechanical enemies, just like Electro Bolt, but it'll also slow down the fluid in them, making for an easier hack.

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