BioShock Infinite: Complete Guide

A full guide to BioShock Infinite: combat fundamentals, Vigors and combos, weapons and upgrade priorities, Gear, Infusions, Elizabeth and Tears, collectibles, 1999 Mode, the DLC (Burial at Sea and Clash in the Clouds), and achievement planning.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC version (no gameplay updates in years; the game still appears regularly in 2K sales, most recently the June 2026 2K Summer Sale). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

You can only carry two weapons. Pick what fits your Vigors and upgrade those — don't spread money across everything.
Your Shield regenerates, your Health doesn't. Duck out of fire to let the shield come back.
Elizabeth throws you supplies mid-fight — health, salts, and ammo. Watch for her prompt.
Loot everything. Money is tight; bins, desks, and bodies all hold silver eagles.
Use Sky-Lines. Riding them makes you hard to hit, and jumping off onto enemies is a devastating attack.
Combine Vigors. Traps and combos are far stronger than spamming a single Vigor.
Collect Infusions — they permanently raise Health, Shield, or Salts. Every Infusion is a choice.
Explore off the main path for Voxophones (80 in total), Gear, and Infusions — some areas can't be revisited.

Combat Basics

Weapons + Vigors + Sky-Hook form your kit. The Sky-Hook is also your melee weapon, with executions on weakened enemies.
Cover: Infinite has no cover button; use corners and move constantly.
Heavy Hitters: the big enemies (Handymen, Motorized Patriots, Firemen, Zealots of the Lady, Boys of Silence) each have a weakness — hit weak points and use Vigors that stun.
Environmental hazards (explosive barrels, water, electrified tears) add damage — Hazard Pay is for 10 environmental kills.

Vigors

There are eight Vigors. Each has a direct cast and a charged/trap alternate (hold to set a trap).

Vigor	Effect	Best use
Possession	Turn machines (and later people) to your side temporarily	Turrets, Patriots, early crowd control
Devil's Kiss	Explosive fireball / fire trap	Damage and area denial
Murder of Crows	Crows stun and damage	Crowd control, combo starter
Bucking Bronco	Lifts enemies into the air	Crowd control, combo starter, sniping floating targets
Shock Jockey	Chain lightning, stuns	Water combos, machines
Charge	Dash to an enemy and strike	Close the distance; upgrades restore shield
Undertow	Water tentacle to pull or push	Knock enemies off ledges (Bon Voyage)
Return to Sender	Absorbs bullets, fires them back	Defense; trap version absorbs incoming fire

Well-known combos: Murder of Crows + Devil's Kiss (crows set ablaze), Bucking Bronco + any damage Vigor, Shock Jockey + Undertow, Possession + Shock Jockey. Combination Shock is for performing all 8 Vigor combinations.

Upgrade priority: fully upgrade two Vigors you actually use (commonly Bucking Bronco or Murder of Crows for crowd control plus Devil's Kiss or Shock Jockey for damage). Kitted Out is for fully upgrading one weapon and one Vigor.

Weapons

Founder version	Vox Populi version	Role
Broadsider Pistol	—	Sidearm
Founder Triple R Machine Gun	Vox Repeater	Automatic all-rounder
Founder Huntsman Carbine	Vox Burstgun	Mid-range precision
Founder China Broom Shotgun	Vox Heater	Close range
Founder Pig Volley Gun	Vox Hail Fire	Grenade launcher
Bird's Eye Sniper Rifle	—	Long range
Paddywhacker Hand Cannon	—	Heavy pistol
Barnstormer RPG	—	Explosives
Peppermill Crank Gun	—	Heavy machine gun dropped by Patriots

Solid pairings: Huntsman Carbine + China Broom Shotgun, or Hand Cannon + Machine Gun. Vox variants usually appear later with different characteristics.

Infusions

Infusions let you permanently raise Health, Shield, or Salts (Vigor energy). On normal difficulty, balance Shield and Salts. On 1999 Mode, Health and Shield keep you alive. Collecting every Infusion in a single game earns Infused with Greatness — Elizabeth can help you spot locked areas that hide them.

Gear

Gear goes in four slots: hat, shirt, pants, and boots. Equipping one piece in each slot earns Dress for Success. Some useful pieces:

Overkill — damage from killing a foe spreads to nearby enemies.
Burning Halo — sets melee attackers on fire.
Winter Shield — protection when jumping onto or off Sky-Lines.
Blood to Steam — melee kills restore health.

Gear drops from chests, bosses, and hidden locations. Swap gear to suit a fight; many pieces work best with a specific playstyle (melee, Sky-Line, Vigor).

Elizabeth and Tears

Lockpicks: Elizabeth picks locked doors and safes (The Roguish Type: 30 locks). Pick up every lockpick you see.
Supplies in combat: she tosses health, salts, ammo, and sometimes money.
Tears: she can open one Tear at a time to pull in cover, hooks, turrets, Motorized Patriots, or supplies. Choose Tears that match the fight — a Motorized Patriot ally is often the best.
She never dies and doesn't need protecting — focus on the fight.
Codes and ciphers: some locked rooms need codes from nearby cipher books; Elizabeth decodes them.

Main Story Flow

Lighthouse and Columbia arrival — Welcome Center and Columbia's fair.
Monument Island — Elizabeth's tower.
Battleship Bay, Soldier's Field, Hall of Heroes — Slate and the Hall of Heroes.
Finkton — Fink's factory and the docks.
Emporia and Comstock House — the late game and endgame.
The Hand of the Prophet — the finale.

Minor choices (like the pendant you choose for Elizabeth or how you handle Slate) change small scenes but not the ending.

Collectibles and Missables

Collectible	Count/notes
Voxophones	80 — Eavesdropper is for all of them
Kinetoscopes and Telescopes	Sightseer is for using all of them
Infusions	Every one in a single game for Infused with Greatness
Gear	Many optional pieces in side areas
Locked rooms and safes	Need lockpicks or codes

Some areas lock behind you after story beats, so explore before moving on. Use a chapter-by-chapter guide if you're hunting all Voxophones.

1999 Mode

1999 Mode is the hard, old-school difficulty. It's unlocked by finishing the game once (the Konami code on the main menu also unlocks it). Differences include harsher damage, scarcer resources, stricter use of Vigor/weapon specialisation, and money lost on death — if you can't afford a revival, you're sent back to your last save.

1999 Mode tips:

Specialise: pick two weapons and two Vigors and fully upgrade them.
Upgrade Health and Shield Infusions first.
Don't die carelessly — death costs money.
Scavenger Hunt is for completing 1999 Mode without buying anything from a Dollar Bill vending machine, so plan that run separately.

DLC

DLC	What it is	Notes
Clash in the Clouds	Wave-based arena mode with a handful of arena maps	Blue Ribbon Challenges, gallery unlocks
Burial at Sea — Episode 1	Booker and Elizabeth in Rapture before its fall	New Old Man Winter plasmid (freezes and shatters enemies) and the Radar Range weapon (energy blasts that make enemies explode)
Burial at Sea — Episode 2	Play as Elizabeth, stealth-focused	Peeping Tom plasmid (see through walls), a crossbow with noisemaker, knockout gas and tranquilizer bolts, and "1998 Mode" for non-lethal-only play

Burial at Sea ties together BioShock and BioShock Infinite — play it after the main game.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Spreading money across every weapon. Pick two and commit.
Ignoring Infusions. They're the single best permanent upgrade.
Fighting on foot in open areas when Sky-Lines are nearby.
Wasting Salts on weak enemies. Save Vigors for groups and Heavy Hitters.
Moving on too quickly. Voxophones and Infusions can become unreachable.
Ignoring Tears. A Motorized Patriot Tear can win a fight.
Forgetting Return to Sender's trap when pinned down.

Advanced Tips

Sky-Line Strike from above deals huge damage (Aerial Assassin: 20 kills).
Undertow off ledges is an instant kill on many maps.
Possess a Motorized Patriot, then add a Tear-spawned ally for a two-robot front.
Headshot while riding Sky-Lines for Bolt From the Blue.
Trap stacking: lay a Vigor trap and lure three enemies in to earn More for Your Money.
Charge upgrades that restore shield make melee builds viable even in 1999 Mode.

FAQ

Is BioShock Infinite connected to the other BioShock games? Yes, most directly through Burial at Sea.

How do I unlock 1999 Mode? Finish the game once, or enter the Konami code on the main menu.

How many Voxophones are there? 80 in the main game.

Do my choices matter? They change small scenes; the ending is fixed.

Is the DLC included? Only if you own the Season Pass/Complete Edition; the base Steam app doesn't include it.

Is there a remaster on PC? BioShock: The Collection remastered the first two games on PC; Infinite is included in the Collection as its existing PC version.