Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 5/10 [Achievement Difficulty Rating]
- Offline: 63 [1200]
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1200: 25-30 Hours / 15-20 if using the difficulty exploit [Estimated Time to 100%]
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2 [1 if using the difficulty exploit]
- Missable achievements: 16 [all missable achievements are labeled in the guide]
- Does difficulty affect achievements: Yes
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: No
- Extra equipment needed: No

Special Thanks:
~ nekov4ego: Most of the information provided in the Challenge Rooms section of this guide is courtesy of nekov4ego. The great videos attached to that section of the guide were created by him.
~ Fizzmatix: The original collectable guide for the Xbox 360 version of this game that is linked in this guide is courtesy of Fizzmatix.

Useful Links:
~ Estimated Time to 100%
~ Achievement Difficulty Rating
~ BioShock: Plasmids, Tonics, Upgrades, Diary's & Little Sister Guide by Fizzmatix

Introduction:
Welcome to Rapture and welcome to one of the greatest video games to be released in recent memory. BioShock is a first person shooter with light RPG elements that concentrates on environment and narrative. The year is 1960. You play as Jack, a plane crash survivor who comes upon a lighthouse in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As you descend into the city of Rapture, you are caught up in a political power struggle for control over a fallen utopia. How exactly you will fit into the picture remains to be seen. This remastered version of the original game (released in 2007) includes updated textures, graphics, frame rates, the Challenge Rooms DLC, as well as director commentary videos that are unlocked by finding golden film reels throughout the game.

NOTE: This achievement guide and roadmap is for the remastered version of BioShock that is included in BioShock: The Collection. At the time of this writing, this game is not available to be purchased separately.

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS GUIDE

Abbreviated Walkthrough:
There is an exploit that can be used that will make earning achievements associated with difficulty levels much easier and I will detail this at the end of this abbreviated walkthrough; however, this walkthrough and guide will be geared for players that wish to earn the achievements legitimately. Skip down to Step Four of the abbreviated walkthrough for the details on the exploit.

Step One – Playthrough on Hard Difficulty without Vita Chambers:
Starting from the Main Menu, select Options and then Gameplay Options. Then switch Disable Vita-Chambers to ‘On.' This is not required but it ensures that you do not make a mistake throughout your playthrough. During this playthrough, you should knock out all of the achievements in the game except for the “Seriously Good At This” achievement as well as the achievements that are tied to the Challenge Rooms. Please note that if you choose to play the game on the hardest difficulty (Survivor) right off the bat, you will not unlock the “Brass Balls” achievement for beating the game on Hard without using Vita-Chambers. For whatever reason, this achievement does not stack with Survivor difficulty. Therefore, it is a waste of time and energy to play the game on Survivor without using Vita-Chambers.

NOTE: Please be sure to read through the entire guide before starting this playthrough. All sixteen missable achievements are clearly marked at the top of their individual solutions.

Step Two – Playthrough on Survivor Difficulty (New Game+):
Now that you are familiar with the game as well as the game mechanics, this playthrough shouldn’t be too bad. Survivor difficulty was not originally included in the initial Xbox 360 release in 2007 and so it may be foreign to some BioShock veterans. This difficulty has been made easier on this remastered version (as opposed to the original PS3 version) of the game due to a New Game+ that is now included in the game. Be sure to select New Game+ from the Main Menu before starting your Survivor playthrough. On Survivor difficulty, you take more damage, enemies take less damage, and there are fewer supplies strewn about Rapture. If you wish, Vita-Chambers can be turned back on for this playthrough which should also make things a little easier as well. Although it's a good idea to earn as much ADAM as possible for upgrades, you are not forced to take out every Big Daddy since all of the achievements related to the Little Sisters and upgrading your character should have been unlocked during Step One. Once this playthrough is complete, you should only be missing the achievements that are tied to the Challenge Rooms.

Step Three – Challenge Rooms:
Now that you should have all of the achievements tied to the campaign, it's time to take on the Challenge Rooms. These achievements range from very easy to quite difficult. Each Challenge Room will require a minimum of two playthroughs in order to get all of the achievements, however, most will likely require multiple attempts.

There are two ways to look at the Challenge Rooms. One is to split it by the different Challenge Rooms, which there are three, and the other is to split it by the four different types of Achievements, that follow the pattern:

  • Challenge Room Completed Achievement
  • Time Limit Achievement
  • Special Objective Achievement
  • Collecting All Roses Achievement

The Challenge Room achievements will be covered in detail (including videos) in the bulk of the guide.

Step Four – Exploit (Optional):
If you wish to use an exploit, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy as well as a playthrough. What you want to do is to play the game on the Easy Difficulty with the Vita-Chambers turned off. Go ahead and earn all of the achievements as described in this guide on your way to the final boss encounter against Fontaine. Make sure that you have a save at the beginning of this battle.

During this battle, you are going to be fighting Fontaine in three different phases. Each time you deplete his health bar through combat, Fontaine will retreat to a contraption in the middle of the room. You must then run up to him and press in order to drain ADAM from him. You will need to do this a total of three times. Right as you insert the syringe into Fontaine for the third time, pause the game. Switch the difficulty to Hard and then un-pause the game.

After the final cut scene comes to an end you should get all of the difficulty achievements up to and including Hard. You should also get the “Brass Balls” achievement for beating the game on Hard without using Vita-Chambers. Now, you should reload your save from the beginning of the battle with Fontaine and fight him once again. During the third injection of the syringe, pause the game again and change the difficulty to Survivor. Once the final cut scene is over again, you should get the “Seriously Good At This" achievement. You can now proceed back to Step Three and work on the Challenge Room achievements.

Mop-Up:
If necessary, it's time to clean up any achievements that you may be missing. It's a good idea to keep many saves at your disposal so you can reload different points in the game if you need to.

Conclusion:
BioShock is probably my favorite game that I have ever played and I truly believe that it is one of the finest games ever made. I envy you if you are experiencing this game for the first time. The achievements for this game are not the easiest out there but are nowhere near the most difficult. With a little time and energy, you should be able to get all 1200 in about 25-30 hours. If you don’t have a problem with using an exploit, you should be able to shave about 10 hours off of this estimate.

[XBA would like to thank Thai J for this Roadmap]

BioShock Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed achievements
Show secret achievements

There are 63 achievements with a total of 1200 points

  • Acquire all upgrades for all weapons

    This achievement is highly missable!

    This achievement requires you to upgrade each of your weapons (with the exception of the Wrench) twice. In order to upgrade a weapon you must locate a “Power to the People” station. One of these upgrade stations is highly missable, as it requires you to leave Sander Cohen alive at the end of the Fort Frolic level. Then, in the Olympus Heights level, you must enter Cohen’s apartment and disturb (shoot at) the two dancers in his living room. This will cause him to come downstairs from his private quarters giving you access to said room. If you chose to kill Cohen in Fort Frolic, this room is inaccessible. Entering Cohen’s private quarters also nets the un-imaginably titled “Found Cohen’s Room” achievement.

    For a detailed text guide for all Plasmids, Tonics, Power to the People Stations, Audio Diaries, and Little Sister locations, please refer to Fizzmatix’s guide that was created for the Xbox 360 version of the game but is compatible with this remastered version. All credit for this guide should go to Fizzmatix. This is the guide that I used for my Xbox 360 and Xbox One playthroughs:

    BioShock: Plasmids, Tonics, Upgrades, Diary's & Little Sister Guide by Fizzmatix

    NOTE: Weapon Upgrade progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you did not upgrade all weapons during your first playthrough, you can visit any missed Power to the People upgrade stations on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • Max out all possible research

    This achievement is highly missable!

    During the Neptune’s Bounty level, you will be tasked with locating a Research Camera for Peach Wilkins. From this point on you will be able to take photos of enemies that will grant you research bonuses such as increased damage and unique Tonics. This achievement is highly missable due to the fact that some enemies become increasingly rare as you progress further into the game. It's best to photograph any enemy that you can multiple times until the research on that enemy type is complete.

    Each enemy type requires you to fill their research bar four times. You can check if all research for a specific enemy has been completed by trying to photograph said enemy; if research is complete, a message will appear at the top of the screen and no photo will be taken. Make sure to purchase Film from vending machines to ensure that you are always stocked up.

    It's also very helpful to apply the Photographer’s Eye and Photographer’s Eye 2 Combat Tonics. The first one is located in the cellar of Worley’s Winery in the Farmer’s Market level. The second is given to you as a reward for completing the second research level for the Rosie version of the Big Daddy. It's also helpful to engage the enemy in combat in order to get bonus points for ‘Action Shots.' The enemies that are needed for this achievement are as follows:

    • Thuggish Splicer (Melee)
    • Nitro Splicer (Grenade)
    • Spider Splicer (Meat Hooks)
    • Leadhead Splicer (Gun)
    • Houdini Splicer (Fireballs)
    • Rosie Big Daddy (Rivet Gun) [This includes the Elite version]
    • Bouncer Big Daddy (Drill) [This includes the Elite version]
    • Little Sister
    • Turret (Machine Gun or Rocket)
    • Security Bot
    • Security Camera

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • Find every audio diary

    This achievement is highly missable!

    This achievement requires you to collect all 122 Audio Diaries that are spread throughout Rapture. This achievement is highly missable due to the fact that you cannot return to the Welcome to Rapture (2 Audio Diaries), Smuggler’s Hideout (3 Audio Diaries), or Rapture Central Control (3 Audio Diaries) areas. These areas contain a grand total of eight Audio Diaries that you cannot go back and collect once you move past them. It's a good idea to print a list of these collectables and compare them to your in-game log in order to make sure that none were missed before continuing to another level.

    You can view which Audio Diaries that you’ve collected by pressing and then twice.

    For a detailed text guide for all Plasmids, Tonics, Power to the People Stations, Audio Diaries, and Little Sister locations, please refer to Fizzmatix’s guide that was created for the Xbox 360 version of the game but is compatible with this remastered version. All credit for this guide should go to Fizzmatix. This is the guide that I used for my Xbox 360 and Xbox One playthroughs:

    BioShock: Plasmids, Tonics, Upgrades, Diary's & Little Sister Guide by Fizzmatix

    NOTE: Audio Diaries that you collected on your first playthrough will carry over to a New Game+ playthrough. If you did not collect all Audio Diaries during your first playthrough, you can collect whatever you missed on a New Game+ playthrough. However, you must know which Audio Diary or Diaries that you missed since all Diaries will be re-populated on the New Game+ playthrough.

  • The player has successfully completed 50 hacks

    Hacking is a big part of BioShock and you will most likely get this achievement without even thinking about it. In order to hack an item such as a Security Camera or a Safe, simply approach the item and press . Now you must ensure that the liquid flows from the starting point to the end point without interruption by placing and replacing the pipe pieces.

    Any object that can be hacked will count towards this achievement. In order to make hacking easier, it's recommended (but not required) to apply Tonics that increase your hacking abilities. For example, Speedy Hacker, Focused Hacker, and Hacking Expert are excellent choices to enhance your abilities. Both using an Auto Hack Tool and/or paying cash to automatically hack the item count towards this achievement. Items that can be hacked are:

    • Safes
    • Security Cameras
    • Turrets
    • Vending Machines
    • Security Bots
    • Health Stations
    • Door Keypads
  • The player has acquired at least one weapon upgrade

    Refer below to the “Weapon Specialist” achievement for more information.

  • Fully research the Bouncer

    This achievement is highly missable!

    You should be able to begin research on this Big Daddy in Fort Frolic. This Big Daddy carries a Drill and is a melee enemy type.

    Refer below to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • Take at least one photo in every research group

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • The player has performed at least one successful hack

    Refer to the “Skilled Hacker” achievement for more information.

  • The player has fully researched the Thuggish Splicer

    This achievement is highly missable!

    This Splicer is one of the subjects that you need to ensure that you complete as soon as possible due to the fact that they become rarer as the game progresses.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • The player has fully researched the Spider Splicer

    This achievement is highly missable!

    This will be the first subject that you can photograph after obtaining the Research Camera in Neptune’s Bounty.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • Fully research the Houdini Splicer

    This achievement is highly missable!

    You will run into this Splicer for the first time in Arcadia.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • The player has fully researched the Leadhead Splicer

    This achievement is highly missable!

    You should be able to begin research on this Splicer in Neptune’s Bounty.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • Fully research the Nitro Splicer

    This achievement is highly missable!

    This Splicer is one of the subjects that you need to ensure that you complete as soon as possible due to the fact that they become rarer as the game progresses. You should be able to begin research on this Splicer in Neptune’s Bounty.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • Fully research the Rosie

    This achievement is highly missable!

    You should be able to begin research on this Big Daddy in Neptune’s Bounty. This Big Daddy carries a Rivet Gun and is a ranged enemy type.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.
     

  • Fully research the Little Sister

    This achievement is highly missable!

    You should be able to begin research on the Little Sister in Neptune’s Bounty.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

    NOTE: Research progress will carry over on a New Game+ playthrough. If you could not complete all research during your first playthrough, you can continue from where you left off on a New Game+ playthrough.

  • The player has taken a Research Photo of the highest grade

    This achievement will come naturally as you work your way through the “Research PhD” achievement. A high grade photograph will require you to be in combat and maybe even have multiple subjects in view at once. It would be nearly impossible to work towards the “Research PhD” achievement and not get this achievement.

    Refer to the “Research PhD” achievement for more information regarding research.

  • The player has successfully hacked a security bot

    Refer to the “Skilled Hacker” achievement for more information.

  • The player has successfully hacked a turret

    Refer to the “Skilled Hacker” achievement for more information.

  • The player has successfully hacked a security camera

    Refer to the “Skilled Hacker” achievement for more information.

  • The player has successfully hacked a vending machine

    Refer to the “Skilled Hacker” achievement for more information.

  • The player has successfully hacked a safe

    Refer to the “Skilled Hacker” achievement for more information.

  • Successfully invent at least 100 items

    You can begin inventing items using a U-Invent machine in Arcadia. The machine itself will tell you how many of each component that you will need in order to craft it. In order to invent an item you must first collect components by scavenging the level. This achievement can be a little tricky if you are not thorough and do not use the Tonics that improve inventing. You can find the Clever Inventor Tonic on a desk in Suchong’s Apartment in Olympus Heights. You are also awarded the Prolific Inventor Tonic after saving 18 Little Sisters.

    It's also possible to abuse the save system in order to obtain this achievement. Using this method, you can get it out of the way and not take up Tonic slots with the two Tonics listed above. Simply create a save before inventing, invent as many items that you can, reload your save and repeat. The achievement should unlock once you invent 100 items.

  • The player has successfully invented all possible ammo types

    Refer to the “Avid Inventor achievement. The ammo types that you need to invent are:

    • Anti-Personnel Pistol Rounds (Pistol)
    • Exploding Buck (Shotgun)
    • Armor-Piercing Auto Rounds (Machine Gun)
    • Heat-seeking RPG (Rocket Launcher)
    • Electric Gel (Chemical Thrower)
    • Trap Bolt (Crossbow)
  • Collect or Invent 58 Tonics in the Physical, Engineering and Combat tracks

    This achievement is highly missable!

    Due to four DLC Tonics being added to the remastered version of this game, you only need to collect 53/57 Tonics in order to get this achievement. This achievement is still highly missable due to the fact that ADAM is a finite resource which is needed for multiple achievements. You will also need to play though the game as a ‘Good’ character by saving all of the Little Sisters due to the fact that you will have a gift delivered to the nearest Gatherer’s Garden station after every third Little Sister that you save. Every so often, this gift will include a Tonic. Here is a breakdown of where the Tonics are acquired from and a link to a detailed guide is also listed below:

    • 30 Tonics are spread throughout Rapture
    • 9 Tonics are awarded for completing research with the Research Camera
    • 8 Tonics will need to be purchased with ADAM from Gatherer’s Garden stations
    • 3 Tonics will need to be invented at U-Invent machines
    • 3 Tonics are rewards for saving Little Sisters

    If you save every Little Sister in the game, combined with the gifts that you receive for every three rescues, you will earn a grand total of 3,080 ADAM. You will need to spend 1,360 ADAM on 12 Tonic and 4 Plasmid slots in order to get the “Maxed All Tracks" achievement. Therefore, you must be very careful when deciding to upgrade any Plasmids, your maximum Health, or your maximum EVE before you have earned this achievement. I personally upgraded my Health and EVE a couple of times and upgraded my Electro Bolt and Incinerate only.

    For a detailed text guide for all Plasmids, Tonics, Power to the People Stations, Audio Diaries, and Little Sister locations, please refer to Fizzmatix’s guide that was created for the Xbox 360 version of the game but is compatible with this remastered version. All credit for this guide should go to Fizzmatix. This is the guide that I used for my Xbox 360 and Xbox One playthroughs:

    BioShock: Plasmids, Tonics, Upgrades, Diary's & Little Sister Guide by Fizzmatix

    NOTE: Tonics that you collected on your first playthrough will carry over to a New Game + playthrough. If you did not collect all Tonics during your first playthrough, you can collect whatever you missed on a New Game + playthrough.

  • The player has completed the game on the Hard difficulty setting

    This achievement is earned for completing the game on the Survivor difficulty setting. For BioShock veterans of the Xbox 360, this will be new to you since this difficulty was originally unique to the PlayStation 3 version of the game. This remastered version of the game now includes a New Game+ feature that is unlocked after completing the game on any difficulty. For this playthrough, make sure that you select New Game+ as well as Survivor difficulty. All of your data like Weapon Upgrades, Inventory, Research, etc. should now carry over, making the beginning of the game a lot less frustrating. All of these items should unlock once you reach the Medical Pavilion.

    There are two different ways to complete this achievement: beating the game from start to finish on Survivor difficulty or by using the exploit described in Step Four of the Abbreviated Walkthrough. For the purposes of this guide, I will be giving tips for players that wish to playthrough the entire game on Survivor difficulty.

    Survivor difficulty is not much different from Hard, but can be a little bit of a slog. If you are following the Abbreviated Walkthrough of this guide, this will be Step Two. Since you should have unlocked all other campaign achievements during Step One, you should now have a lot more freedom to play the way you want during this playthrough. You do not need to force yourself to take on every Big Daddy in the game in order to earn ADAM from the Little Sisters. You should only rescue as many Little Sisters as you think you need in order to upgrade and purchase Plasmids and Tonics. If you only use a couple of Plasmids, then don’t worry about purchasing additional Plasmids or Plasmid slots since that would be a waste of time and ADAM. There is no point in using valuable resources fighting Big Daddies if you don’t need the ADAM.

    It is still highly recommended to complete all of the research using the Research Camera (if you hadn't already during your first playthrough). Through research, every enemy will eventually grant you a couple of damage increase bonuses. These are critical to playing the game on Survivor difficulty and will make the later levels of the game more tolerable.

    Due to ammo being in short supply, it's also recommended that you visit all of the Power to the People weapon upgrade stations (if you didn't during your first playthrough). It may seem like a little bit of overkill, but you never know when ammo will be in short supply and you may need to use a weapon that you normally don’t. I personally used the Machine Gun, Crossbow, Chemical Thrower, and RPG (all fully upgraded). A fully upgraded Chemical Thrower with full ammo can make the final boss fight a cakewalk. The Electric Gel freezes him in place and does a pretty fair amount of damage.

    I think the most important thing that I recommend for your Survivor playthrough is to research the Spider Splicer as much as possible and as soon as possible. The second level of research for the Spider Splicer grants the Natural Camouflage Tonic. This Tonic grants you invisibility when standing still. Enemies will completely ignore you when you are invisible.

    Scavenge. Scavenge. Scavenge. The more cash and supplies you have, the easier this playthrough becomes. It's always advised to have as many Health Kits and EVE Hypos in reserve as possible.

    Use the Vita-Chambers. Since you already beat the game on Hard without using Vita-Chambers in Step One of this walkthrough, you are free to use this respawn system. Every time you die, you will respawn in the nearest chamber and any damage that you inflicted on enemies will carry over. However, since respawning will cost you some dollars and some EVE, it may still be better to save often and simply reload a save.

  • The player has successfully invented at least one item

    The first opportunity to get this achievement is in Arcadia.

    Refer to the “Avid Inventor” achievement for more information.

  • The player has purchased one slot in any Plasmid or Tonic track

    Refer to the “Maxed All Tracks” achievement for more information.

  • The player has taken at least one Research Photo of a Splicer

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will get this achievement in Neptune’s Bounty after acquiring the Research Camera. You must take a picture of a Spider Splicer for Peach Wilkins.

  • The player has either Harvested or Rescued every possible Little Sister

    The Little Sister and Big Daddy characters, as well as their relationship, are some of the most recognizable aspects of BioShock. The Big Daddy protects the Little Sister while she gathers ADAM from corpses throughout Rapture. ADAM is a form of currency that you use to upgrade your character. In order to Harvest or Rescue a Little Sister you must deal with the Big Daddy first, just as Atlas tells you at the beginning of the game. A Big Daddy is neutral to you until you attack him. Since you can dictate when a Big Daddy battle will begin it is best to make sure that you are well stocked with Ammo, Health Kits, and EVE hypos. It can also be helpful to set up Trap Bolts and/or Proximity Mines before making your first shot.

    When you pause the game, there are Little Sister icons at the bottom of the screen that will indicate whether or not you have dealt with the Little Sister(s) present in the specific level that you are on. Big Daddies and Little Sisters wander throughout the level and cannot be pinpointed to any one location. If you are missing a Little Sister, try looking around their vents. If you decide to skip a Big Daddy encounter, you can return to any of the below areas later in the game as long as you do not enter the elevator that takes you to the final boss fight. The game is pretty clear when you are entering the point of no return. The number of Little Sisters for each level is as follows:

    • Medical Pavilion: 2
    • Neptune’s Bounty: 3
    • Arcadia: 2
    • Farmer’s Market: 1
    • Fort Frolic: 3
    • Hephaestus: 3
    • Olympus Heights: 2
    • Apollo Square: 2
    • Point Prometheus: 3

    Total: 21

  • The player has purchased every slot in one of the Plasmid or Tonic tracks

    Refer to the “Maxed All Tracks” achievement for more information.

  • Purchased every slot in all four Plasmid and Tonic tracks

    This achievement is highly missable!

    Plasmids and Tonics have a finite number of slots that you can apply them to. There are 4 Plasmid slots and 12 Tonics slots. You must purchase extra slots from Gatherer’s Garden stations with ADAM. If you are following this guide and Rescuing all Little Sisters then you will earn a grand total of 3,080 ADAM. The 16 slots that you will need to purchase for this achievement will cost you 1,360 ADAM. Therefore, it is critical not waste ADAM on Plasmids, Health upgrades, or EVE upgrades that you may not need. You will need most of the remaining 1,760 ADAM in order to purchase Tonics for the “Tonic Collector” achievement.

  • The player has fully upgraded one weapon

    Refer to the “Weapon Specialist” achievement for more information.

  • The player has fully upgraded two weapons

    Refer to the “Weapon Specialist” achievement for more information.

  • The player has fully upgraded three weapons

    Refer to the “Weapon Specialist” achievement for more information.

  • Fully upgrade four weapons

    Refer to the “Weapon Specialist” achievement for more information.

  • Fully upgrade five weapons

    Refer to the “Weapon Specialist” achievement for more information.

  • Hit the jackpot at a slot machine

    This achievement is entirely lucked-based and can be earned in seconds, or it could take you an hour. There are slot machines located sporadically throughout Rapture, but the earliest place to get this achievement is in Fort Frolic. There are slot machines in the foyer after you get off of the bathysphere but before you enter the main area and are contacted by Sander Cohen.

    You will most likely waste a lot of cash while going for this achievement so it is best to create a manual save right before you start pulling the lever. Continue to pull the lever until you hit a jackpot which will shoot confetti out of the machine and award you $250. If you’ve lost any cash at that point, simply reload your save and continue on with the game.

  • The player has shocked an enemy in the water

    This achievement can be earned in a number of places but there is an obvious spot right at the beginning of the game soon after to have acquired the Electro Bolt Plasmid. In the Kashmir Restaurant in the Welcome to Rapture level you will see a Splicer pounding on a locked door. After dealing with the Splicer, enter the door and scavenge the area. Once you exit, there will be two Splicers scavenging in the water and Atlas will mention something about shocking the water. Follow his instruction and you should unlock this achievement easily.

  • Complete the game on Hard difficulty without using a Vita-Chamber.

    Starting from the Main Menu, select Options and then Gameplay Options. Now switch Disable Vita-Chambers to ‘On.' This is not required but it ensures that you do not make a mistake throughout your playthrough. This playthrough should be your first and is detailed in Step One of the Abbreviated Walkthrough. Once you choose to start the game, ensure that you select the Hard difficulty setting.

    Disabling Vita-Chambers effectively turns off the ability to respawn without penalty. Consequently, that means that if you die you will be loading from your last manual or auto-save. It's up to you on how much you want to abuse the manual save system but it's highly recommended that you save as often as you can. It's not uncommon to accidently agro a Big Daddy and die quickly. If you did not save recently, you will be replaying large portions of the game.

    During this playthrough you are going to be Rescuing all Little Sisters, collecting all Tonics, and upgrading all weapons so your character will be as powerful as possible by the end. Since you will be visiting nearly every nook and cranny of Rapture while collecting everything, you will also be scavenging a lot and should have plenty of supplies most of the time. I have always found the game to become increasingly easy as you upgrade your character and weapons. Please refer to the “Seriously Good At This” achievement for additional tips that can be used during this playthrough.

    In order to play the game on easy and still get this achievement, please refer to the exploit that I have detailed in Step Four of the Abbreviated Walkthrough. Even when playing on easy and using the exploit method, you still must disable or not use the Vita-Chambers in order to get this achievement.

 

Secret achievements

  • The player has successfully completed the Welcome To Rapture Level

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will unlock this achievement after entering the Medical Pavilion.

  • The player has defeated the crazed Dr. Steinman

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will need to fight Dr. Steinman in order to progress past the Medical Pavilion. Anti-Personnel Machine Gun rounds are helpful during this fight. You can also use Incinerate to set him on fire and then Electro Bolt to shock him while he runs to the water.

  • The player has defeated Peach Wilkins

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will need to fight Peach Wilkins in order to progress past Neptune’s Bounty. You will have your weapons taken from you and must fight Peach without them. It is recommended that you Electro Bolt the Turrets and Camera in the area and hack them. This will keep constant heat on the enemies in the area. You can also use Telekinesis to lob the grenades he throws back at him.

  • The player has defeated Atlas

    The title itself gives away that you will be fighting Atlas, otherwise known as Frank Fontaine. Even on Hard, I consider this boss fight to be one of the easiest boss fights on a AAA game from the last generation. In order to defeat Atlas/Fontaine, you must deplete his health bar three times through combat. After each health bar depletion, Atlas/Fontaine will retreat to a contraption in the middle of the room. Once he does that, you must approach him and press in order drain ADAM from him. You can use various combinations of weapons and Plasmids but I found the easiest method was to use a fully upgraded Chemical Thrower with Electric Gel. This basically renders Atlas/Fontaine immobile and does a pretty fair amount of damage to him.

    On Survivor difficulty, you will run out of Electric Gel and need to use additional weapons. I found a fully upgraded RPG and Crossbow will do a pretty good amount of damage. There is not much of a strategy for the final boss, other than to go in with fully stocked Health Kits and to keep on the move.

  • The player has restored the forests of Arcadia

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will earn this achievement in the Arcadia level. Note that you will progress to the Farmer’s Market level and then return to Arcadia before restoring the forest.

  • The player has completed Sander Cohen's great masterpiece

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will need to complete Cohen’s masterpiece before progressing past Fort Frolic.

  • The player has defeated Andrew Ryan

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will earn this achievement after confronting Ryan at the end of the Hephaestus level.

  • The player has completed the game without harvesting any Little Sisters

    This achievement is highly missable!

    This achievement is for rescuing every Little Sister in the game. If you are following this guide, this is the recommended method in order to unlock additional achievements such as “Tonic Collector.” Once you have dealt with the Big Daddy guarding the Little Sister, approach her and press in order to rescue her. If you accidentally Harvest a Little Sister you must reload a save or you will not earn this achievement.

    For additional information regarding Little Sisters and Big Daddies including locations, please refer to the “Dealt with every Little Sister” achievement.

  • The player has broken Fontaine's mind control

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will earn this achievement towards the end of the Apollo Square level.

  • The player has become a Big Daddy

    Story-related, cannot be missed.

    You will earn this achievement towards the end of the Point Prometheus level.

  • Irony

     

    10

    The player has taken a picture of Sander Cohen's corpse

    This achievement is highly missable!

    This achievement is earned by taking a photo of Sander Cohen’s corpse with the Research Camera. If you are following this guide, then you will want to refrain from killing Cohen when you have the opportunity to at the end of the Fort Frolic level.

    Later on in the game during the Olympus Heights level, you will come upon Cohen’s apartment. There is a pair of Splicers dancing in the middle of the living room, straight ahead from where you enter. If you disturb these two dancers (shoot at them), Cohen will become enraged and will emerge from a side room. He will be considered an enemy at this point and you are free to kill him. You now have access to Cohen’s personal quarters which will also unlock the “Found Cohen’s Room” achievement. This room also contains a Power to the People station that is missable if Cohen is killed in Fort Frolic.

  • The player has entered Sander Cohen's personal quarters

    This achievement is highly missable!

    Refer to the “Irony” achievement for full details on how to not miss this achievement.

DLC: Challenge Room

There are 12 achievements with a total of 100 points

  • Rescued the Little Sister in “The ‘I’ in Team”

    This achievement is for simply completing this Challenge Room and should be combined with the “The “I” in Team – Collector” achievement in a single playthrough. This first playthrough will also allow you to become familiar with this Challenge Room in order to make the two more difficult Expert and Pacifist achievements easier.

  • Rescued the Little Sister in “The ‘I’ in Team” in under 3:00

    This achievement can be combined with the “The “I” in Team – Pacifist” achievement into one run as shown in nekov4ego’s video below. Both achievements can also be split into two separate runs if you desire.

  • Found all collectable Roses in “The ‘I’ in Team”

    This achievement is earned for finding all four collectable Roses in “The ‘I’ in Team” Challenge Room. Refer to nekov4ego’s video below and/or reference the following text guide:

    Rose #1 - On the desk in the room with the U-Invent machine. You can't really miss this one.

    Rose #2 - In the first room that you enter where the Little Sister is. Freeze the Big Daddy and use him to reach the pipe and collect the rose.

    Rose #3 - Kill the Big Daddy and loot his body for a Grenade Launcher - make sure you don't freeze him, because you can't loot him like that. Now use the Launcher to take out the middle RPG turret and make it fly to a reachable area. Loot the RPG turret to find the third Rose.

    Rose #4 - In the room with the pressure plate, once you have obtained Old Man Winter Plasmid, lure the Big Daddy onto the pressure plate and freeze him a couple of times. Then run to the first room where the Little Sister starts and find an opening in the wall with the fourth Rose in it.


     

  • Rescued the Little Sister in “The ‘I’ in Team” without destroying any Machine Gun Turrets

    This achievement is a little tricky and may require a couple of attempts. You must be careful when using the Decoy Plasmid during the railing section in order to not accidentally take out a Turret with splash damage from the Rocket Turret that will be firing at you. Please refer to nekov4ego’s video that is included with the “The “I” in Team – Expert” achievement.

  • Rescued the Little Sister in “A Shocking Turn of Events”

    This achievement is earned for simply completing this Challenge Room and should be combined with both the “A Shocking Turn of Events – Collector” achievement as well as “A Shocking Turn of Events – Electrician” achievement in a single playthrough. This first playthrough will also allow you to become familiar with this Challenge Room in order to make the more difficult Expert achievement easier.

  • The player has rescued the Little Sister in “A Shocking Turn of Events” in under 4:00

    This achievement may take couple of runs but it is not as hard as it sounds. Be sure to check out nekov4ego’s video below and also check out this text guide.

    As soon as you spawn, turn around and kill yourself with the electrified handle in the bathysphere. You will respawn in a Vita Chamber, so quickly exit and take the Shotgun and Shotgun Ammo; use it to open the door to the Ferris Wheel room.

    Once you're in the Ferris Wheel room, drop one floor below as shown in the video and loot a body at the end of the platform for a Crossbow Bolt. At the other side of the platform, take Static Discharge Combat Tonic. Drop to the lobby via the broken elevator behind you and proceed to the Ferris Wheel mechanism.

    Take the Electric Buck and shoot it at the mechanism (1). That's one official turn of the wheel! Now turn to your left and lure an enemy near the mechanism so that he hits you which will release a burst of electricity from the Static Discharge Tonic in order to turn the wheel one more time (2).

    Turn around to find the Ladies Bathroom and enter to lure an enemy back to the mechanism for a yet another turn of the Ferris Wheel using the Static Discharge Tonic (3). Now run for the Grand Carnival area and take the Telekinesis Plasmid. Enter the room behind the stall to your left. Try to open the safe (it will fail) and then use Telekinesis to pull some of the trap arrows to the safe so it opens. Retrieve the Crossbow from the safe.

    Run to the room ahead of you and use Telekinesis to pull some random item into the fire on your way to the freezer room, and then use it to melt the ice that holds Electric Buck. Retrieve the ammo and run for the Ferris Wheel mechanism, but first, run to the last stall on the left down the Grand Carnival area and loot the body for another Crossbow Bolt.

    Then all you need to do is use your two Crossbow Bolts for your fourth (4) and fifth (5) Ferris Wheel turns and the Electric Buck for the sixth (6). Quickly run to the Little Sister and rescue her from the Ferris Wheel in order to end the arena.

  • Found all collectable Roses in “A Shocking Turn of Events”

    This achievement is for finding all ten collectable Roses in the “A Shocking Turn of Events” Challenge Room. Refer to nekov4ego’s video below and/or reference the following text guide.

    Rose #1 - At the top of the lift from which a splicer will electrocute herself as you approach it. Simply hop onto the lift as it comes up to reach the first Rose.

    Rose #2 - From Rose #1, use the button and wait for the lift to level with the secret room where you will find the second Rose.

    Rose #3 - In the Ladies Bathroom behind the Ferris Wheel mechanism.

    Rose #4 - In Rapture Records store behind the metal gate.

    Rose #5 - In a Little Sister vent at the entrance of Grand Carnival.

    Rose #6 - In the Pneumo pipe at the Freezer Room - use Telekinesis to light an object on fire and melt the ice.

    Rose #7 - At the stand where you have to shoot tennis balls in small containers - the rose is in the third container.

    Rose #8 - At the stand with the pinned body, use Telekinesis to throw an object into the balloon at the bottom right.

    Rose #9 - In the Zimmerman Chardonnay room (Grand Carnival) which is locked. Use code 1951 to open it and find the rose on the chandelier.

    Rose #10 - Turn the Ferris Wheel a SEVENTH time (one more after the Little Sister has stepped out of it). The mechanism for the wheel will break and the last Rose will be at the middle of a gear.

  • Charged up the Ferris Wheel 9 different times in “A Shocking Turn of Events”

    This achievement will require you to thoroughly scavenge the area for additional items that you will need to use at a U-Invent station. You will be following the same first six charges from the “A Shocking Turn of Events - Expert” achievement guide/video and then you’ll need to charge the Ferris Wheel three additional times. Please refer to nekov4ego’s video below as well as a text description of where the crafting materials will come from for the additional three Ferris Wheel charges.

    There are a number of crates that you need to loot for materials that you can use at the U-Invent machine to create ammo for yourself.

    Crate #1 is near the Static Discharge Combat Tonic.

    Crate #2 is at the Ladies Bathroom where you find a splicer that you lure to the Ferris Wheel mechanism.

    Crate #3 is at the Rapture Records store.

    Crate #4 is at the entrance of the Grand Carnival area.

    Crate #5 is in the room with the safe and it's next to it - very easy to spot. Grab the Crossbow from the safe as well of course.

    Crate #6 is in the freezer room under the stairs. Also in this room is the Hacking Tool that you will need to hack the U-Invent machine so use a burning object with Telekinesis to retrieve it.

    Crate #7 is behind the statue at Grand Carnival. Grab the Chemical Thrower as well.

    Crate #8 is in Zimmerman Chardonnay (that's the locked room in Grand Carnival) - the code is 1951. However, as soon as you open the door, lure the splicer inside to the Ferris Wheel mechanism while equipped with Static Discharge Combat Tonic (7). Then return back to the room and loot the crate.

    Now that you have the Hack Tool as well as the materials, hack the U-Invent machine at the entrance of Grand Carnival and invent a Crossbow Trap Bolt (8) and an Electric Buck (9) for your last couple of Ferris Wheel charges. Then simply walk to the Little Sister and rescue her in order to unlock this achievement.

  • Rescued the Little Sister in “Worlds of Hurt”

    This achievement is earned for simply completing this Challenge Room and should be combined with the “Worlds of Hurt – Collector” achievement in a single playthrough. This first playthrough will also allow you to become familiar with this Challenge Room in order to make the two more difficult Expert and Tough Guy achievements easier.

  • Rescued the Little Sister in “Worlds of Hurt” in under 15:00, on Medium or higher difficulty

    In my opinion, this is the hardest achievement in the game with the smallest margin for error. I used nekov4ego’s video (posted below) in order to guide me through this achievement. You will need to abuse the manual save system for every arena of this Challenge Room. I would run each arena several times in order to try and improve on nekov4ego’s time if possible. I could shave a few seconds off here or there, but there were several rooms that I could not beat his time on after multiple tries. I ended up beating the room with a time of 14:40 which was 27 seconds slower than nekov4ego. The “All Kinds of Big Daddies” area is very unpredictable and always costs me more time than nekov4ego since he aces that room. Please follow nekov4ego’s text and video guide.

    • Difficulty: Medium (this is the minimum setting that you can use for this achievement)
    • Weapons: Wrench, Crossbow, Camera
    • Plasmids: Electro Bolt 3
    • Tonics: Damage Research, Wrench Jockey, Armored Shell, Eve Saver


    Single Splicer: Just run to the arena as soon as you start off and kill the Splicer with the wrench and quickly make a manual save at the Little Sister vent. The exit is on your left. Use the Power to the People station to upgrade your Crossbow.

    Single Big Daddy: Run up to the Power to the People station to apply the second upgrade to your Crossbow BEFORE you fire at the Big Daddy, unlike what nekov4ego did. Take a photo or a few for the damage bonus. Then 2-3 Crossbow bolts should be enough to kill the Big Daddy.

    Houdini Splicers: At this point you should have Damage Research, Wrench Jockey as well as Electro Bolt 3. Take picture of the first Splicer you see for the damage bonus and then run down the stairs taking shortcuts where possible (try not to drop and die). Use Electro Bolt + Wrench to one-hit kill all the splicers as they appear.

    Security Turret Maze: Use the Crossbow to one-hit kill all of the Turrets. Try to do it in order and don't miss the flamethrower ones as they are hidden well between the walls. Use Electro Bolt + Wrench for the Splicers. You can take care of the Big Daddy using the Crossbow as well. Don't forget to pick up any bolts you see on your way so that you don't run out of ammo!

    All Kinds of Enemies: Use Electro Bolt + Wrench for the Splicers and the Crossbow for the Big Daddy. Keep the Big Daddy for last after you have made sure the Splicers have been taken care of.

    Security Bots: Turn right, left, right, right (past the Big Daddy), then proceed after the Health Station and use Electro Bolt + Wrench to kill the Splicer and disable the Security Bots. Then use the Crossbow to kill the Big Daddy and proceed.

    Spider Splicers: Take a few pictures for extra damage and use Electro Bolt + Wrench or the Crossbow to kill all of the Spider Splicers in the arena. If you get any at the center of the ceiling, electrocute them so they fall in the water for quick kill from a distance.

    All Kinds of Big Daddies: Take photos of them before you attack for a potential Wrench Jockey 2 and increased damage. Try to trick the Big Daddies to fight each other and take them out with the Crossbow while they are busy. You can also use the Grenade Launcher if you run out of bolts.

    Final Wave: As soon as you exit, head for the Little Sister at the door and activate the final wave. Use Electro Bolt + Wrench on the Splicers as they appear and then take the Big Daddy with the Crossbow as usual. Run to the Little Sister and wait for her to ... slowly ... open ... the door--as your time runs out.

    If you rescue the Little Sister before the 15-minute mark, you'll unlock the achievement. Good luck!

  • Found all collectable Roses in “Worlds of Hurt”

    This achievement is for finding all eight collectable Roses in the “Worlds of Hurt” Challenge Room. Refer to nekov4ego’s video below and/or reference the following text guide.

    Please take note that there is no particular order in which the Roses have to be collected, you can pick them up in any order you’d like.

    Rose #1 - A Single Splicer: As you enter the arena, look between the central column with the consoles to your right.

    Rose #2 (0:39) - Security Turret Maze: From the entrance, take the first turn to the right and then look between the pump mechanism on the wall. Jump on it to make the prompt show up and collect the rose.

    Rose #3 (1:14) - All Kinds of Enemies: Locate the Little Sister vent and turn left from there. You will find the rose behind a pile of sandbags.

    Rose #4 (2:01) - Houdini Splicers: It's on a separated platform under the stairs - the one which has no additional bent wall to the side. Instead look for a piece of wood stood up by the wall and behind it you will find the rose.

    Rose #5 (3:02) - Security Bots: Enter the first door "Cold Storage" on the right, then go through the entrance to your left, then through another door to the left, then turn right. You should face the Little Sister vent and from there turn right, go past the Health Kit station and find a broken Security Bot panel. Use the Incinerate Plasmid to melt the ice to the right of the panel in order to reveal Rose #5.

    Rose #6 (3:52) - A Single Big Daddy: The rose is at the center of the arena, between the cracks on the floor. Crouch and approach the corner of the cracks to expose what looks like a reflection of the rose so you can pick it up.

    Rose #7 (4:13) - Spider Splicers: From the center of the arena when you look at the Little Sister vent with obstruction in front of you, turn left continue until you find a Power to the People weapon upgrade station. Under the bench with a portrait nearby will be Rose #7.

    Rose #8 (5:00) - All Kinds of Big Daddies: From the entrance, move forward and walk to the right of the room. When you see a bench and you are facing the Little Sister vent, look between a piece of wood and the wall to see the final rose.

  • Rescued the Little Sister in “Worlds of Hurt” using only plasmids, tonics, the wrench, and the research camera, on Medium or higher difficulty

    In my opinion, this achievement is only tricky due to the “All Kinds of Big Daddies” room again. In nekov4ego’s video (posted below), he smokes this area where I tend to struggle. Once again, using the manual save system in a large quantity will make this achievement a lot less painful. There is also no time limit for this achievement, so feel free to take your time. Please see below for a text and video guide.

    • Difficulty: Medium (this is the minimum setting that you can use for this achievement)
    • Weapons: Wrench, Camera
    • Plasmids: Electro Bolt 3, Decoy, Incinerate 2
    • Tonics: Damage Research, Wrench Jockey, Armored Shell, Eve Saver

    A Single Splicer: Use the Wrench to take the Splicer out, then retrieve your weapons from the Little Sister vent and loot the room for film, money and other supplies.

    A Single Big Daddy: Grab the Damage Research tonic before you proceed then take a photo of the Big Daddy as you enter so you get a damage bonus. Use the Wrench to draw the Big Daddy's attention and lure him into the electrified water. Repeat if necessary and try to hit him with the Wrench when possible while avoiding his attacks.

    Houdini Splicers: Make sure you at least have Electro Bolt 3 and Wrench Jockey before you proceed. Take a photo of the first Splicer you see, then use Electro Bolt + Wrench to take out the enemies. It should be a one-hit kill once they are electrified.

    Spider Splicers: Take a few photos of the Splicers in the room and use Electro Bolt + Wrench to take them out. If you see any crawl up the ceiling at the center of the room, electrocute them into the water for an easy kill.

    Security Turret Maze: Grab Decoy before you enter the arena. Take enough photos of the Turrets so that you can hack them automatically. Kill the splicers with Electro Bolt + Wrench and hack ALL the Turrets around. Then draw the Big Daddy's attention and keep him busy with Decoys while your Turrets do the work for you. Then proceed to destroy all of the Turrets once they have outlived their usefulness.

    All Kinds of Enemies: Save hacking the Turret for last! What nekov4ego did was a mistake - don't risk Splicers destroying your turret as it is crucial for killing the Big Daddy. Take all the Splicers out with Electro Bolt + Wrench, then hack or buy out the turret at the center of the arena and draw the Big Daddy's attention. Use a lot of Decoys to keep him busy while your friendly Turret kills him. Try to spawn Decoys far away enough from your Turret to avoid the Daddy destroying it.

    Security Bots: Take enough photos of the Security Bots so that you hack them automatically. Then hack all available ones and proceed to killing the Splicer at the Security Bot Panel to stop the alarm. Use your friendly Bots to kill the Big Daddy as you keep him busy with the Decoy Plasmid.

    All Kinds of Big Daddies: Make sure you grab Incinerate 2. Take as many photos of the Big Daddies as you can to get the 50% Wrench damage increase as well as general damage bonus for Rosies. This is possibly the worst arena, but here's what you can do - try to lure a Rosie to kill all 3 other Big Daddies WHILE you use Incinerate on him to deplete his health. After fighting 3 Daddies, he should have only a little life left in him, so keep on spamming Incinerate to finish him off. Remember, you can always reload a save if necessary.

    Final Wave: Use Electro Bolt + Wrench for all the Splicers except the Elite ones with Security Bots - when these arrive, hack their Bots before you kill them so that you can use them for the Big Daddy. Speaking of the devil, spam Decoys to keep the Daddy away from your Security bots and use Incinerate to speed up the whole process.

    That's it! Go rescue the Little Sister in order to unlock the achievement.

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