Winter Blast

"Don't get caught without this powerful self-defense tool at the ready. Give your foes the cold shoulder with Winter Blast!"

- Plasmid advertisement

Winter Blast is a plasmid available in BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock 2 Multiplayer. Winter Blast is an active plasmid that instantly freezes solid a target enemy or object at the cost of EVE.

BioShock


In BioShock Winter Blast manifests as severe, ice-covered frost burns on Jack's wrists and palms, with bloody icicles emerging from the back of his hands and knuckles.

A target hit by this plasmid is temporarily disabled while frozen, being unable to move or act until the ice thaws enough for the target to break out and resume action. It is effective against all enemies, unless resistant or immune to cold attacks, in which case, the freeze duration is either reduced or negated completely. Attacking frozen enemies before they thaw will cause them to shatter into pieces, leaving behind no corpse or loot (A bolt fired that shatters an enemy will sometimes be recoverable). If frozen Splicers are allowed to thaw after being attacked, they will have incurred only a fraction of the damage done to them while being frozen.

Combat Strategy

 * Hit location damage bonuses still apply to frozen enemies. The player can also use the Research Camera with full effect.
 * Using this plasmid on Security Cameras, Security Bots, or Turrets will freeze and disable them, allowing the player hacking access. The liquid flow will be slowed while hacking frozen security devices, thus allowing for an easier hack.
 * It is possible to freeze vending machines. Doing so will slow down the flow of the liquid when hacking.
 * Winter Blast is effective when utilized with hit, run, and hide tactics. Since it has a greater stun duration than Electro Bolt, this plasmid is the premier choice to stun an attacking Big Daddy when the player has need of time in order to reload, take cover, or heal.
 * It must be noted that killing a frozen enemy will shatter it, and it will no longer will be lootable. Depending on the player's resources and the game difficulty, it is recommended to use this plasmid with moderation. Here's a list of who it is recommended to or not to freeze:


 * Thuggish Splicers: Freeze at will. Typically these Splicers do not hold very valuable loot, and since they are very numerous the loss in resources won't be too great.
 * Leadhead Splicers: Same. These Splicers are also very common, and do not frequently hold valuable loot.
 * Nitro Splicers: Depends on how much the player uses the Grenade Launcher. Their loot is rather mundane but occasionally they may yield a Grenade.
 * Houdini Splicers: Try to avoid freezing. These Splicers tend to hold rare U-Invent components, most notably Chlorophyll Solutions, which is also a quest item at one point in the story. Ice Houdini Splicers are immune to freezing attacks as well.
 * Spider Splicers: Avoid freezing if at all possible. These enemies are the only reliable source of the very valuable (and very rare) Distilled Water, used for making Electric Gel and Trap Bolts, which are respectively the best anti-Big Daddy ammunition and the best defensive ammo.
 * Big Daddies: Depends on how short on money the player is. Big Daddies occasionally yield rare components, but their corpse itself holds around 70 dollars each time. Note that only the Rosie's Rivet Gun yields invent components, so Bouncers are more recommended for freezing.
 * Security Devices: Freeze at will. Not only is Winter Blast the best Plasmid to use when hacking, since it deals no damage and slows down the water flow. It is also useful in combat, since it prevents the machine from exploding. Machines don't usually hold loot of much value, and as such it is safe to shatter them.

Recommended Tonics

 * EVE Saver will slightly reduce the amount of EVE consumed when casting Winter Blast.
 * Surprisingly enough, the Frozen Field line of tonics won't upgrade the plasmid's effects at all, although it'll reduce the player's vulnerability to ice.
 * If the player is willing to use this Plasmid as an escape tool, it is advisable to also equip Natural Camouflage.

BioShock 2
Winter Blast makes a return in the sequel. In single player, only a slight change has been introduced to its effects: instead of freezing the enemy's entire health bar, a portion of it will freeze, indicating how much time the player has left before their foe thaws out.

Combat Strategy

 * As in BioShock, frozen enemies that are shattered are not lootable. However, enemies that are shattered while encased in an ice block will leave behind a searchable Lockbox. If the player wishes to use Winter Blast and loot as much as possible, it is recommended to buy the first level of this plasmid only as a prerequisite to the second level (which first grants the ability to encase a foe in ice), when the second is ready for purchase.


 * It is also quite useful against Big Daddies in general as it leaves them open to attack while allowing the player to maneuver while they thaw, though this is most apparent against Bouncers as it allows you to stop their charge long enough to move behind cover and against more agile opponents like Houdini Spilcers, Spider Splicers, and Big Sisters as it leaves them immobile for a period of time.

BioShock 2 Multiplayer
In the multiplayer, Winter Blast works slightly different from its Single Player version. Enemies under the effects of this plasmid will have their speed and attack rate severely reduced instead of stopped outright. It also lowers the enemies' defense making them much weaker. Along with Electro Bolt and Incinerate!, this plasmid is unlocked at the start of the game.

Combat Strategy

 * Aero Dashing a frozen enemy will shatter them instantly, providing an instant kill.
 * When shattering an enemy, they can not be researched. They also cannot use Resurrect or Death Trap, making this plasmid ideal against higher level opponents.
 * Using Winter Blast will still be able to completely disable enemy hacked machines, leaving the player safe to approach. This includes disabling the grenades from falling from enemy hacked Vending Machines.
 * Using Winter Blast on a teammate or friendly machine will extinguish their flames, if they had been ignited using Incinerate!.
 * This plasmid can also be used to douse map fires, and can be charged for an increased slowdown time.
 * Winter Blast can be used to freeze opening doors, causing them to open more slowly and allow time to recover and reload to counter the enemy.

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Trivia

 * The name of this plasmid went through many changes during development. It is possible to hear some of the developers refer to it as "Cryokinesis" in one of the podcasts. Another name for it was Cryo Shards, as seen in a developer walk through video.