Cyclone Trap

BioShock


"Teach your enemies a lesson they'll never forget with Cyclone Trap from Ryan Industries."

Cyclone Trap is a plasmid available in BioShock. When selected, it manifests itself as a pocket of air current that Jack carefully maintains by twirling his fingers. Cyclone Trap is an active plasmid that instantly creates a stationary, swirling trap of wind at the cost of EVE.

The trap is visible only to the player, and is triggered immediately when stepped on by Splicers (it does not affect Security Bots, Turrets, or Big Daddies). When triggered, it violently throws the target into the air and deals physical damage while briefly stunning when the target crashes to the ground. A maximum of five active traps may be set at one time. Casting Cyclone Trap any number of times after will remove and replace the active traps with new ones. Each trap expires after being triggered once. Cyclone Traps cannot be set in some water areas.

Note: Damage potential for Cyclone Trap is based on the distance and velocity at which the target hits the ceiling, ground, or other objects in the environment. The higher level of this plasmid increases damage and velocity of thrown targets.

Combat Strategy
This plasmid can be used offensively by targeting the floor directly beneath a Splicer.

If the ceilings are low enough that a Cyclone Trap will cause an enemy to hit them, place Proximity Mines on the ceiling above the trap to cause heavy physical damage. A Trap Bolt can instead be set up above head level to cause heavy electrical damage to an enemy.

Traps set below frozen enemies will trigger, but have no effect on them. Though, a glitch in the game allows Splicers thrown in the air to be frozen with Winter Blast.

It is recommended to place this plasmid underneath a low ceiling, to deal added impact damage as well as to be able to set more traps on said ceiling.

Likewise, Cyclone Traps are better used in narrow hallways or passages, lest the player casts an entire wall of traps. It is recommended to first map out the most frequently used routes, and then cast a Trap. This, of course, only applies when the player is fortifying their defenses. If that is not the case, fire at will.

Cyclone Traps do not throw Big Daddies into the air. However, they cannot cross the vortexes, which can be used to the player's advantage. It is possible to trap a Big Daddy in a circle of traps, then take potshots at him until he dies. This strategy is rather costly, and works only on Bouncers, since Rosies are still able to shoot.

Another variant of the above strategy is to use this plasmid as a means of preventing Bouncers from getting to the player. Once they start their charge, put a Cyclone Trap between it and oneself, fire at the Big Daddy, and repeat. Although resource-heavy, it ensures the player won't get hit easily (that is, provided the fighting area is a narrow corridor with no side passages, and not a vast hall), and can be a potential life-saver if the player is low on anti-Big Daddy ordnance.

If the Splicer thrown into the air had an Insect Swarm set on it, the effects of the Cyclone Trap will instantly remove the swarm. As such, is is advisable to wait for the enemy to be springboarded before setting a hive of bees on them.

Recommended Tonics

 * EVE Saver reduces the cost in EVE when casting this plasmid.


 * Natural Camouflage works great with Cyclone trap. If the player is invisible, they can lay a trap out, turn invisible again, and watch the victim fly.

BioShock 2
Cyclone Trap will be returning in BioShock 2, and will have the ability to be combined with other plasmids for added damage and effect. These combinations are called Plasmid Traps, which will be listed here:

Confirmed Combinations

 * Decoy Trap: Requires Target Dummy. This Plasmid Trap, in addition to its standard effects, attracts any nearby enemies towards it
 * Electric Trap: Requires Electro Bolt. This Plasmid Trap, in addition to its standard effects, shocks the victim
 * Fire Trap: Requires Incinerate!. This Plasmid Trap, in addition to its standard effects, ignites the victim
 * Ice Trap: Requires Winter Blast. This Plasmid Trap, in addition to its standard effects, freezes the victim
 * Insect Trap: Requires Insect Swarm. This Plasmid Trap, in addition to its standard effects, sets a hive of live hornets onto the victim
 * Security Trap: Requires Security Command. This Plasmid Trap, in addition to its standard effects, sets every Security Device in the area on the victim
 * Sonic Trap: Requires Sonic Boom. This Plasmid Trap, in addition to its standard effects, will throw the enemy into the air with much more force, thus dealing more damage

Upgrade Path

 * Level One: Able to set a trap which sends Splicers flying through the air.
 * Level Two: Trap can be charged with another plasmid to create a Plasmid Trap.

In the multiplayer, a prototype to this plasmid, Geyser Trap, will replace it as part of the player's arsenal. The main difference between the two is that Geyser Traps can be used by the player to perform high jumps.

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Cyclone Trap