User blog:Willbachbakal/Singleplayer Enemies: Big Sister



Almost done with the enemies! The Big Sister was the poster-boy (girl?) for BioShock 2: the first gameplay demo revolved around her, she got by far the most attention in the previews and even played a major part in Something in the Sea. Although very well designed, it did fall short of expectations in some places: instead of appearing randomly every time you dealt with a Little Sister, as was promised, she just served as an end-level boss after every LS was gone. Her immense Plasmids powers, in the end, turned out to be just her signature telekinetic attack and a bunch of fireballs. While a tough enemy to fight, her combat style became slightly repetitive over time. To turn her into the Plasmid-toting she-demon that she's supposed to be, she needs a wider range of powers, powers that would grant her total control over the elements.

Research Bonuses

 * Level 1: Extra Plasmid and Gene Tonic Slots
 * Level 2: +Damage
 * Level 3: Knife Vampire Gene Tonic
 * Level 4: ++Damage
 * Level 5: New Gene Tonic (will be added later)

Changes
First things first: harvesting or rescuing a Little Sister should incur a risk of attracting a Big Sister. Instead of arriving at the end, she could come at any point in your harvesting/rescuing progress and attack you whenever you deal with a Little Sister. However, only one could spawn per level (with the exception of scripted events).

In addition to this, Big Sisters could have a more Plasmid-oriented combat style. To suit this, she has a whole new set of powers, organized for your convenience:

Incinerate!

 * Fireball: Instead of dealing instant damage as it does in BioShock 2, the Big Sister's main ranged attack could deal damage over time, although it'll deal more damage than the current fireball in total.
 * Eruption: In addition to her traditional fire projectile, she could at certain points spontaneously burst into flames, releasing flaming projectiles all around her. This also deals damage over time, and will hit you if you don't take cover while she charges up (she starts glowing red).

Winter Blast

 * Flash-Freeze: This could be one of her stun attacks. Basically, she'll instantly raise a wall of ice between you and her. If you don't dodge the attack in time, your speed will be reduced and you'll take extra damage from attacks. In additions, any bullets or projectiles caught in the wall will be frozen.
 * Wall of Ice: Instead of raising an ice barrier directly at you, she could also create one in front of you, blocking any shots that pass through it until it shatters or melts away. It can't take much damage until it breaks, though.

Electro Bolt

 * Electro-Orb: During this attack, she'd stand still, draw electricity from nearby metal objects (which, on a side note, could produce awesome electrical arcs) and create a solic orb of electricity, which she'd throw at you. The ball would bounce across the scenery until it either hits an enemy or water, and in both cases it'd electrify the target. If it hits an enemy, they'll be momentarily rooted to the ground and their attacks would be interrupted.
 * Zap: This is her main anti-machine tool. If she gets harassed by a security device, she'll fire a bolt of electricity at it, deactivating the machine for about five seconds.

Telekinesis

 * Telekinetic Pummel: Just a minor change: in addition to firing bits of the scenery at you, she could be able to catch and throw back projectiles you fire at her (including explosives) while performing this attack.
 * Batter: In addition to the above attack, while moving the Big Sister could simply flick a small object at you at random. Instead of travelling towards her and then you, the object would simply fling itself at you.

Evolution
At the midpoint, even with a host of new attacks Big Sisters won't be as tough as the first time you fought one. To counter this, she'll have more powers to play with. Although these are extremely powerful, they won't get used as often as her base elemental powers (not all of them, anyway). As of the midpoint, the Big Sister could be able to master both space and time:

Teleportation

 * Teleport: In the middle of combat, the Big Sister could instantly teleport to another location. Rather than disappear and reappear after a few seconds, this effect is instant. She'll also resume attacking immediately afterwards. She'll also tend to teleport strategically, such as in the middle of a leap or a charge to get immediately close to you.
 * Flurry: After you take away most of her health (about three quarters of it), she'll teleport much more frequently, attacking you from all sides. She'll won't stop until she dies, although she'll scream every time she finishes a teleport, allowing you to pinpoint her location.

Chrono Warp

 * Time Double: On the theoretical part, when performing this attack the Big Sister summons a version of her from a different point in her timeline. From the practical point of view, that means you'll be temporarily fighting two Big Sisters at once. On the plus side, they'll only be able to perform melee attacks and share the same health pool, so if you kill one, both die (the one you didn't kill directly disappears in a puff of smoke). In addition, they'll play more defensively, dodging and leaping and taking turns to attack you.
 * Berzerk: Once you remove three quarters of a Big Sister's health, in addition to her Flurry boost she'll warp time around her: basically, instead of you moving really slowly, she'll move really fast. Her speed and attack rate will be dramatically increased, and she won't stop until you kill her. Happy fighting!

And that does my Big Sister. I have one more new enemy to post, and then I'll move onto the weapons. Comments and criticism appreciated.

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