Rumbler

The Rumbler will be a new Big Daddy type introduced in BioShock 2, specializing in defensive combat. It will possess superior firepower compared to its earlier brethren, although seemingly at the cost of some of their bulk.

The Rumbler will behave like the other Big Daddies, but have a completely different arsenal. This includes firing Miniature Turrets that will lay down suppressing fire, enabling it to take down multiple enemies at once. While the Rumbler's turrets attack the assailant (or assailants), it will get behind them and fire RPGs at its target. Both RPGs and turrets are susceptible to Telekinesis.

Appearance
The Rumbler is noted to be somewhat thinner in appearance than the Bouncer, and it resembles the Rosie, having less external armor and a more humanoid appearance. The helmet of the Rumbler has six portholes, two in front (One slightly larger than the other) and four on the sides It wears an armored diving suit with multiple buckles latching the shoulder-mounted Grenade Launcher in place. It looks as if it were hastily created from spare and scrap parts, probably due to the fact that it was assembled a decade after Rapture descended past the point of civilized production.

Rumbler "Moods"
The Rumbler, like the Bouncer and the Rosie, has three "moods" that may occur when the player encounters them. These moods appear as the color of the portholes on the Rumbler's helmet.


 * Green light: A Big Daddy under the effects of Hypnotize will produce a green light from their portholes. These Big Daddies are friendly to the player, and will protect them as if they were a Little Sister.


 * Yellow Light: A Big Daddy with yellow lights emanating from its portholes is neutral to the player, and will not attack them. By default, unscripted Big Daddies always start out in this mood. Some scripted Big Daddies spawn in other moods, but this is purely for the purpose of effect.


 * Red Light: A Big Daddy attacked by the player, or under the effects of the Enrage plasmid, will produce a red light. In the first case, the Big Daddy will attack the player. In the second, it will attack any possible threat in its vicinity.

Attacks


So far, the Rumbler has been observed to perform three types of attack:


 * RPG: The Rumbler's main attack, where it fires a Heat-Seeking RPG at its target.


 * Miniature Turret: Occasionally, the Rumbler will deploy a Miniature Turret which will attack any enemy in its field of vision.


 * Punch: When at melee range, the Rumbler will hit the target with his left arm in a sweeping gesture, dealing moderate damage and minor knockback.

Strategy
While many strategies may apply equally well to all Big Daddies, each type has their own particular characteristics worth noting, which may lead to specialized tactics.

General

 * Always ensure one has full Health, as well as a reliable supply of First Aid Kits, EVE and ammunition before fighting a Big Daddy, as these are one of the toughest enemies in the game.


 * It is recommended to study a Big Daddy's path and stalk them, so as to attack them where the player has the biggest advantage. Study the environment as well, so as to be able to formulate a winning strategy.


 * Always ensure one has complete control over the fighting area (i.e. the place is clear of Splicers and all Security Devices have been hacked). Loss of control might signify defeat in the later stages of a fight.


 * Never take on another enemy while dealing with a Big Daddy, except in some unique cases (see below). If the player is forced to fight another enemy, take it down first and come back to the Big Daddy.


 * All Big Daddies have an airtank with a valve on their back. Hitting that valve will cause the airtank to release an oxygen cloud above the Big Daddy which, if shot, will explode, dealing heavy damage to the Big Daddy.


 * Little Sisters always stop to drain ADAM from any nearby corpse they find. Corpses can also be moved by the player, enabling them to choose where they want the Big Daddy they're targeting to halt.


 * Piling up several explosives onto a Big Daddy's path (preferably on top of an oil slick) and blowing it up at the right moment is a cheap and effective way of killing, or at least severely injuring, a Big Daddy. If the enemy survives, they will be on fire, which will drain their health continuously.

Rumbler

 * Miniature Turrets thrown by the Rumbler are potentially serious threats, and left alone can deny the player cover and drain their health. As such, always try to destroy or, even better, hack the device. The latter strategy, although it will leave the player temporarily vulnerable, will turn the Turret into a valuable ally, and will turn the tables on the Rumbler.


 * By placing the Rumbler between oneself and a Miniature Turret, the latter will end up shooting through the Big Daddy, dealing damage to him instead of the player.


 * Always stay on the move. Fail to do so and one may end up backed into a corner, with Miniature Turrets blocking any possible exit and Heat-Seeking RPGs rendering cover useless. Also, try to stay away from walls as one can still get hit by an RPG's splash damage.


 * Rumblers have less health than other Big Daddy types, so the fight isn't so much as trying to outlast the Rumbler than trying to kill the Rumbler as fast as possible. Ambushing the Rumbler correctly will severely damage him before he even has a chance to react.


 * Another good strategy is to get into melee range, then circle-strafe the Rumbler while shooting (or drilling) him. If done correctly, the Rumbler won't get a good enough shot on the player to be able to lodge an accurate RPG hit and, if he does, he'll get hit by the splash damage.
 * If the Rumbler has managed to lay several Miniature Turrets in the area, use the Big Daddy's RPGs to destroy them.
 * The Miniature Turrets can be picked up with Telekinesis before they hit the ground and can be flung at the Rumbler for about the same amount of damage as a grenade. If timed correctly, you can also catch the grenades he shoots. Since these are the Rumblers only attacks at mid-range, you can take care of him using only Telekinesis.
 * Also using a One-Two-Punch method, first shock the Rumbler with Electro Bolt and then use the Daddy Dash this will deal chunks of damage to the Rumbler.

General

 * Hypnotize is, obviously, a prime choice when faced with a Big Daddy, as it turns the hulking creature into the player's bodyguard. It can also be used to pit two Big Daddies against each other, which is both an entertaining and effective way of killing them.


 * Incinerate! is recommended against Big Daddies, as a single cast will drain a significant portion of their health over time.


 * Telekinesis may come in handy if there are explosives lying around. It can also help the player formulate various different strategies (see above and below).


 * Electro Bolt will temporarily stun the Big Daddy, as well as deal increased damage (especially in water). If upgraded to level Three, it becomes the most powerful anti-Big Daddy weapon since it can be fired continuously, thus stunning and severely damaging the Big Daddy as long as the player keeps firing.


 * Insect Swarm will distract the Big Daddy as well as deal continuous damage, allowing the player to take potshots at it.


 * Winter Blast can help the player quickly dispatch a Big Daddy, as it stuns them and reduces the amount of damage needed to destroy them. However, their corpse will shatter, leaving no loot.

By the end of the alarm, the Big Daddy will be either severely weakened or dead, without the player risking themselves at any point. Note: This strategy is more effective on Bouncers as they cannot destroy Security Bots unless they stray too low.
 * Security Command can singlehandedly take down a Big Daddy if the player performs the following strategy:
 * First of all, hack a nearby Security Camera and stop the needle on a red zone.
 * Paint the target Big Daddy with Security Command (Note: as this deals no direct damage, this won't cause the Big Daddy to attack the player in any way).

Rumbler

 * Telekinesis is the prime Plasmid to use when tackling a Rumbler: all of his attacks are projectile-based, so skilled use of this tool will completely deprive him of any means of harming the player. Not only that, but launching his RPGs and Miniature Turrets back at him will quickly kill him, to a minimal cost in EVE.


 * Winter Blast is a useful complement to the above two Plasmids in a Rumbler fight: by freezing a Rumbler just after he fires an RPG and reflecting the shot back at him, one can kill him in a matter of seconds and with next to no cost in resources. However, the Rumbler will shatter, leaving no loot (unless the player has Winter Blast level 2 or higher).


 * Electro Bolt has an additional use in a Rumbler fight, in that it can temporarily disable Miniature Turrets.

General

 * Electric weaponry such as Electric Gel and Electric Buck are the best form of ordnance against Big Daddies: not only do they deal much more damage against them than with any other ammo type, but they also temporarily shock Big Daddies, stunning them.


 * Armor-piercing ammo also deals increased damage against Big Daddies, although not as much as electric ammunition.


 * Upgrading the Drill so that it deals extra damage against armored foes makes this weapon a very palatable choice in a Big Daddy fight.


 * Heavy Rivets, due to the fact that they deal more damage than standard Rivets, can be considered to be armor-piercing ammunition in this case.


 * Solid Slugs deal a very high amount of damage, and in this case count as armor-piercing ammunition. The size of Big Daddies compensates for the relative difficulty to aim with this ammo type, and also allows the player to fire from a longer distance then if they used any other ammo type for the Double-Barreled Shotgun.


 * Phosphorus Buck deals a high amount of damage and sets the target on fire. This makes it an effective weapon against Big Daddies, especially if used at the beginning of a fight.


 * Standard Spears, due to their high damage output, can help in a Big Daddy battle, even though location-based bonuses do not apply.


 * Rocket Spears are extremely potent ordnance when it comes to disposing of a Big Daddy: the combined effects of the Spear hit, the fire, and the explosion will leave the enemy severely wounded, even if it was fired at him while he was at full health.

Rumbler

 * The Hack Tool is a very useful weapon to have around when fighting a Rumbler, as it allows the player to hack any Miniature Turret he throws from a distance. If one has any Automatic Hack Darts, it would be best to use them as they won't require the player to go through the minigame to succeed, thus saving precious time as well as avoiding to have to remain defenseless for a few seconds.

General

 * The Armored Shell line of tonics will significantly reduce damage received by a Big Daddy's attacks, making this a very useful Gene tonic to have during combat.
 * The EVE Saver line of tonics will reduce the cost in EVE when casting Plasmids.
 * Damage Research will significantly increase damage dealt against enemies researched using the Research Camera. The effectiveness of this Gene tonic is entirely dependent on how much research the player has done.
 * Medical Expert will increase medkit carry capacity by one, thus allowing the player to endure longer battles.
 * EVE Expert will increase EVE Hypo carry capacity by one, thus allowing the player to endure longer battles.

Rumbler

 * Machine Buster increases damage against machines, which reduces the threat that miniature turrets pose.

History
The Rumbler was developed by one of Sofia Lamb's followers after the events of the original Bioshock. Due to Splicers getting stronger, as well as mastering the ability to take down the traditional Big Daddies (usually by swarming over them in large numbers), a new Big Daddy model was required to protect a new line of Little Sisters. This meant it had to be more powerful than regular Big Daddies, capable of dealing with several enemies at once. The end result of this was the Rumbler.

Trivia

 * The Rumbler is based on a Big Daddy model, the Slow Pro, that got cut from the original BioShock (the main resemblance being the fact that their helmet design is identical). Originally, it would still fire rockets. But, instead of deploying turrets, it would have a powerful melee attack using its giant hook.
 * The Rumbler's shoulder-mounted RPG cannon looks like a Grenade Launcher with the back end sawed off. The Rumbler also appears to fire it by pulling a hinge held in its right hand. It uses its left hand to throw turrets and punch the player at melee range.
 * Mark Meltzer became a Rumbler after he was captured by Lamb. It is believed that the Little Sister with him is his daughter, Cindy.

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Rumbler