Shock Jockey

"Harness the power of electricity and keep your enemies on their toes with SHOCK JOCKEY!"

- Fink Manufacturing advertisement

Shock Jockey is one of the Vigors featured in BioShock Infinite, created and sold by Fink Manufacturing. It grants Booker DeWitt the power to manipulate electricity in the form of charged crystals: casting the Vigor will shock a single target, temporarily stunning them and doubling their damage intake. Charging the Vigor will instead throw a cluster of purple crystals across the target area for double the Salts cost, shocking anyone who comes in their vicinity. Enemies in contact with water take critical damage from the electricity. Shock Jockey can also be used to activate certain machines and unlock previously inaccessible areas. Enemies killed while electrified will turn to ash, leaving behind a lootable lockbox. Shock Jockey is less potent on Motorized Patriots and Handymen, and completely ineffective against the Siren.

BioShock Infinite


Shock Jockey is the fifth Vigor the player obtains, and is the main objective of the Hall of Heroes level, where Booker and Elizabeth set out to retrieve a sample from Cornelius Slate in order to power the gondola to The First Lady in Soldier's Field.

Official

 * Electrifying an enemy under the effects of Possession will turn them into a walking Tesla coil, causing them to shock and damage all enemies in their immediate vicinity.
 * Shocking a Murder of Crows will infuse the crows with electricity, causing them to shock and damage all enemies around them.
 * Electrifying an enemy under the effects of Undertow or casting Undertow at a shocked enemy will deal critical damage to the target, killing most non-Heavy Hitter foes in a single combo. Additionally, enemies can be pulled into Shock Jockey traps with the Vigor for similar effects. If the victim survives the ordeal, they'll remain briefly vulnerable to damage and can be more easily finished off.

Unofficial

 * Using Charge on a shocked enemy will deal them double damage, killing most standard foes instantly if the charge was held for long enough.
 * Shocked enemies will take double damage from Devil's Kiss, which can be used to eliminate priority targets and clear an area of toughened foes if the player purchased the Shock Chain Aid upgrade.

Combat Strategy

 * Shock Jockey is most effective when used in conjunction with weapons that deal damage in bursts, such as the Hand Cannon, Volley Guns, Shotguns and Sniper Rifle, as they are capable of downing most electrified enemies in a single shot.
 * Shock Jockey's damage increase stacks multiplicatively with the increased damage from critical hits. As the two are themselves damage multipliers, a single headshot or other critically damaging attack can cause massive damage even to Heavy Hitters.
 * If there are any bodies of water around, try to lure enemies into them before shocking them for massive damage. Alternatively, lay a Shock Jockey trap cluster on top of the water beforehand.
 * Shock Jockey can be instantly reapplied to enemies who break from the stun, letting the player take down priority targets without them being able to fight back.
 * The exceptions to the above are the Motorized Patriot, Handyman and Siren: Motorized Patriots remain stunned for only three quarters of the duration, Handymen are only briefly staggered and the Siren is immune to the Vigor's effects. Though it is still possible to keep a Motorized Patriot or a Handyman under a permanent stun lock, it will end up costing the player much more than would be necessary to kill them.
 * Shock Chain Aid is an extremely useful upgrade, as it will literally multiply the Vigor's effects upon every cast. When coupled with area attacks it can be used to clear entire areas at a time, and when used in tandem with Undertow and Undertow Aid their combo becomes by far the most effective in the game, killing multiple enemies near-instantly at very little cost.
 * Shock Duration Boost is both cheap and effective, and is especially useful when taking on Heavy Hitters, as they will be stunned for double the time.

Recommended Gear

 * Blood to Salt will refill the player's Salts upon killing an enemy. If both the Shock Chain Aid and Undertow Aid upgrades have been purchased and both Vigors are used in tandem, this will almost invariably grant the player more Salts than the combined cost of the two.
 * Executioner's bonuses work in perfect conjunction with Shock Jockey, greatly increasing the player's effectiveness in melee.
 * Ghost Posse/Ghost Soldier can be used to summon weapon allies upon killing enemies caught in Shock Jockey traps. Though the traps won't kill the enemies outright (save if it were placed on water), trapped enemies can be quickly finished off while they're vulnerable.
 * Head Master allows the player to pick off shocked enemies more quickly, as they will be relatively immobile while electrified.
 * Nitro Vest will increase the radius of explosive weapons, allowing the player to catch multiple shocked enemies at a time with a single explosive round if Shock Chain Aid has been purchased.
 * Overkill shocks enemies around a target killed with excessive damage, essentially functioning as a free Shock Chain Aid upgrade. It can also be used to extend the range of the Vigor even after said upgrade has been purchased.
 * Quick Handed will minimize reloading times when attacking shocked enemies, allowing the player to make the most of the Vigor's effects.
 * Rising Bloodlust is particularly effective when killing shocked enemies with weapons that deal continuous damage, as every subsequent target will die in less time than the previous victim.
 * Storm will prolong the effects of Shock Jockey after killing a shocked enemy, increasing the Vigor's effectiveness per cast.
 * Tunnel Vision is especially effective against shocked targets, as the player will be at leisure to aim at them while they are unable to retaliate.
 * Urgent Care will allow the player to at least partially recharge their Shields while nearby enemies are stunned.

Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 1
Shock Jockey makes a return in DLC.

Since Shock Jockey functions the same as Electro Bolt, it also unlocks short-circuited door switches.

Behind the Scenes

 * This ability is the successor to the Electro Bolt Plasmid from BioShock and BioShock 2, and is almost identical to it in functionality. In early trailers and screenshots, it was also identical in appearance, with the crystals growing from the skin only being added later.
 * Shock Jockey is a play on the radio term shock jock, used to describe disc jockeys whose mannerisms come off as offensive to their listeners. Its bottle, on the other hand, features a jockey riding a lightning bolt.
 * The icon appears to be the Hand of Zeus holding a bolt of thunder. Zeus is also mentioned by the Veni! Vidi! Vigor! vending machine.
 * Shock Jockey is also named Volt Swarm in the game's files.
 * The Welcome Center at the Soldier's Field boardwalk features a shutter gate powered by a Shock Jockey machine. When Booker walks close to it, the machine shorts out and the gate shuts. Once Booker has obtained the aforementioned Vigor in the Hall of Heroes, he can return to the Welcome Center, where he can use the ability on the machine to power it back up. However, when done, the gate still doesn't open.