Hephaestus

"...You can't cut off the power, comes right from the volcanic vents... Ryan always gets his juice..."

- Kyburz

Hephaestus is the eighth level of BioShock. Jack reaches Hephaestus via bathysphere from Fort Frolic. His objective here is to gain entrance to Ryan's office in Rapture Central Control, in which the city's founder has barricaded himself.

History
Hephaestus, home of the Hephaestus Power Facility, is the main power production source for Rapture and is located at the Southern end of the city. Designed by Andrew Ryan, it harnesses the heat from geothermal vents on the ocean floor. Hephaestus was one of the initial facilities built in Rapture; without it, Rapture could not have been powered. Hephaestus also contains the private office of Andrew Ryan. In the post-construction era, many of the specialists who built Rapture worked in the various workshops or became maintenance employees.

During the civil war, the facility was continuously attacked by rebels, as taking control of the cities main power source would granted them victory over the war. During these attacks many workers were killed, and a number of attempts were even made on Ryan's life. The increased paranoia of being murdered lead to the workers killing each other, and the workshops are now littered with the corpses of people who once kept Hephaestus functioning.

Ryan's Trophy Room
This room is on the way to the control center and office of Andrew Ryan, which is guarded by an electromagnetic lock system. In this room, various corpses &mdash; including those of Anya Andersdotter and Bill McDonagh &mdash; are impaled on the pillars, as part of Ryan's morbid warning display.

Upon entering the room, Ryan delivers an unsettling sermon, referring to his trophies as "worms", and tells Jack that he is no different from those others who have tried and failed to assassinate him. He menacingly concludes his speech by saying: "I haven't chosen a spot for you on the wall yet...let me know if you have a preference."

The Breadwinner Splicer model can be heard referencing this trophy collection if one listens to his dialogue. Supervisor Kyburz also mentions it in his audio diary, Device Almost Finished.

Workshops
Various workshops for Hephaestus, including Kyburz' office, where Jack will find Kyburz' EMP bomb.

Geothermal Control
This facility directs the flow of hot fluid from the geothermal vents.

Geothermal Core
The huge machinery of Harmonic Core #3 serves as one of the primary power sources for Hephaestus. Jack disables the core by creating a sympathetic overload via Kyburz' EMP bomb.

Map
'This map is interactive. Click on an icon to find out more about it, or choose a tab to see a different map.' Hephaestus/Map|Normal Map||true Hephaestus/ADMap|Audio Diaries Hephaestus/PaTMap|Plasmids and Tonics

Single Use Events

 * There are two Power to the People vending machines

New Plasmids and Tonics (Found)

 * Frozen Field 2 - In a room on the right side of Andrew Ryan's trophy room.
 * Damage Research - Lower Workshops.
 * Security Evasion 2 - Lower Heat Loss Monitoring.
 * Shorten Alarms 2 - Next to a corpse in Geothermal Control.

New Plasmids and Tonics (Available at a Gatherer's Garden)

 * Cyclone Trap 2 - Price: 80 ADAM
 * Electro Bolt 3 - Price: 150 ADAM
 * Wrench Lurker 2 - Price: 50 ADAM

Audio Diaries

 * 1) Bill McDonagh - Ryan Takes F Futuristics - Outside Hephaestus Bathysphere station, search the crate near a Circus of Values
 * 2) Kyburz - Scoping the Gate - In the room containing a Circus of Values and Vita-Chamber
 * 3) Bill McDonagh - Stopping Ryan - In the room with the entrance to Ryan's office, in the corpse on the first right column
 * 4) Anya Andersdotter - Going to Heat Loss - In the room with the entrance to Ryan's office, in the corpse on the third right column
 * 5) Andrew Ryan - A Man or a Parasite - In the room with the entrance to Ryan's office, on a desk in the room on the right
 * 6) Bill McDonagh - Fontaine's Legacy - Hephaestus Core near the Vita-Chamber
 * 7) Anya Andersdotter - Assassin - Hephaestus Core near the Gatherer's Garden
 * 8) Pablo Navarro - Kyburz Door Code - Heat Loss Monitoring on the floor in the corner
 * 9) Bill McDonagh - Genetic Arms Race - Lower Heat Loss Monitoring in the flooded area on the desk
 * 10) Pablo Navarro - Getting a Break - Lower Heat Loss Monitoring on the desk near the Gene Tonic
 * 11) Andrew Ryan - Impossible Anywhere Else - Hephaestus Core on the desk in the bottom walkway
 * 12) Pablo Navarro - Running Short on R-34s - On a desk outside the entrance to the Workshops
 * 13) Kyburz - Device Almost Finished - Lower Workshops on the desk opposite the base of the stairs
 * 14) Andrew Ryan - Great Chain Moves Slowly - Kyburz' office on the desk in the back of the room
 * 15) Kyburz - The Dream - Lower Workshops on a corpse in the room after the crawlspace
 * 16) Kyburz - Assembling the Bomb - In the crawlspace room on the desk
 * 17) Pablo Navarro - Market Maintenance Code - Take the crawlspace on the left to the entrance of Kyburz' office, which leads under the stairs

Walkthrough
{{Sp|width=100%|Extended Walkthrough|2=

Entry Hall

 * The entry passageway circles left and right. Go left.
 * Upon seeing three barrels, pick up one of them with Telekinesis.
 * Round the corner, aim at a Splicer and fire the barrel at him.
 * Turn, pick up second barrel and get the next Splicer.
 * Take the hall to the left, go through the door, then down the ramp to another door.
 * Turn right, pick up another barrel, go to the right, facing the door up the steps.
 * Fire it at the Splicer.
 * Go back to the center of the area and pick up a Chemical Thrower.
 * Go up the steps to the first room.

First Room

 * A Turret is to the left when going in.
 * Use Target Dummy or Electro Bolt, and hack it.
 * Circus of Values ("CoV") is in the back left corner.
 * Two Frag Grenades and money are by it.
 * Crate: Audio Diary, two Distilled Waters, one Enzyme Sample.
 * CoV is a "very hard" hack, but has Antipersonnel Auto Rounds.

Second Room

 * CoV to the far left. Nearby: Potato Chips, Audio Diary.
 * Health Station: hack it or break it.
 * Left side of room: EVE Hypo.
 * Middle: Grenade Launcher. Grab it.
 * A Frag then drops down, which can be picked up.
 * A Heat-Seeking RPG then drops down, but if the player gets it, three Spider Splicers attack.


 * Around the wall at the back is a Security Camera above the door.
 * A U-Invent is at the far right end of that area.

Ryan's Trophy Room

 * Upon entering, go right to see a locked door where Splicers will enter.
 * One may want to put gas tanks with Proximity Mines there.


 * Ryan's office door is at the far end and is protected by a electromagnetic lock.
 * Searching the last hanging body on the right triggers an attack.
 * Search all the bodies but that one first.
 * Door in middle of right platform opens to a flooded room.
 * Loot: Audio Diary, Frag, Frozen Field 2.
 * Safe under desk: $21, 100 Napalm, 3 Proxy Mines. Exit room.


 * Set Proxy Mines, gas tanks, Cyclone Traps, and Trap Bolts around.
 * Search the last body and move to the end of the platform facing the Splicers' door.
 * Napalm as many as possible. When all the traps are down, retreat to the flooded room.
 * When done, exit through the now-open door and turn left.
 * Go through another flooded room with a dead Big Daddy in the middle to...

Hephaestus Core

 * Raised walkway: with luck, there'll be a Big Daddy below.
 * This is an easy kill because he has to run upstairs to get Jack.
 * It's recommended to set traps on the ramp leading to Jack before attacking the Bouncer.
 * Much later, the player will have to kill two other Big Daddies, so lay off them until then.
 * Reload while he runs upstairs and finish off his last little health.
 * There is an Audio Diary on this level.
 * Napalm by the machines next to stairs. First Aid Kit ("FAK") on the machine opposite it.
 * Go downstairs.
 * Liquid Nitrogen ahead to the right. Gatherer's Garden ahead to the left. Audio Diary next to it.
 * Power to the People station opposite the Gatherer's Garden.
 * Sabotaged Circus of Values ahead on the left. Leave it alone, lest one wants to offer themselves a live Frag Grenade.
 * Kill the Splicer in front of it.
 * To right of the machine, find an Automatic Hack Tool by a corpse.
 * Crate ahead: Distilled Water.
 * Down the next set of stairs: FAK, Electric Gel, Antipersonnel Auto Rounds, CoV, Audio Diary.
 * Go back up and head the other way until one reaches a Security Camera (Very Hard).
 * Hack the device.
 * Below it: FAK, Audio Diary.
 * End of platform: Crossbow.
 * Nook to the left: Proximity Mine, 00 Buck. Safe (Very Hard): $58, Antipersonnel Auto Rounds, and a Steel-Tip Bolt.
 * With so much cash around, paying to hack the safe is reasonable.

Heat Loss Monitoring

 * Room filled with corpses: The last three are feigning death.
 * The lights will go out momentarily. Nothing happens the first time, so don't worry.
 * After the lights go out the second time, Napalm the "corpses" at the end.
 * From this moment on, some Splicers will pretend to be dead.
 * The best way to check a corpse is to use Telekinesis ("TK"). If the "corpse" doesn't come to the player, then it's a live Splicer.
 * Next room under the stairs on the right: EVE Hypo, FAK, Frag Grenade.
 * Pneumo tube on the right. Ahead: Audio Diary, Coffee, lockbox.
 * Cross the stairs to a CoV with a lockbox by its left side.
 * Go back down the stairs and turn right. A Splicer is playing dead. Make it so.
 * Down the stairs, two of the three bodies are fakers.
 * Under the stairs: Frag Grenade, Napalm.
 * From the stairs, a nook to left has a machine to disable the electricity saturating the water.
 * Hack it or fire a few shots at the red light in the fan opposite the machine.
 * Go down to the water: Audio Diary, Incendiary Bolts, cash.
 * Continue to the left: Pep Bars, file cabinet with components.
 * Stairs down: crate, Frag Grenade, Audio Diary, Security Evasion 2.
 * Return to the core.

Workshops

 * To the left is a nook with Trap Bolts and a Crossbow.
 * Take the first right.
 * Around the corner by the desk are two Splicers and a Turret.
 * Right of the Turret: Machine Gun and FAK.
 * Left of Turret is a U-Invent (Very Hard).


 * In the back are lockers and a safe (Very Hard) containing 6 Frags, 00 Buck, and Steel-Tip Bolts.
 * Go back to the main area (of this room) and turn right. Check the desks.
 * Go down the stairs by the El Ammo Bandito.
 * To the left of the stairs are two Turrets.
 * Run straight down the stairs and into a small room.
 * FAK, Proximity Mine, Audio Diary
 * Use TK to move the tanks from the back right corner.


 * Hop over the desks and go through the passageway.
 * Coming out, move to the left across the hall to the far end of the sign.
 * Turrets are now around the corner to the right. Hack them.


 * Kyburz' Office
 * Enter the door code (0126).
 * Clear all the Trap Bolts.


 * Liquid Nitrogen on desk. Pneumo tube has some Electric Gel.
 * Power To The People station, Proxy Mine, Audio Diary.
 * Press the button on right side of the desk and move behind it.
 * A Turret rises out of the floor by the entry door.
 * Once handled, get the nitroglycerin at the end of the room.


 * Turn left out of the office, down the hall, and enter a room.
 * Audio Diary on the corpse.
 * Napalm, Frag Grenade, Health Station, EVE Hypo.


 * Crawl space area: two FAKs, Damage Research, Audio Diary
 * This is where the player has to come back to assemble the bomb.


 * Exit, then go right back in to insert the nitroglycerin into the bomb.
 * A Splicer greets Jack when the player exits the crawl space and goes round the corner.


 * Search the Big Daddy for an R-34 Wire Cluster. One down, three to go.
 * When back to the Turrets, enter the crawl space in front of the left Turret.
 * Various ammo, Electric Gel, components, Audio Diary.


 * Go back upstairs.
 * The first Big Daddy one meets has over half his health gone. Easy kill.
 * Loot on Big Daddy: second R-34 Wire Cluster, cash.


 * Exit the core.
 * Go back to the flooded room with the dead Big Daddy in the middle.
 * A Splicer may be playing dead in front of the door to the glass tunnel.
 * Loot the third R-34.


 * Return to the core and find another Big Daddy.
 * This one will have full health.
 * That is the last R-34.
 * There are plenty of Ionic Gel cans around the core, so it's rather easy to find them.
 * Run all the way back to the crawl space to avoid any more Splicers.
 * There's often another faker just before crawl space entrance.
 * Complete and pick up the bomb.
 * Splicers await Jack's exit.
 * Take care of them, then go to...

Geothermal Control

 * The room the player is going into has Turrets on either side.
 * These should be hacked for defense.
 * While turning the wheel, it is impossible to defend oneself.
 * Get Six Proximity Mines out of a crate on the platform.
 * On each side, put one by the door, one on the stairs and one further along.
 * When ready, turn the wheel.
 * Take the elevator, then the walkways to a corpse, an Automatic Hack Tool and Shorten Alarms 2.
 * Continue to the Core Lift Control. Place the bomb.

Back to Ryan's Office
}}
 * Nothing is going to blow up, so take as much time as one needs.
 * Some Security Bots will come for Jack.
 * If one has Natural Camouflage, stand still and wait for them to leave.
 * Otherwise, run.
 * Start following the arrow and killing Splicers.
 * The player will often face multiple Splicers. Target Dummy and Enrage are handy.
 * On to Rapture Central Control.

Behind the Scenes

 * Hephaestus was the Greek God of volcanoes, blacksmithing, and forging, making it an appropriate name for such a place.
 * There are some grammatical goofs present in the game regarding Kyburz's name. Audio diaries such as "Getting a Break" write his name in the possessive tense as "Kyburz'." However, the maps and goal updates list it as "Kyburz's." Singular nouns ending in "s" or "z" gain another "s" after the apostrophe, in which case "Kyburz's" is correct.