Weapons

You get a wide variety of different weapons, from Plasmids to guns. In BioShock anything and everything can be a weapon.

Plasmids
The Gene Bank provides you with instant genetic modifications that empower you with different abilities. Alter your genes in four different ways with Plasmids, Physical Tonics, Engineering Tonics, and Combat Tonics.

Wrench
The only close range weapon the main character can equip in the entire game.

There are a huge number of plasmids that cater to the wrench and melee combat. With the proper cocktail of [Tonics] the wrench can be a devastating weapon to the point where the only time you will have to use ammo is to deal with [Big Daddies].

Pistol
Never enter battle without your trusted sidearm!

The Pistol does a moderate amount of damage and is excellent at scoring headshots. Its small ammo capacity, the pistol's main weakness, can be quadrupled at a "Power to the People" station, making it a far more effective weapon.

Ammo

 * .38 Calibre rounds - Moderate amount of piercing damage.
 * .38 Calibre armor piercing rounds - Moderate amount of armor piercing damage.
 * .38 Calibre antipersonnel rounds - Moderate amount of antipersonnel damage.

Shotgun
Fires a wide burst of pellets, most effective at a short range.

The shotgun is highly effective when first picked up, but it loses some of its power as the game progresses and the enemies become tougher. It is highly effective against spider splicers and thuggish splicers;however, it does little damage to tough leadhead and nitro splicers except at point blank range. The shotgun is excellent at killing splicers mimicking corpses. Its secondary weapons are powerful, but rare and expensive. Frozen splicers can usually be blown to pieces by a few shotgun blasts.

Ammo

 * 00 Buck - Moderate amount of piercing damage.
 * Electric Buck - Fires electrical rounds. More powerful than the Electrobolt.
 * Exploding Buck - Fires large amounts of combined piercing heat rounds. Almost like Incinerate.

Crossbow
Fires highly accurate crossbow bolts. Its accuracy and higher head-shot bonus makes it an excellent sniper.

The crossbow's headshot capability makes it a powerful but difficult weapon to use in the tight corridors of Rapture. It is great for taking out unaware splicers at range. Its long reload cycle makes it a poor close range weapon. The trap bolts it fires are an excellent way to damage a charging Big Daddy.

Ammo

 * Standard Bolt - A standard crossbow bolt.
 * Incendiary Bolt - Sends a large amount of heat damage.
 * Trap Bolt - Creates an electric wire which when triggered, does a large amount of electric damage.

Grenade/Rocket Launcher
Launches a variety of grenades and rockets.

The high damage dealt by this weapon makes it ideal against bosses, Big Daddies, and large groups of splicers. By tagging a movable object with multiple proximity mines then grabbing it with telekinesis, a player can deal a massive amount of damage in one shot.

Ammo

 * Fragmentation Grenade - Standard grenade.
 * Proximity Mine - A mine that does a large amount of damage when triggered.
 * Heat-seeking Rocket - A guided rocket that does a large amount of damage in a radius.

Machine Gun
Fires a rapid spray of bullets. Very effective against groups or a close range.

The machine gun remains an effective weapon throughout the game. Coupled with antipersonnel ammo, the machine gun can quickly kill any splicer. It is also effective against "Rosies" when shot at a distance; however, "Bouncers", with their melee attack, generally kill the player before enough shots are fired. Unlike most of the other guns, the machine gun does not pair well with electrobolt or winter blast, as the gun's bullets are weak individually and the target quickly revives before much damage can be dealt.

Ammo

 * Machine Gun Rounds - Standard machine gun rounds.
 * Antipersonnel Auto Rounds - Small amount of antipersonnel damage.
 * Armor Piercing Auto Rounds - A small amount of armor piercing damage.

Chemical Thrower
Sprays a stream of chemicals at short range.

The chemical thrower is not only excellent at decimating groups of splicers at once, it can also be used in conjunction with other weapons. A short burst of liquid nitrogen will freeze an enemy and allow it to be killed with the wrench or the shotgun.

Ammo

 * Napalm - A moderate amount of heat damage. Plus you can set enemies on fire.
 * Liquid Nitrogen - Moderate amount of freezing damage. You can freeze enemies.
 * Electric Gel - Shoots out electricity. You can shock enemies.