Bucking Bronco

"BUCKING BRONCO: Knock your enemies for a loop and keep them hanging high!"

- Fink Manufacturing advertisement

Bucking Bronco is one of the Vigors in BioShock Infinite. Manufactured by Simon Pure, Bucking Bronco allows the user to cause the ground to crack like an earthquake, throwing and suspending enemies into the air, thus rendering them momentarily defenseless and increasing the damage they take.

When cast directly, Bucking Bronco travels as a wave through the scenery until it comes into contact with an enemy, whereupon they and everyone near them will be thrown in the air and float for a few seconds. When charged, Bucking Bronco can be laid down as a stationary trap inflicting a much more potent effect of the cast effect across a wider radius. Bucking Bronco is effective against all organic enemies, including Firemen, Beasts and Zealots, but has no effect on machinery.

BioShock Infinite


Bucking Bronco is the fourth Vigor the player secures in the game, but also the first the player has the opportunity to use: in the Columbia 1912 Raffle and Fair, in one of the fairground games called "Cast Out the Devil", the player can use the Vigor to launch a man dressed in a devil costume into the air to "protect" a cardboard cutout of a mother and child. Booker then loses access to this Vigor until reaching Soldier's Field, whereupon a crate of Bucking Bronco can be found right before the ticketing area leading to the Hall of Heroes.

Official

 * Bucking Bronco and Devil's Kiss form one of BioShock Infinite's eight official Vigor combinations: firing Devil's Kiss at an enemy levitated with Bucking Bronco will cause a cluster of miniature fire bombs to erupt from the target, igniting all surrounding enemies.
 * Bucking Bronco can also be combined with Charge: Charging into a levitated enemy will send them soaring into the air, which will frequently send them over the edge of Columbia. If not, then they'll still take increased fall damage and be momentarily splayed across the floor.

Unofficial

 * Though not an official Vigor combo, pushing levitated enemies away with Undertow when near the edge of the city will send them floating to their doom.

Combat Strategy

 * Suspended enemies will be propelled back by gunfire. Pushing a foe back with a few shots from the Pistol is an economical way to send an enemy floating to their death. Note that the Volley Gun does not push enemies back.
 * Though suspended enemies still move around while in the air, they are nonetheless vulnerable to headshots. It is thus recommended to equip Bucking Bronco when trying to use the Sniper Rifle in the middle of combat.
 * Bucking Bronco can be used to lift enemies out of cover, even if they are hiding behind portions of the scenery.
 * If the player is being harassed, suspending the offender (or offenders) with Bucking Bronco can relieve tension in the middle of combat.
 * Bucking Bronco is ineffective against automatons, including Motorized Patriots. However, casting it at the latter will still render them momentarily vulnerable.
 * As the Siren is already airborne, Bucking Bronco does not stun her. Furthermore, she is immune to the Vigor's vulnerability effect.
 * It is generally advised to combine Bucking Bronco with high-power weapons such as the Shotgun, Hand Cannon, Sniper Rifle and Volley Gun, as they will be able to kill most enemies in one shot.
 * Bronco Aid is useful when faced with spread-out groups of enemies, as it can catch foes from farther away.
 * Bronco Boost is a cheap way to stun enemies for extensive periods of time. Combined with Bronco Aid, it allows the Vigor to suspend most of the foes in an area for around ten seconds.

Recommended Gear

 * Blood to Salt will refill the player's Salts when killing enemies. As foes suspended with Bucking Bronco are easier to kill, a single cast of this Vigor followed by a damaging strike against a group can more than compensate for its small cost.
 * Head Master synergizes very strongly with Bucking Bronco when trying to kill enemies with headshots.
 * Health for Salts can help the player in desperate situations, as Bucking Bronco has a rather small cost and won't deplete the player's health by too much.
 * Last Man Standing works if using Bucking Bronco as a last resort, as killing the suspended enemies will restore the player's health to manageable levels.
 * Quick Handed can help if trying to take down every suspended enemy before they land back down.
 * Rising Bloodlust will allow the player to dispose of suspended groups of enemies more easily, as it's fairly easy to ramp up this Gear's damage increase to its maximum when the targets are under the effects of Bucking Bronco.
 * Storm will cause Bucking Bronco's effects to chain to nearby enemies upon killing a target, offering an alternate version of Bronco Aid. Additionally, it'll vastly increase the spread of elemental effects when using Vigors on suspended enemies.
 * Tunnel Vision works well with Bucking Bronco, as suspended targets can't blindside the player while zoomed in. Furthermore, it can help clear waves of enemies before they can reach the ground.

Burial at Sea - Episode 1


Bucking Bronco makes a return in the first episode of Burial at Sea, one of BioShock Infinite's downloadable content, as a drinkable Plasmid, while retaining his original use. However, an upgrade for this Plasmid makes levitating enemies being pulled together.

Behind the Scenes

 * Bucking Bronco is a term used in the Old West when ranchers or cowboys had to break a horse in by riding it while it bucked up and down.
 * The Bucking Bronco Vigor makes a physical appearance in the E3 2011 Demo when Booker DeWitt, along with Elizabeth, discovers it while looting for supplies inside Major's Notions, Sundries and Novelties. Each bottle appeared to have 12 uses before it needs to be replenished, though this system has been abandoned in favor of a more traditional Salts bar.
 * A vending machine sells Bucking Bronco at the Columbia 1912 Fair, but the price is 375 Silver Eagles, well above what the player can obtain at the time. Oddly enough, this is the price of four samples of Bucking Bronco, and the machine does not sell individual bottles.
 * According to the game's files, Bucking Bronco used to be named Rolling Thunder during the development of BioShock Infinite.
 * When the Vigor is used, the seismic wave creates glowing crevices will appear on the ground as any enemies hit by the wave are launched. A horse's whinny is also heard.
 * In the TV commercial, Bucking Bronco was used to hurl Citizens at an oncoming Handyman (similar to Telekinesis). However, with the simplified physics and fixed objects in the final version of the game, the feature was scrapped altogether.