Murder of Crows

"MURDER OF CROWS: Stun and damage your enemies with a thousand needling beaks."

- Fink Manufacturing advertisement

Murder of Crows is a Vigor in BioShock Infinite that gives control over groups of crows. Casting the Vigor sends out a swarm (or murder, hence the name) of crows that will attack all enemies in front of the player, momentarily distracting them and dealing continuous minor damage. Charging the Vigor will deploy a crow trap at the target location for twice the Salts cost which, upon detonation, will send out crows to attack every enemy in a wide radius. Murder of Crows is ineffective against all automatons, Zealots of the Lady and the Siren.

BioShock Infinite


Murder of Crows is the third Vigor the player acquires over the course of the game. While going through the headquarters of the Fraternal Order of the Raven, Booker will run into a Zealot of the Lady, who drops the Vigor upon death.

Official

 * Electrifying the crows with Shock Jockey will infuse them with the electrical effect, causing them to deal minor additional damage and stun targets all around them for much longer, also doubling the damage they take.
 * Igniting the crows with Devil's Kiss will set them on fire, causing them to deal significantly more damage and ignite enemies all around them.

Unofficial

 * Enemies distracted by Murder of Crows will be unable to retaliate if the player uses Charge to ram into them. Against lone targets, this can turn the combo into a long-distance escape mechanism.
 * If Crows Trap Aid has been purchased, finishing enemies off with a cast of Undertow can send the booby-trapped corpses into other enemies, perpetuating the effects of the Vigor.
 * Enemies can be pulled into a crow trap or crow trap corpse with Undertow.

Combat Strategy

 * Murder of Crows will continue damaging enemies for a short while after the distraction effect wears off.
 * Automatons, Zealots of the Lady and the Siren are immune to the effects of Murder of Crows. Handymen are affected, but will be only remain distracted for three quarters of the standard effect.
 * Murder of Crows is most effective against groups of enemies, as casting the Vigor will swarm every nearby enemy at once.
 * Murder of Crows is useful both in offensive and defensive situations: initiating an attack with the Vigor will allow the player to take down multiple enemies before they can fight back, whereas casting it when cornered will let the player escape to better ground.
 * Though potent, Murder of Crows does not deal much damage by itself. On the other hand, it has the potential to multiply the effects of other Vigors through combos and spread their effects. As such, it is usually best to follow up on Murder of Crows with another Vigor.
 * Crows will seek out enemies when deployed, and will home in on faraway targets.
 * Crow traps can be manually detonated by attacking them. If the attack is electrical or flame-based, the effects will pass on to the crows.
 * Crows Trap Aid is very useful against large groups, especially when combined with other Vigors such as Shock Jockey and Devil's Kiss. Firing Murder of Crows at a group will reapply the effects of the Vigor on each member every time a foe dies, thus dealing high amounts of damage by itself in the long run.
 * Crows Boost is a cheap and effective way to relieve tension in fights, especially when using weapons that require precise aim such as the Carbine or the Sniper Rifle.

Recommended Gear

 * Blood to Salt will partially refill the player's Salts upon killing enemies, allowing more casts of this Vigor.
 * Executioner will allow the player to melee rush distracted enemies with far greater effectiveness.
 * Ghost Posse/Ghost Soldier will allow the player to raise weapon allies after killing enemies with crow traps.
 * Head Master will allow the player to pick off tougher enemies more easily while they are distracted.
 * Health for Salts will allow the player to cast this Vigor in difficult situations and lessen the burden of Murder of Crows' high Salts cost.
 * Hill Runner's Hat will facilitate the player's escape if using Murder of Crows to run away safely.
 * Overkill will electrify all crows in the area upon activation, in addition to shocking nearby enemies.
 * Pyromaniac will ignite the crows if this Vigor is used immediately upon this Gear's activation, making for a devastatingly damaging comeback.
 * Shock Jacket will electrify the crows if this Vigor is used immediately upon this Gear's activation, allowing the player to either make safe escape or fight back more effectively.
 * Storm does not affect Murder of Crows directly, but will help propagate the effects of Devil's Kiss and Shock Jockey when used in combination with the Vigor, allowing the player to spread Murder of Crows as well if they purchased Crows Trap Aid.
 * Tunnel Vision will increase the player's damage when zoomed in, rendering aimed shots at distracted targets much more effective.
 * Urgent Care will allow the player to begin recharging their Shields while enemies are distracted.

Behind the Scenes

 * "Murder" is the term for a group or flock of crows.
 * Murder of Crows is the successor to Insect Swarm, as they both allow the player to create and control other creatures in the form of an attack to distract and damage enemies en masse.
 * In BioShock Infinite's debut gameplay trailer, Booker DeWitt finds this ability next to the corpse of Charles. It is used shortly after the Sky-Line sequence in a bar where Booker takes refuge in from Saltonstall.
 * In the E3 2011 Gameplay, Booker finds it next to the corpse marked "CAPITALIST," in front of a destroyed statue. It is later used on the Vox Populi to distract them while he escaped on the Sky-Line toward a Security Zeppelin. Each bottle appears to have 4 uses before it needs to be replenished.
 * Murder of Crows reappears in the Beast of America trailer with much of the same cosmetic effects as its in-game version. It is in this iteration that Booker develops feathers and talons on his hand, and that the crows show themselves capable of picking off the skin and flesh of enemies. This evolution, along with the development of its combat abilities, was elaborated upon in the IGN Gameplay commentary.
 * Though Murder of Crows is advertised as selling for $1 a bottle (and $5 for a batch of 6), the actual in-game cost of Murder of Crows is 150 Silver Eagles.
 * The replica Murder of Crows container reveals the initial production date of this enhancement to be 1895.
 * Murder of Crows also makes an appearance as a usable item in PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale. Its ability in-game differs from its original function, where here it reverses the controls of the opposing players who are hit by the crows for a limited time.
 * Marlowe, developer of Murder of Crows, is shown to be a major contributor to The Founders, as his scalp is shown nailed to a board in Emporia by the Vox Populi.
 * In the downloadable content Clash in the Clouds, Murder of Crows can be purchased from the vending machines in the Columbian Archeological Society for 250 Silver Eagles.