Spec Ops

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"...if you're going to do such things, at least you should do them properly." - Brigid Tenenbaum This article, Spec Ops , or a section of this article may require overall cleanup.

For the removed content from other installments, see Removed Content.

Emporia in Spec Ops.

Spec Ops was a cut multiplayer mode for BioShock Infinite, which had four players working together to defeat various AI-controlled enemies. These battles would take place in areas inspired by locations from the single-player portion of the game and these areas would change over time to tell a narrative about the game's two factions, the Vox Populi and the Founders. The maps would have some randomized content as well as loot that could be used by players to modify or upgrade their characters in some way.

Gameplay

The Spec Ops Lobby Screen.

In general, the gameplay for Spec Ops seems similar to that of the main game at the time, but with modifications appropriate to co-op multiplayer. A match involves four players working cooperatively to kill enemies and complete objectives with many objectives needing all four players working together to do so. The weapons for the main game are present as are all of the Vigors with the exception of Possession. Gear are present, and unlike in the main game, a large number can be in use at the same time.

Characters

Starting off in Spec Ops there is a Character Creation Screen. This screen allows the player to choose the name of the character, the gender, the voice, the character’s head (face and hair style or possibly a mask) and the gear set. While not certain, the gear set could refer to the equipment the player would carry, basically a pre-built set of cosmetics, and not Gear. Characters are persistent across games with things like skill level, money and equipment such as weapons, Vigors and Gear being saved as part of that character. It seems that a player could have more than one character at a time, but it is unknown how many. Players had the ability to “Prestige” a character. This action causes resets a character to Level 1 and everything else is lost with the exception of the Prestige level. It may be possible to Prestige a character multiple times. Characters can be deleted by the player or replaced with a new character. It is unknown if you can modify a character after they have been created of how much they can be modified is modification was possible.

A note about how BioShock Infinite does many of it’s character models. Most human characters have two major parts to their models, a head and a body. This way you can use a number of different heads on the same body model to give some level of variation to how appear to the player. For Spec Ops that means the player might be able to choose from a number of different heads or even bodies for their characters. Some parts of a character other than the head, such as weapons and helmets, are separate models that are attached to either the head or body models. This allows for a large amount of variation so long as the assets have been created. It is unknown if a player will be able to choose heads and other assets used in the main game, but it seems likely that at least some of them would be able to be used.

Character Customization

"Mock ups" for the Character Customization screen point to a fairly large degree of customization being available with different locations as well as half a dozen different cosmetics available. The ones seen in the mock-ups are "Hats" and "Neck". These two slots indicate, but do not prove, the following list of slots as being for Cosmetics and not Gear.

• Head
• Neck
• Body
• Belt
• Pocket
• Accessory
• Legs
• Boots

The Character Customization Mock Ups show a price for Cosmetics as well as a Level. The Level listing could be an indication of at what level the player must be to buy the cosmetic. Or the Level could have no real meaning at all other than as a small bit of "flavor text" as seen in Team Fortress 2 cosmetics.

Different mock-ups for character customization for Spec Ops.

Spec Ops Economy

Players can visit three different establishments before and after missions. They are F. Funbridge & Co., Founders Club and the General Store. F. Funbridge & Co. is a firing range where the players can upgrade weapons and create different weapons loadouts and possibly test out their weapons. At the Founders Club and General Store the players may purchase and sell items (loot) they picked up during a mission, they received for finishing a mission or as part of the rewards for completing a Bounty. It is not stated what can be purchased at these two stores, but logically it would be things like Vigors, armor, Salt and Gear. At least some items in the stores have a limited availability and the player will not always be able to buy what they want even if they have enough money. New items are supposed to arrive daily at the stores which allows the player the chance to buy what they wanted some later time. Items sold to the stores by the player can later be bought back by that player.

Multiplayer Lobby and Parties

Spec Ops had a multiplayer lobby that a player would join to play a match of Spec Ops. It was in this lobby that a "party" of four players would be formed to play the match. Invitations could be sent out by a member of the party to specific players to join a party. This would allow players to be part of a party with their friends or other people they wanted to regularly play with rather than have a party formed only with the luck of the draw. These invitations of course could be refused. There were three types of matches Invite to party, Quick Match and Private Match.

Skill Levels

Pop up announcing the player has gained a level.

As is common in multiplayer games players are able to gain levels that given them some kind of benefit. While it is unknown what kind of benefits there are some possibilities are access to upgrades for Vigors and weapons, different Gear, more default loadout slots, additional Vigor slots and some form of currency. Game files indicate that the players can attain a maximum of level 50. Players would gain skill points through preforming specific actions in the game such as killing enemies, interactions with other players and completing objectives with XP Awards for completing specific goals.

Selected XP Awards

• "100 NURSERY KILLS"
• "20 MELEE KILLS"
• "COMPLETED 10 GAMES"
• "GROUP PHOTO"
• "HANDYMAN SAVIOR"
• "TRIPLE KILL"
• "EXECUTION"
• "DETACH THE ANCHORS"
• "PAYBACK"
• "ROLLING THUNDER COMBO"

Some of the XP Awards seem to be similar to those in Clash in the Clouds.

Enemies

Many of the enemies from the main game appear in Spec Ops but not all of them. The Fireman, Police, Citizen and some automatons such as the Mosquito from the main game are not referenced. Enemies not referenced may still be in Spec Ops, but there is just not evidence that they are. A cut enemy called the Incinerator is likely an early version of the Fireman.

Returning Enemies

• Soldiers (Various different types)
• Gun Automaton and Rocket Automaton
• Handyman
• Zealot of the Lady (Listed as MoC Man.)
• Motorized Patriot
• Beast (Listed as Flak Cannoner.)
• Siren
• Boy of Silence

Since this is earlier in development, the Boy of Silence can be engaged and killed by the players unlike in the main game.

New or Cut Enemies

• Enhancer
• Incinerator- Possibly a Fireman or Kamikaze DK by a different name. It is also possible that the Incinerator is a Vigor Junkie that used the Devil's Kiss Vigor.
• Shielder- The Shielder is also called a Shielded Shotgunner. The name suggests someone protected by Return to Sender or Winter Shield Gear. It is possible that the Shielder is not only capable of protecting themselves, but their allies as well.
• Volter- A Vigor Junkie that uses Shock Jockey and is referenced as being called "Salt of the Earth". The model can still be found in BioShock Infinite's files.
• Vox Gun Automaton, Vox Rocket Automaton- Presumably Founder Gun and Rocket Automaton that have been reprogramed to help the Vox, but there is a possibility that these Automaton are some sort of Vox creation.
• Vox Armored Gun Automaton- A Vox Gun Automaton that has been given heavy armor.

Tears

Tears play a large part in the objectives for the Library map. The players have to open a number of them to complete their mission and even leave the mission upon it's completion through a Tear. The game mechanisms of how the players are supposed to open these Tears is unknown, but all players need to be in close proximity to the Tear to open or close it. This would lead to a "stand your ground" situation where players would need to defend a small area against enemy attacks. This mechanic is seen in other multiplayer games such as Team Fortress 2 and GTFO.

Example Objectives Involving Tears

• "Open the Hallway Tear."
• "Exit the Library through a tear on the third floor."
• "Open the Tear with your team to activate the Shock Jockey."
• "Survive until the tear opens and the team can escape."

Loadout Slots

GUI of a Default Loadout Screen.

Spec Ops player are able to create Default Loadouts that they start off a mission with. This Default Loadout determines what two weapons are carried, the two Vigors that are swappable as well as a list of all Vigors available, what Gear are equipped and the Boosts that are at the players disposal. The number of Default Loadout slot is variable making it seem very likely that as the players level up they will gain more slots. The number of Vigor and Gear slots also seem to be variable and the player needs to level up to get more of them. While the players start a mission with a default loadout, players can drop and pick up weapons and in some cases pick up Vigors. It is unknown if Vigors picked up during a mission become part of the players permanent arsenal or not.

Armor

Models for the cut Protecto-Gear.

For at least some of development the players would have some form to armor to wear. This is shown by a series of Bounties called "Blacksmith" and involve a player giving another player an "Armor Disk". It is likely, but not proven, the armor being referenced is the cut "Protecto-Gear" or something similar.

Weapons

• Knife (A Gear named Knife Master attests to the weapons existence at one point in development.)
• Barnstormer RPG
• Bird's Eye Sniper Rifle
• Broadsider Pistol
• China Broom Shotgun
• Heater
• Huntsman Carbine
• Burstgun
• Paddywhacker Hand Cannon
• Peppermill Crank Gun
• Pig Flak Volley Gun
• Hail Fire
• Triple R Machine Gun
• Repeater
• Sky-Hook (This may be the early version of the Sky-Hook that could only be used for moving along a Sky-Line, rather than the one in the main game, which was used as a melee weapon.)

Other Weapons

These are weapons that are not part of the player's loadout, but may still be present on the maps and could be used by the players.

• Artillery Gun- It is unknown if the Artillery Gun is the same as the cut Artillery Cannon.

Cut Weapons

• Poison Dart Gun

Vigors

The Vigor loadout screen.

All of the Vigors from the main game are present in Spec Ops with the exception of Possession. It is unknown why this Vigor was not included, but there are indications that it was to be included and was then cut. While it is not totally certain, it seems there are a maximum of seven slots for Vigors available but this does not mean that the player starts off with those seven slots and they may need to earn more Vigor slots by leveling up.

• Bucking Bronco
• Charge
• Devil's Kiss
• Murder of Crows
• Return to Sender
• Shock Jockey
• Undertow

Cut Vigors

• Super Jump- There is no information on this Vigor other than it exists as per the Super Jump Ammo Increase 1 Gear and the Old Pickup List, though the name suggests it would give an ability similar to that of the Leg Up Gene Tonic for the BioShock 2 Multiplayer.
• Possession- Listed in the game files as Enrage.
• Teleport- This cut Vigor shares a name with a cut Plasmid from the first BioShock game.
• Weapon Slave/Ghost Posse
• Winter Blast- Has the same name as a Plasmid from BioShock and presumably similar effects. While cut from the main game as well as Spec Ops, this Vigor would return as Old Man Winter in Burial at Sea - Episode 1.

Potions

Potion are a new mechanic introduced in Spec Ops and little is known about it. What we know is that there can be up to five Slots that can hold Potions and that you cannot pick up Potions during a mission. The effects of the few Potions we have information on suggest they are made use of outside of a mission but they have clear effects for happens during a mission and even when the player who used the Potion is not present in the game.

Known Potions

• FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE GAINS- "Causes all friends to gain a 1% bonus to XP for 24 hours."
• POTION OF MOVEMENT SPEED- "Movement Speed Increased by 15% for the next match."

Gear

Gear Slots List

A Default Loadout Screen showing Gear Slots at the Center.

The games files and different screenshots of user interfaces don't agree on the number of Gear Slots that are available or their names. The Loadout screenshot shows eight slots. It is possible that this list of slots is for Cosmetics or that the list is the same for both Gear and Cosmetics.

• Head
• Neck
• Body
• Belt
• Pocket
• Accessory
• Legs
• Boots

Game files at indicate at least 13 (or possibly 14) Gear Slots at one point in development. While the two lists are similar in some ways, the last five on the list below indicate that the Gear Slots are part of the human body and appear intended to alter the human body. This augmenting of the player's body with artificial/mechanical systems was a concept that was considered for a time for the main game before being dropped, and the current system of wearable Gear was put into place.

• Head
• Chest
• Legs
• Belt
• Boots
• Neck
• Pocket Item
• Accessory
• ????? (Unknown name or possibly a "break" and not a Gear Slot at all.)
• Brain
• Heart
• Arms
• Lungs
• Stomach

Gear List

This list of Gears is probably not representative of what was intended to be shipped in the final game. Some of these Gear reference things that are no longer in the game such as a "Super Jump Plasmid". Other Gear listed were intended to be in the main game but were cut.

• AMMO SCROUNGER- Increases yield when picking up ammo by 15%.
• BE THE HERO- Damage output boosted 10% when health is under 50%.
• BLOODY DANGEROUS- No Description.
• BULLETPROOF- Provides 5% damage reduction vs. bullets.
• CENTERED CHI- No Description.
• CHILL BOMB- Each kill provides a 10% chance of chilling all enemies within 20 feet of the victim.
• COMEBACK- Damage output increased 25% for 30 seconds after being rescued.
• CONCUSSION BOMB- Each enemy killed provides a 10% chance of knocking back all enemies within 20 feet of the victim.
• CRITICAL CHAIN- Every critical hit provides a 15% greater chance of the next attack being a critical hit.
• CRITICAL SHARING- Each critical hit provides all allies with a 10% higher crit chance on their next attack.
• CROUCH RUNNER- Increases crouch movement speed by 40%.
• CROWD KILLER- Each enemy within 20 feet of your target increases your damage output 5%.
• DOUBLE DOWN- No Description.
• ELDER STATESMAN- All enemy states (chilled, shocked, etc.) last 20% longer.
• ELECTRIC AURA- The player has a chance to release an electric shock when they are hit by a melee attack.
• ENERGY SHIELD- Provides 20% damage reduction vs. fire and electricity.
• FAST BANDAGING- Raises First Aid Kit usage speed 20%.
• FAST RESCUER- Time to rescue friends reduced by 20%.
• FASTER RELOADS- Reload times for all weapons reduced by 10%.
• FIRE STORM- No Description.
• FIERY AURA- The player has a chance to set an attacking melee pawn on fire when hit.
• FOOL'S LUCK- No Description.
• KILL STREAKER- Each enemy killed in the past ten seconds boosts damage by 10%.
• KNIFE MASTER- Damage output boosted 30% for melee attacks.
• HAMMERBLOWS- Increases the chance that the players attacks will knockdown an enemy by 50%.
• HEADHUNTER- No Description.
• HEALTH SLUICE-Doubles the rate that the health battery recharges health.
• HIGH GROUND- Provides a 5% higher crit chance against enemies 15 or more feet below you.
• HUMAN UMBRELLA- Falling damage taken is reduced by 25%.
• IN YOUR FACE- Provides 15% damage reduction vs. melee.
• INFERNAL FLESH- No Description.
• MAX HEALTH 1- Increases max health by 20.
• NINJA STABBER- Melee attacks from behind deal 50% greater damage and heal you up to 10%.
• PAIN TO GAIN- Each critical hit scored heals allies up to 20%.
• PARASITE- First Aid Kit use deals damage equal to 10% of healed amount to all enemies within 20 feet.
• POTION KARMA- The first potion shared each day provides an XP reward of 50 times (character level).
• RESCUE MEDIC- Rescued allies receive a twenty second health bonus of 20% and damage reduction bonus of 20%.
• RUNNING HEADSHOTS- Increases XP gain from headshot kills while running by 15%.
• RUSH PATCH JOB- Decreases the amount of time it takes to heal from the health battery by 1 second.
• SPORTS BOOST- Increases the pawn's speed by 10%.
• SPRING-HEELED- The player can fall 50% farther without taking damage.
• SUPER JUMP AMMO INCREASE 1- Increases the ammo pool for the Super Jump plasmid by 4.
• SUPPLY SERGEANT- Each time ammo is looted there is a 15% chance all team members will receive ammo.
• STUNNING- No Description.
• THUNDER STORM- No Description.
• VANISHING ACT- Every kill grants a 10% chance of becoming invisible to enemies for 10 seconds.
• WHAT KNOCKER!- All knockback dealt increased by 20%.
• WINTER SHIELD- Surrounds you with an icy shield for 10 seconds that will absorb 200 damage. (A Bounty indicates that the shielding effect could be used to protect other players. The mechanism for this is unknown.)
• ZIP LINE MASTER- Heal while using ziplines if health is below 50%.

Boosts

Boosts, like Potions, are a mechanic exclusive to Spec Ops and does not appear in the main game. Boosts seem to be temporary effects that can improve some aspect of the players abilities. The Boosts we know of are "Buff Damage" and "Speed Boost" though there may be others. These Boosts can be given to other players as an Interaction and count towards fulfilling the requirements of a number of different Bounties. How much the Boosts increase the player's speed or buff the damage done is unknown.

Bounties

Bounties in Spec Ops are very similar to achievements found in most games. They mark some kind of accomplishment in the game and there are over 100 each with their own title. Many Bounties have several levels and achieving a higher level Bounty will take more of an effort and time than a low level one. For example there is a Bounty for killing 50, 250 and 1000 enemies. There are Bounties for killing a specific type of enemy with stronger enemies having a lower number of kills needed to get the Bounty. There are Bounties for using weapons and Vigors to get kills, disabling enemies with Shock Jokey or Bucking Bronco and disabling specific types of enemies. There are also Bounties for how many interactions there are as well as what type of interaction, how many times you revive someone else and complete co-operative events. Each map also has a Bounty and there are Bounties for each of the three stages. There are Bounties for getting kills with headshots for some weapons such as the Hand Cannon and Sniper Rifle and well as killing an enemy while they are falling and getting kills when the player is falling. There are even Bounties for getting kills with each weapon while either the player or the enemy is falling. Looting containers and Gear also earns Bounties as well as for getting the most experience points in a match and for not dying during a match. The use of the term Bounty indicates that upon completing a bounty the player would paid in some way. These payments include money, Gear and gameplay unlocks.

Example Bounties

• Sniper Slaughter IV (Kill 100 Sniper Rifle users on any level.)
• China Broom Kill II (Kill 25 Enemies with the China Broom.)
• Cash on Delivery II (Kill 15 Enemies with Return to Sender.)
• RPG Kill VII (Kill 1000 Enemies with the RPG.)
• Hitchcock Made Me Wonder II (Kill 15 Enemies with Murder of Crows.)
• Sniper Rifle Acrobat IV (Kill any 50 Enemies while you are falling with the Sniper Rifle.)
• Nursery Ch. 3 Slaughter IV (Get 250 kills lifetime on Nursery Ch. 3.)
• Hand Cannon Ace (Kill X number of enemies in Y seconds with the Hand Cannon.)
• Weapon Supplier VII (Use 500 "Give Weapon Ammo" Interactions.)
• Foot Race V (Use 100 Give "Speed Boost" Interactions.)
• China Broom Efficiency (Fire an entire Shotgun clip without missing or reloading.)

Currency

There are three types of currency listed on the games files for Spec Ops. While it's possible and even likely that there was only supposed to be a single currency, it is not uncommon for online multiplayer games to have more than one type of currency. One type of currency, say Dollars, could be used to buy weapons and certain upgrades, another currency like a Token, could be used to buy Potions or cosmetics.

• Dollar
• Token (Tokens for Emporia)
• Quantum Mote (The currency of choice for Icarusians.)

It is possible that the Quantum Mote is a leftover currency that was later changed to the Silver Eagle or Token.

Hacking

While hacking was removed from the final version of BioShock Infinite, work on Spec Ops had been halted before hacking had been removed. While the method for hacking in Spec Ops is unknown, it is highly probable that it is very similar or the same as the removed hacking mechanic from the main game. Games point to the possibility that the players would pick up/find the equipment needed to hack with somewhere in the level rather than arriving with it at the start of the mission. Other than hacking things like turrets and the like there was some types of equipment that could be hacked.

Interactions and Co-Operations

In order for a team to succeed in their missions and stay alive all the players must work together. In some cases it is a matter of supporting each other in combat, other times it will be working together to perform some action such as opening or closing a Tear which requires all players to be near it, or two or more players pushing a button at the same time. There are also specific instances where players can directly interact with each other and are listed below.

• Give Health Battery
• Buff Damage
• Give Weapon Ammo
• Give Plasmid Ammo
• Give Winter Shield
• Give Speed Boost
• Give Armor Disk

Another way players can interact with each other is to resuscitate or revive another player if they are killed. Some interaction can contribute to the completion of a Bounty.

Looting

As is common in BioShock games, looting for supplies is an important part of gameplay. Weapons can be found in the environment allowing players to alter their weapons loadout during gameplay in order to adapt to changing situations similar to what is seen in the main game. Ammunition for weapons and Vigors (later changed to Salt) would be swiftly be used up without the ability to gather supplies from the environment. In addition to ammunition, medical supplies such as Health Kits could be found with bandages being available in early development. At least one food item, Coffee can be looted and many other food items might be looted as well, but there is no solid evidence for this. It can be presumed that the common targets of looting in the main game (Objects such as desks, trash cans, corpses and the like) would be included in Spec Ops as well as supplies sitting out in the open. There is a Bounty for looting "Containers" which might be a reference to trash can, but that is uncertain. An aspect of looting is that sometimes one player would have looted ammunition for a weapon that they are not using. Meanwhile another player may be running out of ammunition for that some weapon. By making an "Interaction" the player with ammunition can give it to the other player and so looting would indirectly encourage cooperation among players. There are two Gear who's only purpose is to improve the results of looting AMMO SCROUNGER and SUPPLY SERGEANT.

Maps

The maps for Spec Ops have three different stages and appear to show what happens to the area as the civil war progresses. The first stage is the start of the conflict and things are much as they were before the fighting started. Stage two shows the effects of the war and areas will be damaged, there may be dead bodies around, but what the area looked like originally can still be seen. In the third and final stage, the area has taken heavy damage, roofs and walls will have collapsed, fires may have burnt up some sections and the area is well on its way to becoming ruins.

Map Names

Emporia, Finkton, Nursery, Library, Museum

Only the map names Emporia, Finkton, Library and Nursery have been found in games files. The map named Museum was taken from the file names.

Library Mission Excerpts

The roof of the Library.

We have a list of the different quests that for the three different Library missions. The are a mix of completing objectives such as closing or opening Tears, finding specific objects, moving to specific locations and defeating enemies.

• "The library has been detached from the main island for security purposes. Dock the two islands."
• "Repel the Vox assault until the island docks."
• "Open the Tear with your team to activate the Shock Jockey."
• "Close 2 Tears in the Dining Hall."
• "A Siren has been freed from the Kitchen. Defeat her!"
• "Get the Siren Key."
• "The Vox are storing bombs in the Ferry Mansion. Steal them to destroy the drawbridge."
• "Kill the Handyman."
• "Survive the Motorized Patriot Ambush."
• "Open the Tear in the Dining Hall to reveal staircases in an alternate reality."
• "Get to the Upper Island."
• "The Elevator has arrived. The team must enter to progress."

Gallery

The outside of the museum, using Battleship Bay signs as placeholders.

Museum interior.

Museum interior.

Museum interior.

The presumed museum lobby, featuring a Circus of Values placeholder model.

A homeless quarter at the museum exterior.

A multiplayer version of Emporia.

Interior of a building in Emporia.

Long distance view of an area called Racial Studies.

Presumably, just outside the main Racial Studies Building.

Another long view. Note the unknown airship on the left.

Outside views.

A massive library.

First signs of combat inside the library.

An execution site.

The war causes progressively heavier damage inside the library.

The roof has been destroyed.

Old Pickups List

In the Spec Ops files are a list of pickups from very early in development. Many of the things listed were cut later in development, but it gives an interesting look at what things were like at the time and by extension what the main game was like.

• "ELECTROBOLT" (Later renamed Shock Jockey.)
• "GATLING GUN"
• "GRENADE" (It is possible that the players would be throwing this grenade and not using a launcher.)
• "HAND CANNON"
• "HEALING GRENADE"
• "HEALING GUN"
• "HEALTH"
• "MACHINE GUN"
• "BANDAGES"
• "POISON DART GUN"
• "SHOTGUN"
• "SNIPER RIFLE"
• "SUPERJUMP" (Possibly similar to a Gene Tonic names Leg Up from BioShock 2's Multiplayer.)
• "TELEPORT" (Same name as a cut Plasmid from BioShock.)
• "WINTERBLAST" (Same name as a Plasmid from BioShock.)

The Health Grenade and Healing Gun both point to the players being able to heal each other. At least some of this ability to heal others was maintained as players are able to rescue or resuscitate downed allies. Some of the pickups are for what would become Vigors and are using BioShock names which points to this list being from very early in BioShock Infinite's development.