Splicer

File:SplicerButton.png

Splicers are the main enemies that Jack encounters over the course of the game. The remains of Rapture's human population, they are the result of a planned attack by Fontaine on New Year's Day of 1959 to end the civil war between him and Ryan. They apparently murdered the sane population. Many of them still wear Masquerade Ball masks, and Atlas asks, "Why do they wear those masks? Maybe there's a part of them that remembers how they used to be, how they used to look. And they're ashamed.". Due to abusive ADAM consumption, they have become dependent on the substance, both mentally and physically. Wandering the corridors and the tunnels of Rapture, they search for ADAM, usually in the form of Little Sisters, which often puts them at odds with their Big Daddy protectors—something which Jack can easily exploit to help him survive. The name "Splicer" is a reference to gene splicing, which happens upon injecting oneself with a Plasmid or a Gene tonic.

BioShock

Splicers tend to wear very little armor, if any, but they have advanced physical strength and tend to be extremely aggressive in contrast to the calmer Big Daddies. They will sometimes work in groups, use plasmids and sometimes even play dead to get the advantage on the player.

Thuggish Splicer

The Thuggish Splicer attacks with melee weapons. These can be found throughout the game and are fairly weak, but make up for it by running fast and attacking in groups whenever they can. Later on in the game this Splicer type upgrades, making it immune to the Electro Bolt Plasmid and Static Discharge Gene tonic, so be prepared.

Leadhead Splicer

The Leadhead Splicer attacks with either a Pistol or a Machine Gun. These can also be found throughout the game, but are more dangerous than the Thuggish Splicer since they can attack from a distance and will almost always hurt a bit even if they are brought down easily. These will always keep their distance from the player whenever possible, but at very close range, they will attempt to pistol whip them. It is worth knowing that they have to reload their guns, just like Jack, and are defenseless when doing so. They also have more health than a Thuggish Splicer, making them harder to take down, especially if there are more than one.

Spider Splicer

The Spider Splicer is the first Splicer the player sees when they arrive in Rapture, although the player only starts fighting them in Neptune's Bounty. These Splicers will walk on the ceiling and throw hooks at the player from afar, which can be caught and tossed back with Telekinesis. When on the ground, the Spider Splicer will get near enough to physically attack the player, then immediately jump onto the ceiling or backflip away and come at them from another angle. Their agility and ability to walk on walls make them difficult to hit, and their modus operandi, which involves ambushing the player by crawling on the ceiling, can easily surprise anyone who is unprepared.

Houdini Splicer

The Houdini Splicer is first encountered when the player enters Arcadia. These Splicers have the ability to teleport from one place to another in the middle of combat. They can be tracked through smoke that appears around them whenever they disappear or reappear. This smoke becomes much more visible upon researching this Splicer to the fourth research level. The Houdini Splicer will most often attack by shooting balls of fire (and, in some cases, ice), but like the Leadhead Splicer, will attack physically when at close range. An easy way to track them is with Insect Swarm. If the player sets them on it they will follow it even if it is invisible. In combat, the Houdini Splicer uses a hit and run strategy by teleporting, attacking with a fire or ice attack, and then teleporting away to repeat the cycle.

Nitro Splicer

Nitro Splicers are found rarely throughout the game, mostly in Neptune's Bounty. The first one the player will encounter is in the Medical Pavilion. They will attack by throwing Grenades (and, later, Molotov cocktails) at the player from a distance. At melee range, they will either throw a smoke bomb to the ground, temporarily blinding the player, or they will attempt to flee, tossing an explosive over their shoulder or attempt to kick the player doing moderate damage . Upon dying, they will drop a live Grenade, with the intent of damaging the player if they were at close range. A common way of killing this Splicer type is by using Telekinesis to catch its grenades and throw them back at it. Researching this Splicer type will increase the chance that their explosives turn into duds.

Splicer Models

There are ten Splicer models in the game. Their names are not revealed in-game; instead, they are associated with the sound files used for their sound bites in the game data. These splicer models will return in BioShock 2 but will be more deformed.

• Baby Jane
• Breadwinner
• Dr. Grossman
• Ducky
• Lady Smith
• Pigskin
• Plastered Splicer
• Rosebud
• Toasty
• Waders

BioShock 2

Splicers will return as the game's base enemies. After ten years of splicing and surviving, they have become much more powerful than the ones encountered in the original game. They are also far more deformed, with their faces often having conformed to the shape of their masks. Their limbs have heavily mutated, becoming lankier and, in some cases, the bone structure remodelling itself (such as developing extra fingers, toes, or even talons). Most of them will have lost or abandoned their masks, revealing their faces to the player.

Also, in an interview on Gametrailers.com with Jordan Thomas, he mentions that the Splicers have split up into two factions: one representing the "good" ending in BioShock, and the other representing the "bad" ending.^{[citation needed]} Some Splicer types are still present, such as Leadhead Splicers and Spider Splicers as well as some new kinds of Splicers. Splicers will also be able to throw grenades while firing their weapons at Subject Delta.

Brute Splicer

A new Splicer type which will make its first appearance in BioShock 2. They're much bigger and bulkier than the rest of the Splicers, and are able to pick up items laying around (such as debris and explosives) and throw them at the player. They can also perform jumps several meters in length and height.

Trivia

• Early in the design process of BioShock, Splicers were known only as "Aggressors"