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Splicers are the main enemies of the BioShock franchise. The most common survivors of Rapture's population, they are invariably addicted to the gene-splicing wonder drug ADAM, and have been left hideously deformed and hopelessly insane as a result. Due to their delusions and continuous need for ADAM, Splicers are extremely dangerous, and will often attack almost anything they perceive as an obstacle to their desires. Though few of them are lucid enough to follow any concrete goal other than the fulfillment of their own deranged whims, Andrew Ryan's use of the pheromone control system is often able to motivate them into following orders; later, the support system offered by Sofia Lamb keeps the Splicers loyal to her receptive to more complex commands. As such, Splicers often serve as the foot soldiers of more lucid villains.
Traits
Every single Splicer in Rapture began as a relatively ordinary citizen: initially, most of them would have been attained their status due to recreational splicing, sometimes in pursuit of physical beauty, sometimes while looking for a product that could make their lives easier, or sometimes just for fun. However, with the advent of the Rapture Civil War, the proliferation of Plasmid-based home defense products ensured that many of Rapture's citizenry were forced to take to splicing in a desperate attempt to protect themselves from the violence of the rebellion - either in the form of Ryan's security forces or Atlas' rebels. Addiction eventually drove them to crime, increasing the violence and prompting further defensive splicings, leaving the city on a permanent downward spiral.
By the time of Jack's arrival in Rapture, Splicers make up the overwhelming majority of Rapture's surviving population, having ended up killing most of the more lucid inhabitants. Without exception, their bodies have been hideously deformed by their addiction to ADAM - though some of this may also be attributed to Dr. J.S. Steinman's plastic surgery. Many of them still wear Masquerade Ball masks, possibly out of shame for their deformities.
Left hopelessly insane as a result of the negative effects inherent to long-term splicing, the addicts spend their days wandering the corridors aimlessly, driven by whatever mad impulse occurs to them. Most can be heard loudly talking to themselves, either musing on situations that exist only in their imagination or actually conversing with hallucinatory individuals; some character types are so deluded that they cannot truly perceive the environment around them, while others are gripped by a sense of paranoia, lust, rage, grief or even religious mania that renders them incapable of thinking of anything else. Quite a few appear to experience mood swings, and can go from triumphant gloating to inconsolable sobbing in a matter of seconds with little prompting - or little obvious prompting, given their delusions.
For unknown reasons, Splicers also appear to possess a kleptomaniac streak: Julie Langford notes with irritation that the Saturnine cult of Arcadia have taken to stealing almost anything they can carry, no matter how objectively valueless; even Langford's back issues of National Geographic ended up being purloined. This may perhaps explain the odd placement of items throughout the game, most prominently the audio diaries, many of which have ended up scattered over entire districts of Rapture.
Apart from their delusions, the most distinctive element in any Splicer's personality is their compulsive hunger for ADAM. Unscrupulous in the extreme, Rogue Splicers are willing to go to any lengths to get their fix, and though some may balk at the prospect of fighting Big Daddies for ADAM, their hunger often drives them to disregard self-preservation instincts as well: they are willing to prey upon unconscious Splicers recovering from their first hits, wage war upon one another, fling themselves into traps or other hazards, and even attack powerful Protectors they suspect of carrying ADAM. However, the most common means of securing their drug of choice usually takes the form of Little Sisters - and thanks to the ferocity of their addictions, few of them show any hesitation in butchering the Little Sisters for a chance at retrieving the Sea Slugs bonded to them.
Splicers tend to wear very little armor (if any), but they have enhanced physical strength and tend to be extremely aggressive in contrast to the calmer Big Daddies. Despite their near-total disconnection with reality, the Splicers are still capable of rudimentary tactics: when prompted, they will work in groups, conduct ambushes and sometimes even play dead in order to get close to Jack before attacking. In Fort Frolic coterie of Spider Splicers loyal to Sander Cohen even took to coating themselves in plaster so they could mimic his sculptures, camouflaging them against detection.
In Bioshock 2, after ten years of splicing and surviving, Splicers have become much more formidable than those encountered in the original game. Their deformities are much more extensive, to the point that some no longer appear even vaguely human: their faces have often conformed to the shape of their masks, and some elements of their anatomy have begun to grow over their clothing. Their limbs have heavily mutated, becoming lankier and, in some cases, the bone structure remodeling itself, leading to the development of extra fingers, toes, or even talons. For good measure, the dwindling food supplies have left most of the Splicers extremely thin, a fact made all the more visible by their increasingly-tattered clothes.
However, by this time, almost all Splicers left in the city are members of the Rapture Family, and due to the influence of its leader, Sofia Lamb, these cultists are much more stable than their counterparts in the first game: Lamb's organizational skills ensure that they are able to feed their addictions, and the fanaticism of the Family keeps its membership in line. Once they have inducted into the cult - either voluntary or through "therapy" - the Splicers of the Rapture Family are no longer hostile to Little Sisters; however, once Lamb has identified Subject Delta as a threat, they will attack him on sight.
By contrast, the rogue Splicers who once dominated Rapture have since been forced to the margins of society by Lamb's takeover. Though they are no longer enslaved by Andrew Ryan's pheromone control, they continue to prey on Little Sisters, ganging up on their Big Daddies and overwhelming all resistance through sheer numbers. However, in recent years this has become a dangerous prospect for the rogues, for the Rapture Family is willing to go to great lengths to punish those who break their laws: any Splicer caught harvesting a Little Sister is to be hunted down by the Big Sisters and brutally drained of all the ADAM they stole. Between reprisals by these deadly new protectors and the vigilance of the Rapture, the rogue Splicer population is limited at best, and several of them have been captured and imprisoned at Persephone until they can be properly indoctrinated. One or two of these unfortunate captives can be seen when Delta visits it late in the game, still trying to snatch at the Little Sisters who gather freely outside their cells.
Splicer Models
Due to gameplay restrictions, most Splicers tend to conform to one of the specific character models in form and personality, with the exception of plot-critical Splicers like Sander Cohen and Reed Wahl. Each one of these character models possesses their own specific dialog and personality, and thanks to their madness, many of them are eager to share it with the rest of Rapture. In the original Bioshock, there are nine of these models in total.
In Bioshock 2, some of these models continue in significantly upgraded forms, while others have been replaced by new variants, like the Crawlers and Brutes. Due to the extensive splicing that has taken place between games, many of the original model line have also undergone additional mutations and look significantly different as a result; in some cases, their personalities have become even more extreme - particularly in the case of Dr Grossman.
Baby Jane
So named for the character of Baby Jane Hudson, this female Splicer model was an actress prior to the events of the civil war - or at least she believes she was. Dialog throughout the first game suggests that she only got as far as the role of chorus girl, and in her attempts to find stardom, she may have murdered an actress competing with her for a part and left her body in a salt pond - likely due to Splicing-induced insanity. In the end, the Rapture Civil War forced her theater to close; with neither Andrew Ryan or Sander Cohen willing to consider her for a part, she was left destitute and trapped in the lifestyle of a Splicer.
Regardless of model variations, Baby Jane still wears the off-the-shoulder cocktail dress she wore on the stage, and keeps her hair in a bob reminiscent of a 1920s flapper. Splicing and combat have left her in poor condition: her dress is torn and bloodstained, her stockings are in tatters, her body is covered in bloody lacerations, and her makeup has been smeared childishly across her face - likely to disguise the side-effects of long term Splicing. However, though she's the least-deformed of the first generation of character models, Baby Jane is still noticeably disfigured, her face distorted with scar tissue, her eyes often shrouded with cataracts, and her mouth yawning open in a hideous gape.
Swinging wildly between delusions of grandeur and pursuit of an impossible ambition, she continues to believe that she is an actress, either claiming to already be a star or believing that she still has the potential to become one; while idle, she imagines herself in conversation with Ryan or Cohen, believing herself to be moments away from being given a plum role in a new production, even hearing herself complimented as "prettier than (Greta) Garbo." In combat, Baby Jane apparently believes that her opponents are rivals for a part, jealous co-stars, critics, incompetent actors, or even rowdy members of the audience, and often attacks with screams of "Off my stage" and "he's running out of film, you idiot!" Even while she's trying to break into a vending machine, she's still convinced she's acting for a part, apparently believing that she's been asked to endorse an appliance for a commercial. Narcissistic in the extreme, Baby Jane can often be heard proclaiming her stardom to anyone who'll listen, shrieking "I'm special!" and "you're just jealous!", even demanding to be given better material to work with.
When not lost in her visions of stardom, she may occasionally recognize the awful reality of her situation, and may break down in tears over her lost beauty, bawling over how she was "supposed to be famous." More often than not, however, she blames the players for it. Here, gripped by obsession and grief, she demands to be told that her opponents love her and grows even angrier when players don't return her feelings - only to break down in tears and whimpered apologies if she actually succeeds in killing her target.
In Bioshock 2, Baby Jane has fallen even further: with no theaters open in Lamb's new society, the former actress has been forced to resort to prostitution in order to get by. As such, a great many of them can be found at the Pink Pearl Brothel in Siren's Alley. Often, she seems to perceive Subject Delta as a client trying to attack her, calling him a pervert, insisting that "this wasn't part of the deal" - even calling for help in the belief that she's about to be raped; at other times, she dismisses him as a pimp trying to take over her business. She responds particularly badly when Delta approaches her with an adopted Little Sister, telling him to "leave your daughter at home," believing that he wants to make the child watch the have sex, or just screaming at her to "stop looking at me."
Due to a decade of splicing, her appearance has deteriorated further: now extremely emaciated, her chest is little more than a shriveled ribcage, and her spindly limbs are swollen with malignant tumors at the knees and shoulders. Baby Jane's face is particularly hideous, as her remaining teeth have lengthened to peg-like fangs, and her lips appear to have receded, leaving her with a permanent rictus grin.
When not acting as a prostitute, she remains caught in her delusions of stardom, most of which appear to have grown in the intervening years: arrogant and ludicrously conceited, she regards potential intruders as fans, autograph hunters and stagehands, regards fellow splicers as critics and paparazzi, treats Little Sisters as gofers, and even goes so far as to treat Big Sisters as her personal rivals - attacking them with screams of "you're my understudy!" "Chorus girl!" "Stupid talentless cow!" and even "I'm prettier than you!" When hypnotized, she believes that she has been secured for a prestigious role, and is immediately proud to be working with "a great director"; at times, some of her insecurities bleed through, and she's reduced to tears of joy after being left without work for so long. She even quotes Shakespeare while surveying dead bodies.
Underneath her delusions, Baby Jane's rage, grief and thwarted ambition remain intact: when aware of her status as a prostitute, she can be heard insisting that she's still an actress and sobbing dejectedly - as if imagining herself being dismissed as a whore. She appears to be deeply afraid of aging, believing it to be an even greater danger to her career than splicing, and at times can demand that the Little Sisters give her the secret to eternal youth.
Breadwinner
Dr Grossman
Ducky
Lady Smith
Pigskin
Rosebud
Toasty
Waders
Brute
Crawler
Heady
Buttons
Variants
Thuggish Splicer
The Thuggish Splicer is the most common of Rapture's inhabitants, and by far the most primitive: too deranged to work the trigger of a gun, they have been reduced to charging their opponents with lengths of pipe and other crude bludgeons, attacking without any thought to tactics or their own safety. Splicers such as these are weak and easily felled by the "one-two punch" of Electro Bolt combined with the Wrench, but make up for it by running fast and attacking in groups whenever they can. Later on in the game, this Splicer type upgrades, becoming immune to all electrical damage.
Leadhead Splicer
Smarter and more lucid than the Thuggish Splicers, Leadheads are still capable of using firearms and can often be found using pistols and machine guns. Almost as common as the previous variant, Leadheads can be found all over Rapture, and are considered a much greater threat not only due to their ability to wield guns, but also due to their grasp of self-preservation: Leadheads will always keep their distance from the player whenever possible, but at very close range they will attempt to pistol-whip them. For good measure, they are also much tougher than Thuggish Splicers, requiring more than just the one-two punch to put down.
Spider Splicer
The Spider Splicer is the first Splicer the player encounters upon arriving in Rapture, although the player only starts fighting them in Neptune's Bounty. Armed with razor-sharp hooks, these Splicers can use their blades to crawl on and cling to 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 operates with hit-and-run tactics, attacking then immediately retreating - either leaping onto the ceiling or cartwheeling out of view - before attacking from a different angle. Their agility and ability to crawl on walls make them difficult to hit, and their modus operandi of attacking from above can easily surprise anyone who is unprepared, although one can easily hear their movement thanks to the telltale sound of cracking plaster.
Houdini Splicer
The Houdini Splicer is first encountered when the player enters Arcadia, and is immediately distinguished by its ability to teleport, dematerializing in one spot and materializing several feet away; fortunately, they can be tracked through the distinctive cloud of smoke that appears around them whenever they teleport, which becomes much more visible upon researching this Splicer to the fourth 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. Much like the Spider Splicer, the Houdini Splicer uses a hit-and-run strategy - in this case, appearing, firing an elemental attack, and then vanishing to repeat the cycle.
Nitro Splicer
Though first seen in the Medical Pavilion, Nitro Splicers are rarely found throughout the game and mostly encountered in Neptune's Bounty. 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 or they will attempt to flee, kicking the player or tossing explosives over their shoulder in an attempt to throw off pursuit. Upon dying, they will drop a live grenade as a last-ditch attempt to kill their attackers as well.. 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 out to be duds.
BioShock 2
As a result of the extensive splicing that has occurred over the last ten years, the inhabitants of Rapture have changed significantly: though many of the models seen in the first game are still present, they have changed in appearance, strengths and personality. Among other things, Splicers are also able to throw grenades while firing their weapons at Delta; Spider Splicers are now exclusively composed of the "Crawler" character type; most prominently of all, Splicers are now much more lucid and much more dangerous than they were in the fist game, both due to additional mutations and the guiding influence of Sofia Lamb.
Brute Splicer
The Apex Predator of the Splicer population, the Brute Splicer is much bigger, more muscular and more powerful than any other Splicer. Aside from its naturally violent tendencies, the Brute's strength allows it the lion's share of ADAM in any given region, making them much more lucid than other Splicers - and therefore much more dangerous. Thanks to its overwhelming strength, it commonly attacks by picking up heavy pieces of debris and throwing them at its victims; at closer range, it charges at great speed, knocking its targets back and pummeling them senseless with its massive fists. Brutes can also perform vertical jumps on par with that of the Spider Splicers, launching themselves onto rooftops and walkways to seek out elevated prey. Some can even make use of aerial drones, using their turrets to soften up resistance before moving in for the kill.
Towards the end of the game, the more common Brutes are replaced by the Elite Brute, a variant occurring only in Inner Persephone. Although similar Brutes, they are much stronger and possess nearly double the health, making them much more difficult to defeat. Often dressed in the uniforms of orderlies, Elite Brute Splicers often attack Delta alongside an Alpha Series Big Daddy or one or two Leadhead Splicers, having learned the advantages of fighting as a pack; fortunately, they are still vulnerable to headshots and antipersonnel rounds.
In Minerva's Den, the Brute Splicers are upgraded again, this time taking the form of the Fiery Brute Splicers: equipped with pyrokinetic plasmids, they are immune to fire-based attacks, and emit a blast of fire when struck in melee - similar to the Firestorm Gene Tonic. For good measure, these elite shock troops are easily distinguished by the fiery red/orange glow that envelops them, and the glowing superheated footprints they leave in their wake.
Burial at Sea
Before Rapture's Civil War caused Splicers to become mentally and physically unstable due to withdrawal, many Citizens were actually seen using Plasmids and Tonic enhancements, with little visible signs of genetic or mental damage. Some can be seen in Market Street and High Street, such as the waiter assisting customers at Le Temps Perdu, and a man attracting the opposite sex with his spliced aesthetics. This does not mean that dangerous Splicers were not present. Rogue Splicers, Many of them the remains of Fontaine's army, were locked away in the sunken Fontaine's Department Store, after Andrew Ryan and the City Council seized and shut down most of Fontaine's businesses. With there connection to Rapture's ADAM supply cut off, the splicers grew more and more deranged.
Many are either Leadheads or Thuggish Splicers, and a newly seen Splicer type: the Frosty Splicer. These Splicers are not as mutated as those met during and after the Civil War, but show the characteristic mental instability associated with ADAM abuse, and various injuries from fighting Ryan's forces and each other. Being cut off from the rest of Rapture before the 1958 New Year's party, they lack the distinctive masquerade masks seen in earlier games. Most of these male Splicers can be seen wearing wooden crates or crudely cut-out poster images as masks, of brands like Hop-Up Soda, Circus of Values, and Meal-Time Frozen Dinners. Some female Splicers hide their faces with heavy makeup, or masks that are either domino-like or a facial prosthetic patch.
Frosty Splicer
Covered in protruding, icy growths, Frosty Splicers can fire multiple projectile blasts of ice at Booker DeWitt, not only causing him to be temporarily stunned, but freezing any enemy in the way as well. Their transformation is a result of an overdose of the new drinkable Plasmid, Old Man Winter. The first Frosty Splicer is encountered at Rapture on Ice. They are likely immune to frost-based (or similar) attacks.
Trivia
- Early in the design process of BioShock, Splicers were known only as "Aggressors".
- The term "Splicer" is a reference to gene splicing, a natural process that occurs during RNA transcription in cells.
- Several Splicer models are based on soldiers from the First World War, who sustained horrific facial injuries and subsequently underwent pioneering surgery to reconstruct their faces.
- There is a last splicer model in BioShock 2 which was removed from the game and appears only in the "Hunting the Big Sister" video. Concepts art for this model also appear in the Deco Devolution artbook. Despite the model having a full face, the concept implied that most of his facial features and teeth are missing. The only inclusion of this Splicer model in the game appears in the prologue cutscene, as one of the 1958 Splicers that surround young Eleanor, which Subject Delta steps on him by dropping from above a staircase. One distinct trait of this model is the right sleeve is marked with a broken "Great Chain" symbol.
- In BioShock 2 there is always one original model and three variations for each of the Splicers' models, plus some variations for specific levels or characters, such as Brute models dressed as orderlies and Toasty models dressed as inmates in Persephone Penal Colony, or Daniel and Simon Wales' Breadwinner and Crawler specific models. Most of these variations, which consist on different clothing, hair and skin colors, are shown in the Bioshock 2artbook, Deco Devolution.
- Frosty Splicers are based and reused of Cut Enemies named "Vigor Junkies" which they existed in flies as incomplete Shock Jockey Junkies put no attack animations and sound files. Put however some attack animations where put in used to Cornelius Slate a mildly shock jockey vigor junkie who a little crystals in his far-left in his forehead to distract Booker from using vigor due him being irrational belief that make him into motorized patriot. And enemy Crow were also part this Cut Enemy type judging from their concept arts and E3 2010 demo (When Crow junkie throw Crows on player) until they become separate Enemy in Retail version.
 Villains
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Rapture Ryan Security Fontaine Futuristics Fontaine Fisheries Atlas' Followers The Rapture Family Splicers Others Columbia Fink Manufacturing Vox Populi Slate's Soldiers | ||