BioShock Infinite: The Complete Edition Tips - Combat, Vigors, and DLC Scope

BioShock Infinite: The Complete Edition is the BioShock Infinite package: the base game, Clash in the Clouds, Burial at Sea Episodes 1 and 2, Columbia’s Finest, and related bonus gear or upgrade packs depending on platform. It is not the same package as BioShock: The Collection, which also includes BioShock, BioShock 2, their single-player add-ons, and series extras.

The base game was developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games; the PC Complete Edition listing also credits Virtual Programming for Linux work.

Content warning: Rating pages list mature themes including intense violence, blood/gore, strong language, sexual themes, and alcohol, tobacco, or drug references. This guide stays non-graphic and focuses on combat, movement, resources, and edition scope.

Use this as a spoiler-light habits guide for combat, upgrades, and DLC order without relying on exact builds, collectible routes, gear rolls, or story reveals.

Essential Tips

1. Treat the Complete Edition as an Infinite-First Package

Start with the base game if you are new. The core combat language is Columbia: two carried guns, the Sky-Hook, Vigors, Salts, Tears, Infusions, vending-machine upgrades, and fast movement through vertical arenas.

Burial at Sea and Clash in the Clouds are included, but they are not the same kind of content. Burial at Sea is a two-part campaign add-on. Clash in the Clouds is a combat challenge mode. Save both until you have a working feel for Vigors, weapon swapping, Sky-Line movement, and resource pressure.

2. Build Habits, Not a Perfect Loadout

BioShock Infinite is generous about letting you improvise, but strict about what you can carry. Booker can carry only two guns, while Vigors run on Salts and the Sky-Hook stays available separately. Keep one weapon for reliable general damage and one for the range or armor problem you are currently facing.

When a new gun appears, ask what it solves before dropping your current weapon. If both guns want the same range, you may feel trapped when a fight changes shape.

3. Use Vigors Before You Are Desperate

Vigors are not emergency-only buttons. They can disable targets, create traps, interact with the environment, and combine with other effects. Because they cost Salts, avoid both wasteful casting and hoarding.

Open fights by creating control. A charged trap near a path, a disabling power on a dangerous target, or a setup that makes enemies easier to finish can save health and ammo.

4. Make Tears a Tactical Choice

Elizabeth’s Tears can bring in supplies, cover, hooks, weapons, friendly machines, hazards, or decoys, but combat Tears are choices. Opening one can make others temporarily unavailable, so avoid pressing the first prompt just because it appears.

Look at what the fight lacks. If you are exposed, cover or a decoy may matter more than extra damage. If you are dry on Salts or health, supplies can stabilize the fight. If enemies are clustered around a lane, a hazard or friendly machine can pull pressure away from you.

Combat and Movement Habits

Keep Moving, But Do Not Drift

Columbia’s spaces often reward motion. Sky-Lines and Freight Hooks let you escape a bad angle, reach a vantage point, or drop into a Sky-Line Strike. The goal is purposeful movement, not constant motion for its own sake.

Use rails to break enemy aim, change elevation, and isolate targets. Do not stay on a rail after the fight has turned against it. Jump off, reset behind cover, and re-enter from a better angle.

Let the Sky-Hook Solve Positioning First

The Sky-Hook can melee and execute weakened enemies, but its bigger value is mobility. Use it to reach lines, hooks, and isolated threats. Melee rushing tougher enemies is risky unless the enemy is already vulnerable or your gear strongly supports close-range play.

When you do go in, have an exit. A strike that removes a weak target, lets you grab a weapon, or moves you behind cover is much stronger than landing among several active guns.

Fight With Both Hands

The game is built around weapons and Vigors together. If you are only shooting, you are leaving control tools unused. If you are only casting, your Salts will run down.

Use Vigors to create the opening and guns to close it. Disable a target, lift or stun a group, pull pressure away with a Tear, then finish with the weapon that fits the range.

Resources and Upgrades

Spend Silver Eagles on Tools You Actually Use

Weapon and Vigor upgrades are powerful, but they reward commitment. Since most weapons can be upgraded multiple times and your carried weapon slots are limited, avoid scattering money across everything just because a vending machine is nearby.

Pick upgrades for habits you already trust. A weapon or Vigor you use in hard moments is a better candidate than something you only pick up or cast occasionally.

Choose Infusions Around Your Play Style

Infusions permanently improve Health, Shields, or Salts. Shields regenerate; Health does not refill by itself. Salts determine how often you can use Vigors. That creates a simple decision: players who rely on powers should value Salts, players who want more room for mistakes should value Shields, and Health should be chosen when you know you need a larger health buffer.

Do not split every choice evenly without thinking. If you cast often but ignore Salts, your best tools run out. If you play aggressively but ignore Shields, every mistake becomes expensive.

Search Like Supplies Matter

Food, medical kits, Salts, ammo, money, and useful pickups can be found throughout areas. Explore before obvious combat triggers when you can, and check safer corners after fights.

Lockpicks and side rewards can also affect your supply curve. The Complete Edition may grant starter bonuses on some platforms, but those bonuses should be treated as a head start, not permission to waste resources.

DLC and Edition Scope

Play Clash in the Clouds as Practice, Not a Campaign Replacement

Clash in the Clouds is a combat challenge mode with four arenas and progressively harder waves. It is useful if you enjoy testing weapons, Vigors, upgrades, and movement without campaign pacing. Because it is built around combat performance, enter it after you understand the base game’s tools.

Between waves, use the downtime to adjust weapons and upgrades. Challenge conditions and enemy pressure can change what a good answer looks like.

Approach Burial at Sea Separately

Burial at Sea is a two-episode campaign add-on. Treat it as its own play session rather than something to dip into between early base-game chapters. Clean habits transfer better than exact assumptions.

If you want a spoiler-light path, finish the base game first, then move to Burial at Sea. That keeps the Complete Edition’s included content organized without blurring campaign expectations.

Check Your Platform Before Planning Around Features

The Complete Edition has appeared across multiple platforms, and current storefront pages may package or expose it differently. On PlayStation, the PS4 listing notes PS5 play with possible feature differences. On other platforms, availability, compatibility, launcher behavior, and included extras can vary by storefront.

Before starting a trophy, achievement, or DLC plan, confirm that your copy includes the add-on you intend to play and that your platform supports it the way you expect.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Starting DLC before learning the base game’s weapons, Vigors, Tears, and movement.
2. Dropping a reliable weapon without checking what range or ammo role your new weapon fills.
3. Saving every Vigor until you are already out of position and low on health.
4. Opening the first Tear prompt instead of choosing the cover, supply, hazard, or ally you need.
5. Riding Sky-Lines in circles after enemies have turned the rail into a bad angle.
6. Spending upgrades across weapons and Vigors you rarely use.
7. Choosing Infusions evenly every time instead of matching Salts, Shields, or Health to your play style.
8. Treating Complete Edition bonuses as a reason to ignore exploration and resource pickup habits.

Summary

Focus	Best Habit	Why It Helps
Edition scope	Start with the base game, then move to included DLC	The package includes different content types, not one single campaign flow
Weapons	Carry two guns with different jobs	The two-weapon limit punishes duplicate roles
Vigors	Use powers early to control fights	Salts are a resource, but control prevents damage and ammo waste
Tears	Choose the battlefield option you need now	Only one choice may be available at a time after activation
Movement	Use Sky-Lines to reposition, not drift	Mobility is strongest when it creates a better angle
Infusions	Favor Salts or Shields if they match your habits	Permanent upgrades shape how you survive later fights
DLC	Treat Clash as combat practice and Burial at Sea as campaign content	The included add-ons serve different purposes