Bioshock Infinite Tips: Bucking Bronco Vigor

This article will cover everything about the Bucking Bronco Vigor in the game Bioshock Infinite. It covers basic information such as upgrades and vigor combos, along with advanced ways to use them. All opinions that are expressed are my own and have come from my experiences playing and beating the game multiple times (more times than I can count) on Hard and 1999 Mode. Also, it might (or might not) matter to note that I play on a computer, just in case you begin to wonder.

When you use Bucking Bronco, before upgrading, a type of groundbreaking-energy shoots forward in the direction you are facing. It travels straight and when it hits a Human target, it causes the target and anyone else caught in the forward traveling energy to be levitated in the air, where they will temporarily float. When the vigor is charged (trap) and activated, it levitates enemies within the trap radius (which seems to have the largest radius in the game). While levitated, the enemies take extra damage.

Bronco Aid - The upgrade will "chain-float" to other enemies and is only $777. To put it simply, the upgrade makes it so that the effect will bounce from one target to another, if they are close enough. The range of the additional bounce is not that great, but it can save you time and salts during combat. For example, since Bucking Bronco only goes straight, this upgrade will allow you to float enemies that are adjacent to your original target that would otherwise not be affected, if you didn't have the upgrade.

Bronco Boost - This upgrade cost $421 and doubles the float time of your enemies. I have also noticed that, with this upgrade, your enemies will float higher. Having them float higher is inconvenient, in my opinion, because when fighting groups in close range you may lose track of a few enemies and they can fall behind you or on your flanks.

NOTES:

• You can not float enemy automatons (mechanized enemies), Handymen, or the Siren.
• When floating enemies are shot, the bullets will push them back.
• The effects of Bucking Bronco can travel through small or thinner objects and hit enemies hiding on the other side.
• The Bucking Bronco Trap/Charge cost the same amount of Salts as the Cast/Uncharged version.

Bucking Bronco can be combined with either the Devil's Kiss or Charge vigors.

Devil's Kiss: When you hit a target affected by Bucking Bronco with Devil's Kiss, the fiery projectile will explode (dealing damage), breaking into smaller projectiles in different directions that will also detonate moments after hitting the ground.

Charge: When you Charge a target affected by Bucking Bronco, the target will fly across the area and take extra damage if they don't die falling off of Columbia.

NOTE: I don't use the Bucking Bronco and Charge combo, unless I'm indoors because I like to scavenge as much as possible and that is hard to do when you send your enemies flying off of Columbia.

Bucking Bronco is best used in Close to Medium Range Combat builds:

• Close Range Combat: Melee, Shotgun, Heater, Machine Gun, Undertow Vigor, Murder of Crows Vigor, Possession Vigor.
• Medium Range Combat: Machine Gun, Repeater, Pistol, Hand Cannon, Carbine, All Vigors.
• Sniper Combat (Long Range): Sniper Rifle, Carbine, Repeater. It's difficult to use Vigors in Long Range fights when the enemies have cover and can get out of your Line of Sight.

After Possession, Bucking Bronco is my next favorite vigor. When fully upgraded, Bucking Bronco serves as the best form of crowd control in the game. It uses a very minimal amount of salts and can stall multiple enemies for long periods of time.

Since the trap/charged version uses the same amount of Salts as the cast/uncharged version, I usually use the trap version whenever I have time to charge it. As stated earlier, the trap affects a wide radius while the cast affects what's directly ahead. The enemies don't line up behind one another, rather, they try to hit you from multiple angles and that is why I prefer the trap version. When the enemies begin to close in and I need immediate crowd control, I will use the cast version. For example, I will cast it when I am getting flanked, need to soften their pressure on me, or to keep them occupied while I get into a better position.

I've used it exclusively to defeat the Siren on 1999 Mode. It's not the cleanest way to defeat her, but serves as an example of how efficient Bucking Bronco is at crowd control. The Siren relies on summoning an unrelenting amount of minions to fight for her that she can revive again when you kill them. So, if used properly, Bucking Bronco will keep her soldiers out of the fight and all that's left is taking accurate and critical shots at the Siren (shoot at her head).

Bucking Bronco is my "go to" vigor when it comes to fighting Firemen and Crows. The Firemen are really good at keeping pressure on you, preventing you from taking clear and critical shots. The Crows are just inconvenient to fight because they constantly disappear. Casting Bucking Bronco on these enemies stops them from attacking and moving, giving you an easy and open shot (as it does to all other human enemies).

With that being said, making your enemies easy targets is the real benefit of Bucking Bronco. It stops your targets from running around and opens them up to easy head shots. Or, you can use it to get closer so you can use your shotgun or heater more effectively. Since targets take extra damage when they are levitated, you can usually one shot them with the shotgun or sniper rifle.

As stated earlier, bullets will push your enemies back when they are levitated. If you don't mind missing out on scavenging supplies from corpses, you can levitate your enemies and shoot them off of Columbia. This is a good way to get rid of heavily armored enemies, such as the rockets, flak cannons, etc. which would otherwise take time to defeat. Remember that Firemen usually carry Lock Picks, Health Kits, and Salts, so you may not want to shoot them over the edge.

Bucking Bronco is the best vigor for crowd control and is extremely salt efficient. You can disable a whole room of enemies for an extremely long period of time if used properly. It can also, make defeating tougher enemies into an easy task. Though it is ineffective against mechanized enemies, it's still a great vigor and can make all the difference in those seemingly impossible fights in 1999 Mode.

I hope this article has been enjoyable and informative. If there's anyway I can improve it, let me know and thanks for taking the time to read it!