Murder of Crows

A Murder of Crows advertisement, as seen in-game.

“MURDER OF CROWS: Stun and damage your enemies with a thousand needling beaks.”

― Fink Manufacturing advertisement

Murder of Crows is a Vigor in BioShock Infinite that gives control over groups of crows. Casting the Vigor sends out a swarm (or 'murder', hence the name) of crows that will attack all enemies in front of the player, momentarily distracting them and dealing continuous minor damage. Charging the Vigor will deploy a crow trap at the target location for twice the Salts cost which, upon detonation, will send out crows to attack every enemy in a wide radius. Murder of Crows is ineffective against all automatons, Zealots of the Lady, and the Siren.

BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite Murder of Crows

Murder of Crows Video.

Main article: BioShock Infinite

Murder of Crows is the third Vigor the player acquires over the course of the game. While going through the headquarters of the Fraternal Order of the Raven, Booker will run into a Zealot of the Lady, who drops the Vigor upon death.

Murder of Crows On Cast: Sics a murder of crows onto the targeted enemies, distracting and damaging them. Charged Effect: Creates a stationary trap which, upon detonation, sends out crows to attack every enemy in a wide radius. Cost: 28% of base Salts (Cast), 56% of base Salts (Trap) Manifestation: Feathers of darkness grow out of Booker's hand while talons sprout from his fingertips. Upgrade: Crows Trap Aid - Causes the corpses of Murder of Crows victims to become crow traps. Cost: $1485 Upgrade: Crows Boost - Increases stun duration. Cost: $545

Vigor Combos

Official

• Electrifying the crows with Shock Jockey will infuse them with the electrical effect, causing them to deal minor additional damage and stun targets all around them for much longer, also doubling the damage their victims take from all sources, including the combination below.
• Igniting the crows with Devil's Kiss will set them on fire, causing them to deal significantly more damage and ignite all enemies in their vicinity.

Unofficial

• Enemies distracted by Murder of Crows will be unable to retaliate if the player uses Charge to ram into them. Against lone targets, this can turn the combo into a long-distance escape mechanism.
• If Crows Trap Aid has been purchased, finishing enemies off with a cast of Undertow can send the booby-trapped corpses into other enemies, perpetuating the effects of the Vigor.
• Enemies can be pulled into a crow trap or crow trapped corpse with Undertow.
• One can use bullets and ammunition from the Vigor Return to Sender to fling at targets that are distracted, and can potentially kill them with Crow traps to move the corpses toward other enemies.

Combat Strategy

• Murder of Crows will continue damaging enemies for a short while after the distraction effect wears off.
• Automatons, Zealots of the Lady and the Siren are immune to the effects of Murder of Crows. Handymen are affected but will only remain distracted for three-quarters of the standard effect.
• Murder of Crows is most effective against groups of enemies, as casting the Vigor will swarm every nearby enemy at once.
• Murder of Crows is useful both in offensive and defensive situations: initiating an attack with the Vigor will allow the player to take down multiple enemies before they can fight back, whereas casting it when cornered will let the player escape to a more suitable part of the battlefield.
• Though potent, Murder of Crows does not deal much damage by itself. On the other hand, it has the potential to multiply the effects of other Vigors through combos and spread their effects. As such, it is usually best to follow up on Murder of Crows with another Vigor.
• Crows will seek out enemies when deployed, and will home in on faraway targets.
• Crow traps can be manually detonated by attacking them. If the attack is electrical or flame-based, the effects will pass on to the crows.
• Crows Trap Aid is very useful against large groups, especially when combined with other Vigors such as Shock Jockey and Devil's Kiss. Firing Murder of Crows at a group will reapply the effects of the Vigor on each member every time a foe dies, thus dealing high amounts of damage by itself in the long run.
• Crows Boost is a cheap and effective way to relieve tension in fights, especially when using weapons that require precise aim such as the Carbine or the Sniper Rifle.
• Crows will attack all enemies that can turn hostile, meaning casting it around neutral Vox Populi during the police station revolution would damage them thus make EVERYONE hostile towards Booker.

Recommended Gear

• Blood to Salt will partially refill the player's Salts upon killing enemies, allowing more casts of this Vigor.
• Executioner will allow the player to melee rush distracted enemies with far greater effectiveness.
• Ghost Posse/Ghost Soldier will allow the player to raise allies out of their dropped weapons after killing enemies with crow traps.
• Head Master will allow the player to pick off tougher enemies more easily while they are distracted.
• Health for Salts will allow the player to cast this Vigor in difficult situations and lessen the burden of Murder of Crows' high Salts cost, though one should not use all of their health on multiple Murder of Crows traps.
• Hill Runner's Hat will facilitate the player's escape if using Murder of Crows to run away safely.
• Overkill will electrify all crows in the area upon activation, in addition to shocking nearby enemies, making the Vigor do even more damage.
• Pyromaniac will ignite the crows if this Vigor is used immediately upon this Gear's activation, making for a devastatingly damaging comeback, and can be a cost-effective way of using the Devil’s Kiss combination above.
• Shock Jacket will electrify the crows if this Vigor is used immediately upon this Gear's activation, allowing the player to either make safe escape or fight back more effectively, and make the Shock Jockey combination less Salt-consuming.
• Storm does not affect Murder of Crows directly, but will help propagate the effects of Devil's Kiss and Shock Jockey when used in combination with the Vigor, allowing the player to spread Murder of Crows as well if they purchased Crows Trap Aid.
• Tunnel Vision will increase the player's damage when zoomed in, rendering aimed shots at distracted targets much more effective, though they will have reduced hip-fire damage.
• Urgent Care will allow the player to begin recharging their Shields while enemies are distracted at twice the rate as before.

Animation

First time drinking Murder of Crows animation.

Gallery

Pre-Release Images and Concept Art

The Murder of Crows container, as seen in the debut gameplay demo.

Murder of Crows by a corpse marked "CAPITALIST" in the E3 2011 Gameplay Trailer.

The killer crow, as seen in the debut gameplay demo.

Murder of Crows in action.

Booker uses Murder of Crows in the E3 2011 Gameplay Trailer.

The original bottle label, used in the demo and on merchandise.

A keychain replica of the bottle, exclusive to the BioShock Infinite Premium/Ultimate Songbird Edition.

Murder of Crows concept art.

Concept art of Shock Jockey and Murder of Crows.

Icon from Industrial Revolution.

In-Game Images

Murder of Crows factory line.

Murder of Crows Idle.

Murder of Crows Casting.

Murder of Crows attacking Columbian Police Officers.

Victims of Murder of Crows.

Murder of Crows Charging.

Murder of Crows Trap.

Crows infused with Devil's Kiss.

Crows infused with Shock Jockey.

Murder of Crow Bottle (empty).

Behind the Scenes

• "Murder" is the term for a group or flock of crows.
• Murder of Crows is the successor to Insect Swarm, as they both allow the player to create and control other creatures in the form of an attack to distract and damage enemies en masse.
• In BioShock Infinite's debut gameplay trailer, Booker DeWitt finds this ability next to the corpse of Charles. It is used shortly after the Sky-Line sequence in a bar where Booker takes refuge in from Henry Saltonstall.
• In the E3 2011 Gameplay, Booker finds Murder of Crows next to a corpse marked "CAPITALIST," in front of a destroyed statue. It is later used on the Vox Populi to distract them while he escaped on the Sky-Line toward a Security Zeppelin. In the demo, each bottle appeared to have four uses before it needed to be replenished.
• Murder of Crows reappears in the Beast of America trailer with much of the same cosmetic effects as its in-game version. It is in this iteration that Booker develops feathers and talons on his hand and that the crows show themselves capable of picking off the skin and flesh of enemies. This evolution, along with the development of its combat abilities, was elaborated upon in the IGN Gameplay commentary.

The advertisement on Game Informer's back cover.

• An alternate version of the Murder of Crows advertisement was used for the back cover of Game Informer's October 2010 issue, with slight differences from the advertisement in the final game.
• Charge, Murder of Crows, Ironsides and Return to Sender are the only Vigors that Veni! Vidi! Vigor! doesn't advertise.
• The replica Murder of Crows container reveals the initial production date of this enhancement to be 1895.
• Murder of Crows also makes an appearance as a usable item in PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale. Its ability in-game differs from its original function, where here it reverses the controls of the opposing players who are hit by the crows for a limited time.
• In the downloadable content Clash in the Clouds, Murder of Crows can be purchased from the vending machines in the Columbian Archeological Society for 250 Silver Eagles.

• The Murder of Crows advertisement was lifted from a sign for Ayer's Sarsaparilla. The Creative Director Ken Levine explained the use of re-purposed period art as recreating the turn-of-the-century naivety toward patent medicines, an inspiration for Vigors.