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The Proving Grounds is the penulitimate and one of the most difficult levels of Bioshock. Jack must run the gauntlet while protecting a vulnerable Little Sister in order to gain access to his final opponent.

HistoryEdit

Originally, when Point Prometheus was a normal scientific research facility, the Proving Grounds were known as the Memorial Museum, a grand establishment where citizenry viewed and learned about the splendors of the sea. With the discovery of ADAM and creation of Little Sisters and Big Daddies, the entire location was hastily converted into the Big Daddy Proving Grounds, where the Protectors are trained in the defense of the gatherers. The complex is topped with a dome and the tower at the west end is the tallest structure in Rapture.

BioShockEdit

The Museum is one of the most powerful visuals demonstrating Rapture's fall. What was once a place of knowledge has now been reduced to a corpse-ridden training gauntlet for the gruesome pairs that roam Rapture. While a few of the exhibits have been stored in the Gift Shop, most have just been left in their displays and are now damaged. The Gift Shop itself is in a state of disrepair and has mostly been picked clean by the many insane Splicers which now wander the halls. When the player first enters the museum, gunfire and the rumbling roars of a Big Daddy can be heard from the lower floor. A Baby Jane is seen duking it out with a Rosie. The Big Daddy shoots the Splicer, but, in its death throes, she fires her machine gun at the ceiling. This causes one of the two whale skeletons suspended above the museum to come loose from its cables and crush the Big Daddy as it falls.

The winding hallways of the Proving Grounds are spotted with fresh corpses from which Little Sisters gather ADAM while Big Daddies protect them. Jack must follow a Little Sister to proceed through specially locked doors to get to Fontaine. To Tenenbaum's chagrin, the Little Sisters mental conditioning still forces them to stop and harvest ADAM before leading Jack on. The Little Sisters are no longer implanted with a slug, and are therefore physically vulnerable to attack. These gathering sessions form the main focus of the mission in this area: escorting the girl safely through the Proving Grounds' linear route while defending her from Splicers, Turrets, and finally a rogue Bouncer. When the player first enters the lower portion of the Central Atrium, the Bouncer can be seen up on a balcony opposite, staring momentarily (and menacingly) at the player, then doing an about-face and charging through a door. Towards the very end of the Proving Grounds route, this Big Daddy breaks through a wall and angrily charges the player.

After dealing with the Big Daddy, Jack and the Little Sister enter the end of the museum called the Special Exhibit Entry. This place once took visitors up via elevator to large, unique exhibits on the top floor, but now Jack heads up there to confront his enemy. Before leaving, Jack restocks his ammo and the Little Sister offers him her Harvesting Tool to take down Fontaine.

Map Edit

This map is interactive. Click on an icon to find out more about it.

Health
Station

Vending
Machine

Gatherer's
Garden

Gene
Bank

Bot Shutdown
Panel

U-Invent
Station

Audio
Diary

Plasmid

Engineering
Tonic

Physical
Tonic

Combat
Tonic

Walkthrough Edit

Extended Walkthrough

Basics

The player's job here is to protect the Little Sister while she gathers ADAM.
Individual Splicers will attack throughout the course.
She will stop to harvest 3 times.
Each time, a large wave of Splicers will attack.
The new gold Health Bar is hers.
If the LS dies, it's possible to get a new one, but try to keep her alive the whole way.
Turrets are friendly to the player, but not to her, so hack them in advance.

Here We Go

Load the following weapons with the following ammunition (change if indicated):
- Pistol: Antipersonnel Pistol Rounds.
- Machine Gun: Antipersonnel Auto Rounds.
- Shotgun: Exploding Buck.
- Grenade Launcher: Frag Grenades.
- Chemical Thrower: Napalm.
- Crossbow: Trap Bolts.
Switch to the Machine Gun.
Go through two doors and around a corner.
Step ahead of the LS to kill a Splicer around the next corner.
Within seconds, a Spider Splicer will come, so watch the ceiling.

First Stop

The player will soon reach a corpse under a sign marked "Test Subject" at a u-turn in the hall.
Little Sister will stop to feed in front of the sign.
Before she gets there, run ahead to set Cyclone Traps and/or Trap Bolts blocking the far side.
Go back to face the hall one just came down with the Chemical Thrower.
It is possible to see Splicers coming from a distance. Just keep napalming them.
When done, switch to the Grenade Launcher.

Once More Into The Abyss

As one continues down the hall, a Splicer-bot pair appears. Frag him.
Switch back to the Chemical Thrower.
Continue to the next corner.
Run ahead to hack a Security Camera on the left.
Hack a Flamethrower Turret down the hall.

Second Stop

The Little Sister will stop opposite the Camera.
Facing the camera, set up traps to the left.
Stand a few steps to the right with the Turret behind Jack.
As Splicers come, refresh any spent traps.
Watch for when the LS is done and starts moving.

On The Road Again

Run ahead of her and hack a Machine Gun Turret.
Through the next door, one may have to struggle to get past her.
Go around a couple of corners to hack an RPG Turret on the left.
The LS has to open another door for Jack to pass.
A sunken part of the hall is filled with water with Splicers in it. Kill them with Electro Bolt.
The Little Sister will take off running while one is stuck sloshing through the water.
Another Splicer-Bot pair's up ahead. Two frags takes him out, then keep running.

Third Stop

A Machine Gun Turret is ahead on the left, just opposite her next stop.
Run past her to hack it, then jump on the platform to its right.
Run back and hack the Security Camera.
A Splicer or two may already be on the LS, but hacking the Camera pays in the long run.
Kill any Splicers and set several Cyclone Traps/Trap Bolts around the LS.
If one is lucky, they'll come from the Turret's side. If not, they'll come from all directions at one.
Help out the Turret, since it will be much more difficult to fight off the waves if it gets destroyed.

Last Move

When the Little Sister moves again, jump ahead and kill an evasive Splicer.
As soon as she is dead, switch from Napalm to Electric Gel for the Chemical Thrower.
A rogue Big Daddy will break through the wall. Gel him.
This concludes the course. The Little Sister will give Jack a hypo to be used later.

Preparing for Fontaine

There are several FAKs, Hypos and lots of ammunition in the room, so fill up at leisure.
There's also a Gene Bank, a Gatherer's Garden with a Health and EVE upgrade, a U-Invent machine, and several other vending machines to tool oneself up.
To be able to take on Frank Fontaine without unnecessary difficulties, it is best to have:
- At least 75 units of Electric Gel. The more the merrier.
- At least 3 First Aid Kits and an EVE Hypo.
- Security Bullseye.
- Target Dummy.
- Human Inferno and Human Inferno 2.
- Frozen Field and Frozen Field 2.
- Electric Flesh & 2.
If one or more of the above is missing, Static Discharge 2 and/or Armored Shell 2 are good substitutes.

When done, take the elevator to battle Fontaine.

Gallery Edit

Bugs / GlitchesEdit

Shooting the fallen whale skeleton with exploding buck shot or igniting it with Incinerate! will cause the entire Central Atrium to be engulfed in flames that do not harm the player.

Trivia Edit

Both the Bouncer and Rosie types appear in this level: an Elite Rosie and the Bouncer that attacks Jack.

Despite the Little Sister walking slowly, she will keep urging the player to hurry up.

The rogue Bouncer in this level can be killed while he is staring at the player. If the player quickly hits it with Winter Blast when it is on the balcony, it can be shattered with the Machine Gun. This does not stop it from spawning and attacking the player at the end of the level, however. Strangely, when the player searches the rogue Bouncer, it is listed as "Elite Bouncer", but it does not have the red trim or harpoon drill.

v·d·e Locations in the BioShock Series
Locations in BioShock	Main Locations	The Lighthouse · Welcome to Rapture · Medical Pavilion · Neptune's Bounty · Smuggler's Hideout · Arcadia · Farmer's Market · Fort Frolic · Hephaestus · Rapture Central Control · Olympus Heights · Apollo Square · Point Prometheus · Proving Grounds · Fontaine
Locations in BioShock	Challenge Rooms	The 'I' in Team · A Shocking Turn of Events · Worlds of Hurt
Locations in BioShock 2	Main Locations	Adonis Luxury Resort · Atlantic Express · Ryan Amusements · Pauper's Drop · Siren Alley · Dionysus Park · Fontaine Futuristics · Outer Persephone · Inner Persephone
	The Protector Trials	The Adonis Baths · Atlantic Express Train Upkeep · Pauper's Drop Market · Simon Wales' Church · Folly of Dionysus · Persephone Cell Block F
	Minerva's Den	Minerva's Den · Operations · The Thinker
Locations in BioShock 2 Multiplayer	Included Locations	Arcadia · Farmer's Market · Fontaine's Home for the Poor · Fort Frolic · Hephaestus · Kashmir Restaurant · Medical Pavilion · Mercury Suites · Neptune's Bounty · Point Prometheus
Locations in BioShock 2 Multiplayer	Rapture Metro Pack	Dionysus Park · Fighting McDonagh's · Fontaine Fisheries · Pauper's Drop · Siren Alley · Smuggler's Hideout