This guide will walk you through “Fort Frolic”, the seventh section of Bioshock. We will go through how to complete each area, as well as any optional items you can find along the way.
Map
Fort Frolic
1 – Arrival
Having restored all the trees and other plantlife back in Arcadia, you’ve arrived in Fort Frolic without having to worry about your air supply anymore. Atlas will come across your shortwave radio to tell you that the bathysphere to Hephaestus lies just up ahead, but then he’ll be drowned out by some classical music when he starts speaking about a “psychopath” named Sander Cohen. Odd.
2 – Gambling and Epstein the Swami
Save your game here and then go ahead and try your luck at the slot machines off to your left. It’ll cost you $10 every time you pull the slot machine lever, but, just like real life, you have the ability to earn some cash if you hit the right combination of shapes. Three apples across gets you $25, two dollar signs and a clown gets you $50, and three dollar signs gets you $250. Your wallet can only hold $500, though, so don’t gamble unless you have sufficient room for a jackpot win.
If you want a break from killing Splicers, you may want to put some money in the Epstein the Swami fortune teller too. For the bargain price of a dollar, you can listen to the machine’s amazing advice such as “Well, I hope you have someone to carry on your family name” or “Let me tell you this, I wouldn’t bet on you.” When finished with the machine, fire a few Frag Grenades at Epstein. It’ll make you feel better.
When you first approach the bathysphere that will take you to Hephaestus, it sinks down into the water. Immediately afterward, a rabbit-like mask will rise up along the back wall, purple curtains will draw across the walls to your left and right, and human bodies coated with some kind of white molding will drop from the ceiling and rise from the water. This is the work of Sander Cohen, the crazed artist that now contacts you on your shortwave radio. It’s obvious you’re going to have to appease the lunatic before he’ll let you use the bathysphere, so turn around and head back the way you came.
Later on, after you’ve helped Sander Cohen finish his masterpiece, you’ll find that the bathysphere has returned and that you can now enter it without incident. Hit the lever and continue on to Hephaestus.
5 – Spider Splicers
After your initial greeting from Sander Cohen, you’ll return to this chamber to find that Trap Bolts have been strung across the area and a half dozen Spider Splicers are now homing in on your location. These six Splicers will serve as Sander’s initial test to see if you’re just another “Johnny-come-lately.”
Once dead, Sander Cohen will be delighted that you’ve proven your worth. He invites you to come meet him at Fleet Hall, after which the two doors to the south will open up and grant you access to the rest of this level.
6 – Sander’s Welcome
Entering the Lower Atrium, Sander will once again greet you over the shortwave radio. He wants you to forget about Atlas and Ryan’s “little squabble,” and instead become his “disciple” during your stay in Fort Frolic. Head up the stairs and into Fleet Hall to see what it is that he wants.
7 – Audio Diary #67
Lying next to the trash can is another audio diary. This one is labeled “Stood Up Again” and is narrated by Diane McClintock.
8 – Security Camera
Destroy or hack this security camera right away so you don’t have to deal with it anymore during your time here in Fleet Hall.
Hit the green button on the left side of the elevator shaft to call it down. While waiting for it, a few Thuggish Splicers will ambush you from the north. Once they’re dealt with, hop into the elevator and take it up to the second floor.
11 – Fleet Hall Theater
When you initially arrive in the theater, you’ll witness a man with a bird-like mask playing a grand piano at the center of the stage. His name is Kyle Fitzpatrick and apparently Sander has already made plans for him. After playing for another 10 seconds or so, the piano explodes and Mr. Fitzpatrick ends up burnt to a crisp on the stage floor.
That’s not all, though. Sander wants you to use your camera and take a picture of Fitzpatrick “in his moment of glory.” Once done, you’re to take the photograph and place it in Sander’s masterpiece back in the atrium. Before doing that, though, let’s explore the rest of the theater.
12 – Alarm Expert Tonic
Sitting on the ledge of this balcony is the Alarm Expertengineering tonic. Since the door to the balcony is jammed, though, you’re going to have to jump across from the balcony to the east. Don’t forget to grab the Shotgun and Exploding Buck on the corpse too.
13 – Machine Gun Turrets
A pair of machine gun turrets will give you some trouble as you try to explore the northern half of the theater’s lower level.
14 – Safe
In the back corner here, you’ll discover a safe containing two Proximity Mines, forty Machine Gun Rounds, and two First Aid Kits.
15 – Theater Vending Machine
As a small bit of comedy, check the Circus of Values vending machine on the lower level of the theater to find that all of the food items are ridiculously expensive. A Pep Bar for 240 dollars? Sounds like real life.
16 – Sander Cohen’s Masterpiece
Sander’s masterpiece is actually a collage of frames held up by human bodies encased in the white molding you’ve been seeing around Fort Frolic. The idea here is that you will be providing the pictures to fill those frames. Pictures of what? The remains of Sander’s former colleagues, like young Kyle Fitzpatrick whose life ended violently while playing the piano.
When you place Kyle’s picture into the “quadtych,” a trumpet will sound and Sander will come across your radio to explain what else needs to be done to finish the piece. Three former “disciples” of his must be hunted down and killed, starting with one Martin Finnegan (area #18). Before you run along to continue your grisly work, check the human body that rose up from the floor when Kyle’s picture was placed in its spot. It holds the game’s final weapon, the Crossbow.
Once you’ve retrieved Martin’s picture, place that in the masterpiece as well. This will trigger another trumpet and a gift containing cash, ten Antipersonnel Auto Rounds, and three First Aid Kits will rise up out of the floor. Next up is Silas Cobb, who can be found in the Rapture Records store within Poseidon Plaza (area #33). Placing his picture in the masterpiece enrages Cohen (he apparently thinks you don’t like it) and he sends out a small army of Splicers as a message to “all you fucking doubters.”
When you emerge victorious, Sander calms down and apologizes for his outburst. A trumpet will sound and another gift will rise up from the floor. This one contains five Electric Buck, twenty Dollars, and twenty Electric Gel. Your third and final target is Hector Rodriguez, who you’ll find bellied up to the bar in Eve’s XXX Garden (area #40).
When the fourth picture is placed in Sander Cohen’s masterpiece, the psychopathic artist appears at the top of the staircase behind you and a short battery of fireworks will go off in celebration of your accomplishment. As he descends the staircase, Cohen actually weeps at the “beauty” now standing before him. Once he’s had some time to revel in its glory, he’ll tell you that “your path to Ryan is now clear” and then lead you over to the two glass display cases to the west. As a reward for creating his masterpiece, Sander allows you to grab the Medical Expert 2physical tonic from the right case, but claims that you would have to earn a spot as his “one true disciple” before he’d let you have the contents within “Cohen’s Muse Box” inside the left display case.
If you really want to know what’s in the muse box, you can simply kill him and grab Sander Cohen’s Muse Key from his body to unlock it. However, this is not recommended. You’ll have a chance to kill him later in the game, after which you’ll gain access to a Power to the People station. This station cannot be reached if you kill Sander here in Fort Frolic. Additionally, those of you playing the Xbox 360 version will miss out on at least two achievements if you kill him here. If that isn’t enough to convince you, you’ll be disappointed to learn that there is only one hundred Dollars, eight Incendiary Bolts, and three Spider Splicer Organs inside the box.
In any event, you’re now able to hear Atlas again on your shortwave radio. He requests that you head for the bathysphere right away and then take it down to Hephaestus where you’ll finally get to settle your (or his?) score with Andrew Ryan.
This icy tunnel is home to Martin Finnegan, your second art-worthy target for Cohen. When you enter the room, you’ll be frozen in place and Martin will approach your icy shell to gloat about the pose he’s picked out for you. In a few moments, though, your shell melts away and you’re able to move again.
The tunnel is filled with other frozen Splicers, but your only real purpose here is to slay Martin. He’s at the west end of the hall and will immediately come to life as you approach him. Fighting him pretty much amounts to doing battle with a frost-wielding version of a Houdini Splicer. When he finally falls, grab the Frozen Fieldcombat tonic off him and then snap a photo of his carcass.
Don’t leave just yet, though. Use Incinerate or the Plasma in your Chemical Thrower to melt the ice around the chamber. This will grant you access to some useful items, including another Crossbow and an Automatic Hack Tool.
19 – Big Daddy and Little Sister
When you return to the Lower Atrium with Martin Finnegan’s photo, you’ll most likely encounter your first Elite Bouncer and the Little Sister he’s protecting. The Elite Bouncer can be pretty brutal in combat, so use the environment to give you the edge here. If you’ve saved all the Little Sisters up to this point in the game, then saving this one will prompt Tenenbaum to send you another gift at the nearest Gatherer’s Garden.
20 – Security Camera
A security camera patrols the area surrounding this Circus of Values vending machine. You know what to do.
Expect quite a bit of resistance from Spider Splicers as you leave the Frozen Tunnel area.
24 – More Items! Downstairs
When you first arrive here, you’ll discover that these stairs are blocked off by a metal grating. To gain access to the lower level beyond, you’ll first have to go into Sinclair Spirits at area #28, hit the switch behind the counter, and then kill the Spider Splicer downstairs. At that point, you should find that the “More Items! Downstairs” sign is now lit up and the grating is gone.
25 – Big Daddy and Little Sister
You can expect another encounter with an Elite Bouncer and the little one he protects in this vicinity. If you harvest or rescue the Little Sister and then stick around long enough, the third Little Sister and another Elite Bouncer will most likely show up and patrol the same area.
26 – Audio Diary #70
Sitting on the coffee table in this room is another audio diary. This one is labeled “Guns Blazing” and is narrated by McDonagh.
27 – Cigar Supply
Hack the keypad to gain entrance to this cigar storeroom, then hack or destroy the security camera before it alerts any bots. Inside, you’ll find some Electric Buck and several Dollars lying on the floor, as well as a corpse with two Antipersonnel Pistol Rounds and some cash.
28 – Sinclair Spirits
This security camera-patrolled room is filled with more of Cohen’s molded human artwork. Behind the bar is a switch that will open the door to the north, thereby granting you access to the water-filled basement.
29 – Power to the People Station and Safe
You may have to trudge through some water in the Sinclair Spirits basement, but you’ll find both a Power to the People station and a safe to plunder by doing so. The Power to the People station features new upgrades for the Crossbow (Crossbow Breakage Chance and Crossbow Damage Increase) and the safe contains cash, a First Aid Kit, and an Automatic Hack Tool.
30 – Safe and Audio Diary #71
Behind the bar on the lower level of Sir Prize is a safe containing two Trap Bolts, an Exploding Buck shell, and fourteen Machine Gun Rounds. There’s also a new audio diary sitting in a crate on the other side of the bar. This one is labeled “Fontaine’s Army” and is narrated by McDonagh.
31 – Crossbow and Trap Bolts
Propped up against the wall at the top of the stairs is a Crossbow and some Trap Bolt ammunition.
32 – Audio Diary #72
Check behind the Rapture Records counter to discover another audio diary. This one is labeled “Ryan’s Stableboy” and is narrated by Anna Culpepper.
33 – Silas Cobb
As you approach the man sitting next to the Sander Cohen advertisement, you’ll hear the timer of a bomb begin to tick and an explosion will rock the area shortly thereafter. Just as you realize the man was already dead, Silas Cobb will address you from the floor you just dropped down from to the east (“Are you Cohen’s messenger boy?”). He’ll then toss a Molotov Cocktail at some Spider Splicers and they’ll drop down from the ceiling aflame to cause as much damage to you as possible. Wipe them out, then make your way to the crawlspace in the southwest corner to begin your pursuit of Cobb.
The battle with Silas will begin just outside of Rapture Records. With a couple of well-placed crossbow bolts, you should be able to bring the masked disciple down without too many problems. Once dead, search his body for a Heat-Seeking RPG, four Exploding Buck, and some cash, then snap a photo and be on your way.
34 – Safe
Behind the counter in the Pharaoh’s Fortune Casino, you’ll find another safe. This one contains some cash and a First Aid Kit.
35 – Audio Diary #73
On top of the pool table on the second floor of the casino is yet another audio diary (and a First Aid Kit). This one is labeled “Bump Culpepper?” and is narrated by Sullivan.
36 – Security Camera
They’re starting to get annoying, aren’t they?
37 – Machine Gun Turrets
Two machine gun turrets will attempt to ventilate you before you can reach Eve’s XXX Garden.
38 – Haunted Stage
The apparition of a former stripper named Jasmine will appear on this stage and do a spin on the pole before heading to a back room. Follow her as she speaks to you as Andrew Ryan, and then listen to the grisly exchange that took place in her room some time ago.
39 – Jasmine Jolene’s Room
After listening to Andrew Ryan murdering his former love, Jasmine Jolene, enter this room to witness a few more brief scenes of your family photo. Hmm. Lying on the bed is Jasmine’s brutalized corpse, giving you a good indication of what Ryan is capable of when he feels betrayed. Check under the bed for some cash and an audio diary titled “Pregnancy” that Jasmine herself narrated. This will shed some light on what happened, though it poses more questions than it answers (where is the child now?).
Following your discovery of Jasmine’s dead body, you’ll return to the main room of Eve’s Garden to find Hector Rodriguez sitting at the bar. This is your third and final target for Sander Cohen, so chase after him (he won’t ever stop running) and fill him full of holes just as you did the last two.
Once you’ve taken the photograph, search his corpse for eleven Antipersonnel Auto Rounds, a bottle of Old Harbinger Beer, and two Incendiary Bolts. Additionally, you’ll discover a new audio diary lying on the bar where Hector was sitting. This one is labeled “It’s All Grift” and is narrated by Hector Rodriguez himself.
41 – Extra Nutrition 2 Tonic
Having gained access to the stairs at area #24, you can enter this water-filled room to find the Extra Nutrition 2physical tonic sitting on a crate in the southwest corner. A couple of Proximity Mines are sitting on the nearby ledge, as well. Be careful as you return the way you came in, though, as there’s now a handful of Spider Splicers waiting for you.
Apparently, someone thought it would be a great joke to put a machine gun-toting turret in the women’s bathroom. Hack or destroy it, then grab the Liquid Nitrogen and Cigarettes nearby.
Take out the security camera however you see fit, then hack the safe behind the counter for four rolls of Film, an EVE Hypo, and some cash.
Additionally, you’ll find yet another audio diary sitting on the counter. This one is labeled “Artists’ Feud” and is narrated by Sullivan.
46 – Machine Gun Turret
You’ll want to deal with this turret before you get too cozy in the Le Marquis D’epoque.
47 – Power to the People Station and Audio Diary #79
Grab yourself a new weapon upgrade from the Power to the People station, then check the floor between the corpse’s legs to find another audio diary. This one is labeled “Fancy Cigarettes” and is narrated by Albert Milonakis.
48 – Audio Diary #80
Check the desk here in Cohen’s Collections to find yet another audio diary. This one is labeled “The Doubters” and is narrated by Sander Cohen.
49 – Machine Gun Turret and Safes
After you’ve made short work of the machine gun turret at the end of the upstairs hallway, you’ll find that three safes have been placed along the north wall. The safe farthest to the left contains thirty Machine Gun Rounds, six rolls of Film, and an EVE Hypo. The middle safe contains six Armor-Piercing Pistol Rounds, cash, and a First Aid Kit. Finally, the safe farthest to the right contains cash, two Pistol Rounds, and one 00 Buck. Keep in mind that you will have to fend off an attack by a Houdini Splicer after the first safe has been looted.
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