Finding a Little Sister

Learn how to find the Machine Gun and upgrade it at a "Power to the People" station in BioShock 2. Get advice on the best upgrades for your playthrough.

Follow the Quest Arrow until you see a Thuggish Splicer in front of a broken display case. Kill it, then look in the broken display case to find the Machine Gun and a box of .50 Caliber Rounds.

The Machine Gun fires continuously when the “R2” button is held, but has recoil that causes the targeting reticule to drift upward. It uses .50 Caliber Rounds and is best used by aiming at a Splicer's body and firing in short bursts.

Approach the wall-mounted machine that says “Power to the People.” These stations allow one free weapon upgrade. Once an upgrade is confirmed, the station shuts down permanently. There are 18 possible weapon upgrades in the game, but only 14 stations, forcing players to choose upgrades wisely.

Facing the station, press “X” to see available upgrades. Each main weapon has three possible upgrades, with the third requiring the first two to be acquired first.

Drill Upgrades:

• Fuel Consumption Decrease: Decreases fuel consumption by 33.33%.
• Damage Increase: Increases Drill damage by 37.5%.
• Reflector Plate: Reflects projectiles back at the attacker while revving and facing them.

Recommendation: Only upgrade the Drill if you plan to focus heavily on melee combat and use Drill-related Gene Tonics.

Rivet Gun Upgrades:

• Increase Clip Size: Extends clip from 12 to 18, changes spool to a case, and allows carrying an additional 24 regular Rivets and 12 extra Trap/Heavy Rivets.
• Damage Increase: Increases Rivet Gun damage by 33.33%.
• Heated Rivets: Activates after three successive body-shots or a single head-shot, dealing burning damage.

Recommendation: Upgrade only the Rivet Gun's damage output. Head-shots are often lethal early on, making other upgrades less useful.

Machine Gun Upgrades:

• Damage Increase: Increases Machine Gun damage by 50%.
• Recoil Reduction: Significantly reduces recoil, improving accuracy.
• Bouncing Bullets: Bullets ricochet once off solid surfaces.

Recommendation: Get the first two upgrades (Damage Increase and Recoil Reduction). The “Bouncing Bullets” upgrade can encourage wasted ammo by encouraging shots around corners.

The Hack Tool has no upgrades.