Downtown Emporia

Go to Comstock House

Thoroughfare

The elevator you’re riding into Downtown Emporia is suddenly hit with stray artillery, where you’re given a bird’s-eye view of the war raging down below. Leap onto the Sky-Line and quickly dismount to the rooftop below, where the Tear for a crate of Salt Phials is located. Top off your Salt Meter here before riding the Sky-Lines up to the battle.

Those few Founders still trying to defend Emporia from the Vox Populi are fighting a gallant battle, but there are several Vox barges inbound, each containing at least one Beast. Things will get chaotic, and there will be a lot of firepower flying Booker’s way, but this is a great battle to really put everything you’ve learned to work. There are two Sky-Lines, a number of upper balconies and rooftops Booker can leap to, and a variety of Tears that allow Booker and Elizabeth to effectively summon a Mosquito, Crank Gun, Medical Kits, and several other weapons.

Remember that one of the easiest ways to eliminate the Vox threat is to leap from a Sky-Line into a Sky-Line Strike on their barge, then quickly knock them off with a blast of Undertow. Vox can’t fly, no matter how righteous Daisy thinks they are.

A Handyman eventually makes his appearance, but you can use the combating forces to your advantage. Use explosive weaponry to deal splash damage to the Handyman and other enemies while the larger brute is focused on other foes. The Handyman can leap far and wide and is also capable of grabbing the Sky-Lines, but you can stay one step ahead of him by moving along the upper Sky-Line between the rooftop and the upper ledge (above the vending machines). This helps you keep an eye on him, fire the RPG from the Sky-Line down at him, and also bait him into grabbing hold of the Sky-Line while Booker leaps off and fires at him.

Loot the corpses and lockboxes, then ride the Sky-Line up to the balcony above the vending machines. Unlock the doors to the hallway (three lockpicks required) to find a Voxophone a Handcannon, and a Heater. The vending machines in Downtown Emporia have new stock, so pay them a visit.

The Columbia Savings Bank is locked up tight for now (you can go inside the lobby, but that’s it), thereby leaving you one of two directions to go: either through Beggar’s Alley to Harmony Lane via the left-hand gate, or through the Market District to the right. There will be plenty of time to explore the Market District on your return (you’ll essentially have to perform one and one half loops through Downtown Emporia), so take the path nearest the three vending machines first.

Harmony Lane

Visit the vending machines in quiet Beggar’s Alley leading past the shuttered shops, and continue up the stairs on the left. Elizabeth suddenly alerts you to a sniper on the rooftops in Harmony Lane, and he’s not alone! There’s a sniper high above the ground in the distance. The glimmer of his optical scope gives away his position. Open the Tear for the Sniper Rifle near the sign, and take cover. Use the Sniper Rifle and Return to Sender for protection, and take out the four Vox snipers manning the rooftops in the distance. Open the Tear for the Decoy in the center of the walkway, and stick close to the sign for protection. The snipers run around and take cover, so follow them with the scope and wait for a clean shot.

Minuteman’s Armory: New Stock!

Hold onto the Sniper Rifle a little longer. Take your time poking around Harmony Lane’s abandoned homes and shops, but keep your eyes out for the occasional baton-wielding civilian. You’ll find a Voxophone in the wine cellar on the right-hand side of the street and a piece of Gear upstairs inside the shop on the left.

Downtown Emporia

The path ahead is crawling with warring groups of Founders and Vox Populi, but Elizabeth has quite a few Tears she can open to aid you in the battle. Start by opening the one for the Gun Automaton on the stone arch in the center of the street. Shoulder your Sniper Rifle and strafe up the stairs on the left for a clean shot at a few Vox Populi as they start approaching. Lay some traps down near the stairs and by the bridge to catch any who try to charge the Gun Automaton.

Open a Tear for either of the freight hooks, then leap from it to the one of the higher attachment points so Booker can gain the balcony on either side of the street. This gives you a great vantage point for sniping and also buys time for the Gun Automaton’s Tear to reactivate.

There are no enemies in this area right now, so make your way to the far end of the downtown area and head up the stairs on the left. Be sure to explore the locked shop (three lockpicks required) across from the theater to find a Voxophone and a piece of Gear.

Z.H. Comstock Victory Square

A mighty battle had taken place on the stairs in Victory Square, leaving dozens of bodies and countless bullet holes behind. Search the corpses for cash to spend at the vending machines off to the right, then climb the steps past the statue of Lady Comstock and approach the gate. The security scanner recognizes Elizabeth for Lady Comstock by appearance, but the hand print doesn’t match, so the gate won’t open.

Find Lady Comstock’s Crypt

Telescope This Telescope is at the north end of Memorial Gardens, on the edge of the road closest to Z.H. Comstock Victory Square. This is one of the final Telescopes in Columbia, so enjoy the view while you can.

Memorial Gardens

Descend the stairs and head left toward the overhead sign for Memorial Gardens. Visit the Telescope on the left before locating the Kinetoscope near the blown-out storefront (if you missed it at the arcade in Battleship Bay).

Proceed along the road until you see the entrance to the cemetery on the right, just before the fissure in the road. Continue to the right, around the perimeter of the gardens, and swap out your Sniper Rifle for the Shotgun in the Tear (if you were still carrying it). Continue to the end of the walkway and approach the gated crypt in the corner, where you can find the Gear. Light the torches flanking the gate with Devil’s Kiss to open the puzzling lock on this gate.

Lady Comstock’s final resting place is in the center of the cemetery, but don’t approach it just yet. First top off your health at either of the Tears that have Medical Kits. Approach the gate to Lady Comstock’s crypt and open the Tear for the lock on the gate. Elizabeth automatically picks the lock, but she’ll wait for you to push the gate open. Open the coffin once Elizabeth backs away.

Siren

Memorial Gardens Siren’s Vitals

The Ghost of Lady Comstock is what the Lutece twins would certainly call a Siren. A Siren is a spectral creature that can fly across the landscape like a wisp, only faintly visible to the naked eye, until she begins her song. That is when she is most vulnerable. The Siren sings a song that raises the dead, bringing them back to the land of the living, where they are all too anxious to attack those who attack the Siren.

Keep after the Siren, and open fire on her wherever she stops to sing. Use the Burstgun if she flies up onto one of the walkways, and employ the Shotgun if you manage to keep close by. The Siren can only deal damage with a melee strike, and she’s unlikely to get too close to Booker, but the risen dead certainly pose a threat. Run for a Medical Kit from either Tear whenever you can, and stay on the ground to make getting them easier. The resurrected dead die easily, and you can keep yourself equipped with Salts if you equip the Blood to Salt Gear.

Target the Siren’s body as it becomes opaque, and open fire. It’s possible to damage her quickly to interrupt her raising the dead; otherwise, you’ll have to fight three or four risen corpses while she flies off translucently. Unleash Murder of Crows or Bucking Bronco on the risen dead, since it makes killing them that much easier (or buys you time to ignore them and focus on the Siren). The Siren is particularly vulnerable to Devil’s Kiss attacks. It is also worth hitting her with repeated Charge attacks, especially after upgrading the Vigor. Charge doesn’t cost much Salt and is quick to lock on to a Siren. Try to time your attack with her reaching a crescendo in her singing. It’s possible to inflict enough damage while she’s singing to force her to move on without having resuscitated any more dead. The dead she has brought back instantly return to the world of the deceased upon her defeat.

Find the Three Tears

Exit the cemetery the way Booker came in. The Lutece twins then brief you on what you must do. Continue down the road in Memorial Gardens to the right, toward the building you see bobbing up and down. Loop around to the hole in Albert Fink’s music store. Wait for the hole in the bobbing building to come level with the road, and leap into the structure to find a Locksmith Bag and a Voxophone near the piano. Continue up the road, and turn right into the Market District.

Market District

Descend the stairs to the Market District, and have a look around the block. Both routes lead down to a fountain in the center of a small plaza. Take out the Vox patrolling the area, then collect the Silver Eagles and lockpicks from the small grocer’s shop near the stairs.

Follow the ghostly footprints up the steps and into the house to the left of the fountain, and head up the stairs to find an Infusion and the first of three Voxophones in the building housing Laboratory Lutece. It’s on the floor near the bed. These Voxophones go a long way toward helping you understand the nature of the Lutece twins and their relation with Comstock. Open the Tear in the contraption to move one step closer to gaining entry to Comstock House. This also nets you the third Voxophone in this house.

Collect the piece of Gear from inside the locked store near the Lutece Lab before moving on. Continue down the stairs within the Market District, and have a look inside the bottling store on the far left corner, near the edge of the city, to find an Infusion. From there, follow the path around to the right as it goes past the fire. Enter Hudson’s Clothier, and descend the stairs to find the Code Book for a cipher that you soon encounter in the bank.

Unlock the gate up ahead, beyond the fire, to return to the main area where Booker first arrived via the elevator. Approach the bank in the center slowly, as two Zealots are set to attack. Quickly knock them back with Undertow or Bucking Bronco, then unleash Devil’s Kiss on them. Finish them off with your explosive weapon but know that you can flee to the safety of the Sky-Lines if you need to. The Zealots can’t hurt you on the Sky-Lines. Several Vox and a Fireman attack after the Zealots;kill them if you want, or simply head inside the bank. A Tear for a Gun Automaton that wasn’t present earlier can come in handy.

Bank of the Prophet

Unlock the door to the bank, and head inside. The three Kinetoscopes positioned near the wall are the same as those you’ve encountered previously. Enter the elevator—the gate has since been ripped open, given all of the fighting taking place in this area—and press the button to descend to the main hall.

The main hall is crawling with Vox, but you have some time to set up a proper attack before they notice Booker. Run up the stairs on the left to reach the Sniper Rifle on the balcony. Hurry back down and place Devil Kiss traps on the floor, near the statues, and set to sniping the Vox in the distance. You can catch the Vox by surprise and pick off a few with the Sniper Rifle before they draw within reach.

Loot the cash registers and desks in the offices flanking the main hall, then head left down the hallway in the rear, opposite the direction of the ghostly footprints. Locate the Gear in the room at the end of the hall, and continue on to the small office around the corner.

Continue to search the area for loot, and return the way Booker came, back to the main hall. Now, it’s time to head to the right and continue to the entrance to the vault area. Pick up the piece of Gear in the back corner of the hallway before dropping off the edge into the vault area.

Columbia Savings Bank Vault

You can see the Tear—it’s right ahead of you—but you must first defeat the Zealot that attacks. Use the Burstgun to hit it if it flees to the rafters, but otherwise, keep a more potent gun like the Heater on hand. Kill the Zealot, then open the Tear in the Vault and listen closely to what is said. Collect the Voxophone that appears where the Tear was. Locate another Voxophone tucked behind the safe (three lockpicks required) in the office to the left.

The large vault door swings open, revealing another Siren in the main hall. Immediately open fire with the Burstgun while casting Devil’s Kiss and Murder of Crows in her direction. The Siren flies across the main hall, sometimes even moving to the upper balconies above the offices on the side, but she won’t go very far. Use your Vigors to fend off the risen Vox while you continue to pepper her with Burstgun fire. Lay traps down while she’s on the move to provide protection from melee assaults, then lob additional Devil’s Kiss fireballs at the Siren when she begins to sing.

Downtown Emporia

Exit the bank, and head right through the Thoroughfare and Harmony Lane, just as you had done when you first arrived in this section of Emporia. Continue up the steps to Downtown Emporia, where you find Cunningham Studios at the very top of the stairs, directly in front of you. Enter the photo studio, and open the third and final Tear to learn another piece of the puzzle and find yet another Voxophone.

Return to Comstock House

Z.H. Comstock Victory Square

Fight your way back up the streets of Downtown Emporia to return to Z.H. Comstock Victory Square. Elizabeth has learned a lot by opening those Tears and takes a few moments to get some emotions off her chest near the statue of Lady Comstock. Let Elizabeth have this moment—she’s earned it. Meanwhile, make sure your guns are reloaded and that you have Devil’s Kiss and Murder of Crows or Bucking Bronco on hand.

Lady Comstock’s Ghost reappears as a Siren one final time, but now she’s got an entire army of corpses at her disposal. Immediately open the Tear for the Mosquito flying overhead, and cast Murder of Crows at the first batch of risen dead. The Mosquito’s presence helps to cut down on the number of risen dead you have to deal with. Nevertheless, it still pays to cast Murder of Crows or Bucking Bronco at them to slow them down and make them more susceptible to gunfire. Focus your attention on the Siren as she floats around the stairs in front of Comstock House. She can be bested with the same tactics as earlier, although this fight does tend to go on longer because of the expansive space. Loot the corpses of the slain undead to keep your supplies topped off.

The Siren’s death triggers a powerful burst of energy that rips the gate to the Comstock House from its hinges. Father Comstock can’t be far. Lead Elizabeth into the house; it’s time for her to go home.