Engineering Tonics
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Engineering Tonics improve your ability to interact and hack machines. Since hacking is a very integral part of the game, and since you will be doing alot of hacking, it is recommended you spend some of your ADAM to increase a few slots Engineering slots later in the game (probably sometime during Neptune's Bounty or later). Early in the game (in the Medical Pavilion you'll find Speedy Hacker, which is your most important initial Engineering Tonic and should be retained until you replace it or stack it with Speedy Hacker 2. The difficulty of hacks increases as you progress further into Rapture, and by the time the difficulty reaches high you will have to equip an Alarm Expert and/or Hacking Expert to even have a chance of hacking at that difficulty level, otherwise there are so many overload and alarm tiles that there is no conceivable way to hack the devices.
As a general rule of thumb, you can avoid spending precious ADAM on the actual Tonics themselves except for Hacking Expert 2 from the Gatherer's Garden of Fort Frolic if you follow the below guide to find the most useful Engineering Tonics. You also do not need to spend too much ADAM on opening up Engineering Tonic slots - on average 3 to 4 slots should be enough to get you through stages up to and including Olympus Heights - especially since Automatic Hacking Tools will make up for the difference.
There are 16 Engineering Tonics in total. Their effects and locations are located below:
[edit] List of Engineering Tonics
[edit] Alarm Expert
Effect
2 Fewer alarm tiles when hacking. (Stacks with Alarm Expert 2)
Location
In Fort Frolic on the balcony in Fleet Hall Theater
[edit] Alarm Expert 2
Effect
4 Fewer alarm tiles when hacking. (Stacks with Alarm Expert 2)
Location
In the Live Subject Testing area of Point Prometheus
[edit] Clever Inventor
Effect
Inventing items requires 1 fewer of each component
Location
On the desk in Dr. Suchong's apartment in Olympus Heights
[edit] Focused Hacker
Effect
2 Fewer overload tiles when hacking. (Stacks with Focused Hacker 2)
Location
Frozen in ice near the Pneumo Tube in the entrance to Fontaine Fisheries in Neptune's Bounty
[edit] Focused Hacker 2
Effect
4 Fewer overload tiles when hacking. (Stacks with Focused Hacker)
Location
In Apollo Square, the fourth floor of the Hestia.
[edit] Hacking Expert
Effect
1 fewer alarm tile and 1 fewer overload tile (Stacks with Hacking Expert 2)
Location
On the desk inside the entrance to the Research Laboratories in Arcadia
[edit] Hacking Expert 2
Effect
2 fewer alarm tiles and 2 fewer overload tiles. (Stacks with Hacking Expert)
Location
Available in a Gatherer's Garden in Fort Frolic
[edit] Prolific Inventor
Effect
Doubles the amount of ammo received from a U-Invent machine.
Location
Rewards for the rescue of 18 Little Sisters.
[edit] Safecracker
Effect
There are 2 fewer alarm overload tiles, 1 fewer accelerate tiles, and 3 added deceleration tiles. The flow speed is also reduced when hacking safes and combination locks (Stacks with Safecracker 2)
Location
Rewards for the rescue of 6 Little Sisters
[edit] Safecracker 2
Effect
There are 4 fewer alarm or overload tiles, 2 fewer accelerate tiles, 6 deceleration tiles, & the flow speed is reduced when hacking safes or combination locks (Stacks with Safecracker)
Location
It can be found in the autopsy lab of Little Wonders in Point Prometheus
[edit] Security Expert
Effect
Remove 2 alarm and overload tiles and 1 accelerate tile, while adding 1 resistor tile when hacking turrets, bots and cameras (Stacks with Security Expert 2)
Location
Found in Twilight Fields funeral home in the Medical Pavilion
[edit] Security Expert 2
Effect
Remove 4 alarm and overload tiles and 2 accelerate tile, while adding 3 resistor tile when hacking turrets, bots and cameras (Stacks with Security Expert)
Location
Receive a research level 2 of Security Bot
[edit] Shorten Alarms
Effect
Reduces the length of hostile security alarms by 20 seconds (Stacks with Shorten Alarms 2)
Location
Found in room #7 in the Fighting McDonaghs in Neptune's Bounty
[edit] Shorten Alarms 2
Effect
Reduces the length of hostile security alarms by 40 seconds (Stacks with Shorten Alarms)
Location
Found in the Core of Hephaestus
[edit] Speedy Hacker
Effect
Reduces flow speed by 1.5 seconds per tile during hacks (Stacks with Speedy Hacker 2)
Location
Found in Painless Dental in the Medical Pavilion
[edit] Speedy Hacker 2
Effect
Reduces flow speed by 3 seconds per tile during hacks (Stacks with Speedy Hacker)
Location
Available for purchase from Gatherer's Garden in Olympus Heights
