Progression and Collections

Following Objectives

The main story takes you through the world from one objective to the next. Use your map and Survival Instincts to locate these objectives. Look for the diamond marker on the HUD or the large, gold beacons when using Survival Instincts. Objectives are not hidden, so it’s always clear where you need to go when it’s time to advance the plot.

You can take time off between plot points to harvest items, craft, search for collectibles, and explore. Use Base Camps to quickly switch between different areas.

Side Content

This game has so much additional content that you are likely to spend even more time collecting goodies and exploring than you will on the story. There are hundreds of items to collect, and then there are Crypts, Tombs, Missions, and Challenges as well. All of them have rewards, grant experience to Lara, and usually have additional bonuses to unlock as well. Beyond that, you get a few Achievements for being a completionist.

Challenges and Missions

Challenges are map-based mini objectives. As soon as you enter a new area, go into your map screen and press to see the local Missions and Challenges. Challenges don’t have major rewards, but they all provide experience. Usually you have to find or destroy a smattering of items in a specific area.

Missions are triggered when you talk to individuals in Soviet Installation or Geothermal Valley. These tasks have stories, their own objectives, and greater rewards. You receive outfits, weapon accessories, and even a Lock Pick from one. You always want to complete the Missions because they’re quite valuable.

Collecting Items

Relics, Documents, Strongboxes, and both Coin and Survival Caches are all over the world. Almost every map has some of them, and a couple of the maps have dozens and dozens of hidden items to uncover.

Monoliths, Archivist Maps, Murals, and Explorer’s Satchels are collectible items that don’t directly give you anything. Instead, they reveal the locations of more valuable items. It’s well worth your time to grab these because you might uncover treasures that can be quite difficult to discover otherwise. The Maps and Satchels are easy; just pick them up whenever you find them. Monoliths require a certain level of language skill in Russian, Greek, or Mongolian. You raise your language skills by finding Documents and Relics that deal with those three languages.

Relics are items from the past. They’re found in small chests all over the world. None of the chests are locked, so you can get any Relic without trouble as long as you can find it! Some are kept in areas that require Rope, Climbable Arrows, Grenade Arrows, and other pieces of equipment that you get during the story. To get every Relic, you sometimes have to backtrack to earlier areas and use these tools.

Strongboxes are big chests that are easy to spot, though they’re sometimes hidden away in remote areas. Break these open to get parts for new weapons. A few Strongboxes are locked, and require a Lock Pick to open. Complete the first Mission in Soviet Installation to get your Lock Pick.

Documents are similar to Relics in that they’re easy to pick up once you find them. Look for papers that are left here and there, all over the map. Lara can always read the Documents that she finds.

Murals are insignias, reliefs, or other types of art that are located on the walls of most maps. Interact with these for a bit of fun and culture. Murals also increase Lara’s language skill when translated.

Survival Caches are hidden in the ground. The controller shakes if you get close to one, and Lara can dig them up without delay. The tricky part is to find all of the caches, because they aren’t usually marked in any way. They’re on ledges, hidden by the wayside, and you don’t usually step on them on your own. If you’re lucky, you might spot the occasional glint that shines off of a cache to let you know that it’s there! Survival Caches give you crafting resources.

Coin Caches are the toughest items of all to find. They can’t be dug out of the dirt until you know that they’re there. As such, you must translate Documents and Murals to learn more about the languages, and then use Monoliths to reveal the Coin Caches’ locations. It’s worth the hard work to get these, because Coins are hard to come by, and the Supply Shack in Soviet Installation lets you buy awesome items with these Coins.

Sarcophagi are found at the end of Crypts (of which there are five in the game). Crypts are small, hidden dungeons that are laden with treasure. There aren’t any enemies to fight, nor are there tough puzzles inside Crypts. Just explore them, get the treasure, and then open the Sarcophagus for your big reward.

Tombs are hidden just like Crypts, but they’re much more involved. These areas have complex puzzles, tons of collectible items, and you get to learn more about the ruins as you explore them. Each one has its own past and history, and that’s fun to learn as you discover the Relics and Documents inside each Tomb. One Mission has to explore all of the Tombs in the game and rewards you with Coins and arguably the coolest freaking outfit you can possibly get. Beyond that, each Tomb has a Codex at the end of the path. Codices unlock special skills for Lara that she cannot get otherwise.

Finding Ingredients