Maintaining Combos
The most important aspect of every Score Attack run is your combo. Lara gets way more points for her major actions when she has a running combo. The more things you do in a row (such as collecting Wisps, shooting Lanterns, and scoring kills), the more your combo rewards you. The only way to achieve really high scores is to make very long combos, perhaps completing entire levels without making a single mistake.
You lose your combo by taking damage or allowing the timer to run out. The timer starts each time you do something that increases your combo score. The timer appears in the upper-left and runs dry if you don’t do anything soon to improve your points.
In linear levels, you just need to move quickly and avoid damage. Some levels require you to backtrack, and that makes the run trickier. If you get everything in a room the first time you head through it, you’re likely to lose your combo when you come back. Make sure to leave a Wisp or Lantern around so that you have something to do on your second trip.
Things That Add to Your Combo
Shooting Lanterns
Nailing a Soft Landing
Killing Enemies
Picking Up Treasure
Looting a Crafting Item
Grabbing a Wisp
Completing Objectives
Executing a Saving Grab
Remaining Time Bonus
Expedition Card Effects
Shooting Lanterns
Lanterns are new items that are placed in the levels during Score Attack. You won’t have seen them in the main game, so keep a careful eye out for these. They award major points when they’re shot, and a high combo makes the Lanterns incredibly valuable. When possible, wait until later in a run before shooting the lanterns so that you get the most out of them. However, that isn’t doable if you’re in a linear level and can’t make it back into a room/area. Lanterns are worth more points if you shoot them from farther away.
Nailing a Soft Landing
Though this method requires the Soft Landing skill, it is a solid tool for adding to your combo. When the environment allows it, use the Soft Landing skill to help you quickly move down through the environment, speeding your passage and earning you combo points.
Killing Enemies
Enemy kills are worth quite a bit in your Expeditions. Raise this value by playing on higher difficulty modes (you get .5 points on the lowest difficulty, and x3 points when playing on Survivor). “Stylish” kills are worth more than normal kills. Stealth kills, headshots, melee kills, and environmental kills all give bonus points.
Another trick for boosting your points is to chain together a specific type of kills. Stealth kills award way more points than a standup fight. Bow sniping and Takedowns are ideal because they give you so many points and keep you out of direct combat. That’s very important because even a single hit can cost you everything; Lara loses her combo and takes a direct penalty to her points every time she is injured. No matter how good a fighter you are, you cannot afford to trade blows with your targets.
Stealth helps this a great deal, but if you do get into a fight, spend ammo to just blow down every target. Don’t go for finesse. Murder the enemy quickly and get out of the fight without a scratch if you want your run to have any value.
Collecting Treasure and Crafting Items
Hidden items and crafting ingredients really pad your score. Memorizing the levels ahead of time makes this much faster, but you can afford to pause the game and peruse your maps if you really need to. Because all of these items extend your combo, it’s usually safe to go after them. They grant you at least as much time as it would take to run past them. In fact, you sometimes are safer taking a few seconds to get the treasures because those combo extensions are so vital to making it through larger rooms.
Grabbing Wisps
No matter how you’re tackling an area, Wisps are always going to be the mainstay of your combos. The trail of Wisps takes you through every Score Attack. In a linear level, they are almost like a trail of breadcrumbs taking you toward your objectives. It’s tougher in the wide-open levels, like Siberian Wilderness, because there are multiple ways to get through certain places.
Make sure to take different routes in open spots so that you always have Wisps to grab. A passage without Wisps almost promises that you’re going to lose your combo!
Completing Objectives
Story objectives are still a major part of these maps, so you proceed as if you were playing the main game. Make sure to use your Survival Instincts if you lose track of where you are, and go after your objectives as quickly as you can.
Saving Grab
Add to your combo by quickly managing a saving grab. When Lara is hanging from a ledge, press [X] when she is about to lose her grip to keep from falling.
Cutscenes
The timer stops if Lara goes through a cutscene. You won’t lose because the game has something to show you. Take those moments to relax and prepare yourself for the remainder of the run.
Expedition Cards
Expedition cards have bonuses or penalties which are added together and then multiplied against your score when determining your final score. The right cards can push your silver medal run into gold territory, but they can also make the replay much more challenging.