Becoming The Tomb Raider — Shadow of the Tomb Raider Starter Guide

Having survived the ruthless inhabitants on the island of Yamatai and thwarted the Order of Trinity’s attempt to obtain the Divine Source, Lara Croft has proved herself to be a true survivor and is on the verge of becoming the Tomb Raider she’s destined to be. Her journey continues in the final game of the trilogy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Lara is once again joined by her friend Jonah as they follow her father’s notes to a Maya temple in Cozumel, Mexico. This guide provides everything you need to survive the perilous Peruvian Jungle as you follow the vague clues discovered at the temple.

Our walkthrough is split up by region and chock-full of valuable information. Each region begins with a summary that displays everything you’ll find in the area. Locations of collectibles, challenges, tombs, crypts, and side missions are plotted on the region map. Check out coverage of side missions, challenge tombs, and crypts after the story walkthrough for each region. We provide locations for every Artifact, either at the end of the region or within the story walkthrough.

Turn to the Skills & Inventory chapter for complete coverage of Skills, weapons, outfits, equipment, and more. Interviews, behind-the-scenes extras, and fan art make this the perfect addition to any fan’s collection.

Throughout this book we’ve added thoughts and experiences shared by the development team. While we’ve tried to avoid any spoilers, this content is packed full of thoughts about the story and the rich world surrounding Lara on her journey to becoming the Tomb Raider she was always meant to be.

Choosing a Difficulty

Shadow of the Tomb Raider offers four difficulties when beginning a new game.

• Smart and Resourceful (Easy): Provides the simplest gameplay, with aim assist enabled, weaker enemies, and plenty of hints.

• Rite of Passage (Normal): The default difficulty, with fewer hints, stronger enemies, and no aim assist. Base Camps are unlit, making them tougher to see from a distance.

• One with the Jungle (Hard): Ramps up the difficulty by removing health regeneration in combat, and hints for traversal and puzzles. Tougher enemies have an easier time locating Lara. Survival Instincts is disabled, making the game extremely tough for those who haven’t completed it.

• Deadly Obsession (Very Hard): Really tests a player’s skills. Better-armed and -armored enemies have increased health and damage, requiring more thought and skill in combat. In addition, you must return to a Base Camp to save your game. Each Base Camp requires hardwood to activate.

For three of the difficulties, settings can be changed for Combat, Exploration, and Puzzle separately before you start a new game, and in the in-game Options menu.

Deadly Obsession can only be selected when beginning a new game, and it’s all-or-nothing; you can’t mix it with other difficulties.

The overall difficulty is decided by averaging the selected individual settings. For example, if Combat and Exploration are set to Hard and Puzzle is on Normal, you end up with One with the Jungle. If Combat is Easy, Exploration is Normal, and Puzzle is Hard, the overall setting is Rite of Passage.

Difficulty	Combat	Exploration	Puzzle
Easy	Aim assist enabled. Ammunition boxes are plentiful. Enemies have lower health and do less damage. Enemies have illuminated silhouettes.	Obvious white paint on critical path. Longer saving grab timer. Base Camps are lit.	Lara gives direct hints on next action to perform. Interactable objects are highlighted in Survival Instincts. Objects necessary to progress highlighted in blue during Survival Instincts. Longer window of opportunity for timed mechanics.
Normal	Aim assist disabled. No ammunition boxes. Enemies have normal health and damage. Enemies have illuminated silhouettes.	Discreet white paint on critical path. Normal saving grab timer. Base Camps are unlit.	Lara gives general hints on the next action to perform. Interactable objects are highlighted in Survival Instincts. Normal window of opportunity for timed mechanics.
Hard	Aim assist disabled. No health regeneration in combat. No ammunition boxes. No hit marker on reticle. Enemies have increased health and do more damage. Enemies locate Lara more quickly. Enemies are not highlighted in Survival Instincts.	No white paint on critical path. Reduced saving grab timer. No Survival Instincts during exploration. Base Camps are unlit.	No hints given by Lara. No Survival Instincts. Shorter window of opportunity for timed mechanics.
Very Hard	Aim assist disabled. No health regeneration in combat. No ammunition boxes. No hit marker on reticle. Enemies have increased health and do more damage. Enemies locate Lara more quickly. Enemies are not highlighted in Survival Instincts.	No white paint on critical path. Reduced saving grab timer. No Survival Instincts during exploration. Base Camps are unlit and require resources to light. Game only saves at Base Camps	No hints given by Lara. No Survival Instincts. Shorter window of opportunity for timed mechanics.