Tomb Raiders Traveler's Guide: Tomb Raider 2

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	Dagger of Xian -- General Hints

	1. KNOW THE TRICKS	The following are strategies, hints, and even tricks that will help keep Lara alive. Much of this chapter is copied directly from the general hints for the original Tomb Raider, but they still apply here. But along with old hints, there are new ones too. Some of these tips are common sense, but I was surprised to find how many people don't think about these things. Other tips help you take advantage of inherent weaknesses in the game (like the dumb enemy artificial intelligence -- if you can even call it intelligence). The rest of the tips involve using your resources smartly. Know which weapon to use and when. Know when you should use a Medi Pack and when you shouldn't and why. Keep these things in mind and you will have a lot less trouble.
		Safety Drops	Always use safety drops, unless there's a boulder hot on Lara's tail. The time it takes to do a safety drop may save Lara just enough health to get through the rest of the level without needing another Medi Pack. If you're tired of waiting for Lara to stand in place and turn around. Learn the reverse-roll-safety-drop.
		Not So Safe Drops	Another useful undocumented drop [read: bug] is Lara's ability to drop from the edge of one level to a ledge directly below. This move takes a little practice, but can be done every time. Stand with Lara's back facing a ledge and perform a safety drop as usual, but before Lara grabs the ledge that she was standing on, release the action key to allow Lara to fall. She will somehow land on the ledge directly below, which is often too far to perform the "safety drop and catch the ledge below" move.
		Bait	Sometimes, before dropping down a hole into a room below, you might think there is an enemy down there just waiting for you to drop in, and most of the time there is. One of the reasons the first thing I mentioned in this section is Safety Drops is because you can also dangle Lara down a hole or off a ledge as bait to wake up or draw out any creatures that might be below. Then you can pull yourself up and shoot at it from above.
		Save Now	The <F5> key will bring you directly to the save game page on the passport. You'll learn why it's important to have a quick path to "save game" as you get further along in the game.
		Marksmanship	Do not underestimate Lara's abilities with a hand gun. Apparently, she can aim and fire while doing back flips and side somersaults. This is an important method of dodging the attacks of enemies while blasting them. Remember, as with the first game, Lara automatically locks onto an enemy when you press the action key. Always release the action key once an enemy is dead to prevent Lara from wasting precious ammunition by pumping lead into a dead enemy and to prevent Lara from getting mauled by other enemies because she is keeping her lock on a dead one.
		Target Practice	With the original Tomb Raider, nearly every tough enemy can be shot at from some safer location except for a couple of the humans and the giant alien. In the sequel, Lara will find herself on the bad side of many more human enemies, and this is a real problem. Whenever an enemy (such as spiders and thugs as examples) can climb something to chase after Lara, they will! Don't expect higher ground to be a safe haven from which Lara can take pot shots at bad guys. They are smarter now. They will find a way to climb up after her.
		Sink or Float	One interesting nuance of this game that you can take full advantage of is the fact that Lara can wade slowly into shallow pools, and light a flare or draw a weapon. However most enemies can not swim. Therefore, it is to your advantage to have Lara run into a shallow pool and draw a weapon to take out enemies that don't fire back, like tigers and yeti for example. The converse is also true. Most underwater enemies cannot exit the water to chase after Lara. When convenient, clear out underwater foes before jumping in, or once you are underwater and you find enemies, swim to the nearest safe place to exit and pick off the underwater enemy from safely.
		When Not To Kill	Another interesting facet of this game is how enemies can travel on surfaces that Lara cannot. For instance, enemies can run up and down slopes that are two steep for Lara to tread on. Instead of sliding down, they run around unimpaired. However, try to never kill a human enemy when he is standing or running around on a slope. What will happen is that they will drop dead on the slope, and whatever they were carrying, if they were carrying anything, will land at their feet. The result is that Lara will be unable to obtain those objects. Wait until the enemy is on flat ground to kill him.

	2. KNOW THE TOOLS	Besides running, jumping, and fighting it is important to be familiar with the other equipment that Lara might be carrying around. However it's not enough to just know what they do, but also how to use them strategically.
		Stopwatch	Gone is the compass that no one used in the original Tomb Raider. In the sequel, the compass has been replaced with a stopwatch that allows you to collect statistics of your current game at anytime in the level instead of at the very end. You can see how many secrets Lara has picked up, how long you've spent in the current level, how many kills were made, how much ammunition was used, what the ammunition to kill ratio is, and even how far Lara has traveled (in kilometres of course). One thing the stopwatch will not tell you is how many items you've picked up.
		Medi Packs	No more are these things as plentiful in the early levels as they were before. Use them sparingly and hoard them for the later levels. Learn how much health you think you'll need to finish a level. If Lara is injured and you think you can get her to the end of the level, then don't use a Medi Pack because Lara's health will be restored to full at the beginning of the next level. It is also important to distinguish the difference between Small Medi Packs and Large Medi Packs. Small Medi Packs will restore Lara's health by half of the total health, while Large Medi Packs will restore Lara's health to full health.
		Flares	Tomb Raider 2 has dynamic lighting. This feature not merely a visual effect, but it also presents Lara with a new challenge: navigating through rooms that are pitch black. Be aware of areas that are dark and consider using a flare before entering because Lara may not have time to light a flare when she gets inside. Also, Lara can toss flares after lighting them. This is particularly useful in large rooms, where you can toss a flare into the room to see what's inside.

	3. KNOW THE WEAPONS	It is vital that you know the behavior of the weapons. This is a guide to selecting the right weapon for the right situation.
		Pistols	What more can be said about the pistols? A lot of the time you don't have a choice but to use the pistols. But remember the fact that Lara can make best use of her sharp-shooting skills with the pistol and the pistols don't run out of ammo, so remember to switch to pistols when "shooting fish in a barrel". If you press and hold the fire key, Lara will continue pumping rounds into the target that she has lock on.
		Shotgun	Also back in the sequel is the shotgun. Shotgun works best (does the most damage) at close range and can often bring enemies down with one or two shots. This is important, because if you can bring down an enemy with one shot, you should. It makes the best use of your limited shotgun shells and is the safest way to deal with the shotgun's long recoil and reload time.
		Automatics	Sometimes referred to as automatic pistols or auto-mags, the automatics replace the magnums in the sequel, but they are a lot like the magnums, of the original game, in terms of power, but instead of being a semi-automatic weapon, this is a fully automatic pistol. The automatics are nearly as accurate as the pistols, but do more damage and pump out a lot more rounds. Use these pistols for hard to kill enemies. Be careful not to waste ammo by pumping rounds in to an enemy that is already down. Because these are fully automatic, you will waste ammo like an Uzi if you are not careful. Do not be as careless in locking onto an enemy as you would with the pistols.
		Uzi	Uzis are best for those hard to kill enemies that require several shots of any kind to bring down, because the Uzis put out the most rounds per second. However, the Uzis are not as accurate as the pistol or the magnums when attempting to hit a target at a large distance. Uzi ammo can disappear quickly if you have an itchy trigger finger. Use the Uzis wisely, particularly when you've got a tough enemy headed your way, and you have a clear shot and a lock on it.
		M-16	The M-16 assault rifle is the most powerful weapon that Lara will be carrying. It pumps several rounds into enemies and takes down weaker enemies very quickly. Not only is it powerful, it is equipped with a scope, which is useful for locking onto enemies that are otherwise too far away to hit. Save M-16 ammunition for the tougher enemies in the later levels.
		Harpoon Gun	Making a debut in this game is the harpoon gun. It only makes sense that Lara might carry around a harpoon gun for all the nasty things she might encounter while spending so much time under water. It is important to remember that it takes a long time for Lara to reload the harpoon gun. If practical, take a shot at an enemy underwater to slow it down, but the best idea is get out of the water and pick off the underwater enemies with better firepower. Harpoons are also hard to find in the game, so save them up until you absolutely need them.
		Grenade Launcher	The grenade launcher is best used for long distance killing of multiple enemies. Enemies die and are blown to satisfying little pieces, but also be aware that any objects of value they might have been carrying will also be blown to bits too. After firing a grenade, the grenade will travel a certain distance before exploding. Do not fire off a grenade and then chase after it until after it explodes. Also do not attempt to hit a nearby target. If you attempt to do either of these things and miss the intended target and hit a wall or other object, Lara might find herself within the grenade's blast radius and she will take damage or even die from the blast. The grenade launcher is the only weapon in the sequel in which Lara will not maintain lock on a target if you keep the fire key down, so be careful not to lob those precious grenades all over the place wastefully. (Note: An interesting bug appears when you use the grenade launcher. It appears to falsely increment the kills counter so that the final count is higher than the actual kills no other adverse effects were noticed due to this bug.)

	4. KNOW THY ALLIES AND ENEMIES	One big advantage in your travels is to know what enemies you're up against. You should know how they attack and how quickly they do it, what is the best way to avoid them, and what weapon works best for taking them out. The following are some principles that you can use when encountering enemies. You may not want to read this section until after you've met each particular enemy for the first time because finding out what the enemies are can really spoil the thrill for you. Click that BACK button on your browser to go back. Otherwise you can click this link to go to the list of enemies that can be found in Tomb Raider II.