Tomb Raiders Traveler's Guide: General Hints

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	Tomb Raider -- General Hints

	1. KNOW THE TRICKS	The following are strategies, hints, and even tricks that will help keep Lara alive. 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-SAFETY DROP.
		Bait	Sometimes, before dropping down a hole into a room below, you might think there is a beast down there just waiting for you to drop in for dinner. 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.
		Quick Draw	Lara can READY a weapon while hanging or swimming, and draw it as soon as she lets go or pulls herself up. The trick is, while hanging, press ESC to get the item ring. Release the ACTION button, select a weapon, and immediately press ACTION again. Lara will still be hanging from the ledge, except as soon as you let go of the ACTION button or press the up arrow, she will READY the weapon you chose. While swimming, you can go to the item ring, select a weapon, and as soon as Lara pulls herself out of the water, she will draw the weapon you selected.
		Marksmanship	Do not underestimate Lara's abilities with a hand gun. Apparently, she can aim and fire while doing backflips and side somersaults. This is an important method of dodging the attacks of enemies while blasting them.
		Medi Packs	These things are plentiful in the early levels. Use them sparingly and hoard them for the latter 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. Along with healing Lara in the middle of a fight, there are many other uses for Medi Packs that no one seems to talk about. Great unmentioned uses for Medi Packs include: 1) keeping Lara alive after she's run out of air underwater like scuba gear and 2) keeping Lara alive while doing her Roman candle imitation, if you're really really unable to get across the torch room without setting Lara aflame.
		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.
		Target Practice	As I will mention in the section below on Enemies, in most cases where there are big hard to kill enemies, you don't have to jump around to dodge attacks. Look around for a ledge to climb up to, and then shoot at the enemies from there. Remember that creatures in the water will not get out of the water and creatures on land will not jump into water in order to get Lara.

	2. 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 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 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	The shotgun is the next weapon Lara can find. Shotgun works best (does the most damage) at close range and can often bring enemies down with one shot. 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/reload time. The shotgun is the only weapon in which Lara will not maintain lock on a target if you keep the fire key down, which is another reason you'd like to use it only to bring down a target with one shot.
		Magnums	Magnums are as accurate as the pistols, but do more damage. Use the magnums whenever you would normally use pistols as long as you have ammunition for them. Be careful not to waste magnum ammo by pumping rounds in to an enemy that is already down. Do not be as careless in locking onto an enemy as you would with the pistols.
		Uzis	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 if you've got a tough enemy headed your way, and you have a clear shot and a lock on it.

	3. KNOW THY 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 or this link to the Table of Contents now to spare you from spoiling the surprises. One important aspect of identifying your enemies is learning what they sound like. I strongly recommend playing Tomb Raider in a quiet environment with the speakers on your computer or console turned up. The sounds you hear will clue you in to what's coming up. Don't be in a rush to run/jump/fall into a room. Know what you're getting into. If you listen carefully, you can tell if there's an enemy waiting for you in the next room before you get there. In many cases, enemies will be "asleep" when you enter a room. In fact some enemies require very specific conditions to set them off. Some enemies can be shot at while they are asleep, while others cannot be. All of this is important because, you can learn how to wake enemies up from a safe location, or shoot at enemies, while they're still napping. However in all cases, enemies always stay approximately at the same "level". They generally don't climb up tall steps or jump down into pits. In almost all cases, enemies can be shot at from some safer location. The trick is to find that location and get to it without getting mauled. Note that in the descriptions below, though a weapon of choice may be given, you may not have that weapon yet unless you are using the weapon cheat or you're playing the second time through. It's okay, it's not like the pistol won't work, but I'm just telling you what works better. Unique enemies are labeled in red instead of blue and listed mostly in order of appearance, except where they can be grouped together for convenience.
		Bats and Rats	You'll come across bats at the very beginning of the game, and they won't be bothering you after Colosseum, but won't see your first swimming rat until Palace Midas, and the first time you have to worry about rats on land is in the Cistern and the last rats you'll see are in the Tomb of Tihocan (funny how that happens to coincide with the appearance of the first panther). All these pests are pretty easy to take care of. Pistols or magnums are the recommended weapons, since one clear shot will bring down a bat, and three shots will kill a rat. They don't do much damage but they are persistent and often get you into a spot where they are hard to shoot at. If possible, take them out from at least arms length. Any closer, and they will continue to nibble on you while you try to figure out where to go to get away from them. Keep an eye out for rats in the water. You should take them all out before you ever take a plunge, because although you can dive underwater to avoid them, they'll nibble on you when you climb out.
		Wolves	Wolves are found in the Caves through the Tomb of Qualopec. Wolves are fairly easy critters to take care of, but have a tendency to appear in packs, which is what makes them dangerous. Because, while you are targeting one wolf, two or three others can be swarming you. When fighting wolves, the weapon of choice is the shotgun. One mid to close range shotgun blast will easily take down a wolf. If all you got is a hand gun, then do lots of side jumping and backflips. They can't bite you when you're in the air. Keep moving until they are all dead. If your habit is to target one animal at a time, you may want to learn to let go of the fire button. They get around behind you a lot so you might as well try to shoot at the ones that you can see.And if you are the kind who likes to lock onto one target at a time, remember to release the fire button as soon as a wolf is dead. There's no use in kicking a dead horse, nor is there any use in repeatedly pumping lead into a dead wolf, especially if there is two or three more nipping at your heels.
		Bears	Bears only appear in the Caves and in the City of Vilcabama. Bears are big and slow, but can charge and maul you before you know what's going on. In most bear sightings, you can shoot at them from a safe distance. Again, the weapon of choice is a shotgun, since one close range shotgun blast will bring down a bear. If you've got just a hand gun, keep backflipping away from it while firing. You have to keep distance between yourself and the bear. You will eventually bring it down.
		Raptors	Raptors only appear in the Lost Valley and the Tomb of Qualopec. They are quicker than bears, but like to stand and roar at you before attacking. That's your cue to take them down. As with the bear, one mid to close shotgun blast will bring down a raptor. This is an important fact, because in one case raptors will jump you out of nowhere. But raptors should be easy to detect from just about any distance because they run around with a "thump-thump-thump" noise and they like to stop and emit a high pitch roar/screech. Use the same technique in shooting at raptors as you would with any fast moving enemy, which is to keep side and back flipping away from them and keep shooting while in midair.
		Tyrannosaurus- Rex	One of these guys can be found in the Lost Valley. The name says it all. This is second largest beast you will come across. Thank goodness there's only one of these guys, and conveniently enough it can be found on the level with lots of hiding places and safe vantage points to shoot at it from. If you're going to take it on face to face, you'd be better off with an uzi, but if you're going to face it with anything else, you might want to consider the pistols or the magnums. You need a weapon that's fast and fires often as you jump around like crazy. T-Rex will continue to charge at you if you continue to run away. The only way to get it to stop and take it's punishment is if you are jumping around it, and if you are jumping around, be careful to avoid its head and jaws because that's where it inflicts the most damage including swallowing Lara whole.
		Mummified Guardian	In the throne room in the Tomb of Qualopec you will find a skeleton, who was once Qualopec, sitting on the throne flanked by two mummified guardians. Only the left one seems to have any fight left in it, and even so, he basically just stands there. Use whatever weapon you want and pump it full of lead until it falls over. You'll wish all the rest of the mummies you will encounter are that easy to kill.
		Larson	Remember Larson, that red-neck that you met at the beginning of the game in the cafe? Well, his job didn't end at setting up that meeting with Natla. The next time Lara meets up with him, he'll be packing heat, and he's got his sights set on Lara. He shows up at the end of Tomb of Qualopec and one more time at the end of the Sanctuary of Scion. All he's armed with is just a pair of pistols, but when he's shooting at you he's persistent, but not hard to take out. All those fancy backflips and side jumps will not help you much when you have your shoot out with Larson, because he will shoot at you in midair. After you hit him a few times, he will stop shooting at you and run around some, and then shoot at you some more. You should take advantage of the time while he's running around looking for a better view to shoot at you from to nail him lots of times with your pistols. Uzis or magnums will do a much better job than the pistols, because it will take quite a few bullets to bring him down. And he quite capable of shooting Lara while she's in the water, so don't play fish in a barrel for him. Your job is to pump more lead into him faster than he's doing to you. Read the walkthrough for Tomb of Qualopec and Sanctuary of Scion for details on be best way to take out Larson in each case.
		Lions, Lionesses, and Cougars	They can be found in St. Francis' Folly through Tomb of Tihocan. They are quick and hard to kill because they take a lot of shots to bring them down. Sometimes one shotgun blast at extremely close range can bring them down, but if there's more than one of them around, you're guaranteed that Lara will get mauled. Use the pistols to take them out, or magnums or even the uzi if Lara has them. Use the same tactic as with fighting bears to deal with these creatures.
		Gorillas	Gorillas can be found starting at St. Francis' Folly through Tomb of Tihocan. Gorillas can be brought down with one shotgun blast at medium to close range. They tend to stop to pound on their chests every so often, so you have a chance to shoot at them with a pistol or magnums if you need. They are not terribly quick, but are very aggressive and head straight for you if it thinks it can reach you. When there's more than one of them in a room, your best strategy is to fire while backflipping out of the room.
		Pierre	Much like Larson, Pierre is also packing heat, tends to shoot a little then run around, and is hard to bring down. The similarities end there. Instead of two simple gunfights, Pierre repeatedly comes back to take pot shots at Lara during parts of St. Francis Folly, all throughout the Colosseum, off and on in the Cistern, and a couple of final meetings at the end of the Tomb of Tihocan. Pierre is also packing magnums instead of mere pistols, so he does more damage than Larson. There are specific strategies for dealing with or avoiding Pierre in the walkthrough for each of these levels. But you should remember that Pierre won't continue to fire at Lara if she doesn't stay in one place. Lara can't kill Pierre until the last gunfight in the Tomb of Tihocan so don't try to kill him. Just put enough bullets into him to scare him away. Remember that he can shoot at Lara from below, so don't stand at the edge of ledges if he's around. If you are having a lot of trouble with Pierre, there are specific tricks to dealing with him for St. Francis Folly, Colosseum, Cistern, and Tomb of Tihocan in the walkthroughs.
		Crocodiles	Crocs can be found starting at St. Francis Folly through Obelisk of Khamoon. They run on dry land faster than they swim, and can be taken down with one close range shotgun blast. When dealing with them in water, swim past them as quickly as possible and get Lara to pull herself out of the water ASAP and shoot the croc from dry land. If a croc is on dry ground, then use a shotgun to take it out in a hurry, or fire at it from higher ground.
		Centaur	The first of these you will find is near the end of the Tomb of Tihocan where they take the form of statues, and explode to life and launch fireballs at you. You will see them off and on until you finish Atlantis. These guys are big, they're mean, and they throw fireballs, but they aren't very quick or very smart; either at running or launching their fireballs. Your best strategy is to keep some distance between you and it. Once it starts launching fireballs, it will stop running around. Your best bet is to use a fast weapon with lots of punch like the uzis or magnums. Keep firing and start jumping side to side. Do your best not to hit any walls on the side, as they cause Lara stumble and pause to get up off her knees. Keep firing and jumping and don't stop until it explodes. Notice how tall these things are? They can't seem to get through most doorways.
		Panthers	Panthers first appear in the City of Khamoon and last appear in the Obelisk of Khamoon. They are jet black, bigger and faster than lions and cougars, and quite a bit harder to bring down. Use a fast weapon with lots of kick like the uzis or magnums to deal with these guys. They don't waste any time roaring at you like the lions, so as soon as you spot one start backflipping away while firing. Big as they are they have this amazing ability to jump over blocks and through the tiniest of cracks. They're pretty quiet and strike without warning. As soon you see that black shadow out of the corner of your eye, draw and get moving. Jumping from side to side will not help you much against panthers. Your best bet is to run away.
		Panther Mummies	Your first glimpse of a panther mummies, fortunately, is from a distance in the City of Khamoon and the last you will see of them is Atlantis. Those ancient Egyptians obviously picked the biggest, baddest, and meanest panthers to embalm because panther mummies are even bigger than panthers and have a much nastier disposition. Once they realize that Lara is within reach, they will pounce and continue to attack until Lara is dead. Whatever weapon you choose, it will take quite a few shots to kill them, and they explode when they die. In all but one case of panther mummies, you can shoot at them from a safe location. Your job is to get Lara to that location as quickly as possible or to start firing from that location before going on. Because they are mean and explode when they die, you should keep as much distance between them and Lara as possible from the first moment of an encounter until they pop.
		Zombies	Zombies are essentially also panther mummies, but are given their own name because along with all the other panther mummy properties, they throw fireballs and little bolts. You will notice that the panther mummies start launching fireballs at you in the Sanctuary of Scion and continue to do so until the Great Pyramid. Use the same strategy as with centaurs with these guys. Keep your distance and keep moving. Most cases, you can shoot these guys down from a distance. Uzis are the weapon of choice for eliminating them.
		Winged Demons	Winged demons will first appear in the Sanctuary of Scion and are all over the place in Atlantis. They aren't as tough as they look. Their goal, in general, is to knock you off of some precarious ledge and let you plummet to your death. They just flap around and claw at you when they get close, so of course you should try to get rid of them before they too close. As with all Atlantean natives, they explode when they die, so do try to keep your distance. Uzis or magnums work best. Winged demons will not fly through doorways because they're just too big to get through, so a good strategy is to duck into a doorway if there is a convenient one nearby.
		Cowboy	The cowboy can be found in Natla's Mines. Don't even go looking for him until you've gotten your pistols back, and if you do run into him while you're unarmed, then you best be on your way. He's hard to kill, but he doesn't start shooting back until he's done making threats at Lara. Take that opportunity to pump as many rounds as you can into him, then retreat to a safer place with more cover. Watch out when fighting him, in the room he's waiting in, not to fall down one of the lava shafts. With enough lead in his chest, he will go down. Once he is down, don't forget to retrieve your magnums off of him. Obviously, without any cheats, the only weapon you have to work with here are your pistols, but the uzi is a much better tool to bag the cowboy.
		Skateboard Dude	Another of Natla's henchmen in Natla's Mines, and perhaps the most annoying enemy in the game. Hopefully you've gotten your magnums back by this point, so use them against him. There are two basic tactics you can use against him. It's a good thing that he doesn't attack unceasingly like Pierre can, but will if you stay in one place. If you are going to have a gun fight against a fast moving target armed with an uzi, then you should keep moving yourself, while constantly adjusting yourself to face him. This will involve lots of running, turning, and sometimes even hopping backward while turning. You can also jump, but it's not recommended since the room that he's in is full of lava pits, and it's very easy to fall into one of them. The other tactic is quite sneaky, and you can read about it in the walkthrough for this level.
		Shotgun Guy	The last of Natla's gunmen in Natla's Mines. He appears near the end, which is good because he's armed with a shotgun and his plans are to pump as much shot as he can into Lara. Keep your distance when fighting him, which means you have to run right past him into some open area to fight with him. Since he's armed with a shotgun, you have to be faster and more aggressive than he is. Duck behind anything you can, but in general, if you have a clear line of sight on him, he's got a clear line of sight on you as well. There are just no good places to hide from him. Magnums or uzis from a distance are preferred.
		Flesh Creature	This unique enemy is as agile, smart (or dumb), and fast as you are and it appears in Atlantis. Note it's behavior very carefully to figure out how to kill it. That's all that needs to be said. The rest you need to figure out or read the walkthrough for this level. Read the additional (late breaking) notes for problems you might experience when dealing with this doppleganger.
		Huge Alien	This thing appears right at the beginning of The Great Pyramid. It and Lara are sharing a little ledge at the very top of the pyramid, and Lara must kill it to get past it. Stay away from his hands and keep it at arms length (its arms, that is). Backup up carefully and do side jumps to get out of its way. Be careful not to fall off the ledge. You don't need to hop around like a lunatic to avoid it. Keep your cool, keep adjusting Lara's direction so that Lara is always facing the beast, and hold down the fire key until it explodes. The weapon of choice for most people are the uzis, but consider using the shotgun. It does the most damage at close range, and here you are trapped on this little ledge with this huge thing.
		Natla	At the end of the Great Pyramid you have to face Natla. Except now she's sprouted wings and throws fireballs and bolts just like the zombies. It's not as though that isn't bad enough, but she also bobs up and down and is much harder to nail than the winged demons. Good thing you got lots of room to move around. Don't let her get behind Lara, and keep your uzis or magnums trained on her. After you've clipped her wings and brought her down, don't get too relaxed, because she's a lot harder to kill than you think.