LEVEL 8: WRECK OF THE MARIA DORIA
Updated: 4/26/24(†)
Secrets: 3 Pickups: 41, including the grenade launcher, 3 keys, 3 circuit breakers, and 3 secrets Kills: 35
NOTE: The number of pickups includes the three dragon statuettes and the items awarded for finding all three secrets. Also, you'll receive the GRENADE LAUNCHER if you find all 3 secrets here. The regular pickups in this level will include the HARPOON GUN, AUTOMATIC PISTOLS, UZIS, SHOTGUN, and M16 if you didn't get them earlier.
LEVEL MAP by VGCartography (used with permission)
Wreck of the Maria Doria Video Walkthrough by Eldincy
OBJECTIVES: Swim into another section of the wreck. This time you'll visit the areas where the posh, seagoing passengers spent their time. Explore this area to find 3 circuit breakers. When you have them all, return to the upside-down swimming pool, where you started, and swim through a flooded passageway to a large room, where you can use the circuit breakers to reach the ship's bridge. Here you must retrieve a key from the sea bottom and use it to access the final area in the level—a large room with an ornate, glass ceiling that now forms its floor. From there, swim through an underwater cave to the level exit.
FLOODED ROOM & VERTICAL SHAFT WITH BREAKAWAY TILES: Follow the passageway around the corner to a water-filled opening. Jump in and kill the scuba diver (1) who emerges—either use your harpoon gun or climb back into the doorway and shoot him from above. Dive down to grab 2 bunches of harpoons (1-2) from the bottom.
NOTE: If you don't already have the HARPOON GUN, you'll get it here instead of one of the bunches of harpoons.
Fill Lara's air meter and then swim through the passage where the diver came from to another room where you can surface and climb out of the water. Take the large medi pack (3) and top up Lara's health if necessary. Depending on how you make the next long drop, she'll lose between 1/5 and 2/3 of her health. If you have plenty to spare, just slide backwards down the slope and grab the edge. Then drop through the breakaway tiles to the floor below.
To conserve health, instead slide backwards down the slope and grab the edge. Then traverse as far to the left as possible. Drop onto the breakaway tiles below and quickly roll then jump to the left. (That is, press Jump + Left to flip to Lara's left. Since she's facing you, she will appear to jump to the right on screen.) Then quickly run forward along the tiles, holding the Action button so Lara grabs the edge of the second tile as the one she's standing on crumbles. Hang from that tile and drop to the floor from there. This way Lara will take very little damage when she lands. (screenshots)
SWIMMING POOL: You're now in what was the ship's swimming pool, only it's upside down. Two thugs (2-3), with wrench and gun, enter from the next room. Kill them and take 2 small medi packs and some automatic pistol clips (4-6).
NOTE: If you don't have the AUTOMATIC PISTOLS, you'll receive them here instead of clips.
DUCT LEADING TO SILVER DRAGON SECRET: Notice the Silver Dragon underneath one of the changing room doors. Too bad you're too stiff from your fall to crawl under and take it. ;) You'll have to come at it from another direction: Go through the doorway where the bad guys came from and turn left to find an opening in the ceiling behind a couple of chairs. Climb into the dark duct above and follow it forward then around the corner to the right. Take out the bad guy with the shotgun (4) waiting here and continue to another opening in the floor. Before dropping down, turn around and deal with another armed thug (5) who appeared in the passage behind you. Then drop down and take the Silver Dragon—SECRET #1 (7). Climb back into the duct, follow it to the other and drop into the tiled room where you started. (screenshots)
TILED ROOM WITH MOVABLE BLOCKS: In the opposite corner of the room are several movable blocks. Pull the first block to the left once, go around to the opposite side and push it once, then move around to the side and push it twice into the alcove. Go back to the corner and pull out the left block. Pull it to the left once and then go around to the opposite side and push it once. Then push it into the alcove against the first block. Pull the third block twice. Moving the blocks out of the corner reveals two hallways. The one on the left leads to the RESTROOM; the one on the right, with the blue paneling, leads to the BALLROOM. (screenshots)
BALLROOM: Follow the blue hallway to the ballroom first. When you come to the slight drop-off at the end of the hallway, draw guns, hop down into the room and roll. Immediately shoot the thug with the wrench (6) who appears in the opening you just came from. When he falls, roll and take out 2 more bad guys (7-8), one with a wrench and one with a gun, who enter from the ballroom ahead. Pick up the flares and large medi pack (8-9) they drop.
Then enter the ballroom proper. There's a sniper (9) on the balcony ahead. He starts out in the far right corner but quickly moves to the left. You can take him out fairly easily by running into the middle of the room with the M16 drawn and shooting as soon as Lara gets a lock on him. (screenshot) Otherwise, use pistols or another weapon and jump from side to side as you fire so he can't hit Lara.
When the coast is clear, turn around to face the entrance and then head for the doorway in the far left corner. Enter, turn right and walk carefully over the glass shards to the edge of an opening in the floor. While standing at the edge, turn around so Lara's back is toward the hole. Hold Action and hop back to grab the edge. Release Action and quickly press it again to drop and grab the ledge below. Don't let go again or Lara will drop into the broken glass at the bottom of the hole. Pull up into a short passageway to get the REST ROOM KEY (10). Turn around, walk back to the edge and take a standing jump to grab the opposite edge of the hole; pull up. Then walk back through the glass to the BALLROOM. (screenshots)
RESTROOM: Exit the ballroom the way you came, climb into the blue hallway and follow it back to the movable blocks. Turn right and proceed to the RESTROOM. Inside, head for the far right corner and turn around to spot a lock where you can use the REST ROOM KEY. (screenshot) Doing so opens a door just to the left. Enter and push the button to open the glass double doors on the other side of the room. A thug with a wrench (10) rushes out. Roll and start shooting as he approaches. (screenshot) Once he's down, cross the room to the blue hallway where he came from and press the button there to open a small door back in the ballroom.
Return to the button near the keyhole and press it again to close the glass doors. It's very important that you take the time to do this. Notice the CIRCUIT BREAKER behind the left window? (screenshot) Closing the glass doors will allow you to reach it from behind later.
BALLROOM (again): Exit the restroom the way you came, turn left at the movable blocks and follow the blue hallway back to the ballroom. Go to the far right corner of the room to find a pair of low ramps where the floor (i.e., the ship's ceiling) has buckled. Walk to the highest point of the ramp on the left and jump straight up to grab the edge of the balcony. Pull up, go around the corner to the left, drop and hang from the edge and traverse left. Ignore the open door for now and continue traversing to the left to wherever the sniper fell when you shot him earlier. Pull up and take his auto pistol clips (11). Then follow the balcony around toward the entrance. When you come to the wide gap with broken glass below, stop and take a moment to set up the next jump so Lara doesn't accidentally land in the glass: Walk to the edge, hop back once and then take the running jump, holding Action to grab the edge of the balcony ahead. Pull up and take the FIRST CIRCUIT BREAKER (12) of three. (screenshots)
Now, either jump back across the gap and follow the balcony around to the door you opened a few minutes ago, or drop down and use the low ramp to climb back up to the balcony and reach the door that way.
HALLWAY AND SMALL ROOMS BEHIND THE BALLROOM: Go through the square door (screenshot) and follow the blue hallway to the rusty passageway beyond. Here there are 5 doors: a door with a lock on the right opposite a door with a wheel on the left, and beyond these another door with a wheel on the right opposite a sealed door on the left. At the far end of the corridor is another sealed door. The first door with the wheel mechanism is empty.
Use the wheel to open the second door on the right and drop down into a small room with 2 movable boxes, a switch and a high door. Go to the lower block and pull it twice. Climb over it to the opposite side and push it once. Go around to the side and pull it once. Then climb over to the opposite side and push the block under the switch. Climb up and pull the switch to open the door above. Pull the second box out onto the ledge and use it to reach the door. (screenshot)
Drop down into the passageway beyond and follow it around a corner, through a small room with a closed door on the left, and up a ramp. At the top of the ramp a guy with a wrench (11) tries to stop you. Shoot him and enter the room he came from. Slide the movable box under the switch and pick up the RUSTY KEY (13) that the box had been hiding. (screenshot) Then climb onto the box and pull the switch to open the exit.
Go through the door you just opened to emerge back at the end of the hallway with the 5 doors. Use the key in the lock to open the door next to it. Drop into another small room with movable blocks. Move the block in the corner next to the metal ledge. Then climb onto the ledge and pull the second block out from the wall twice so you can enter the area behind it. Push the third block you find there to open up a passageway. (screenshot)
Proceed to a room with breakaway tiles on the floor. There are lit burners below the tiles and rolling barrels in the area beyond. Step onto the tiles at the left side and then quickly hop back or backflip off the tiles. This triggers the barrels, which come to rest just beyond the pit. You can then run over the tiles on the right to get across safely.
At the top of the slope where the barrels came from is an opening. The barrels on the left don't move, but as soon as you pull up into the passageway, more barrels roll down toward you. To avoid them, ether hop back or backflip off the edge. Then immediately run forward to the wall so the barrels pass overhead. Climb back into the passageway and go to the top to find SECRET #2, the Jade Dragon (14). (screenshots)
Hop down, return to the bottom of the slope where the barrels landed and turn right. In the dark corner ahead is a raised opening. If you like you can shoot the gunman (12) inside by getting a lock on him with pistols and jumping straight up and down while firing. (screenshot) When he falls, climb into the doorway.
FLOODED ROOM WITH FLOATING PLATFORM: Ignore the opening on the wall ahead for now. Drop down through the hole in the grating floor onto the floating platform below. Dive into the water and pull the lever on the wall below the entrance. This opens the side door above. It's on a timer, so quickly climb out of the water, pull up through the opening in the grating floor and climb into the doorway. (screenshots)
SLOPING FLOORS WITH TRAPDOOR ABOVE BROKEN GLASS: The door closes behind you, but the switch inside opens it again. The door on the right is already open but closes behind you after you pass. Ahead is an angled floor with a trapdoor at the bottom. Do not slide down! This is a deadly trap with glass shards below. Instead step to the edge, turn around, slide down backwards and grab the edge as the trapdoor falls open. Pull up and the trapdoor closes and locks behind you. (You may need to do this twice for it to work, so be sure to continue to hold Action as you pull up in case Lara slides back into the pit.) Now you can stand on the closed trapdoor and climb into the opening above. Pull the switch here to open the door at the top of the slope as well as a blue panel elsewhere. (screenshots)
To get out, hop down onto the trapdoor and take a standing jump up the slope. Follow the passageway back to the FLOODED ROOM WITH THE FLOATING PLATFORM. Climb through the raised opening opposite the entrance and continue to the blue panel you just opened.
LARGE ROOM WITH BALCONIES AND PIT OF BROKEN GLASS: Three thugs with guns (13-15) await in the next room. One is patrolling the upper level just inside. You can probably shoot him from the doorway. The other two are on the level below. So you may need to move around the upper level to get a clear shot at each of them. (screenshot) At the bottom of the room, what was once an elegant domed ceiling is now a pit lined with broken glass above the shark-infested waters.
When you've taken care of the bad guys, go around to the left side of the upper level (i.e., left relative to the entrance) to the button on the wall. This button opens a timed trapdoor to the right. You can run all the way around the perimeter and take a running jump through the trapdoor before it closes. But first try this shortcut: Save the game in case this doesn't work. Then, instead of pressing the button, just stand facing it and hop back, holding Action as though you were going to drop and grab the edge. Instead of grabbing, Lara should land on the floor below.
If it doesn't work, reload and try the timed run as the designers intended: Press the button to open the trapdoor and run all the way around the perimeter of the room, taking running jumps whenever possible to cover more ground. On the other side, take a running leap to sail through the open trapdoor and land on the level below. (Both methods are shown in this series of screenshots.)
Obviously you should try not to fall into the glass pit, but if you do and Lara survives, walk through the glass to the flat ledge at one end where you can climb out. Then continue with the pickups on the lower level.
Collect the SECOND CIRCUIT BREAKER (15). (screenshot) When you stand on the tile where it sits, another trapdoor opens on the other side of the room. But don't go there yet. First, steal a small medi pack (16) from one of the bodies and press the button on the wall below the entrance to drain the water back in the FLOODED ROOM WITH THE FLOATING PLATFORM. (screenshot) Then return to the corner floor tile where you picked up the circuit breaker. Step on it to open the timed trapdoor, run around to it and pull up onto the upper level.
RETURNING TO THE BEGINNING: Follow the balcony around to the raised opening where you entered this room. Climb up and continue back to the previous room, which is now no longer flooded. Safety drop through the opening in the grating floor. Open the hatch with the wheel and follow the sloping passageway to the top. Climb into the rusty passage above and follow it to the end (ignore the passage leading off to the left) and drop into the small blue room behind the glass doors in the RESTROOM. Take the THIRD CIRCUIT BREAKER (17). (screenshot)
NOTE: If you have reached this point and the circuit breaker is inaccessible because the glass doors are still open, you'll have to go back to the RESTROOM and press the button in the alcove near the keyhole again to close them. This page shows how to get there.
Once you have the THIRD CIRCUIT BREAKER, press the button on the end wall (not the one opposite the glass doors) to open a trapdoor elsewhere. Climb back into the rusty passageway, which is just to the left of the button. Head forward then turn right at the next corner. Turn right again. (Ignore the blue passageway; it leads back to the BALLROOM.) A few steps ahead is the trapdoor you just opened with the button.
Draw weapons and step off the edge. As soon as Lara hits the floor of the RESTROOM, 2 thugs (16-17) attack, one with a wrench, one with a gun. Run forward a little so you can see better and then start shooting. When they fall, grab their Uzi clips and 2 bundles of harpoons (18-20). (If you need screenshots for this section, the page describing the alternate path to the circuit breaker, here, has them.)
NOTE: If you didn't get the UZIS earlier, you'll get them here instead of clips.
Exit the RESTROOM through the hallway where you came in originally. Proceed straight ahead past the movable blocks to the SWIMMING POOL area where you entered the level.
FLOODED PASSAGEWAY WITH TRAPDOOR: Go to the far right corner of the room and jump into the little pool. Grab the small medi pack (21) on the bottom, take a breath if necessary and then swim through the twisting passage to a lever. Pull it to open the trapdoor above. Swim straight upward to surface under fire. Quickly dispatch 3 thugs (18-20) and take their large medi pack, 2 boxes of shotgun shells, and Uzi clips (22-25).
NOTE: If you don't already have the SHOTGUN, you'll receive it here with one box of shells.
LARGE ROOM WITH CIRCUITS AND BURNERS: Place the 3 CIRCUIT BREAKERS in their circuits, moving from right to left, to turn off the burners. (screenshot) Now pull the movable block under the opening and climb up.
Kill the guy with the wrench (21) in the room above. Throw the switch to rotate the huge ducts in the next room. If you don't do this, Lara will slide off the ducts when she tries to climb across them. You want to make sure the rusty side is up. (screenshot)
Take a running jump from the opening to land on the first duct. Walk over the top of the duct and take a running jump to grab the edge of the second duct. Pull up and move across the top of it. Then take another running jump to grab the third duct; pull up. Cross the third and final duct and take a standing jump to land in the opening ahead.
FLOODED PASSAGEWAY: Drop into the water-filled shaft and swim through the wide passageway to surface in a room with flickering lights. Head down the ramp and wade into the shallow water to draw out a barracuda (22), which you can then kill with pistols. Wade back into the water and go to the right to find an alcove with 2 bundles of harpoons (26-27). Swim to either of the two openings on the left, climb out, kill the goon with the wrench (23) and take his small medi pack (28).
SHIP'S BRIDGE AND CABIN: You're now on the BRIDGE. If you walk past the big windows, the camera shifts to show a key on the sea bottom. (screenshot) You'll be going after that soon. Meanwhile, look for the room with 4 small windows opposite the big windows that look outside. This is the CABIN. In the passageway to the right of the cabin you'll find 2 sets of automatic pistol clips (29-30). (screenshot)
Go through the door that opens with a wheel (straight ahead when standing with the windows to the sea on Lara's right). Use the switch to open another door at the opposite end of the bridge. The door is timed, but it's not particularly fast. So roll, run out of the room, veer left toward the big windows so Lara doesn't trip on the equipment scattered on the floor. Continue forward past the windows and through the door before it closes.
Once you make it inside, the door stays open. Pick up some flares (31) and push the movable block into the wall to reveal another switch. (screenshot) Pull it to open a trapdoor on the far side of this area. Go there now: Exit the room with the block and switch, continue forward with the windows on Lara's right. Turn left just before the door with the wheel, then right into a room with an uneven, sloping floor. Head for the far left end of this room to find the trapdoor.
RETRIEVING THE CABIN KEY: Now you can jump in the water and swim out to get the key. Here's the sequence: Stand at the edge of the trapdoor and turn around so Lara's back is toward the opening. Then, when you hop back into the water, Lara will already be facing the direction she needs to go. You can try and kill the 2 sharks (24-25) and 3 barracudas (26-28) that get in your way, lure them back to the opening and shoot them from above, or just out-swim them. If you do stop to fight, you'll probably need to return to the trapdoor to get air.
Swim down and forward, with the metal hull of the ship on Lara's right. Where the sea floor slopes upward, follow it up and around to the right through a wide opening in the rocks. Continue forward with the windowed section of the hull now on Lara's right. About halfway along the bank of windows, the ground slopes upward then abruptly downward. As you crest this little hill, swim down and to the left to find the CABIN KEY (32) sitting in a flat spot near some small plants. Grab it, roll and return the way you came. (These screenshots show the path to and from the key.)
NOTE: An alternate method for this area is to wait to open the trapdoor (or close it again if you've already opened it). Then, while it's still closed stand above it and use the pistols to shoot the sharks and barracudas through the closed door. It takes some time but makes for a much more relaxed swim. Just be sure not to stand on the trapdoor when sharks are directly underneath. They can bite Lara through the door! (screenshot)
In addition to the key, you can find SECRET #3, the Gold Dragon (33), in a hidden cave opposite the trapdoor opening. To reach it, start out just as you did when going after the key: Stand with Lara's back to the open trapdoor. Hop backward into the water and swim forward and down. Then, where the sea floor slopes upward again, instead of swimming around the corner to the right, as you did when you went after the key, continue straight on. Enter the cave ahead and look for a flat, angled block protruding from the ceiling. Swim behind it and up a vertical shaft to a small air-filled cave. Here you'll find the statue plus 2 pairs of grenades and the GRENADE LAUNCHER (34-36) if you've found all the secrets. Swim back to the trapdoor the way you came and climb into the wrecked ship. (screenshots)
A WORD OF CAUTION: I highly recommend saving most of your grenades for the last two levels of the game. There are a few enemies there who are quite easily dispatched using grenades and very hard to kill otherwise.
Return to the BRIDGE and use the key to open the CABIN door. Again, the CABIN is the room with the 4 small windows near the rectangular pit in the floor. The door and lock are in the hallway on the left side. (screenshot) Pull the switch inside the CABIN to open a trapdoor in the floor on the other side of the windows. Exit this room, go around to the trapdoor, drop into the pit and push the movable box beneath the switch. (screenshot) Climb up and use the switch to open the trapdoor back in the CABIN ceiling. Return there, climb up through the trapdoor and follow the passageway to a large room.
GLASS CEILING THAT'S NOW A POOL: A wall partially blocks your view of this room from the entrance. Hop down from the doorway and go around to the left side of the room. From there, you should have a clear shot at the 2 bad guys (29-30) with guns on the level below. (screenshot) You may also be able to hit one of the 2 scuba divers (31-32) in the pool. If not, don't worry; you'll have another chance soon.
Go around to the right side and drop down through the square hole at the edge of the floor to land on the flat ledge below. Most of the other tiles around the edge of the pool slope downward, so if Lara lands on them, she'll slide into the water or, worse, the broken glass. Take the M16 clips and small medi pack (37-38) from the goons, and retrieve 3 sets of M16 clips (39-41) from the dark alcove. (Both the alcove and the spot where you drop down from the upper level are shown in the previous screenshot.)
NOTE: If you didn't pick up the M16 ASSAULT RIFLE earlier, you'll find it in the alcove in place of one set of clips.
Before jumping into the water, look out for that first scuba diver (31) if you didn't kill him earlier. Shoot him from above if you can. The second scuba diver (32) appears as you explore the lower level, but he probably won't come to the surface until Lara enters the water. So slide down into the pool and harpoon him or climb out onto one of the glass-lined ledges to shoot him with pistols. Just be sure to walk over the glass to avoid injury.
UNDERWATER TUNNEL: The tunnel leading to the end of the level is hidden behind the rock formation to the left of the barrels on the sea floor. Swim down behind those rocks and forward through the dark passage. The yellow eels that inhabit this tunnel are actually hazards more than enemies since you can't damage them. They try to bite Lara as she passes but don't do too much damage as long as you keep moving. Turn left into the narrow passage just in before the first eel, then turn right just before the second eel. After this, the rocky passage slopes upward. Swim straight on through the opening where the third eel is floating. (screenshots)
Just beyond the third eel, you'll encounter 3 barracudas (33-35). There's also a square opening in the ceiling where you can climb up into a little air-filled cave. Shoot the barracudas through the opening with pistols if you like. Otherwise, harpoon them or just continue swimming straight ahead past the opening. Here the tunnel widens into an underwater cave. A little farther on is a large opening made of rusted metal. Swim into it to end the level.
*The eels at the end of the level function as traps, rather than true enemies, since they can't be killed. So they do not count as part of the total.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 1/1/11 - First major update since this walkthrough was created in 1998. This revision includes many new screenshots as well as various other corrections and clarifications.
1/15/11 - Revised ceiling-that's-now-a-pool section with regard to when the scuba divers are triggered. Also fixed a couple of typos.
11/30/11 - Added screenshot after the timed door sequence on the bridge.
5/25/13 - Fixed a mixed-up left/right in the bit about conserving health when making the long drop at the start of the level. Thanks to Aquaflute for the correction.
12/1/13 - Added "objectives" section for each level.
2/5/24 - Added VGCartography's level maps, with permission. Visit VGCartography on DeviantArt for high-res versions, and follow on Twitter/X and YouTube for more fantastic game maps.
4/26/24 - Added sequential kill and item counts, which will hopefully be helpful for both the classic and remastered versions. More remaster updates coming eventually. Thanks for your patience.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Special thanks are given to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, without whom some parts of this walkthrough couldn't have been written. Thanks also to Damien C., Jeff R., Joaquim, Mr. Cairo, Nick and Tartancroft for their help on this level.
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