Stella's Tomb Raider: Last Revelation Guide - Windows, Macintosh, PlayStation, PSP, Vita & Dreamcast
LEVEL 31: THE MASTABAS
Updated: 9/2/19(†)
Kills: 65 (66) Items: 11 plus Jerrycan, Small Waterskin, Bag of Sand, Torch, Northern Shaft Key, Southern Shaft Key Secrets: 1*
The maximum number of kills is 66. There is one friendly creature near the end of the level that it's better not to kill, as well as a few enemies you can easily avoid. All are noted in the walkthrough.
FIRST MASTABA: (red #1 in the diagram) From the starting point, approach the boarded-up door with the "Danger" sign. As you get closer, a wild dog comes out from between the two buildings ahead on the left. Get a lock on it with pistols and back up shooting. Then shoot the boards and "Danger" sign, enter the building, and kill a couple of bats. It looks like there's nothing here, but wait. There's a cleverly concealed trapdoor in the middle of the floor. Lighting a flare makes it easy to spot. Position Lara facing this tile, standing just outside it, with her back to the entrance. Press Action to lift the trapdoor. Climb down the ladder to the bottom of the shaft, where you'll find a large medipack. (Items are indicated by green dots on the map.) This is the level's only SECRET (67/70). Climb back out of the pit. Exit and head to the right. (screenshots)
(2) GAS STATION: As you approach this abandoned petrol station, another dog comes out from under the parked truck. (screenshot) Deal with it. Then go around to the other side of the truck and pick up the JERRYCAN near the gas pumps ('JC' on the map). (screenshot)
(3) NORTHWEST MASTABA: Head back the way you came and go between the two buildings where the first dog emerged. Approach the door of the building on the left and press Action to kick it open. Enter and pick up revolver ammo in one corner (green dot on map). The trapdoor in this room is much more obvious. Stand near the handle and press Action to open it. Drop into the tunnel, advance a few steps, and kill a wild dog that approaches from around the next corner. The shotgun works well in close quarters. Just ahead, the tunnel slopes upward, takes a turn to the right, then straightens out. When you pass this point, 2 more dogs charge up the stairs toward you. Shoot them and continue to the room below. (screenshots)
(4) FIRST ROOM WITH THREE GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS: Pick up normal arrows and a small medipack from the floor (indicated by green dots on the map). Now examine the 3 golden lion heads with 3 large gems in their mouths. You must shoot all 3 gems to open the door at the top of the ramp. There's no need to waste special ammo to do this. Just stand facing one of the lion's heads and jump up and down while shooting. It shouldn't take long to shatter the gem. Repeat this for the other two gems. When all of the gems are broken, the door opens and and 2 mummies emerge. You can destroy both with a single grenade or explosive arrow. (Other weapons are ineffective.) Then go into the alcove and pick up the SMALL WATERSKIN ('SW' on the map). (screenshots)
Return up the stairs and follow the tunnel back to the split. This time head left (south). (screenshot) You'll meet 2 more dogs as you go. At the end of the passage, climb through the opening in the ceiling into another ruined mastaba.
(5) SOUTHWEST MASTABA: Kill 2 bats and a black scorpion (normal size). (screenshot) Then exit through the gap in the wall and turn right (east). You'll meet a wild dog just around the corner. As you fight, watch out for the excavation pits both ahead and behind. (screenshot) Then take a running jump across the excavation pit to the building with the "Danger" sign. (screenshot)
(6) SOUTHWEST CENTRAL MASTABA: Shoot the boards, open the door and kill 2 bats and a dog inside the ruined building. Open the trapdoor and hop down into the pit. Follow the tunnel and, when it forks, go right (east). (screenshot) There are 2 more dogs and a bat in the next room. I found it helped to advance slowly down the stairs to trigger only the dogs, deal with them using the shotgun, then switch to pistols and enter the room to kill the bat.
(7) SECOND ROOM WITH GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS: Now repeat the business of shooting the 3 gems in the lions' mouths (see ROOM WITH THREE GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS, above). When you shatter all the gems, the alcove door opens, releasing 2 mummies. Only this time there are also 3 more bats, which make targeting a bit more difficult. I recommend first using a grenade, which should take care of the mummies, then switching over to pistols for any remaining bats. Pick up the BAG OF SAND in the alcove ('BS' on the map). I have not included screenshots for this since it looks almost identical to the first LIONS' HEAD room.
Return along the passage to the fork. This time, go right (north). Just ahead the passage jogs to the left. Beyond that, two separate passageways lead off to the left, each with a wild dog inside. (screenshot) I'd suggest running forward and taking the second left, killing the first dog, then backtracking to the other side passage. Kill the second dog as it comes down the stairs toward you. Then go to the top and pick up a large medipack and revolver ammo to the left and right (green dots on map). Return to the intersection and turn left, then left again. Continue to an opening where you can climb up.
(8) WEST CENTRAL MASTABA: Shoot 2 more bats inside the ruined tomb. Then open the door and shoot the boards across the opening so you can get out. Turn left and move carefully to the edge of the excavation pit. Position Lara on the angled left edge of the pit and take a running jump to the small, triangular ledge at the corner of the building on the right. (screenshot) Face north, sidestep to the left, adjust Lara's angle if necessary, then take a standing jump to the ledge between the two buildings. (screenshot)
(9) NORTHWEST CENTRAL MASTABA: Enter the building on the right and kill 2 scorpions. (screenshot) Open the trapdoor and drop down into the tunnel. Follow the tunnel around to the right. At the T intersection, turn right (west). Kill another wild dog just ahead. Continue to the end of the passageway and pick up the TORCH ('T' on the map). (screenshot) Return eastward along the passage, past the tunnel on the left where you came in from the surface. Around the next corner to the left is a staircase leading down. Drop the the torch and draw weapons. Remember where you left the torch, since you'll need it again shortly.
(10) THIRD ROOM WITH GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS: Kill 3 dogs and 2 bats. Again, I found it easier to step forward to trigger the dogs, use the shotgun to kill them, then switch to pistols and enter the room to kill the bats. Repeat the process of shooting the 3 gems in the lions' mouths to open the door at the top of the ramp. (Again, see the first ROOM WITH THREE GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS, above).
(11) ROOM WITH THREE SCALES: Enter the room at the top of the ramp and kill 2 more bats. Here is a puzzle involving 3 scales. These are labeled with symbols for water (wavy blue lines), fire (sun), and earth (pyramid). Go around behind the scales and stand in the shallow pool. Select the SMALL WATERSKIN from your inventory and press Action to fill it with water. Return to the front of the scales, step up onto the low platform and position Lara in front of the scale with the water symbol. Select the filled waterskin from your inventory to pour water into the scale. (screenshots)
Next, position Lara in front of the scale with the sun symbol. Select the JERRYCAN from your inventory to pour gasoline into the scale. Go back through the LIONS' HEADS room to get the WOODEN TORCH from where you dropped it. Light it on one of the flaming torches and use it to ignite the gasoline in the scale. Toss the torch away since you won't need it anymore. (screenshots)
Finally, position Lara in front of the scale with the pyramid symbol. Use the BAG OF SAND to pour sand into the scale. After filling all three scales correctly, the door to the left (west) opens. (screenshots)
NOTE: If you're missing the WATERSKIN, JERRYCAN, TORCH, or BAG OF SAND, check the footnote for help.
Enter the WEST ROOM (12) to get the attention of the 2 mummies inside. Then back out, wait for them to come to the doorway, and destroy them both with a single grenade or explosive arrow. Re-enter the room and use the CROWBAR to pry the NORTHERN SHAFT KEY off the wall. When you do, the east door in the SCALE ROOM opens. (screenshots)
Go through the SCALE ROOM into the EAST ROOM WITH GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS (13). Pick up poisoned arrows and revolver ammo on either side of the entrance ramp (green dots on map). There are 3 more lions' heads with gems in their mouths, but the exit is already open so you don't need to shoot them. Start up the stairs to the east and kill the 2 dogs that charge down toward you. (screenshots)
Continue up the stairs and along the tunnel. After a few bends take the first left. Continue up a short flight of stairs to a dead end with a large medipack (green dot on the map). When you pick it up, 2 wild dogs attack from behind. Deal with them and backtrack to the intersection. Turn left and continue to the opening in the ceiling where you can climb out of the tunnel.
(14) NORTHEAST CENTRAL MASTABA: Kill a black scorpion in the ruined building. Exit and kill another scorpion outside. Turn left and walk forward along the edge of the excavation pit. Take a running jump across the pit to the left (north) rim, pressing the Left direction button in-flight if necessary to land the jump. Turn right and move to the edge so Lara is facing south across the pit. Take a running jump to grab the left side of the far edge. Pull up. (screenshots)
(15) SOUTHEAST CENTRAL MASTABA: Open the door of the building on the right (southwest), enter and kill 2 bats. Open the trapdoor and drop down into the tunnel. You might want to walk along this tunnel with pistols drawn, since Lara can probably see better than you do. You'll encounter 3 black scorpions as you go: The first scorpion is just inside the tunnel. Turn left (north) at the first and only intersection. Continue to another scorpion and, a little farther on, some revolver ammo (green dot on map). Follow the tunnel back to the intersection, then go left (east). Kill another scorpion and continue to an opening where you can climb out into another ruined mastaba.
(16) SOUTHEAST MASTABA: There's a wild dog lurking in the doorway. Just outside is another boarded up ruin. (screenshot)
(17) NORTHEAST MASTABA: Shoot the boards, kick open the door, and enter. There are 2 bats inside. If you like, you can hop back out the door as you shoot them. Just watch out for the deep pit on the left. When the coast is clear, go back into the building and open another trapdoor. Drop in and follow the tunnel to a T intersection. To the right is an obvious dead end. There's a small medipack on the ground here (green dot on map). When you pick it up a dog attacks from behind. Roll and shoot it. Then continue eastward and down the stairs to a FOURTH ROOM WITH GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS (18). Take care of the twin dogs and twin bats, and shoot the 3 gems to open the door at the top of the ramp. (Is it just me, or is this getting a little tedious?)
(19) ROOM WITH MONKEY STATUES: Here we have something a little different. Three monkey statues in the classic poses "hear no evil," "see no evil," and "speak no evil." Each statue has a lever mechanism in front of it. You'll need to use the CROWBAR as a handle to operate each lever.
BUG NOTE: It's a good idea to save before you begin this puzzle, since there's a bug here that can prevent you from completing it and exiting the area.
If you like, you can skip the left and middle levers and use only the lever on the right. This releases a friendly monkey that climbs up onto the high ledge and pulls the handle there to open the door to the right (east). (screenshots)
If curiosity overrides compassion, you can release the other monkeys just to check them out. Use the CROWBAR to operate each of the other lever mechanisms. The lever on the left ("hear no evil") releases a black monkey that attacks Lara. The middle lever ("see no evil") releases a ghost monkey, which also attacks Lara. These guys make nice little explosions when you kill them. Just be sure to do this inside the main room with the statues and levers. If you release one of the bad monkeys and then back out into the previous room to kill it, neither of the remaining levers will work, and you will be stuck here and have to reload an earlier save. (screenshots)
NOTE: If you accidentally kill the friendly monkey before it can open the door, use the crowbar again to operate the lever on the right. You'll need to position Lara on the other side of the lever mechanism (i.e., with her back to the statue). (screenshot) The monkey will appear again and climb the wall to pull the switch. You can kill it after it's done its job, but you might just be a bad person if you do.
The EAST ROOM (20), contains 2 mummies. Again, if you step inside to get their attention, then back out and wait for them to move into the doorway, you can destroy both with a single grenade or explosive arrow. When the area is clear, go in and pry the SOUTHERN SHAFT KEY off the wall. The west door in the MONKEY ROOM then opens. Go through the MONKEY ROOM into the WEST ROOM WITH GOLDEN LIONS' HEADS (21). Again, you can shoot the gems if you like, but this doesn't seem to accomplish anything, since the exit is already open. (screenshots)
Climb the stairs out of the west room and follow the tunnel to a steep slope. Slide down. Then climb up several ledges and run up another slope to the end of the level.
*NOTE ON SECRETS: There are 70 secrets in the entire game. These are marked "(x/70)" in this walkthrough. To check your progress in-game, press Pause (P on keyboard, Start on PlayStation or Dreamcast controller) then choose Statistics. At the end of this level, you should have 67/70.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 7/27/07 - Added second and third screenshots depicting the jumps across the pit between the west central and northwest central mastabas.
5/5/19 - First major update since this walkthrough was created in 1999. This revision includes many new screenshots as well as various other corrections and clarifications.
9/2/19 - Added the bug note in the monkey puzzle room, thanks to a tip from SuperJaneEyre.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Special thanks are given to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup and the old tombraiders.com forum, without whom parts of this walkthrough could not have been written. Thanks also to Theresa from tombraiders.com for the map graphic, which I have modified slightly from her original version, and to Darth Vader, Eric R., and Sturm, who contributed tips and corrections for this level.
FYI: Mastabas are tombs for the families and entourage of kings and queens. They were designed so that the actual burial chamber was at the bottom of a deep vertical shaft below a flat-roofed stone building. For more on mastabas, visit the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ancient Egypt Online, and Wikipedia.
MISSING PUZZLE ITEMS: If you arrive in the room with the scales puzzle and you're missing the Wooden Torch, exit the puzzle room and head back up the stairs under the middle lion's head. At the top of the stairs, turn right and follow the tunnel forward (west). There will be a wild dog here if you didn't kill it earlier. A bit farther on, the tunnel comes to an end. The TORCH should be lying here on the floor, assuming you didn't pick it up and drop it elsewhere. Once you have it, return to the puzzle room the way you came.
If you're missing the Bag of Sand, Small Waterskin, and/or Jerrycan, you can still go back for any of them. The instructions are a bit lengthy, so they are included on a separate page.
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