LEVEL 13: THE HALL OF SEASONS | Updated: 3/15/09(†) |
Items: 5 health items, First Obscura Painting
Weapons & Ammo: 10 or 11 ammo items, V-Packer shotgun (if you don't have it already)
Enemies: undead knights, ghostly guardian
Upgrades: upper body
ENTRANCE HALL WITH CRYSTAL RECEPTACLES: Go through the door into a short hallway with four receptacles decorated with paintings and stone carvings. Each carving represents one of the four traditional (Western) elements: Fire, Air, Earth and Water. Your next goal is to find four crystals to place in these receptacles.
MAIN ROOM - ELEMENT BUTTONS & GATES: There's another undead knight lurking in here. If you keep moving, you won't have to bother with him, but if you want to, you can knock him down temporarily using repeated punches and kicks or shotgun blasts.
This high-domed room has a mosaic depicting the western zodiac inlaid on the floor. At the center of this mosaic are four buttons with the same element symbols you saw in the entrance hall. Stepping on one of the buttons opens one of the four sets of doors along the outer wall. Beyond each of these doors is a trapdoor with a lever. For each set of three doors and levers, one leads to a new area; the others drop Lara through the floor into trap-filled basement. (See the separate "BASEMENT OF DOOM" walkthrough if you need it.) By using the correct levers, you can avoid making more than one trip through the hazardous basement.
After opening a set of doors, it's easy enough to tell which of the three levers is the correct one if you look closely. It's the one with the greenish trapdoor (the others are dark brown). Also, the correct lever is the one with the sign showing the same element symbol as the button that opened the doors. (NOTE: There are two separate sets of symbols—one set above the outer doors, the other inside above the trapdoors. The symbol above the trapdoor is the one that matters.)
You can complete each of the four side levels in any order. Step on one of the element buttons, run to the three open doors and choose the one with the green trapdoor and matching element sign. Pull the lever to open the inner gate and go through to enter the new area. The links below lead to the walkthroughs for each level:
WHEN YOU HAVE ALL FOUR ELEMENT CRYSTALS: Return to the short hallway where you entered this level. Place the four crystals in the receptacles to unlock a door down in the "BASEMENT OF DOOM". To get there, you'll need to deliberately choose a "wrong" lever and fall through one of the trapdoors.
If you are following this walkthrough and have not yet explored the basement, you should use the Earth entrance to get an extra ammo pickup. If you have already been down that way, choose one of the Fire or Air doors, as they come in closer to the door you just unlocked. Refer to the "BASEMENT OF DOOM" walkthrough if necessary.
Once you've located the DOOR TO THE FURNACE ROOM, which you unlocked using the four crystals, go through it and descend the spiral stairs to a small room with a lever. Pull it to close one gate and open the other. Go through and down more stairs.
HUGE FURNACE-LIKE MACHINE: From the entrance, follow the wooden walkway to the left. Turn the valve near the air sign to supply one of the elements the machine needs to work.
Turn around and follow the walkway back toward the entrance. Before you reach it, turn toward the center of the room and take a running jump to the circular wooden platform surrounding the machine at the middle level. (You'll see the fire valve here, on the side of the boiler at the center of the walkway, but it is covered and can't be turned yet.) Walk around to the other side of the machine and find a chain running up and outward toward one of the V-shaped wooden supports on the outer wall. Jump up to grab the chain and traverse to the other end. Drop on a ledge. Go left and climb the ladder. Turn the valve near the water sign, to let water into the boiler.
From the air valve, climb back down the ladder and traverse back to the center along the chain. Walk around the green, circular platform to the left. Just before the light-colored vertical pipe, turn to face out over the room and take a running jump to the small wooden platform across the gap. There are two ladders here: one leading upward and another, in a dark alcove, leading down. Climb the ladder leading up and dismount on the right. Turn the valve near the earth sign to fuel the furnace.
From the earth valve, climb back down the ladder. Go right to the dark alcove and jump to grab the ladder. Climb or drop down to the ledge below. If you don't care about an ammo pickup below, just grab onto the chain overhead and traverse across to the center platform.
To get the ammo, safety drop off the ledge to the floor. There's another undead knight roaming around down here, so either knock him off the edge with your fists, feet or shotgun, or just avoid him. Find a Viper clip on the cement floor to the left of one of the big black gears anchoring the support chains. Climb the ladder to get back up to the middle platform near the machine.
Locate the valve near the fire sign on one side of the boiler at the center of the wooden platform. Once you have used the air, water and earth valves, the cage over the fire valve opens and you can turn it. When you do, the machine roars to life and is revealed to be a giant, pre-Renaissance Cuisinart.
To avoid the deadly blades, step straight back from the valve and safety drop to the ground. Turn around on the spot (there are blades to the left and right) and move away from the center of the room. Head left toward the ladder on one of the wooden support posts and climb up. At the top, go around to the other side of the next ladder to climb up. The stairs to the exit are close by. Go up, pull the lever to operate the gates, then continue up the spiral stairs to the "BASEMENT OF DOOM".
Work your way past the traps to get to the elevator on the other side of the circle. It's the same distance either way. The traps to the right are a bit easier to pass, but if you've followed this walkthrough so far and want all the pickups, go to the left. Refer to the "BASEMENT OF DOOM" walkthrough if necessary.
MAIN ROOM - MIDDLE & UPPER LEVEL WALKWAYS: Back in the room with the zodiac mosaic, you'll find four huge pillars moving up and down. The knight is still hanging around. (Undead are nothing if not persistent.) Run up to the lowest pillar. Jump up to grab the edge when it's at its lowest point; pull up. Walk to the edge and then jump to the next higher pillar when the two pillars are closest in height. Repeat the process for the third and fourth pillars. (You'll need to jump and grab the edge of the fourth pillar.) Once you're on the highest pillar, face the center, walk to the edge and jump straight up to grab the metal ring when the pillar is highest. Pull up.
NOTE: I encountered a bug here where Lara would not grab the metal ledge. Saving and reloading fixed it.
One of the spokes leading out from the metal ring is flat on top. Walk along it to the edge and vault over the railing. Now head for the stairs. A fence prevents you from reaching the stairs by going to the left. So go to the right and follow the walkway all the way around the room. An undead knight bursts out of one of the brownish alcoves when you run past. If you happen to go to the left toward the fence, another knight breaks out of another alcove. You can punch and kick the knights to subdue them, knock them over the edge using hand-to-hand attacks or the shotgun, or just run away.
Go up the stairs. The door on the right doesn't open yet. The open doorway to the left leads to a higher walkway overlooking the main room. The walkway to the right is broken, so go to the left. You'll encounter 2 more undead knights here. Again, you can knock them off the edge or just avoid them and go on. (Also, any knights you left on the level below may eventually make their way up the stairs.) Run around the edge of the room to a section of climbable wall. Climb up and right to a small ledge with a lever. Pull it to open the door near the top of stairs leading up from the middle level.
NOTE: The ceiling here is climbable but Lara isn't strong enough to make it across...yet.
You can take a carefully angled standing jump from the ledge down to the doorway (as shown in this screenshot), but this is tricky. It's easy to crash into the wall ahead. So save your game first if you attempt it. Alternatively, climb back down to the walkway the way you came and follow it around the edge of the room to the door you just opened. Go through, pick up V-Packer shells and push the uneven section of wall to get an upper-body strength upgrade. Pick up the large health pack on the floor and return to the walkway around the main room. Run around to the left to get back to the climbable wall. Climb back up and to the right to the ledge with the lever.
MAIN ROOM - CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF THE DOME: This next section is tricky, so save your game. (Refer to the accompanying screenshots if necessary.) This time climb the wall and keep going straight up toward the ceiling. (After the upgrade Lara has the strength to make it all the way.) Just keep holding Forward and Lara will do the rest. When she turns to face out over the room, traverse forward/left to the small ledge. Drop here to regain your strength and save your game again.
Walk to the edge of the ledge so the center of the room is on Lara's left. Jump straight up to grab the ceiling and traverse forward, arcing around to the left, and staying as close as possible to the left edge. (If you swing too far right, Lara will have farther to traverse and won't have enough strength to make the climb.) At the edge of the ceiling, just keep holding Forward, and Lara will swing around and start climbing the inverted ceiling of the dome. Continue toward the top and, when Lara's grip power is almost gone, move left a bit to land on a ledge.
Now you're in the top of the dome. The gate opens as you approach. Follow the hall to another gate and continue up the stairs.
Cut scene: Lara enters a tomb and reads the inscription on the crypt. "Ultra vigilis umbram, ecce veritas." Through the spirit of the keeper, behold the truth. In this case, the truth hurts. ;)
RED GHOST/BROTHER OBSCURA: The goal is to grab the FIRST OBSCURA PAINTING from the hands of the statue that's holding it, but the ghostly guardian is not going to give up his treasure easily. If he so much as touches Lara, her health drains away. To further complicate the process, the painting moves randomly from statue to statue. (It glows blue so you can tell where it is.) Also, you can't take the painting unless the ghost is stunned. If you try, the painting will just move to another statue. So you'll need to shoot at the ghost until it stops moving, which only lasts for a few seconds. During that brief window you must run to the blue light and grab the painting.
I found this section extremely frustrating even using the tips provided by players who had beaten it. It took me quite a while to do it, but here's what finally worked for me:
The ghost can't harm Lara (much) while she's crouching, so immediately duck and start crawling around for the pickups. You'll find a large health pack, 2 boxes of V-Packer shells and the V-PACKER SHOTGUN (if you don't already have it) along one edge of the room and 2 more boxes of shells on the other side.
Now figure out which of the standing statues has the blue light. Crawl toward it but don't get too close or the painting will move to a different statue. Once you're in position, save your game. When the ghost moves away, stand up, draw the shotgun and crouch down again. (Here is a screenshot of Lara in one of the spots that worked for me. If you need an extra visual aid, check out Jeff's excellent YouTube video, which shows the whole sequence.)
Shoot at the ghost and then duck when it swoops toward Lara, but don't put away that shotgun. Once the ghost passes, you can stand up again and Lara will automatically turn around to target it. Eventually it will be stunned. It's a bit difficult to tell when the ghost is stunned, but if you look closely, you'll notice that when it's not stunned, it sort of leans toward Lara and inches forward before swooping toward her. When it's stunned, it just hangs in the air motionless for a few seconds. When this happens, quickly holster your gun (otherwise Lara can't run straight) and run toward the statue with the blue light. As soon as you see the Hand icon, press Action to grab the painting. Here it may help to approach the statue slightly off center and grab the painting from the side. Then crouch again, check your inventory to make sure you have the FIRST OBSCURA PAINTING and save your game. (Whew!)
NOTE: If you just can't do it, you are welcome to download a PC or Macintosh savegame file. The savegame page includes a link to detailed instructions for downloading and installing the files.
EXITING THE RUINS: Crawl or run to the door, which is now open. Continue down the stairs to the now-flooded hallway. Slosh forward to the end of the hall.
When you get there, you move back into the TOMB OF THE ANCIENTS level and more water pours in. Swim up through the opening in the ceiling then forward through the doorway into the tall room with the BROKEN BRIDGE, which is now completely flooded. Swim up toward the light to reach an air pocket. When Lara breaks the surface, the camera moves off to one side. Swim to the far left and the camera will shift, revealing a ledge with some bandages. The spot is shown in this screenshot. (NOTE: Although this pickup is technically in the Tomb of the Ancients level, I've included it in the totals for this level.)
After a few deep breaths, swim down again, aiming for the hole in the rock wall above the small, green ledge. (This is where you entered this area at the beginning of the TOMB OF THE ANCIENTS level. It's shown in this screenshot, as well as in the one linked above.) Swim into the tunnel and when you reach the wooden crossbeam follow the shaft straight upward.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG: You're back in this level for a moment. Climb onto the crate then over the fence. Head for the metal doors on the right to enter the next level, Galleries Under Siege.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 7/26/03 - Several players have pointed out that the guardian is supposed to be Brother Obscura, the creator of the paintings. If that's stated in the game, then I missed it.
6/12/06 - Added Macintosh save for Red Ghost/Brother Obscura section.
1/16/07 - Reorganized a few sections for clarity and flow. Added additional screenshots. Added John B.'s map for the Basement of Doom area and renamed the traps in my text to correspond with his labels.
3/15/09 - Added link to video of Red Ghost/Brother Obscura sequence.
WAS THIS WALKTHROUGH HELPFUL? If not, I apologize and invite you to contact me with any questions. If you need help right away, I recommend the r/TombRaider subreddit. Other fan-run forums are listed at tombraiders.net/stella/community.html. If this site was useful, please consider supporting it financially or in other ways. For details, visit tombraiders.net/stella/support.html. As always, I welcome your corrections/suggestions. Thank you!
Copyright © 2003- - Stellalune (). I am eternally grateful to the members of the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, whose contributions to this walkthrough are numerous. Thanks also to the developers of Fraps, the program used for all AOD screenshots. Special thanks to John B. for the "Basement of Doom" map; to Andrew, Duncan and Colin for tips on defeating the guardian in this level; and to Tom C. and Stella E. for some of the savegame files for this level. Feel free to copy or print this walkthrough for personal use. By all means, share it with friends, but please include this credit line so people can send me their feedback. No part of this walkthrough may be reproduced on another site without permission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Follow this link for details about this site's advertising and privacy policy.
Stella's Tomb Raider Site: tombraiders.net.
