NOTE: Combat strategy is based on the Medium difficulty setting, so your experience may vary slightly. In addition to the walkthroughs for each level, there are separate pages for Controls & Gameplay Tips, Skill & Weapon Upgrades, and Collectible Items.
SAVING AND CHECKPOINTS: Like the last several games, TOMB RAIDER uses autosave checkpoints. Whenever you pass a checkpoint, the game is saved automatically. Then, if Lara dies or you quit the game and restart, the game reloads at the last checkpoint. If you only rely on one autosave, you may run into trouble if you get stuck in the game, encounter a bug, or if your autosave file becomes corrupted. To avoid problems, I highly recommend changing your save slot at least once each level. You may also want to periodically back up your autosaves on a memory card (consoles) or into a separate folder (PC). See the controls page for details.
AREA 4: MOUNTAIN TEMPLE
Updated: 10/12/15(†)
Camps: Mountain Temple (Fast Travel)*
Gear: none Weapons/Weapon Parts: Semi-Auto Pistol
Documents: 2 Relics: 2 GPS caches: 2 Treasure Maps: 1
Challenge Tombs: none Challenges: 1 (5 items)**
Area Maps: Mountain Temple***
*In this level you unlock the ability to Fast Travel between camps. See the section about base camps on the Controls page.
**There are 7 challenge items in this level. You only need to destroy 5 of them to beat the challenge.
***Map includes all major collectibles and challenge items. Refer to the in-game map by pressing Tab/Back if you'd prefer no spoilers. The in-game map does not include a compass rose showing which way is north. So when I refer to map directions in my walkthrough, assume North is up, east right, south down, and west left.
OBJECTIVE: Follow Dr. Whitman up the Mountain
Listen to Whitman prattle on as you follow him up the long stairway to the next area. At the top, a cut scene kicks in, and the weasel surrenders to the bad guys. Lara is captured and relieved of her weapons. When you regain control, Lara's hands are tied, and you need to make a run for it.
OBJECTIVE: Avoid Detection While Attempting to Escape
FIRST AREA AFTER CAPTURE: Needless to say, you want to avoid the bad guys with the flashlights and weapons. With no way to defend herself, Lara will be killed if she's discovered now. So as soon as you can, move behind the low wall ahead and to the right, where the men can't see her. Lara crouches automatically when you move behind cover. (screenshots)
When the first man who came down the hill moves off to the left, follow the path he came down, taking cover from the next enemy behind the low wall on the left. From here you can watch the action ahead. When the guy on the left moves away, follow him and run into the ramshackle shed ahead. Move through the shed and out the other side, staying close to the stone wall on your left. Wait for the enemy on patrol there to move off and then head up the steps where he was standing and continue up the path. (screenshots)
At the top of the stairs, in the area below the burning temple, there are 2 more men standing guard. Quickly move behind the low wall on the left before they spot Lara. Wait here until they move off. Then make a dash for the shed ahead on the right. (screenshots)
Quick Time Event: Escaping from The Russian. One of the men, who we later learn is called Vladimir, spots Lara and orders her out of her hiding place. Watch for the on-screen prompts and press the buttons just as the icons appear. First Melee (F on the PC, Triangle on the PS3, Y on the Xbox 360) to kick the guy in the crotch. Then Melee again to bite him. If you fail in either of these, he chokes Lara. If you succeed, she manages to knock his gun away and scramble after it, freeing her hands in the process.
When you see the targeting reticle on screen, aim at him with the mouse or right stick and press Fire. Next, follow the prompts and wiggle the left stick quickly back and forth from left to right. Or, if you're using a keyboard, alternate pressing Left and Right to break free. For the next button prompt, tap Interact repeatedly as Lara struggles to keep her grip on the gun, then Fire again to finish him off. If you fail, he shoots Lara and you have to try again. (screenshots)
NOTE: See the footnote below for a translation of the Russian dialogue. If you're having trouble with QTEs like this one, see the notes in the Scavenger's Den walkthrough for tips. If you just can't get it, you're welcome to download a PC or Macintosh save file. See here for save files and instructions.
When you get through this harrowing scene, you're rewarded with XP and a new weapon: the SEMI-AUTO PISTOL. Lara also gets her BOW back, but the bad guys have left you with no ammunition. So for now, you're still effectively unarmed and must rely on stealth.
There are some enemies down in the low area in front of the burning building, so avoid that area and instead follow the path up the hill on the left. Cross the wooden bridge and continue up the steps to the left. (screenshot)
FIRST GUN FIGHT: Move under the decorative arches at the top of the steps and take cover behind the crate on the left (screenshot) to trigger a cut scene. Two enemy archers spot Lara and start taking pot shots at her. She notices an ammo clip lying on the ground and grabs it.
OBJECTIVE: Fight Back Against the Island's Inhabitants
When you regain control, the action proceeds in slow motion for a few moments. Use the mouse or right stick to aim your pistol. Then Fire using the same button you use to shoot the bow. (screenshot) If you can manage a headshot, you're rewarded with extra XP.
If you don't kill either of the enemies during the slow-mo sequence, don't worry. You can get them now. The guy on the left hunkers down behind one of the crates, so you can ignore him for a moment, while the one on the right moves around to flank Lara. Aim just above the top of the crate to your right, and when he peeks out, shoot him. Then turn and shoot the other guy as he emerges from behind his crate. (screenshots)
When you've taken care of both of them, you'll notice Lara no longer crouches behind cover when there are no enemies around.
NOTE: There's a limited auto-aim feature in this game. Each time you release Aim and then press it again, Lara will automatically aim at a nearby target. If that helps, by all means use it, but I found it easier to just re-train myself to use the stick/mouse to aim. Later in the game, when you're beseiged by multiple enemies, you'll need to be able to do this.
Follow the on-screen prompt and loot the bodies of the two men you just killed to get salvage and either bullets or arrows. Also be sure to pick up the box of pistol ammo near one of the wooden crates. Ammo acquired is noted at the top right corner of the screen. (screenshots)
THROUGH THE FIRST BURNING BUILDING: The way back down the hill is now blocked by flaming debris. That's OK since there are no items down there anyway. Climb the steps to the building at the end of this open area and use your axe to force open the ornate wooden door. (screenshot) When you get it open, enemies arrive and attempt to burn the building with Lara inside. Cross the room and follow the on-screen prompts to press the Melee button several times in order to kick out the boarded-up opening. (screenshot) If you hesitate, Lara succumbs to the heat and smoke.
Outside, follow the balcony around to the right, jump across the gap, and continue around the side of the building. (screenshot) On the path ahead you'll find a box of ammo and a little farther along, a food cache and some arrows. (screenshot) Grab them and continue along the path.
Soon you'll notice Lara go into a stealthy crouch, and an on-screen message explains how to do a silent kill with the bow. While hiding behind the wooden wagon, hold the Aim button to peer out just enough to target the enemy on the ledge ahead. Press Zoom and then adjust your aim if necessary. Then Fire. (screenshot) Loot the body for salvage and a few bullets. Then scramble up the wooden wall onto the ledge where the bad guy was.
CLIMBING TO THE UPPER LEVEL: Follow the path to the right, picking up some pistol ammo lying on the ground. When you come to the edge, jump across the gap to grab the wooden structure ahead. Climb around to the right and then up to the level above. Go carefully, though, since there are 2 enemy archers up there.
Stay behind the crate as you take out one of the men with a silent headshot. The other one will notice when his comrade falls, but if you act fast, you can shoot him before he can do anything about it. A ladder drops from the cliff above, and a third soldier starts to climb down. Shoot him as he descends and he'll fall to his death. Loot the bodies for spare arrows and salvage, and pick up pistol ammo, more arrows and a food cache lying on the ground. (screenshots)
OBJECTIVE: Continue Up the Mountain to Regroup with Roth
As you climb the ladder, Lara talks to Roth over the walkie-talkie, promising to try her best to reach him.
AREA ABOVE THE ROPE LADDER: All of the major items and challenges are in this area. So if you're going after things like relics, documents, etc., now is the time to start looking. Note that you can't climb back down the ladder. If you try, Lara falls and dies. Presumably the developers intended this, since there are no collectibles down below.
Before moving ahead, take a little detour. Below and to the left of the ancient staircase leading up the hill alongside the building, there is a white ledge overlooking a stream. Drop down, wade across the stream and go through the narrow crack in the rock wall into a cave, where you'll find the Treasure Map for this area. There's also a salvage net, but you can't use it yet because there's no way to light your torch in here. You can return for it later, once you've unlocked a certain item. (screenshots)
Return through the crack in the rocks to the main area and climb the wooden wall to get back to the area at the top of the ladder.
Turn so the cliff is behind Lara. Shoot the lantern (1/5) in the building above to unlock the Pyromaniac Challenge. This is the first of five such lanterns you can destroy for an XP bonus. There are more arrows and a salvage crate at the base of this building. Scramble up the wooden wall on the right to get into the building itself, where you'll find a GPS cache (1/2) and more arrows. (screenshot)
Around the back (east) side of the building, you'll find another food cache, more arrows, and the Mountain Temple Base Camp. (screenshot) Above the campsite, hanging from the corner of a building is another challenge lantern (2/5). (screenshot)
When you rest at this camp, you'll unlock the ability to Fast Travel between camps you've visited earlier (i.e., the fast travel camps represented by the tent icon, not the day camps, which have the campfire icon). You also unlock an entry in Lara's Journal (2/10). You may also have collected enough salvage for another weapon upgrade. If not, you should get it soon. At that time, return to this camp to improve your bow or pistol.
Just beyond the camp is a waterfall. To the left of it there's a small cave opening. Squeeze inside to find a lantern where you can light your torch if you like, plus a salvage crate and a document (1/2), "Stranded," part of the Diaries of a Madman set. (screenshot) Exit the cave and climb back up to the camp.
Cross the wooden bridge and start up the steps. As you near the top, an on-screen prompt suggests that you shoot arrows into walls to distract nearby enemies. This is a good strategy here, since alerting the 2 goons on the other side of the low wall will quickly attract more enemies. So try it: Pick up more arrows here if you need them. Then, without moving out from cover, shoot an arrow at the wall a little to the right of the two guys. The man on the right should turn around to look. While he's busy, take out the one on the left with a quick headshot. Then, if possible, kill the guy on the right before he realizes what's happening. (screenshots) As long as these two don't have a chance to yell out, no more enemies will appear for now.
Move around the wall and loot the 2 bodies for salvage and possibly arrows. Then head to the right (southeast) for a few goodies. There's a fruit plant in front of the small, open pavilion, and inside you'll find arrows, pistol ammo and a food cache. Go through the pavilion and out the back left side. Then climb onto the ledge to find another GPS cache (2/2). (screenshots)
Return to the front of the building where you just shot the 2 enemies. Now head around to the left side of it. Hanging from the far corner of the building is another lantern (3/5) you can shoot for the challenge. Walk across the fallen tree, turn right and scramble up the wooden wall behind the building. Inside, on the upper floor, there's a trunk full of salvage plus more arrows. (screenshots)
Exit the building and go around to the other side. Drop down and follow the path leading up the hill. At the top, climb into the tumble-down building. (screenshot)
AMBUSH INSIDE THE BURNING BUILDING: Raid the food cache just inside and pick up more arrows if you need them. Shoot the lantern (4/5) to burn away the debris blocking the passageway. (screenshot) This lantern also counts toward the Pyromaniac Challenge.
There are various ways to deal with all the bad guys in the upcoming area. I'm not so good at close combat, so I tend to prefer a more stealthy strategy. If you kill certain enemies before they can sound an alarm, you won't have to fight as many of them. Here's what worked for me:
Sneak through the passageway. As you approach the first soldier, the game explains how to do a stealth kill: Sneak up on an enemy whose back is turned and when you see the Melee icon, press that button (F/Triangle/Y) to get the guy in a choke hold with your bow. Then tap the Interact button (E/Square/X), as shown on screen, to finish him off. Notice how you gain bonus XP for a stealth kill. Now immediately turn left and take out the second man using a headshot before he can alert more enemies. (screenshots)
There's a lantern (5/5) on the other side of the room near some flammable cloth. I'd recommend you don't shoot it. It does count toward the challenge, but it also alerts all the enemies in the area, making it much harder to get out alive. There are other lanterns later on, so it's OK to skip this one.
Carefully loot the 2 bodies as you move behind the crate near where the second man fell. Stay here under cover and look up to the right, where more enemies are moving around with flashlights. If you activate Survival Instinct you'll notice some enemies glow red instead of plain white. This means they will alert other enemies if they're shot. So avoid targeting anyone who glows red. (screenshots)
Wait until the guy on the right moves off, leaving the guy on the left alone. Then target him with a headshot. When the other guy comes back, try and get him with a headshot as well.
Now move up the ramp on your left, scramble up the wall and hide behind the first crate on the ledge above. Look to the right to spot a fifth enemy in the opening in the corner. Shoot him in the head if possible. Kill the sixth man who comes to take his place the same way. (screenshots)
If you wait here too long, the fire starts to spread. So once you've cleared the way, start moving around to the left and up the ramp where the third and fourth guys fell. Loot the bodies as you go if there's time.
As you move up the ramp, a guy with explosives appears in the same corner where the last two men were. His gas can gives him a reddish glow even when you don't have Survival Instinct activated. You can run up the ramp and take cover behind one of the crates on the right, if you like, but he'll lob Molotov cocktails and then jump across to get you if you don't take care of him. So you may just want to shoot him quickly before he can do to much damage. If you manage to hit him just before he throws one of his firebombs, he'll drop it and set himself on fire.
When you've taken care of the explosives guy, jump across the gap to the spot where the last several enemies appeared. Loot the bodies for salvage and arrows. Then stand beneath the zip line and jump straight up to grab it and ride to the ground. (screenshots)
OUTSIDE THE BURNING BUILDING: The zip line deposits Lara at the base of a long set of stairs. That's the way to the exit, but if you want all the collectibles, you'll need to explore a bit more before you go.
To the right of the archway where the zip line is anchored, you'll find another document (2/2) sitting on a crate. This one is titled "Salvation" and is part of the Confessions of a Solarii series. (screenshot)
To the left of the arch is a wooden ledge. Drop down here to find a food cache. (screenshot) When you have it, climb back up the way you came and head away from the arch toward the burning building. Light your torch on the lantern on the right. Then scramble up the wooden wall on the left. (screenshot)
Use the torch to burn the salvage net and get the goodies inside. (screenshot)
Go up the steps and climb onto the lower roof of the building. Shoot the lantern (6/5) hanging from the roof above. (If you destroyed both lanterns inside the burning building, this will complete the Pyromaniac Challenge and give you 150 XP. Otherwise, the next lantern should be your fifth.) Enter the building to find a relic (1/2), a Green Folded Fan from the Edo Period Fans set. (screenshot)
Exit the building, turn right and hop down off the lower roof. Move past the barrels and take a running jump across the gap to the small pavilion below. (You can also drop down from the ledge with the barrels to the one below and jump from there to the ledge with the pavilion.) Crack open the food cache and shoot the final lantern (7/5) for the Pyromaniac Challenge. (screenshots)
Turn around and jump back across the gap to the previous ledge, but instead of climbing back up on the right, head down and around to the left. Pick the fruit plant on the path for XP. Jump across to the roof of the small building on the right. Then drop down to its middle level, where you'll find the other relic (2/2), a Gunbai War Fan, part of the Edo Period Fans set. As you exit through the hole in the building, go around the corner to the right to find more arrows. Then head up the steps to the east to get back to the base of the zip line. (screenshots)
NOTES: You can also obtain this relic without going all the way out to the ledge with the food cache and lantern. Just follow the path from the open area at the base of the zip line down to the west to reach the building where the relic is hidden. (screenshot)
If you'd like to learn more about gunbai fans and other treasures, Tomb Raider Horizons publishes an excellent series called "Arte-Factual," which covers art and artifacts from all the TR games.
There's one more pickup in this area that I'm aware of. After retrieving the second relic and going up the steps to the open area, turn left and move toward the burning building. Near a white ledge overlooking the stream is another fruit plant. (screenshot)
When you have everything, proceed under the arch that anchors the zip line and up a long flight of crumbling stairs. At the top of the path is a narrow crevice in the cliff wall. Step into it to trigger a cut scene. Lara says she can do this. So keep pressing Up to guide her climb to the top. Then follow the path through a narrow passage to the next area.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 3/19/13 - First draft of walkthrough posted online.
3/27/13 - Added the names of relics and the set each document belongs to.
4/11/13 - Added annotations for collectibles to the level map and in the process fixed misnumbered challenge lanterns. They were all included, but the numbering was off.
4/20/13 - Added Russian translation below.
8/26/13 - Added link to Tomb Raider Horizons.
10/12/15 - Edited the Mountain Temple Map, which previously had the location of the rope ladder marked incorrectly.
RUSSIAN DIALOGUE: TheDoctorudUjwVzXopC has provided a translation for the dialogue in the mid-level QTE. I'm sorry but I forgot who sent me this link. If it was you, please let me know.
Lara: "Don't hurt them, please!"
Russian: "You are good looking, aren't you? You remind me of my sister."
When Lara is hiding in the shed and the Russian is searching for her: "Are you going to play hide and seek baby? You think that is going to save you?"
When he finds her: "Get out of there, stop wasting my time!"
Just before Lara bites his ear: "She was also a bitch."
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