Stella's Tomb Raider 2013 Walkthrough - For Windows, Macintosh, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One

This add-on was originally offered as a pre-order bonus but is now available for purchase through Steam, Xbox Live and PSN. It costs about $3 for a very brief gameplay experience; however, it does include quite a bit of salvage, XP and ammo, which you may find useful. So buy at your own discretion or, better yet, wait for one of the frequent sales.

BUG NOTE: Several players have reported bugs in this area in the PC version. One involves not being able to solve the puzzle unless you do the steps in a particular order. One involves solving the puzzle but then having Lara get stuck in a weird movement glitch that prevents you from continuing. I don't want to post spoilers here for those who do want to attempt the puzzle on their own, but I highly recommend switching save slots before starting the puzzle and also not using fire arrows in this area, provided you have unlocked them. Then if you do encounter one of these bugs, first try reloading the current checkpoint. That my fix some issues. If not, you can revert to your earlier save and try again. Descriptions and possible solutions for the bugs are in a footnote.

If you bought this download, you'll find the entrance to the Challenge Tomb at at the end of the wooden bridge in the southeast corner of the second Coastal Forest area. (screenshot) See the main walkthrough for details. If you don't own this download, the tunnel entrance is there but it's blocked by boulders.

Follow the tunnel, picking up some arrows on the way if you need them. Passing under the waterfall puts out your torch. Follow the on-screen prompt and shoot the glass lantern to set fire to the pile of junk, clearing the passage so you can proceed. (screenshot)

The passage soon widens into a canyon with a crashed airplane propped up by some trees. Your goal is the temple high above. (screenshot) Use Survival Instinct if necessary to see which objects can be moved, destroyed or otherwise interacted with. Then if you still need help, read on....

You must destroy the plane and tilt its fuselage so you can use it as a ramp to reach the temple. To do this, you'll need to set five separate fires. As far as I know, it doesn't matter which order you set the first four fires, as long as you do all of them. Then you can set the fifth fire, which will allow you to climb up through the airplane.

First, shoot the lantern below and to the left of the wreckage. This sets the nearby cloth on fire, which then burns the wooden post supporting the airplane wing. (screenshots)

Second, wade through the stagnant pool and climb up onto the ledge to the left of the airplane. Pick up one of the lanterns sitting on the ledge. Then move to the edge overlooking the plane. Hold the Aim button (Right Mouse/L1 or L2/LT) and move the mouse or right stick to aim at the white cloth wrapped around the tree supporting the airplane. Then press Fire (Left Mouse/R1 or R2/RT) to throw the lantern. This burns down the tree, shifting the plane a little more. (screenshots)

Third, move around to the ledge nearest the tail of the plane. Shoot the lantern hanging from the branch above the wooden crate. This lights the hanging burner, which then swings into the broken wooden arch. Climb up onto the crate and jump to grab the arch. Lara's weight pulls it down, and the burner then swings free, crashing into the hut full of boxes below and setting it ablaze. The fire spreads to the post supporting the plane's other wing. (screenshots)

NOTE: The tunnel behind the waterfall on the ledge with the crates leads to a room you can't open until you obtain a certain weapon upgrade. You'll need to return here later. (screenshot) See the 'RETURN VISIT' section at the bottom of the page for details.

Fourth, drop down to the ground and cross the pool to the far side (opposite the ledge where you found the lanterns). Climb up onto the ledge there and turn to face the airplane. Shoot the lantern at the top of the tall, wooden structure. Move to the base of it where there's a horizontal bar and press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to knock it over. The fire then spreads to the remaining wooden supports, destroying them. (screenshots)

Finally, cross the top of the plane and climb the wing to get back to the ledge with the lanterns. On the way over, notice how the plane's hold is still jammed full of cargo. This prevents you from climbing up immediately. So grab another lantern, walk to the edge nearest the plane, hold the Aim button, and then aim through the hole in the top of the fuselage. Press Fire to toss the lantern into the hole. This burns away the cargo inside. (screenshots)

Now you can go around to the body of the plane, jump to grab the broken edge of the hold and then climb up on top. Scramble up the stabilizer, which is now oriented vertically, and jump from there to grab the edge of the temple roof. Inside the temple you'll find a treasure chest, which when opened, gives 150 salvage and 250 XP, which should be enough for another Skill Point. You can save it or head right back to the Forest Ruins camp to unlock a skill. (screenshots)

To get back to the entrance, step out onto the ledge overlooking the airplane and jump straight up to grab the zip line and slide down. Then follow the tunnel back to the main area.

RETURN VISIT: The following section includes spoilers about items you probably have not yet unlocked when you first visit this challenge tomb. I've included this info at the bottom of the page so you can easily skip it until you're ready.

BUG SOLUTIONS: While not exactly complete fixes, I can offer a few work-around solutions for the bugs in this area.

Unable to throw lanterns: If the normal controls for picking up and throwing the lanterns don't work (i.e., Lara drops the lantern instead of throwing it when you press Fire), temporarily reassign the Fire button in the Button Mapping section of the Options menu. You can then change it back after solving the puzzle.

Burned all the flammable parts but the plane doesn't break, or doesn't break correctly: I believe one of the patches released in March 2013 fixed this issue, but if you're still having trouble, try this. Reload your earlier save, re-enter the tomb and start burning the posts starting at the far right. Then work your way around the area counter-clockwise burning the various flammable objects as you go. You may find that after the first two posts, the plane will drop all the way. If not, keep burning until you've burned all four posts. Then throw the lantern into the plane to clear away the cargo. That should do it.

Lara does a glitchy somersault dance inside the cargo hold: If you're encountering this problem (video), it may help to simply reload your current checkpoint. Doing so will place you in front of the tomb, but you should then be able to continue from where you left off without the twitchy dance. If not, try the solution above, in which you load your earlier save and then burn the posts in counter-clockwise order from far right. Thanks to RardRaider for the first solution and Shrensh for the video and the second fix.

REVISITING THIS AREA LATER IN THE GAME: Once you've obtained the rifle and unlocked the grenade launcher upgrade, use Fast Travel to return to the Coastal Forest and re-enter this challenge tomb. (You will also need explosive arrows and the rope ascender if you want to collect everything here, but you can get most of the goodies without them.) Cross over the airplane wreckage and climb up to the tunnel near the waterfall. (screenshot) Inside the tunnel is a metal barrier that can only be destroyed with a grenade. Blast it and follow the passageway to a cave full of goodies.

Most of the treasure is just sitting in the open: a trunk and several crates full of salvage, arrows, boxes of ammo, a crate of grenades, and several food caches. There's also a barrier made of wood and barbed wire on the left that can be destroyed with the shotgun. Behind it is another salvage trunk. Up above are salvage nets that can be brought down with flaming arrows. Two wooden shelves, one on each side of the room, hold more salvage and food. Lara can jump up and pull down the one on the left. For the shelf on the right, use an explosive arrow (once you've unlocked that upgrade) or carefully shoot a grenade so it lands on the shelf to destroy it. Use a rope arrow and the rope ascender to pull down the planks in the rafters to get more food and salvage, and shotgun blasts or repeated taps with rope arrows to knock down the various salvage crates also perched up in the rafters. What a haul!