Shadow Of The Tomb Raider is the concluding game in the Tomb Raider serial (unless yous desire to count the 10th-anniversary remake that recently resurfaced.) This game was released in 2018 and picked up soon later on Rise of the Tomb Raider. This time players control Lara in her mission to stop the end of the world, which she created, but that's another story.

Despite beingness the third game in the 2013's series reboot, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider introduces new elements to the game that makes information technology feel like a fresh feel while enhancing old features, like the stealth gameplay. With that being said, it is not necessary for you to have played the previous games to savor this one. Still, newcomers to the franchise might take a bad time adjusting to new and old mechanics, then take a look at all the mistakes yous should avert when playing Shadow Of The Tomb Raider.

Forget Almost Stealth

Lara hidding from enemies

A huge part of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider's gameplay is stealth sequences, sure y'all could grab a gun and go full in killing enemies, but this game is designed to utilize encephalon over muscles and recollect carefully about how to take out everyone without being noticed.

This game's world is designed so Lara can camouflage with its environmental elements, like bushes, trees, or vegetation, to take out enemies stealthily. Other tricks can as well be used to remain hidden, like crafting fear arrows or using your bow to kill someone silently.

Not Using The Survival Instinct Mode

enemies when Survival Instinct mode is active

Survival instinct is a gameplay feature that was added to the series in the 2013's Tomb Raider game. This style highlights of import gameplay elements, like climbing spots or ammo. Without a doubt, this fashion makes things more than comfy if you're a little lost in the game.

All the same, in Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, survival instinct became pivotal for stealth gameplay. In the last two games, this mode allows players to run across which enemies you could take out without alerting the others. This is accomplished via a color system; enemies highlighted in red are visible to the others while enemies highlighted in yellow are prophylactic to take out.

Get Super Frustrated With Puzzles

Lara Croft solving a puzzle

Yous can't expect a game that focuses on raiding tombs, not to include a puzzle or ii. While Lara'due south archaeology knowledge prepared her for whatever trouble coming her way, you don't accept the same corporeality of grooming. Puzzles in Shadow Of The Tomb Raider are more complex than in previous games, especially if you're playing in a more challenging difficulty.

So if you get stuck, have a deep breath and look for clues, the answer is virtually always in evidently sight. Nevertheless, there are plenty of guides online; you can bank check out if you feel a puzzle is getting the all-time out of you.

Non Customizing The Difficulty Settings

Difficulty settings menu

Hardcore gamers may feel that Shadow Of The Tomb Raider doesn't represent a loftier plenty challenge, then they think it isn't worth checking out. However, this game lets you fully customize the difficulty settings, which means that you can separately change the difficulty of gainsay, exploration, and puzzles.

And boy, this opens upwards a whole new world for those who seek a good claiming. At that place are four levels of difficulty, and as information technology goes up, you'll have to take information technology slow and call up carefully about your next move. For example, in Deadly Obsession mode, the stakes are higher during fights or puzzle sequences as ane wrong move can mean death and the game simply saves at Base camps.

Trying To Get All The Possible Skills

Skill tree in shadow of the tomb raider

As it happens with whatsoever game with a skill tree system, you lot'll think that the reasonable affair to do is effort to get every skill available, if that's fifty-fifty an choice. After all, the more than abilities, the ameliorate, right? However, in Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, you should think of skills as a manner to customize your gameplay.

For example, if your playstyle is more kill kickoff inquire questions later, acquiring something similar the Hawkeye'south Grasp skill (which increases players chances of finding rare animals) won't give yous the aforementioned gratification equally unlocking the Jaguar's Paw skill (which increase the likelihood of knocking out enemies when performing a melee assail.)

With that being said, keep in mind that there are different ways to unlock skills. The vast majority of them will be unlockable by spending Skill Points at any Base Camps. However, y'all can also unlock skills past playing through the chief story, completing Challenge Tombs, or playing in the New Game + mode.

Not Revisiting The Areas

Cozumel's map in Shadow of the tomb raider

It's easier to become through each of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider's areas every bit if they were levels. You unlock a new identify, explore whatever information technology has to offer, collect what you need, and progress through the story till you hit the adjacent area. However, this game is designed in a style that you take to revisit each site multiple times if you lot truly want to observe and explore everything it has to offer.

For case, there are monoliths yous can't sympathise till you lot get the required linguistic communication skills level. To level up, yous have to explore the map and detect relics, treasures, and mural and then go back to the monolith to study it. Y'all see, visiting back areas is simply something you have to practise if you lot want to feel this game fully.

Not Using The Bow

Lara Croft using a bow in Shadow of the tomb raider

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider has multiple guns and weapons, like set on rifles and shotguns, you lot can apply during your adventures in Due south America. Still, Lara's bow is ane of her nearly iconic weapons in the 2013 series reboot. This substantially makes the bow an essential weapon you should learn to master and update every bit much as you can.

In this game, players volition have access to 9 different bows, each with defining characteristics that set information technology apart and give Lara unique abilities. For case, the Recurve Bow provides more free energy and speed to the arrow, while the Viper Bite Bow lets y'all fire poisoned arrows.

Each bow is upgradable to brand it meliorate, and yous'll need things like cloth, fat, or animal parts to craft these upgrades.

Treating Outfits But Equally A Cosmetic

Robes Of Puka Huk outfit in shadow of the tomb raider

Changing Lara's advent is fun and helps with players' immersion. Do you lot want to play as a character who wears a leopard pelt in the middle of the jungle? Y'all can! But perhaps y'all prefer seeing Lara covered in leaves to mimic her environment. Whatever you like best, there are tons of outfits you can cull from once you unlock them by completing specific missions and challenges.

However, as absurd as they look, these outfits aren't only cosmetic features. Most of them provide Lara fantabulous bonuses like obtaining more than crafting resources or health regenerating quicker. To learn more virtually each outfit's bonus traits, get and find their blueprints and cheque their effects in the base of operations camp.

Leaving Hunting Aside

Lara croft and a jaguar

Hunting is a new feature first introduced in the 2013 game. This activity allows the player to proceeds feel points and gather resource they can later use to craft weapons or outfits. Sure skills will allow Lara obtain more than resource from the animals she hunts.

There are specific spawn points in the map where animals will appear, use the map to look for the animals yous desire to hunt down. This is peculiarly useful for completing tasks similar unlocking the Legendary Hunter trophy. You lot can unlock this once after yous've hunted five rare animals similar the albino capybara or the empress jaguar.

Non Looking For The Archivist Maps And Explorer Backpacks

Lara finding a explorer backpack

If you're like to collects things in video games and love to hit that sweet, sweet 100% completion mark, then finding the archivist maps and explorer backpacks is a must-do for you. To be clear, these won't count towards total completion; however, they will brand things easier by showing the collectible'south locations. Each region will have its ain set of backpacks and maps, so make certain to look for that get-go instead of going all effectually the place trying to catch a glimpse of the collectibles. This is what the items show:

  • Explorer backpacks: These items reveal the map locations of treasure chests, crypts, and survival caches.
  • Archivist maps: These maps show players where the murals, relics, documents, and monoliths are on the map.

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