[Note - In order to enter and continue with this level properly, you need to do some things by going back and forth to the Coastal Ruins level a couple of times. If you first entered this level via the Coastal Ruins (using the Gate Key) and you cannot open the door in the room with the broken pillars, check the walkthrough of the Coastal Ruins level almost at the end (after using the Gate Key).]

[Note about the skeletons - You will encounter many skeletons in this level. You can either completely avoid them or blow them up using the Crossbow with the Explosive arrows, or by using the LaserSight bug and shooting them in the head (you can get some info at the end of the Coastal Ruins level). When you destroy their head, they run around but they cannot hurt you.]

Once again in the room with the broken pillars, go through the opening on the right to the room with the now solid floor. Pull\ push the movable pillar into the room with the broken pillars, eventually leaving it to rest on the tile with the face on it. This opens the nearby door but also releases a spirit.

(Note - Many people refer to this as an ice elemental, but it is not! The ice elemental though appeared back in the Tomb Of Semerkhet level, and will later re-appear in City Of The Dead level. There is a basic visual difference between the spirit and the ice elemental, it should be noted.)

Immediately roll and jump onto the left ledge. Go through the door you just opened and keep running, all the time sticking to the right hand wall in order to avoid the big hole you see after dropping down. Ignore the pole in the hole, and go through the opening on your right heading up the stairs. At the T intersection, go to the right. At the end you can see a bird statue. Stand close to it and wait for the spirit to extinguish itself on the statue. (Remember this for later on. A spirit can be destroyed by a bird statue.)

There are several vases around here that you can shoot and break, but this particular batch do not have anything inside them which you can pick up. Return to the room with the hole and the pole following the same way you came, or by going through the other opening that the T intersection offers. You cannot open the door on the south side, so jump to grab the pole and slide down. Heading to the other side of the hallway, the wall that rises reveals a lever. Passing the raised wall, the room shakes. Pull the lever to raise the walls around you.

Into the Catacombs - Well this means Catacombs!! Approach the extended ledge (west) close to the ropes.

The brief cut scene pulls the camera back, almost down to the floor.

You see Lara from a great distance, which means that it is a little bit high to drop down. You also cannot go anywhere from the other side of the ledge (east), so the only way to go down is by using the ropes. Just to get orientated, the alcove you see on the east side is the hallway you passed before, after sliding down the pole. Notice the pole at the end of the alcove.

Using the ropes - Potentially one the most frustrating things in the history of Tomb Raider. The ropes are not lined up, which makes this part extremely difficult. Even people that do not usually have problems using the ropes find this part difficult. Take a running jump to grab the first rope. Climb to the top to stop the rope swinging, and then slide down to the bottom. Turn left to face the second rope. The key is to line Lara up to the second rope. If you are observant, you can make it after a few tries without pulling your hair out.

What do we mean when we say "observant"? Decide if you will whether or not use the Look button when lining up the jump to the second rope. It is important to follow the same tactic every time you try. Using either of the two ways, aim for the second rope and swing towards it. Jump and try to grab it. Because you may not make it with the first time, remember which side of the second rope Lara goes. Next time, aim her to the same spot as you did before using the same tactic (pressing the Look button or not), but this time turn her a bit to the opposite direction from where she went. We found it easier not to use the Look button, but this is up to you. This screenshot shows a possible correct position before swinging, without pressing the Look button. It may help you.

Tip - Unlike other rope occasions, in this particular spot you might not need to reach the top of the swing in order to jump and grab the other rope. It is far more effective if you let go of the first rope just before Lara gets to the top of her swing (you might need to practice this a bit). Then, immediately release Swing and Action, and press Action again for Lara to grab the second rope.

Once you grab the second rope, you may want to save your game. For the PC version, the game has a tendency to crash whilst holding the Action key and pressing the Esc button at the same time. Be careful on that. If you want to save your game, release Action and press the Esc key immediately. Save your game in a different slot, and after exiting the inventory, press Action again to grab the rope. If Lara will not move on the rope, press the Sprint button a couple of times, or release Action and press it again. If you don not know how to use this, you had better not try it if you spent hours to grab the second rope, in case you will not make it.

1st Secret (1-4\ total: 45-70) - Once you have grabbed the second rope, look out for the crawlspace on the left hand wall. Swing towards it and jump to grab the edge of the opening. Pull up and drop to the other side. Pick up the Shotgun (ammo if you already have it), the Flares, and the Large Medipack. Safely drop down.

[Note - From the second rope, you could also jump to the ledge on the right (west side) and climb down the wall (the back side of the wall is climbable). This leads to the same place, but you will miss the Secret and you will NOT have a second chance to get it.]

After getting the Secret you will be able to see the stairs on your right. Just to get orientated, drop down to the huge room directly underneath the two ropes. There is a ladder at the other side (east), but you cannot go anywhere from there. The opening on the west side leads to the next level (Temple of Poseidon), but you need to find four Tridents in order to continue to there. You can follow the other two openings (south or north side) in any order you like and find those four Tridents (two through each opening). Choose whichever you want first and follow the walkthrough.

South opening\ stairs that lead to the pool (2 Tridents) - Go up the stairs, but before dropping through the opening in the floor, take a standing jump to the opposite ledge (jump and grab). Shoot the vases and pick up the Shotgun Wideshot ammo. Drop through the opening and slide down into the pool.

Climb out of the water using the stairs close to where you dropped into the pool. Go up the stairs around to the left and jump\ climb to the upper ledge. When you do that, a skeleton appears from the central platform. Do not bother with it now as it cannot reach you. If you watch it, you will see that it jumps from the central platform to the next one. If you are lucky, it may fall into the pool and kill itself. Take a running jump to the extended ledge on the west wall and then to the next ledge with the lever. Pull the lever to bring two blocks out from the south wall.

Take running jumps onto each block and a standing jump to land on the ledge with the vase. Shoot the vase and pick up the Shotgun Wideshot ammo. A second skeleton appears from the central platform. Again, ignore it. Jump up to grab the bars above (to the right\ east side of the platform) and traverse across the alcove to the other side, being on the left or right side of the bars. When you have almost reached the alcove, a spirit emerges from inside, passing from the middle of the monkey bars.

Immediately release and drop into the water. Roll and swim towards the south wall following an opening that leads to a bird statue. Stay close to it and wait for the spirit to extinguish itself on the statue. Swim back to surface and climb the stairs again on the left. Make your way back up to the alcove with the lever. Pull the lever to extend two ledges from the east wall. If the two skeletons are still around, take care of them: either with the Crossbow (by shooting their head with normal ammo or by exploding them) or with the Shotgun (by shooting them while they are jumping from one ledge to another). Take a running jump to the central platform below.

(Alternative method - Instead of dropping into the pool when the spirit appears, you can drop onto the ledge and pull the lever. Press the Look button to break away from the camera and drop into the pool. Destroy the ice spirit and climb out of the water using the stairs in the northwest corner. From there, you can jump directly to the central platform by taking a running jump. With this way, you avoid traversing again to the lever in order to pull it, but you will lose more health because of the spirit.)

Take a running jump to the single ledge and then another running jump to grab the left block you just raised. Turn right and take a running jump to grab the next block and then another running jump to land on the opposite ledge with the arch. Drop onto the ledge on the left (or jump to it/ step off) and hang from the edge. Shimmy to the right around the corner and drop down at the end. Follow the hallway to its natural conclusion.

Room with tall central pillar (first Trident) - Drop onto the small ledge. The dramatic music alerts you to the situation. If you wait for a few more seconds, you will see two skeletons emerging, one from each side of the room (east and west). You are better off taking care of them from distance, or they will not let you get the Trident easily from the pedestal on the central platform.

Shoot the vase on the ledge to get the Shotgun Wideshot ammo. Take a running jump to grab the rope and swing towards the pedestal. Do not jump, just let go of Action when above the ledge to land on it. Get the Trident #1. The sleeping skeleton on the ledge to the east will awaken now, intent on picking a bone with you (ha!), so take care of it. Alternatively, you can grab the rope and jump onto the ledge where the skeleton is. It does not awaken and you can use the LaserSight bug to shoot its head. Then jump to the ledge where the pedestal is and get the Trident. Turn around and watch the skeleton fall down.

The vases on the ledge behind the sleeping skeleton do not include anything. However, if you shoot them from the platform where the skeleton was, Shotgun Normal ammo will magically appear on one of the ledges as soon as you blast the right hand white vase on the left. The ammo appears on the ledge where one of the two previous skeletons exploded. There is nothing interesting in the vases on the other side (west). If you pass those vases and reach the end of the ledge, you will trigger another skeleton in the southwest corner. Look for the Large Medipack on the ledge above. You can get it by grabbing the ledge and pulling up, but this makes three more skeletons appear on the ledges below. Ignore the health pack or prepare to kill the skeleton trio whichever way you prefer.

(Note - One of the three skeletons may drop a Small Medi Pack. It sounds weird, but this is what happened the last time we played the game. See this screenshot.)

Make your way towards the right hand side of the ledge on the north side. The vases on the opposite ledge do not include anything. Turn around so that the gap is to the back of you and hang from the edge. Climb down the ladder and pick up the Crossbow Normal ammo and the Shotgun Wideshot ammo from the bottom. Enter the dark area and shoot the vase in the alcove on your left (east) to get the Shotgun Normal ammo. Return up the ladder. Follow the ledge to the right heading towards the northwest corner of the room. Jump the gap and climb up the ladder to the top.

Room with pole (second Trident) - Head up the stairs. When you are ready to enter the room, a skeleton hops (surprise!) from the left hand side. Jump onto the block where the pole is and take care of it from there. It will not follow you, so you have time to blast it. Get the Trident #2 from the pedestal and climb up the pole. Back flip from the ledge on the first level and shoot the vase in the southwest cornet to get the Crossbow Explosive ammo. Jump to grab the pole, climb up it, and then back flip onto the upper ledge.

Follow the hallway to the end. The door opens as you approach it, and you should recognize this place. A skeleton appears from the other side of the hole. Jump to the right ledge (east) and climb onto the block from where you first entered this room. Take care of the skeleton from here as it cannot follow you. Jump to grab the pole and slide down to the bottom. Another skeleton appears. Take care of it as well or ignore it by running to the right hand side of the ledge and jumping to grab the ladder. Two more skeletons are lurking at the bottom. Again, you can drop down and kill them or wait nearby at the bottom of the ladder. When you see them below you, back flip by virtue of pressing the Roll button at the same time. Keep running to the other side of the room (west) and climb the short ladder on the north side, leaving the skeletons behind. If you want, you can kill the skeleton at the upper ledge and then kill the next two from above.

North opening\ stairs that lead to the maze area (2 Tridents) - Go down the stairs to reach the sandy hallway. There is a doorway on the left hand side, a second doorway on the right after the column, and a third one beyond the pit. This third doorway leads to an elevator, but you cannot do anything with this now. Go through the second doorway (that is, after the column) and turn right. Go down the stairs and take care of the skeleton that appears. Pick up the Uzi ammo from one of the vases and make your way back almost to where you entered the sandy hallway.

Now go through the first opening and take care of the skeleton that hops out from the left. Both ways here lead to the same place. Follow either of them until you reach a doorway. The sleeping skeleton at the bottom of the climbable wall awakens when you shoot the vases. Since the vases do not include anything, jump over the skeleton to grab the wall and climb to the top.

First level - Pick up the Shotgun Wideshot ammo at the top and walk forwards. When you reach the edge of the gap ahead, a skeleton appears from the opposite ledge. Take care of it because it will follow you and will not let you move easily. Take a running jump to the ledge where the skeleton appeared and go to the right to get the Large Medipack from the alcove in the southeast corner. Return to the previous ledge.

Take a running jump to the next ledge (east). When you do that, two skeletons appear from the opposite ledge. You can take them down if you want or totally avoid them. If you are quick, you can jump to the ledge where the skeletons appeared, head to the right hand side, and take a running jump to grab the ledge in the southeast corner. Pull up and pick up the Shotgun Normal and Wideshot ammo's. You can then blast the skeletons from here. The gap is big and they cannot reach you. Take a running jump back the other way to grab the previous ledge. Then pull up. Head to the right and take another running jump to grab the ledge on the northeast side. Pull yourself up. Do not drop through the hole on your right because it takes you back down to the bottom.

Second level\ Third Trident - Climb up the ladder and dismount to the left or back flip onto the ledge behind. Pick up the Shotgun Normal ammo from the alcove and the Trident #3 from the pedestal. Return close to the ladder and take a standing jump to the first ledge. From here take a running jump to the central platform. Turn left to see a single ledge on the southeast side (as shown in this screenshot). Stand on the corner of the central platform and take a running jump to the single ledge. Enter the alcove and pick up the Small Medipack and the Shotgun Wideshot ammo. Make your way back to the central platform and head to the west.

(Note - If you have not shot any of the skeletons that appeared on those ledges until now, there is a chance that after Lara picks up the Trident, there will be no one of them around. However, you cannot avoid those that will appear from now on.)

When you reach the edge of the platform, a skeleton appears from the ledge on the southwest side. Take care of it because it will not let you to grab the rope in a short while. Jump to the ledge on your right and then to the next one close to the rope. Take a standing jump to grab the rope and swing\ jump to the opposite ledge. When you do this a skeleton appears from the left side (southwest).

Fourth Trident - Before the skeleton comes, you have time to turn left and take a running jump to the alcove, pressing Action to avoid hitting the upper part. Kill the skeleton from here if you want, climb up the pole, and back flip onto the first ledge. The sleeping skeleton does not awaken now, but you can use the LaserSight bug and shoot its head. Climb up the ladder to the top and follow the east side of the room. Take care of the three sleeping skeletons and get the Trident #4 from the pedestal.

2nd Secret (2-4\ total: 46-70) - Shoot the five bones that are located on the floor around you. The first one is at the top of the ladder you climbed up before. The next two bones are in the hallway and the last two in the room where you got the Trident - one in the southeast corner and the other in the alcove behind the pedestal where the Trident was. This opens a trapdoor on the northwest corner of the Trident room. Drop through it. The camera shows a brown door opening up and thus giving you access to the room where you used the rope. Pick up the Crossbow Explosive ammo and climb back up.

(Note - If you climb up the ladder in the alcove behind the pedestal where the Trident was on and follow the hallway, you will get back to the Coastal Ruins level. There is no reason to go back now as there are some things you still have to do first. It would be good to go back for a couple of minutes, though, and open two gates with the Crowbar that you cannot open from the other side. This will give you direct access to the Catacombs level from the Coastal Ruins if you want to restore your health.

If you decide to do that, you will encounter a sleeping skeleton in front of the first gate. Use the LaserSight bug to shoot its head. Then open the two gates. When you open the second gate, a second skeleton will appear from inside. You can take care of it or ignore it by returning back to the Catacombs level. If you used the LaserSight bug and shot the heads of the three sleeping skeletons in the Trident room, you will notice that only two of them woke up. The third wakes up when you return back from the Coastal Ruins, but because of a bug that you activate by repeatedly going back and forth here, this skeleton still has its head. So, you do not have a choice but to blast it once more, or ignore it.)

Return to the pole by climbing down the ladder and jump onto it. If you did not destroy the sleeping skeleton before, it awakes now. Climb down the pole to avoid it. From the alcove, take a running jump to the platform. If you did not destroy the skeleton before, you may not see it now because of all the back-tracking to the Coastal Ruins you did.

3rd Secret (3-4\ total: 47-70) - Head to the left and take a running jump to the opposite ledge. Take another running jump to the next ledge and go through the brown door you opened by taking the 2nd Secret. Pick up the Crossbow Explosive ammo, the Shotgun Wideshot and Normal ammo's, and the Large Medipack.

You need to go back to the huge room where you used the two ropes. You can do that by following the same way you came, or by exiting the alcove, turning left, jumping to the first ledge, hanging from the edge, and dropping onto the stairs with the pink\ white tile (first level). From there, go to either of the two corners where the lower step is, hang from the edge, and drop down (bottom). From this circular hallway, head to the northwest corner and go through the opening. You are back where you first entered this area. The opening on your right leads you back to the huge room with the two ropes.

4th Secret (4-4\ total: 48-70) - Before returning back, go to the left (north), pass the pit, and enter the elevator. The door closes behind you and the elevator takes you up. Climb through the opening and shoot the vase. Pick up the Large Medipack, the Shotgun Wideshot ammo, and the Crossbow Explosive ammo.

Go up the ramp on the left and drop onto the ledge below (first level). Hang from the edge and drop down (bottom). Again, go through the opening in the northeast corner of the circular hallway and turn right. Go up the stairs and drop down to the huge room beneath the two ropes.

Back in the room with the two ropes - If you have found all four Tridents you can continue to the next level (Temple of Poseidon). Follow the opening on the west side and go up the stairs. Also, if you did not destroy the two skeletons before, you may not see them now because of the back-tracking to the Coastal Ruins you may have done.

Pick up the walkthrough for Temple Of Poseidon.