• First of all, do not panic. The given time is enough even if you make a couple of mistakes. So, do not quit and keep going. Once you are done reading the following tips, you will be able to make it up and earn some time.
• Make Lara move faster. Instead of just running, perform swan dives to cover more distance (whilst running, press the Crouch button). Also, do not forget the Interact button whilst shimming or swimming; this makes Lara move faster. You can also make Lara slide down the slopes faster if you swan dive or, in some cases, roll over them. Also, when jumping to swing poles, press the Jump button as soon as Lara grabs the pole so she immediately lets go again.
• Focus on your task. Your target is to finish the level in the given time. Ignore Medipacks, guns or ammo (unless it is completely necessary). You start each level with full ammo for every weapon, that should usually be enough to make it through. Do not bother with the Secrets you have probably missed or the enemies. Skip them when possible! Killing the animals is really time-consuming.
• Plan your route ahead. It is better to stop and think for a second than to run straight into a dead end or - even worse - a deadly trap.
• Forget about the timer and try not to look at it. It will make you more "vulnerable" if you think you are not going to make it.
• Take a breather or do not get distracted? The cutscenes do not waste time. The clock only ticks when you actually move Lara. If you want to take a breather, let the cutscene play. Some people do not want to get distracted by the cutscenes, and they skip them. This is up to you. IMPORTANT: The ingame cutscenes (for example, when the camera shows a door opening) steal seconds from your time, which is quite frustrating!
• Do not "save" Lara. When you jump to grab a far ledge, press and hold the Jump button to make Lara jump higher and farther. If Lara grabs the ledge with one hand, you will have to "save" her (by pressing the Interact button), which makes you lose time.
• Do not care about Lara's health. In the cases where you have to kill the animals, be aggressive. Also, if there is a long drop, just jump down instead of possibly going around. It will save time, even if it means losing a bit of health.
• Adrenaline Dodge. It is really handy when you have to kill many enemies, so you have to learn and use it properly because it saves time. Practice a bit and if you want further details, see our Game Controls page.
• Use powerful weapons with good firing rates. The less time you waste in combat (and possibly dying), the better. The Mini SMGs are a good choice, as are the Caliber Pistols. If you can, avoid fights altogether.
• Do not die. It sounds funny, but if you die two or three times, retry the Time Trial. If you die once, just after a Checkpoint, you can still try to finish it.
• Use Manual Grab if possible. That way, you can run straight off of ledges without Lara performing a safety grab. Also, you can climb down ladders and poles much faster if you repeatedly let go and grab again (with manual grab enabled).
• The mysterious left roll®. This trick was found by Gandarufu and it can be proved really effective. It requires a bit of practice, so do not give up if you cannot make it with the first time. The mysterious left roll® helps Lara reach ledges that she normally cannot reach. This means that it makes Lara jump higher. It cannot be done with all ledges, so we have included those where you can perform it. [Note: To make it work, the game's FPS (Frames Per Second) must be over than 30. If it is less, disable some graphics settings from the game's setup. One way to check your FPS is to download FRAPS. It is a screen grabber which includes a frame rate overlay on the screenshots.] |
