Tomb Raider 2013 Ps5 Upgrade
Terry Chavarin
WARNING: This page contains spoilers. No major plot points are revealed, but you will learn more about Lara's expanding abilities and arsenal if you read ahead. Follow this link for spoiler-free notes on controls and gameplay.
You'll also find info on Controls and Gameplay Tips, Collectible Items, Outfits/Skins and Other DLC, Steam and Xbox 360 Achievements, PlayStation 3 Trophies, and my Guide to 100% Completion on separate pages.
Lara starts the game fresh off the boat, as it were, with limited skills and no equipment or weapons. As you solve puzzles, meet goals, hunt prey, kill enemies, find special items, etc., you receive Experience Points (XP). A shield-shaped meter appears in the top left corner of the screen whenever you earn XP. This meter gradually fills up. When it does, you earn a Skill Point, which you can then use to unlock a new ability for Lara.
RECOMMENDATIONS: The table below describes each of the different skills and lists any prerequisites. I've included a few notes that will hopefully help when choosing skills. I find a few skills indispensable: Animal Instincts and Steady Shot at the very beginning of the game; Pain Tolerance, Arrow Retrieval and Ammo Capacity once you start getting into more combat situations; and Dodge Counter as soon as you unlock the Hardened tier. You may decide to prioritize differently. That's fine. Choose skills that suit your play style. If you explore the island thoroughly, you won't have any trouble unlocking all the skills well before the end of the game.
Keen observation allows you to spot hard-to-find animals and food sources. When you press the Survival Instinct button, Q/L2/LB, prey and edible plants glow, making them easier to spot. This is also very helpful for early combat since wolves also glow in the dark woods. I highly recommend taking it as your first skill. After that the order doesn't matter so much.
Earn extra rewards when looting animal corpses and food caches. This skill isn't crucial but it does help you earn more XP from each kill and food pickup, allowing Lara to level up faster.
Carefully looting animal corpses will reward you with extra salvage. Also not essential but will allow you to unlock certain upgrades a little sooner. Obviously if
you don't like hunting, you won't want to take this skill.
Resourceful archers can recover arrows from the bodies of enemies and prey. If the bow is your preferred weapon, this is a great skill to take. You'll almost never run out of ammo. Once unlocked it kicks in automatically every time you loot an enemy or animal corpse. Unfortunately you can't retrieve arrows that miss the target and end up on the ground.
Spotting hidden pockets on enemy corpses will reward you with extra ammunition. Once unlocked you don't need to do anything special. Just continue looting dead enemies and you'll find a little more ammo than usual each time.
Increase your climbing skills to traverse the environment with more speed and resist falling damage. This skill also unlocks the ability to roll after falling. When Lara hits the ground after taking a long jump or falling from a moderate height, just tap the Dodge button (Shift/Circle/B) to somersault and come up standing. Note that Lara can still die from a long fall, so you still need to be careful.
Use your keen perception to find hidden rewards in the environment. When you press the Survival Instinct button, nearby collectibles will light up and be visible through walls. Their locations will also then be marked on your in-game map. If you like, you can set a waypoint to help find the item.
All tomb entrances and map locations will be revealed on your map. Check your map as you explore each new area. It will now automatically update to show the locations of collectibles, camps and challenge tombs.
Efficient use of bags and pockets allows you to carry more ammunition. Applies to all four weapons. If you haven't collected some of them yet, they will come with the greater ammo capacity once you do find them.
Your increased strength allows you to carry the maximum amount of ammunition. This is the advanced version of the Ammo Capacity skill. It further increases the amount of ammo you can carry for all four weapons.
Eliminate your enemies with finesse to earn greater rewards. This gives you a slight XP bonus whenever you use special moves like headshots, stealth kills and finishers to eliminate enemies. I recommend taking it as one of the first skills once you've unlocked the Hardened tier. Then you can use the extra XP toward additional skills.
Stab enemies at close range with your arrows for extra rewards. Also unlocks headshot reticle. To use this skill, shoot an enemy or hit him with melee attacks until he's stunned and you see the Melee icon above his head. Then, with the Bow selected, move in close and press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to finish him off with an arrow. (The "extra rewards" refers to bonus XP for using this tactic.)
Execute enemies at point-blank range for more rewards. Also unlocks headshot reticle. To use this skill, shoot an enemy or hit him with melee attacks until he's stunned and you see the Melee icon above his head. Then, with the Pistol selected, move in close and press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to finish him off with this gun. (The "extra rewards" refers to bonus XP for using this tactic.)
Unload your rifle at close range to brutally finish enemies and earn bonus rewards. To use this skill, shoot an enemy or hit him with melee attacks until he's stunned and you see the Melee icon above his head. Then, with the Rifle selected, move in close and press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to finish him off with this gun. (The "extra rewards" refers to bonus XP for using this tactic.)
Blast enemies with the shotgun at close range to stop them in their tracks and earn extra rewards. To use this skill, shoot an enemy or hit him with melee attacks until he's stunned and you see the Melee icon above his head. Then, with the Shotgun selected, move in close and press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to finish him off with this gun. (The "extra rewards" refers to bonus XP for using this tactic.)
Withstand more punishment in combat and live to fight another day. This skill enables Lara to take more damage before dying. I highly recommend it since it will keep you alive longer early in the game while you're building up your other skills and arsenal.
Cleverly use dirt and rocks to blind your enemies and leave them vulnerable to your attacks. To use this skill, when an enemy approaches press the Dodge button (Shift/Circle/B) to scramble out of his way, then press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to throw dirt in his eyes, blinding him temporarily so you can finish him off. A lot of players seem to like this one, though I tend to prefer keeping my distance in the early battles. It's up to you.
Deliver two swift strikes with the climbing axe to stun your enemies. Once you've unlocked the Hardened skill tier, Lara automatically gains this ability, which allows her to use the climbing axe as a weapon. Move close to an enemy and press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to deliver an axe attack that will stun the bad guy, enabling you to finish him off more easily.
Use your climbing axe to deliver a deadly, stunning blow to your enemies. This skill further improves Lara's ability to use the axe as a weapon. To use it, shoot an enemy or hit him with melee attacks until he's stunned and you see the Melee icon above his head. Then, with no other weapon selected, move in close and press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) to finish him off with with the axe.
After dodging an enemy, stab them in the knee with an arrow to cripple him and leave him vulnerable to a killing blow. To use this skill, you must wait for an enemy to strike at Lara and then press the Dodge button (Shift/Circle/B) while moving in any direction to duck out of the way. Then press Melee (F/Triangle/Y) in time with the on-screen prompt to to stun the enemy with an arrow to the knee. This technique takes a little practice, but it's covered several times, with screenshots, in the walkthrough. I HIGHLY recommend taking this skill as soon as you unlock the Hardened tier. It will make certain fights so much easier.
Skillfully dodge lightly armored opponents and then strike them at close range to kill them instantly. This skill works exactly the same way as the Dodge Counter (above) as far as the button presses. The only difference is that when fighting unarmored opponents, it will kill them instantly instead of only disabling them. For tougher, armored opponents, the exact same maneuver will still only injure or stun them. You'll need to repeat the move or finish them off with a different attack.
Just as Experience Points (XP) allow you to upgrade Lara's physical skills, Salvage Points let you improve her gear and weapons. Most of these improvements do not cost anything to unlock, but the first pry axe upgrade does require you to collect salvage. For more info on Salvage and where to find it, see the Collectibles Guide. The table below shows the gear, other than weapons, you will acquire throughout the game.
This is found early in the game. To light the torch, stand near a fire source and hold the Interact button (E/Square/X). Hold the Dodge button (Shift/Circle/B) or draw a two-handed weapon to extinguish the flame.
This is also found early on. It allows Lara to pry open doors and salvage crates, and also serves as a makeshift lever. (Note that it must be upgraded before it will do certain things. This upgrade costs 50 salvage points and is required to complete the Coastal Forest level. So it can't be missed.)
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