Tomb Raider Rise Of The Tomb Raider Wicked Vale

[Nguyet Edmondson]

SAWMILLIN THE SOVIET INSTALLATION: After installing the Baba Yaga DLC (see the notes above), load your current save and fast travel to the Logging Camp Base Camp in the Soviet Installation. Then head up the hill toward the Sawmill. (Or fast travel to the Sheltered Ridge camp and zip line down to the southwest.) If you get disoriented follow the pink cow-skull beacons on the map or in Survival Instinct.

As you approach, Lara hears someone from Trinity reporting in by radio. They've cornered one of the natives in the sawmill. Sneak in closer and use your preferred tactics to take out 3 Trinity soldiers.

There are now 3 metal lockers in the Sawmill building. Two contain random supplies and ammo. The Remnant you seek is hiding in the other, on the lower level with the blood trail leading to it. (screenshot) Pry open the locker to talk to her.

CANYON LEADING TO THE WICKED VALE: Follow the pink objective beacon to the cave on the east side of this area. (screenshot) This cave is marked C4 on the Soviet Installation level map. Note that a snow leopard sometimes guards this cave. I'm not sure exactly when it appears or how often it respawns after the first time you kill it. So stay alert just in case. If you do see it, there are tips on defeating it in the Logging Camp Second Visit walkthrough.

Enter the cave and go through the gate at the back of it. Then follow the passageway to the Frozen Gorge Base Camp. This will be familiar if you raided the Voice of God Challenge Tomb earlier. If not, you can combine both quests now. Squeeze through the opening in the rocks beyond the campfire and head to the left. Climb along the canyon to the tomb entrance. If this is your first time, you can check the Challenge Tomb walkthrough for details.

As you climb, Nadia contacts Lara over a walkie talkie she found. She continues the tale of her grandparents and the witch, who apparently lives in a house that roams the forest on bird legs. If you've heard the Russian folktale Baba Yaga, this will sound familiar. A bit farther along, Nadia relays a transmission from some Trinity soldiers who seem to be under attack by the witch.

Instead of entering (or after completing) the Challenge Tomb, follow the path along the cliff to the northwest. Slide down the zip line and make your way along the wooden walkway. (screenshot) Soon you'll arrive at a recently abandoned campsite. After touching base with Nadia, squeeze through the opening in the rocks. (screenshot) Then jump across the ledges to the far side of the canyon. (screenshot)

Enter the cave ahead to find the Wicked Vale Base Camp. Examine the document (1/21) lying near the campfire. It is Dear Nadia from the series Grandfather's Journal (Russian). (screenshot) Use the camp to make upgrades if you like. Then head up the stairs to the cave exit. Just before the opening, on the left, is another document (2/21), Initial Contact from the Bravo's End series. (screenshot)

ENTERING THE VALE: When you squeeze through the opening in the wall into the canyon beyond, the air is full of pollen, and Lara starts to go a little woozy. Follow the passageway into the forest. It's creepy as heck, and the path twists and turns a bit, but you can't get lost. Follow the apparition resembling Lara's father and be prepared for a few jump scares along the way. After a short sequence inside a room that looks like it's come straight out of Croft Manor, continue to a wooden platform overlooking an excavation pit.

In a short cutscene, the witch appears in her walking house, just like Nadia described, and begins hurling fireballs. The ledge on which Lara is standing collapses, dropping her into the quarry. The witch then tosses a final fireball into the pit, opening the entrance for a pack of demonic wolves. (The exact number appears to be random.) Fight them as you would regular wolves, using poison arrows when there are several at a distance. (screenshot) Then switch to the shotgun when they charge. (screenshot)

When you've defeated the wolves, the witch reappears and chases Lara off the cliff ledge into the river below. Be thankful for cold water for once, since this seems to snap Lara out of her hallucination. She surfaces in a narrow canyon with falling water and a series of rusty metal tanks and pipes. After a brief conversation with Nadia over the radio, you now have a new goal.

Then swim back to the ledge where you started, move around to the upper end, and scale the climbable walls to reach the ledge high above on the left. (screenshot) At the top, turn right and grapple swing across to a ledge with another document (4/21), A Good Man from The Prisoner's Dilemma series (Russian). (screenshot) Swing back to the other side and follow the ledge around behind the waterfall to the far end. Scramble up onto the wooden platform with the moving machinery. (screenshot)

Before climbing up, pull down the rope barrier on the left. (screenshot) Go into the little space behind it to find another document (5/21), Torn Apart from The Prisoner's Dilemma series (Russian). Come back out to the main area and climb up onto the platform with the moving machinery.

Lara speaks with Nadia over the radio as she examines the machinery. Based on what she sees and smells, she surmises that someone is refining and weaponizing the hallucinogenic pollen. And if that person can resist its effects, it must be possible to make some sort of antidote.

Follow the passageway to a small workroom. Lara automatically reads the document (6/21) lying on the table. It is The Formula, also part of The Prisoner's Dilemma series (Russian), which details the ingredients for the antidote. Pull down the rope barrier to take a shortcut back to the Wicked Vale Base Camp. (screenshots)

GATHERING INGREDIENTS IN THE SOVIET INSTALLATION: The goal now is to find the ingredients for the antidote. First you'll need to collect 5 seedpods from the plants that make the pollen, and 2 deer livers from animals that have consumed these plants.

Gather the seedpods from any of the caves marked with pink beacons. There are several plants in each of the marked caves, so you won't need to explore them all to gather 5 pods. Watch out for wolves and Trinity patrols while in this area. The wolves tend to appear on the southeast side of the Sawmill in the open area in front of their den, just east of the Sawmill. (screenshot) If you don't mind venturing into the den, you'll find some seedpods there, and possibly mushrooms as well. (screenshot) While you do this, Nadia relays another Trinity transmission about the missing "Bravo Team."

After you collect the 5 seedpods, there will still be 2 pink marker beacons on your map. These supposedly show the locations of deer you can hunt for their livers. The marker near the Logging Camp Base Camp seems fairly reliable. So head down that way, find a deer, kill it, and harvest the liver. If you can't find another deer, it's OK to fast travel out to another area with good hunting, such as the Geothermal Valley. It doesn't matter where you find it; the next deer will provide the liver you need for the mission. If you do fast travel out, return to the Copper Mill Yard Base Camp, since this will save a little time.

When you have the first 2 components for the antidote, Nadia will radio Lara to say she's found a possible location for the phenothiazine. Head for the Copper Mill Yard Base Camp, on the south side of the Soviet Installation, following the next pink beacon if necessary.

Go through the gate to the southeast, climb the yellow ladder onto the boxcar, jump across to the roof of the next building, and then jump into the doorway of the building ahead on the left. Inside you'll find a box containing the chemicals. (screenshots)

As Lara mixes the antidote, Nadia warns her of an approaching enemy patrol. Turn around and take out 2 men who climb onto the roof ahead. Then either jump over to the roof where they were standing and deal with 3 more Trinity soldiers down in the yard to the right, or shoot them through the windows of the room where you found the chemicals. (screenshots)

ENTERING THE VALE (WITH THE ANTIDOTE): Head up the steps near the campsite and squeeze through the opening into the vale. This time Lara has come prepared, so there are no hallucinations. Follow the canyon down past the rows of creepy skeletons. As you emerge into the forest, head to the right to find a survival cache (1/6) buried near the curve in the west side of the path. (screenshot) Use the flash to help find it, check the annotated map, or wait until you've found the Explorer Satchel later on and the cache will be marked on your map.

Backtrack along the path a little bit, then turn left (south). Here you'll find a stack of crates with another document (8/21), The Eyes from the Bravo's End series. (screenshot) Have a listen and then squeeze through the crack in the rocks and follow the path down to the right. Dig up another survival cache (2/6) buried behind the tree at the first bend. (screenshot)

Continue to the end of the path. Drop down into the excavation pit and look for another document (9/21), Taking Risks from the series Grandfather's Journal (Russian), on the ground to the right. (screenshot) Loot the wolf corpses for skins. Then use rope arrows to pull down the 2 rope-wrapped barriers to reveal climbable walls. The one to the north is optional, but you can use it if you need to backtrack. (screenshot) The one to the south is where we're headed next. (screenshot)

Before moving on, look up on the east and west sides of the pit and you'll see 4 hanging lanterns. Shoot them down to begin the Over The Cuckoo's Nest Challenge. (There are 10 lanterns in all. We'll find the remaining 6 shortly.) The pistol works fine for all but the highest one on the east side. You can use the bow or rifle, or wait until you're higher up to shoot it. (screenshots) When you're finished, scale the climbing wall on the south side of the pit to the next area.

3a8082e126