Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition: Complete Guide

A full-run guide to Lara's jungle finale: difficulty setup, skills, gear, stealth and combat, the hub areas, Challenge Tombs and crypts, the seven DLC tombs, and a 100% completion plan.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the July 12, 2023 PC update (XeSS 1.1, Square Enix Members services removed; online features still operational). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

What's in the Definitive Edition: the base game plus all seven DLC tombs (The Forge, The Pillar, The Nightmare, The Price of Survival, The Serpent's Heart, The Way Home, The Grand Caiman) and all DLC weapons, outfits and skills. The DLC tombs are accessed from the world once you reach the relevant story point; they're optional.

Quick Start

• Tune the difficulty to taste. Combat, Exploration and Puzzles each have their own difficulty. Many players like harder puzzles/exploration and normal combat.
• Challenge Tombs are the heart of the game. They're optional but give the best rewards (ancient skills) and the best puzzles. Do them as you find them.
• Survival Instincts (check the key in Controls) highlights interactable objects, enemies and climbable surfaces. Use it constantly, unless you're on the hardest exploration setting where it's disabled.
• Stealth is stronger than fighting. Mud-covered walls, vine walls and tall foliage let Lara hide and ambush.
• Base camps are for saving, fast travel, outfit changes and spending skill points.
• Upgrade the Bow first. It's quiet, flexible and supports special ammo like Fear and Poison arrows.
• Use hubs to power up. Paititi and Kuwaq Yaku have merchants, side missions and civilians who reveal points of interest.
• Don't rush the story if you want everything. You can return to every area after the ending, but the gear you get later lets you reach old areas' secrets anyway.

Difficulty and Settings

Difficulty is set separately for Combat, Exploration and Puzzles, or with presets. At the highest preset, Deadly Obsession, Survival Instincts is removed, enemies are tougher and saving is restricted to base camps. Each preset has its own completion achievement:

Preset | Achievement | Notes

Smart and Resourceful | Smart and Resourceful | Lowest preset (about 41% of Steam players have it)

Rite of Passage | Rite of Passage | Middle preset (about 33%)

One with the Jungle | One with the Jungle | Hard preset (under 6%)

Deadly Obsession | Deadly Obsession | Hardest; no Survival Instincts, base-camp saves only (about 2%)

A Deadly Obsession run is best done as New Game+ or a second playthrough, once you know the layouts.

What each slider changes:

Setting | Lower | Higher

Combat | Enemies deal less damage, slower detection, aim assist | More damage, faster enemy awareness, less healing

Exploration | White paint marks climbable walls, more hints | No white paint, fewer cues, Survival Instincts limited

Puzzles | Lara gives spoken hints; Survival Instincts highlights key objects | Few or no hints

PC tip: the game supports DX12 and upscalers including DLSS and XeSS. The built-in benchmark is great for testing settings.

Core Systems

Skills

Skill points come from XP (story, exploration, kills, side missions). The skill tree is split into three branches:

Branch | Focus | Notable picks

Seeker (exploration) | Perception, traversal, finding loot | Perception, Survival Instincts upgrades, faster swimming/breath

Warrior (combat) | Weapons, health, combat buffs | Focus and Endurance (temporary combat buffs), better healing

Scavenger (stealth/crafting) | Stealth, traps, crafting special ammo | Serpent's Fury (chain stealth takedowns), Eagle's Talon (advanced takedown)

Ancient skills from Challenge Tombs are among the strongest in the game. Several Tomb rewards unlock tree nodes that otherwise can't be bought.

Gear progression

Story progression gives traversal gear. A new tool often means earlier areas now have more to find:

• Climbing Axes and Rope Ascender
• Rappel and Overhang Climbing Gear (lets Lara climb ceilings and overhangs)
• Underwater breathing improvements
• Knife and weapon upgrades at base camps and merchants

Resources and crafting

You gather herbs, wood, cloth, and animal parts. Use them to craft healing, ammo (including special ammo like Fear arrows, Poison arrows and Fire arrows), and outfit upgrades. Gold ore and coins buy items from merchants (achievement at 40 gold ore).

Outfits

Outfits give passive bonuses (resistance, stealth, gathering) and can be crafted. Vestige outfits are historical outfits you restore from crypt rewards and artifacts; they offer unique buffs.

Monoliths and languages

Monoliths lead to hidden Conquistador treasure chests. To decipher a Monolith you need enough language proficiency, which you gain by reading murals and documents. Explore hubs thoroughly to level up each of the regional languages.

Stealth and Combat

Stealth tools

Tool | Use

Mud | Cover Lara at mud pools to make her much harder to spot

Mud walls | Stand against them to blend in; ambush passing enemies

Vine walls | Hide and take down enemies from the wall

Tall grass/foliage | Crouch to move unseen

Rope arrow | Pull targets from above or create lines

Fear arrow | Makes the enemy panic and shoot allies

Distraction (throw bottles) | Pull enemies away from their patrol

Combat rules

• Kill from hiding, then vanish. Enemies search Lara's last known position; if you move away, they lose track (Last Known Position).
• Headshots with the bow are silent and deadly; upgrade draw speed and damage early.
• Fear arrows make enemies panic and fire on their allies; the Total Party Kill achievement asks for 5 friendly-fire kills.
• Serpent's Fury chains stealth takedowns (Chain Gang: use it 3 times); Eagle's Talon adds another takedown option (Surprise!: 5 Eagle's Talon takedowns).
• Focus and Endurance are temporary buffs; trigger them before committing to a tough fight.
• When combat goes loud, retreat into the jungle to reset stealth rather than trading shots in the open.

Areas and Story Outline

The game moves between linear story chapters and open hubs. Main locations:

Area | Type | What to know

Cozumel (Mexico) | Linear, prologue | Día de Muertos celebration; tutorial areas

Peruvian jungle | Linear/semi-open | Crash site, survival, first stealth fights

Kuwaq Yaku | Hub | First big hub: merchants, side missions, challenge tombs

Porvenir Oil Fields | Story/semi-open | Trinity-controlled area; heavy combat

Paititi (Hidden City) | Largest hub | The biggest hub in series history; many side missions and tombs

Mission of San Juan | Story | Colonial mission ruins

Trinity sites | Linear | Combat-heavy late chapters

Antagonists: Pedro Dominguez, head of Trinity's council and secretly Amaru, the cult leader seeking Kukulkan's power.

Challenge Tombs, Crypts and DLC Tombs

Challenge Tombs

• Found in the hubs and optional areas. Many require specific gear, so revisit hubs after new tools.
• Each tomb rewards an ancient skill or powerful node.
• Achievements: Stele Hunter (3 main game Challenge Tombs), Tomb Raider (all main game Challenge Tombs).

Crypts

• Shorter, tomb-like areas with platforming and traps, rewarding vestige outfit pieces and items.
• Achievement Resting Places for 3 main game crypts.

DLC Tombs

The seven DLC tombs, in release order: The Forge, The Pillar, The Nightmare, The Price of Survival, The Serpent's Heart, The Way Home, The Grand Caiman.

• Each is a self-contained side story with a tomb, a small combat section or two, and a reward bundle (weapon, outfit and/or skill).
• They unlock from the world once you reach the relevant point in the story; check the map and your mission list for them.
• The DLC tombs added optional co-op for the tomb sections, starting with The Forge.
• They're generally tuned a notch harder than main game tombs, so bring upgraded gear.

Hub Checklist

Every time you arrive in a hub (Kuwaq Yaku, Paititi) or return with new gear, run through this list before moving the story on:

Task | Why

Talk to civilians with speech icons | They reveal points of interest, tombs and side missions (Point of Interest achievement)

Visit merchants | Sell spare goods, buy weapon upgrades, outfits and ammo capacity

Accept side missions | XP, gold and unique rewards (Help thy Neighbor, Good Samaritan)

Read murals and documents | Language levels for Monoliths

Check the map for tomb and crypt icons | Ancient skills and vestige outfits

Hunt rare animals | Crafting materials for upgrades (Legendary Hunter)

Gear gating: if a route is blocked by an overhang, a rope anchor or deep water you can't cross yet, mark it mentally and come back after the next traversal upgrade. The game's map shows collectible counts per area, which makes cleanup easy.

100% Completion Plan

• Play the story at your pace, doing tombs and crypts as you pass them.
• After the ending, return to fast travel. You can continue in free-roam to finish everything.
• Collect all artifacts, documents, murals, relics, survival caches in each area. The map shows progress per location.
• Complete all side missions (Good Samaritan achievement for 8).
• Challenges (area-specific objectives like burning particular targets) count toward completion.
• Monolith treasures need languages; read everything.
• New Game+ lets you replay with all skills and gear carried over.

Achievements worth planning for

Most achievements come naturally; these are the ones that need deliberate effort (names and conditions from the Steam achievement list):

Achievement | Requirement | Tip

Completionist | Reach 100% completion | Use the per-area map percentages after the ending

Treasure Hunter | Open all main game Conquistador treasure chests | Needs every Monolith, so read every mural and document

Dr. Croft | Complete all Artifact Collections | Includes underwater artifacts; sweep flooded areas

Tomb Raider | Complete all main game Challenge Tombs | Revisit hubs after each traversal upgrade

Good Samaritan | Complete 8 Side Missions | Pick up side missions in the hubs as soon as they appear

Legendary Hunter | Hunt and loot 5 rare animals | Talk to hub civilians; they reveal points of interest

Gunslinger | 3 pistol headshots in 3 seconds | Try it on low combat difficulty against an unaware group

Thanksgiving | Shoot a turkey with a Flare Round | Rare (under 4% of players); easy to overlook

Como Te Llama | Pet 5 llamas | Interact with llamas whenever you see them

In the Moment / Made to Endure | 10 kills with Focus active / 10 takedowns with Endurance active | Buy both skills, then farm a group of enemies

Specialized | Earn all skills in one category | Pick one tree and finish it

Deadly Obsession | Finish on Deadly Obsession | See the difficulty table above

The Definitive Edition's achievement list also includes a block of rarer DLC achievements, so plan the seven DLC tombs into any full-completion run.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Only following the story. You skip the best puzzles and ancient skills.
• Not upgrading the bow. It's your quiet killer and puzzle tool.
• Fighting loud in open areas. Enemies overwhelm; retreat and use stealth.
• Ignoring side missions in hubs. They give strong rewards and XP.
• Forgetting to read murals. Language skill gates monoliths.
• Spending points on combat only. Seeker and Scavenger skills make exploration and stealth much easier.

Advanced Tips

• Deadly Obsession runs: plan routes between base camps since saving is limited; carry enough crafting supplies.
• Perception + Poison arrows clear groups quickly without alerting all enemies.
• Stack Focus and Serpent's Fury for high-level stealth kill chains.
• Use DLC weapons for tricky fights; many come with passive bonuses.
• Photo Mode is great for screenshots; enjoy the scenery.

FAQ

Can I go back and finish things after the ending? Yes. The game allows free roam after the credits, and New Game+ is available.

Are the DLC tombs worth it? Yes, if you like puzzles. They're included in the Definitive Edition and give strong gear.

Do I need to play Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise first? Not necessary, but it's the final chapter of the Survivor trilogy, so the story lands better if you know Lara's origin.

What's the hardest difficulty? Deadly Obsession, which removes Survival Instincts and limits saving to base camps.

Is there co-op? Some DLC tombs (starting with The Forge) support co-op.

Is there a new Tomb Raider game coming? Yes. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, a reimagining of the original game, is set for February 12, 2027, with pre-purchase open on Steam.

Sources

• Wikipedia — Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Steam — Shadow of the Tomb Raider achievements
• Steam store — Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
• Steam news — Shadow of the Tomb Raider