MIDAS STATUE ROOM: CHECKPOINT 1 registers when you finish the previous level.  As you enter the room ahead, 3 gorillas attack.  If you like, you can make a run for the low, wide platform at the base of the statue, climb up and shoot the apes from safety.  Just don't climb up on Midas's hand unless you want to start over at the previous checkpoint.  I won't spoil it, but if you've played the original Tomb Raider, or know a little Greek mythology, you can probably guess what'll happen.  ;)

Do take a look at the statue.  Notice the gold bar set in one of the small rectangular receptacles.  Notice the three empty receptacles.  Looks like you've got some work ahead of you.

Turn around and head back toward the entrance.  Climb onto the small block just to the left of the doorway (when facing it) and climb up onto the little fountain.  (You could do this to avoid the gorillas when first entering, but one of them hides behind this fountain making it hard to hit from above.) From there, use the handholds to reach the ledge above.  Pick up the large medipak near the corner and pull the switch to open the big door below on the opposite side of the room and trigger CHECKPOINT 2.

Climb down the way you came.  Or, if you're in a hurry, run onto the small tiled roof at the other end of the ledge and slide down, losing a little health in the process.  Go through the door you just opened and follow the hallway to the end.

ROOM WITH SPIKES & COLUMNS – FIRST LEAD BAR: Cross CHECKPOINT 3 and enter a large room with low, square columns and clumps of razor-sharp spears.  On the right is a raised alcove with something shiny on a pedestal.  There's another raised alcove in the far right corner, a doorway straight ahead, another alcove with a lever above on the left and an alcove with some white rocks and a metal ring in the near left corner.

Grapple the metal ring and pull the stones down.  Now you'll be able to get into that alcove later.  Cross to the far right corner of the room (from the entrance) and find a box of shotgun ammo between the angled column and the light-colored one with the flat top.  Then go through the doorway opposite the entrance.

There's a closed gate at the top of the stairs.  To open it, pull the wooden box away from the alcove below and to the right of the stairs, enter and pull the switch.  Push the box to the bottom of the stairs.  Then go around to the side of the box, pull it out into the spike room, and position it next to the short angled column near where you got the shotgun shells.  You'll arrange it more precisely later.  Now return to the stairs and go up through the gate you just opened with the switch.

When you reach the landing, get the small medipak in the corner to the right.  Then continue to the lever.  Pull it to raise the square pillars in the big room and trigger CHECKPOINT 4.

Notice how some of the pillars are plain white stone and flat on top, some are angled, and others have spikes on top.  There are also several ledges that extend out of the walls.  The goal now is to hop and jump across various pillars and ledges to reach different parts of the room.  When Lara lands on any of the flat-topped pillars or protruding ledges, they start to retract, so you'll need to move across them fairly quickly.  The sloping pillars do not descend right away, so you need not hurry to reach them.  The metal-topped ones with the spikes also don't retract immediately, so you can take your time crossing them as well.

If you've already obtained the artifact and relic in this room, or don't want them, you can skip those parts and go right for the LEAD BAR (below).

ARTIFACT #1: Take a running jump to the right side of the first flat-topped pillar.  It starts to descend immediately, so turn left and take a running jump to grab the top edge of the spiked pillar.  Do not try and pull up.  Instead, climb around to the right as far as you can—no need to hurry here—and jump back to land on the sloping pillar.  Slide just a little and jump to grab the protruding ledge.  It begins to retract as soon as Lara grabs it, so quickly pull up, run to the right and jump to grab the horizontal recess on the spiked pillar ahead.

While hanging from the spiked pillar you can take your time.  Jump straight up to grab the top of the pillar and then climb to the right around one corner then the next.  Do not go all the way to the next corner.  Instead, position Lara near the left edge and jump back to land on the flat-topped pillar behind.  It starts to descend, so tap the HUD key to center the camera behind Lara.  Then immediately run forward and jump at the edge to land on the sloping pillar ahead.  As Lara starts to slide, jump again to grab the end of the protruding ledge ahead, which begins to retract.  Quickly pull up, turn right and jump down onto the flat-topped pillar below.  This one also starts to descend.  Immediately take a running jump to grab the edge of the alcove ahead on the left.  Pull up and claim ARTIFACT #1.  Drop down, taking care not to land in the cluster of spikes.

NOTE: There's no CHECKPOINT after getting the artifact, but once you have it, it is recorded in your game profile.  So even if Lara dies before the next save point, you shouldn't have to go after the artifact again.

RELIC #1: Return up the stairs to the lever and pull it once more to raise the pillars.  Drop down to the floor and head for the doorway to the stairs.  If you haven't already moved the wooden crate out of the stairway into the big room, do that now.  Then push the crate against the broken corner of the nearest sloping pillar.  This will prevent the sloping pillar from descending all the way.

Return upstairs to the lever.  Now repeat the series of jumps you used to reach the artifact (above) up to the point where you come to the second retracting ledge.  Then, instead of turning right toward the alcove with the artifact, turn left and take a running jump to grab the next ledge.  This one also starts to move back into the wall, so quickly pull up, turn left and take a running jump to grab the top of the spiked pillar ahead.  Now you can take your time.

Climb to the left all the way around to the back of the pillar and position Lara as close to the left edge as she'll go.  Jump back to grab the narrow horizontal shelf on the pillar behind.  As it starts to sink, quickly jump up to grab the top of that pillar and then pull up.  Run across the top and jump onto the sloping pillar ahead.  If you moved the wooden crate to prop it up, Lara will be able to land on the slope and jump to grab the edge of the alcove ahead.  Then you can traverse to the right, climb up and take RELIC #1, the Athenian Owl Figurine.  CHECKPOINT 5 registers here.

Drop down from the ledge, again watching out for the spikes below, and return once more up the stairs to the lever.

FIRST LEAD BAR: Pull the lever again to raise the pillars and trigger CHECKPOINT 6.  Repeat the series of jumps you used to reach the relic (above) up to the point where you jump from the third spiked pillar to grab the narrow horizontal shelf on the flat-topped pillar behind.  Jump up to grab the top of the pillar and pull up, as you did before, but this time instead of jumping to the final sloped pillar, turn right and take a running jump into the alcove.  Take the LEAD BAR from the pedestal.  This is CHECKPOINT 7.

NOTE: If you're having trouble with this sequence, you're welcome to download my PC save file made at CHECKPOINT 7 after obtaining the first LEAD BAR.  (Please see the note about savegame files at the end of the Walkthrough.)

Drop down and return through the doorway where you entered, past CHECKPOINT 8, (same as 3), and down the hallway toward the MIDAS STATUE ROOM.  On the way, you'll meet 2 more gorillas.  Don't let them corner Lara in the narrow corridor.  Run/jump past them into the open area near the pool and, if you like, climb up in front of the statue to shoot them from safety.  CHECKPOINT 9 is in the entrance to the statue room.

Climb the handholds on the left side of the statue to get up behind it.  Pull the switch on the back of the statue to open the second big door down below.  Climb up onto the ledge above the switch to get some shotgun shells.  Drop down on either side of the statue and go through the door you just opened.

ROOM WITH HUGE CENTRAL COLUMN – SECOND LEAD BAR: CHECKPOINT 10 registers as you enter the hallway.  Continue to CHECKPOINT 11 at the top of the stairs.  There's another flight of stairs on the right, which leads to a higher opening.  Ignore that for now and enter the room ahead.  You can see the next LEAD BAR behind the fence in the middle of the room, but you can't reach it yet.  Head for the far left corner of the room and go down the stairs.

A gorilla and lion tag team waits in the room below.  When you reach the bottom of the stairs, turn right and you'll be able to target them as they charge toward Lara.  You can then run back up the stairs to safety.  They won't follow, but neither will they stand there and let you shoot them.  You'll have to come down and draw them out several times in order to kill both creatures.  Or, just run past them into the room so you have more room to maneuver as you fight.

When the room is clear, use your grapple to pull the metal rings on each of the three wooden supports surrounding the central column.  When the supports are removed, the base of the column crumbles, dropping another LEAD BAR onto the pedestal.  Take it and return upstairs the way you came.

ROOM WITH HUGE CENTRAL COLUMN – FULL OF SAND: After you lowered the huge column, the ceiling collapsed, filling this room with sand.  The sandy slopes are too slippery to climb, so return across the room to the entrance, turn left and go up those stairs you passed earlier.

Follow the hallway to the end.  Pick up the shotgun ammo in the alcove on the left and then move into the opening to trigger CHECKPOINT 12.  Look out over the sandy room to spot and kill 4 bats before they reach Lara.

Then step out onto the ledge and turn right.  Take a running jump to the lower of the jumbled blocks sticking out of the sand above.  Jump from there to the next higher block, then to the highest.  Grab the handhold above, climb to the left and jump to grab the edge of the alcove.  Pull up and get a large medipak.

NOTE: If you slide down the slope you can either return up the stairs to the opening or save manually, reload at CHECKPOINT 12 and try again.

From the alcove with the medipak, hop down onto the rocks and grab onto the first handhold again.  Climb to the right and jump to grab the edge of the protruding block on the dark brownish wall.  Climb all the way to the right, jump and grapple the metal hook on the wall above the entrance.  Wall run across to grab the light-colored handhold on the far wall.  Climb to the right and jump to grab the next handhold.  Climb to the right again and this time jump back to grab the dangling rope.

While hanging from the rope, climb down to the bottom (Interact + Down) but not so far that Lara loses her grip and falls off.  Turn to face the fluted column near the wall.  (The handhold from which you just jumped should now be on your left.) Swing, jump and grab one of the horizontal cracks on the column.  Climb to the highest crack, move to the left as far as you can and jump back to grab the jutting ledge behind, which is CHECKPOINT 13.

Pull up and turn to face out over the room.  Take a running jump to land on the angled top of the center column.  Slide and quickly jump to land on the broken column below.

Now, you can take a rather complicated side trip for a small medipak or proceed to the exit.  (If you don't want the medipak, skip the rest of this paragraph.) To get the medipak, turn around and jump to grab the crack on the right side of the center column.  Climb around to the right and jump back to land on the flat spot behind.  Cross the broken floor to the left wall and grab the lower handhold.  Climb to the right and jump to grab the handhold above.  Climb to the right again and jump to grab the top of the lower of two huge blocks.  Climb up onto the higher block.  Turn right, take a running jump and grapple the metal hook above.  Extend or retract the cable if necessary so Lara's feet are just above the doorway.  Wall run back and forth and then jump onto the ledge to the right on the far side of the room.  Climb up into the alcove, get the small medipak and hop down.  To get back to where you were before, jump onto the sandy slope and slide down onto the short broken column.

NOTE: If you're having trouble with the wall run above, review the technique in the Damocles section St.  Francis Folly or Artifact #7 in Croft Manor.M

Jump from the broken column to the doorway and CHECKPOINT 14.  Follow the twisting hallway back to the MIDAS STATUE ROOM.  There are 2 gorillas waiting at the end of the hall.  When you see the bluish reflection of water on the wall ahead, you'll know you're almost there and should watch out.  Run past the apes onto the ledge with the pool.  Just be careful not to jump off the edge or you'll have to save and reload or make a very long trek back to this point.  I found that the gorillas generally didn't bother Lara if she stood on the low ledge near the switch.

Get the 50-caliber pistol ammo to the left of the switch.  Then use the switch to open the door on the high ledge behind the Midas statue (and trigger CHECKPOINT 15).

To get down without taking any damage, jump into the square pool.  Climb out and make your way back to the ledge above and behind the statue.  Go through the door you just opened, past CHECKPOINT 16, and follow the hallway to the end.

FIRE PILLAR ROOM – THIRD LEAD BAR: CHECKPOINT 17 is just inside.  Head for the left wall and go down the steps to the water.  Take a little swim to draw out a crocodile and quickly climb out at the base of those same steps—near the wall where the bottom step is low enough to reach—and shoot the croc.

Hop in the pool again and swim past the submerged circular pillar to the side of the wider pillar beyond, where you'll find an underwater lever.  Pull it to raise the stone tower on top of this pillar, revealing some rough chinks that will serve as handholds.  Swim back to either set of stairs and climb out of the water near the entrance.

Walk out along the center ledge above the pool.  Step on the square pressure pad to trigger the pyrotechnics.  At this point, you may want to take a few moments to observe the way the burners work.  The round pillar ahead has a single burner that cycles on and off.  The wider pillar beyond it on the right has a ring of smaller burners that ignite and go out in a counterclockwise pattern.

ENTRANCE TO FIRST SWITCH: You're headed for the alcove high on the right, so take a running jump to land on or grab the nearest round pillar.  As long as Lara hangs or stands close to the edge, she won't take damage.  Wait for the flame to turn off and then take a running jump across the top of the pillar to grab the jutting edge of the larger pillar with the ring of burners.

As Lara hangs from the edge, watch the burners.  When the one in front of you goes out, pull up and follow the flames around to the right.  If you pace yourself, each burner should go out before Lara gets to it.  On the back of the column is a series of handholds.  Grab the lowest one and quickly jump up to grab the second then the third before Lara gets toasted.  Climb around to the left as far as you can and then jump back to grab the ledge jutting out from the alcove behind.  Pull up.

NOTE: Unlike the corresponding area in Tomb Raider 1, you can get through all of this without Lara actually catching on fire.  If she takes heat damage, just use a medipak and go on.

Pull the switch to raise the submerged pillar—another round one with a single burner—and trigger CHECKPOINT 18.

FIRST SWITCH TO SECOND SWITCH: Face out across the pool.  Take a running jump along the jutting ledge on the left to grab the middle-level horizontal crevice on the tower.  Climb around to the right as far as you can.  When the burner directly below goes out, drop to the crevice below, then to the ledge with the burners.  Turn right and take a running jump to grab or land on the single-burner pillar you just raised.  As long as Lara hangs from or stands right at the edge, she won't get burned.

When the flame starts to subside, run across the top of the pillar and jump to grab the narrow ledge below the lion-head flame jets on the pillar ahead.  When you grab on, Lara will be hanging below one of the jets.  Climb around to the left until Lara is hanging below the next flame jet.  Jump back to land on the small square block.  Jump to grab the ladder on the wall and climb to the top.

Use the switch to raise a stone tower on top of the second wide pillar with the ring of small burners around its base.  CHECKPOINT 19 registers afterward.

NOTE: If you've come to this walkthrough after pulling the third switch (below), then the switch in this alcove will already be in the down position, and the second tower will already have been raised.  It's OK.  You won't get a save point here, but you can continue to the LEAD BAR then the RELIC by following the walkthrough as written below.

SECOND SWITCH TO LEAD BAR: Stand in the opening above the pool and grapple the ring on the left side of the pillar with the metal bars and flame jets on its sides.  It helps to stand in the middle of the ledge, not on the bit that juts farther out, in order to hook the ring.  Pull it to turn the entire top of the column.  Grapple the second ring, which should now be where the first one was before you pulled it, and pull that one to turn the top of the pillar as far as it will go.  Now a section of the pillar with no flame jets should be facing the alcove.

Take a running jump from the jutting edge of the ledge and grab onto the pillar.  Then climb to the top and turn left to face the tower you just raised with the switch.  Watch the ring of burners and when the nearest one ignites, take a running jump to land at the base of the tower.  By the time Lara lands, the flames should have moved off to the left.  If your timing is off and the burners in front of you ignite, step back and hang from the straight edge (as you did before with the first tower) until the flames move away.  Then pull up, run to the left and quickly grab the lowest horizontal crevice on the tower.  Immediately climb up to the second.

Now you'll need to carefully time your passage past each lion-head flame jet.  Begin by inching to the right so Lara is nearly at the corner where this facet of the tower meets the next.  Then, when the flame starts to go out, quickly climb to the right.  Keep the camera directly behind Lara and tap Interact as you go to climb faster and you should be able to get past it without little or no damage.  Repeat the process for the next flame jet.  Now move almost to the right edge of this facet of the tower.  Watch the flame jet above.  As it starts to go out, jump straight up to grab the horizontal crevice above and quickly climb to the right before the flame ignites.  Now Lara should be hanging from the highest handhold on the tower with her back to the alcove.  Jump back to land inside.

Pick up the large medipak on the far side of the alcove.  Then take the LEAD BAR from the pedestal, triggering CHECKPOINT 20.  Dive into the pool and return to the room's entrance, crossing CHECKPOINT 21.

NOTE: If you're not interested in getting the second relic, you can now return to the MIDAS STATUE ROOM.

RELIC #2: From the entrance, return across the fire pillars to the alcove with the first switch and CHECKPOINT 22, which is in the same spot as CHECKPOINT 18.

NOTE: It's a good idea to do a manual save here.  Then if you miss any of the next tricky jumps, you can reload at CHECKPOINT 22 instead of having to trek all the way back to the entrance, then the alcove.

Move to the right side of the alcove (when facing out toward the pool), jump off the edge and grapple the metal hook on the wall above.  Adjust the length of the cable so Lara's feet are just above the curved groove on the wall.  Otherwise, she'll run into the molding at the corner and not be able to run the full width of the wall.  Wall run back and forth and jump to grab the narrow ledge on the wall to the left.  Drop onto the slope below, slide nearly to the bottom, then jump to grab one of the handholds in the corner.  Climb to the right and then jump to grab the next handhold.  Jump up to grab the one above.  From there, jump back to land at the top of the next slope.  Immediately jump forward to grab the horizontal pole.  (Don't let Lara slide here or she'll miss the pole.)

Once Lara is hanging from the first pole, adjust her position left to right and swing over to the second pole.  Swing and jump onto the pointed vertical beam sticking out of the water.  From there, hop forward onto the small slope and immediately jump to land in the alcove on the left.

Pull the switch in the alcove to further raise the tower above, revealing the relic in a rough niche on the side of the tower.  CHECKPOINT 23 registers and you have about 45 seconds to get to the relic before the tower retracts again.

TIMED RUN TO THE RELIC: After pulling the switch, watching the cut scene and waiting for CHECKPOINT 23 to register, save your game manually.  Then if you don't make it, you can reload at the checkpoint, pull the switch and try again, without having to repeat the whole wall-run business.  Drop into the water and swim around the left side of the tower and back to the stairs.  (Swim on the surface and tap Interact repeatedly to make Lara swim faster.) Climb out, jump up the steps and run around to the entrance.

NOTE: You'll cross CHECKPOINT 24, which is actually CHECKPOINT 17 again, but don't bother saving your game.  If you reload here, the tower will have retracted and you'll need to climb all the way back to the third switch to try again.  Also, when making the following jumps from pillar to pillar, try to take off right at the edge each time, so you land on the next structure, rather than having to grab and pull up, which wastes precious seconds.

Take a running jump from the pressure pad to the first round pillar.  Veer to the right a bit as you keep running across the top of the pillar.  Jump at the edge to land on the first tower.  Do not wait for the lit burners to move off.  If Lara has to run through the flames, hopefully you'll have enough extra health packs to take care of her.  Run to the left across the base of the tower and jump to the second squat, round pillar.  Run across the top of it to grab the pillar with the metal bars and flame jets.  Climb around to the left (tapping Interact to go faster) until you reach the back, where there are no flame jets above.  Don't climb all the way to the left, just far enough to clear the metal bar above.  Jump up four times to reach the top of the pillar.

Turn left and take a running jump down to the base of the tower with the ring of burners.  Run around to the left and press Interact to grab RELIC #2, the Griffin-Head Protome, from its niche before the tower retracts.

If you don't get there in time, reload your manual save from CHECKPOINT 23 and try again.  Or, if you didn't save at the switch, move carefully to the edge of the tower nearest the alcove where you got the LEAD BAR.  Jump down onto the short ramp and immediately jump again to land in the switch alcove.

Once you have the relic, drop into the pool and swim back to the entrance.  Cross CHECKPOINT 25 (same as 17) and follow the hall back to the MIDAS STATUE ROOM.  Another pair of gorillas meets you near where the hall splits and converges again.  Run past the gorillas, across CHECKPOINT 26, and into the open room.  If you want to, climb up and shoot the apes from the safe ledge above the switch.

You should now have THREE LEAD BARS.  If you're missing any of them, check the walkthrough above and go find the one(s) you need.  Then return to the statue.

OPENING THE EXIT: Climb down on either side of the statue and approach Midas's hand.  Stand next to it and press Interact to place one of your lead bars in its palm.  The lead is magically transmuted to gold.  Press Interact again to take the GOLD BAR.  Repeat the process until you have THREE GOLD BARS.  Use one in each of the small, rectangular receptacles on the front of the statue—one on the level where the hand is, two on the base below—to open the gate at the bottom of the pool and finish the level.

*ABOUT ARTIFACTS & RELICS: Finding artifacts and relics (formerly known as "secrets") unlocks various extras like outfits and concept art.  A complete list of these bonuses and how to get them will be added soon.

**ABOUT TIME TRIALS: After completing a level, you will be able to replay it in Time Trial mode to unlock cheat codes.  Again, more info will be added about this once the main walkthrough is done.

Copyright © 2007 - Stellalune.  All rights reserved.  Feel free to copy or print this walkthrough for personal use.  By all means, share it with friends, but please include this credit line so people can send me their corrections, comments and suggestions.  This walkthrough may not be reproduced in any other manner without the author's written permission.

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