Tomb Raider Skills Guide: Cartography

Among the new additions to the Tomb Raider gameplay formula is skill management. In this game Lara posses three different types of skills, related to the three main aspects of the game: surviving, hunting and fighting. The skills are really diverse and all serve a certain, useful purpose: leveling them up will be bring some good advantages whenever you level them up. In the end it all depends on your playstyle: some gamers may be better and uncovering treasures and areas or discovering enemies while some other may be better in the combat sequences of the game. You can improve these skills to improve your abilities in your best field or get some help in some other field where you are not so good. We’re not talking about role playing game level of customization but having a choice is better than having none at all! The inclusion of skills also makes the gameplay experience somewhat deeper. To improve your skills you’ll have to fill Lara’s experience shield, obtaining a single skill point used to improve unlocked skills or unlocking new skills. You will have to invest 7 skill points in rookie skills to unlock the higher tier; to unlock the final tier, seven more points must be used. Get as much experience as you can and you will be able to unlock most skills in the game as soon as possible.

• Survivor Skills

Cartography

Cartography is an expert skill, allowing Lara to auto detect points of interest in the surrounding area and mark them on the map. All previously hidden objects like collectible documents, relics, tombs, treasure maps and GPS caches will appear as light gray markers. Being an Expert skill, you’ll likely learn it after the game’s main story is over and it’s probably one of the best skills to have post game, expecially of you want to find every collectible. With the Cartography skill learned, using Survival Instincts will reveal all of these hidden objects and mark them on the map: you can use waypoints for better traveling. If you see a yellow glow that means that the object is close to your current position. If you’re looking to get all the hidden items of the game, this skill will be a great help: however I advise you to learn it only after you have completed the game since other skills may be more helpful in the latter parts of the game and collecting objects is hardly essential to complete the game.