Tomb Raider Skills Guide: Animal Instincts

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

Animal Instincts

Animal Instincts is the most basic skill available in the game. It basically highlights animals and plants for Lara to hunt or harvest: please note that while animals will respawn, plants will not so harvest them once and you’re done with the specific harvest point. This will end up being one of the most used skills if you’re into the survival aspect of the game a lot: all hunts and harvests will give you experience as well so you may want to spend some extra time hunting. As we said before, experience is really precious in the game and to unlock all Lara’s skills you’ll need a lot of it. For all the other game’s aspects, this skill is pretty much useless, but the extra experience gain makes up for it.