Returning to its adventurous roots, Rise of the Tomb Raiderincludes nine optional Challenge Tombs that unlock special skills for Lara — if you can complete them. Instead of combat challenges, you’ll have to work your brainpower to solve these tricky contraptions. Don’t worry, they’re not too tough, but if you get stuck or just need a hint to push you in the right direction, we’ve got everything you need to uncover all nine special codex skills.
All Challenge Tomb Locations & Puzzles Guide
Dec 31, 2018 Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) is the sequel to the excellent Tomb Raider (2013) reboot. I personally find both refreshing as they move away from the stagnating original series and retell the Croft story. The game is story focused and, like its prequel, offers enjoyable crafting, hunting and climbing/exploring mechanics. Rise Of The Tomb Raider. All Game Setup, Crack Or Patch File. Please Run The Game 100% Percent. I Hope You Can Help Me.
There are a total of 9 optional Challenge Tombs in Rise of the Tomb Raider. None can be missed — you can return to any of the locations listed here after completing the game. Each Challenge Tomb rewards Lara Croft with a powerful new skill.
Solve all nine puzzle chambers and you’ll earn the “Tomb Raider” trophy / achievement. Now let’s get into those locations, and how to actually conquer each Tomb.
Challenge Tomb #1: Ice Ship
- Location:
- Glacial Cavern — Look left as you delve deeper into the cavern. There is an optional path — use the ice axe to jump to a cliff of ice and climb into the first tomb location.
- Skill Reward:
- Ancient Abilities — Quickly shoot up to 2 arrows without the delay of redrawing from the quiver.
- Walkthrough:
- Cross the mast and use the axe on the mechanism. Climb up the left-side of the pulley.
- Use the masts to cross over to the chained (and ice-covered) object. Jump to it to smash through the wall.
- When the chained object lowers, drop down and climb the wooden planks / ice wall ahead where the wrecking ball smashed through the cliff.
- At the top, turn the wheel and lower the hanging basket. Turn the wheel until it cannot spit any long, then run across the masts and jump to it — this is timed, so be quick.
- Jumping to the hanging object will smash through another ice wall. Climb the ice wall to reach your reward at the top.
Challenge Tomb #2: Ancient Cistern
- Location:
- Soviet Installation — Found near the ravine outside the lumber mill in the center of the area. Shoot anchor holding the tree trunk from the crane to bust through the boarded-up hole in the ground blocking the Ancient Cistern entrance.
- Skill Reward:
- Natural Instincts — Nearby resources will automatically appear on the map and glow when nearby.
- Walkthrough:
- The goal of this Challenge Tomb is to raise the water high enough so that Lara can climb onto the central tower.
- Swim to the left of the tower, past the water wheel, and enter the interior room. Throw a gas canister at the blue chained-up stopper and shoot it to raise the water level.
- Climb onto the platform behind the tower and grab another gas canister. Throw it onto the floating raft. Move the raft by hanging from the plank, pulling it down. The raft will move toward the water wheel — drop down and shoot the gas canister as it slowly moves back to its original position.
- Swim into the tunnel where the second blue stopper was located. Climb to the top and break through the weak wall that leads back to the main chamber.
- Throw another gas canister onto the same raft as before. Pull the plank again to raise the water level, then swim to the raft. Pick up the canister and throw it through the upper level door.
- Use the gas canister to destroy the third blue stopper. Now you can reach the reward on the center tower.
Challenge Tomb #3: Voice of God
- Location:
- Soviet Installation — The cave entrance is found in the southeastern corner of the installation. You won’t be able to reach / complete this tomb until you’ve unlocked Rope Arrows.
- Skill Reward:
- Inner Strength — If critical injuries are sustained in battle — indicated by the screen turning gray — health will be automatically restored. This instant regeneration of health will occur only one time per combat encounter and will refresh between encounters.
- Walkthrough:
- Use the wheel near the entrance to lower the door. Climb up through the opening and bust through the weak wall — now raise the front door up again.
- Return through the broken wall and use a Rope Arrow on the hanging rock container. Attach the rope to the pulley and turn the wheel. Pull it tight, then cut the rope — time it so the weighted container enters the path of the gust of wind. If you time it right, the first weight will bang into a second weight, freeing it from the ice.
- Go back to the central chamber and open the back door with the wheel. Now you can reach the skill reward.
Challenge Tomb #4: The Red Mine
- Location:
- Soviet Installation — Found in the upper levels of the Copper Mill. You’ll need Molotov Cocktails and Rope Arrows to enter this area.
- Skill Reward:
- Bright Eyes — Improved SURVIVAL INSTINCTS causes nearby traps to glow automatically.
- Walkthrough:
- As you enter the mine proper, turn left and follow the cave path down. Jump across the gaps in the tracks, climb the stairs, and leap to the hanging uranium cart.
- Drop down and continue upward. Climb the platforms to get a good view of the turbine at the top — there’s a Rope Arrow anchor point — shoot it with a Rope Arrow and pull.
- Cross over and climb onto the CCCP labeled structure on the opposite side. Shoot a rope arrow into the minecart on the tracks and attach it to the large anchor point.
- Return to the hanging uranium cart and jump to it again. The minecart will swing down and block the waterfall, allowing Lara to burn the barrier beneath the embedded minecart with a molotov.
- The reward is through the destroyed barrier, on the upper level of the facility interior.
Challenge Tomb #5: House of the Afflicted
- Location:
- Geothermal Valley — Find this on the northern cliffs of the valley. Look for a high path with a hanging Rope Arrow anchor point Lara can use to swing across a long gap. The entrance is guarded by wolves, so watch out!
- Skill Reward:
- Fast Healer — Bandage wounds more quickly when healing.
- Walkthrough:
- Find the hanging “8” hook in the back-left corner. Drop down and hop onto the lift platform, then connect the hook to the platform with a Rope Arrow. Climb back out of the pit.
- From the entrance, look for a wheeled cart with a barrel wrapped in rope. Push it as far as it can go. Also from the entrance, look left and up — there’s a pulley system above a giant water bucket. Use a Rope Arrow to pull the stopper from the pulley system above, filling the bucket with water and lowering it to the ground.
- Attach the cart barrel to the water bucket. This will raise the lift platform. From the entrance, turn right and go up the stairs to reach the upper path and cross the now-raised lift platform. Both lifts should now be raised.
- Follow the linear path to the container to get your reward.
Challenge Tomb #6: Baths of Kitzeh
- Location:
- Geothermal Valley – Northwestern caverns, unavailable to explore until a certain story milestone. You’ll need Rope Arrows and the Rebreather unlocked to complete this puzzle.
- Skill Reward:
- Iron Grip — Climbing on rock and ice surfaces is significantly faster.
- Walkthrough:
- Swim to the raft down the center passage, then use the Rope Arrow to pull it toward the anchor point on the wall opposite the goal. After using the crank to drag the raft backward, connect to the right rope anchor point (from your perspective after using the wheel) — crank the wheel again to reach a window Lara can jump to from the raft.
- Climb out of the water and onto the platform with the handle. Pulling this handle will drain the water by raising the gates — but it won’t stay. Use a Rope Arrow to attach the handle to the anchor point, then turn the pulley wheel to open the gates and drain the water.
- Swim back to the raft and use a Rope Arrow to drag your boat to the opposite side of the room, allowing Lara to reach the second chamber. In the second chamber, pull the back handle until the water is completely drained — while it is filling up, shoot a Rope Arrow into the anchor point on the raft.
- Return to the raft and crank the wheel to completely drain the water. Now you can shoot the explosive barrels at the metal grate. Destroy the barrier to get to the skill reward.
Challenge Tomb #7: The Pit of Judgement
- Location:
- Geothermal Valley — This area is found in the center of the map, and can only be reached once you unlock the Axe Grapple ability.
- Skill Reward:
- Geologist — Geological knowledge allows successful mining of CHROMITE ORE.
- Walkthrough:
- The pit of judgement consists of one large gate and several cart tracks. Run up the left (from the entrance) track and turn the wheel twice. Push the minecart down the track so it smashes into the gate below.
- Use the Rope Arrow near the anchor point to zip-line across the gap. Climb up the stairs and jump to the top of the right track, and turn the wheel at the top to lower the platform. Turn the second (lower) wheel once, push the cart onto the turnstyle, Turn the lower wheel one more time.
- Next, turn the lift wheel to return to the upper level. At the top, push the minecart down the track to bust through the gate. The codex is now available.
Challenge Tomb #8: Catacomb of Sacred Waters
- Location:
- Geothermal Valley — Find the entrance in the southwestern corner of the map after dealing with the village attack. All you need are Rope Arrows for this one.
- Skill Reward:
- Anatomical Knowledge — Sense the location of animal hearts when using Survival Instincts or aiming at prey. Shots into animal hearts inflict massive damage. Animals with thick hides (bears and large cats) are immune to heart shots.
- Walkthrough:
- Start by using a Rope Arrow to pull the raft toward Lara. The raft is stuck behind the central island where the strong currents won’t move it. Pulling it will expose the raft to the currents, so jump on before it floats away.
- There’s a revolving rope anchor near the island. Connect your raft to the revolving anchor. Now on the center island, pull a second raft out from under the waterfall with a Rope Arrow. Jump on and connect the raft to a second anchor point attached to the ruin on the opposite end of the chamber.
- You’ll have to reel yourself in with the wheel — once you’re attached, turn the wheel, reel yourself in, and jump onto dry land. The path to the codex is now clear.
Challenge Tomb #9: Chamber of Exorcism
- Location:
- The Lost City — The path is found in the southern section, along the east cavern wall. You’ll need Rope Arrows and Fire Arrows to complete the final challenge tomb.
- Skill Reward:
- Greek Fire — The flames from FIRE ARROWS and MOLOTOV COCKTAILS do more damage and are hot enough to burn through enemy armor.
- Walkthrough:
- Drop into the pit and use Rope Arrows to pull the two levers attached to the upper wall, above the hanging cage. Explosive gas will filter into the pit — blast it with a fire arrow while standing near water.
- Next, enter the lower passage and break the lock on the skeleton cage. Now that it is free, go back up and turn the wheel to raise the cage up. Use another rope arrow on the pulley mechanism to turn the entire crane so that the hanging cage is lined-up with (and closer to) the gate blocking the way to the codex.
- Pull the dual levers with Rope Arrows again and set off the explosive gas to knock the cage through the gate.
Achievement / Trophy Unlocked
- Tomb Raider
- Complete all Optional Challenge Tombs.
Rise of the Tomb Raider offers nine challenge tombs as optional side quests. Neglecting these puzzle treasure troves won't just keep you from some of the best platforming and puzzles in the game, but you'll lose out on exclusive loot and weapon upgrades you can't find elsewhere. These hidden tomb entrances can be a pain to find, however, so here's a quick guide on their exact locations as well as their rewards to further motivate your hunt and aide your quest prioritization.
1. Ice Ship
Location: Glacial Cavern
Reward: Ancient Abilities. Quickly shoot up to 2 successive arrows without the delay of redrawing from the quiver.
Precursors: The first tomb's entrance is relatively easy to find as you pass it while moving through the Glacial Cavern area during Best Laid Plains. Upon reaching this location, players attempt to jump over to an ice wall to latch on. Lara winds up falling into a cave below when the ice breaks off. Following the main path of this cave, you'll take Lara and swim under a barrier into the next room. Take the ramp on the far left and jump over a gap into a tunnel. Follow this to another gap, jump over, and latch on to the ice wall to climb up to the ledge above it. Here you'll find a wooden bridge.
Tomb Entrance: Start walking the wooden bridge, but take the wooden plank to the left of it instead of following it all the way up to the next area. Jump from the wooden plank to an ice wall, latch on, climb up, and you'll find the Ice Ship tomb hanging from a wall directly ahead.
2. Ancient Cistern
Location: Soviet Installation
Reward: Natural Instincts. Nearby resources automatically appear on the map and glow when nearby.
Precursors: This tomb's location can be found within a sawmill after Lara's initial arrival at the Soviet Installation. Prior to the tomb, you'll have already taken Lara through part of the main story's path and past several enemy encounters. You'll also witness one cutscene before you're close. After climbing a wooden tower (post cutscene) and taking a zip line to a new building, exit said building and head toward a large crane at the top of a hill to the left.
Tomb Entrance: You'll see a boarded hole near the crane. Shoot the block holding a log hanging from the crane to obliterate the boards directly underneath. These blocked your entrance to an underground shaft. Climb down the newly uncovered shaft using a ladder in the hole. The entrance to the tomb lies in the cave at the very bottom of the ladder. You'll see an opening - the entrance - ahead of you and slightly to the left.
3. Voice of God
Location: Soviet Installation
Reward: Inner Strength. If critical injuries are sustained in battle (indicated by the screen turning gray) health will be automatically restored. This instant regeneration of health will occur only one time per combat encounter and will refresh between encounters.
Precursors: Find this tomb only after obtaining Lara's Rope Arrows. This item comes with story progression, after the second cutscene of the Soviet Installation ends.
Tomb Entrance: Start off at the Sheltered Ridge campsite. As you can see, this isn't far from the Ancient Cistern location. Facing south, drop down to find a cave entrance. Defeat a wild cat inside. Head inside to find a door covered with wooden planks. Using Lara's rope arrows, tear the wood away. Use Lara's ice axe to open the gate.
Follow the passage to a new camp. Exit the cave and follow the narrow cliff to the cliff, squeezing through the gap at the end. Jump across a large gap, latching onto and climbing the cliff wall to your left. Use ledges to get around the cliff face and continue climbing up. Cross over a narrow beam when you reach it. At the end, jump off the pillar and grab onto the rocks ahead. Head toward the right and then down to enter the tomb.
4. The Red Mine
Location: Soviet Installation
Reward: Bright Eyes. Improves Survival Instincts to cause nearby traps to glow automatically.
Precursors: This tomb is found in the Copper Mill Yard. The tomb's location lies in a locker room close to the area where Lara first learns how to make molotovs. Rope Arrows are required, so it's best to tackle this challenge during the Alone Again mission.
Tomb Entrance: Climb a small set of stairs nearby the area where Lara learned how to make molotovs. Look behind you to locate a ledge, marked by the map location above. Jump across to the ledge and turn to the left. You'll see yellow symbols and a green light. Drop down to the floor below. Walk up to the console in this room and hit it to open a door. This is your tomb entrance, so head right inside.
5. House of the Afflicted
Location: Geothermal Valley
Reward: Fast Healer. Bandage wounds more quickly when healing.
Precursors: This tomb comes up pretty early in the Geothermal Valley location. Right away, Lara will encounter a zip line, a cutscene, and a base camp. You follow a basic path to reach the tomb, passing the optional Defensive Strategy side mission along the way.
Tomb Entrance: Start at the Valley Farmstead Base Camp. Head north toward a dilapidated wooden bridge over the river and cross it. Use a rope swing to jump the gap. This brings to the map location above. You'll find an iron door with a small hole at its base, in the wall directly ahead of you. Crawl through the hole.
Wolves await you on the other side, so take care of them before proceeding toward the metal door and opening it. Turn right and follow the path up some stairs, squeeze through a rock gap halfway through, and find a new campsite. The tomb lies just beyond it.
6. Baths of Kitezh
Location: Geothermal Valley
Reward: Iron Grip. Climb ropes faster.
Precursors: Lara needs the Rebreather equipment before taking on this tomb. Like the Rope Arrows, this item comes with campaign progression. You'll acquire Rebreather in the Flooded Archives after two different gun fights. After the second one, you'll find yourself racing to escape flames above the water in a tunnel. Swim underneath these as quickly as possible to gain the Rebreather ability at the end of the sequence.
Tomb Entrance: Start off at the Ridgeline camp. Head east to cross the river, dropping down into a muddy pool afterward. Climb up to the other side to find a zip line that will take you to the ground. Turn around and enter the cave behind you, which corresponds to the location on the map above. Surprise! You've found a bear.
Lead the bear outside to defeat it. This may take some time, since bears are no pushovers in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Try head-shots at a distance and be prepared to dodge whenever the bear gets too close.
Head back to the cave. Toggle on Lara's Survival Instincts to highlight a weak, crumbling wall. Use your ice axe to break through it. You'll need to swim down a passageway, diving under a wall at one point. Head through a gap in the wall on the other end and climb onto a thin branch circling the area. Forward past water-gushing vents and up another wall lies your pre-tomb-exploration camp.
7. The Pit of Judgement
Location: Geothermal Valley
![Rise Rise](/uploads/1/1/7/7/117754809/570313073.jpg)
Reward: Geologist. Gain the ability to mine Chromite Ore.
Precursors: You'll need Lara's Axe Grapple skill for this tomb. You should have obtained this skill before reaching the Flooded Archives while following the path of the campaign. It would have occurred after a gunfight, using a rope arrow to cross a gap before jumping at hoops. The game prompts you to grab the hoops with your axe by tapping X so Lara can swing safely to the other side.
Tomb Entrance: Head northeast from the Ruins Encampment so you're facing a waterfall. Pass the waterfall by swimming underneath it. Turn left on the other side to find a series of stairs. Climb these flights to reach a cave. Inside, use the Axe Grapple ability to cross the gap. Squeeze through a small crack in the wall after this to find a cozy camp waiting for you with the tomb entrance just beyond it.
8. Catacomb of Sacred Waters
Location: Geothermal Valley
Reward: Anatomical Knowledge. Hunt animals with greater efficiency.
Precursors: Nothing special for this one. Just continue with your map progression until you've reached the Aqueduct Ruins camp.
Tomb Entrance: Start at the Aqueduct Ruins camp. Head east toward a cave, marked by the location on the map above. You'll need to jump into the water near camp, pull yourself out and onto a fallen log, and jump over to the cave from said log. Follow the cave's passageway. You'll need to slide down a slope, swim across a pond, and climb through another opening. Use rope arrows to get across the water. Follow a set of stairs and a spiral ramp beyond them to reach the tomb's camp.
9. Chamber of Exorcism
Location: The Lost City
Reward: Greek Fire. Fire arrows and Molotov Cocktails do more damage, even through armor.
Precursors: This final area features some heavy gunfights before Lara can reach the tomb. You can head straight for the tomb once you've reached the Threshold of Kitezh camp.
Tomb Entrance: Start at the Threshold of Kitezh camp. Drop down to the ruined city. You'll want to head toward the northeast corner of the city from here. Pass between two ruined pillars and enter a cave home to a polar bear. It hates you, so kill it, but be warned: he's no less dangerous and powerful than the last.
Use Lara's Survival Instinct once the bear is taken care of to find a weak wall. Like before, you'll smash through this using your ice axe. Run down the passageway. Dive into the water, swim through the tunnel directly ahead, and find your campsite.
Map Images Source: Patrick Garratt on VG247
Rise Of The Tomb Raider Ps4
Don't forget to check out my 9 Essential Beginner's Tips for Rise of the Tomb Raider in case you missed out on some crucial techniques! It might even help you react to those vicious animal ambushes.