Obtaining salvage points

Lara's equipment - Tomb Raider Game Guide

Strategy Guide and Walkthrough by Jacek "Stranger" Halas gamepressure.com

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Salvage points act as currency in the game, because they are spent to buy upgrades described later in this chapter. I suggest starting collecting those points from the very beginning, because in order to unlock the best upgrades you'll need big amounts of salvage points. Typical methods of obtaining them are:

• Destroying of all kinds of salvage crates and caches - You can start searching for those containers after getting the pry axe at the beginning of the game. Each container holds from a dozen to several dozen salvage points. It is worth noting that some salvage containers are in bags hung on ropes and in order to check their contents, you have first to set fire to the bag (e.g. suing the torch or the fire arrow).
• Opening large crates and lockers.
• Exploring optional tombs - This is very profitable action, because exploration of each tomb (i.e. getting to the treasure chest) is associated with receiving as much as 250 salvage points.
• Examining bodies of defeated enemies - You can also add here animals, but in this case you need to but Bone Collector skill first.

After collecting bigger amount of salvage points, you can go to any campsite and select the last tab, beginning the shopping. Important information is fact, that many upgrades are initially inaccessible and they are unlocked only after obtaining a particular weapon or other part of Lara's equipment.
It is worth noting that some of the skills in the previous section allow increasing salvage points obtained for performing certain actions, such as destroying salvage crates or caches. It would be good to unlock such skills as fast as possible, in order to collect greater amounts of salvage points from the very beginning.

Brawler category skills

Skills - Tomb Raider Game Guide

Strategy Guide and Walkthrough by Jacek "Stranger" Halas gamepressure.com

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SKILL NAME	HOW SKILL WORKS	NOTE
Pain Tolerance	Fewer injuries in the fight.	It is priority to quickly buy this skill only on the highest difficulty setting. On lower difficulty setting you do not have to buy it right away, but it can save your life many times.
Dirty Tricks	Blinding enemies in the melee fight.	This skill can help you in starting phase of the gameplay but later on you should rely on dodges connected with axe attacks.
Axe Strikes	Stunning enemies with an axe.	This skill unlocks automatically after spending 7 skill points on novice skills, i.e. those available from the very beginning.
Axe Expert	Stunning or killing enemies with an axe.	This is more advanced version of the previous skill and the main difference is the possibility to use an axe not only to stun enemies, but also to kill them (melee fight and stealth kills). I recommend buying this skill, because melee fights are very often.
Dodge Counter	Piercing opponent's knee with an arrow to slow down his moves.	Contrary to appearances, this skill is not useless, because the ability to slow down enemies is very useful in fights with armored bandits, i.e. those with spears and shields.
Dodge Kill	Executing light armored enemies after a successful dodge.	It is worth to buy this skill, because melee fights are very often.
Dodge Kill Mastery	Executing enemies after a successful dodge.	The main difference between this skill and the previous one is that you can get rid of harder armored enemies. I definitely recommend buying this skill, because it makes eliminating toughest bandits ea

Hunter category skills

Skills - Tomb Raider Game Guide

Strategy Guide and Walkthrough by Jacek "Stranger" Halas gamepressure.com

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SKILL NAME	HOW SKILL WORKS	NOTE
Steady Shot	Increases bow aiming time.	This skill is very useful, but only if you plan to stealth kill enemies using a bow, because the longer time of aiming is needed then mostly.
Ammo Capacity	Carrying more ammo.	Do not ignore this skill because Lara by default can carry only small amounts of ammo. It can be problematic during large battles, forcing you to change weapons or looting dead enemies, which is very dangerous during the fight.
Heavy Lifter	Carrying max ammo amount.	I suggest buying this skill only at the end of the game and only when you have problems with ammo in larger battles despite having previous skill.
Accomplished Killer	Additional XP for spectacular killing enemies.	It is worth to unlock this skill quite early, so right from the beginning of the adventure you'll get more XP for basic actions. Spectacular actions are headshots, attacks after successful dodging and stealth kills.
Bow Expert	Additional XP for finishing enemies with arrows. Also makes aiming at the head using a bow easier.	This is one of better skills within this category, so it would be good to buy it. A chance to murder the opponent with an arrow on a short distance appears after successful dodge.
Pistol Expert	Additional XP for finishing enemies with a gun on a short distance. Also makes aiming at the head using a gun easier.	This skill is not as useful as other three within this category, but this doesn't mean that you should ignore it completely. A chance to shoot the opponent on a short distance appears after successful dodge.
Rifle Expert	Additional XP for finishing enemies with a rifle on a short distance.	This is one of best skill within this category, so it would be good to buy it. A chance to shoot the opponent on a short distance appears after successful dodge.
Shotgun Expert	Additional XP for finishing enemies with a shotgun on a short distance.	This is one of best skill within this category, so it would be good to buy it. A chance to shoot the opponent on a short distance appears after successful dodge.

Survivor category skills

Skills - Tomb Raider Game Guide

Strategy Guide and Walkthrough by Jacek "Stranger" Halas gamepressure.com

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SKILL NAME	HOW SKILL WORKS	NOTE
Animal Instincts	Highlights interactive plants and animals which can be hunted.	It is relatively useful skill. Plants can be found without problems, if you carefully explore all new locations. This skill helps during hunting but in fact you do not really need it.
Survivalist	More XP for finding plants and harvesting animals.	It is worth to unlock this skill quite early, so right from the beginning of the adventure you'll get more XP for basic actions.
Advanced Salvaging	Additional salvage points for finding salvage crates and caches.	It is a good idea to invest early in this skill, because further in the game you'll gain access to upgrades which require large quantities of salvage points.
Bone Collector	Additional salvage points for harvesting hunted animals.	It is a good idea to invest early in this skill, because further in the game you'll gain access to upgrades which require large quantities of salvage points.
Arrow Retrieval	Retrieving arrows through examining bodies of killed enemies or animals.	It is not a priority to quickly buy this skill, even if you like a bow. That's because during the gameplay Lara can find many arrow storages.
Scavenging	Additional ammo through examining bodies of killed enemies.	It is not a priority to quickly buy this skill, but it can be useful in fights in the end phase of the gameplay, because it is hard to find ammo then.
Climber's Agility	Increases climbing skill and decreases injuries when falling from high height.	You do not have to hurry with buying this skill, because Lara can easily cope without it. You also do not have to worry about falling from high heights, because the game is very tolerate in this subject.
Orienteering	Finding secrets hidden in the nearby areas.	This is quite useful skill, which could be bought quite soon even if you plan to find all secrets using this guide.
Cartography	Discovering locations of all optional tombs and treasure maps.	If you plan to use this guide to find secrets, you can skip buying this skill. Otherwise you can unlock it at the end phase of the game.

Unlocking skills

Skills - Tomb Raider Game Guide

Strategy Guide and Walkthrough by Jacek "Stranger" Halas gamepressure.com

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In the game there are dozens of skills divided into three categories. New skills can be unlocked each time you gain a new experience level, so you got a required number of experience points. Experience points are obtained for completing different objectives and performing different activities, but most important of them are:

• Completing received tasks - the reward for this is mostly 100 XP, but in case of more important missions you can get more valuable rewards, even up to 1000 XP.
• Eliminating enemies - the game rewards each successful elimination, although in order to get more points you should try to spectacularly deal with opponents (headshots, surprise attacks, stealth kills, etc.).
• Exploring the optional tombs - this is very profitable action, because exploration of each tomb (i.e. getting to the treasure chest) is associated with receiving as much as 1250 XP.
• Finding secrets - each secret category has different factor, but usually you get between 5 and 25 XP for finding the secret. It is worth to collect secret sets (e.g. all relic vases), because you can get an extra bonuses for that (from 150 up to 500 XP).

But that's not all. Experience points can be also obtained by taking care of less important issues, such as:

• Killing and harvesting animals - each species means different bonus and usually it is from a few to few dozens of XP. Note - In every major location of the island it would be good to kill animals until you get information about "cleansing" the hunting area, because starting from this moment each kill awards you only 1 XP.
• Finding orange boxes
• Finding interactive plants

It is worth noting that some of the skills described later in this chapter allow to increase XP obtained for performing certain actions, such as killing enemies with headshots or harvesting killed animals. It would be good to unlock such skills as fast as possible, in order to collect greater amounts of XP from the very beginning.

Regardless of the way you obtained XP required for the next experience level, you have to go back to any of discovered campsites and then select the first tab from a list. However you do not need to hurry, because the obtained skill point will not be lost, even if buying a new skill will be postponed.

PlayStation 3

Controls - Tomb Raider Game Guide

Strategy Guide and Walkthrough by Jacek "Stranger" Halas gamepressure.com

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	Move
	Rotate Camera
	Look
	Zoom Aim (chosen weapons)
	Jump
	Dodge; Roll
	Action; Reload
	Melee; Finisher
	Equip Weapon
	Equip Weapon
	Equip Weapon
	Equip Weapon
	Survival Instincts
	Aim
	Alternate Fire; Attack
	Fire; Attack
	Objectives and Map; Player Status
	Pause

Xbox 360

Controls - Tomb Raider Game Guide

Strategy Guide and Walkthrough by Jacek "Stranger" Halas gamepressure.com

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	Move
	Rotate Camera
	Look
	Zoom Aim (chosen weapons)
	Jump
	Dodge; Roll
	Action; Reload
	Melee; Finisher
	Equip Weapon
	Equip Weapon
	Equip Weapon
	Equip Weapon
	Survival Instincts
	Aim
	Alternate Fire; Attack
	Fire; Attack
	Objectives and Map, Player Status
	Pause