This page pertains only to Tomb Raider: Legend. For other Tomb Raider games, please see here.

Tombraiders.net is not responsible for anything that happens to your computer as a result of downloading files or following advice given on this site or any linked site. I recommend taking the same precautions you would with any file you download from the Internet, including scanning the file with an anti-virus program, backing up your existing files before installing new ones, and following the instructions below, especially if you are unfamiliar with this process.

WHAT ARE SAVEGAME FILES?

Every time you pass a checkpoint or save your game in the Pause menu while playing Tomb Raider: Legend, a file is created containing all the information about your game so far—Lara's inventory, enemies killed, rewards found, etc. These savegame files are coded so that the game program can "read" them. When you reload an earlier save, your computer interprets the savegame file and restores Lara and her world to the way it was at the most recent checkpoint.

Savegame files are named in a consistent format with a .dat file extension. The name of each save file includes the elapsed game time (in hours, minutes and seconds), the level location and the percentage of the game completed thus far. For example, a save file from the middle of the Japan level might be called "02.16.21 - Japan - 30%.dat".

Players using the PC version of the game can trade saves with other players just as we would share text files, pictures or other documents—by saving the files on a disk, sending them as email attachments or placing them on a web server to be downloaded. The following explains how to download and install these files.

WHAT ARE .ZIP FILES?

All the PC savegame files on this site come in .zip files. A .zip file (also called a .zip archive) is like a digital "envelope" containing other files. Using .zip archives lets me group savegame files together in one convenient "package," such as a group of saves for a given level. Also, since the data in .zip files is compressed, the files are smaller and download more quickly.

HOW DO I DOWNLOAD A SAVEGAME FILE?

1. Click any of the file links on my savegame download page. (There are also a few links to savegame files throughout the walkthroughs, such as following boss fights, etc.)
   
   
2. A dialog box will pop up asking if you want to Open or Save the file, or Cancel the download. Choose the 'Save' option.
   
   
3. Another dialog box will pop up asking where on your computer you would like to save the downloaded file. It doesn't matter where you save it, but I'd recommend using a location that's easy to remember so you can find the file after it has downloaded. (I like to download onto the Windows Desktop.) Choose the location you want and click the 'Save' button to start downloading the file.
   
   
4. A new box will pop up showing the progress of the download. You may need to click a button to close the box when the download is complete.
   
   

HOW DO I GET THE SAVE FILES OUT OF THE .ZIP FILE AND INTO MY GAME?

All but the last step should be done when the Tomb Raider game is not running.

1. Locate your existing Legend save files: If you have a shortcut to the 'My Documents' folder on your desktop, just double-click it to open it. Otherwise, click on the Start menu, then right-click 'My Documents' and choose 'Open' from the drop-down menu. This should open the 'My Documents' folder.
   
   
2. Double click on the 'Tomb Raider - Legend' folder within the 'My Documents' folder to open it.
   
   
3. Double click on the 'Saved Games' folder within the 'Tomb Raider - Legend' folder to open it. Now you should see all your existing save files. (These have names like "01.23.45 - Location - 00%.dat", where the first set of numbers is the elapsed game time, the location is Bolivia, Peru, Japan, etc., followed by the percentage of the game completed.)
   
   
4. Next, leave the Saved Games folder open and return to the .zip file you downloaded.
   
   
5. Windows XP and Vista (the operating systems on which Legend was designed to run) opens .zip files automatically when you double-click them. Do that now. Inside the .zip folder, you will see one or more .dat files (the actual savegame files) and a text file containing additional information about the particular saves, this site, etc.
   
   
6. Select the .dat files you want from inside the .zip file. Then copy and paste them into the Saved Games folder you opened in steps 1-3. Or, if you can position both windows so they're open at the same time, just drag the .dat files from one to the other. (Note that some of my files have been renamed with the corresponding checkpoints from my walkthrough, so they will look a little different from your own saves.)
   
   
7. Close all open files. Then start the game as usual. From Legend's Main Menu, select Load/Save, then Load Existing Saved Game, then choose the save you want from the list and press Enter. The new save should load and you can play on from there.
   
   

BACKING UP YOUR EXISTING SAVES:

One additional note: If you have been saving your game as you play, you will already have some files in your Saved Games folder. In theory, you can have an unlimited number of files here; however, Legend only allows for 50 save files to be displayed in-game. If you have more than that, some will not be visible. The game warns you when you've reached this limit by displaying a message saying you must delete or overwrite existing saves in order to save again.

Once you've reached the maximum of 50 files, you may want to create a separate folder, either within the Saved Games folder or elsewhere, and move or copy some of your save files into it. Then, if you want to load them later, move them back into the Saved Games folder, as described above.

I always back up my saved files on a memory stick or disk, just in case something goes wrong with my game or my computer. Then I can reinstall the game if necessary and restore my save files so I don't have to start all over.

If your questions weren't answered on this page, or if you have suggestions for how to improve this savegame 'walkthrough,' please feel free to email or use the Contact Form on this site.

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