Stella's Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Co-Op Walkthrough - For Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Windows PC & iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch*
Throughout this walkthrough I use abbreviations for north (N), northeast (NE), southwest (SW), etc., to give directions. There is no compass in this game, but just to make it easier to navigate on screen, we'll assume north is up, west is left, east is right and south is down. Outdoor levels include a map screen in the Inventory in case you get lost. Also, we played using the medium combat difficulty setting so your experiences may differ slightly on a different setting.
*Although the PC, console and iOS versions are similar, there are significant differences in a few areas. This walkthrough covers the original version but may also be helpful to iOS users.
Level 3: Spider Tomb (Two-Player Co-op) | Updated: 9/3/12(†) |
For the single-player walkthrough, please see here.
Score Challenges: 200K, 250K, 290K (Bonus: Fast Action Rifle)* Reward Challenges:
Artifacts: Clay Feather (x2), Stone Lizard, Stone Owl A complete list of artifacts, relics and weapons can be found here. |
NOTE: There is no in-game map for this level, but it's fairly linear, so hopefully you won't get lost. I may make a map later on.
TOMB ENTRANCE: There are health and ammo pickups near the start. You won't need these right away, but you can come back for them later.
SPIDER PIT: Head downstairs to a room with a golden handle and a pit. There are health and ammo pickups in the corners here. When you approach the gems at the edge of pit, a gazillion spiders—some merely large, a few gigantic—swarm out of the pit. Back away while shooting to make short work of them.
When the coast is clear, grab all the health and ammo you can carry and return to the pit. Pull the handle to raise a pillar with a golden ring on the other side of the pit. The first time you pull the handle, more spiders emerge, so deal with them. Then pull the handle again as far as it will go. Then have Lara grapple the ring so Totec can quickly tightrope walk across the pit before the handle and pillar retract. (screenshot) After the ring retracts, Lara can then grapple Totec, jump into the gap and climb up to the other side.
FIRST COUNTERWEIGHT: Continue along the brown walkway to the NW. When you smash the clay urn to get the ammo inside, a few more large spiders attack. Shoot them and go on. Where the walkway splits, head to the left first to get some gems. Then backtrack and go to the right.
Have Lara grapple the golden ring on the wall, swing over to the left and jump down to the ledge below. (screenshot) Totec should then jump off the ledge toward Lara so she can grapple him in mid-air and pull him up. (screenshot) If you haven't already unlocked the "Leap of Faith" achievement/trophy, you'll get it here.
Move to the end of this ledge and have either character jump to grab the FIRST COUNTERWEIGHT (i.e., the dreidl-looking structure with the short ladder on it dangling in mid air). Your character's weight pulls it down, causing a bridge far below to partially extend. After the brief cut scene, have the other character follow. Then both can jump from the counterweight down to the ledge on the left. (screenshot)
Continue to the left. At the corner, several large spiders attack. Shoot them and continue.
SPIDER AMBUSH: Step on the pressure pad to open the door ahead. When you enter the next room, the door closes behind you and many large and giant spiders drop from the ceiling and surround you.
When the coast is clear, pick up the gems and the red skull (1/10) in the north corner behind the big ball. (screenshot) There are also 2 breakable urns here with a health and ammo inside. To get out, roll the ball onto the circular fire pit and then jump over the ball to exit this room safely.
FIRST CHALLENGE TOMB: Follow the passage SW and descend into a room with a HEALTH SHRINE and the red-lit entrance to the CHALLENGE TOMB. Top up your health if necessary and enter the tomb. Pick up the FLAMETHROWER sitting on the carved tile in the middle of the room (screenshot) and immediately equip it and use it to toast the swarm of large spiders that surround you. Gather some gems, health and ammo as well. Then return to the main area.
FIRST ROLLING BALL TRAP: Go downstairs to the SE. Here you'll find a breakable urn with ammo inside and a trap with a huge ball rolling around an axle. This is the site of a Reward Challenge: Achieve a hole-in-one. To beat the challenge, you need to use a bomb to catapult the ball into the circular fire pit on the right.
Here's how: Carefully drop a bomb anywhere near the trap's axle. Then move out of the way. Stand at the lower corner of the room so you can see the whole trap. Now imagine the rolling ball is a clock face, and the fire pit is 6:00. When the ball rolls around to about 7:00, detonate the bomb. This detaches the ball from the mechanism, and momentum keeps it rolling right onto the fire pit and earns you a HEALTH POWERUP. (If you need a visual, check out these screenshots and video walkthrough from the single player game. It works the same way in both versions.)
NOTE: In the single-player game, if you don't get the hole-in-one the first time, it's not a problem. After the fight (next paragraph), you can try bombing the ball onto the fire pit again. As long as you bomb the ball instead of pushing it, it counts. This didn't work for us in the co-op game. I'm not sure if this was a glitch or if you need a perfect hole-in-one to beat the challenge.
When you destroy the trap, an ogre leaps down from the alcove on the right, and many large and giant spiders drop in as well. If you got the hole-in-one, more large and giant spiders, plus a second ogre, will appear as well. These are triggered when you plug the fire pit. Spiders are very vulnerable to flames, but ogres are practically immune. So you may want to have one player concentrate on burning the spiders while the other shoots the ogres. Also, if you retreat up the stairs, more spiders appear near the HEALTH SHRINE.
NOTE: If you don't care about the Reward Challenge, you'll probably want to blow up the trap, fight the first wave of enemies that appear, then push the ball onto the fire pit to trigger the second set of enemies.
After the fight, pick up any health and/or ammo the ogres drop. Then have Totec raise his shield or throw a spear into the wall so Lara can use it for a boost onto the NE ledge. There you'll find an AMMO UPGRADE. (screenshot) Then jump over the ball in the fire pit and proceed.
SECOND COUNTERWEIGHT: Follow the walkway around the corner and downstairs to the NE, killing more large spiders as you go. At the end of the walkway, have either character jump to grab the SECOND COUNTERWEIGHT and climb on top of it. This extends the bridge a little farther and lowers another weight to the right. Have the second character climb up onto the counterweight. Then both can jump over to the second weight and from there to the walkway below on the right. (screenshot)
Follow this walkway SE to a T intersection, where a giant spider and a few of her babies attack. Deal with them and then go left (SW), up a flight of stairs.
TRIPLE ROLLING BALL TRAP: Here we have a variation on the ball-and-axle trap with 3 rolling balls. As the on-screen message indicates, this is where you can attempt the Reward Challenge: 12 leaps over the triple trap. Basically one character needs to jump 12 times over the spokes connecting the axle and balls. You don't need to do them consecutively, you can move in and out of the trap and pause between jumps if necessary, and it's OK if you take a little damage in the process. (Check this short video walkthrough to see it done.) The reward is an AMMO POWERUP for both players.
Smash the urn on the left to get the health pack inside. There are also 3 red skulls (2, 3 and 4/10) sitting in plain sight. (screenshot) If you destroy the trap with a bomb first, you can easily get them, along with some gems and a Clay Feather Artifact (- defense, + speed) hidden inside the axle. (screenshot) Then return downstairs and continue to the NE.
Step on the pressure pad to open the door. Enter and carefully run over the 3 sets of spikes not already extended to trigger them and pick up the gems on top. When all have popped up, the bars on the left open so you can retrieve a red skull (5/10). (screenshot) Grab the health and ammo pickups and continue down the stairs.
HUGE SPIKE FIELD – BETTER MOUSETRAP ACHIEVEMENT/TROPHY: The floor of this room is covered with spiked tiles. As with the smaller trap in the room upstairs, stepping on any of the tiles with retracted spikes causes the spikes to pop up a moment later. So the only way to cross is to keep moving onto tiles that haven't been activated yet.
If you just want to get out of the room, all you need to do is have each player move through the spikes onto one of the square pressure pads. When both are depressed, the exit on the NW wall opens. Wait for the spikes to retract again and then carefully run off.
If you want to collect the 4 red skulls (6, 7, 8 and 9/10), you'll need to carefully run over each skull in turn, choosing a path that doesn't run into any activated spikes. It's not too hard if you go after them one at a time. The activated spikes can then retract between each attempt.
In order to open the entrance to the CHALLENGE TOMB at the top of the room, you'll need to activate all the spikes at once. Doing so also unlocks the "Beat a Better Mousetrap" achievement/trophy.
When we played this co-op level, my son and I found it much easier to have one player activate all the spikes alone. Otherwise, we'd usually miss something or accidentally run into each other or the spikes. This first map shows one possible path for doing so. The gray squares represents the pressure pads, the red shaded tiles are the ones with permanently raised spikes, and the red dots are the skulls. Follow the green path, moving as quickly as you can, and when you reach the carved tile, all the spikes will be raised, you'll have all the skulls, the CHALLENGE TOMB door will open, and you will have unlocked the achievement/trophy for both players. The spikes then retract so you can run to safety, but watch out; they will pop up again as you pass. (These screenshots and short video walkthrough also show the sequence. These are from the single-player game, but the basic process is the same. There are also several other YouTube videos showing different paths across the spikes.)
If you want to try working together, the second map shows one possible way for two players to activate all spikes, get all the red skulls and open the CHALLENGE TOMB and exit doors at the same time. (Thanks to mulh for sharing this strategy and making the map.)
SECOND CHALLENGE TOMB: Inside you'll find a deep pit with a small, L-shaped path made of spiked tiles on the right. Have Totec throw a spear into the wall on the other side of the pit, just to the left of the last spiked tile. Then Lara can run across the spikes, triggering them behind her, and quickly jump onto the spear Totec just threw. Then wait for the spikes to retract, hop down onto them and race back to the start. Activating all of the spikes opens the barred alcove on the left so you can get a Stone Lizard Artifact (- defense, + bomb). Return to the room with the spiked floor. (These screenshots from the single-player game show how to do it.)
LONG, BROKEN STAIRCASE: Leave the spike room through the doorway to the NW. There are 4 urns in this narrow, dark hallway. Smash them to get 2 health and 2 ammo. Then head down the long staircase to the left (SW). Jump the wide gap in the middle of the stairs and continue to the bottom.
A swarm of spiders attacks here. Bomb or flambé them. Then have Lara grapple Totec and either lower him over the edge or lower herself down while Totec stands above. Rappel down just far enough to snag the HEALTH UPGRADE and then quickly climb back onto the walkway as more spiders appear. (screenshot) Kill them and continue along the walkway to the left.
A few more spiders crawl onto the walkway near the corner. Then, as you enter the open area ahead, several large and giant spiders drop from the ceiling, as a few more crawl up from below. Again, if you have ammo, the flamethrower is the weapon of choice. Otherwise, use guns or spears and bombs.
When the coast is clear, move to the NW edge of this platform, where you'll find 2 urns containing health and ammo.
THIRD COUNTERWEIGHT: Have Totec throw a spear into the huge, spiked column ahead so Lara can hop onto it. Then, while Lara is perching on the spear, have Totec step on the square pressure pad to start the whole column turning. Lara can then ride the spear around to the opposite ledge (NW) and jump off. Then have her step on the second pressure pad to lower the column so Totec can leap across. (screenshots)
Go to the top of the ramp and have either character jump to grab the THIRD COUNTERWEIGHT. Again, their weight pulls it down, fully extending the bridge below and retracting the spikes in front of it.
If you manage to extend the bridge 4 minutes or less, you'll beat the Reward Challenge and receive the Two Arrows of Tezcatlipoca Relic (Health Regeneration & Scatter Shot).
Hop back down onto the ramp. Step on the pressure pad to lower the spiked column again. Then both characters can jump onto it, run across the top and jump back down to the platform on the other side (SE).
THE SPIDER QUEEN: Holy Shelob, Batman! It's a spider the size of a mini-van! She's scary as hell, but if you concentrate your fire—whether it's bullets, spears, flames or a combination of all three—it won't take long to destroy her and her minions. (screenshot) When she explodes, she leaves ammo and health behind. You'll also beat the Reward Challenge: Defeat Leglion, Queen of all Spiders and receive another Clay Feather Artifact for your efforts.
When it's over, if you still need health/ammo, you can return up the long staircase to the NE, jump the gap and break those urns in the dark hallway for goodies—provided you didn't already do so.
BACKTRACK FOR ANOTHER RELIC: This is strictly optional, but if you want 100% completion, return upstairs, through the spike room to the area with the triple ball trap. It's directly above the platform where you defeated the Spider Queen. Head to the NW corner of the triple-trap area and take a running jump down to the ledge below. From here, the SECOND COUNTERWEIGHT is on the right. Head away from it to the left and retrace your steps, through the room with the FIRST ROLLING BALL TRAP, all the way back to the FIRST COUNTERWEIGHT. (In case you get disoriented, these screenshots show the way. These were taken in the single-player game, but the route is exactly the same.)
Now, when you jump onto the weight, it sinks farther than before. The second weight also lowers so all 3 counterweights are aligned on the same level. When the weights stop moving, jump over to the square pillar on the right to get the Scepter of Cihuacoatl Relic (Ammo Regeneration). When you have it, jump together down to the staircase on the right. It looks too far to jump, but if you both jump at the same time you can make it without injury. This staircase is leads back up to the platform where you fought the Spider Queen and down toward the bridge.
WARNING: In the co-op game the jump from the platform down to the stairs is a little more difficult than in the single-player game. You need to time it so both characters jump at the same time. If one character jumps while the other remains on the platform, the jumper won't be able to jump far enough and will die. We learned this the hard way. ;) If it's too complicated, or you don't want to risk dying and losing the points, just jump back across the platforms and ledges counter-clockwise to the top of the stairs.
AREA BEFORE BRIDGE: At the bottom of the stairs are four support columns, one of which has the final red skull (10/10) on top of it. To reach it, have Totec throw a couple of spears into the wall between the rightmost columns—one from the staircase and one at floor level. Then Lara can jump up the spears to reach the skull. (screenshot) If you've found all the others, you'll receive a Stone Owl Artifact (- weapon, + defense).
EXTREMELY SCARY DRAWBRIDGE: Now comes the final trap before the end of the level. Move out onto the drawbridge, which should now be fully extended. When you do, the bridge begins to retract and an enormous spiked roller descends. Looks like it's going to be pâté à la Croft with a side dish of Totec-a-mole unless you think fast. Have Lara grapple the golden ring above the roller so Totec can walk up the cable to the small, wooden platform above. Once he's up there, have him plant a bomb next to the golden gears and then jump back down. Move back from the roller and detonate the bomb. (screenshots)
When it explodes, the roller detaches and comes barreling toward you. Immediately run to the end of the bridge or to either side and hang from the edge. The roller will pass safely overhead. Pull up and continue to the end of the bridge to exit the level.
Alternatively, have Lara plant another bomb midway along the bridge. Then, after Totec sets off his bomb and the roller detaches, wait for the roller to pass over Lara's bomb and then detonate it. The roller will be blown up into the air so you can both roll under it and continue to the exit.
*NOTE ON SCORE CHALLENGE: This is one of the hardest levels in which to achieve the maximum score challenge. We weren't even able to come close in co-op mode, but it's a little easier in the single-player game. If you're having trouble, try keeping your relic meters maxed out throughout the level. This provides score bonuses for every enemy you kill. If you destroy the huge horde of spiders at the beginning of the level without taking any damage, your relic meters should be at maximum early on. Then make sure you aren't injured. If you do get hit and your relic meter resets to zero, quit and reload at the last checkpoint so the relic meter is full again. If all else fails, replay in single-player mode and be sure to keep that relic meter maxed.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 10/20/10 - Co-op walkthrough first posted. For complete update history for this level, see the single-player version.
1/9/11 - Screenshots added and a few minor edits made, no major changes to strategy.
9/3/12 - Added warning about returning from the Scepter of Cihuacoatl Relic.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to my son, Preciousgoo, for his assistance with the Better Mousetrap achievement, not to mention his hella good sportsmanship in co-op. Thanks also to Clara from the Eidos forums and Captain Alban's TR site for info on the Two Arrows relic; to Justin D. and Hunter W., for their triple-trap and hole-in-one challenge tips, respectively; and to Flacks a.k.a. Dave for letting me know about the second relic.
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