RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER – GUIDE TO EXPEDITIONS
Updated: 12/10/16(†)
Special thanks to Treeble for contributing this walkthrough. Visit his site, Raider Daze, for more Tomb Raider info.
Expeditions represent a series of new gameplay modes introduced in Rise of the Tomb Raider, aiming to extend the replay value of the game. Whether or not they're a more suitable addition to the Tomb Raider experience is up to you.
The Expeditions Mode can be accessed from the Main Menu at any given moment, although it is in your best interest to only do so after you have cleared the story at least once as the chapters are unlocked as you progress in the campaign.
Types of Expeditions:
Common to all Expeditions is the possibility of using Expedition Cards to add modifiers to your experience. Although available for purchase through microtransactions, you can build a notable collection of Expedition Cards with Credits earned in-game. The next section includes more information on the Card System.
Hardcore completionists might also be interested in a complete list of Expedition Challenges. We also offer a handy simplified guide to all trophies and achievements that are directly tied to non-DLC Expeditions below.
When setting up any Expedition, you are offered the chance to pick up to five Expedition Cards and five Expedition Challenges. To properly use this system, it is necessary to have an active internet connection at all times.
There are different types of Expedition Cards for different purposes. You might want to play a session with all skills unlocked, or with a weapon fully upgraded, or perhaps with a different outfit. Any time you equip a card, its modifier always replaces what would otherwise be default gear for that chapter.
Each card also has a score modifier. Cards that make gameplay easier subtract points from your overall score. Cards that make gameplay more challenging add points to your overall score. So the combination of your selected cards will definitely have an impact on your position on the leaderboards and also on your performance toward Gold medals in Score Attack.
You should be aware, however, that while cards like weapons and outfits are permanent and can be used infinite times, most of the other cards are consumable and can only be used once. A permanent card can be identified by its gold borders and characteristic "shine", simulating the foil effect of physical card games.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Your card inventory and credits are not stored locally but rather on Square Enix servers.
There are several ways to earn Expedition Cards. By simply playing through the campaign, you receive a handful card pack gifts. By completing Expedition Challenges and earning medals in Score Attack, you earn Credits which in turn are solely used to by card packs.
From the main menu, you can access the in-game Shop (also referred to as Marketplace). From here, you also have quick access to the premium DLC listed on the digital store of your platform. There are eight different card packs available in the Shop:
Although the option to use real life money to purchase the packs exists (the infamous microtransactions), it is not ever necessary. In-game credits are plentiful and there's no real benefit in spending money on card packs.
You can max out your inventory by solely purchasing Bronze Packs. Once you have all common cards, the game will start pushing uncommon and rare cards until you eventually can't buy any more packs until you use (or sell) some of the consumable cards. Although this is not factually proven and exceptions occur, it seems you can have up to 4 copies of a same consumable card at any given moment in your collection.
Worth noting that every piece of premium DLC comes with a card pack specific to said DLC content. These cards are permanent and cannot be obtained in any other way. There are reports that the occasional card packs might glitch and not be gifted upon installation of the add-on content. While far from being the ideal fix, a workaround exists to try and force the server to push the content again.
For a complete list of Expedition Cards, please refer to WikiRaider.
When setting up any Expedition, you are offered the chance to pick up to five Expedition Cards and five Expedition Challenges. To properly use this system, it is necessary to have an active internet connection at all times.
Challenges are likely the best way to gather in-game Credits. Once you clear a challenge, it goes into a "cooldown" of 9 hours, meaning you can't repeat it right away to easily amass Credits. This shouldn't be an issue, however, as choices are plenty.
Each level has its own set of challenges, with a total of well over 700 Expedition Challenges across all modes. Generally speaking, you will find a lot of similar challenges, such as "Speed Runner" and "Pickup Collector", so we won't cover every challenge in detail.
Please see this separate page for a complete list of all Expedition Challenges, as well as the Credits Reward tied to each one. The vast majority of challenges can only be completed through Score Attack, but a handful of them are specific to Chapter Replay modes and are noted as such. Challenges for the Expedition DLC, such as Endurance, Cold Darkness Awakened, and Lara's Nightmare, are also included.
We encourage you to experiment with different combinations of Cards for specific Challenges, but you might find additional help and opinions from fellow players in forums, such as the official Square Enix Forums or Tomb Raider Forums.
Score Attack is the heart of the Expeditions mode, and the mode in which you'll find yourself spending the majority of your time if you're hunting down all achievements/trophies of the game.
Essentially, you're looking at a Chapter Replay on steroids, or rather, with an arcade spin to it. Levels are filled with floating blue flames called wisps, which not only add up to your score but also build up a chain combo.
This chain depletes rather quickly, so you have to keep on the move, making sure you score additional points to keep it going. Other than time, your chain meter is also compromised whenever you take damage, so it takes both skill and luck to achieve high scores.
However, don't fret just yet. Remember the Expedition Cards? Yes, this is where they will prove most useful. It will still take some effort, so don't take anything for granted. A combination of good cards, patience and experience is the best strategy to beat this mode, but here are some tips that can help you in the long run:
Here is a complete list of the total scores needed for gold medals in each level:
LEVEL | PAR TIME | GOLD SCORE TARGET |
The Prophet's Tomb | 10:30 | 165000 |
Siberian Wilderness | 08:30 | 220000 |
Lost Expedition | 05:00 | 29000 |
Soviet Installation | 07:30 | 150000 |
Ancient Cistern | 05:30 | 20000 |
Soviet Gulag | 14:00 | 130000 |
Voice of God | 05:00 | 11000 |
Return to the Wicked Vale (DLC)* | 05:30 | 32000 |
Witch's Cave (DLC)* | 15:20 | 32000 |
The Copper Mill | 11:00 | 700000 |
The Red Mine | 07:00 | 9000 |
The Prophet's Blessing | 13:30 | 230000 |
House of the Afflicted | 08:50 | 11000 |
The Village | 07:00 | 230000 |
Catacomb of Sacred Waters | 06:00 | 8000 |
The Acropolis | 05:00 | 160000 |
The Tower | 07:00 | 110000 |
The Pit of Judgment | 06:00 | 6000 |
Approaching Storm | 08:30 | 143000 |
Flooded Archives | 10:00 | 250000 |
Baths of Kitezh | 10:30 | 12000 |
Research Base | 15:10 | 160000 |
The Orrery | 05:00 | 12000 |
Path of the Deathless | 09:30 | 80000 |
Gate of Kitezh | 09:30 | 44000 |
Chamber of Exorcism | 07:30 | 5000 |
Outskirts of Kitezh | 17:30 | 150000 |
The Lost City | 06:30 | 29000 |
Chamber of Souls | 11:00 | 85000 |
*Return to the Wicked Vale and Witch's Cave are part of the Baba Yaga: Temple of the Witch DLC.
Although you will be tempted to start from the very top, I'd suggest starting with 'Lost Expedition', without any score modifier cards. Generally speaking, all challenge tomb levels have very low score requirements and you can get great time bonuses by simply completing them as quickly as possible (although you still have to follow the blue wisps and shoot lanterns to keep your chain multiplier going).
To see how it's done, check out this YouTube video walkthrough.
By achieving medals, you earn in-game Credits and the occasional card pack gift. In your attempts for Gold score, I'd suggest sticking to Expedition Challenges such as "Pickup Collector" or "Chain Reaction", as otherwise they might become a distraction.
Best of luck!
Remnant Resistance offers players a chance to design short missions by combining different objectives and Expedition Card loadouts. You can either design your own or browse the latest submissions to take part in a weekly competition in which the highest scoring player earns a Credits reward.
In order to make the most of designing your missions, you need to finish a total of 30 missions to unlock every Remnant Resistance Card. At first, your options will be very limited so you can start slow and steady and progressively unlock harder objective cards.
These are the different elements used in designing a mission:
When you're done, you then have to beat the mission you've just designed before it gets submitted to the servers. A mission remains active on the server for 7 days, starting from the moment it is submitted.
Objective cards come in four difficulties, and human-based cards offer four additional variants which determine the types of enemies (should you like to fight some Deathless or Infected enemies instead). Depending on your objective, you can earn additional bonuses for completing the objectives stealthily, or not taking any damage, or not killing anyone at all.
If you'd rather play than design, you can browse the currently available missions using two different filters. You can take part in missions ending sooner so you can try and reap more immediate rewards, or you can browse through difficulty so you can find something closer to your liking.
When you select a mission, you will be presented all cards pertaining to it before you can commit. Upon the end of each round, your performance is evaluated and at the end, your final score is submitted to the leaderboard of that specific mission, so you can track how you've averaged in comparison to other participants.
There isn't a "search" function, but you can filter by missions you've played, should you want to track how other players are faring in a mission you've successfully cleared. As you have to clear your own missions before submitting them, you'll also find missions you've designed listed under this filter.
To wrap things up, here is a quick rundown of all achievements and trophies directly tied to Score Attack and other non-DLC Expedition Modes.
PC/XBO | X360 | PS4 | |
Iron Will: Complete a level in Score Attack using 5 cards | X | X | |
My Own Worst Enemy: Complete a level in Score Attack with a card bonus of 200% or more | X | X | X |
That All You Got?: Complete 3 Replay Challenges in one Score Attack level | X | X | X |
Way to Go: Complete every level in Score Attack with a bronze score or better | X | X | X |
Gilded: Complete a level in Score Attack with a gold score | X | X | X |
Well Begun is Half Done: Complete 10 levels in Score Attack with a gold score | X | X | X |
Golden Child: Complete every level in Score Attack with a gold score | X | X | |
Untouchable: Replay 5 different levels without taking any damage | X | X | |
Quite the Collector: Collect 150 cards | X | X | |
These Belong in a Museum: Collect 300 cards | X | X | X |
Witchcraft for Beginners: Attempt any Wicked Vale Score Attack (Baba Yaga DLC) | X | X | |
Witch-Hunt: Complete a Wicked Vale Score Attack with a gold score (Baba Yaga DLC) | X | ||
Witch Trials: Complete every Wicked Vale Score Attack with a gold score (Baba Yaga DLC) | X | X | X |
Although probably better than multiplayer achievements, the whole concept of Score Attack might not have such a "fun" appeal to some players.
As you complete the main campaign, challenges and collectibles, you earn in-game Credits. It's in your best interest to spend all of them on Bronze Packs, as you will build up a hefty card inventory quickly and also have increasing chances of earning the rare cards promised by the more expensive card packs. You also receive Credits for achieving Gold medals in Score Attack, so both Quite the Collector and These Belong in a Museum are part of the journey.
Unless you are playing on the Xbox 360, if you want all the achievements/trophies, you are required to achieve Gold medals in every single level. Arguably, the easiest ones are the challenge tombs (which alone are nearly enough to achieve Well Begun is Half Done), as collecting wisps keeps your combo multiplier high enough and time bonuses are likely to push you beyond the target score.
Every other level has a rather high target score, so you'll be depending on good combinations of Expedition Cards. By checking the leaderboards, you can spend 2000 Credits to "rent" the cards other players have used, so if you're short of powerful cards, it's worth looking into other players' scores.
Excluding the Baba Yaga content, there are 29 levels to clear for Golden Child. Through Score Attack you only have access to 27: Mountain Peak and Hunting Grounds are only available via Chapter Replay. As no scores are tied to these levels, just by clearing them quickly and taking as little damage as possible should be enough to get Gold on them.
Baba Yaga adds three new levels, one of which is also available only in Chapter Replay. The other two are relatively simple to achieve Gold, so Witch Trials shouldn't prove difficult.
Hopefully, the tips we've presented in the Score Attack overview will be helpful.
Endurance, Cold Darkness Awakened, and Lara's Nightmare achievements are covered in their respective guides. Again, Expedition Challenges are also covered on a separate page.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 11/29/16 - First draft of guide posted online.
12/10/16 - Added Lost Expedition Score Attack video.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: HUGE thanks to Treeble for writing this excellent guide for Expeditions in Rise of the Tomb Raider. I hope it has been as helpful to you as it was to me. Visit his site, Raider Daze, for more information on the entire Tomb Raider universe.
WAS THIS WALKTHROUGH HELPFUL? If not, I apologize and invite you to contact us with any questions. As always, both Treeble and I welcome your questions, corrections, and suggestions. Thank you!
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