SAVING, CHECKPOINTS & TECH SUPPORT: This game incorporates autosave checkpoints. If you only rely on one save slot, you may run into trouble if you get stuck, encounter a bug, or if your autosave becomes corrupted. To avoid problems, I highly recommend changing your save slot in the pause menu at least once per level. If you encounter a serious bug, I encourage you to visit the Official Shadow of the Tomb Raider Support Forum and or put in a support request with Square Enix. PC save files are available for download here.
AREA 5: TRIAL OF THE EAGLE
Updated: 6/2/19(†)
Camps: 1 (Trial of the Eagle) Documents: 1 Murals: 2 Survival Caches: 1 Annotated Level Map: Trial of the Eagle
If you've already completed the level but missed a few collectibles, check out the separate TRIAL OF THE EAGLE Collectibles Guide.
OBJECTIVE: Complete the Trial of the Eagle
As Lara approaches the ruined tower, she contacts Jonah on the walkie, saying she's reached the next trial which appears to have something to do with the wind. Jonah tells Lara he's following an underground river to the west.
STARTING AREA AND BASE CAMP: To reach the tower start by following the walkway to the left then liming onto the ledge above. (screenshot) Scramble up the wooden wall, climb to the left, then upward, then back to the right to reach the ledge above. (screenshot) Here you'll find the Trial of the Eagle Base Camp. Take a break here if you need it. Then jump across the gap to the stairs leading up to the tower. (screenshot)
Drop down behind the broken stairs to find some supplies. Then follow the ledge around the base of the tower to the right to discover a mural (1/2), Crumbling (Mam Dialect/Exodus Story). (screenshot) There's also a survival cache (1/1) buried next to the mural. (screenshot) Return to the stairs and jump/climb up into the tower to get a look at the trial ahead.
COMPLETING THE TRIAL: If you have Survival Instinct enabled, you can see where you're headed first: the rotating panel high on the wall to the right, as well as which parts of the huge, wind-powered mechanism you can interact with. (screenshot) In order to proceed further, you'll need to activate the parts of the machine that aren't working yet.
CLIMBING TO THE FIRST OUTER LEDGE: Start by following the walkway down to the right. At the end, turn left and scramble up the wooden slats to grab the railing. Climb to the right, past a gap in the railing, until you can't go any farther. Climb down onto the beam below, then continue climbing to the right until you can drop onto the walkway below. Lara remarks that the panel on the right wall could be used as a ladder if it were oriented differently. We can fix that! Walk along the beam toward the vertical shaft at the center of the tower and scramble up to grab a handhold. At this point, nothing on this level is moving, so this won't be difficult. Climb to the left and drop onto the walkway. Follow it away from the center and scramble up the wooden planks to grab the handhold just below the entrance. Climb around the corner to the left and down onto the craggy climbing wall. Rappel down to the ledge below. (screenshots)
Now you're on the lowest accessible level of the tower. Go up the wooden ramp toward the center. Go around the central shaft to the left then down another wooden ramp. Jump across the gap toward the outer wall of the tower, scramble up the planks, and grab a handhold above. Climb/jump up as far as you can. Then continue climbing around to the right. Climb up a little more and around to the right again. Now Lara is hanging on the outside wall of the tower, her back to the southeast. Climb to the right, then down onto a short section of rough climbing wall. Climb down as far as you can, then rappel down to the wall-running area below. Hold either mouse or trigger button and run back and forth along the flat wall to gain some momentum. Then, when Lara swings all the way to the right, jump and latch onto the perpendicular climbing wall. Climb onto the ledge above. (screenshots)
ACTIVATING THE LOWER PART OF THE MACHINE: Stand near the rotating pole with the red-and-gold sails. Face the center of the tower and use a rope arrow to tether the central shaft to the pole with the sails. As the pole spins, it raises a set of sails inside the tower, causing the shaft—and its various protruding parts—to rotate. (screenshots)
CLIMBING BACK UP TO THE MIDDLE LEVEL: Now that the center shaft is spinning, things get a little more dangerous. Move out onto the wooden ramp, wait for one of the wooden ladders to swing around toward you, and jump to grab it. Don't climb up yet, though. Wait for the ladder to move under the wooden beam, otherwise it will knock Lara off. As soon the ladder passes under the beam, pull up and quickly move forward to avoid being knocked down as the beam Lara is standing on moves toward a wooden structure jutting out from the wall of the tower. Adjust Lara's position so she's standing near the middle of the moving beam. Turn right, and as you approach the panel with the wooden slats, jump toward it, scramble up, and grab the beam above. Don't pull up yet. Wait until the spiky metal bar attached to the center shaft swings past overhead. Then jump to grab the beam above, pull up to stand on it, turn right, and walk to the ledge near the outer wall. (screenshots)
CLIMBING TO THE SECOND OUTER LEDGE: Now that the lower section of the tower has been activated, the rotating ladder you saw earlier is also moving. When the ladder is oriented vertically, climb to the top and jump up to grab a handhold above. The second rotating ladder, directly above, is not moving yet. So climb around to the right and pull up onto another wooden ledge. Follow the ledge around to the right. Then jump across the gap to the walkway near the center shaft. Follow the ramp down toward the outer wall. Then turn left, walk out to the end of the narrow beam, and jump to grab the handhold ahead. Traverse around the corner to the left. Climb/jump up three more handholds until you can pull up onto the ledge above. (screenshots)
Here you get a glimpse of another rotating pole with sails and a lovely waterfall. You can't get through this opening, though, so turn left, scramble up the wooden wall, and climb up until Lara is hanging from the ledge. Again, don't pull up yet. Wait for one of the 3 metal bars to swing past overhead. Then climb onto the ledge and quickly move forward through the low opening on the right. You can't stand up here, but you still need to move quickly so the next metal bar doesn't crush Lara. (screenshots)
Outside, follow the walkway around to the right and drop down near the rotating pole with the red-and-gold sails. Before you proceed with the puzzle, turn around and head down the ramp between the ledge you just came from and the rope-wrapped post near the edge. At the bottom is a document (1/1), A Proverb (Mam/A Community in Need). Return to the top of the ramp. (screenshots)
ACTIVATING THE MIDDLE PART OF THE MACHINE: Use a rope arrow to pull down the wooden barrier to the left of the opening in the wall. Behind it is a rope-wrapped metal ring. If you use a rope arrow to pull it, the nearby door opens; however it won't stay open for long. To make it stay open, rope-pull the ring then run to the rope-wrapped post on the ledge that juts out toward the waterfall. Stand near the post and shoot another rope arrow into the ring anchoring it to the post. Now the door should stay open. Move to the rotating pole with the sails and shoot another rope arrow through the open doorway into the rope coil on the center shaft. This raises another set of sails, and the section of the mechanism on this level begins to turn. (screenshots)
CLIMBING TO THE THIRD OUTER LEDGE: Step out onto the ledge overlooking the inside of the tower, and you'll notice one of the metal bars is stuck on some broken blocks near the rotating ladders. You can still reach the nearest dangling ladder, though, so jump over to it now. When Lara grabs the ladder, the machine grinds forward, knocking the blocks out of the way and destroying the second rotating ladder. Lara remarks that she'll need to find another way up. (screenshots)
Pull up onto the beam above the ladder but don't step forward yet. Wait until the beam Lara is standing on moves past the twirling bar with obsidian spikes protruding from the center shaft. Then hurry along the beam toward the center, scramble up the wooden boards, and grab the handhold above. Then quickly scramble up once more to a higher handhold. Lara is safe here. Climb around to the left then out along the jutting beam until you can pull up. Walk along the beam toward the outer wall. Jump forward and latch onto the climbing wall. Climb upward and to the right, then jump to the next section of climbable wall. Climb up and around to the right, and onto the ledge above. (screenshots)
CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF THE CENTER SHAFT: Loot a bird's nest for feathers. Then walk out onto the narrow beam toward the center shaft. Wait for one of the red-tiled panels with white handholds to rotate around toward you, then jump and grab it. Climb to the higher handhold on the red panel. Then, when the red panel moves a little to the right, so there's a solid handhold above, jump up to grab it. Pause for a moment until there's a wooden panel with handholds above. Jump up to grab it then quickly scramble up the boards so the twirling spikes don't knock Lara down. Now you can take your time. Climb up then out along the beam toward the red sail. Pull up onto the beam above the sail and, if you like, move onto the center platform to enjoy the view for a bit. (screenshots)
REACHING THE EXIT: Now you're headed for the wide opening below the eagle's chest. Unfortunately you can't just jump down there. So walk out to the end of any of the wooden beams supporting the sails. Wait for the beam to pass above the exit and move toward the wooden slats with the climbing wall below. Then jump to grab the highest slat. (You'll probably need to press Interact here to avoid losing your grip.) Climb down to the bottom of the craggy wall. Then rappel down to the wall-running area below. This is pretty obvious if you have the Exploration difficulty set to Easy or Medium. If you're playing on Hard, just make sure Lara is hanging roughly level with the rotating ladder off to the right. (screenshots)
Run back and forth to build momentum and watch the ladder. When it moves into the vertical position, run toward it and jump to grab it. Naturally it can't be that easy. The ladder crumbles and you'll need to press Interact to hang on. Climb then jump up tor grab the top edge of what was the ladder. Press Interact for another saving grab as the ledge settles under Lara's weight. Quickly pull up, run forward, and jump to grab the wooden ledge ahead as the ledge Lara was just standing on collapses. Once Lara is standing on the sturdy, wooden ledge below the doorway, she's safe. Now just climb up into the temple. (screenshots)
OBJECTIVE: Find the Hidden City
HURACAN'S TEMPLE: Lara tries to report to Jonah over the radio but gets no response. Loot a resource container inside on the right and pick up some jade ore lying on the floor on the left. Examine the mural (2/2), Golden Days (Quechua/Founding Paititi) on the far wall. (screenshot)
THE PATH TO THE HIDDEN CITY: Exit through the passageway at the back left corner of the temple. Follow the tunnel to its end above a small pool. Dive in and climb out on the other side. (screenshot) Continue to a cavern with wooden ladders and climbable walls. Jump across the gap to the climbing wall on the right, and climb to the top. (screenshot) Loot a resource container sitting in a little dead-end passageway on the right. Then scramble up the wall and climb around to the left to get on top of the wooden platform. (screenshot) Use the horizontal bar jutting out of the cavern wall to swing over to the doorway above the ladder. (screenshot) Proceed through the tunnel to emerge on a high cliff above a green valley.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 9/29/18 - First draft of walkthrough posted online.
6/2/19 - Added quick collectibles guide.
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