The TR2 Remastered guide is now complete. For the guides that have not yet been updated, I will continue to link to the ORIGINAL WALKTHROUGHS, which cover all the basics. Please check the introductory notes at the start of the first level for info on my process, modern vs. classic tank controls, etc. This guide covers most but not all possible achievements/trophies. Follow this link for the archived classic guide.

Pickups: 24, including Mystic Plaque (no secrets)
Kills: 11

LEVEL MAP by VGCartography (used with permission)

Dragon's Lair & Home Sweet Home Video Walkthrough by Eldincy‡

OBJECTIVES: Fight your way past the petrified guardians and cultists to reach the inner chamber. Then defeat the final boss.

NOTE: This is the last full level, so unless you're doing a pistols-only run, don't hesitate to use your very best guns. Uzis will come in handy for the human enemies. Uzis or grenades work well for the petrified guardians, but I do recommend that you save 10-15 grenades for the final boss.

ENTRANCE AND LARGE, SQUARE ROOM WITH PETRIFIED GUARDIANS: A small door rises to reveal a petrified spearman (2). Don't worry; he will not awaken yet. Pick up the large medi pack and 2 sets of Uzi clips (1-3) on the floor and slip past him into the next room. (screenshots)

The second spearman (1), on the opposite side of the room, comes to life as you enter. If you run forward and start firing as soon as he animates, then backflip/side flip away, you can destroy him fairly quickly. (screenshots)

The first spearman (2) only animates if you use the switch in the alcove where the second spearman was standing. Doing so also closes the door where you entered, sealing you both inside the room. You don't have to destroy him to move on. So if you'd rather not fight him, just leave that switch alone. (screenshots)

In order to get to the next room, you must awaken the third and fourth spearmen (3-4). Locate the second switch to the left of the entrance. Use it to open the exit and animate the guardians. Destroy them while jumping and dodging. (screenshots)

DARK ANTEROOM WITH MANY PILLARS: There are 6 cult members (5-10) lurking among the pillars. You can draw them out two at a time by advancing slowly into the room with weapons drawn. As soon as the first two men (5-6) emerge from hiding, back out of the room firing. Then jump from side to side to avoid their throwing daggers. Uzis work well here, and one enemy drops 2 sets of Uzi clips (4-5) to replenish your supply. The other drops a large medi pack (6). (screenshots)

Repeat the same tactics: Advance into the dark room. As you pass the second set of square columns, the next 2 cultists (7-8) appear on the left and right. Get a lock on one of them and back up into the previous room, where there's room to fight without spawning more enemies. They drop 4 sets of Uzi ammo (7-10). (screenshots)

Finally, move into the middle of the dark room, and approach the large gate. The last 2 enemies (9-10) spawn on the left and right. There's room to maneuver here, so you should be OK. They leave behind a small medi pack (11) and a MYSTIC PLAQUE (12). Make sure you have all the pickups so far. Then use the Plaque in the receptacle beside the gate to open it. Go through, follow the hallway to a short ramp, and slide down into the Dragon's Lair. (screenshots)

BOSS FIGHT - BARTOLI THE DRAGON: Marco Bartoli's body lies on a low platform at the center of this huge room. Don't get too close yet. When you approach, he magically transforms into a massive DRAGON (11), and the final battle begins. Obviously, save the game before triggering the transformation, just in case.

Below the floor is a flooded room containing 10 sets of Uzi clips and 2 large medi packs (counted below). The square holes in the floor lead down there. If you're careful, you can retrieve most of these items before Bartoli changes. The change only occurs when Lara steps inside the "trigger zone," which extends one tile beyond the central area with the four columns. (screenshot) As long as you avoid this area—both above and below the water's surface—you'll be safe. If you have plenty of supplies, you can wait and collect everything after the fight.

To get most of the goodies before fighting the dragon, begin at the nearest hole on the left side of the room. Drop in and swim down and forward, keeping the wall on Lara's left. Take the large medi pack (13). Then continue forward along the left wall. You can grab the next 2 ammo pickups (14-16, three sets of Uzi ammo in two piles) just ahead, but be careful not to go any farther to the right. Surface in the third hole and climb out of the pool, avoiding the right side of the hole, since this is inside the trigger zone. Turn right and follow the back wall to the next corner, again taking care not to get close to the pillars. Drop into the pool, pick up the other large medi pack (17) and swim forward, again staying close to the left wall. At the next corner, turn right, pick up Uzi ammo x2 (18-19) and continue forward, still keeping the outer wall on Lara's left. Now you're heading back toward the hole where you first dropped in. Ignore the ammo pickup just ahead on the right, since it's inside the trigger zone. Pick up Uzi ammo x2 (20-21) directly ahead. Then surface in the hole and climb out. You're now back where you started with all all but 2 of the available pickups. Save the game once more and get ready to fight. (screenshots)

If you accidentally trigger the dragon transformation while underwater, it can be difficult to climb out without getting toasted by the dragon's fire breath. Either reload or swim up to one hole to get the dragon's attention and then quickly dive down again. Swim to another hole on the opposite side of the room and climb out as quickly as you can. The dragon may not be able to get there as fast as Lara can.

Below are THREE POSSIBLE STRATEGIES FOR DEFEATING THE DRAGON.

The dragon is the 9th and final enemy for the "Fire Safety" achievement/trophy: "Catch fire from every possible enemy and extinguish it in the water." So be sure to let it set Lara on fire at least once. Then drop into one of the water-filled openings to put it out. If you did the same with all of the earlier fire-wielding enemies, the achievement will pop immediately. (screenshots) You can then reload and defeat the dragon using whatever tactics you prefer.

The "No Grill Today" achievement/trophy requires you to "make the dragon breathe fire on you five times during the final battle, but do not ignite." This one will probably happen naturally as you fight. It's even easier if you use the sneaky method described below.

(1) Direct confrontation: Draw your weapon of choice. I recommend the Uzis. It takes about 300 Uzi rounds to bring down the beast, but they have the fastest fire rate, Lara is still very maneuverable while using them, and there's plenty of ammo available (see above). Now approach the middle of the room to trigger Bartoli's transformation and leap out of the way as the dragon appears. Immediately start shooting and evading, and whenever the dragon breathes fire, quickly side flip out of the way. If you move around the dragon—essentially chasing its back leg as it chases you—you can avoid its fire breath. Don't get too close to its body, since it can stomp Lara to death with its mighty feet. Use the pillars for cover if necessary, and try not to fall through the holes in the floor.

If Lara does get lit up, either reload or drop into the pool to put out the flames. To climb back out of the water without getting toasted, use the same trick described above: Surface in one of the holes, wait for the dragon to notice Lara and approach, then immediately swim to the opposite side of the room before climbing out. The dragon will take a few moments to figure out what happened.

NOTE: I haven't included screenshots or a video of this technique, since there's no one set way to do it. Also, I much prefer the alternatives below. Check out Eldin's video walkthrough if you want to see it done.

- OR -

(2) Sneakiest and easiest method: Approach the center of the room on the left side, staying behind the pillar. As you move close to the pillar, you'll enter the trigger zone and Bartoli will transform. As soon as the dragon appears it will start blowing flames, but the pillar should protect Lara. Stand with Lara's chest against the pillar and wait for the dragon to breathe fire five times. This unlocks the "No Grill Today" achievement/trophy. (screenshots)

Now, hop back once. Pivot to the right so Lara is facing the dragon's body. It won't come around the pillar if you're positioned correctly. Equip the grenade launcher, which allows you to hit the dragon without actually getting a target lock on it, and start firing at its back leg/belly. If you have Boss HP Bars enabled in the Controls menu, you can easily see if you're doing damage. If you hit squarely each time, it will take exactly 10 grenades to bring down the dragon. Earlier I suggested saving about 15 grenades in case you miss a few times as you're lining up your shots. (screenshots or video)

- OR -

(3) Alternate sneaky method: If you don't have enough grenades, you can use Uzis or even pistols, but you'll need to be more careful about where you stand. Move into the same spot, behind the left pillar, to trigger the transformation. Then, when the dragon starts breathing fire, carefully back away from the pillar. Not too far, though, or the dragon will come around toward Lara. Observe the rhythm: A gout of flame followed by a brief pause as the dragon lowers its head and inhales before breathing fire again. (In classic graphics, the entire pillar lights up when the flames hit it, making the timing a little easier.) Draw weapons, and while the dragon is breathing fire at the pillar, side flip to the right, so Lara can get a target lock on it, and start shooting. Then immediately flip to the left so Lara lands behind the pillar before the next blast can hit her. Continue to hold Action to maintain the target lock. Lara will stop shooting once she's behind the pillar and no longer has line of sight, so you won't waste ammo. But the dragon will continue to breathe on the pillar instead of her. Now just keep repeating this as long as it takes, adjusting Lara's position if necessary to make sure she lands safely behind the pillar each time. (screenshots or video)

- AND FINALLY -

Move in for the kill: Whichever method you use to fight the dragon, once it has taken enough damage—10 grenades, 300 Uzi rounds, etc.—the dragon will raise its head with an agonized roar, and magical sparkles will swirl around the dagger wound on its belly. Then the dragon will fall down stunned, but its health will regenerate quickly. You have about 10 seconds to run up to it and press Action to pull the DAGGER OF XIAN from its belly. (The dagger is not counted as an official pickup.) This is the only way to defeat it permanently. If you don't get the dagger in time, the dragon revives, and the whole ordeal starts again. (screenshots)

NOTES: You may want to save the game in a new slot as soon as the beast starts to fall. That way, if he revives, you can reload and try to grab the dagger without having to fight it again.

When you do stun the dragon, don't wait for it to hit the ground. As soon as the boss's health bar goes to zero, and the dragon lifts its head to roar, indicating it's about to fall down, holster your weapons and run toward it. Run straight to the dragon's belly, stand facing the bloody spot and press Action to pull out the dagger. If Lara won't immediately grab the dagger, try sidestepping so Lara's right hip is directly in front of the bloody spot. Or, jump straight up to land a little closer to the dragon and try pressing Action again.

Cutscene: Lara yanks the dagger from the dragon's belly and examines it. Then the dragon's flesh melts away, leaving only a gnarly skeleton behind.

When you've got the dagger, the exit opens and the place starts to collapse. The earthquake is mostly for show. There's no time limit, but you do need to watch out for the falling rocks and open flames. If you like, you can now go into the water underneath the floor and collect the rest of the goodies: 3 sets of Uzi ammo in two separate pickups (22-24). If you didn't get any of the underwater items earlier, there will be 10 sets of Uzi clips and 2 large medi packs in all. These supplies won't carry over to the next level, but you'll need them for 100% completion. (screenshots)

When you have everything, climb out of the water and head for the exit. Keep running as you follow the passageway to the end, and the falling debris should miss Lara. (screenshots)

Cinematic: Lara runs from the exploding building and is knocked to the ground. She awakens some time later and presumably heads for home.

NOTE: The achievement/trophy "To the Sins and Fortunes of Marco Bartoli!" unlocks automatically when you finish the Temple of Xian chapter.

†UPDATE HISTORY: Updates made prior to the Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered release, including credit for tips sent in earlier by other players, are tracked in the archived classic guide.
8/1/26 - Remastered guide posted. Better late than never. :D

‡NOTE ON VIDEO GUIDES: Eldin's videos don't always follow the same strategies I use in my walkthroughs, but if you prefer that format, I think you'll find them very helpful.

DARK MODE: I plan to add optional dark mode for these pages, but my current priority is updating the walkthroughs. Meanwhile, may I suggest a reputable dark mode browser extension, such as Dark Reader? (Download only from trusted sites, like darkreader.org or your browser's official add-on/extension site.)

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