Aquatic Research Area - Opening the Exit - "Short Ration" Achievement/Trophy

NOTE: If you're having trouble holding your breath during the swim to the exit, and you happen to have extra respirators in your inventory, left over from the Louvre levels, you can use one here.

After obtaining the last 2 pickups in the side room with the Leviathan specimen, as shown in the previous section, return to the main area through the large, rectangular door. Turn right and drop down to the walkway below the broken ladder.

At this point, you may want to take a few minutes to lure the Leviathan into this section of the pool (i.e., the area opposite lever #1, which is just below the entrance and power-monitoring panel). To do this, drop into the water to get the mutant's attention. (Quick-save first, just in case.) Then, when it approaches, quickly climb out using the half-submerged ladder. If you pause on the ladder, with Lara's legs still in the water...

...the Leviathan may float up to the surface, which should keep it contained here for a little while. If this doesn't happen, don't stress. It's still possible to outswim the creature with a bit of trial and error.

Follow the walkways around toward the entrance.

Once you're standing above lever #1, save the game in a new slot. You can quick-save periodically if things are going well, but do not overwrite the manual save until you complete the sequence. The Leviathan can one-hit Lara, even during the cutscene that plays after using the lever, so this may take several attempts. When you're ready, dive in.

NOTE: If you didn't unlock the "Into the Hellmouth" achievement/trophy earlier, this is your last chance. See the main walkthrough for swan-diving tips.

Swim down and pull lever #1...

...to open the first of two trapdoors on the bottom of the pool, as well as another underwater door on the opposite wall.

Roll and swim across the pool, past the trapdoor. Try to stay close to the bottom, since the Leviathan is less likely to attack if you stay low.

Do not surface for air. Just swim along the bottom until you reach the door below the "2" sign, directly opposite the first lever. Once you enter the passageway, the Leviathan won't pursue.

Follow the passageway to a vertical shaft and continue upward to the surface.

Cutscene: Lara climbs out of the pool, changes into a wetsuit, and presses a button to raise the water level.

Surface to breathe.

Then pull lever #2, which is just below the waterline in this room.

This opens the second trapdoor at the bottom of the main pool.

Get air again, quick-save, then swim back down to the main room.

If the Leviathan is lurking outside, try to swim behind it, rather than in front of its mouth. Or just reload your quick-save, wait a bit, and try again.

Once you exit the passageway, again stay close to the bottom as you head for the middle of the room. Swim down through the two open trapdoors...

...and on to the next level.

The achievement/trophy should unlock as the next level loads.

[Previous | Aquatic Research Area Walkthrough]