Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC Walkthroughs

Just a quick update to let everyone know that we now have strategy guides for all three major Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC packs. I put off working on them to the point where it was becoming embarrassing, but fortunately a couple of great friends have come to my rescue. I am eternally grateful to Treeble and John T. for their hard work and generosity. Better late than never!

ENDURANCE MODE was released December 29, 2015, as part of the Rise of the Tomb Raider Season Pass or as a separate download. It includes hours of gameplay, new Expedition Cards, a new outfit and weapon, plus 15 Steam/Xbox One achievements (10 achievements for Xbox 360).

DLC Description: Alone and in the wild, Lara must scrounge, scavenge, craft and survive the harsh elements by day, as well as lethal threats from enemies, both man and beast, by night. This is her ultimate woman-versus-wild test to push the limits of how long she can survive on her own in sprawling, unforgiving landscapes. Fire takes fuel, cold kills the unprepared, food restores health, but everything must be caught, collected, or crafted. You start with nothing and must find everything. Challenge friends to your longest survival run and battle to the top of the leaderboards for the title of Ultimate Survivor.

Visit my site for JHNMCHLTNR's Endurance Mode Strategy Guide and check out jhnmchltnr.com for reviews, videos, and more.

Endurance Mode concept art (click to enlarge)

BABA YAGA: THE TEMPLE OF THE WITCH launched January 26, 2016. It's also available separately or as part of the Season Pass, and includes a story-driven adventure, a new outfit and weapon for Lara, new Expedition Cards, and 22 achievements (15 on Xbox 360).

DLC Description: Deep in the wilds of Siberia lies a forest that no man will enter, where a Soviet expedition vanished without a trace. Lara enters the Wicked Vale in search of a missing man, but she finds a nightmare that defies explanation. Is the witch, Baba Yaga, haunting the forest? Or is there more to the myth? Featuring three hours of new gameplay, Lara will face new adversaries, explore a new tomb, solve a decades old mystery, and face off against an ancient evil.

Follow this link for my Baba Yaga: Temple of the Witch walkthrough.

Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch concept art (click to enlarge)

COLD DARKNESS AWAKENED, the third major DLC drop, came out March 29. As with the others, it's available separately or as part of the Season Pass. In addition to a solid, replayable Expedition, the DLC includes a new weapon and outfit, two new card packs, and 10 achievements.

DLC Description: Decommissioned during the Cold War, a dormant weapons research base has been breached, unleashing a mysterious affliction into the Siberian wilderness that transforms men into blood-thirsty, mindless killers. Lara must overcome increasingly dangerous waves of these infected adversaries while scavenging their equipment and crafting additional gear on the fly, in kill or be killed survival-combat. Fight for your life against new enemies and complete new challenges, while discovering a way to stop or perhaps even reverse this impending catastrophe.

Check out Treeble's Cold Darkness Awakened walkthrough on my site and visit his site, Raider Daze, for tons of Tomb Raider info in Brazilian Portuguese.

Cold Darkness Awakened render (click to enlarge)

Help Tomb Raider Unlock a Guinness World Record

Calling all collectors! As you may have heard, the Tomb Raider developers have been amassing a huge collection of Lara Croft magazine covers as part of the 20th anniversary celebration. The count now stands at around 1,050 unique covers—enough to secure a Guinness World Record for Lara Croft as the Video Game Character with the Most Magazine Front Covers.

But like all true raiders, they're not content with 99% completion. They want EVERY Tomb Raider cover printed. So they're encouraging all of us to look through our personal collections to unearth any covers that have not yet been included. If you find one, please scan it or take a high-quality photo and either put it up on Flickr and send me a link, or send the scan directly to me () and I will make sure it is included.

Click through to view the gallery of covers so far. Impressive!

Finally, here are guidelines for submission:

• Please use Flickr, since it is free and allows for uncompressed image uploads, and Crystal Dynamics can then easily add your pics to their Favorites. (If you prefer not to creat a Flickr account, you're welcome to contact me, and I will gladly upload for you and credit you in the photo caption.)
• Upload cover only (no inside pages) to a PUBLIC album so other contributors can see which magazines are already in the collection
• These can be any magazine with images of Lara Croft or Tomb Raider on them related to the Tomb Raider games, comics, movies, or merchandise. Even covers with Angelina Jolie on them count, as long as they are billed as an interview about Tomb Raider. The only thing we won't accept is adult magazines with ties to Tomb Raider.
• The cover can be shared with another gaming character, as long as Lara takes up at least half of the image.
• Please ensure the cover doesn't have a mailing address on it. If it does, please Photoshop or obscure any personal details prior to scanning.
• In the title of the image, please put the magazine name, issue number, and month/date of release. In the caption, please put the country it is from.
• You can watermark the cover image if it is a rare image, but please put it somewhere small and inconspicuous so that it doesn't detract from the overall design. We want this to feel like an art gallery.

Thanks for your help and happy Tomb Raider 20th anniversary!

Tomb Raider Now Available for Linux

In case you missed last week's official announcement, Tomb Raider (2013) has at last come to Steam OS + Linux . For more information, including system requirements, visit publisher Feral Interactive's Tomb Raider minisite and the Tomb Raider product page on Steam.

The £14.99/€19.99 price is not too steep, but if you need a little more info before you buy, check out The Linux Gamer's review on YouTube and scope out the Steam user reviews.