Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Tips and tricks before you play

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is almost out, and as we do, we’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to keep in mind before you pick up a controller.

Let’s get straight into it, shall we?

Sell, sell sell (then buy, buy, buy!)

If you’re like me, you’ll stop to pick everything up as you play. Items like gold and jade have no purpose apart from being sold to merchants in order to help purchase weapons, upgrades and crafting tools. Grab it, then sell it — and as often as you can too, as I walked around for half the map with a full inventory that was going to waste.

As the game progressed (and I realised what I could do with merchants) I started selling items used to craft arrows or healing items as well as I generally found myself overflowing with resources. Don’t be a tight-arse!

Upgrade how you’d like, but consider swimming skills

There is a lot of swimming and a lot of tense moments where some speed can mean the difference between success and drowning. Upgrade your swimming speed and you’ll notice the difference.

You never leave a Challenge Tomb the way you’ve come in

I continually was confused when trying to exit a Challenge Tomb. Some exits are just to the side as you enter an area, others are mid-tomb and some still are right at the end of the tombs themselves.

For the first two scenarios, Lara will call the exit out (at least on normal difficulty) — so be keep an ear open and be listening. For the at-exit exits, keep this in mind: if you haven’t heard Lara talking of one, don’t stray too far and take a good look around.

If you’ve got other tips, feel free to list them below.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider heads to Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4 on 14 September. Read our review here.