Tomb Raider 7: Legend

Tomb Raider Legend Time Trials - Tips & Strategy

In order to unlock some of the bonus content in Tomb Raider: Legend, you must beat each completed level again in Time Trial mode.

How to Play a Time Trial: First load your most recent save file from the main menu. Then select Load/Save > Replay Level. Under difficulty level, choose Time Trial. The goal in Time Trial is to complete the level before the timer at the bottom of the screen runs out.

Can You Save During a Time Trial? No, you cannot save as you go along, although the game still saves automatically at each checkpoint and will reload at the last checkpoint if Lara dies.

GENERAL TIPS & STRATEGY

Here are some time trial tips:

• Provided you plan on using cheat codes during other time trials, complete the time trial for Bolivia Redux first. That unlocks the one-hit kill cheat, which then makes the time trials for most of the other levels go much more quickly.
• If you have trouble doing Bolivia Redux quickly enough, try England instead. This unlocks the bulletproof cheat, which protects Lara from most enemies, including the Entity in Bolivia Redux. It also prevents her from drowning, though it doesn't reduce cold damage in the freezing waters of Nepal.
• If you still can't manage Bolivia Redux, try Nepal next. This unlocks the cheat to wield Excalibur, which is the next best thing to a one-shot kill in the fights with Takamoto and Rutland.
• Note that you can use multiple cheats at once. You can also enter cheat codes during cut scenes to save time.
• on't waste time picking up rewards or any items you don't need.
• Avoid enemies unless you have to kill them in order to move on. In many cases, Lara can run away from enemies and they won't follow her very far. This is even easier if you have the bulletproof cheat enabled. Note that this technique doesn't work in the motorcycle chase sequences. If you don't kill the other riders, these levels can go on forever.
• This one is pretty obvious: try not to let Lara die. The game reloads at the last checkpoint but the clock is still running. It's usually better to take a few extra seconds setting up a jump than to miss and have to replay a large section of a level.
• There is an exception to the above rule: If you're out of health packs and there's a good spot for killing Lara right next to a checkpoint, let her die on purpose. The game brings her back to life at the checkpoint with full health and one health pack. Since the checkpoint is so close, you hardly lose any time. Note that if you die and reload more than once at the same checkpoint, you still get full health each time, but you only get the bonus health pack the first time. (One good spot to use this is the deep pit just beyond CHECKPOINT 15 in England, after killing the serpent.)
• Use the Interact key to climb more quickly up or sideways, or to swim faster. For best results, tap Interact in time with Lara's movements.
• When running on long straight-aways, tap Roll as you go to make Lara cover a bit more ground.
• If dramatic music makes you tense, turn off the sound—especially during the boss fights.
• Relax and don't worry about doing every sequence perfectly. You'll save time by using other tips and shortcuts, so try not to tense up if you make a mistake. Just recover and go on.

Time Trial Cheat

This apparently works only on the Xbox and Xbox 360.

1. Start any level in time trial.
2. After just a few seconds of gameplay, quit the level.
3. Choose the same level again and don't change any settings (difficulty, outfit, etc.); just press Continue. This should restart the level with no timer.
4. Complete as much of the level as you can without Lara dying.
5. Before finishing the level, deliberately kill Lara. When the game reloads, the timer will start at the point where you quit from the time trial. Now you have that much time left to finish.

If this doesn't work for you:
If your Xbox 360 is connected to Xbox Live (via the internet) then you are prompted to download an update for the game when you put the disc in for the first time. If you download this update it patches the game and the time trial glitch. People playing the game for the first time can avoid it by just unplugging their internet while playing. (Everything works fine without it, achievements and all.)
If you have already downloaded the update, you have to clear your cache to remove it. Instructions for doing this can be found at http://vgstrategies.about.com/od/xbox360faqs/a/ClearX360Cache.htm. If you have other games which have been updated, you will need to reinstall those. So do this at your own risk. (Thanks to Kendall for this useful information.)
There are a few bugs in the original Xbox 360 version of Legend, which may or may not be fixed by this update. For example, the lock-up in the serpent area in England. So you may want to play through the game with the updated version and then clear your cache, as described above, just for the time trials.

SPECIFIC TIPS FOR EACH LEVEL

In addition to the tips below, I encourage you to check out the numerous time trial videos on YouTube (search for "Tomb Raider Legend time trial" or "Tomb Raider Legend speedrun". There are also a number of exceptional speed runs (some involving brilliant bug exploits) on the Tomb Runner site.

Bolivia

First rope swing - Instead of taking the normal route, climb up the vine a bit and then swing directly up to the waterfall and checkpoint 4. Details and screenshots are shown here. (Gandarufu made a video of this technique but credits Joshorty for the discovery).

Entering the ruins - Instead of doing the vine swing between checkpoints 6 and 7, use the shortcut described in the walkthrough and also shown in one of CannibalK9's videos at YouTube.

Crate puzzle - Ignore the jaguar and the third crate. Just move the crate on the ledge onto the nearest pad, move the box under the seesaw up to the ledge and then onto the middle pad. Then stand Lara on the third pad. (CannibalK9 has a great video showing how to do this fast.)

Evil coatrack room - Don't bother shooting the jaguar. Instead of climbing down and swinging around on the spike devices, take a running jump from the entrance to land on top of the middle rack. Carefully move onto to the left arm of the rack and jump to the next rack ahead and to the left. Move onto the arm nearest the exit and jump to grab the ledge. CannibalK9's YouTube video shows exactly how to do this.

Peru

Streets of Paraíso - After climbing through the building with the grenades to the second open street, you can avoid most of the mercenaries and just run to the motorcycle.

Swimming sequence - After the flashback, when re-entering the ruins, swim directly to checkpoint 14 (tap Interact to swim faster). Lara will drown just beyond the checkpoint, and the game will reload there, but this is still faster than swimming up the vertical shafts for air. Follow the walkthrough for the speediest way to complete the underwater lights puzzle.

Japan

If possible, complete some of the other levels first, so you'll have cheat codes to use against Takamoto. For example, England unlocks the bulletproof cheat and Boliva Redux and Nepal give you One-Shot Kill and Excalibur, respectively. Either of these cheats can finish Takamoto quickly.

Ghana

Entering the Ruins - There are two HUGE shortcuts near the start of the level. They are covered in the Stella's walkthrough details: shortcut #1 and shortcut #2. (Those pages also include links to several videos showing how they're done.)

After Opening the Sluice Gate - If you don't use one of the previous shortcuts and end up taking the normal route, work the pressure pad puzzle in the cistern area as usual, but when you come to the part where you use the grapple to pull out the sun symbol, pull just until the symbol starts to extend. Before the cut scene starts, release the cable and jump or dive off the ledge. Lara will die, but CHECKPOINT 11 should register before she does, and the game reloads, placing her at the grate beyond the flooded room. At this point, do not turn around. Instead draw pistols and start firing. While shooting, do a backward roll (Back + Duck) and Lara will fall back and grab the ledge at the bottom. This is much faster than climbing down the ladder and ledges. (Thanks to Nick for these tips.)

Trapped hallway - If you don't use one of the previous shortcuts and end up going through the trapped hallways, instead of using the blocks to stop the slicing blades, do some well-timed jumps: Wait until the two sets of blades move apart, and then duck under the high one and jump over the low one. If the timing is correct and the placement is ok, no damage is taken.

When fighting Rutland, use the grenade method described in the walkthrough.

Kazakhstan

Compound - You may need to take out a few soldiers, or choose to do so if the opportunity presents itself, but most of the enemies in the compound can be avoided by just running or run/rolling as fast as you can to the next area.

After the train wreck - Kick away the crate, grapple the crane arm, and jump to the rope. Then, instead of climbing all the way around the room, turn Lara 45 degrees to her left. Get her swinging high and jump her over the burning wreck. She will take a little damage. Climb onto the platform, grapple crane arm, jump to rope and continue as usual.

Tesla tower - Bypass the whole section between the first cut scene with Amanda and the final room using a shortcut described in the main walkthrough.

Final room - If you are replaying the game using cheat codes, do not use the Wield Excalibur cheat. If you attack the Unknown Entity, it will disappear, preventing you from finishing the level. Even if you do not attack the creature, simply having Excalibur in your possession seems to prevent Lara from grappling the sword fragment here. I have not tried this with the Soul Reaver cheat, but I'm guessing the same is true. If you want an edge in the time trial, use the One-Shot Kill code instead. Just don't try and kill the creature this way.

England

Forklift - Don't bother moving the crates, just get on the forklift and barge through to the ramp. (Here it's faster to smash through the two stacked crates in the middle, rather than then single ones on each side.) In the room below, turn left and crash through between the two crates in front of the breakable wall.

Tall room with broken stairs - After traversing along the crumbling ledge to the broken stairs, instead of jumping down to the next set of stairs, turn to face out over the room and jump to grab the dangling chain below. (Thanks to Invader for this tip.) There are various other shortcuts in this room, which you can find on YouTube by searching for "tomb raider legend england speed run" or "tomb raider legend england time trial".

Flame traps & spinning blades - Skip the crates on the first two flame traps. Just move fast and step only on the grates, not on the coals. (You'll still want to drag the first crate along with the grapple to use to stop the blades.) Use one crate on the trap where you'd normally use two, and take a running swan dive from the top of the crate to clear the flames. Lara will lose health but this is much faster.

When fighting the serpent - Save the levers and cages on the bridge for last. Then you'll be a little closer to the exit when you finish.

After riding the elevator - Rather than bothering with the grapple, just take a running jump from the elevator platform to the broken staircase.

Nepal

Climbing down to the crashed plane - A shortcut allows Lara to make a death-defying leap off the cliff, as long as she jumps with guns drawn. Stella's walkthrough includes an explanation with screenshots, and you can watch Gandarufu's video here.

Dark cavern with icy stream - Don't waste time waiting for the perfect iceberg to come floating downstream. As long as you have a health pack or two, Lara will survive a dip in the freezing water. If Lara slips into the water, just swim quickly to your goal (by tapping Interact as you go). Then heal if necessary.

Balance puzzle - Grapple the golden block onto the ledge so you won't have to bother with the balance puzzle. (This may require a little practice.) Tips and screenshots are included in Stella's walkthrough.

Bolivia Redux

General advice for completing this level are included in the walkthrough. If you have specific tips for the time trial, please send them in.