TOMB RAIDER 1 WALKTHROUGH - LAST UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2021

TRV Homepage | Walkthrough Home | Forums | Awards | Products

Copyright notice: If you want to copy this walkthrough for your own site, please ask permission BEFORE you do so and place the following code on your site at the top of each walkthrough page:


Walkthrough guide help:
 Different rooms and areas are in bold/green, secrets are in bold/red and save crystals (for PlayStation 1 version) are indicated in bold/blue. Pickups will be in orange, and important pickups will be in bold/pink. Enemies will be in bold/black.

Tomb Raider 1 Walkthrough | Sancruary of the Scion | Tomb Raider Vault

Level 12 – Sanctuary of the Scion

  • 1 secret
  • 7 save crystals
  • 15 kills
  • 29 pickups

Here you will find a key, 2 Ankhs and a Scarab to make your way through the level to find the final piece of the scion!

Go down the stairs and through the doorway. Pick up the Magnum clips you find to the right and left of the door through which you entered. You can't get through the closed gates yet, but you'll be coming back later! Start up the stairs, and draw weapons for two mutants that run down toward you! (You will encounter quite a few mutants in this level, and they all shoot fireballs and other weapons, some of which as quite a long range, so keep moving when you come across any!) You'll probably need something more powerful than your pistols, but that will allow you to keep back-flipping and side-flipping as you fire...do this until they explode, then enter the room at the top. There are some more Magnum clips in the dark place to the far-right.

See the blocks ahead...these lead to an opening which brings you out on top of a Sphinx in a large, open area. Climb up, roll and cross to the left shoulder of the Sphinx (screenshot) and drop down to a ledge beneath. Down below is another mutant, so ready weapons and keep moving as it shoots fireballs! When it's gone, jump down onto the Sphinx's paw and then to the ground below. Pick up the Magnum clips between the paws then look opposite the left paw to see a climbable, light-coloured block (screenshot).

Climb up, then jump over to the angled block on the right, then run, jump and grab over to the next. From this one, climb up onto the next block to find yourself opposite the Sphinx. As you are facing the wall, there's a higher block to your left (screenshot )...face so you can jump and grab the side to pull yourself up. Climb up the next one, then find some more Magnum clips on the one to the right.

Make your way over to the gold lever to the left (screenshot) by jumping over the blocks and using the save crystal on the way. The lever opens a door below, but when you pull it, turn immediately to see a flying mutant approaching from the Sphinx! You should be able to dispose of it before it reaches you and knocks you off the ledge! If the mutant explodes near Lara, she'll take some damage, so make sure you have enough health!

As you face the switch, there's a ledge over to the left...jump over to it and pick up the shotgun shells, then run, jump and grab the next higher ledge to find even more shotgun shells! Run and jump over to the next ledge and look ahead and to the left to see the golden door (screenshot). Before you go there, turn to face the side of the Sphinx, head-on (directly north). Now, trust me on this next part! Look ahead to see some goodies apparently floating in mid-air! Stand facing slightly to the left of these goodies and take a run, jump and grab into the middle of nowhere! Lara will grab an invisible platform upon which is located the first and only secret of the level...the long-awaited Uzis!!! Make sure you keep the walk button pressed as you walk around up here to make sure Lara doesn't fall off. See my video on how to do this here .

You now have the chance to use your new weapons as two more flying mutants move in from the other side of the sphinx! Get rid of them, then you can start to make the descent by facing the rock wall and taking a run, jump and grab to the lower left side of the ledge you jumped over from (screenshot), being careful to line yourself up at the edge of the invisible platform, then hopping back before taking the jump. Once over, drop to the flat ledge beneath and then to the ground.

Face the front of the sphinx and walk to the left. There's a series of pillars of different sizes with one low enough to climb up (screenshot). From there, run and jump over to the next one, then pull up to the one above that. Run, jump and grab to the next one ahead, then turn and run and jump over to the high one. Pull up onto the ledge up above. Walk forward then right, using the save crystal you find there before continuing carefully! There's a jagged door trap ahead that you need to jump or roll through by standing as close as you can and using the look button and looking down to determine when Lara is close enough. When through, pick up a medipack and follow the path to the lever, jumping the gap before you get there. Pull it to open the golden door up in the cliff.

Dispatch another mutant that flies in towards you, then do a standing jump  from the edge down to the ledge with the medipack, pick it up then do a safety drop from the side closest to the sphinx where you'll slide to the ground.

Go around to face the sphinx from where you land. Make your way right around to the left of the sphinx. You'll see a door, beside which are some magnum clips. Pick them up, then enter, coming to a slope with a pool below. You need to slide down backwards so you can grab the edge of the slope and shimmy left to drop onto a ledge with some Magnum clips. Pick them up, then climb up to the opening above.

Climb up the stone steps and turn left at the first opening. Climb down and jump into the pool you find there to retrieve the gold key from the bottom. Climb out and back up the steps, keep turning left until you come to a ramp. Slide forward and jump before you reach the bottom to grab the edge of the bridge ahead. Try and do this first time, or you'll have to climb up again! :-)

Cross the bridge and use the gold key to open the door at the end, but be very careful as there's a centaur inside! He shoots balls of fire at you, so take one or two steps into the room until Lara aims at it, step back and keep shooting with the action button pressed down so she fires at it automatically when it comes into range! When it's gone, enter and pick up the medipack and the first Ankh from the pedestal and then use the save crystal.

Now exit and jump into the water, climb out and climb the stone steps again, turning right this time to descend the steps to the pool at the bottom. Jump in and climb out the other side (the opening to the left of the one you just came through), climb the steps and turn left. Return to the area of the sphinx near it's left paw and pull up onto the climbable block you climbed before, the light-coloured one opposite the sphinx (screenshot). Turn right and jump and grab the next one, pull up, turn around and jump and grab to the ledge ahead and pull up. Walk forward, turn left and pick up some Magnum clips.

Stand facing slightly left to jump over the gap, then forward until you come to another gap...jump over to the left and continue forward, as though going toward the back of the large cave. Jump over yet another gap and then climb the stone blocks to the right. Jump over to the opening ahead, continue and turn left to climb two more stone blocks. Jump to the right in a diagonal direction and climb up to the golden door where you'll find another save crystal.

Once inside, walk right to find a moveable block (it should be easily identifiable from the rest). Push it through to the other side. Walk around and climb up the block you just pushed to reach the ledge above. There's a room ahead with another centaur inside...dispatch it the same way you did the last one, then enter and pick up a medipack and the second Ankh.

Exit back through the gold door and slide down the ramp to the right, drawing weapons for another mutant! Pick up the large medipack then jump down onto the back of the sphinx . There's an angled block to the right, from which you can run, jump and grab a ledge at the back of the head (screenshot). Climb to the top of the head and place both the Ankh artifacts in the places set there for them, one there where you are and one at the other side and below, where the ledge with the save crystal is. Once they are set, save your game and climb down to the door that's just opened, between the paws of the sphinx.

Inside is an underground lake containing two submerged statues. Swim down between them and pick up some Uzi clips and the some shotgun shells on the left statue. There are two doors and a lever on the right statue, but the lever is a type that can't be pulled under water. Come up for air, then swim down a small tunnel between the feet of the statue on the right where you'll find a lever that can be pulled. It's set on the wall to the right of the gold door. This lever empties some of the water from the lake and drags Lara to an area where she can then surface.

Climb out and up onto the lowest pillar, then jump and grab to the next, diagonally to the left. From there run, jump and grab the bottom of the stairway, climb the stairs and follow the ledge. You'll see another flying mutant making his way up towards you...dispatch him from there before sliding down the slope.

Use the save crystal, then jump down to the ledge below and to the left of the doorway from where you entered. Turn around and run, jump and grab the head of the next statue. Climb up and pick up a medipack you can find embedded in it's right ear (left if your back is to the lake). You may not be able to see it, but you can stand inside the ear to pick it up (screenshot). Run and jump down the nose of the statue (you won't be able to run off it as Lara will just spring back up!)  and Lara will end up in the water again. Climb up to the right and pull the now available lever to open the door at the bottom of the left statue. Swim through it, surface and follow the very long and winding passage as far as you can, picking up two sets of Magnum clips and another save crystal on the way. There's a scarab artifact at the top, near the gate you saw at the beginning of the level. Beyond this gate is the stairway with another centaur and two more mutants. Once you pick up the Scarab, the gate will open to release them!

To dispatch them fairly safely, once the gate is open, roll and run down the passage to where the bend is, then wait for them to appear before back-flipping down the ramp (not quite half-way down) and trying to get them from there. The centaur will stay in the room for now, so when the two mutants are dead, go back to attract his attention then back-flip about halfway down the passage once Lara has a target-lock on it, shooting until it explodes!

After this, walk through the room at the bottom of the stairs and use the scarab to open the gate. Go through, pick up the large medipack and the Magnum clips and then slide down the slope. There's a window ahead which you now climb through, but first cast your mind back to the Lost Valley and the confrontation with Natla's goon, Larson...No, Lara didn't kill him, he was only stunned, and he's now back for revenge! Once you enter, he'll emerge from the right, shooting for all he's worth! Get out your weapons of choice and keep jumping around as you fire, making sure you don't let him get behind you! Once the battle is over, climb the stairs, take the final piece of the Scion and prepare for a movie clip!

Natla and some of her henchmen appear, grab Lara, steal her weapons and the Scion, and then Natla orders Lara to be killed! Of course, the indomitable hero is no match for mere assassins, so she struggles clear and throws herself off the edge of the cliff, trails the baddies on her motorbike which she conveniently finds, climbs aboard their boat and follows them...... 

If you missed anything while playing the PC version,here is the savegame file with all kills, pickups and secrets.

Previous Level } { Next Level }

Send us feedback about this wakthrough


Original content and images copyright © Tomb Raider Vault. All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without permission.

Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are trademarks or registered trademarks of Square Enix, Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an independant fan site and is not connected with, or otherwise condoned by, the creators and publishers of the Tomb Raider games. Visit the Official Tomb Raider site at tombraider.com.

Website Developed By BizWeb.Biz