Welcome to my Tomb Raider Skills Guide. In the next couple of paragraphs I’ll be explaining, rating and recommending skills available in the game so that you can get a good grasp of which ones are good and which ones are not. I’ll be using the following rating system:
- A = Highly recommended skills. Get these first.
- B = Get these after A.
- C = Acquire these only after getting A and B.
Survivor Upgrades:
Animal Instincts: Activate Survival Instincts to see animals and food glow.
Are you having trouble looking for animals to hunt? If so, then this skill will make them easier to find. It even highlights smaller animals such as rats and birds so those of who’d like to include them in your hunting list will find this skill invaluable. Personally, I didn’t have too much trouble with hunting so this skill was not a priority.
Rating: C
Survivalist: Loot animal corpses and food caches for extra XP.
More XP means faster access to skill points. Get this one early.
Rating: A
Advanced Salvaging: Collect extra salvage from crates and other sources.
More salvage means more weapon upgrades. You won’t need to get all of them to win the game but they’ll certainly make life easier for you.
Rating: A
Bone Collector: Collect salvage when looting animal corpses.
Again, more salvage is always good. This skill allows you to gain salvage in addition to the XP you receive when you hunt. More rewards for the same amount of effort? Sign me up.
Rating: A
Arrow Retrieval: Loot an enemy or animal killed with the bow to retrieve arrows.
The value of this skill depends on how much you use the bow. The game provides you with a decent amount of arrows already so unless you’re a bad shot or a purist who’s decided to use only a bow for the duration of the game, this skill isn’t necessary until late in the game when facing waves of enemies becomes a norm.
Rating: C
Scavenging: Loot an enemy corpse and receive extra ammunition.
This skill may not look all that important but ammo becomes an issue late in the game. I suggest taking this as soon as you can spare it.
Rating: B
Climber’s Agility: Press a button when landing from a hard fall to reduce damage – also increases climbing speed.
I admit that I can’t really comment on this one because its application is too situational. Lara’s able to walk away after falling from relatively high heights without even limping.
Rating: C
Orienteering: Collectibles will be visible on the map and glow through walls while Survival Instincts is active.
You’ll love this one if you’re going for 100% completion. And even if you’re not aiming for it, collectibles provide XP so it’s also in your best interest to gather them. Get this as soon as you can.
Rating: A
Cartography: All tomb entrances and map locations will be revealed on your map.
If you’re actively looking for hidden stuff through Survival Instincts this skill isn’t all that necessary. It’s still a great help though, so there’s some value to it.
Rating: B