The more you proceed into the game, the harder the enemies become. This section will give you some info on the enemies(the place they appear, their strength, the amount of bullets the need to get killed e.t.c) and tips and strategies to defeat them easily. You may not want to read on, because you want the enemies to be a surprise.
First of all, it must be mentioned that the AI(artificial intelligence) of the enemies has improved.
If they hear anything they will come looking for you. Enemies will lurk in the shadows and then attack without warning instead of their suicide charges in the previous games. Some of the enemies ,however, will make a certain sound before they appear, enabling you to run away quickly, or to draw the best weapon to deal with them or to even find a safe place to shoot them from without getting too much damage. Some enemies(e.g. tigers) attack in groups and they tend to surround Lara and then attack her. You should kill the pack leader there, to scare them off. Animals will be afraid of gunfire at first and will run away, but they will eventually get used to it and continue their attack. Also, some enemies(e.g. bats)are afraid of light (flares).
Below, the enemies are sort by the place where they first appear, so that you can navigate easily through the page. The enemies may appear anywhere after this specified area though.
Places
India:Monkeys,
Cobras,
Tigers,
Piranhas,
Statues with Swords,
Crows,
Tony(boss)
Nevada:Small Snakes,
MP Guards,
Prisoners,
Guard Dogs,
Aliens
London:Rats,
Laser Guys,
London Guards,
Damned People,
Damned Dogs,
Crocodiles,
Scuba Divers(Frogmen)
Sophia Leigh(boss)
South Pacific Islands:Natives (the ones who throw poisoned darts at you),
Natives (the ones with the spiked clubs)
,
Raptors,
Compsoganthus,
Australian Soldiers,
T-Rex,
Green Lizards,
Puna(boss)
Antarctica:Antarctica Baddies,
Guards of Mutants,
Small Mutants,
Giant Mutants,
Alien Flies,
Alien Warriors,
Willard Spider
The New Enemies1.Monkeys:Harmless,as long as you don't shoot at them. However, they tend to steal your medipacks and some other items(they love shiny artifacts).They are very easy to kill, but watch out if there are too many around, because they are quite fast. The above things apply to the first India level, the Jungle .In the next levels, the monkeys will attack you, so be prepared for some jumping around, so that they can't reach you.
2.Cobras:If you come close to them, they will pop up and try to bite you. Fortunately, they don't move, so you can kill them with your pistols if you stay away. I f they bite you, you'll get poisoned and your health will lower slowly to your death, if you don't use a medipack. So, the best way to get rid of them is to keep away and fire with your pistols. Be cautious with tall grass because there's a chance a cobra might be lurking in there.
3.Piranhas:these paper-thin fish are more like a hazard than an enemy, because you can't aim at them and kill them. They live in rivers and that makes it difficult for you to swim in there. The golden rule is to try to avoid them, by not falling into the water. However, if you have to dive into the water to pull a lever or something, choose the right moment(when they are away),swim quickly and pull up as soon as you've finished your task. You can occupy them for a while by putting a dead raptor in the river where they are, but this works only once in the Crash Site level.
4.Statues with Swords:They are stone at first and come to life when you do a specific thing. Your only chance to harm them, is when their swords are drawn. It doesn't make much sense to use the Shotgun, because it aims very slowly and it's very easy for you to miss. You should use your pistols and jump around. When I say jump around, I mean that you use all four direction keys and the mid-air and the plain roll while holding down action, so that you'll never stop firing. You can meet seven statues, but three of them emerge only if you are searching for the secrets.
5.Tony:A boss enemy, who throws fireballs at you. However, they are so slow that the only thing you must take care of, is avoid falling into the liquid in front of you, because you'll then die. When sliding down the slope to him, you shouldn't be in the middle, but on the left/right so that you land on the left/ right part of the platform. Then, you'll be able to jump left/right to avoid his shots without falling into the pool. Use your pistols and he'll die in seconds, leaving the Infada Stone for you.
6.Small Snakes:The same as cobras,but a little smaller. They tend to hide in the bushes, so be careful, because their bite is poisonous.
7.MP Guards:They are not very hard to kill, whether they have weapons or clubs .However, in the High Security Compound level, you have to free some prisoners in order to get rid of the MPs, because you don't have your weapons. In most cases, you must run quickly, press a button and let the prisoners do the job, while you are being chased. However, at other times you have to work silently and avoid making them emerge. One guard has to be finished off with a laser beam, too. But after you've got your pistols, nobody can stop you! However, you should side jump while firing with your pistols to avoid the ones that are armed because their weapons can be harmful to you.
8.Prisoners:They help you very much, so why should you kill them? If you are a violent person, though, watch out for their muscles. However, at least one in the Area 51 level, causes more problem than he solves, so you should finish him off before messing up with the real baddies.
9.Guard Dogs:A little slower than the Dobermans. They're fairly easy to kill. I recommend sidejumping while firing with your pistols.
10.Aliens:Bwahahahaha! The ones you see in Nevada are not real enemies, just decorations. But they look very scary, don't they? However,
real aliens lie ahead.
11.Laser Guys:Their laser beams cause very much damage to you so you should jump left and right while firing to avoid them. Another way is to try staying behind them all the time so you'll be able to shoot them without getting too much damage. That can be done by using the mid-air roll.
12.London Guards:They're quite easy to kill. Watch out for their pistols. When they emerge they don't start to fire immediately so you should use this time to your won advantage.
13.Damned People:They were once assistants of Sophia Leigh, but a failed experiment turned them into monstrous, faceless people. At first, you need to fight them(don't worry, they are slow and easy to kill)but after you've finished the Aldwych level they won't attack you, as long as you don't shoot them, of course. If you get too close to them, they can even put you on fire, so try to keep away. Keep an eye for them when entering a new room in Aldwych -they tend to hide in dark corners.
14.Damned Dogs:They accompany the damned people. They are not very fast, so if you side step while firing with your pistols or Uzis, you'll be able to kill them quickly.
15.Sophia Leigh:The boss enemy in London. She is quite difficult to kill, compared to Tony. In the City level where she's found there is not a single Save Crystal! She has some kind of wand and throws green energy bolts to you. After 11 shots, she stops for 2-3 seconds to power-up herself. Her next bolt is the most powerful of all-it causes half or more of your energy to be lost. Sometimes she laughs like a maniac(something like: Bwahahahahahahaha!).Your weapons can't harm her. Her energy bolts can keep you away of her and can even blow you up. I suppose it is not difficult for anyone to climb up the first block, monkey-swing from the ceiling, land on another set of blocks, ump up to grab the platform above and press the button which opens the way to a higher place. You must take care of her bolts however. After you've pressed the button, jump up to get on the next platform. There is a ladder there which is quite difficult to grab, because if you grab very low or if you're not quick, Sophia will blow you off it. After you've managed to climb the ladder, you have to go into the crawlspace and get on the place above. Now, Sophia will freeze in her position, as long as you don't shoot at her. That gives you the opportunity to set up for a tricky running and grabbing jump to grab the ledge of a platform which is in front of you. When you manage to get on the platform, however, Sophia emerges again. Do not try to press the button near her, because she'll keep you away. Instead, hide behind the black block and start shooting the white thing(box?)which is there. It is actually an electricity panel. Eventually, it'll break and electricity will go through the wires and Sophia will be electrified. She'll die and drop the Eye of Isis. Don't do the mistake to step on the metal black corridor where the artifact is dropped, because you'll be electrified too. You should climb up the black block, do a running jump and press the button which was near Sophia. That will make the metal corridor accessible, and you'll be able to take the artifact and end the level. If you are not bored, there are some funny things to try with her. She blew me up with her bolts once and I landed on a very high platform where I would not normally have been able to go! I managed to get really close to the helicopter too.
16.Natives 1:They have their bodies coloured red and they throw poisoned arrows at you.They aren't very hard to kill, but watch out not to get poisoned, by jumping around to avoid their darts. Try to stay behind them for as long as possible.
17.Natives 2.these are armed with swords. You should fire with your pistols as they approach and then jump above them with roll in order to hit their backs and not lose that much energy. They usually appear behind corners, in the forest and after you've pushed a button or lever. In that case you should roll and draw your pistols immediately after pressing a switch. Backflipping while firing is effective there.
18.Compsoganthus:Well,at first these tiny green dinosaurs didn't attack me and they went to finish off a dead raptor nearby. Then they started following me like puppies. However, when I reloaded they started biting me. Their teeth are powerful and they tend to attack in groups, so jumping left, right, back and forward is essential in order to get rid of them. You can always climb up a block(if you find one)and shoot them from above.
19.Australian Soldiers:these guys are your friends. They are easy to kill, but you shouldn't shoot at them, really, because if you kill a single one of them, the rest won't be friendly to you anymore. If you let them live, they will not mess up with you and they'll even help you to kill the raptors.
20.Green Lizards:They aren't very hard to kill, but watch out for the poisonous gas they tend to throw from time to time. It's a good idea to backflip while firing with your pistols.
21.Puna:He's the South Pacific Islands boss. I suppose he is some sort of a king or a god. When you slide into his throne room, you have to climb on the steps of his throne to make him notice you. Then his chair will start to turn round. After a short time, he'll start shooting deadly energy bolts. I found it useful to backflip immediately after walking on the steps that lead to his throne and then land on the center of the room. Then you should jump left, then right, then left again e.t.c, while firing with your pistols without stopping, so that his harmful energy bolts(a single one is enough to make you die) won't strike you. If you are not in the right position, you'll soon fall off the ledge and fall in a deep pit, so I suppose you try to stand at the exact center of the room. After a while he'll protect himself with an energy shield, so that you can't shoot him and he will unleash a green lizard to help him out. I suppose you use this time to correct your position in order to avoid falling off the ledge. The lizard will go around the room and you can use the same technique(jumping left and right)so that when it's killed and the boss emerges again, you'll be already in the right spot to shoot him. If you don't defeat him this time, after a while, he'll send another lizard for help and so on. Eventually he'll explode ,however, and you'll take pride in your hard work because he'll leave the Element 115 for you.
He can be killed with pistols, but if you use the Uzis or the Desert Eagle, you'll finish him off more quickly.
22.Antarctica Baddies:They wear red jackets and some of them are accompanied by sheep dogs. They may leave some ammo or a small medipack for you when they get killed. They aren't very hard to kill, but they tend to appear in nasty places, where you have to jump a lot before getting rid of them. Try not to fall into the cold water, because you'll then be an easy target. Just try to jump with mid-air roll above them, or jump and then roll, to succeed in shooting their unarmed backs.
23.Guards of Mutants:They look scary but they help you kill the mutants. Don't try to shoot at them, though, or they'll burn you in seconds. You will be made to kill them in the last level though, so I suggest you fire before they get the chance to burn you and that you run and jump to avoid their fire.
24.Small Mutants:They are not as harmful as they seem to be. They can only poison you with their breath. It's difficult to avoid getting poisoned if you are in a small room with them, though, so keep jumping and be careful, because when they die,they throw out a large amount of poison.
25.Giant Mutants:Not only are they very ugly, but they're also quick and some of them appear in the shadows. I warn you to have a weapon drawn after pressing a switch that opens a door or before entering a door. They attack you very viciously and they start punching you. If you can, it's better to climb up a block, so that they won't be able to reach you. However, if you do that, they will hide in a place where you can't shoot at them. It's a real pain to finish them off with pistols, so I suggest you use the Uzis or the MP5.The Desert Eagle is also effective, but it's not very practical to spend all your bullets on them. You should jump and roll quickly, while firing, so that you get the least damage.
26. Alien Flies:They are not very hard to kill and they don't harm you very much but there is always a bunch of them for you to deal with. The bad thing is that they are quite hard to aim at, as they attack from the sky and fly quite quickly, so don't use heavy weapons such as desert eagle of rocket or grenade launcher. Pistols or Uzis will be better. these insects can reach you in shallow water as well. If you are standing on a ledge it is better to use the Shotgun to finish them off quickly with two well-aimed shots, because they can knock you off the ledges very easily....
27.Alien Warriors:They are very strong and pretty quick. They can punch you to death and they throw energy bolts at you, which are quite effective. If you decide to use pistols you'll have a hard time and you'll waste many medipacks. The best weapons for them are the Uzis, because you can fire while jumping and rolling, and the MP5,because ,although it is a little more difficult to aim well with, it's very effective. The best technique to defeat them is the infamous jumping to all directions. If you manage to find a high block where they can't reach you, consider yourself lucky;)
28.Willard SpiderAfter he has placed the 4 artifacts at the ends of the 4 corridors, Dr. Willard falls into some kind of liquid and transforms into a giant mutant spider. He can shoot magic energy bolts who take off all of your health-one shot and you are gone- and he never misses. So medipacks are not handy in this particular situation. Fortunately, he does that when you are out of the inner ring, for example when you are running down to the end of a corridor. Also, if you get close to him, he can grab you and smash your face on the floor. To make things worse, the environment where the final battle takes place is not very convenient for jumping and shooting. Your aim is to shoot him until he faints for some seconds and then sprint until you reach the end of a corridor, grab the artifact, roll and quickly get back to the inner ring, so that he won't be able to shoot his powerful bolts. You have to repeat this for all 4 artifacts and then he'll become vulnerable. That's not easy though and poor playstation users have to make it in one try. First of all, the weapon of choice would be MP5,Desert Eagle or the Uzis. The first 2 are very effective to him-a dozen of Desert Eagle shots or a few rounds with the MP5 and he'll faint. All three can aim while jumping, but you don't normally have many bullets for the Desert Eagle and the MP5 is sort of hard to aim. Anyway, I used the Desert Eagle until I run out of ammo and then I went on with the MP5.The other heavy weapons are too hard to aim to use them on Willard. Your jumps and rolls have to be well-timed and accurate when you deal with him, so that you don't fall into the lava pits and when he faints, he'll lie on the corridor directly opposite of you. In that way, you'll have more time to sprint to the end of the corridor-watch out to release sprint some time, so that you'll end in front of the artifact. Then grab the artifact, roll and draw you weapons and sprint back to the inner ring while firing. If you do it well, he won't shoot his magic bolts, but if do it wrongly and you see him prepare for his blasts, reload quickly-it's hopeless. So after you've retrieved all 4 artifacts you have to make him faint one more time and he'll explode. It's a shame that the level doesn't end there though.
Enemies from the previous Tomb Raider Games, also seen in Tomb Raider 3
1.Tigers:It's better to shoot them from a safe place above them, because their sharp teeth are quite effective. Try to make them appear and then quickly climb on a block. If you can't ,draw your pistols when you hear them approaching-they make a special sound- and start jumping around to avoid their vicious bites. A few blasts with the Shotgun will do the job as well.
2.Crows:I don't remember losing energy from a crow. A few rounds with the pistols and they go dooooooown. Sometimes they can get very frustrating, because they attack you from directly above making it hard to aim or they try to knock you off a ledge.
3.Rats:No comment here. Use your pistols and make sure they get killed before they start nibbling your feet.
4.Crocodiles:They are more vicious than the ones in the previous Tomb Raider Games. When I first came face to face with one of them underwater, I was scared to death. these sea monsters are quite fast, but if you keep swimming they'll find it difficult to reach you. However, they need quite a large amount of harpoons to get killed. A good technique is to swim below them and point your harpoon gun at them. If you don't have it, however, you should swim quickly to the surface and try to shoot them from above, if you can pull up of course. Or you could just try to ignore them. Also, there is a bug with them: If you stay still they will bite you once and then stop and won't harm you unless you move. That's not very useful though.
5.Scuba Divers (Frogmen):these underwater enemies can be killed with 5-6 harpoons. They can shoot you from dry land, but if you keep jumping and firing, you'll eventually kill them. The place where things get tougher is where you don't have a place to pull up and you have to deal with them with your harpoon gun underwater. It is easier to aim if Lara is below them and points her harpoon at them. So what you should do is try to get Lara below them and harpoon them quickly.
6.Raptors:You can meet these enemies in Tomb Raider 1 as well, but in Tomb Raider 3 they are much stronger and need quite a large amount of bullets to get killed, but fortunately they are slightly slower and less vicious. Now, the Desert Eagle is effective on them but there are so many in the South Pacific Islands levels, that you'll run out of ammo sometime. So, I suggest you keep jumping and rolling and that you try to find a block to stand on. If you are friendly enough to the Australian soldiers, they'll help you out with the beasts. If not, you'll have to sort it out on your own. Just be sure to keep moving and shooting.
7.T-Rex:A big monster with stomping feet and sharp teeth. It appears only once in the level Crash Site in this game, after you've grabbed a key which can be found in her nest. So, mother Rex decides to get back home. You'll have a hard time with her, I assure you. What you should do is hurry to a place where she can't reach you because of her size-there are many such places in the area where she appears, for example, the switch rooms- and start shooting her. She will take ages to get down with pistols. It's better to use the MP5 or the Desert Eagle(assuming you have some clips left of course)You may want to live on the edge as well. You could then, instead of finding a place to hide, go face to face with the beast and start jumping and rolling around while firing at her with your Uzis or MP5, or even with the Desert Eagle. Just be sure not to waste ammo on the walls, because this dinosaur is really hard to kill and you needn’t give away any bullets. Try not mess with her feet nor with her mouth, because there will be nothing left from Lara(maybe a few bones) if you do so...