EQUANIMITY

Level by nerdfury

Walkthrough by José

THE CODE

Go outside W (the door opens as you approach) and get the flares hidden in the grass. Go back inside. Jump into the pool and swim through to the UW passage, surface in a dark room, light a flare or use the binoculars to see in a corner a sort of code: 2312. Go back to the starting room.

TIMED RUN

Start by moving the block onto the marked tile in the corner to raise a tall block in the other corner; drag the movable block once so you can climb and jump to the top of the raised block, jump to the white ledge and take a running jump to the ledge with the floor lever (camera shot of a door outside), use the timed lever, jump back and to the left so Lara’s backpack is against the wall and take a running jump W to land onto the movable block; quickly drop, run outside and sprint directly to the W building before the doors close.

FIRST LAVA ROOM

Approach to the lava pool and, after the flyby don’t try to directly run and jump to grab the edge of the breakable tile (falling debris), but turn to face SE. You can use the standard or flare trick method to navigate this gauntlet --

Standard: take a running jump with twist to the right side of the sloped window sill, slide and jump with a left curve onto the breakable tile, run and jump to grab the monkeyswing and swing to the wall pass the tall fence. Situate Lara in the NW corner of the last monkeyswing tile, facing and touching the W wall. As soon as you hear the sound of the spikes popping up, drop and roll, then perform a curved running jump over the spikes.

Flare trick: light a flare and take a running jump with twist to the right side of the sloped window sill, slide and jump with a left curve onto the breakable tile, run and jump to grab the monkeyswing and swing to the wall pass the tall fence. Situate Lara in the NW corner of the last monkeyswing tile, facing SE and when you hear the sound of the spikes popping up, drop and throw the flare just when you are about to touch the breakable tile below, so Lara doesn’t bend over and you get time enough to take a curved running jump to the ledge with the retracted spikes.

Once at the other side of the room, cross the ramp with the small medipack to trigger the spiked ball so you can safely pick it up and quickly press the button to open the exit door or you’ll get impaled.

THE DRAGON ORNAMENT

Outside, pick up the CROWBAR from the plinth and use the code you got in the dark cave in the keypad to open the next door; go inside and pry the DRAGON ORNAMENT from the wall.

For a secret: the crate in this small room is movable; pull it once blocking the entrance, light a flare, climb it and pull the jumpswitch in the hole above; move the crate so you can exit this room, jump into the small pool and the trapdoor at the bottom is now open so you can get the SECRET #1: the Silver Dragon.

THE BLUE QUARTZ

Go to the N building and press a button to open the door and return to the starting room. Use the ornament in the N wall receptacle to open the next door. Advance E and soon you’ll get a cutscene of an enemy attacking from your back; quickly run around the rocks to find the PISTOLS on a pedestal; after pick them up, select them opening the inventory and shoot the bad guy; he will drop the BLUE QUARTZ and use it to open the trapdoor in the SW corner of this area. Drop into the hole and go through the dark passage to a new challenge room.

THE JADE KEY

This dangerous room is full of mines, in the floor and also the flying ones. What I did was jump to the free tile in the right side, duck and time the flying mine to stand up and take a couple of standing jumps over the last mines. When you get it, pick up the JADE KEY and the door will open; jump into the water and safely cross the passage by swimming between the pair of blades just through its center. At the end of the passage pull the UW lever to open the door and return to the starting room. Go again to the outside area behind the N open door and continue E to use your key in the next building.

ROOM WITH THE SCROLL - SOUTH PASSAGE

In the next room pick up the flares, the small medipack and the LASERSIGHT on top of the central block; shoot the seats to get the CROSSBOW and the CHINESE ELEMENTS SCROLL. Now push the button on the S wall to open the door, advance and pick up the large medipack in the corridor, continue and watch the flyby. Draw the crossbow combined with the sight and save your game; run forward catching fire and quickly shoot the bell in front of you, the sprinkler will put out the fire.

Detour for a secret: turn left and at the end of this corridor don’t climb the ledge, but turn right and light a flare to discover a movable block, push it to the very end, turn right and push another movable block twice. You are in the room with the bell now; go around the block and open the floor trapdoor with your hands (no handle) to get the SECRET #2: the Jade Dragon. Go back to the corridor and climb the ledge to your right.

Save your game before you slide down the ramp, open the inventory and see the Chinese Elements Scroll to obtain a hint. In the next room you’ll need to step onto the marked tiles in certain order; according to the scroll: wood > fire > earth > metal > water. So slide down the ramp and quickly (a moving spiked wall is triggered) step onto the first tile to your right (the tree), then onto the tile to the left of the closed door (the flame), then onto the tile in the NW corner (the mountain), then onto the tile in front of the door (the cubes) and finally onto the tile near the NE corner (the sea). If you do this in time, the moving spiked wall stops and the door opens; pick up the small medipack and a little later the YANG PIECE; the door will open and you’re back in the main room.

ROOM WITH THE SCROLL - NORTH PASSAGE

It’s time to press the button on the N wall, the door opens and at the end of the corridor an on-screen message appears: “One step at a time is good walking”. This means that if you run or stop while going through the room you are doomed. So study carefully the route in the mirror first and starting from the SE corner, walk slowly without stop all the way until you reach the other side of the room; once you get it, go back to the main room picking up the YIN PIECE on your way. Combine the pieces to form the YIN YANG and use it on the E side of the central block to open the E door.

THE FAN

Run down the corridor and in the next room shoot the bad guy, pick up the small medipack and move the vase away so you can open the floor trapdoor in the SE corner (facing S); drop into the hole, go through the crawlspace and at the end of the corridor jump onto the trapdoors to reach the ladder, climb and shimmy right. Jump into the aquarium and pick up the shotgun shells and the FAN in the dark corner; back to the ladder and note the sounds: the trapdoors are now opening and closing and the blades in the corridor are active.

Jump to grab the ladder, climb down almost to the bottom and observe the trapdoor closing and opening (you can also use the trapdoor sounds for guidance). When the trapdoor is about to close, take a backflip with twist, a standing jump to the next trapdoor and quickly a last jump onto the safe floor before the spiked ball crushes you; cross the corridor timing the rotating blades and go back to the room with the movable vase.

A CODE FOR A SECRET

Take the N passage, use the fan to open the door, run up the ramp and a trapdoor opens for you; pick up the large medipack and the SHOTGUN from the plinths and climb to a large outside area. But if you want the last secret:

Preparation for a secret: the wall behind the pedestal where the shotgun was is really a crowbar door, open it and take note of the symbols on the wall: black-white-black-white-black. Go back outside.

TEMPLE AREA

When you go to the front of the temple, a message on-screen appears, and there’s a piece of paper on the floor with the word “Maltesers” (not important for the gameplay). Turn to face N and spot the bell on the far rocks; draw the crossbow with sight to shoot it and open the temple doors. But don’t enter yet, advance a bit to the N and look to the symbols next to the floor trapdoor between the flower pots: white-black-white-black-black.

MOVABLES PUZZLE

Go inside the temple, shoot two bad guys and pick up the desert eagle ammo to the right of the entrance and the flares next to the N wall. Left and right from the central stairs there are two white vases; move them onto the marked tiles in front of the grated red doors to open a door upstairs. Go upstairs and locate the open door to your right; inside pick up the desert eagle ammo and the large medipack in the window sills.

For a secret: if you opened the crowbar door in the niche were the shotgun was and saw the code, the white symbols means up and the red symbols down, so pull (from left to right) the first, the third and the fifth switches to open a door outside in this first floor; go there and get the SECRET #3: the Golden Dragon, the DESERT EAGLE and desert eagle ammo. Go back to the room with the switches.

FLOODING THE CAVE

According to the code you saw next to the trapdoor in the outside area, pull the switches so they stay (from left to right) up-down-up-down-down to open that trapdoor. Go outside but don’t go there yet, because the cave is dry and the height is excessive to safely drop. Instead, go around the fenced area of the temple to find crossbow arrows and shotgun shells, and if you explore the grassy area you’ll find a large medipack in the NE corner near a tree.

Near this tree in the NE corner of the temple wall there is a small hole with a metal grate, shoot this grate and crawl/drop into a dark room where you’ll find a wheel switch to fill the cave with water. Now you can go outside, shoot the tiger, go to the entrance of the temple and drop through the open trapdoor.

THE ORNAMENT KEY

Go out of the water and shoot the hydra (you know, only when it has got fire in its mouth and the head is in the higher position) and when it’s dead you’ll hear the sound of a door opening. Pick up the large medipack and locate the open door in the NE corner, pick up the ORNAMENT KEY and continue to trigger a flyby in a large lava room.

SECOND LAVA ROOM

Take a running jump to grab the rope, turn right and swim to land onto the breakable tile attached to the central platform with the rotating blade, time the blade to pick up the crossbow arrows and take a running jump to grab the ledge with the moving fire. The corners of this ledge are safe so, time the fire to press all three buttons to open doors in the S, N and W walls (the left and right buttons are easy to push; for the central one, wait in a corner and when the fire starts to move out of your position, follow the fire next to it, press the central button and run back to the corner.

Once all three doors are open, draw the crossbow + sight to shoot the bells behind those open doors: a block will lower in the W side of the room. Take a running jump to the central platform with the rotating blade and another running jump to grab the ladder in the N wall; shimmy all the way to the left and around the corners until you reach the ledge where the block lowered. Facing S, jump to grab the ladder, climb to the top and slide to the surroundings of the temple.

THE BROADSWORD

Go to the front of the temple, inside and up the stairs, use the key in the keyhole to your left and enter to get the BROADSWORD. Shoot the red seats to pick up a small medipack and the shotgun shells.

THE TORCH

Go out of this room and down the stairs; in the SE corner of this library area there is a disguised trapdoor, open it and drop down, crawl under the blades and get a TORCH at the end of the corridor; to get back with the torch, throw a flare, throw the torch under the blades, crawl, pick up the torch without stand up, throw the torch again and so on until the torch is out of the tiles with the blades; pick it up, go to the outside area and light it in one of the blocks with plinths on fire in both sides of the temple entrance (jump onto the corner of the block and move Lara left and right a bit until she lights the torch).

USING THE TORCH

Now go directly to the SW corner of this outside area, where the bamboos are blocking the opening. Now you have the sword, so part of the plants will disappear and you can cross, shoot the tiger and light the four lamps in the corners to open the central trapdoor.

FINAL FIGHT

Drop into the hole facing S and from the left corner, slide and jump with a left curve near the end of the ramp to avoid the rolling spiked ball; continue sliding, this time from the very right side and if you are lucky the swinging blades wont touch you; at the end of the slide, jump from the edge in last moment to grab the central structure where an old acquaintance awaits. Draw a heavy weapon to defeat Pierre. He will drop the AMETHYST OF ANHUI; when you pick it up a door opens in the SE corner of the cave; jump there and run up the ramp towards the light to finish the level.

September – 27 -2020