SANCTUARY OF ATON

Level by trtimes

Walkthrough by Treeble

Once Lara finishes sliding down, shoot the two vases right in front of you for a small medipack and flares. The exit door opens when you go over the glowing scarab tile, but, before leaving, turn around and look at the block above the entrance you came from to spot a jump switch on the side. Kill the scorpions and run down the corridor, entering the open path on the left to find SECRET #1: the SHOTGUN and shells.

Run down the small flight of stairs and throw the lever to open the nearby gate and release an angry dog as well. In the next room, kill the bat and shatter the vases for ammo drops. Head up the steps and jump over the dark spike pit towards the lever in the back. It opens the gate in the previous area. Before going back, light a flare and notice an opening in one of the corners of the spike pit. The tile adjacent to the opening is safe to land on (the spikes will deactivate on that tile), so get there to find SECRET #2: flares and a large medipack. Backtrack to the room downstairs and through the open gate ahead of you.

At the bottom is a lava pit with flame emitters on a handful solid tiles. Yes, you need to jump across them. Start by doing a running jump at an angle to the far left of the entrance to a safe pair of tiles with no flames. Activate the jump switch and save your game, then time your hops as the flame emitters go down — remember that if you stand still on the very corner of the tiles, you won't go up in flames, so work that into your strategy. From the higher block, turn around and grab the monkey swing and traverse past the flames all the way to the lever behind the balustrade. Throw the lever and swing back to the high block, then locate the flame-free tile to the right, from where you can jump back to the entrance.

Upstairs, the main gate has now been unsealed, so go through and watch it shut behind you. A dog rushes from the distance. Once it is down, run towards the blue glowing scarab tile and turn around to spot a jump switch on a column on your current left. Shoot the vases in the corner and go through the revealed crawlspace to a room with a burning lever. Wait for the vertical flames ahead of you to die down and quickly step on and back off the ivory tile to make the lever safe. Throw the lever and crawl back.

Go down the dark corridor towards a closed gate and find the block you just raised. Climb up the wall ladder and backflip near the top to find two dogs and a lever to open the gate below. Back down, a dog and two scorpions await at the bottom of the winding tunnel. From the sealed gate, turn around and aim your binoculars at the entrance of this room to find a jump switch just to the right of it. It lowers a block leading downstairs.

At the bottom is a small series of steps with spike traps. Walk towards them to trigger the whole first row, then notice one of the spikes doesn't pop back up anymore: that place is safe for you to stay as you trigger the next row and so on. The gate at the top opens upon approach, rush to one side (a boulder will fall as soon as you cross the gate) to find a bat and a handful of empty vases surrounding an altar.

Facing the entrance, again find a jump switch on the right corner. It lowers a block in the opposite side, allowing you to pull the ornate urn onto the glowing tile. You should see a flame going out atop the segmented pillar in the South wall, so get there and climb the ladder to its left. Run around the perimeter, jumping over the gaps, to a small hole behind the jump switch for SECRET #3: flares and ammo. Jump back and this time cross the now safe segmented pillar to the other side of the room and monkey swing to a lever. Throw it, then safety drop and head back the way you came from, minding the spikes, and straight through the opening in the opposite wall.

As you get down, you might get a weird sense of déjà vu. Drop into the pit, kill the scorpion and throw the lever, then climb back up and head down the passage to the side of the entrance. Kill two scorpions and shatter the empty vases in order to pull the two statues onto the glowing tiles. Past the gate, jump over the dark spike pit, handle the dog, and throw the lever to fill the sand pit. Backtrack there and cross to the other side for a lever past the non-poisonous dart traps. Take the path leading upwards to the unsealed gate.

Through the next gate, the a cue indicates two mummies getting up. Quickly claim the flares on the cabinet and throw the lever in the opposite corner to make a hasty escape over a lava pit. Wait for the spikes to retract to run into the pathway behind and avoid three mummies. (Note: I am not sure whether it has any in-game effect or not, but since you cannot return and there's no harm in doing so, I recommend stepping on the three ornate tiles in this area, just in case.) As you cross the threshold, a gate shuts behind you and the room gets quickly filled with sand, taking you to to an opening in the ceiling.

Welcome to the main hub of this level. Ahead of you is a gate locked by two cartouches. Dispatch the scorpions scuttling towards you and run towards the dark NE corner to find a jump switch (with your back to the cartouche receptacles, you should spot it easily with your binoculars). Let's begin by taking the East wing, so take the path to the left of the receptacles.

Just before going up the ramp you should identify a block you've just raised on the right hand wall. Use the accent on the floor to climb to the top and a running jump to grab the ledge behind it. It's dark, but don't worry, it gets better. As you pull up, you'll hear bats shrieking toward you, but in case you want to make the most of your flare first, jump over the gaps on this ledge. You come to a lever, and a ledge just beyond it houses SECRET #4: flares, a small medipack and ammo. Down the bats and throw the lever, then return to the ramp leading up to the East wing.

Near the closed door at the top, get onto the sand mound on the left. The ladder is booby trapped, quickly run or jump by to make a boulder drop. When it's safe, climb up to a room with spikes in the center. Behind the vases in the corners are two crawlspaces, each leading to a reach-in switch protected by flames. You can stay crouched beneath the flames as you wait for your window of opportunity to stand up and activate the two reach-in switches. When both are activated, a block raises in front of the lever so you can finally throw it and open the door below. Climb down the ladder and head into a much brighter area.

Get the small medipack and flares from the side room and approach the doors to have them open. Kill a harpy and hop into the middle pool in the back. On the other end, quickly get out of water to deal with other two harpies who might be taking potshots at you. In this new area, you see a giant statue of goddess Isis in the back. Upon closer inspection, another pair of territorial harpies attack, and you'll notice you need two knots to unlock the door. As you might have presumed, each of the paths from the pool room yield one.

Let's begin with the North path (left when facing the statue of Isis). Shoot the empty bench and locate the jump switch on the backside of the corner pillar to open the door. The door shuts behind you, locking you in. Grab the first PHAROS KNOT from the leaves sprouting in the middle of the room. You might have noticed a ornate urn and a different tile in one of the corners, beneath another of the shatter benches. Drag it there to raise a block nearby. There's also a jump switch protected by a spike trap: save your game and time things just right, when you pull down the jump switch you deactivate said spike trap, and raise another block as well. Use the lower raised block to reach the monkey swing, grab the crack on the pillar and shimmy to the top of the other block, from where you can reach a jump switch that unlocks the exit door.

Return to the pool room and take the South path now. Drop into the first small pool you come across to find clips in the middle of a plant, then get out of water and proceed around the bend. Jump past the spike trap and pull the jump switch to open the door. Be careful, as a boulder will drop on top of you as soon as you cross the threshold, so enter going to either side, and find a jump switch on the backside of the pillar in the dark SE corner.

You can now climb the ladder on the opposite corner of this room, backflipping at the top to grab a spiky ledge above. Past the first double spike trap, face the single one — save your game! — and when the spikes reach their peak, run through them in order to climb the wall behind them. With a bit of luck, you should pull up safely just in time. Collect ammo on the cabinet and light a flare to spot another jump switch in the dark corner. The block in the middle of the burning pillars lowers, revealing the next knot.

You might want to jump across to the spiky ledge on the opposite side and repeat the strategy to climb onto the top level past the spikes for more ammo. Whether you get them or not, safety drop to ground floor and retrieve the second PHAROS KNOT and return to the room with the statue of Isis.

With the two knots in place, go through the side door to a blue room and find the first ANCIENT CARTOUCHE in the middle of a pool. There are ammo pickups in the middle of some of the underwater plants, but the collision makes getting them a bit too difficult. No matter what, we now have to work our way back to the main hub, so jump into the central pool and head all the way west.

In the dark cave, a bat will attack when you approach the closed West wing door. Nearby is a small cave area with a glowing scarab tile. Jump over the flame pit and drag the ornate urn onto said tile. To return, jump onto the topmost burning tile on the SE corner. That flame seems to be harmless. Pull up into the West wing and head up the stairs and drop into the room with a visible ladder right in front of you.

The music cue signals an attack of scarabs. To get rid of them, head back to the main cave and lure them into the hole in front of the main doors. Once the coast is clear, go back to the room with the ladder. Activate the burning reach-in switch (remember you can duck beneath the flame), then climb the ladder and backflip to the raised block to monkey swing across to a jump switch.

Proceed to the top of the stairs and, at the top of the ramp, do a hairpin turn right and push open the double doors for SECRET #5: the UZIS and clips. At the top of the room, there's a burning pole in the central room. Let's start exploring the side rooms by the one on the left (South). Step on one of the corners of the plinth to deactivate the blades before collecting the GOLDEN AMULET, then turn around and use the jump switch to reopen the exit.

Go to the opposite side (North) and take a look at the ceiling. All ivory tiles mean death (except, for some reason, the very tile with the plinth). Jump across the safe spots, grab the second GOLDEN AMULET and hop back to safety before the ball hanging over your head spikes you dead. Climb into the last room and use both amulets to put out the fire in the reach-in switch, then activate it to make the pole safe to climb. At the top, backflip and head down the hallway to a room guarded by three dogs.

Activate the jump switch behind the burning plinth and go to the next room. To the right, the door threshold is protected by blade traps, so jump inside and dispatch the dog that will try to ambush you from behind. Notice the patterns on the flame emitters themselves. The two in the middle stop for longer intervals, allowing you to activate the jump switches (one at a time, of course) above them. Ignore the other two.

Jump past the traps and into the tall room on the other side. As you enter, turn left and locate a jump switch in the corner, then use the raised block to climb onto the ledges. Pay attention to certain floor tiles as they're protected by blade traps which can either hurt you or push you down to your doom. Do a running jump to grab the edge of the pole by the flames and deal with two bats before going up. At the top, you need to backflip onto a burning tile when it goes off. Quickly step to a corner of the tile to prevent Lara from burning up.

When it's safe, jump and grab the monkey swing and traverse it to the ladder beyond the flame emitter. Before going up the next ladder, you might want to jump to the edge in the back for ammo. At the top of the ladder, with Lara's hands on the rung just before the empty space, backflip and twist to grab the central pillar. There's another jump switch protected by a slow burner at the top. Once it's activated, quickly get out of harm's way and safely climb down to the ground using the last ladder.

You'll notice one of the next doors is now open, so cross it to reach a huge and dark chamber. When the camera angle switches, light up a flare and inspect the two corners closest to this entrance to find more jump switches, then proceed into the West hallway.

In a room with ladders and flames, shoot a dog then inspect the room to find a small medipack in a pool, ammo in one of the vases, and, most importantly, a jump switch over the SE pool. The reach-in switch in the back is now safe to use, do so and return to the first ladder, climb it and dismount to the left. Turn around and shatter the vases to raise some trapdoors and reveal some flares. Time your jumps across the flames (remember, it's safe to stand still in the extreme corners of the tiles) and activate the jump switch over the trapdoor.

Jump at an angle to the larger ledge behind the flames and into the alcove in the corner for another jump switch. This deactivates the flames in the upper reach-in switch, so hop back to the ledge and do a long running jump to it. Three flame wraiths are unleashed but you are fortunately surrounded by pools. Head back to the entrance and go across to the East hallway now.

You arrive in a red and blue room with a couple of bats and vases (one of which hides ammo). Ignore the two chess pieces for now and go to the blue side to find a ladder by the raised block. Backflip and activate the jump switch to raise a block in the middle of this room. Proceed to the red side and find a ladder in the back corner of the room, then hop across to the second jump switch. This one lowers the two raised blocks, revealing colored tiles on which you need to put the two chess pieces. When that's done, you can climb to the top of the room and use the reach-in switch.

Backtrack to the previous hub and notice that some blocks have raised in the opposite corner. Climb onto the upper ledge and pull the jump switch behind the column to raise a block nearby (behind which are some uzi clips). Monkey swing to the opposite ledge, check behind the columns for more ammo as you work your way to the lever on the next ledge. Use the nearby block to return to the ground floor and go up the stairs.

At the top, push open the red doors and you'll see the next ANCIENT CARTOUCHE right in front of you. Shoot the vases for a small medipack and flares. Now it's time to work our way backwards. Return downstairs and proceed in a straight line until you are forced to turn left. In this room. where you killed some dogs earlier on, before going up the ramp, climb up in the corner and go around the path behind the balustrade to locate a newly accessible hole in the floor. Drop in for SECRET #6: the AUTOMATIC PISTOL. Slide down the pole and keep heading downwards until you find yourself back in the main cave hub.

Place the two cartouches and watch the camera flyby. As you head into the next chambers, turn around when you get to the small flight of stairs to locate another pair of jump switches. Ignore the ornate urn (my game froze when I tried to move it) and proceed to the last room with the two statues. Push them onto the lowered tiles to enter the treasure room. Examine the back corners for supplies, then get the AMULET OF ATON from the main pedestal.

Through the unsealed gate, face four demigods. They're kind and will attack one at a time (there's no point in shooting the ones frozen in place). With the four dead, we can proceed to obtain the two burning stars in this room. Run around the perimeter and you will find two levers, each of which put out one of the fires, and then proceed to retrieve the newly accessible STAR OF ATON nearby. Each star is also protected by a wraith, but you can quickly get rid of them by jumping into the shallow pool.

With both stars in your backpack, unlock the door in the back and you are home free.