Tomb Raiders Traveler's Guide: Temple of Xian -- Hints

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	Temple of Xian		Items: 38	Kills: 36
		Your first visit to China was much too brief. Welcome back to China. There aren't too many enemies in the Temple of Xian, but makes up for it in the number of tricky puzzles.
	Too Easy	Here's the dagger everyone's been searching for. This is a bit too easy, do you think? If that first drop causes you problems, consider falling backwards down the slope, because there's a small ramp that will help break the fall. What, fall backwards? Yup. If you know what to expect, you can take it on your own terms.
	Water Slide	This is no water slide park. You will need to conserve health. What's that metallic ring? Watch out for it and take a jump. Damage from the fall is far less than what that metal blade can do. Not enough of a challenge for you? How about if they add a huge steel ball to the mix? Yeah, if you are facing the right way, you could grab the bottom of the ledge and let the ball sail safely over your head.
	First Stop	After your little encounter with those mean fish, your next order of business is to find the temple doors. Above the double doors is a lever. All you have to do is figure out a way to get up there and pull it.
	Spiderwoman	At the top of the ladder, Lara will find an open trapdoor and a spider. Beyond, Lara will find a room full of deadly red ooze. To get across the room, first Lara will need to climb down. There's a ladder that leads down the front of the ledge, but there's a break it the ladder. Getting to the ladder below should be no problem at all. If it is, then you haven't learned your release and grab move. You'll need to do a little more of that to get around the corner.
	Blind Faith	In the next room, you will find a pit of spikes. If you climb up the ladder you will realize that there is a break that prevents you from reaching the top. Here's another one of those places in which back flipping off a ladder will come in handy. All you have to do is find where to perform it. It should be easy enough to figure out by the spikes on the ledge above, and that should also clue you in on how many jumps will be required.
	Non-Solid Ground	As you run forward along the next ledge, it will breakaway behind you as you cross. Funny how that last piece of ledge is suspended in midair, instead of the whole ledge crumbling downward, isn't it? Anyhow, if you were paying attention before you ran out, you'd realize that the pedestal in the middle of the pool of lava is directly beneath the last ledge. A simple running jump will land you in the next room, By now you should be making it a practice of looking before leaping, because a quick look will reveal that in the room beyond lies a slope and lots of spikes. It's a matter of choosing the "right" direction to take a second jump once you're sliding down that short ramp.
	First Stop	Huh? What? Nope, we don't mean to confuse (well, honestly we do), it's back to the temple doors for you. Once inside, don't let the Terra Cotta soldiers scare you. Stay away from the guys with the big swords, and you'll be just fine.
	Are We Having Fun Yet?	Once again, it would behoove you to examine as much of the room as possible before proceeding. The exit to this lava filled room is actually directly ahead, but just out of reach. The ledge that you can reach is steeply sloped, and will clearly dump you into the lava if you don't do some fancy footwork. Fancy footwork will land you on other ledges that are all steeply sloped. With all this downward sliding, at some point, you know you have to climb up. Keep your cool, because panic will cause you to get sloppy. The answer involves four jumps and a grab.
	Greed Kills	The exit to the lava slide room looks harmless enough. A grated floor with a lever at the far end, but don't be so naive. You will take a fair amount of damage if you charge forward. Okay, in the room below, you will get very claustrophobic. It's not just in your head, the walls are closing in on you. The lever on wall ahead will open the steel door behind. That small Medi Pack is only for the greedy, and that skeleton on the ground is the fate of the greedy.
	Boulderdash	Ramps. Whenever you see narrow ramps, you have to get suspicious. There is an alcove to the right half way up the first ramp, and a small flat ledge to the left near the top of the first ramp. The first steel ball should be easy enough to avoid. The second one can be avoided altogether. The third, will probably cause a few problems. Just keep alert and you should be able to get out of its way.
	Hey Buddy, Got A Light?	The next room is fairly safe, but very dark. Your job is to find a lever, pull it and find the gate that it opens and get out. Simple? Sure. Just be aware that after you pull that lever, you'll no longer be alone in that room. If you seem to be having problems finding what that lever opened, then look up as you run around the perimeter of the room.
	It Slices! It Dices!	Look down before dropping into that hole, because that loud metallic ring isn't the "ka-ching" of a cash register. Look at the path of the blade carefully to note where you might safely drop down. Listen carefully, because there's a second metallic ring as well as the squeaky sounds of rolling blades. The next room can seem intimidating, but just take each rolling blade one at a time, and you'll do fine.
	Decathlon Events	The next event is the triple-jump. Pushing the button opens the door on the opposite end of the room. You will have barely enough time to make it across, so make every jump count. A flare will help light the way.
	Pits and Pendulums	Two lava pits and four spiked pendulums lie in the next room. Take each swinging barrel one at a time, and the room becomes a lot easier. We also found that blindly running across the room with a angled running jump at the end also quite effective, but a lot more dangerous. There are two buttons on the far wall. One raises a platform, and the opens the door at the far end of the hall. Both are n times. A side flip is the fastest way to get from one button to the other. Raise the platform first.
	Don't Look Back!	You don't have to because the camera will pan out for you. Here's the situation: You are on a little narrow walkway. It ends abruptly at a lava pit. There is a big steel ball hot on your tail. There is a pedestal. Here are things that we've found that works, listed in no particular order: Run forward, and if that steel ball hasn't killed you by the time you're at the end of the walkway, a running jump and grab will get you on your way; run forward, and if you have a problem timing your jump over to the pedestal, try the reverse-roll-hang move at the end of the walkway; run forward, panic, the steel ball is too close, take a back flip over the boulder.
	Undesirable Choice	From the dragon seal, a jump will take you to a ledge near the wall. There's a dark room behind the dragon statue with a lever that will radically change change the topography of this room. A few safety drops and jumps will leave you standing on a wooden platform near the lava, staring at a jump that you're convinced is hazardous to your health. You're probably right. Take the running jump anyways. You're looking a a slanted wooden slope that would surely dump you into the lava, except you are controlling an agile Lara Croft. A couple of slide-jump-grabs will get you to safety. What's left is one springboard ride, a couple of steel balls to dodge, and a series of jumps that will get you to the room in the upper left corner. Be smart about where you go to dodge those balls, or you'll be taking a lava bath.
	Blocks and Dodge-Ball	It's like being in grade-school again. In the next room is a big block. In the dark room beyond is a lever that opens a grate in the floor. Below the grate, is a big steel ball, that you will have to dodge. Before dropping to the floor, you'd do well to identify where that growling is coming from. The dragon seal will now have its use.
	Rest for the Weary	There's a long ramp with a rolling blade. There are alcoves along the way for you to duck into.
	Short People Have It Good	In the next room, you will land in some shallow water. That tense music will play and you look around and wonder why. Nope, the water level isn't getting higher. Yup, the ceiling is getting lower. All the walls look like levers to you? There's only three that are for real, and you've got to yank all three.
	A Plumber's Nightmare	Climbing the short ledge will allow you a jump to the higher ledge. Another climb will bring you to a pool. First off, there's a hungry fish in the pool that you should deal with. After that, there's a series of underwater levers and doors that will do lots of neat things. It is impossible to swim down the long winding underwater tunnel when the water level is low because of the water currents. The first lever closes a sluice gate which will raise the water level and cut off the flow of water. With the water level high, there is still an air pocket for you to catch your breath. The next lever you find at the far end of the long underwater tunnel will quickly undo what you just did. This lever has its uses. A short narrow tunnel leads off to the right. The next lever opens the gate directly opposite itself. The next lever opens a doorway back in the head of the pool. A lever in the dark cave beyond that doorway opens a grate in the ceiling above.
	Pressure's On	In the dark room beyond the shallow water, you will find a spiked wall on the right. Yup, you guessed it. You run in, it moves left. There's a lever in that dark room that opens a grate that lets you exit that room safely. The only think tricky about that room is the spiked wall that will be closing in on you. You'll be dropped into a narrow underwater tunnel with a very strong current. At the end of that wild ride, you'll find the item that you went through all this trouble for, the gold key.
	Moonlight Swim	Nothing romantic about this next room. The gold key will open some gates, and you'll find a dark room beyond. As soon as you enter the room, the gate will shut behind you locking you in a pitch black room underwater with a hungry fish. Deal with the fish now, or try to make a break for it, and let the fish have a few bites, but there's a lever that will open the exit gate, which is not the same gate as the one you entered from, as well as a gate elsewhere. Be aware that you can't hold a flare and your harpoons at the same time, so you can blindly fire harpoons and hope to hit the carp, or just try to get out of that bad situation as soon as possible.
	Boy, It's Dark in Here!	The next part is sure to give you the creeps. What did you expect from a dark tunnel covered with spider webs? You're not just seeing things, those spiders are actually that big. Once inside the dark nest chamber, you need to climb up some ledges, but with it being so dark, you may find it hard to see where to go. You should play this part in a dark room, because first it gives maximum creepiness and second, it helps you see where you're going. In case you're still stumped. The first three ledges are against the back wall. If you can't see the fourth ledge, try to spot the spider web that is hanging from it instead. The fifth ledge is easy to find because it's nearby, but you should know that nothing comes easy in this level. Now you need to take a jump from the ledge to the stone pillar beneath the spider nest. It's easy if you don't bump your head against the nest. One more jump from the stone pillar to another stone pillar that's really hard to see. Just toss more flares into the room to try to locate it. A couple more jumps and the silver key is yours.
	First Stop	What? Again? Yup. Back you go. This time you get to try the delivery entrance. A jump is not enough to get you up that ramp. You'll need a little more pull than that. Just recognize quickly what that rumbling means. Then it's a rope bridge, a couple of mean critters and a little climbing and jumping.
	A Rolling Blade Gathers No Moss	If you're having trouble with the rolling blade in the middle of three ledges, don't climb, jump. In the room above, there's a blade that hasn't started rolling. You can easily guess that once you step out past the point of no return, that blade will come after you. Just get across the rope bridge as fast as you can, and dodge left. A button will open a door to an area you passed earlier. You can either chase the rolling blade back into that room, or you can drop into the water and take the long way back.
	Hopping Mad	A series of springboards will lift you to new heights. Just keep that forward key pressed down to get to the next springboard, but release it when it's time to stop bouncing.
	Ulcers	More spiked walls! This kind of stress is liable to give a fellow stomach ulcers. Anyhow, a couple of running jumps will get you past the first wall. Start climbing that ladder as soon as you get to that ledge, because those spikes will still kill you if you stand around. More running and jump will be required for the next room with another spiked wall. Just make sure that you're on the "right" side of the room when you take that jump. Oh, did we mention that you should try to grab something after you take that jump?
	Dragon Lady	Use some flares. Take a leap of faith. Whatever you want. Just about anything will work. Just get that key. The statue will help you down, but just watch that lest step. It's a doozie.
	Double Vision	The key will find its mark. Then a couple of jumps will take you to a ladder. Another jump and another ladder, and you're back to a room you were before. The trick here is to visit the second dragon, instead of getting confused and going back to the first dragon. Here's what you need to know. You can't jump to the pillar in the center of the second dragon statue. If you end up on the first statue, you should go back to the dark upper room, rather than sliding down the statue and taking the long way around. You don't want to slide down the second statue.
	Chutes, Ladders, and Blades	At the end of your rope, or ladder, as it were? Climbing past a swinging blade will be hazardous to your health. Have you learned all your jumpy twisty moves yet? The trip from the first ladder to the second will be easy enough to figure out. The jump from the second ladder to the third is the one that gives people the most problems. There appears to be an important aspect about technique that needs to take place here. After pressing the jump key, you must release the action key. Of course you need to press the forward key or the reverse roll to manage that twist. Then, a grab will make the move complete.
	Exit Stage Right	A couple of shifts to the right will complete this level.