A list of advice to assist in clearing the New Game Plus of TR3 with all secrets. Mostly goes over differences in the game mode and how to overcome certain hurdles it imposes that the Main Game does not.
Contents
NG+ Changes and Tips
Overview of Changes Applied in This Game Mode
- Enemies deal more damage and have more health.
- Collectable Crystals are now SaveGame Crystals that save the game and fully heal you.
- SaveGame Crystals do not cure poison. To cure poison you have to use one of only 3 medipacks available in the game mode, beat the current stage before your health runs out, or load to a previous save.
- All but two Medipacks have been replaced with ammunition.
- You begin the game with all weapons and zero medipacks.
- Monkeys in Jungle are aggressive.
- The initial set of prisoners in High Security Compound are allied with you until they kill the guard for the kitchen fan gate button, after which they turn aggressive and will no longer punch guards.
- Prisoners in Area 51 are aggressive and will not punch Guards.
- Aussie Soldiers in Crash Site are aggressive and will not shoot raptors.
- Flamethrower-men in RX-Tech Mines are aggressive and will not burn Mutants.
- The Dammed in Lud’s Gate remain neutral. Dinosaurs, Guards, and Mutants will still attack what they’re designed to attack.
- The Large Medipack in a Temple Ruins Secret that is underwater and nearby some flares and grenades remains in tact.
- The Small Medipack in the Aldwych mason room that opens after you acquire the Mason Mallet remains in tact.
- You are still given a Small Medipack at the start of High Security Compound.
- In this game mode you are not given ammo back at the end of High Security Compound
- Most Medipacks near the end of High Security Compound have been replaced with Weapons so you can quickly reacquire most of them. The Shotgun is still in Area 51.
- Spike Walls and Spike Ceilings throughout the game, as well as the Underwater Blades in Lost City of Tinnos deal considerably more damage than normal; killing you in a matter of frames instead of a few seconds.
- Blade Traps in India will kill you in one swing.
- Fire kills you faster.
- Exposure to Cold, Spike Floors, Barbed Wire, and the traps on Madabu Gorge Rapids deal normal damage.
- Poison Dart Traps in India and South East Pacific deal more base damage.
- The Final Boss moves faster. Its fast enough that when using the Rocket Launcher you can miss, where in the base game they nearly always hit.
Tips and Tricks for Specific Levels
High Security Compound
Play the level as normal until you reach the kitchen. Since Prisoners will turn on you after the next guard is killed and the only thing he drops is shotgun shells, Run past him, press the button, and just try to leave as fast as you can.
There is a passive prisoner that still opens the trapdoor for you. He can’t assist you with dealing with upcoming guards though, and all future prisoners are aggressive and won’t punch guards. To kill the next two guards, jump over the Laser Sensors as you would when playing this level quickly. Grab the attention of the guard with the Yellow Security Pass and run for the door at the end of the hall. (Do not open any prisoner’s door, remember that they won’t help you.) Open this door, then lure the Yellow Security Pass Guard up the climbing area. Drop back down and rush for the door button. Press it when the guard approaches the doorway and the door should kill him. Repeat for his friend.
After this Yellow Security Pass is obtained the rest of the level plays out as normal. The HARPOON GUN will be found in the waterway on route to the pistols. The UZIS and DESERT EAGLE will be in the Pistol Room. After moving the boxes on conveyor belts, you can reach the MP5. GRENADE LAUNCHER is still where it normally is in secret 2, ROCKET LAUNCHER is still in Aldwych/Madubu Gorge, and SHOTGUN is still in Area 51.
Lud’s Gate
If you’re going for all secrets, you will have to do the trap room near the start of the level. And since Ceiling spike trap damage is significantly buffed you’ll be forced to either use Save Crystal(s) to power through or one of the small meds from Aldwych/HSC. The small meds are better used for Poison in SE Pacific and Antarctica, though.
I personally found it easier to dogfight the divers and crocs using the Harpoon gun instead of the Vehicle, but do whatever you feel is best.
Coastal Village
When taking the Smuggler’s Key route to get all secrets, beware the blowpipers. The first one can safely be taken out from far away with the MP5, but it can be difficult to kill the second guy due to when he spawns in. Once you slide down the grey slope and jump, draw out the Desert Eagle, Turn, and try to jump continuously and shoot the Deagle until he falls.
You can afford to use one of your two medipack from HSC/Aldwych here if you’re having a hard time killing the second blowpiper before he poisons you, just try to save one of the Medipacks for a Mutant later on. If you’re not doing all secrets I would avoid going through the Smuggler’s hut to avoid this Blowpiper.
The Troll Large Medipack has been replaced with a Rocket Launcher. Its still a troll.
Crash Site
Mama T-Rex isn’t worth killing. The pistols take 10 years and the MP5 takes 1 year and about 460 shots. Its not worth it, just run past her. There is enough MP5 Ammo in the level to easily handle all the raptors you’ll have to fight and the raptors will defeat the soldiers for you.
Temple of Puma
Abuse the save made at the start of this level until you flawlessly kill the first few Blowpipers without getting poisoned. More of them show up after you do the Indiana Jones boulder traps, and these few are harder to kill unscathed. If you didn’t need to use the small medipack in Coastal Village/Lud’s Gate then using it after you handle these blowpipers is fine.
I recommend having at least one small med for RX-Tech. Remember to grab this level’s secret for the enormous amount of Desert Eagle ammo. If for some reason that doesn’t sound appealing to you and you get poisoned, an alternative way to cure the poison is to speedrun the boss in time before the poison kills you.
RX-Tech Mines
The Primary difficulty of this level is that Flamethrower Men are immediately aggressive and that if they tag you with fire you’re just dead. They also won’t help with the mutants.
This is the perfect level to use Medipacks you acquired from the start of HSC and from Aldwych, as a means to cure poison for mutants that may be hard to get past without getting belched on.
The hardest segment of this level is getting past the second flamethrower man that can ambush you as you arrive via the middle minecart. The only thing you can control here is how quickly you arrive at the station, the rest is RNG on if the Flamethrower man thinks you should exist or not. His primary opinion is that you should not exist.
- It is possible to reach the flamethrower man on foot by taking the lower minecart section first and then doing a trick jump to get up to the higher track (From the position pictured below).
This makes him significantly easier to kill but requires you to know how to go back the way you came from, which is not an easy glitch to perform since it involves becoming a wall phantom and breaking reality.
For the final dives of the level, you can reach the first alcove and Submersible flawlessly fairly easily. Replacing the medipack here are is a rocket. You’ll lose a smidge of health from exposure going for the next breath point, it has Uzi Clips. Save here, do the final stretch. You’ll lose most of your health to exposure but you can do it in one shot.
Tomb Raider 3 Weapon Shortcuts
Pistols:
- PlayStation – X
- Xbox – A
- Switch – B
Shotgun:
- PlayStation – Circle
- Xbox – B
- Switch – A
Desert Eagle:
- PlayStation – Square
- Xbox – X
- Switch – Y
Uzis:
- PlayStation – Triangle
- Xbox – Y
- Switch – X
MP5:
- PlayStation – L1
- Xbox – LB
- Switch – L
Grenade Launcher:
- PlayStation – L2
- Xbox – LT
- Switch – ZL
Harpoon Gun (Equips automatically when weapons drawn underwater with Modern Control scheme but doesn’t with Tank Controls):
- PlayStation – R2
- Xbox – RT
- Switch – ZR
Rocket Launcher:
No Shortcut. If Flare is given its own button in a patch this could be assigned to R1/RB/R?
Hi man good job , i have questions -are there any bugs in New game +? isn’t it a bug that you won’t have all the items in the new game + inventory after the first playthrough is finished?
The intended Inventory to start with in New Game + is, going Clockwise: Stopwatch>Pistols>Shotgun(2)>Desert Eagle(10)>Uzis(40)>MP5(60)>Rocket Launcher(1)>Grenade Launcher(2)>Harpoon Gun(3)>Flare(2). You should have no Key Items, and you shouldn’t have any meds. If your inventory is something other than this then that does sound like a bug.
Only bugs I’ve personally found exclusive to NG+ is that Willard can get stuck in his Arena due to his faster move-speed potentially letting him walk on a slope and glitching out his pathing towards Lara. There can also be a spawn bug with Wasps in Tinnos not going for their increased spawn count unless you run on their spawn trigger tile a second time (Maybe that’s intentional though)