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Objective: Search the cave for the witch

Following the scene, you’ll unlock a brand new Base Camp ‘Witch’s Cave’. You can use the Base Camp here to apply any upgrades you require and spend any skill points you have. Exit the Base Camp menu when you are ready to continue.

Before entering the cave, look on the crates behind the camp fire to find a Document [14/21 – Russian] . Upon entering the cave, the first room you come across has another Document [15/21] on the table here and Ammo strewn everywhere. It’s a good idea to stock up, we’ll be needing it very shortly.

Enter the temple and grab Document 15 (left) before hopping down into the water and swimming to the end of the tunnel (right).

Climb down the stairs here and before long you’ll be deposited in a pool of water below. Swim until you reach a large room with a platform you can climb up on. Do so for a scene.

Objective: Defeat the Witch

As soon as the scene finishes you’ll find yourself in a boss fight.

This fight looks and feels tricky at first but is actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. It is similar to the fight with the helicopter near the end of the main game as your main adversary is a flying enemy who will throw fiery projectiles at you and occasionally she’ll summon zombie warriors to attack you. Fortunately, if you shoot the witch, she’ll duck down for a few seconds, giving you some breathing room before she starts raining fire again.

The witch sits on a hovering platform with a roped up section at the bottom. Around the room there is a pair of vats seeping gas with trigger levers top open them up with explosive results and spinning rope spools behind them. Remember the puzzle we solved earlier using these exact same elements? Well we pretty much need to replicate it here whilst dodging fireballs!

To damage the Witch, we’ll need to stand by a rope spool and shoot her flying platform with a Rope Arrow to connect them. The spinning spool will draw her towards the vat. As she approaches, hit the trigger mechanism to unleash an explosive blast which will hurt her. The Witch will be able to cut herself loose if she hits the rope she’s connected to too much, so be sure to shoot her to have her hide as she approaches the vat and hit the lever before as soon as she’s in range to avoid having to repeat the process. We’ll need to do this twice to complete the first part of the encounter.

Kill the enemies that attack (left) before using the Rope Arrows to lure the witch over the vat (right) so that we can damage her.

The two vats that we need to utilize are slightly different, one has the trigger lever by its side, whilst the second trigger lever is on an adjacent platform but the tactic remains the same for both. From experience, I found it easier to start with the vat with the separated lever first and then the close up lever second.

The enemies that the Witch summons during the fight usually come in groups of three, featuring two ranged and a single melee attacker. As you need to focus on your aim and timing when damaging the witch, you’ll want to drop what you are doing and immediately focus on getting the additional enemies down as quickly as possible when they appear before refocusing your attention on the boss.

After damaging her twice, it feels much less like a boss fight and more a platforming and third-person shooter with the occasional attack on the Witch using vats thrown in for good measure. The water level in the room will rise. Quickly swim over to the nearby ledge we can climb up onto. Grab the basket of Herbs and the Ammo if required before climbing up to the platform on the left.

At the top you’ll be attacked by a wolf and two ranged attackers. Get the wolf down ASAP before killing the two bowmen. This area provides two options; we can climb up to the upper level or go through the doorway to the left for some Ammo and Herbs before taking a ladder up. Either way, we’ll reach another vat/spool/lever mechanism. Kill the three ranged attackers and the melee fellow before using your usual tactic to damage the witch.

Shoot the witch to have her hide in her bucket (left). Use a Rope Arrow to pull her over the vat here to damage her again (right).

fter damaging the Witch, slide down the zip line to the right to reach the platform below. Kill the melee attacker that charges you as you land.

Enter the passage that the enemy emerged from and use the pair of scalable walls located inside to reach the next platform above. As Lara pulls herself up, head to the right and scramble up to the next ledge. You’ll probably get knocked down on the first attempt – if so simply climb up again.

Interact with the valve on the pipe to the left, near the edge of the cliff. This will trigger a little transformation in the room. Large floating platforms will appear and start rotating in a clockwise pattern. Hop on one of these and ride it to the second platform on the left (pretty much directly opposite where we hopped on the platform).

Kill the ranged attacker here and use the piece of cover to eliminate another pair of archers on the platform above. When it is clear, note the pair of hanging platforms against the wall here – we’ll need to utilize these to reach the next ledge above. Jump on the first one to have it lower and the second one rise slightly. When they are in a good position for reaching the far ledge, jump to the second and then jump over and scramble up the wall behind it to climb up.

On this platform, you’ll encounter one final melee attacker to dispatch and yet another vat/spool/lever mechanism. The lever mechanism for this vat is on the wooden walkway below and to the left of the vat. Use the usual method to damage the witch again at this point.

Use the floating platforms to reach the next vat platform (left). Use the Rope Arrows and the vat to once again damage the witch (right).

Once you have expended the vat, use your Rope Arrows to remove the wooden blockage to the left of the lever and follow the passage to the end. Interact with the valve here to spawn additional level of floating platforms near the top of the room. Doing this will of course also trigger enemies to spawn on a platform across the room. This platform is where we need to go to continue.

Use the floating platforms to reach their position and fight them off. There are four archers and two melee fighters here. Climb up the walls at the back of the room to reach the walkway above. Follow it into the centre of the room.

Here we’ll be able to jump to the upper level of floating platforms. Ride these around to the balcony opposite, whilst using the cover to take out the pair of Archers as you go. Hop up to the walkway the Archers were defending and prepare for a fight. There are a large number of Archers and melee attackers here along with several Wolves. If you have any Grenade/Poison Arrows on you, this is the time to use them.

Fight through the last wave of enemies (left) before damaging the with using an explosive vat one last time (right).

Once you have cleared the platform, you’ll find one final vat/spool/lever mechanism at the far end. You should be familiar with what you need to do at this point. So use the usual method to damage the Witch one final time. Note that you’ll need to shoot the Witch several times as the rope spool pulls her in this time around, a prospect which is made trickier by all of the flying debris.

Successfully damaging her at this point will trigger a cut-scene.

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Truth Behind the Myth

Baba Yaga: Unmask Baba Yaga

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Square Enix
  • Platforms,
    PC, PS4, XB 360, XB One
  • Genre
    Action Adventure
  • Guide Release
    17 March 2016
  • Last Updated
    7 December 2020
  • Guide Author
    Paul Williams

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Rise of the Tomb Raider is a follow up to 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot and as a continuation of the story, players will once again enter the well-tread boots of Lara Croft. In an adventure spanning London, Syria and Siberia Rise of the Tomb Raider offers up a lengthy campaign filled with hordes of collectibles, numerous challenges, optional Challenge Tombs, deadly enemies and more than its fair share of puzzles.

Let us guide you through Lara’s Siberian adventure every step of the way! Our comprehensive guide will provide you with:

  • Complete walkthrough to the story from beginning to end.
  • Guides to all eight side-missions.
  • Walkthroughs to all nine optional Challenge Tombs.
  • Locations to every collectible including: Coin Caches, Documents, Murals, Relics, Strongboxes and Survival Caches.
  • Complete walkthrough to Baba Yaga: Temple of the Witch DLC add-on.
  • Achievement/trophy unlock guide.

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