Shadow of the Tomb Raider is built for exploration, and even in the earliest areas, you’ll find obstacles you can’t overcome with your standard set of skills. No, Lara Croft is going to need something — it’s that Metroidvania itch. When you see rocks blocking a cliff, or a ledge you can’t climb, you’ll know there’s an item in Lara Croft’s future designed to help. There are actually three items you’ll need for easy traversal, and they’re all relatively easy to grab — the Reinforced Knife, the Rope Ascender, and the Lockpick.
The Rope Ascender is a special item returning from the original Tomb Raider reboot. All three of these extra traversal items are also completely optional. You can complete the game without picking these up, so if you don’t know how to unlock chests, pull down barriers, or cut through thick ropes — here’s how to get all the items you need for 100% exploration freedom.
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How To Get The Reinforced Knife, Lockpick & Rope Ascender
These three items are optional gear you don’t need to finish the main story in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. If you want to access every area and complete every puzzle, you’ll need these immensely useful traversal / puzzle solution items. There are essentially two side-quests you need to find to make these items unlockable.
- Rope Ascender & Lockpick:
- Go to the Hidden City and complete the ‘Find Tikiy’s Dice’ sidequest. Talk to Tikiy to begin.
- On this quest, you’ll be directed to different outcasts in the city, found in green circles marked on your map. Go to each one.
- At the fifth outcast, you’ll find a merchant. This merchant sells both the Lockpick and the Rope Ascender. Bring 6,100 in cash to purchase them.
To cut through thick ropes, and break through special doors, you’ll need the reinforced knife. That is also found in the Hidden City, and there are two ways to unlock it.
- Reinforced Knife Upgrade:
- Find the merchant north of the bridge to the Upper City. They will sell you the upgrade that turns your Standard Knife into a Reinforced Knife.
- OR, find an NPC on some stairs in the Upper City to begin the ‘Stay of Execution’ sidequest. Complete this quest and you’ll earn the Reinforced Knife upgrade.
As stated earlier, these items are purely optional, but they’re required to enter areas and fully complete your quest to 100% Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
