One of the first big tasks—or ‘bosses’—that players of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider will come across is the Empress Jaguar. Following the plane crash, Lara has to venture into the jungle to find survivors from the crash. Miguel, the pilot, has met a somewhat sticky end thanks to a cluster of jaguars that Lara quickly defeats—finding Jonah alive, the two begin to make their way towards a nearby village.
Unfortunately, before they can get there, and whilst squeezing under a stone pillar blocking their way; Lara is dragged into combat by the Queen Jaguar. With Jonah trapped on the other side of the pillar, once she has shot the flare gun at the Jaguar to wrestle free, she has to go up against it alone with just her bow to aid her. It’s not one of the hardest tasks in the game but it can be a little fiddly without some tips and tricks to help.
Survival Instinct
Helpful when it comes to stealth, looting, and any kill in general–Survival Instinct is a player’s best friend in Shadow Of The Tomb Raider. It highlights helpful plants, items, and, in this case, animals that are close by. This will allow you to see when the Jaguar is approaching or where she is when she runs off.
You can toggle this on with the R3 button on the Playstation controller, clicking the right stick on Xbox controllers, or pressing the Q button on the keyboard for PC players.
Perception
Not dissimilar to the Survival Instinct tool, Perception highlights plants and animals that are close to Lara. When trying to avoid attack, this is especially helpful as it allows players to locate the Jaguar and evade ambush or aim arrows to injure and slow down the creature.
This is a herbal mix that Lara has acquired by this point in the game through the storyline and can be activated by pressing L1 on the Playstation controller, LB on the Xbox controller, or F4 on the keyboard for PC players.
Evade And Attack
The Jaguar is fast and sometimes Lara isn’t fast enough to outrun her; luckily for players, as prompted, there’s the chance to evade. This essentially makes Lara dodge out of the way and avoids any health damage—there’s no need to wait until prompted but the game usually urges you towards it when the opportunity arises. To evade simply tap the circle button on the Playstation controller, B on the Xbox controller, or the shift button for PC players.
Another handy thing to keep in mind is that once the Jaguar has pounced, and Lara has avoided attack (or not, as long as players have enough health) it creates a prime opportunity for counterattack. Usually, she’ll retreat and this gives Lara enough time to line up a shot with her bow and arrow, arguably one of her handiest weapons in the game. It’s always best to use the time to charge up the arrow (by holding down your fire button) as this deals the highest level of damage.
Using The Resources
The best way to make sure you’re ready to take down the Jaguar Empress is preparation; luckily, the environment lends itself to keeping Lara stocked up and at her best. There are plenty of medicinal plants if health restoration is needed (they can usually be located through survival instinct or perception with a small medical cross above them) and the few seconds between attacks allow players to craft arrows.
Using these resources keep Lara best positioned to take on the Jaguar. This, along with some well-timed evading and charged arrow shots is likely to have players sailing through this confrontation without too much trouble!
NEXT: Shadow Of The Tomb Raider: Mistakes To Avoid If It’s Your First Tomb Raider Game
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Irene is a recent Film and Media graduate finally putting a lifelong writing hobby to good use. An avid gamer ever since she received her beloved PS1 many moons ago; she’s spent years attempting to get better at it (jury’s still out on whether that’s worked or not.)
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