Skip to content
Level 16 -- Floating Islands
Tomb Raider II

Level 16 -- Floating Islands

Complete Tomb Raider II Floating Islands walkthrough. Learn how to defeat Xian Spearmen and find 2 Mystic Plaques.

By ···10 min read·Multi-source verified
1 reading this guide  

Complete Tomb Raider II Floating Islands walkthrough. Learn how to defeat Xian Spearmen and find 2 Mystic Plaques.

Walkthrough
  1. 1
    Immediately look left and pick up the small Medi Pack (1).
  2. 2
    Proceed to the end of the green path. Xian Swordsman #1 (1) will approach from the building on the right. Start attacking as soon as Lara targets him; he should explode before landing.
  3. 3
    Hop back and perform a running jump over the inverted 'V' shaped green formation to land on the ledge behind it.
  4. 4
    Turn left and perform a running jump to the right to land inside the golden cage. Go to the back of the cage, throw a switch, and return to the edge.
  5. 5
    Safety drop from the edge of the gold cage to slide down a ramp. Swordsman #2 (2) will be on your left, already on the ground.
  6. 6
    After dealing with Swordsman #2, get back on the ramp and position Lara to make a running jump to the indicated block. From there, perform a running jump to the Mystic Plaque (2).
  7. 7
    The jump to the next island is tricky; aim your running jump/grab just right of center to grab the high portion of the ledge.
  8. 8
    Perform a standing jump to the brown surface ahead. This will awaken a Xian Spearman (3). Backflip to return to the small green island and defeat the Spearman safely. Spearmen are fast, durable (requiring about 100 rounds of pistol ammo to defeat), and particularly vicious, so avoid hand-to-hand combat if possible.
  9. 9
    Return to the main island and pull up into the overhead opening to claim 2 sets of Uzi clips (3, 4), flares (5), a large Medi Pack (6), and a second Mystic Plaque (7).
  10. 10
    Picking up the Mystic Plaque awakens another Spearman (4) below. You want to fight him from the green island you used before.
Tips
  • Xian Swordsmen are durable (requiring about 84 rounds of pistol ammo to defeat) but fly slowly and are easy to defeat in the air, even with pistols. Once they land, they become surprisingly quick and merciless.
  • The 'On Equal Terms' Trophy requires defeating all 8 Xian Swordsmen without damaging any before they land. This is much easier with weapons like the grenade launcher.
  • Trying to earn the 'On Equal Terms' Trophy during this initial playthrough is not advised due to the difficulty. It is recommended to save this challenge for later.
  • If you choose to fight Swordsman #1 after he lands to test his capabilities, you can always reload a save file.
  • The jump to the second island requires precise aiming to grab the high portion of the ledge.
  • Conserving health is not a top priority in this run, but a damage-free way to reach the rock below the cage exists.
  • You can skip the contents of boxes titled 'On Equal Terms' if you are not attempting the Trophy at this time.
  • New enemies introduced are Xian Swordsmen and Xian Spearmen.
  • The level contains 39 pickups and 2 Trophies.
  • The source advises avoiding 2 kills, resulting in an actual count of 24.
  • In a New Game+ scenario, this level can go quickly, especially if you have many Medi Packs.
  • One player used 2 Medi Packs in a New Game+ run, but one was precautionary for a battle they ended up winning without taking damage.
  • Squandering M16 ammo on Xian Spearmen from a safe position is manageable if you have a large surplus, as one player had over 900 rounds and only used about 300 in the final level.
  • Entering the last level with 57 grenades, 901 rounds of M16 ammo, and 1606 rounds of Uzi ammo is more than sufficient.

100% Human-Written. AI Fact-Checked. Community Verified. Learn how AntMag verifies content