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Slay the Spire 2Cistern
The Cistern is level 8 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, a flooded underground reservoir in Greece where Lara raises and lowers the water with one switch to reach 5 keys (2 Rusty, 2 Silver, 1 Gold), with 3 secrets. It ends with a fall into the Tomb of Tihocan.
The Cistern is level 8 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, the fourth in Greece: a vast flooded reservoir where one switch fills and drains the main room, and Lara has to change the water level more than once to reach five keys, two Rusty, two Silver and one Gold, that open the doors to the exit. It has 3 secrets, 28 pickups and 34 kills (rats, crocodiles, gorillas, lions and Pierre, who is driven off), by Stella's count. Opening the wrong door at the wrong water level can leave Lara stuck, so an earlier save is worth keeping. The level ends with a long fall into the Tomb of Tihocan. The clip is Josh Strife Plays on the 1996 PlayStation version.
Quick facts
| Level | 8 of 15, Greece |
| Before it | Palace Midas |
| Next level | Tomb of Tihocan |
| Secrets | 3 |
| Pickups | 28, including 2 Rusty Keys, 2 Silver Keys and 1 Gold Key |
| Kills | 34: rats, crocodiles, gorillas, lions, Pierre (driven off) |
| Main puzzle | One switch floods and drains the main room |
| In Legacy of Atlantis | Not named in official text as of Nov 2, 2026 |
Source: Stella's Tomb Raider Site: The Cistern (Remastered counts).
How the water works
The switch is in the Room with Metal Grating, past Lara's first meeting with Pierre here. Pulling it floods the cistern; pulling it again drains it. With the water low, Lara walks the floor and the low ledges; with it high, she swims up to openings and balconies she could not reach. Stella's advice is to finish the main room's high tasks before the first flood, then flood it again later for the ornate balcony and the right-hand door. She warns that opening the right-hand Rusty Key door before flooding the cistern leads to a softlock, a state the level cannot be finished from.
The five keys
| Key | Where | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Rusty Key 1 | A ledge in the flooded area, through an underwater tunnel | The left of the two matching doors in the main room's west wall |
| Rusty Key 2 | The end of the L-shaped corner ledge in the main room | The right door, down a flooded shaft with spikes |
| Silver Key 1 | Past the tiered ledges and the gorillas, by a switch alcove; taking it brings Pierre | One of the metal doors near the big room |
| Silver Key 2 | Underwater, in a room behind a small door near a high lever, after flooding | The other metal door |
| Gold Key | A flooded room down the spiked shaft; taking it opens a door and lets out a crocodile | The door below the metal doors |
Source: Stella's Tomb Raider Site: The Cistern.
Walkthrough
Stella's Remastered walkthrough gives every jump and switch move in full; the outline below follows it.
- The main room. Explore with the water as it is. The first secret is high on the right, and Rusty Key 2 is at the end of the L-shaped corner ledge. Finish the room's high tasks before any flooding.
- The Room with Metal Grating. Pierre DuPont appears here and can be driven off with the shotgun. The water switch is in this room: Stella warns against pulling it yet.
- The tiered ledges and gorillas. Pierre returns as Lara moves on; in the Remastered version, chasing him off with the magnums earns the "Au Revoir!" achievement. Silver Key 1 is past this room, by a switch alcove, and taking it brings Pierre back once more.
- Flooding. With the water raised, Lara swims to the flooded area for Rusty Key 1 and to the room behind the small door near a high lever for Silver Key 2. The third secret, by the ornate balcony, needs the water up too.
- The doors. Rusty Key 1 opens the left west-wall door. Rusty Key 2 opens the right one, down a flooded shaft with spikes to the Gold Key, which releases a crocodile. The two Silver Keys open the metal doors near the big room and the Gold Key the door below.
- The exit. In the big room with the checkerboard floor, break five tiles, pull the switch that lets out lions, and push a movable block to climb onto a ledge. Go behind the switch to the opening where the block stood and drop down the long shaft into the next level.
Pierre cannot die in the Cistern; he is fought for good only in the Tomb of Tihocan.
Secrets
| Secret | Where |
|---|---|
| 1 | High on the right of the main room, through a barely visible opening, up the ledges and an arch |
| 2 | Through openings on the west side of the flooded pool, in a U-shaped passage holding magnum clips |
| 3 | Behind a movable block left of the ornate balcony entrance, after the water is raised |
Source: Stella's Tomb Raider Site: The Cistern.
A missed shotgun or magnums also turn up in the Cistern as ordinary pickups. See Secrets and Weapons.
Original and Remastered
The level is the 1996 one. Stella warns that in the unpatched Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, the first Rusty Key is almost invisible in the new graphics; updating the game or switching to classic graphics fixes it. Save crystals appear only in New Game+.
The Cistern in Legacy of Atlantis
No official text names a cistern in the remake as of Nov 2, 2026. The makers have shown only St. Francis' Folly from Greece, and say Greece is more vertical and more interconnected than Peru. Whether the flooding puzzle returns is not known. See What's New in Legacy of Atlantis.
Frequently asked questions
How many secrets are in the Cistern in Tomb Raider? Three, by Stella's count: one high in the main room, one in a U-shaped passage off the flooded pool, and one behind a movable block by the ornate balcony.
How do you raise the water in Tomb Raider's Cistern? Pull the switch in the Room with Metal Grating. Pulling it again drains the water.
How many keys are in the Cistern? Five in the 1996 Tomb Raider: 2 Rusty Keys, 2 Silver Keys and 1 Gold Key.
Can you get stuck in the Cistern? Yes. Stella warns that opening the right-hand Rusty Key door before flooding the cistern leaves the level unfinishable, so keep an earlier save.
What comes after the Cistern in Tomb Raider? The Tomb of Tihocan. Lara drops down a long shaft at the end of the Cistern and lands in its flooded entrance.
Sources
- The Cistern, Stella's Tomb Raider Site, read Nov 2, 2026
- Tomb of Tihocan, Stella's Tomb Raider Site, read Nov 2, 2026
- Reimagining Greece, Amazon Game Studios, Sep 7, 2026
- Was it Good? - Tomb Raider 1, Josh Strife Plays, Jan 22, 2022 (video)
Moments
Was it Good? - Tomb Raider 1
Josh Strife Plays
- The Cistern is level 8 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, the fourth in Greece: a vast flooded reservoir where one switch fills…
- The switch is in the Room with Metal Grating, past Lara's first meeting with Pierre here. Pulling it floods the…
- The Room with Metal Grating. Pierre DuPont appears here and can be driven off with the shotgun. The water switch is in…
- The exit. In the big room with the checkerboard floor, break five tiles, pull the switch that lets out lions, and push…
- A missed shotgun or magnums also turn up in the Cistern as ordinary pickups. See Secrets and Weapons.
Related
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AtlantisAtlantis is the lost civilization behind Tomb Raider's story and the last region of the 1996 game, played in three levels: Natla's Mines, Atlantis and The Great Pyramid. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis calls it a mysterious Mediterranean island and has not shown it as of Nov 2, 2026.
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Atlantis LevelAtlantis is level 14 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, a living city of flesh, lava and mutant hatcheries inside Natla's pyramid, where Lara beats her own fleshy doppelganger by luring it into lava and takes the Scion. It has 3 secrets, by Stella's count for the Remastered version.
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CavesCaves is level 1 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, a snowy Peruvian cave system with wolves, bats, a bear, dart traps and 3 secrets, all small or large medi packs. Legacy of Atlantis remakes it as Mountain Caves, opening on snow and an ice slide.
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City of VilcabambaCity of Vilcabamba is level 2 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, a lost Inca village in Peru where Lara finds the Silver Key and the Gold Idol to open the exit gate, with 3 secrets. Legacy of Atlantis keeps the City of Vilcabamba and expands its Atlantean story.
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ColosseumColosseum is level 6 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, a ruined arena in Greece full of lions, gorillas and crocodiles, where Lara finds the magnums in a secret and the Rusty Key that opens the way out. It has 3 secrets; Legacy of Atlantis has not shown it as of Nov 2, 2026.
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Lara's HomeLara's Home is the optional training level of the 1996 Tomb Raider, set in Croft Manor, where Lara's own voice teaches jumping, swan dives, ledge grabs, shimmying and swimming in her music room, hall, ballroom gym and pool. It has no enemies and no secrets.
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Natla's MinesNatla's Mines is level 13 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, where Lara starts with no weapons and wins them back from three of Natla's henchmen, the Cowboy, the Skater Boy and a bald man with a shotgun, before opening the Atlantean pyramid. It has 3 secrets, by Stella's count for the Remastered version.
See also
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Tomb Raider (1996)Tomb Raider (1996) is the first Tomb Raider game, made by Core Design in Derby and published by Eidos Interactive in late 1996 on Sega Saturn, PlayStation and PC. Lara Croft hunts the Scion across 15 levels in Peru, Greece, Egypt and Atlantis; it sold over 7 million copies.
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Tomb of TihocanTomb of Tihocan is level 9 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, the last in Greece, where Lara fights two Atlantean centaur statues, kills Pierre DuPont for good and takes the second piece of the Scion and his magnums. It has 2 secrets.
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Palace MidasPalace Midas is level 7 of the 1996 Tomb Raider, a Greek palace where Lara finds 3 lead bars, turns them to gold on King Midas' hand, and uses the gold bars to open the exit. It has 3 secrets and the most kills in Greece, 43.
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SecretsThe 1996 Tomb Raider has 45 secrets across its 15 levels, counting Stella's per-level figures for the Remastered version, from 1 to 5 per level, plus 10 in Unfinished Business. Secrets hold ammunition, medi packs and sometimes a weapon, and the original gives no reward for finding them all.
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Tomb Raider I-III RemasteredTomb Raider I-III Remastered is Aspyr's Feb 14, 2024 collection of the first three Tomb Raider games and their expansions, with new graphics you can switch off at any time, modern or classic controls and a photo mode. It scored 75 on Metacritic for PS5; a Challenge Mode came on Mar 12, 2026.