Lara Croft: Relic Run Beginner's Guide

What kind of game it is

Lara Croft: Relic Run is a mobile runner. Lara runs forward automatically through jungle, desert and mountain environments, and you keep her alive by swiping to dodge obstacles. Unlike a pure endless runner, the game regularly switches between modes: on-foot running with parkour, rail-shooter combat sections, vehicle rides, and boss fights against large creatures such as the T-Rex.

The story follows Lara's search for her missing colleague, archaeologist Carter Bell. Relics you collect unlock journal entries that reveal the story bit by bit. The game is free to play, with ads and optional in-app purchases. Everything in this guide can be achieved without spending money; it just takes more runs.

Controls

The game uses touch gestures. Learn these first and the rest of the game becomes much easier.

Make each swipe a short, decisive flick in a clear direction. Most early deaths come from swipes that the game reads differently from what you intended, usually because they were diagonal or doubled up.

How a run is built

A run is made of sections that the game strings together. You will usually move between:

• Running sections: obstacles and traps on a lane-based path, with coins, clues and power-ups to collect.
• Combat sections: Lara keeps running while enemies attack. You tap to shoot them and their projectiles. A health bar appears only here.
• Vehicle sections: Lara rides a vehicle through part of the level. The vehicle depends on the region: a quad bike in the Jungle Temple, a motorbike in the Desert Ruins and a snowmobile in the Mountain Pass.
• Boss fights: on long runs a large boss joins the chase. Each region has its own.

Hitting a deadly obstacle, falling, or losing all health in combat ends the run. A Resurrection Ankh lets you continue from a checkpoint. Each further continue in the same run costs more, so Ankhs are best kept for runs that matter.

Objective levels and relic levels

The campaign has 120 levels across three regions, 40 per region. The game alternates between two level types:

Odd-numbered levels: objectives

These levels give you a specific task, shown before the run begins. Completing objectives earns stars, up to three per level. Repeating the objective within the same run is how you master a level fully. Always read the objective first; a level asking for barrels or combat kills is played very differently from one asking for distance.

Even-numbered levels: relic hunts

Here you collect Clues, objects scattered along the route. They fill the meter in the top-left corner. When the meter is full, a Relic appears ahead, and collecting it completes the level. If Lara dies before that, the clues from that attempt are lost unless you continue the run. Later relics need more clues, so relic levels get longer as you progress.

For the full relic list and tracking checklist, see Relics & Collectibles.

Your first ten levels

1. Play the tutorials patiently. The first Jungle Temple levels introduce mechanics one at a time. Don't rush them.
2. Practise wall runs on purpose. When a wall-run section appears, try the two-swipe input from the middle lane until it feels automatic.
3. Learn the pendulum rhythm. Jungle Temple pendulums swing in a steady pattern. Wait for the gap, then commit.
4. Read every objective. Odd levels can be quick if you know exactly what to do.
5. Bank coins rather than spending them instantly. Read the upgrade advice below first.
6. Pick up power-ups on the safe lane only. A Clue Booster on a relic level is valuable, but not worth a crash.
7. Shoot projectiles in combat before enemies. This one habit prevents most combat deaths.
8. Stop after three quick deaths. Tired runs waste Ankhs and clues.

Coins, gems and power-ups

Coins are collected during runs and from coin crates in combat. They pay for most gear, weapons and upgrades. Gems are the premium currency used for some items and for Resurrection Ankhs; achievements reward gems, so working through achievements is the main free source.

Power-ups appear on the route during runs:

• Coin Magnet pulls nearby coins toward Lara for a while.
• Score Multiplier increases the score you earn.
• Clue Booster helps you find clues faster and fill the relic meter sooner.

Permanent upgrades in the store make these power-ups last longer or appear more often.

What to buy first

Your early coins go furthest when they are focused. A sensible beginner order:

1. Clue Booster upgrades, because half of all campaign levels are relic hunts and this makes every one of them shorter.
2. A couple of Dual Pistol upgrades, because the pistols are always equipped and combat sections get harder quickly.
3. Your first secondary weapon once it unlocks; the Crossbow is the first available and hits hard.
4. Coin Magnet or Powerups to raise your income from every run.
5. Steel Toe Inserts when available, to shorten stumbles.

Unlock levels and costs have changed between game versions, so check the store in your own game. The upgrade guide explains every item.

Surviving your first fights

Combat sections feel chaotic at first because several things happen at once. Use a fixed order of priorities:

1. Shoot any projectile flying toward Lara.
2. Shoot an explosive barrel if enemies are next to it.
3. Focus on the nearest or most dangerous enemy until it falls.
4. When the screen is calm, shoot health crates if hurt and coin crates for profit.

The Jungle Temple's warriors throw bombs and, in a larger form, boulders. Both can be shot out of the air. More detail is in the combat guide and enemy guide.

Early mistakes to avoid

• Tunnel vision. Watch the path ahead of Lara, not Lara herself.
• Lane hopping. Unnecessary lane changes create risk; stay central unless the route asks otherwise.
• Greedy collecting. Missing ten coins costs nothing; crashing costs the run.
• Wasting Ankhs early. Save them for relic levels and important objectives.
• Upgrading randomly. Spread-out upgrades make little difference anywhere.
• Assuming your save is backed up. The game's store listing says Cloud Save is not supported.

Where to go next

Once you can clear early Jungle Temple levels consistently, go deeper into the topics that will matter next: survival on denser obstacle sections, relic hunting efficiency and the first boss, the T-Rex.