In Shadow Of The Tomb Raider players must step into the shoes of a young Lara Croft to prevent a cult from kick-starting a Mayan apocalypse. Players must navigate the hostile jungle, plunder lost treasures, and discover the secrets and dangers hiding in the Mayan ruins.
To help with this quest are a number of merchants that provide Lara with the right supplies to take down enemies and gain access to unreachable areas. If you’re looking to buy from the game’s merchants, then strongly consider prioritizing these useful items as soon as you can.
Updated January 29th, 2021 by Ben Baker: Diving in the shadows of the jungle isn’t easy and players will need every advantage they can get against both man and beast. It seemed fitting to mention some of the other upgrades that players can get from merchants to improve their odds in battle and when hunting for resources.
15 Finely Crafted Knife
Lara’s knife can be upgraded twice in the game. The final upgrade, Finely Crafted Knife, is incredibly helpful when it comes to gathering large amounts of resources. When utilized it’ll increase the mount of resources that are gathered from each animal it’s used on.
It may not seem like much, but that increase adds up over time and seriously cuts down on how many animals must be hunted. Arguably the Reinforced Knife upgrade is more useful at less cost, but players looking to cut down on the grind should really consider this upgrade.
14 Shotgun Spreader Choke
Shotguns may not be the best for stealthy ambushes, but when thrown into a firefight they can do a lot of damage. The Shotgun Spreader Choke is an upgrade that focuses the spread of the shotgun down to a more concentrated point to mimic a slug.
In close quarters combat this is terrifyingly effective as an enemy is more likely to catch the full blast. It does have drawbacks as firing at a range with more spread can catch a few unintended targets. But if the player is looking to put down a single foe quickly this upgrade is worth purchasing.
13 Pistol Sight
Pistols are handy weapons for players in the early parts of the game and throughout. They can be used to get headshots against close opponents, especially when equipped with Suppressors. A handy upgrade players can get to facilitate this is the Pistol Sight.
All it does is add the ability for pistols to zoom in a little more when aimed with. But that seemingly insignificant difference helps get more headshots, firing at a range, and minimizing ammo waste. It’s a bit expensive, but well worth the purchase over time if the player likes using pistols.
12 Laser Sight
Rifles are fantastic weapons. With Suppressors they enable the player to engage opponents stealthily and when stealth goes out the window they pack quite a punch and have high fire rates. The Laser Sight takes rifles to the next level.
It becomes much easier to get headshots at a distance and player’s can home in on the parts of the target not behind cover. It’s a subtle difference that’s admittedly pricey early on, but can minimize the amount of missed shots and ammo subsequently wasted.
11 Jaguar Fang
Knives are useful throughout the game for their ability to harvest resources, cut ropes, and to stealthily take out opponents. The final upgrade players can purchase for knives is the Jaguar Fang.
This obsidian blade does it all and far more efficiently than any blade before it. Players must be willing to hand over a whopping 7,900 gold for it. Admittedly this is a high cost for a convenient perk. In terms of cost to benefit ration the Reinforced Knife is far more valuable. But if the player has the spare gold kicking around this is a must have purchase.
10 Mantle Of Six Sky
The Mantle of Six Sky is an outfit that provides damage reduction for any bullets or arrows that strike Lara. Considering the number of enemies that will be using such projectiles it’s a strong outfit to help you survive these encounters.
To get it you must first locate Paititi, there a merchant can be found that will sell the Mantle of Six Sky. While you can buy the Mantle from a merchant, you’ll have to find the Graves in one of the crypts found in Paititi.
9 Reinforced Knife
Another helpful item that can be bought from a merchant in Paititi is the Reinforced Knife. Unlike the Makeshift Knife you obtain in the Peruvian Jungle, the Reinforced knife is much better for killing enemies and cutting ropes.
Admittedly the Finely Crafted Knife is better than the Reinforced Knife, but at 2,800 gold it’s expensive. The Reinforced Knife is sold much cheaper and will more than do the job you need it to. Definitely pick this up in Paititi as soon as you can.
8 Hide Boots Of Urqu
Leveling up is key to helping Lara survive the various dangers she’ll come across and you’ll spend some time farming experience to be strong enough for the tougher encounters. To cut down on how much time you spend farming it’s recommended you buy the Hide Boots of Urqu from the merchant in Kuwak Yaku.
These boots provide an experience bonus every time Lara makes a stealth kill, which will happen a lot over the course of the game. If it’s a straightforward fight obviously go with the Mantle of Six Sky outfit, but if it’s a stealth mission then you’ll want these boots.
7 Pistol Suppressor
Stealth kills with a knife are all well and good, but sometimes you need to take down an enemy from a few feet away without being detected. The Pistol Suppressor you can buy from the Yukaw Yaku merchant gives you that ability.
You can still be noticed if you aren't careful and obviously a body dropping is going to raise suspicions, but it’s a great way to take down multiple targets stealthily while you remain in the shadows or to soften up tougher foes.
6 Rifle Suppressor
At some point, you’re going to want to get a suppressor for your Rifle. This allows you to take down enemies from a considerable distance without being detected which can aid you in causing confusion or wiping out a whole camp without raising suspicion.
To get the Rifle Suppressor you’ll need to go to the Mission of San Juan and buy it from the merchant there. Even if you favor a more aggressive playstyle having the ability to take down enemies from a distance quietly is too valuable to ignore.
5 Crimson Huntress Outfit
Perhaps the most useful outfit you can buy from merchants is the Crimson Huntress Outfit. It’s a full-body outfit that can be bought from Moraekah, the merchant in Paititi. When worn Lara will gain extra experience whenever she hunts animals.
If you’re on a farming run for more crafting materials or items to sell and hunting animals is your method of doing so then don this outfit and rack up experience points doing it. The outfit also provides improved Focus Time assuming you have the Scales Of The Serpent skill.
4 Bigger Quiver
The bow is a powerful weapon that can be used to take down enemies or hunt animals. It’s also incredibly useful as you can craft ammo out in the open allowing you to farm longer before returning to camp.
To improve how long you can stay out or to make sure you don’t run out of arrows in a fight then you should buy bigger quivers from the merchant in Paititi. The Hunter’s Quiver is the first upgrade and is needed along with the Crow’s Hoard Skill to get the biggest quiver, the Adventurer’s Quiver.
3 Increase Inventory Space
To obtain most of the items on this list you’re going to have to do a fair bit of farming to acquire enough items to sell to merchants to raise the gold for these purchases. Some items even require you to have certain items in your possession in order to make the trade.
Perhaps one of the first investments you should make is increasing your inventory capacity by buying a Satchel and later the Rucksack. Both are for sale at the merchant in Paititi, but the Rucksack will require you have the Satchel and the Crow’s Hoard Skill.
2 Rope Ascender
The Rope Ascender is a valuable tool that allows you to clamber up and down the ropes found throughout the game. With the Rope Ascender, you’ll be able to access areas that were unreachable before and many hidden chests are only found after navigating certain rope areas.
Buying the Rope Ascender can be a bit tricky as the merchant selling it tends to wander. She’s in Paititi, but you’ll have to do some exploring to find her. Keep in mind she won’t be where you found her before so stock up on gold and materials then buy as much as you can once you find her.
1 Lockpicks
Perhaps the most useful items you can buy from merchants are Lockpicks. Lockpicks will enable you to open the various chests you find which can help you accumulate untold riches and valuable items.
However, it does take some effort to unlock the merchant that sells them. First you must find the Hidden City Paititi and then you must complete the quest Takly’s Dice. This will make a merchant available, but as mentioned with the Rope Ascender she tends to wander so it’ll take some effort to find her and you’ll want to be sure to have the ability to buy as much as you can from her. Definitely get Lockpicks before you buy the Rope Ascender.