Shadow of the Tomb Raider Eye of the Serpent Guide - How to Complete the Water Wheel Puzzle

In the Trial of the Serpent section of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara will have to solve a particularly tricky puzzle involving a water wheel. In this Shadow of the Tomb Raider Water Wheel Puzzle guide, we'll be detailing every step you need to take in order to quickly make it past this challenging section of the game.

If you instead need help with any other areas of the game at all, you’ll want to head over to our Shadow of the Tomb Raider guides hub. It’s on this page that you can find all the details you need to know going into the game in our beginner’s guide, as well as a complete list of all the gameplay changes that Square Enix has made for the game this year.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider Water Wheel Puzzle Guide

In the Cenote region of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft is going to undergo the Trial of the Serpent. During one part of the overall trial, you’ll have to get a water wheel to function again properly, so you can open a massive door at the top of an ominous flight of stairs.

To start with, swim straight under the bar that connects the two water wheels, and pull yourself up to solid ground on your right. A couple of crazies will attack you, so fend them off, and head round to your right. Head forwards and up the stairs, and you’ll find a rope wheel on your right, that you can turn with your pickaxe.

There are three points ahead of you that you can shoot an arrow at, and you need to attach a rope arrow to the middle point. Turn this dragon head pipe until it’s flat against the wall.

Now head to your right, and there’s a wooden pathway you can take that leads up to the same level as the dragon pipe you just turned round. Another warrior will attack you on your way up here, but at the end of the small pathway you can jump across to the wooden dragon pipe itself.

Now climb up to the highest dragon pipe, and you can free the debris around the rope with your pickaxe. Deal with the warrior that attacks you right after, and you can take the rope all the way back to down to the turning wheel.

Attach a rope arrow to the highest dragon pipe, and turn it so that it’s pointing towards you. Now turn the middle dragon pipe so that it’s facing the opposite direction, towards the water wheel.

Finally, turn the bottom dragon pipe so that the water pours onto the wheel itself, and you're nearly done with this puzzle. For the next door, return to the big pool of water in the middle of the area, and swim under the turning wheel on the left, to pass through a gap and into the left side of this area.

Surface and climb to ground on your left, before heading round to the right to find another turning wheel. A bunch of warriors will attack you here, so make sure to put that shotgun to good use in close quarters. Once you're done with them, attach a rope arrow to the upper dragon pipe, and turn it round so that it pours water into the pool right in front of you.

Now dive into the water in front of you, and go underwater. You'll be able to use Lara's pickaxe to hack away at the wooden debris blocking the lower dragon pipe from turning.

Return to the turning wheel, and move the upper dragon pipe so that it's pouring water down into the lower pipe. After this, turn the lower pipe so that it pours directly onto the water wheel, and you're all done with this puzzle, and this entire section of Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

We’re all wrapped up with this Shadow of the Tomb Raider guide, but there’s plenty more to cover on the game just yet. You can head over to either our Shadow of the Tomb Raider Peruvian Jungle guide, or our Shadow of the Tomb Raider Kuwaq Yaku guide, for a walkthrough of all the collectibles found in either region.