No Illusions



No Illusions is the first level in Tomb Raider: Underworld. It is known for featuring the largest skip in the game: Prologue Skip. The skip was first found shortly after the game was released in 2008. Usually, players would drop down from a ledge where a cutscene would play, however, this skip allows the player to avoid this cutscene and jump to the section which is normally reached at the end of Croft Manor. By finishing the rest of the platforming in the level, Lara reaches the cutscenes which lead to Southern Mexico. This skips the levels Mediterranean Sea, Coastal Thailand, and parts of Croft Manor. In speedruns, it skips approximately 15 minutes of gameplay.

Tutorials
There are three ways to do the Prologue Skip. The beginner version involves jumping off the ledge and pressing grapple and jump to avoid the cutscene trigger. Lara then needs to go around this trigger to jump onto the ledge. From here, Lara needs to ascend to the top to finish. It is the slowest but easiest method of doing Prologue Skip.



Alternatively, there is the advanced version of the Prologue Skip which involves walking up to the left side of the pillar and then doing the following sequence. Lara needs to aim right with the mouse with her guns pulled out. From there, she must perform a mid-air swandive jump. By turning the camera now to the left, and commencing the mid-air swandive jump by pressing Space, Ctrl a bit delayed and waiting until the roll is finished, before jumping while holding forward, she can grab the ledge if done correctly. There are a few outcomes with this setup. For one, you can grab the upper ledge which is the fastest, however you can also grab the bottom ledge which is a bit slower. The last outcome is where she misses and the cutscene will play, meaning the skip has failed. It is faster than the beginner method but is slightly harder. It is a good compromise for speed and complexity.



The fastest way to do Prologue Skip is with the expert method. This method is similar to the advanced method, however there is little to no setup. Lara needs to stand near the end of the ledge before initiating the mid-air swandive jump. While this is occurring, the camera should be turned towards the left to grab the ledge. The outcomes for this method are the same as the advanced method however this version is the fastest for Any% Glitched runs.