Tech

Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I Started ‘God Of War Ragnarok’

Published

2 years ago

November 9, 2022

God of War Ragnarok has finally made its way to public release, managing to squeeze in before the end of the year and enter into the GOTY conversation with stellar review scores. We’ll see how many sales Sony racks up in short order here, but for now, everyone is just leaping in to play.

As someone who has already put 40 hours into my review copy of God of War, I do have some advice for you as you start. No spoilers ahead, just some gameplay tips that will help you have a better time.

Here are ten things I wish I knew when I started God of War Ragnarok:

1. You Will Have More XP And Money Than You Know What To Do With Eventually

I think it’s important to know how the economy of this game works up front. In short, you really do not need to stress about what to spend XP or money on in the early parts of the game. Rewards scale, so you might be getting 1,000 XP or Hacksilver in early phases, but you will be getting 10-20,000 when completing missions and challenges toward the end of the game. So spend freely, as you should be able to purchase every major upgrade for you, Atreus and gear for you both by the end of the game. There is no real bottleneck.

God of War Ragnarok

Sony

2. Diversify Your Combat To Upgrade Your Skills

One new addition to God of War Ragnarok is that the more you use a skill, you can eventually upgrade it to boost its damage, defense, element or other stats. As such, the more diverse you can make your combat across the axe and blades, the most overall upgrades you will unlock as opposed to just…parrying and doing little easy combos. Use all the skills often!

3. Come Back Later For These Puzzle Obstacles

This is not exactly a new mechanic in video games, but let me be clear about some confusing things you may encounter on some early maps. There are two things, what looks like a little wind gust coming out of a wall, and what looks like a yellow glowing patch, that you cannot interact with early on. You will get a tool that overcomes these obstacles later in the story. Second, there are weird, floaty, broken rune things around you will see. You will need to progress the story to a certain point to learn how to use those. No amount of experimentation will get you past any of that stuff. It will be clear when you get to the point where you can interact with them.

4. You Can Overlevel For Harder Minibosses

There are new minibosses that replace Valkyries that you will eventually unlock fights with around the map. I won’t say what they are, but many can be quite difficult. I found that for some of them, ignoring them and then circling back around when Kratos and his gear were at a higher level was the play, as you can overlevel them, they won’t scale with you. The same is true for things like combat challenges, most of which will not scale to your level.

God of War Ragnarok

Sony

5. Side Quests Are Essentially Not Optional

As my friend Gene Park noted in his review, the side quests here are almost on the level of The Witcher 3, if not past them. As such, I really would not consider most of the larger sidequests optional here. Some clearly are, like hacking through all of Odin’s spy ravens, which are merely collectibles. But things that are actual sidequests are often hugely important story beats for specific characters in the game, and should not be ignored. I would complete all major sidequests before the finale to really flesh out the full cast as much as you can.

6. Endgame Currency For Maxing Armor Sets

By the end of the game, you will probably complete enough activities to max out a handful of full armor sets at their highest power. For the final piece of the puzzle, you will need to perform well in a final series of combat challenges that will take you to true max for your chestplates. Side quests and challenges are also how you will get to the final few damage tiers of your weapons.

7. You Can And Will Return To Almost All Areas

You may be wondering if you need to do everything in a given area or else you will be missing out on content that you can’t complete later. With very, very few exceptions (one lush realm that’s like a “break” I would recommend doing all sidequests in), you will return to all the realms you unlock and be able to fully explore their mysteries. There is also no “point of no return” before the ending in the game, another common question. You will be able to keep exploring, albeit in a bit of an altered way. You’ll see.

God of War Ragnarok

Sony

8. My Favorite Armor Set Of Them All

There are a lot of great armor sets you’ll unlock but my favorite was one made by a dwarven smith that was able to be crafted pretty early into the game. It gives your fists poison damage when you are attacking enemies unarmed, and then a huge 40% melee damage bonus against poisoned enemies. So I’d often throw my axe, let it stick in an enemy, then mash them down with my fists for enormous damage. I used this for probably 80% of the game and it was my main set.

9. Don’t Forget To Upgrade Your Rage Skills

In Ragnarok, Rage is now a bit different in that you will have three different skills that bloom from it. One is pure healing, one is damage and healing, one is pure damage. Each of these have three tiers that you will upgrade through XP alone to increase their potency, and since they’re not in the skill tree and not pieces of gear, it’s something that might be easy to overlook. But they are very important upgrades.

10. Swap Weapons In Combat Often

There are a lot more combat rewards for diversifying your weapon choice in this sequel. At baseline, both the axe and blades will get a skill where the blades do more damage to frozen enemies and the axe does more damage to burning enemies, so you want to swap often. Later, I unlocked armor sets that rewarded you for using special action skills quickly across different weapons. There’s a lot of synergy like that, so look out for it, in addition to certain enemies that are weak to different types of weapons, similar to last game.

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News

The Internet is Littered in ‘Educated Guesses’ Without the ‘Education’

Published

2 weeks ago

October 8, 2024

Nick Kossovan

Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.

The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.

Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.

The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.

Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.

On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.

The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.

More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.

Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:

You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!

Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.

Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.

There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.

Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.

Successful people tend to be secretive.

Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.

Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.

Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.

______________________________________________________________

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

Tech

Tight deadlines on software projects can put safety at risk: survey

Published

2 weeks ago

October 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A new survey says a majority of software engineers and developers feel tight project deadlines can put safety at risk.

Seventy-five per cent of the 1,000 global workers who responded to the survey released Tuesday say pressure to deliver projects on time and on budget could be compromising critical aspects like safety.

The concern is even higher among engineers and developers in North America, with 77 per cent of those surveyed on the continent reporting the urgency of projects could be straining safety.

The study was conducted between July and September by research agency Coleman Parkes and commissioned by BlackBerry Ltd.’s QNX division, which builds connected-car technology.

The results reflect a timeless tug of war engineers and developers grapple with as they balance the need to meet project deadlines with regulations and safety checks that can slow down the process.

Finding that balance is an issue that developers of even the simplest appliances face because of advancements in technology, said John Wall, a senior vice-president at BlackBerry and head of QNX.

“The software is getting more complicated and there is more software whether it’s in a vehicle, robotics, a toaster, you name it… so being able to patch vulnerabilities, to prevent bad actors from doing malicious acts is becoming more and more important,” he said.

The medical, industrial and automotive industries have standardized safety measures and anything they produce undergoes rigorous testing, but that work doesn’t happen overnight. It has to be carried out from the start and then at every step of the development process.

“What makes safety and security difficult is it’s an ongoing thing,” Wall said. “It’s not something where you’ve done it, and you are finished.”

The Waterloo, Ont.-based business found 90 per cent of its survey respondents reported that organizations are prioritizing safety.

However, when asked about why safety may not be a priority for their organization, 46 per cent of those surveyed answered cost pressures and 35 per cent said a lack of resources.

That doesn’t surprise Wall. Delays have become rampant in the development of tech, and in some cases, stand to push back the launch of vehicle lines by two years, he said.

“We have to make sure that people don’t compromise on safety and security to be able to get products out quicker,” he said.

“What we don’t want to see is people cutting corners and creating unsafe situations.”

The survey also took a peek at security breaches, which have hit major companies like London Drugs, Indigo Books & Music, Giant Tiger and Ticketmaster in recent years.

About 40 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they have encountered a security breach in their employer’s operating system. Those breaches resulted in major impacts for 27 per cent of respondents, moderate impacts for 42 per cent and minor impacts for 27 per cent.

“There are vulnerabilities all the time and this is what makes the job very difficult because when you ship the software, presumably the software has no security vulnerabilities, but things get discovered after the fact,” Wall said.

Security issues, he added, have really come to the forefront of the problems developers face, so “really without security, you have no safety.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BB)

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Tech

Beware of scams during Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sales event: cybersecurity firm

Published

2 weeks ago

October 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

As online shoppers hunt for bargains offered by Amazon during its annual fall sale this week, cybersecurity researchers are warning Canadians to beware of an influx of scammers posing as the tech giant.

In the 30 days leading up to Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, there were more than 1,000 newly registered Amazon-related web domains, according to Check Point Software Technologies, a company that offers cybersecurity solutions.

The company said it deemed 88 per cent of those domains malicious or suspicious, suggesting they could have been set up by scammers to prey on vulnerable consumers. One in every 54 newly created Amazon-related domain included the phrase “Amazon Prime.”

“They’re almost indiscernible from the real Amazon domain,” said Robert Falzon, head of engineering at Check Point in Canada.

“With all these domains registered that look so similar, it’s tricking a lot of people. And that’s the whole intent here.”

Falzon said Check Point Research sees an uptick in attempted scams around big online shopping days throughout the year, including Prime Days.

Scams often come in the form of phishing emails, which are deceptive messages that appear to be from a reputable source in attempt to steal sensitive information.

In this case, he said scammers posing as Amazon commonly offer “outrageous” deals that appear to be associated with Prime Days, in order to trick recipients into clicking on a malicious link.

The cybersecurity firm said it has identified and blocked 100 unique Amazon Prime-themed scam emails targeting organizations and consumers over the past two weeks.

Scammers also target Prime members with unsolicited calls, claiming urgent account issues and requesting payment information.

“It’s like Christmas for them,” said Falzon.

“People expect there to be significant savings on Prime Day, so they’re not shocked that they see something of significant value. Usually, the old adage applies: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

Amazon’s website lists a number of red flags that it recommends customers watch for to identify a potential impersonation scam.

Those include false urgency, requests for personal information, or indications that the sender prefers to complete the purchase outside of the Amazon website or mobile app.

Scammers may also request that customers exclusively pay with gift cards, a claim code or PIN. Any notifications about an order or delivery for an unexpected item should also raise alarm bells, the company says.

“During busy shopping moments, we tend to see a rise in impersonation scams reported by customers,” said Amazon spokeswoman Octavia Roufogalis in a statement.

“We will continue to invest in protecting consumers and educating the public on scam avoidance. We encourage consumers to report suspected scams to us so that we can protect their accounts and refer bad actors to law enforcement to help keep consumers safe.”

Falzon added that these scams are more successful than people might think.

As of June 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said there had been $284 million lost to fraud so far this year, affecting 15,941 victims.

But Falzon said many incidents go unreported, as some Canadians who are targeted do not know how or where to flag a scam, or may choose not to out of embarrassment.

Check Point recommends Amazon customers take precautions while shopping on Prime Days, including by checking URLs carefully, creating strong passwords on their accounts, and avoiding personal information being shared such as their birthday or social security number.

The cybersecurity company said consumers should also look for “https” at the beginning of a website URL, which indicates a secure connection, and use credit cards rather than debit cards for online shopping, which offer better protection and less liability if stolen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2024.

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