Technologies

Hollow Knight Silksong Guide: Read These 11 Tips Before Starting

Need help finding rosaries and maps? Here are 11 tips to help you begin your journey.

The indie gaming classic Hollow Knight’s long-awaited sequel, Silksong, is here. Just like the 2019 original, the new game is mysterious and labyrinthine. I’m having an absolute blast playing it, but there are a lot of quirks and challenges you’re going to have to face.

Here are 11 tips to help you navigate the first couple hours of the exciting — and difficult — Silksong.

Read more: I Played Silksong on the ROG Xbox Ally X and I’m Ready for More

11 Hollow Knight: Silksong tips for beginners

Early rosary cache

Rosaries are this game’s version of currency, which you can use to buy amulets and maps from early game merchants. If you die, you’ll have to recover them from your corpse in order to collect what was lost. In the opening area of the game, you can find a rosary cache to give your wallet a boost early on. Right before entering Bone Bottom, there’s a hole to drop down. Hold left as you fall and you’ll find a bone wall you can break. Here you’ll find your reward.

Learn the pogo

Bouncing off enemies is an early way to double jump. To do it, hold down while attacking in the air. It’s much harder to pull off than it was in Hollow Knight due to Hornet’s attacks, which are angled diagonally rather than straight down. However, if Silksong is anything like the first, you’ll be expected to master this technique in order to find and unlock everything in the game — there could be secret areas that can only be reached or bosses that can only be defeated with this technique. Make sure to master this skill early on.

First spool fragment and shortcut

After meeting Shakra, the map merchant, head left into the next screen. There is a flying enemy near the far left wall. Use the pogo jump technique off of them to reach and exit the room in the top left corner. If you kill the enemy, simply leave the area and rest at the nearby bench to respawn them (benches also save your game). After reaching the next room, drop down the first hole. There’s also a rosary cache to your right as you descend. Continue down until you reach a lever, which activates the elevator, giving you a shortcut back to Bone Bottom.

From the top of the elevator shaft, head right. You’ll also see an enemy glowing green below you as you progress. It holds a Moss Berry, and in order to get it, you’ll either have to keep pogo attacking them or fall and slash repeatedly. You can use your new elevator to keep ascending back up if you fall down.

Eventually, you’ll find another cache of rosaries hanging in a small room, but be careful, as they’re boobytrapped with spikes right underneath. However, these spikes only activate once, so you can just wait for them to disappear. Attack the wall in the bottom left of this room to open a secret door that leads to the Spool Fragment — you’ll want to prioritize collecting these, as they increase your max silk capacity.

Buy the first four items from Shakra

Maps are extremely useful in Silksong, so buy them whenever you have the chance. When you first meet Shakra, they’ll have two for you. In addition, you can also buy the Quill and Compass. These will help fill in the map and, if equipped, show your location. Try and grind out enough cash to buy all four of these items. If you’re low on funds, the enemies in the area to your left will drop around five rosaries each, and there’s a nearby bench you can sit on to keep respawning them.

If you followed my advice and collected the Spool Fragment above, you should have more than enough currency to buy all four.

View the entire map

Holding down LB (on Xbox) will bring up the map of your current area. In order to see the entire area, and how each section connects to one another, double tap LB instead.

Choral Commandment

You can find a Choral Commandment, which can be given to a certain collector later on, shortly after encountering Shakra. Climb upwards from their position and to the left. Up again past the lever and there is a breakable wall immediately left of you.

Moss Druid

Right after obtaining the Silk Spear technique, head to the bottom right corner of the room and destroy the webs with your new skill. Inside and past the right exit is Moss Druid (and a save bench) who will give you your first side quest of finding three moss berries. If you found one early on, and a second one that I mentioned while going for the Spool Fragment, you can collect a third just below them by dropping down the hole left of the bench and past a hidden wall in the bottom right corner of the room. Finishing this side quest will earn you an achievement.

Easier healing

Unlike in Hollow Knight, you don’t need to hold down the bind button (B on an Xbox controller) to heal. In Silksong, you simply need to tap it once you have enough silk. This will grant you three pips of life back. You can also heal while in the air, so take advantage of it when landing could mean your death.

Different types of equipment

Hollow Knight only had one type of equipment, but Silksong has four. They’re distinguished by colors: white, red, blue and yellow. White is for your spells, such as the Silk Spear, red is for tools, blue holds amulets, and yellow is for additional items, such as the compass. You can only equip one of each at a time (at least for now).

How to defeat the Bell Beast

The first real boss fight of the game is the Bell Beast and it’s located shortly after collecting the Silk Spear skill.

The Beast has three main attacks. The first will see either side of the ground rumble followed by the Beast surfacing and charging toward you. Simply jump over it and do a pogo attack as it passes. The second attack begins like the first, with the ground on the side of the arena rumbling, but this time the Beast will launch into the air and arc over you. It’s very easy to just walk the opposite direction to avoid getting crushed. You can also quickly counter and get in two attacks while it tries to get unstuck from the wall. The last attack will start a little differently — this time the center ground will rumble. The Beast will pop up and launch two bell projectiles horizontally. To dodge, just hop over the bell.

When you’ve whittled the boss’s health down halfway, the Beast will surface and scream, shaking the whole area. This will cause bells to start dropping down from the ceiling while you continue the fight. They’re pretty easy to avoid since they only bounce once before disappearing. Simply hop over them as you continue the pattern of attacking and dodging the Beast’s three attacks.

Unlocks after the Bell Beast

After defeating the Bell Beast you get an achievement and a silk heart. This will regenerate a little bit of silk automatically after every use. After falling in combat, the Bell Beast will also have a change of heart and become your mode of fast travel.

Make sure to revisit Bone Bottom once you’re victorious as you’ll now be able to take on additional side quests from a sign in town.

Hopefully these tips give you a better grasp of the dangerous and complex world as you begin your adventure in Silksong.

Technologies

Your Bluetooth Audio Devices Could Be at Risk of Hijacking, Researchers Say

Google says it has addressed security vulnerabilities that could affect Bluetooth products, but researchers contend that issues persist.

Researchers working at KU Leuven University in Belgium are warning people who use Bluetooth audio products that their devices may be at risk due to vulnerabilities in Google’s Fast Pair technology, a feature that makes it quicker and easier to connect Bluetooth devices.

Google says it has addressed issues that could allow hackers to hijack audio devices and track their location. But the researchers say the vulnerabilities, which it collectively refers to as WhisperPair, still affect products from device makers including Sony, Harman and Google itself. In their tests, the researchers found these products could be hacked from as far as about 46 feet away.

A Google representative told CNET that it has updated the software for some of its own audio products, including its Pixel Buds Pro, and that some of the vulnerabilities stemmed from other companies not properly following Fast Pair specifications. Google said it had informed companies about this in September.

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«We appreciate collaborating with security researchers through our Vulnerability Rewards Program, which helps keep our users safe. We worked with these researchers to fix these vulnerabilities, and we have not seen evidence of any exploitation outside of this report’s lab setting,» Google said in a statement provided to CNET. «As a best security practice, we recommend users check their headphones for the latest firmware updates. We are constantly evaluating and enhancing Fast Pair and Find Hub security.»

In response to specific concerns about device tracking, Google added, «We rolled out a fix on our end to prevent Find Hub network provisioning in this scenario, which completely addresses the potential location tracking issue across all devices.»

Google has issued two security updates this month, one for Wear OS and one for Google Pixel devices. Each contains information about the company’s security patches.

The WhisperPair research group said it’s working on an academic paper detailing its findings. On its website, the researcher group said, «Our findings show how a small usability ‘add-on’ can introduce large-scale security and privacy risks for hundreds of millions of users.»

The research group released a YouTube video discussing problems with Fast Pair, a Google technology introduced in 2017 that connects Bluetooth devices with one tap across Android and Chrome OS.

The group said that it worked with Google after reporting its findings and was awarded a $15,000 bounty. The researchers said they agreed to a 150-day disclosure window in which Google would release security patches. However, the website points out that users of Bluetooth devices like earbuds may not be aware of security updates that could protect them.

The website includes a page where users can look up which audio products are vulnerable, with details on how to get them updated. Google doesn’t have detailed information about these vulnerabilities on its Fast Pair Known Issues page.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 16, #950

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 16 #950.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a very intriguing blue group. You’ll notice some band names, but can you locate what they have in common? Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Worn on heads.

Green group hint: Nighty-night.

Blue group hint: Bands with something alphabet-related in common.

Purple group hint: Like great.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Kinds of hats.

Green group: Components of a kid’s bedtime routine.

Blue group: Musical acts with «A» as the only vowel.

Purple group: Grand ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of hats. The four answers are derby, fedora, Panama and porkpie.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is components of a kid’s bedtime routine. The four answers are bath, brushing, pajamas and story.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is musical acts with «A» as the only vowel. The four answers are Alabama, Bananarama, Kansas and Santana.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is grand ____. The four answers are Bahama, Canyon, piano and slam.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Quick tips for Connections

#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.

#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the «shuffle» button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.

#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. «Rushmore» was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 16, #480

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 16, No. 480.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one, with some odd words and bizarre categories. If you’re struggling with it but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Don’t get hurt!

Green group hint: Exaggerated language.

Blue group hint: Ouch!

Purple group hint: Not northern.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Protective gear.

Green group: Hype.

Blue group: Sharp things.

Purple group: «Southern ____» schools.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is protective gear. The four answers are gloves, helmet, mouth guard and shoulder pads.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is hype. The four answers are anticipation, ballyhoo, buildup and buzz.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sharp things. The four answers are dart, hairpin turn, ice skate and javelin.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is «Southern ____» schools. The four answers are California, Illinois, Methodist and Miss.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Quick tips for Connections: Sports Edition

#1: Don’t grab for the easiest group. For each word, think about other sports categories it might fit in – is this a word that can be used in football, or to describe scoring options?

#2: Second meanings are important. The puzzle loves to use last names and even college names that mean other things, to fool you into thinking they are words, not names.

#3: And the opposite is also true. Words like HURTS might seem like a regular word, but it’s also the last name of at least one pro athlete.