Technologies

Ghost of Yotei Starter Guide: 9 Tips to Know

Here’s a handful of useful advice to know before starting your revenge quest.

Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, is now out to play and brings a new protagonist, setting and adventure for you to slice and dice your way through. We over here love it, but before taking control of Atsu and avenging your fallen family, here are nine things to look out for in order to start off with an advantage.

Yotei’s relation to the first game, Ghost of Tsushima

Do you need to have played or know what happened in the first game, Ghost of Tsushima? No. Yotei takes place 400 years after the first game and in a different region of Japan. It doesn’t continue the story, so you’re safe jumping in here.

Ghost of Yotei’s cinematic modes

Just like in Tsushima, Yotei features its so-called Kurosawa mode. This turns the entire game to black and white, adds film grain, and increases the wind sound effects to mimic the many movies from famed Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa.

In addition, and new to Yotei, are two other cinematic modes. The first is called Miike mode, which will increase the amount of blood and mud sprayed around in combat. It will also bring the camera in closer while fighting. Be warned, though, the game points out that this will increase the combat difficulty.

The second new mode is called Watanabe mode, which will change the exploration and combat music to a more lo-fi beat. Perfect for any Samurai Champloo fan.

Throw your enemy’s weapons

New to Yotei is the ability to throw fallen weapons at enemies. Often, when you defeat someone, you can find their weapon upright, stuck in the ground with a soft glow. Pick up the weapon with R2 and throw it with Square in order to deal a considerable amount of damage. Not only can this help thin out a group of enemies, but it also looks extremely badass.

Visit your home

One of the very first things you’ll do after opening up the map is visit your childhood home. There are a few mini games and cutscenes to work through before you’re allowed to leave. After finishing the combat tutorial, explore around the area first. There are additional cutscenes from your past to view for some backstory, but don’t leave just yet — inside the house, you’ll even find some money and a map pointing to some hidden items.

Loot corpses

Many enemies will have some loot, money, or resources on them after being killed. Make sure to quickly check the bodies before continuing on your way.

Ghost of Yotei: Find the lost monk

A monk named Bessho is located off to the side on your way from your home to the Shadow Inn. He’s located next to an isolated tree with yellow leaves. Stop by here first and complete his short sidequest. You’ll be rewarded with money and a skill point, allowing you to unlock your first new skill.

Put points in the assassination skill tree

Finding shrines rewards you with a skill point, and if you completed Gessho’s quest, then you have one burning a hole in your pocket. With your new skill point, I recommend prioritizing the assassination tree. Each node on this path is very useful as it allows you to stealthily one-shot kill stronger enemies or several at once. Prioritizing the assassination tree will make taking on enemy camps much smoother since you’ll have less to fight if you’re ever spotted.

Speed up NPCs guiding you

Characters that are guiding you somewhere (such as Gessho toward the shrine) can be sped up. Even though they’re the ones leading the way, they match Atsu’s pace, so walking faster or running (L3) will speed up the sidequest and get you to your destination faster.

Go camping for bonuses

Camping offers several benefits, including the opportunity to cook or simply pass the time. Your first opportunity to camp can be found by returning to where you met Gessho and holding right on the directional pad. Doing so will enter you into a cutscene with a random traveler that will give you information on one of the enemies you’re hunting.

Also, be sure to play your shamisen instrument while resting to unlock a trophy.

There are nine tips to make the first couple of hours of Ghost of Yotei that much more enjoyable. Ghost of Yotei is out now for PS5.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Nov. 16

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 16.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? For me, 7-Across was a bit of a stumper, but I eventually solved it. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Cars that stop at Supercharger stations
Answer: TESLAS

7A clue: What «e-» can mean
Answer: ONLINE

8A clue: Words that might begin the name of a quaint English inn
Answer: YEOLDE

9A clue: What «E» can mean
Answer: EMPTY

10A clue: Easter egg colorings
Answer: DYES

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Messed (with)
Answer: TOYED

2D clue: Ally’s opposite
Answer: ENEMY

3D clue: What «m» stands for in the equation «y = mx + b»
Answer: SLOPE

4D clue: Musical cadences of speech
Answer: LILTS

5D clue: Samberg of «Brooklyn Nine-Nine»
Answer: ANDY

6D clue: «___ what I did there?»
Answer: SEE

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16, #889

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 16, #889.

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 is a fun one. As a pop-culture junkie and game lover, I enjoyed the purple category. If you need help sorting the answers into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now 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: Different strokes for different folks.

Green group hint: Ho-hum.

Blue group hint: Flags often qualify.

Purple group hint: Do not pass Go.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Technique.

Green group: Run-of-the-mill.

Blue group: Stripy things.

Purple group: Words on Monopoly squares.

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 technique. The four answers are approach, method, philosophy and school.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is run-of-the-mill. The four answers are banal, everday, humdrum and pedestrian.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is stripy things.The four answers are barcode, IBM logo, rugby shirt and zebra.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is words on Monopoly squares. The four answers are avenue, parking, railroad and tax.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16 #623

Here are hints — and answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 16, No. 623.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is tough. It’s a weird theme, and some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Around it goes.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: They’re often on a roll.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CARE, SCARE, CRASS, SWAT, PELL, HELL, SCAR, HALT, STENT, HALTS, TENT, POLL, LOTS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

FOIL, SCARF, SHAWL, STOLE, FLATBREAD, CELLOPHANE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THATSAWRAP. To find it, start with the T that’s three letters up from the bottom of the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.