God of War Ragnarok update 4.02 (April 24, 2023) patch notes and details

Audio 

• Fixed a case where music from the final quest would play whenever loading in from the main menu or restarting checkpoint in Midgard during post-game in New Game+.
• Fixed a case where dialogue lines were skipped after a cinematic when acquiring the Mysterious Orb quest in New Game+.

Combat

• Fixed a rare case where the application would crash when browsing the Sparring Arena menu and selecting ‘Ingrid’ as the companion.
• Fixed a case where Kratos could branch into weapon move-sets while in the Fury Rage mode.
• Fixed a rare case where Gná could trigger her Stomp too soon after Wing Shard, which would cause unavoidable player death on Give Me God of War difficulty.
• Fixed a case where restarting from checkpoint before the cinematic leading into the Björn boss fight would cause Kratos’ Rage Meter to disappear and not allow the player to change which Rage they had equipped. 

Equipment

• Fixed a case where Kratos’ shield would visually disappear if the player upgraded the currently equipped shield to level 9.1 (or above), but did not equip the upgraded version via the prompt. 
• Fixed a case where base game resources would not be available to buy/sell at the shop after updating to Patch 04.00. 
• Fixed a case where the Pommels of the True Flame disappeared from Blades of Chaos weapon menu when upgrading them from level 8 to level 9.
• Fixed a case where the player would not receive a Gilded Coin when upgrading a shield to level 9.1.
  • Gilded Coins not received due to this bug will be retroactively granted via the Lost Items Chest. 
• Fixed a case where the player would not receive a Gilded Coin when upgrading Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos, or Draupnir Spear to level 9.1 unless their equipped attachment was upgraded beforehand.
  • Gilded Coins not received due to this bug will be retroactively granted via the Lost Items Chest. 
• Fixed a case where the amount of the crafting resource Divine Ashes in-shop was inconsistent with the amount needed in-game to upgrade armor.
• Fixed a case where the sled loot would drop a New Game+ resource during base game progression after updating to Patch 04.00. 
• Fixed a case where the Digital Deluxe Edition gear Darkdale Waist Guard or Risen Snow Armor could not be updated past level 9 during New Game+ progression.
• Fixed a case where the recipe for Soldier’s Sauroter was missing from the shop in New Game+, preventing player from upgrading the component.
• Fixed a case where there were missing weapon components from the shop/Lost Items Chest, but were shown as available.
• Fixed a case where multiple enchantments would not be rewarded during Favors, Treasure, or Crucible Chests.
  • Enchantments not received due to this bug will be retroactively granted via the Lost Items Chest. 

World

• Fixed a case where Gná’s Camp would become available after player completing Muspelheim Challenges, which cased the player to become stuck. 

UI/UX

• Fixed a case where weapon appearance would not be able to be changed for a 9.1 weapon until player upgrades to the 9.2 and above variants
• Fixed an issue of missing line within credits. 

Trophies

• Fixed an issue where the “Spit Shine” trophy was not earned when the player upgraded a New Game+ armor piece to level 9. 

PS4-Only

• Fixed an issue where an environment would take a moment to load-in after the player skipped a cinematic after sprinting to a door. 
• Fixed a case where two characters would not appear in their intended spots after skipping the cinematic and quickly progressing on the path.
• Fixed an issue where Hardrefill the Callous would not spawn in the Berserker Soul arena and player would remain stuck inside.

Known Issue

• Loading a manual save created on PS5 from an imported PS4 New Game+ save will boot the player to the main menu.
  • WORKAROUND: When you are importing PS4 New Game+ save data to a PS5, keep playing after the initial load-in until you have created a new Autosave. Once that has occurred, you can create new Manual Saves that will not be affected by the above issue. Please note that this Manual Save must be in a new slot and not overwriting your old save data. If you overwrite your old save data, that file may still experience the issue. 

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Best God of War Ragnarok Builds for New Game Plus

“Can’t Touch This” by Wilson Santiago, QA Analyst

• Armor
  • [NEW IN NG+] Cloak of the Black Bear – Increases immunity duration while evading, last-second evades fire a volley of Bifröst shards.
  • [NEW IN NG+] Gauntlets of Zeus – Increases Melee and Runic damage by 20%, but also increases damage received by 40%.
  • Belt of Radiance
• Enchantments
  • [NEW IN NG+] Meign – Strength/Cooldown stat boost. 
  • Vanaheim Set Bonus    
  • Sigil of Doom
  • Emblem of the Nine Realms  
  • Memento of the Ailing
  • Emblem of Elusion
  • Boon of Valor or Boon of Wrath
• Weapon Attachments
  • Leviathan Axe: Grip of the Nine Realms
  • Blades, Spear, Shield Rönd: Anything prioritizing Strength stat.
• Relic
  • Hilt of Hofuð
  • Spartan Rage
• Companion – Weapons
  • Atreus: Jötnar Bow
  • Freya: Mardoll
• Companion – Accessories
  • Runic Potency III
  • Nocked Proficiency III
  • Sigil Amplification III
• Companion – Runic Summon
  • Atreus: Falcon’s Dive
  • Freya: Player Preference

“Status Striker” by TJ Gilbert, Senior QA Analyst

• Armor
  • Giptumaðr’s Breastplate
  • Lúnda’s Lost Bracers
  • Fate Breaker Belt
• Enchantments
  • [NEW IN NG+] Lúnda’s Engraving – Bare-handed attacks, Parrying, and Blocking have a chance to deal bonus damage and poison enemies, lowering their Power Level.
  • Boon of Wrath
  • Stunning Fang
  • Vanaheim Set Bonus
  • Svartalfheim Set Bonus
• Weapon Attachments
  • Leviathan Axe: Grip of Weighted Recovery
  • Blades of Chaos: Cursed Empress Handles
  • Draupnir Spear: Hind of Weightless Recovery
  • Shield Rönd: Player Preference
• Relic
  • Hilt of Garm
• Spartan Rage
  • Wrath
• Companion – Weapons, Accessories, Runic Summons:
  • Atreus and Freya: Player Preference

“The Minefield” by Wilson Santiago, QA Analyst

• Armor:
  • [NEW IN NG+] Cuirass of Ares – Rage hits have a chance to drop a Health Stone. Health Stones will also grant Rage and all stones trigger bigger explosions.
  • Giptumaðr’s Gauntlets
  • [NEW IN NG+] War Belt of Ares – Activating Rage when Rage Meter is fill increases all damage done for a short duration.
• Enchantments:
  • [NEW IN NG+] Mannvit – Runic/Cooldown stat boost.
  • [NEW IN NG+] Fjölkyngi – Runic/Vitality stat boost.
  • Niflheim Set Bonus
  • Stone Idol of Souls
  • Seal of Runic Storm
  • Eir’s Armament
  • Boon of Valor
• Weapon Attachments:
  • All: Anything prioritizing high Runic and/or Luck
• Relic:
  • Hilt of Hofuð
• Spartan Rage:
  • Valor
• Companion – Weapons:
  • Atreus and Freya: Player Preference
• Companion – Accessories:
  • All 3: Player Preference
• Companion – Runic Summon:
  • Atreus: Bitter Squirrel
  • Freya: Player Preference

“Zeus’ Wrath” by Evan Gilbert, QA Analyst

• Armor:
  • Giptumaðr’s Breastplate
  • Berserker Gauntlets
  • [NEW IN NG+] War Belt of Zeus – Increases Melee and Runic damage by 20%, while increasing damage received by 40%.
• Enchantments:
  • [NEW IN NG+] Vald – Cooldown/Strength stat boost.
  • [NEW IN NG+] Mannvit – Runic/Cooldown stat boost.
  • [NEW IN NG+] Hjartablóð – Vitality/Luck stat boost.
  • [NEW IN NG+] Guiding Light Engraving – Chance to increase Strength, Runic, and Luck of Kratos’ weapons.
  • [NEW IN NG+] Fallen Stars Engraving – Greatly reduces damage taken when using a Runic Attack or Relic.
  • Attuned Runic Gem
  • Seal of the Runic Storm
  • Boon of Wrath
  • Use for Multiple Enemy Encounters: Eir’s Armaments
  • [NEW IN NG+] Use for Boss Encounters: Radiance Engraving – Chance to grant a Blessing of Runic on any last-second evade.
• Leviathan Axe:
  • Attachment: Grip of the Nine Realms – Chosen for stat boost, do not use Momentous Shift unless necessary as it will consume your Permafrost gauge.
  • Light Runic: Winter’s Bite
  • Heavy Runic: Mists of Helheim
• Blades of Chaos:
  • Attachment: Pommels of the True Flame
  • Light Runic: Flame of Anguish
  • Heavy Runic: Meteoric Slam
• Draupnir Spear:
  • Attachment: Hind of Weightless Recovery
  • Light Runic: Whisper of the World
  • Heavy Runic: Vindsvalr’s Windstorm
• Shield:
  • Dauntless Shield
  • Rönd of Expedition
• Relic:
  • Hilt of Hrotti
• Spartan Rage:
  • Wrath
• Companion – Weapons, Accessories, Runic Summons:
  • Atreus and Freya: Player Preference

Over on the PlayStation Blog, the developers provide more details on the builds and how to play them effectively.

Armed with these helpful dev tips, and aided by the fixes implemented by the new 4.01 update, players can head dive back into the battle with New Game Plus.

The post Best God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus Builds Revealed by Developer appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

God of War Ragnarok update 4.01 (April 11, 2023) patch notes

Patch notes are as follows:

Equipment

• Fixed an issue where Darkdale Waist Guard or Risen Snow Armor could not be upgraded past Level 9 in NG+.

Quests

• Fixed an issue where certain quest resources were not granted upon completion in NG+ (Lindwyrm Scales, Sovereign Coals, Essence of Hel). These resources will be granted retroactively to players who should have received them.

System

• Fixed a rare case where the application would crash when loading certain save files.

Trophies

• Fixed an issue where the “Ready for Commitment” trophy would not unlock when upgrading NG+ armor to Level 9 or above.
• Fixed an issue where the “Dragon Slayer” trophy could not be earned during NG+ if the player did not craft the Dragon Scale armor during first playthrough on base game.
• Fixed an issue where the “Phalanx” trophy could not be earned if the player crafted a Level 9+ shield prior to crafting every other type of shield.

If you receive the armor from the Lost Items Chest in the shop, you will need to restart or reload your game to get the trophy.

Please note that these trophies will be granted retroactively to players who fulfilled the prerequisites between the time the NG+ patch (v. 04.00) and this patch were implemented.

UI/UX

• Fixed a rare case where the application would crash in the UI.

The post God of War Ragnarok Update 4.01 Fixes New Game+ Issues appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

New God of War Ragnarok Berserker King Hrolf Kraki armor

For those players skilled enough to take down the Berserker King, Hrolf Kraki, in New Game Plus, a unique armor appearance will be unlocked.

At the time of writing, it isn’t yet known what the new Berserker Armor appearance looks like, as seemingly no player has unlocked and then uploaded proof of it. Give it a few days, however, and the best God of War players should be featuring it on their socials and across forums like Reddit.

Edit: Twitter user @SammualP has shared a video of the Berserker King battle and the armor reward:

As a simple armor appearance, this new Berserker Armor variant won’t boast any additional perks or functions. It will merely look awesome and show that you have defeated arguably the toughest boss in the game, which is a pretty cool flex.

As for the next God of War game, sadly not much is known. And no, that rumored Egyptian setting was fake.

The post God of War Ragnarok’s New Game Plus Armor Rewards Those Who Beat the Berserker King appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

God of War Ragnarok NG+ update pushes Kratos to the limit

God of War Ragnarok’s new game plus will be unlocked right after you finish the main story. You will be able to carry over all your equipment, skills, and weapons (yes, even the Draupnir Spear), though you will not have access to some of the special Sonic and Hex arrows.

New game plus will also increase the difficulty of two optional mini-bosses, the Hateful and the Ormstunga. It will also come with Give Me No Mercy and Give Me God of War difficulties that will make enemies harder.

If you want to make the game even more difficult, you can apply Burden enchantments that have negative traits and put on the Spartan Armor, available at the Hacksilver at Huldra Brothers’ Shop, which will strip Kratos down to Power Level 1 with no extra perks and stats. Other new items include the Armor of the Black Bear, Ares Armor, Zeus Armor, and Spartan Aspis shield, along with new appearances for thirteen sets of armor.

All Level 9 equipment can be upgraded to their “Plus” versions for additional progression in new game plus. Using Gilded Coins, you can also take the perks from Armor and Shield Ronds and equip them in your Amulet as enchantments. Along with an expanded Niflheim arena, you can further upgrade skill mods, unlock Platinum Tier rewards for Kill Labors, and obtain Yggdrasil Dew for additional stats.

God of War Ragnarok recently became the most BAFTA-nominated game ever, and the actor for Atreus wants the character to “grow into a man.”

The post God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus Update Now Available appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Atreus can go “so many routes” in God of War

Speaking to TheGamer at the recent BAFTA Games Awards, Suljic said that there are “so many routes” for God of War to explore when it comes to Atreus. He acknowledged that Santa Monica Studio’s narrative team has a better idea about Atreus’s future than he does, but he personally hopes to see the character “grow into a man.”

“I’ve had the opportunity to grow up with the character as well, so I feel like I can see myself a lot in the character as well, so I feel like we’re both developing at the same time,” Suljic said.

Suljic has been nominated for several awards for his performance in God of War Ragnarok, ultimately losing to Kratos actor Christopher Judge, but that doesn’t bother him in the least bit. Suljic told TheGamer he’s “excited” and wants to “live in the moment.” He also revealed that he’s formed a father-son bond with Judge in real life.

The post God of War Atreus Actor Wants the Character to ‘Grow Into a Man’ appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Santa Monica Studio unlikely to make God of War Ragnarok 2

This new rumor came from a YouTube video with a clickbait title which suggests that players found cut/unused content in God of War Ragnarok. The content in question is dialogue that hints at a sequel which takes players to Egypt. One problem: the voice lines are AI-generated.

The YouTuber, Omega Fantasy, also pulled a similar April Fool’s Day joke involving God of War Ragnarok last year. However, quite a few people still fell for the sequel rumor last night.

As we’ve previously reported, Santa Monica Studio is unlikely to make God of War Ragnarok 2. The studio said that it wanted to cover the Norse saga in two games rather than three. And although it’ll continue making God of War games, a direct sequel to Rangarok isn’t going to happen.

Some fans are still holding out hope, however, because they feel like Ragnarok’s ending left much to be desired.

Take every rumor that crops up on April 1 with a gazillion grains of salt.

The post God of War Egypt Setting Rumor Is Fake appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The awards keep coming for God of War Ragnarok’s Kratos

Like its predecessor, God of War Ragnarok continues to pick up trophies for Judge’s critically-acclaimed performance as Kratos. In his acceptance speech last night, Judge said that being able to play the protagonist was “a role of a lifetime” and while he doesn’t know if he’ll ever get to play Kratos again, he’s enjoying every bit of the recognition his work has received.

Judge then addressed his fans, thanking them for their support, and asking them to be good to each other.

“Be easier on each other,” Judge said in an impassioned speech. “You have more in common than what separates you. No matter what platform you love, no matter what game you love, you’re still part of the gaming community. Give each other a break.”

God of War Ragnarok took most of the accolades at BAFTA Games Awards 2023, picking up six trophies out of 14 nominations. This year’s event also bestowed veteran PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida with a Fellowship.

The post God of War Kratos Actor Chris Judge Wants Console Wars to End appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Why fans think God of War Ragnarok 2 or DLC is incoming

As reported by Shark Games (via ResetEra), Prendergast said towards the end of the aforementioned panel that God of War Ragnarok “isn’t the last you’ve seen of Tyr.”

The panel organizer then reportedly tried to shift the conversation but in response to a question about the future of God of War franchise, Prendergast said that he “knows a little, but doesn’t know much” before jokingly adding that he has signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Santa Monica Studio has previously said that God of War Ragnarok concludes the Norse saga, which was planned to be a two-part series as opposed to a trilogy, so it’s unlikely that we’ll see a direct sequel to Ragnarok. The studio has also said that DLC is “unlikely.”

That leaves us with the possibility that Prendergast was either teasing a new game in the series, which is almost a given, or possibly a role in the God of War TV series.

And of course, he might not be teasing anything at all.

The post Is God of War Ragnarok DLC or Sequel Being Teased? appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

The price drop made its way online this week, with the bundle now retailing for $509.99 rather than its typical $559.99 RRP.

Get the PS5 God of War Ragnarok bundle deal

You can buy the discounted God of War Ragnarok and PS5 bundle right here via Amazon.

The bundle includes the disc-based PS5 and Santa Monica Studio’s blockbuster sequel, and is only $10 more expensive than buying the PS5 without a game. As such it’s an excellent deal for those in the market for a PS5, or those who wish to pick up a second console with one of the platform’s best games for an incredibly low price.

God of War Ragnarok is one of the PS5’s highest-rated games, with PlayStation LifeStyle giving it a 9 out of 10 in our review. We called it a “near-perfect journey” that boasted improved presentation, combat, and exploration over its predecessor.

If you’re after more deals, then you can also grab this PS5 Logitech G Pro headset for $40 off, or this SSD for a super low price of just $50.

The post PS5 God of War Ragnarok Bundle Price Drops By $50 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.