Earlier this month, Larian Studios teased the “biggest patch yet” for Baldur’s Gate 3 during its Early Access period and now, we know exactly what that big update entails. Not only is Baldur’s Gate 3 finally adding the highly requested Druid class, but also massive changes to the game’s cinematics, dice options, and more! Here’s what you can expect from the latest update and how you can still play an older version if you want to continue on with your already-created characters.
First things first: Druids. When the game first launched in Early Access, it was missing quite a few notable classes including Barbarian, Druid, and Monk. One of those missing classes is arriving soon, bringing with it over 30 new spells and abilities, including the loved Wild Shape.
The addition of the new class also means new ways to approach the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 and the ability to talk to animals will help change some outcomes in a big way. A spokesperson for Larian told Game Informer prior to the event that instances such as with the OwlBear can now end up much differently than that first playthrough thanks to the inclusion of this new class. And Druid’s Grove? That will be drastically different as well.
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“With the power of the wilderness at their fingertips, Druids can transform their shape to adapt to different situations,” says Larian about the newest addition. “Crunch bones and slam into enemies as a Dire Wolf or Polar Bear. Spin your silken thread over the environment as a Spider. Soar above Faerun as a Raven. Sneak into hostile spaces unnoticed as a Cat. Burrow under the earth and ambush opponents as a Badger. Or temporarily embrace the tadpole that the Mindflayers have implanted inside you, discovering a new, mysterious Aberrant Shape.”
Druids will also be able to choose from one of two Circles when influencing how their play experience will be like:
- Circle of the Land: Keepers of the Old Faith, these Druids are connected to arctic wastelands, sunny coasts, scorching deserts, fair forests, green grasslands, tall mountains, treacherous swamps and even the vast, otherworldly realm of the Underdark. Based on what type of geography they’re connected to, they gain additional power.
- Circle of the Moon: Changeable as the moon, these stewards of nature haunt the deepest parts of the wilderness. Transformation is no problem for most Druids, but those who keep the ways of the moon gain the ability to morph into more powerful combative Wild Shapes like the Polar Bear.
In the Panel From Hell 2 showcase, Lead Systems Designer Nick Pechenin and D&D Principal Rules Designer Jeremy Crawford will be going more into detail about how this clas was incorprated in a way that is faithful to what tabletop fans favor.
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With each update, the game becomes closer and closer to being ready for a full launch. While it’s not quite there yet, the studio did reveal other key ways that the latest patch will improve the game:
- Optional Loaded Dice: This optional change will help smooth out the extremes of the bell curve. It retains the core elements of RNG, ensuring a player can no longer be unlucky or super lucky with several dice rolls in a row. The system also runs in two parts: dice rolls in dialogue are different to those in combat, and this change only impacts the d20, not damage rolls.
- Improved Cinematics: Narrative cinematics have also been changed with major improvements in lighting and animation, which will give players some truly spectacular story sequences.
- Speak With Dead Cinematic Functionality: Cinematics in special cases like Speak with Dead will get huge improvements, along with the ability to join conversations as an animal. The patch will also add improved animations with the Druids in the Grove as they cast spells and use their abilities.
- Multiplayer: Those embarking on their adventure together with friends will be able to see other players’ equipment, spells, inventory and character sheets (as well as the ability to take and place items to and from). Larian warns though that locks aren’t available quite yet for this patch, that this feature will come later, so technically your friends can steal your loot if they really wanted to. That means you get to kill them. I don’t make the rules.
- Quality of Life: Among the changes made based on player feedback, there will be the option to target friends and enemies with spells and equipment by clicking on their portraits. As an alternative to clicking on a character in the world, players will also be able to easily select and attack whoever they want from the UI. And a torch button! Finally!
A few other tweaks can also be seen in the upcoming update, though specifics haven’t been revealed at this time.
Just like the last major update was a little too much to handle for the current build of the game, this update will make current saves incompatible; you will lose your character in the most updated version of the beta. Never fear though, there’s a way around this because Larian wants you to play the way you want to play:
- Right-click on the game in your Steam library
- Select properties
- Click the BETAS tab
- In the list under “Select the beta you would like to opt in to,” select patch3
- Close the properties menu
If you don’t want patch 4 to update automatically, make sure to go in and disable to auto-update feature in Steam by following the below steps:
- Right-click on the game in your Steam library
- Select properties
- Click the Updates tab
- Select “only update the game when I launch it” in the drop-down menu
And there you have it! Druids, loaded die, and more are coming to Baldur’s Gate III! Thoughts on the latest panel? Sound off in the comment section below!
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