Baldur’s Gate 3Patch 8 has finally released, adding some of the most significant changes the game has yet seen. The road to release for Patch 8 has been uniquely long, with seven months passing since Patch 7 was added in September 2024.WithBaldur’s Gate 3developer Larian Studios shifting its focus to new titles in development, Patch 8 hasn’t been the only priority.
Patch 8 is also consequently positioned as the final major update forBaldur’s Gate 3, putting an unusual amount of weight on its shoulders. While some of the best features for the game’s longevity have already arrived, like Patch 7’s modding support, Patch 8 is no slouch. With features ranging from a long-anticipated photo mode to a host of new subclasses, there’s plenty to be excited about here.
10Halsin & Minthara Are Less Particular
Inconsistent Companion Triggers Get Some Fixes
As characters who can only be unlocked through specific triggers,Halsin and Minthara can both be a bit inconsistent to recruitinBaldur’s Gate 3. Previous patches have fixed some issues along withmaking Minthara a bit easier to recruitin general, for better or worse. Patch 8 cleans things up with a few more key improvements, as described in the official patch notes available on theBaldur’s Gate 3website.
According to the patch notes, you no longer need to celebrate the tieflings' survival at camp in Act One to get Halsin to appear in Act Two, so long as the party did indeed save him.Persistent issues with non-lethal approaches to Minthara removing her from the story have gotten another update, reinforcing her appearance at Moonrise Towers after being knocked out, and a couple of smaller issues with her interactions have also been tweaked.
9Steam Trading Cards Have Arrived
Extra Fun For Collectors
Although most of the major additions in Patch 8 apply to all systems, a couple are system-specific. One is the addition of trading cards, a feature that only exists within the Steam digital marketplace on PC.Trading cards can be collected passively by playing a few hours of the game. Earning a complete set by bartering with other players or buying cards on the marketplace can unlock rewards like a profile badge, emoticons, and more.
Baldur’s Gate 3now features 11 trading cards, each depicting one of the game’s party members (including the Dark Urge playable character). Six can be earned by playing, although you’ll probably get some duplicates, andgetting the other five plus relies on trades or purchases. It may not change the game itself, but the addition of trading cards is definitely fun for collectors.
8BG3 Now Has Split-Screen On Xbox Series S
Feature Parity At Long Last
The other major platform-specific addition issplit-screen support for the Xbox Series S. WhileBaldur’s Gate 3already featured split-screen co-op gameplay on every other system, it was left out of the Series S release due to performance issues on the weaker hardware. Its initial exclusion was a major break from Xbox’s feature parity requirement, which demands that games include the same elements on both Series S and Series X, showing that Microsoft was willing to make an exception to get an extremely desirable game in the ecosystem.
The patch notes don’t go into detail on theSeries S split-screen addition, but it’s presumably the result of continued optimization work on the game. There are also some split-screen fixes and added options for every platform, which should hopefully provide a more seamless experience for everyone.
7Optimization & Graphics Settings Receive Tweaks
More Frames Than Ever Before
Baldur’s Gate 3has been on quite the journey in terms of optimization, especiallywhen it comes to Act 3, which initially struggled even on high-end hardware.Patch 8 brings a particularly long list of performance and graphics tweaksto the table.
A few of these changes come in the form of new settings toggles (on the other end, some obsolete ones have also been removed). The new ability to change terrain texture quality on the game’s DirectX 11 version, for example, could help some struggling hardware. Most of these tweaks won’t necessarily be visible to the naked eye, but they should hopefully result in higher framerates across the board.
6Combat Fixes Address Inconsistencies
No Big Changes, But Plenty Of Band-Aids
While Patch 7 spiced up Honour Mode combat with somenew Legendary Actions,Patch 8 is more focused on fixing combat problems across the board. Many of these have to do with unintended limitations for various spells and abilities, fixing them to apply more consistently even in relatively unlikely scenarios. Certain descriptions have also been updated to fix errors or clarify the function of spells and abilities.
Accompanying these changes are a few adjustments to specific fights, particularly when it comes to showdowns with major antagonists. Foes likeMalus Thorm, Orin, and Gortash have a few tweaks, which are focused less on making things easier or harder and more on making them work as they should. The showdowns with Ketheric Thorm and other enemies in Moonrise Towers are now less easy to manipulate. Fleeing requires a more extensive escape, and long resting will now give the armies of the Absolute an equal opportunity to recover.
5Improved Cinematics Enhance Immersion
Punching Up The Animations
Another round ofBaldur’s Gate 3fixes, unsurprisingly, meansanother pass at the game’s cinematics. This constitutes changes to “camera shots, mocap animations, character staging, and facial expressions” across dialogues, along with fixes for problems like"pops, jitters, and clipping."
From the start,Baldur’s Gate 3already had a fairly strong implementation of motion capture, but the continued refinement of the game’s cinematics allows for more character expression and patches over a number of issues. With a widecast of charactersand custom protagonists, it’s no surprise that occasional problems can crop up, but it’s not something that should be happening frequently after eight rounds of patches.
4Mod Support Adds Partial Level Editing To BG3
Unlocking The Toolkit Just A Bit More
Baldur’s Gate 3’s official mod support came with some restrictions, opening more opportunities for cosmetic and character changes than custom story or level content. It didn’t take long formodders to unlock the toolkitand remove some of these barriers, however, and now the official version is also loosening its grip a bit.
The new support for partial level editing makes it possible to add to environments, alter NPCs, and create custom interactive objects. It still doesn’t allow for changes to “the static parts of the world” or custom dialogue, but that’s where the unofficial unlocked toolkit can come into play, at least for PC users. The official guidelines for mods have also been adjusted in accordance with the new features.
3Photo Mode Makes Recording A BG3 Journey Fun
Capturing A Campaign In Style
Despite the incredible detail ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s world, it’s always been a bit hard to photograph, with a birds-eye view and a busy (although easily toggleable) UI making for underwhelming screenshots.Patch 8 finally adds a photo modeto get around these restrictions, making it much easier to memorialize the journey in a fun way.
Larian shared the above images as notable photo mode creations from Discord server users, created by Daz, bg3ishwondergoth, and red_dragon_bish, respectively.
In the photo mode,the poses of party members can be altered during regular gameplay, and camera settings and filters can inject some additional style. For even more flair, over 300 stickers are available to slap onto photos, with the potential for far more to be added through the modding toolkit’s support.
2Cross-Play Opens More Doors For Co-Op Campaigns
Group Up Across Platforms
Baldur’s Gate 3now features full cross-play and cross-platform progression supportin Patch 8, making it easy to link up with other players or continue your own progress across every platform that the game is on. With support for PC, Mac, Xbox, and PS5, that should remove a major barrier to getting a fullparty going for a co-op adventure.
The game features a Multiplayer option on the main menu where cross-play lobbies can be created and joined, so the process isn’t too involved. The only major complication is that mod compatibility can naturally be an issue, so all players need to be on the same page. A Mod Verification window will pop up when joining to streamline the process of changing your mod loadout as needed.
112 New Subclasses Join The Fray
So Much More To Try
While many of Patch 8’s biggest changes focus on quality-of-life features, the most substantial gameplay addition is unquestionably the surplus of new subclasses.Each ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s 12 classes has received an additional subclass, bringing plenty of fan-favorite options fromDungeons & Dragonsinto the digital world.
These can be unlocked at level one, two, or three depending on the class, but if you’re already deep into a playthrough, you can also re-spec by talking to Withers. From the Swashbuckler Rogue’s flair for the piratical to the Way of the Drunken Master Monk’s gracefully graceless fighting style, thesenew subclasses fill in some fun gaps. If you’re looking for a reason to hop back intoBaldur’s Gate 3with the release of Patch 8, the new subclasses might just be the very best motivation.
