Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian has detailed the game’s last major patch — and it’s a big one.
Patch 8, due out in 2025, adds crossplay, photo mode, and 12 new subclasses to the hugely successful role-playing game. In a blog post, Larian said Patch 8 is the game’s last major update, with the developer moving on to brand new games away from the Dungeons & Dragons universe.
However, Larian promised to continue to support Baldur’s Gate 3 modders, with “big updates still to come,” including more functionality “to let you tell your own stories.”
The addition of crossplay means Baldur’s Gate 3 multiplayer will soon feature full cross-platform progression. Once the update is live you’ll be able to invite your friends to join your crossplay lobby directly, regardless of platform and find available multiplayer lobbies with friends on other systems using the Larian Network.
Meanwhile, Patch 8 adds one new subclass for each of the existing Bard, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard classes in the game. Larian said to expect new abilities, animations, VFX, summons and cantrips, and unique voiced dialogue lines for the Oathbreaker Knight with written reactivity for Oathbreakers, along with “a touch of homebrewing” on certain actions to enhance your role-playing experience.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 new subclasses:
Bard – College of Glamour
As a College of Glamour Bard, you’ll find you have the power to heal friends and command enemies in equal measure. Cast Mantle of Inspiration to bestow your allies with 5 temporary hit points. And should an enemy attack while it is cast, they’ll find themselves Charmed. Play your hand correctly and you’ll be able to use this to your advantage with Mantle of Majesty. Target Charmed enemies and you can command them to flee, move closer, freeze, drop to the ground, or drop their weapon.
Barbarian – Path of Giants
Opt for the Path of Giants, and your newfound giant strength will make it easier for you to yeet friend and foe alike. Forget chugging potions to pump those muscles, these Barbarians benefit from the Giant’s Rage passive that grants both strength and size – allowing you to deal additional damage with Throw attacks. Pockets weighing you down? Not for you and your increased carry capacity!
Cleric – Death Domain
As a cleric of death, you’ll find a few dark new tricks up your sleeves – from spells that specialise in necrotic damage to three new necromancy cantrips. This includes Toll The Dead, a cantrip that causes 1~8 damage when your cleric rings the bell of impending doom – a number that scales if your target has already been damaged. We’ve also added the homebrewed ability to explode nearby corpses, damaging enemies.
Druid – Circle of Stars
These Druids look to the stars for answers, accessing powers beyond those offered through the classic wildshapes. Taking on one of three Starry Forms for their power – the constellations of the Archer, Chalice, and Dragon. Each one favours a different play style and strategy – the Archer dealing radiant damage with astral arrows, the life-giving Chalice restoring hitpoints to you and others nearby, and the wise Dragon, allowing you to deal damage with an added bonus to constitution rolls. The Starry Forms offer not just a celestial aesthetic, but practical, powerful options to enhance your role as a healer, fighter, or strategist.
Paladin – Oath of the Crown
You’ve been sworn to uphold the principles of law. Stay true to your oath and you’ll be rewarded with the power to aid your allies and disrupt your foes. Guide your companions in battle with Righteous Clarity, taunt enemies with strategic interrupts, and keep your party standing strong with Divine Allegiance, absorbing their damage while restoring their health.
Fighter – Arcane Archer
Mastering the dual arts of magic and marksmanship, the Arcane Archer subclass offers unique skills on top of new shooting animations. Banish foes to the Feywild, removing them from the battlefield for a turn, or unleash Psychic damage that forces enemies to make a Wisdom saving throw or be blinded until the start of their next turn.
Monk – Drunken Master
Putting the brew in homebrew, as the Drunken Master, you have the ability to consume alcohol straight from your inventory, as well as drink from bottles you see around the Sword Coast, in order to recover Ki. By sharing the bottle with your enemies using Intoxicating Strike, you’ll generate a buff towards your Armour Class and your Chance to hit Drunk targets. Drunk enemies are also susceptible to the Drunken Masters’ other abilities, like Sobering Realisation – which sobers up drunk targets, dealing physical and Psychic damage.
Ranger – Swarmkeeper
The Swarmkeeper subclass provides Rangers with three kinds of deadly swarms to assist them in combat. The Cloud of Jellyfish deals extra lightning damage – potentially shocking your enemy. The Flurry of Moths deals Psychic damage, giving you the potential to Blind your enemy. The Legion of Bees deals piercing damage and forces the enemy to make a strength-saving throw or be knocked back 15ft. Each swarm also has the ability to provide you with teleportation capabilities!
Rogue – Swashbuckler
This Rogue subclass introduces a range of new actions fit for the piratical life. Play dirty by tossing sand at enemies to Blind them. Flick your weapon at a target to Disarm them. Or use your new Fancy Footwork passive while meleeing your enemy to ensure they can’t make opportunity attacks against you for the rest of your turn.
Sorcerer – Shadow Magic
As a Shadow Magic Sorcerer, you deal in a form of magic that makes you deadliest in darkness. This subclass gives its sorcerer Superior Darkvision, as well as the ability to Shadow Walk between places of dim light or darkness. It also lets you call forth the perfectly homebrewed Hound of Ill Omen to harass your foes, and use Strength of the Grave to prevent you from being downed – ideal for those attempting Honour Mode runs.
Warlock – Hexblade
Hexblade Warlocks make a pact with an entity from the Shadowfell that manifests in the form of magical weapons. Curse your enemies and force their souls to do your bidding. Slay any enemy that isn’t generally an element of nature, construct, giant blob, or already dead, and you’ll be able to raise their spirit from their corpse for ten turns. This new summon can deal necrotic damage and will rip away a chunk of your enemy’s soul to provide your Hexblade Warlock with healing.
Wizard – Bladesinging
The Bladesinging subclass merges swordplay with wizardry. Expect new spellcasting animations when casting spells with your weapon, a new Bladesong ability to grant you supernatural speed, agility, and focus, plus gives you a bonus to any Constitution saving throw you make.
And here’s the rest coming with Patch 8:
Photo Mode
Finally, you can stop using pictures of fish you’ve caught on your dating profile and start snapping photos with your Hound of Ill Omen. Photo Mode is coming to Baldur’s Gate 3 in Patch 8!
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Photo Mode is a little like a photo booth that lets you set up pretty much any shot you’d like. This new feature introduces a whole slew of options to let you customise and edit your in-game photography, with various levels of freedom depending on whether you’re using it while adventuring, or during combat, dialogue, and cinematic scenes.
Camera Settings
Toggleable from the HUD, located near the minimap, or by using the hotkey binding (F9 on PC, and by pressing both analog sticks at the same time on console), you’ll get to choose which character you want to take centre stage, determine their best side, and adjust the camera position to suit.
As long as they’re in your party while you’re adventuring, you’ll be able to line up your scene perfectly – including summons and those in a Wild Shape! For all budding virtual photographers, you can also turn on the camera reticle and composition grid to make sure you’re lining up the perfect shot.
Lens Settings
Determined the angle and sorted the positioning? You’ll be able to jump over to the Lens Settings where you can play around with the Field of View, Exposure, Depth of Field, and Focus.
Scene Settings
NPC ruining your shot? Toggle off either Playing, Party, NPC or Enemy characters.
Now you’re ready for your close-up! Or, if you’re feeling creative, set the scene for a full-on Faerûn musical – choose a set facial expression, plus a range of over 40 static and animated poses, each with multiple variations to help give you the perfect layout.
Post Processing Effects
While you won’t be able to adjust your party or play around with lens and camera settings during cinematic scenes and dialogues, you’ll be able to colour-grade your shot and experiment with contrast, saturation, highlights, brightness and vignette.
Frames
Add flair to your scene with a range of different frames and letterboxing to nail those cinematic shots.
Stickers
Choose from over 300 stickers and add up to 30 to your scene, including emojis, icons, blood splatters, textures, objects and items, and of course, cat ears.
In your hands soon, you’ll be able to take role-play to the next level with unique combinations of poses, stickers, and frames. We can’t wait to see what absolute nightmare fuel you come up with.
Larian plans a Patch 8 stress test on Xbox and PlayStation, as well as PC in early January. “The goal is to go beyond our internal testing and help us catch things before they can become an issue once a patch has been released,” Larian explained.
“Along with all of the newness coming in Patch 8, we’ll also be integrating a large selection of bug fixes and polishing up cinematics, including ensuring Shadowheart’s hair dye no longer washes away when she takes a dip with her romantic partner. We’ll be sharing more on what’s been fixed in a future update!”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
