Larian Studios’ gigantic Dungeons & Dragons CRPG Baldur’s Gate 3 was an instant hit when it launched out of Early Access in August 2023, but since then, it’s gotten even better thanks to a steady stream of major updates from the developer. The most recent one, Patch 7, brought official mod support, new evil playthrough cinematics, and splitscreen co-op improvements in September, but Larian isn’t done yet. The studio has previously confirmed its intent to release one more update — Patch 8 — and now, we finally know when it’s coming and what it will include.
Some of the biggest highlights of the patch are the additions of cross-play support and an official Photo Mode, both of which are features I’ve wished Baldur’s Gate 3 had since its release last year. The former will allow you to play with your friends across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, PS5, and even Mac platforms, making it easier than ever to adventure through Faerûn with a party of fellow Tavs. The latter, meanwhile, will allow virtual photographers to take pretty screenshots without having to do a ton of finnicky camera angling.
The official news post about Patch 8 reveals how in-depth the Photo Mode is, with players given a broad range of camera, lens, and scene options they can use to line up perfect shots while adventuring or battling. You also have the option of setting up each of your party members with one of over 40 static and animated poses, enhancing scenes with post-processing effects, and complementing your photos with a number of different frames and over 300 stickers.
Patch 8 is also bringing a brand new subclass from to each of Baldur’s Gate 3’s 12 classes, which has me wanting to start an entirely new playthrough once I finish the one I’m in the middle of Act 3 in right now. The subclasses are taken straight out of D&D, and have been listed below; for specific details about each one, make sure you read the aforementioned post from Larian.
- Barbarian: Path of Giants
- Cleric: Death Domain
- Druid: Circle of Stars
- Paladin: Oath of the Crown
- Fighter: Arcane Archer
- Monk: Drunken Master
- Ranger: Swarmkeeper
- Rogue: Swashbuckler
- Sorcerer: Shadow Magic
- Warlock: Hexblade
- Wizard: Bladesinging
All of these seem like they’ll be a ton of fun to use, though the one that sticks out to me the most is the Drunken Master — a subclass I’ve yearned for in the game each time I’ve found a piece of gear that gives you a positive effect while intoxicated. I’m absolutely going to be playing through the game with a “drunk build” once Patch 8 is out, and will probably be giving my companions the other new subclasses, too. I’m sure Gale would appreciate the opportunity to get into the thick of combat as a Bladesinging battlemage instead of always being a traditional backline DPS, and Path of Giants sounds like it’ll make the popular “throwbarian” builds players use for Karlach even more busted than it already is.
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Everything discussed above, along with various bug fixes and improvements, will come to Baldur’s Gate 3 once Patch 8 is out in full. It doesn’t have an official release date yet, but Larian has said that it’s planning on stress testing the update publicly in early January 2025. Notably, the test version will become available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 at the same time, though it’s not clear if Mac is included in this since the studio didn’t mention Apple’s platform in its post.
You’ll have to register for the test builds of the patch before you can get access to them, which the studio says you’ll have the opportunity to do “before then.” More information will be included in an upcoming community update, such as what specifically will be stress tested and how the sign-up process works.
Note that while Patch 8 will be the final major update for Baldur’s Gate 3 to release before the developers “bid Faerûn adieu in search of stranger shores,” it doesn’t mark the end of support for the GOTY-winning RPG. Larian still plans to patch it with bug fixes moving forward, and will also continue working on improvements to its mod tools. Notably, using mods has become quite a popular way to enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3 since Patch 7 came out, with over 1 million mods installed in just 24 hours and countless more made and used since then.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is undoubtedly one of the best games ever made, and is definitely one of the best PC games and best Xbox games to play if you’re an RPG fan. It’s normally $59.99, but right now, you can actually pick it up for just $47.99 at GOG — an excellent Black Friday deal on the title I’d pull the trigger on if I were someone looking to check it out.
