The three goblin leaders in Baldur's Gate 3 are tough to handle, especially Dror Ragzlin. He deals a ton of damage to anyone he hits. However, with the right preparations, you can make it through. Here's how to take out Dror Ragzlin in Baldur's Gate 3. 

How to defeat Dror Ragzlin in BG3

The easiest way to defeat Dror Ragzlin in BG3 is to push all his goblin soldiers down the pit while your tankiest characters deal with him. Make sure you always have someone ready to heal whoever is taking blows from his Faithbreaker Warhammer. Keep his goblin allies away from him to prevent his Aura of Leadership from boosting their damage.

However, you must not push him down the pit if you want Dror Ragzlin's magic Warhammer, the Faithbreaker, or his Mind Flayer Parasite. Doing this makes him disappear from the fight completely, preventing you from looting him for his weapons and other miscellaneous trinkets. Only do this if you don't care about the drops and just want a quick win.

How you navigate this fight – or whether you engage in the fight at all – depends on whether you decide to side with Minthara or the Emerald Grove Tieflings. You can also go full stealth routes, tackle other goblin leaders first, or go all-in as loud as possible and take everyone on at once.

If you've already fought another one of the goblin leaders in Baldur's Gate 3, make sure to rest up before the Dror Ragzlin fight begins. Either a Short or a Long Rest at the camp will do. Taking the latter, however, will let you recover your more powerful spells and abilities. This red-skinned hobgoblin, Dror Ragzlin, is much more powerful than the other two goblin bosses. He has a hefty 75 HP and is Level 5. He can dish out upwards of 21 damage in one strike, as well, so be careful.

Before taking on the Dror Ragzlin fight in BG3, find the war drum on the right-hand side. It's next to the stairway in the boss' combat area. If you fail to destroy it straight away with an arrow or a spell, you'll face nine enemies in total after taking out Dror Ragzlin. While this could be a fun challenge for some, it can be overwhelming for others, especially if you recently fought another boss. Have someone like Astarion nearby to eliminate the drum ASAP.

Try to take out Dror Ragzlin as quickly as possible during the fight. To do this, try to use a spell that stuns him for a move or two. I used Tasha's Hideous Laughter on him. It's not a guaranteed move, but it will leave Dror Ragzlin prone with crazed laughter if it lands. It'll phase him, leaving you a chance to get a lot of damage in before he can even say hello.

You can also get in an extra attack with Lae'zel's Action Surge before attempting to take his hammer off his hands with a powerful Disarming Strike. Using several strikes in a row can really rack up the damage on him. Shadowheart's Inflict Wounds can also effectively lower a foe's health. His 75 HP will dwindle down to zero in no time.

Dror Ragzlin may also take a lot of health from your party, so try to get a healer into the squad to remedy a potentially bad situation. Just be careful while doing this during Dror Ragzlin's Honour Mode fight, as buffing your allies can make things complicated with his passive. Outside of that, you'll want to remove his minions from the picture. They'll be fairly easy to dispatch, but just in case, you can quicksave after eliminating Ragzlin if you're in one of the regular difficulty modes.

On the left-hand side, near the stairway, there's a ladder that can help archers get a better aim at their victims down below. While using these yourself is a viable strategy for defeating Dror Ragzlin and his minions, you also have to be careful of them climbing up and attacking you. One push is all it takes to send your character to their death instantly.

It also helps if you can make it past the guards to avoid spending resources before fighting Dror Ragzlin. Every advantage counts, even if it means sacrificing some initial EXP. You can always come back later and clean up any goblins you missed.

How to make it past the guards

Once you enter the goblin's prison, you're stopped at the front gate by security. Warrior Trinzas asks what your intentions are. There are multiple ways to go about this. As a magical class, I was able to peer through her mind. There's an Intelligence check, but it's fairly easy to beat, especially if you manually save just before the encounter. If you lose the roll, they will all attack you. When you succeed, she'll tell you about the True Souls that have gathered in their base.

Tell Trinzas that you're here for the True Souls, and they'll let you through. You can also use some Deception to pass through the guards. This is difficult, however, as you'll need to roll over 15 on your D20 dice. The first option is likely better if you're not specialized in Deception.

How to beat Dror Ragzlin without alerting the camp

When you first encounter Dror Ragzlin, you'll be locked into dialogue that can cause him and the rest of the Goblin Camp to fight you instantly. Even if you avoid this conversation and either run in to attack or stealthily kill him, the entire goblin camp will automatically become hostile to you, with very few ways to avoid it. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can work around this.

If you don't mind having the goblins aggro you later and just want to delay it, you can sneak up into the rafter above Dror Ragzlin's throne room and take him out without alerting anyone initially. Although they'll become aggressive later, you'll have some breathing room to set up camp, chug a few potions, or chitchat with your other party members first.

Another option is to sneak up beside him and push him into the void with knockback abilities. Next to his throne, you'll spot a nearby pit that will kill him instantly if you land the shot successfully. You can do this by using Void Bulbs, Thunderwave, or even shoving him with a high-strength character.

To increase your odds of success, you can use spells like invisibility or scrolls of darkness to veil your character, making it much easier to escape after. The only two downsides are you'll aggro the camp once a goblin finds you, and you'll miss out on Dror Ragzlin's loot.

No matter how you kill Dror Ragzlin, you will always aggro the Goblin Camp at some point, even if it's delayed by you returning to camp or hiding in the shadows. Fortunately, you can use items like Lump's War Horn to call in some reinforcements or sneak into the caves below Dror's throne room and use Speak With Animals to convince the spiders to attack the goblins. Your best bet for avoiding this is killing the rest of the Goblin Camp first before taking on Dror Ragzlin and the other goblin leaders.

Dror Ragzlin Stats in BG3

Here's everything you need to know about Dror Ragzlin's combat abilities, from his Armor Class to special attacks.

Abilities

Secondary stats

Skills

The Faithbreaker warhammer

The post How to kill Dror Ragzlin in Baldur’s Gate 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Developer Larian has announced that the 8^th and final patch for Dungeons & Dragons-themed Baldur’s Gate 3 will launch in 2025. The update will bring 12 new subclasses, one for each of the main classes, bringing new VFX, abilities, cantrips, summons, and more. The update will also contain cross-play and photo mode. Larian has said that patch 8 will be the final major update for the game, as they will be concentrating on developing other titles.

Having launched in August 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 has enjoyed considerable success. On Metacritic, the game achieves a 96 critic score and a 9.2 user rating. In March this year, the game reached the milestone of 15 million copies sold, giving Larian a $260 million pre-tax profit in 2023. And, it will be competing with entries like No Man’s Sky for Best Community Support at The Game Awards 2024.

The game itself has, according to Larian themselves, seen more than 3,000 user-generated mods, some of which have heavily influenced the latest sub-class additions. The studio not only accepts but welcomes user-created mods, and has said that it will continue to offer mod support.

Patch 8 updates

• College of Glamour Bard – Use Mantle of Inspiration to temporarily give allies 5 hit points and have the chance to Charm enemies, who can then be hit with Mantle of Majesty and commanded to flee, approach, freeze, drop, or drop their weapon.
• Path of Giants Barbarian – Gain the Giant’s Rage passive ability and throw enemies while benefiting from an increased carrying capacity.
• Death Domain Cleric – The cleric gains three new cantrips including Toll the Dead, which deals up to 8 points of damage and scales according to target damage.
• Circle of Stars Druid – Progress in one of three new Starry Forms: Archer, Chalice, and Dragon, each with its own set of abilities and skills in healing, fighting, or archery.
• Oath of the Crown Paladin – Paladins that follow the Oath of the Crown will be able to use Righteous Clarity to soak up damage and restore an ally’s health.
• Arcane Archer Fighter – The Arcane Archer combines archery and magic and can banish or potentially blind foes to the Feywild for a turn.
• Drunken Master Monk – The Drunker Master can turn sober foes drunk, and drunken foes sober, and can replenish Ki by drinking alcohol from their inventory or bottles around Sword Coast.
• Swarmkeeper Ranger – Take control of three new kinds of swarm. Jellyfish deal shock damage, moths deal psychic damage, and bees deal piercing damage. Swarms can also teleport the user.
• Swashbuckler Rogue – The Swashbuckler has several tricks to help turn the tide of battle in their favor. Flick a weapon to disarm an enemy, blind enemies using sand, and benefit from the Footwork passive ability to prevent opportunity attacks.
• Shadow Magic Sorcerer – Benefit from the shadowy dark by moving between shadows with Shadow Walk and improve your ability to see in dark corners with Superior Darkvision. The Shadow Magic Sorcerer can also summon a Hound of Ill Omen.
• Hexblade Warlock – The Hexblade Warlock specialized in summoning weapons, taking control of enemies, and raising fallen foes to fight at their side.
• Bladesinging Wizard – Combining magic and swords, the Bladesinging Wizard enjoys supernatural speed, agility, and focus, and comes with new weapon and spell effects.

As well as new sub-classes, Larian has promised to bring cross-play to BG3. This means players on Mac, Windows, Xbox, and PlayStation 5 will be able to party up and play the same games.

Photo mode is also coming to the game as part of the patch. This will include quick access via hotkeys or pressing both analog sticks at the same time. Users will be able to alter the field of view, exposure, depth of field, and focus settings while toggling whether they want party members, NPC, or enemy characters in the photo. Frames and stickers can also be added.

What next for Larian?

The update is an extensive one, especially thanks to the new sub-classes and cross-play. However, the good news is tempered by Larian’s announcement that this will be the final major update for the game, saying they will be “wrapping up our feature-heavy updates for Baldur’s Gate 3.”

Larian is known for its production of Baldur’s Gate and Divinity: Original Sin games and, in an interview last year, Larian CEO Swen Vincke said that the studio is working on Divinity: Original Sin 3.

The first title in the series, Divine Divinity launched in 2002 and several sequels followed, with the most recent being Divinity: Original Sin 2, in 2017. Larian could be stepping away from BG3 development to concentrate on Original Sin 3 or possibly developing a completely new RPG franchise.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 2025 patch will bring 12 new subclasses and more appeared first on Destructoid.

Upon returning to the Guildhall at the very end of the Aid the Underduke quest in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3, you're presented with a choice. A fight is about to break out, and you must pick a side: the Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene and the Guild.

It isn't immediately clear which one you should side with at this crucial moment, so we're going to lay your options out on the table. Should you side with the Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene in Baldur's Gate 3? Let's find out.

Siding with the Zhentarim

If you're roleplaying an evil character in Baldur's Gate 3, then you should definitely consider siding with the Zhentarim. They're involved in a coup of the Guild, only wanting control for their own selfish reasons.

If you've sided with the Zhentarim, its leader, Roah Moonglow, claims you'll have a "private army at your beck and call" when the time comes to fight the Absolute. This is useful during the conclusion of Baldur's Gate 3, where you'll be able to summon two assassin mercenaries during the final battle.

Siding with Nine-Fingers Keene and the Guild

Nine-Fingers Keene and the Guild are essentially Robin Hood-esque figures in BG3. Their actions aren't completely justifiable, but they aren't mustache-twirling villains like the Zhentarim, either. For good-aligned playthroughs, the choice should be clear.

In terms of rewards, Nine-Fingers Keene pledges the Guild's support against the Absolute. Functionally, this is exactly the same as the Zhentarim reward, with two summonable warriors to aid in the fight.

However, there's one big reward that gives Nine-Fingers Keene the edge here. Upon looting the Zhentarim corpses, Roah Moonglow will have a pouch with 10,000 gold inside. This starts the Return Rakath's Gold quest. You can choose to return the gold to complete the quest, which has its own rewards, or you can simply keep the 10,000 for yourself. You're under no obligation to return it, after all.

Should you side with The Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene?

Now that you know what happens when you choose both sides, which one should you actually decide to fight alongside?

Ultimately, I'm going to suggest you side with Nine-Fingers Keene during the Aid the Underduke quest. Morally, it's the more upstanding option, and given both sides will fight alongside you against the Absolute, there are no differences there. Siding with Nine-Fingers also nets you that 10,000 gold, which should always be considered.

There is a third option which I haven't discussed yet: killing everyone. When push comes to shove, you can simply decide that no one is worthy of your support, instead choosing to murder both the Zhentarim and Nine-Fingers Keene/the Guild.

Besides the mountain of loot, there's no benefit of doing this. You lose the support against the Absolute, although you do gain the moral high ground of destroying two large criminal groups, turning yourself into a Baldur's Gate 3 vigilante.

The post Should you side with The Zhentarim or Nine-Fingers Keene in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)? appeared first on Destructoid.

Baldur’s Gate 3 features a ton of mods that players quickly celebrated on the heels of its launch. Some of these mods were present in the early access version and have been updated for the full release. These are the best mods in Baldur’s Gate 3, adding plenty to Larian's celebrated RPG in the form of strictly cosmetic bonuses or powerful, game-changing boosts.

Before you can start using these mods in Baldur’s Gate 3, you need to have the Full Release Mod Fixer downloaded. This enables the ability to use the other mods on this list, so it is essential. Additionally, as of a recent update from associate editor Andrea Shearon, we've got a little explainer at the end of this on how to install BG3 mods; it's dangerous to go poking around in those files alone.

AI Friends mod (BG3)

The AI Friends mod gives BG3 players a simple way to focus on just their Tav, streamlining battles by having your party make decisions for themselves. If you’re someone who prefers to focus on using your player character rather than commanding the entire party and all summons, this mod does that for you.

More Spell Slots mod for BG3

If you're frustrated by your Sorcerer's limited use of magic, then the More Spell Slots mod for BG3 should remedy that. Spell slots are highly limited in this game for magical classes. You are limited to only being able to cast as many spells in battle as you have available slots, and for some of us, a measly once or twice just isn't enough.

Increased Max Level Cap mod (BG3)

One of the strangest limitations in BG3 is the level cap, but the Increase Max Level Cap mod removes that barrier for you and your party. You can only reach level 12 in Larian's RPG, which is far lower than other games like it.

You’ll now have a level cap of 20. The way it works is that this Baldur's Gate 3 mod doesn’t increase the maximum level you can reach with a single class. Instead, you can reach 20 through multiclassing. You still can only go up to level 12 with a single class, but you can use an extra eight levels for another class.

Summon Minthara mod (BG3)

Larian didn't make Minthara the easiest companion to recruit in BG3, but the Summon Minthara mod gives us one way to fast-track the Drow into our ranks. She's one of the trickiest party members to recruit, only obtainable if you side with the goblins and take out all of the Druids and Tieflings at the Emerald Grove. Plus, you miss out on recruiting Halsin if you go this route.

As such, this mod addresses that issue head-on. From the start of the game, you can summon Minthara as a party member. She’ll even progress alongside the player, essentially letting you be a good guy in the game and still recruit the Oathbreaker Paladin.

You Were a Goat for 10 Years BG3 background mod

Perhaps the most bizarre and hilarious mod of them all, the You Were a Goat for 10 Years mod delivers a new background option for your BG3 adventures. You can pick a backstory where you were a goat for 10 years before the start of the game. That alone makes this one of the most unique mods, but this has some gameplay elements.

As a person with some goat experience, you automatically gain access to handle animals and have Darkvision. You can use these without having to pick a certain race or class.

Fast XP mod (BG3)

Despite only having a max level cap of 12, leveling up can be a bit of a slog in BG3, so those looking for a quick power boost may want to check out the Fast XP mod. This is even the case for completionists who are doing all of the side content available in the game. Considering how tough this game can be, you might want to over-level.

To do this, you can use this mod to gain experience much faster. There are two interesting options for this mod. The first is it gives you double the XP for the first six levels in the game. This ensures you quickly prepare and can access some of the mid-game spells and feats.

However, the other option is to have fast XP for the entire game all the way to the level cap. Mix this with the level 20 mod, and you could have a much speedier (and easier) playthrough.

Party Limit Removal mod (BG3)

The BG3 Party Limit Removal mod is either what brought you here or the one you just learned you want. No one wants to choose between bringing Karlach, Wyll, Shadowheart, Gale, Astarion — I can keep going. So, why not just bring even more pals along for the journey?

This removes the party limit of four and makes it a whopping 16 party members you can bring with you at once. In addition, it somehow ups the multiplayer party size to eight players. With this, you can have a massive multiplayer party with nearly every major party member all together. This will make battles larger, wilder, and a lot easier.

Pearly and Glittery Dice mod (BG3)

The only thing you may see more in BG3 than your Tav is that constant roll of die, so why not dress them up, too, with the Pearly and Glittery Dice mod? For those who are disappointed by the severe lack of dice skins available in the game, this mod is for you. You get 13 new dice skins to choose from, ranging from bright and cheery lime green to deep pearl silver. There is likely an option for everyone in this quick and easy mod.

Paladin Deity mod (BG3)

One of the strangest flaws of the Paladin is the lack of a deity to pick, but the BG3 Paladin Deity mod fixes that. Only Clerics get that option, despite Paladins (lore-wise) following a deity to whom they vow their oath, hinting at this canceled feature in the backend. This fanmade tweak should smooth over that glaring omission, allowing you to pick between the same gods the Clerics follow.

5th Edition Spells mod (BG3)

If you want a complete spell collection for BG3, then try the 5th Edition Spells mod to expand your scroll library. While Baldur’s Gate 3 takes the foundation from Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, it doesn’t contain all of its spells. This mod adds in some of the missing spells, such as Dominate Monster and Mass Heal. This alone makes it worth picking up if you feel the spell book is too limited in the base game.

In addition, this mod better balances the overall progression of spells in this game with its numerous extra higher-level spells. You get a better balance of spells across the 5th and higher levels for late-game players.

Tav's Hair Salon

Larian was pretty generous with its vanilla styles, but the Tav's Hair Salon mod for BG3 cranks it up another level with tons of new hair options for your party. It's got new looks, plus looks you've longed pined over some NPCs wear, but remain mysteriously absent from the character creator.

It's also neat to see some hairstyles make a return from Early Access after Larian removed them for the full release for one reason or another. They aren't all perfectly flowy, and some clipping looks silly here and there, but none of it's too big a deal and definitely worth the time investment for making this one work.

Basket Full of Equipment

The BG3 closet gets a little bigger with the Basket Full of Equipment mod. If you're anything like me, mixing and matching the armor pieces Larian gives you is entertaining enough early on, but in the intense moments, I need my crew lookin' their best.

It's the natural next step after swapping up hairstyles, and while most things in the Basket Full of Equipment are for cosmetic purposes, there are some handy additions that buff your party. Dig around in there, and you'll notice accessories and other gems that don't have to limit your BG3 party to just looking almighty, it'll make the brute force to back it up, too.

This mod's so good, it made the top spot in the 10 best armor and clothing mods for BG3.

Native Camera Tweaks

The Native Camera Tweaks mod is one of my BG3 must-haves. The vanilla camera just doesn't do my Tav's every, very photogenic angle perfect justice, so I love the extra control here. With this mod, you can override some of the zoom and FOV limits, giving you close-ups for better screenshots that aren't just in cutscenes.

It can get a little finicky sometimes, but it's way better than your usual options in BG3 and perfect for those of us who are really into dolling our Tavs up.

WASD Character Movement

Ever wanted to explore The Forgotten Realms using your keyboard to guide your movements? Well, you are in luck — that's exactly what the WASD Character Movement mod does.

This mod allows you to toggle between the game's default movement style and using the WASD keys. It's also a really intuitive mod, with the ability to quick-switch between the styles with a swift tap of the Caps Lock key. It even auto-toggles when you enter and exit combat!

With your movement enhanced, why not check out how to really overhaul combat with our 10 best combat mods for BG3.

Apperance Edit Enhanced mod

Do you find BG3's default character customization options a tad limiting? Then you'll definitely want to take a peek at the Appearance Edit Enhanced mod. It adds loads of additional options, so you can create the character you really want to play.

You can even change the appearance of all your existing characters, too. However, keep in mind that this mod is dependent on Norbyte's Script Extender. It's all explained in the description of the mod though, so you'll be just fine!

Bags Bags Bags

Inventory management in most RPGs can get chaotic at times. Oh, what am I saying? It's inevitable that we'll eventually lose track of what's where and start losing or dropping things we really aren't supposed to.

That's where this mod, Bags Bags Bags, comes in. It adds 21 new containers to the game that'll help you sort out your inventory more effectively. These containers are also purchasable from merchants in all three acts, so no matter where you are in the game, you can kit yourself out with some new practical containers.

Carry Weight Increased

I get it, carry weight add to immersion, yadda yadda. How much weight do you think Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z would be able to carry? I ask only because this mod is full of references to the 'over 9000' meme.

The mod does what it says on the box — you can increase the carry weight limit to whatever you like, even up to over 9000. So, if you think your character should be able to carry way more, here's the BG3 mod for you.

Camp Event Notifications mod

I find it quite frustrating that we don't know when a camp event might play out. So after just about every action, I find myself tempted to go for a long rest, only to find it wasn't really necessary, and I just wasted my time.

This mod removes the guesswork and shows us a notification when there's a camp event available. This way, we can stop wasting time and only long rest when absolutely necessary (and when there's an event available, of course).

Aether's Black Dye mod

Even wanted to clad your entire party in all-black, like you're the newest emo punk band in The Forgotten Realm? Well, now you can.

Dressing your characters in all-black can give your party a really badass look, as seen in the screenshot above. But, of course, this mod gives you the freedom to choose what to dye black — so at least you'll have the option now.

Everybody Dyes

This mod takes things one step further and allows you to reuse your dyes unlimited times. This means that you don't need to obtain new dyes every time you switch gear sets, just whip out the old dyes and use them again.

I haven't personally tested whether this mod is compatible with Aether's Black Dye mod, so do be careful when installing. Always ensure you have a backup save, just in case.

Gold Zero Weight mod

Gold weighs a lot in real life, so adding a weight to gold can certainly help immersion a little. But video games have indoctrinated us for the last twenty years into enjoying weight-free currency. You can have as much gold as you want (where does it all go, though?) and never be weighed down.

If you want the same to apply in Baldur's Gate 3, then this mod needs to be in your load order. As the name implies, it removes the weight from gold, allowing you to carry as much as you want without ever having to store it.

Legendary Items

What would a fantasy world be without legendary items to chase down and own, making you a force to be reckoned with in combat? Well, probably vanilla BG3, I guess?

This mod adds legendary items and also gives you a choice of how you obtain them. You can get them straight away, and for free (if you want to test them, I guess), you can obtain them from special places, or you can add them to the loot tables of the world, so it's all random.

Need even more stuff added? Then may I suggest our post on the 10 best weapon mods for BG3?

Feats Extra

Being a D&D game, Feats can be pretty important in shaping your character into the perfect warrior. However, one modder decided that there simply weren't enough Feats in vanilla BG 3, and hence, Feats Extra was born.

It adds a massive range of new Feats, including FeyTouched, Orcish Fury, Observant, Skulker, and so, so many more. This adds heaps of additional customization that you can apply to build your perfect warrior, mage, or thief.

Better Maps All in One mod

The maps in BG3 aren't terrible, but better maps are always welcome. After using Better Maps, you might come to find that my initial statement could be wrong.

Better Maps All in One combines a bunch of map mods by Nexus user pavelk, giving us a host of improvements on the vanilla maps. You can scale the minimap, drag it, remove the grid from the map, and even find NPCs easily with better markers. Overall, Better Maps is definitely worth a download.

Trips' Accessory Collection

It's hard to imagine a world where magic is commonplace yet glasses weren't invented yet, and hence, we have this mod.

Trips' Accessory Collection doesn't only include glasses and a monocle, but also a wide range of piercings to really spice up your characters with a range of accessories not included in the base game.

Mark Books as Read

If you're like me, you love books. If you're like me, you also kinda hate books in BG 3, because you'll have a lot of them and it's a pain to tell which ones you've read and which you haven't.

That makes this mod an absolute gift. Quite simply, it turns read books green, so you can tell at a glance which books are no longer useful, and which you've got to get reading.

Better Target Info mod

This feels a bit like a cheat mod, but allow me to set the stage. You're low on health, you've just stumbled into one more fight. Do you risk it and potentially only get some more tossable junk from your enemies, or do you just run away?

This mode makes that decision easy. With it, you'll be able to see the item value of enemies, as well as their vulnerabilities. You'll even be able to see the amount of items in containers. So yeah, it does feel a little like a cheat, but it sure has huge time-saving potential.

Astralities' Fantasy Skintone Expansion mod

This mod allows for lighter and darker skin tones, while also adding tons of different colors. So if you wanted to be a green-skinned elf, a blue-skinned human, or even as pale as a vampire, this mod gives you more control over that.

Now you can bring your favorite shade of Avatar blue straight into the BG3 universe.

No Intro for BG3 mod

As we approach the bottom of the barrel, there are still so many mods to choose from, but this one proves to be quite the time saver and thus deserves its spot on this list.

For the BG3 veterans among us who have seen the intro quite enough times, you can install this mod to simply skip it. Definitely not recommended for new players, but if you've 'been there and done that' what's the point in not adding this mod?

Astral Sea Dice Set

Finally, we have a new dice set. I was originally going to add a mod here that gave us multiple new dice sets, but since it's not been updated for patch 7 yet and looks unlikely to ever be updated, I've found a worthy competitor.

The Astral Sea Dice Set mod is just one of a few dice mods from Nexus user JohnZyxx, and if you like this mod I highly recommend checking out their other dice collection mods here in case there's one that catches your fancy even more.

It's not a big overhaul mod, but in its own small way, it helps to keep this amazing game feeling just that little bit fresher.

How to install mods in Baldur's Gate 3

To install mods in BG3, you'll want to begin with a few basics. You could always go the manual route — extracting and placing everything in the proper folder, overwriting certain files, etc. — but I much prefer a mod manager. Specifically, I recommend the BG3 Mod Manager from Laughing Leader. For a quick run down, here's the whole process:

• Download mod manager
• Download any mod requirements

  • Full Release Mod Fixer, Improved UI

• Select File, then Import Mod, and click desired mod
• From the Inactive Mods box, drag mods to Active Mods
• Note the load order, place the mod in the correct priority suggested by the modder
• Select Save Load Order to File, then Export Order to Game

After downloading and installing your new mod manager, get the basics installed. You may want to go ahead and install the Full Release Mod Fixer, as we mentioned above. It's not a requirement for everything necessarily, but so many mods use it it's worth the download. Improved UI is another you may encounter often.

If you're using the BG3 mod manager, note the "#" column. This is your load priority. When dragging and dropping mods here, the lower the number, the higher the priority it is. Some mods getting prioritized over others will break them. On some occasions, modders provide help with prioritizing load order, and for some of the tweaks, where they're at just doesn't matter.

It can be a bit of a guessing game, but I suggest loading mods in one at a time, making sure your most recent addition works before adding another.

The post The 30 Best Baldur’s Gate 3 mods for Patch 7 appeared first on Destructoid.

Crossbows are excellent fallbacks for your party in Baldur's Gate 3. When the enemy is just too far away, or maybe when you want a little distance, they're always there for you. And the Hellfire Engine Crossbow adds some heavy artillery to your Baldur's Gate 3 arsenal.

This special crossbow can be crafted in Act 3 of Baldur's Gate 3, once you've reached the Lower City. It's tied into the quest to Disable the Steel Watch, but before you go blowing the place to smithereens, take a tour through the factory. The Hellfire Engine Crossbow is very much worth picking up, especially for the ensuing fights in the Foundry.

Where to find the Watcher Crossbow blueprint

The Watcher Crossbow Blueprint is the key part of the Hellfire Engine Crossbow DIY project in Baldur's Gate 3, and you can find it on a desk inside the Security office at the back of the Steel Watch Foundry (X: -333 Y: -157). The tricky part is that while you can read it, you will actually need to pick it up. Open the options menu on it (right-click for PC players) and opt to add it to one of your party member's inventories.

Next, we'll need the materials. They're scattered around the factory's ground floor, so you don't need to advance further just yet to find them. You will probably want to finish the fight on the ground floor though, just to make life easier.

The parts you're looking for are:

• Targeting Module (X: -307 Y: -157)
• Steel Watcher Arm (X: -280 Y: -165)
• Watcher Crossbow Blueprint (X: -333 Y: -157)
• Table

The first two are scattered around the factory's main floor. However, they are well-marked with plaques right beside them stating what they are. While the Watcher's Crossbow Blueprint is in our possession already at this point, and the table is located on the opposite side of the Security office, near the stairs.

How to make the Hellfire Engine Crossbow

Now, head to the table and interact with it. You should have the combining screen show up. Open your inventory, and drag-and-drop the Steel Watcher Arm, Targeting Module, and Watcher's Crossbow Blueprint onto the slots next to the Table.

Hit the Combine button, and it will eat up the components and spit out the Hellfire Engine Crossbow. Congrats!

This special Heavy Crossbow has some nice bonuses. It hits hard, comes with a +2 Weapon Enchantment, can perform several special shots including one that reels enemies closer, and gets Lightning Arrow as a spell. It's a very handy weapon in the hands of someone like Karlach, giving her a much more effective ranged option than a normal, boring crossbow.

Hellfire Crossbow Stats and Information

The Hellfire Crossbow is considered a heavy crossbow. That means it can be equipped by Lae'zel and Karlach only, from the origin companions. It is classified as Very Rare.

The post How to make the Hellfire Engine Crossbow in Baldur’s Gate 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

There's a lot to love about Baldur's Gate 3, the combat included. But nothing is perfect, and that's where the game's impressive modding community comes in.

We're going to take a look at the 10 best Baldur's Gate 3 combat mods currently available on Nexus Mods, to see how modders have innovated on and changed one of the most important features in Larian's CRPG.

Combat Extender

Combat Extender gives you complete control over combat difficulty. Want to give yourself more Actions? Sure, go ahead. Want to add spells to your enemies to make things harder for yourself? Why not, you can do it. You're in charge.

Combat Extender is all about putting the power in the hands of the player. Yes, you can use it like a total cheat code, but you can also do the complete opposite. Having the choice is all that matters.

More Actions

If Baldur's Gate 3's combat encounters take a little bit too long for your taste, then MagusTheMagician's More Actions should be able to solve your issue.

It's a mod as simple as its name. You get more Actions, Bonus Actions, Reactions, and Inspiration to use during combat. This should allow you to cut through your opponents in much fewer turns. However, this will make BG3 combat much easier, so be aware.

Trials of Tav - A Roguelike Mode

Trials of Tav - A Roguelike Mode is by far the biggest mod on this list. It changes Baldur's Gate 3's entire genre, transforming it from a CRPG to a neverending roguelike. Placed in random locations from across the base game, fighting random enemies while picking up random loot, this is for people who truly love Baldur's Gate 3's combat and wish the entire game was like that.

There are 80 maps in total, with "100h of new gameplay" according to creator Hippo0o. You face waves of enemies, each harder than the last. It's just a totally new experience, and it even works in multiplayer. There's even a new scoring system called RogueScore, which allows you to unlock more powerups as the waves progress.

Brawl - Real Time Combat

It's hard to believe, but not everyone loves turn-based combat. Crazy, right? Brawl - Real Time Combat is the perfect remedy if this sounds like you. There are limits that even modders can't bypass, so don't expect to install this mod and suddenly be playing Dragon Age.

However, it will make each action, in turn, happen instantaneously, which speeds up the combat enormously. Fights that previously took minutes now take seconds, and it's incredible fun. You've got to think much faster with this mod, which changes the combat dynamic entirely. There's an option to pause if you need a moment, too.

Aether's No Party Limits

Admittedly, Aether's No Party Limits affects much more than just combat, but it's here that you'll most notice its impact on your BG3 playthrough.

This mod extends the party limit to 16, allowing you to bring all your Baldur's Gate 3 companions along for the adventure. And yes, they can all fight at once, making combat all a bit one-sided, considering the game was designed for parties of fun. It's a blast that you should definitely try out at least once.

Absolute Wrath

Finding Baldur's Gate 3 combat too easy? Install Absolute Wrath. With almost 2,000 new Affixes (buffs and debuffs) and hundreds of new Absolutist elite enemy types to fight, it's one of the most comprehensive refreshers of combat in BG3 that you can download.

All the new Affixes are dynamically applied by the mod automatically, "aligning them with their innate traits, classes, and levels." According to creator Grimpreacher, this "ensures that every encounter is both thematic and unforeseeably chaotic." Absolute Wrath is a real breath of fresh air for BG3 veterans.

Combat Auto Saver

There's nothing more frustrating than biting off more than you can chew in a Baldur's Gate 3 combat encounter. With this mod, you'll never have to worry about that ever again.

Combat Auto Saver saves the game automatically whenever you enter combat. Now, if you lose a fight, you don't have to be annoyed that your most recent save is going to cost you 30 minutes of progress. Quality of life is the name of the game here.

Critical Miss Has Consequences

Hitting a Critical Miss in BG3 feels a little pointless. It's frustrating, sure, but it doesn't really matter. Critical Miss Has Consequences addresses this perfectly by, well, giving Critical Misses consequences.

Now, when a Critical Miss is hit, the target makes a free Attack of Opportunity against the initiator. Ranged attacks and cantrips are supported with this mod, so it's not just for melee players. It's a great and easy way to make the Critical Miss system feel much more important.

Automated Summons

If you do lots of summoning during combat in Baldur's Gate 3, keeping on top of your summons can become a huge nuisance, especially when controlling your companions, too.

Automated Summons adds a new passive ability that allows the AI to take control of your summons during combat. Let them do their own thing! This is toggleable, so if you decide you want control again, you get it at the push of a button.

Combat Console Commands

Unfortunately, Baldur's Gate 3's combat has a few frustrating bugs that are just an accepted part of the experience. Turns occasionally get stuck, with the only solution in the base game being to reload a save. No longer.

Combat Console Commands adds a few commands that can be used to forcibly end combat turns in different ways, effectively fixing the aforementioned bug. Why wouldn't you have it in your load order?

The post 10 best Baldur’s Gate 3 combat mods appeared first on Destructoid.

Most Baldur's Gate 3 players discover early on that Lae'zel is one of the most useful companions in the game during combat. Thanks to her big damage, the Githyanki companion is essential for making the early game bearable and the late game easy.

Because Lae'zel is a Fighter by default, you can choose four feats for her across a Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough. Most classes only get three, although there are a few other exceptions. Lae'zel's feats unlock at Levels 4, 6, 8, and 12, which make her extremely powerful during the first half of the game.

If you're unsure which are the best feats for Lae'zel in Baldur's Gate 3, we've got you covered. These are the ones you should be choosing to make the most of the Githyanki Fighter's strengths.

Best feats for Fighter Lae'zel in BG3

When considering the best feats to take as Lae'zel in Baldur's Gate 3, it's essential also to think about the order in which you take them. This will help you build properly as you progress through the game.

The end goal here is to create a Lae'zel build that dishes out as much damage as possible. This is her big strength right from the moment you recruit her, so that's what we'll be leaning into here. We've also included some honorable mentions so that you've got a bit of choice for your build.

Ability Improvement feat for Lae'zel in Baldur’s Gate 3

Ability Improvement is as safe as a Baldur's Gate 3 feat gets. You get two more Ability Points, which for Lae'zel, should be used on Strength and Dexterity. Alternatively, doubling up on Strength is a valid choice, too. Number goes up, Lae'zel gets stronger – simple.

You might as well reap the benefits of Ability Improvement for as long as possible, so you should take this BG3 feat at Level 4.

Savage Attacker feat for Lae'zel in Baldur’s Gate 3

Lae'zel's attacks are incredibly powerful out of the box, and of all the companions, she's probably the strongest during those early periods of Baldur's Gate 3. Savage Attacker ensures those attacks will almost always be massively powerful due to the damage dice being rolled twice.

This is another feat worth grabbing early. You can't really go wrong with maximizing your damage as you fight your way through Acts 1 and 2 of Baldur's Gate 3.

Great Weapon Master feat for Lae'zel in Baldur’s Gate 3

Great Weapon Master is a must-have feat for any of your companions who you're relying on to deal melee damage. Karlach, Lae'zel, you name them - they've got to have this feat. It gives you another turn during combat, which, when combined with Savage Attacker, guarantees you're going to hurt your opponents badly.

Since Lae'zel gets an extra attack by default at Level 5, there's no great rush to grab Great Weapon Master. We'd recommend taking it at Level 8, at which point you should be at a place where the game's difficulty starts to really ramp up. The extra attack and damage will prove essential.

Polearm Master feat for Lae'zel in Baldur’s Gate 3

More damage! Polearm Master lets you get ANOTHER attack with your bonus action, so long as you're holding a glaive, halberd, quarterstaff, or spear. With the right weapon, you should be getting a total of four attacks every turn if you also took Great Weapon Master. All will fall before you.

It's worth noting that Lae'zel has a greatsword by default, which is why we recommend grabbing Polearm Master at Level 12. It's the last feat you'll take, so it gives you plenty of time to find one of the weapon types affected by this one.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Lae'zel feats: honorable mentions

If you're looking to be as efficient as possible, the above feats are the way to go for Lae'zel. However, you can also use these honorable mentions if you want to change up your playstyle a little rather than being hyper-efficient with your Lae'zel build in Baldur's Gate 3.

Choosing your feats is a big deal in Baldur's Gate 3, and sometimes, you get it wrong. If your build isn't working for your playthrough, you can respec Lae'zel from Level 1 at Withers for 100 gold. This shouldn't break the bank, so long as you're not frequently wasting your money in BG3.

The post Best feats for Lae’zel in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) appeared first on Destructoid.

Karlach is one of the best companions in Baldur's Gate 3. Her personal storyline is one of the most interesting, and her prowess in battle makes her essential to have along for the ride.

As a Barbarian, Karlach only has access to three feats in Baldur's Gate 3, compared to other classes like Rogue and Fighter, which get four. This means that you've got to pick your Karlach feats carefully when you unlock them at Levels 4, 8, and 12.

So, which ones should you take? To help you decide, let's look at the best feats for Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3 to make the strongest build possible.

Best feats for Barbarian Karlach in BG3

There are 41 feats to choose from in Baldur's Gate 3, so narrowing it down to just three is tough. We've picked out what we think are the best feats for Karlach, as well as a few honorable mentions that you can't completely rule out.

With any Barbarian build in BG3, the aim should be purely about dealing as much damage as possible while being able to take a hit or two. You'll be right in the middle of the action, so this is crucial. These feats will help you achieve that.

Great Weapon Master feat for Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Great Weapon Master feat is absolutely essential for any party featuring Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3. With this, you can take an extra attack each turn using your bonus action. Your attacks are going to be deadly as a Barbarian anyway, so getting to take two will result in enormous damage, especially if you're using a Heavy melee weapon you're proficient in.

We'd recommend taking Great Weapon Master as early as possible, ideally making it your Level 4 feat. Doing this kind of damage so early in the game will make combat encounters a breeze with Karlach in your party.

Savage Attacker feat for Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3

It should be pretty obvious why you should pick the Savage Attacker feat as Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3. She's capable of dealing enormous amounts of damage, so getting to roll the dice twice and use the highest result is comically overpowered.

Grab Savage Attacker at Level 8, after taking Great Weapon Master. That way, you'll always get the +10 damage buff too - a potent combination that will ensure Karlach plays an important role in your party throughout Baldur's Gate 3.

Tough feat for Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3

BG3's Karlach can already take tons of damage compared to the other companions. The Tough feat takes that up a notch by giving her plenty more HP. When combined with the previous two feats, you create a resilient melee monster by taking the Tough feat.

You should take the Tough feat for Karlach last, once you reach Level 12. As you hurtle toward the end of the game, the extra health will make Karlach extremely tough to kill. If you're really struggling earlier in the game, don't be afraid to take the Tough feat earlier, though.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Karlach feats: honorable mentions

While we can heartily recommend taking the above feats for Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3, there are plenty of ways to build this Tiefling Barbarian. We've added five more honorable mentions for the best feats for Karlach in Baldur's Gate 3 that you can use to switch up your playstyle.

If you find you've made the wrong choice with your feats, you can always respec Karlach by paying 100 gold to Withers at camp. You're not locked into one specific build, so why not try out a few different feat selections throughout your playthrough?

The post Best feats for Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) appeared first on Destructoid.

Baldur's Gate 3 takes you on a wondrous journey through one of Dungeons & Dragons' most iconic settings. However, your trek through the Sword Coast may hit a snag if the in-game camera gives you a lopsided view of the world.

The camera controls in Baldur's Gate 3 can be tricky to figure out, especially if BG3 is your first experience with top-down role-playing games. Luckily, I've spent almost a hundred hours playing this game, so I can tell you everything you need to know to master its camera.

How to control the camera in BG3 with a mouse and keyboard

If you're playing Baldur's Gate 3 on a gaming computer, you control the camera with select keys on your keyboard and a few HUD buttons you can click with your mouse. The game gives you a pretty nice tutorial on using the camera whenever you start a new game, but it doesn't tell you everything, so here's a more thorough rundown.

• W/S/D/W Keys—You can use the W/S/D/W keys to pan the camera around the immediate area. If that doesn't suit you, you can do this by using the arrow keys.
• Q and E Keys - The Q and E keys let you spin the camera around in a circle. You can also do this by holding down the middle mouse button.
• Page Up and Page Down Keys - You can use the Page Up and Page Down keys to zoom the camera in or out. You can also do this by spinning the middle mouse button or clicking the zoom-in and zoom-out buttons next to the map.
• O Key—Press the O key to enter Tactical View. T gives you a top-down view of your surroundings. This view is fantastic for combat situations, giving you a bird's-eye view of the action to detect hidden enemies and see whether the terrain will block your attacks.

Once you familiarize yourself with these key commands, your Baldur's Gate 3 journey will be as cinematic as it is fun to play.

How to use Edge Panning in BG3

Edge Panning is an additional camera option that allows you to move the camera by moving the mouse around the edge of the screen. This is an excellent option if you don't want to use the A/S/D/W or Arrow Keys to move the camera.

To turn on Edge Panning, open the "Options" menu and scroll down to the bottom of the "Gameplay" tab. You should see Edge Panning as the second option in the Camera section. If you use Edge Panning and have a multi-screen setup, I'd recommend flicking the Lock Mouse to Window option to "On" so your mouse doesn't go high-wire when it jumps to another screen.

How to control the camera in BG3 with a controller

Whether you've plugged a gaming controller into your computer or are playing Baldur's Gate 3 on the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, a radically different control scheme awaits you. Controlling the camera with a controller plays much differently than steering it with a mouse and keyboard, but it's still easy to get the hang of.

• Clicking up, down, left, and right on the left control stick will pan the camera left, right, up, and down.
• Tilting left and right on the right control stick rotates the camera.
• Cranking up and down on the right stick lets you zoom in and out.
• Push on the left stick to recenter the camera on your character if it ever gets away from you.
• Zooming out all the way out with the right stick will shift you into Tactical View. Zoom back in to get out of it.

With all that covered, you shouldn't have any problem working Baldur's Gate 3's camera. Be sure to check out all our BG3 if you're wondering which Feat to give your party or how to defeat challenging bosses standing in your way.

The post How to use all the camera controls in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) appeared first on Destructoid.

Astarion is one of the most popular companions in Baldur's Gate 3. You'll likely meet him early in your adventure, a Rogue whose tongue is as fast as his sword. One thing's for sure: you want to keep Astarion around.

As a Rogue, Astarion has one distinct advantage over other Baldur's Gate 3 characters. Whether you're playing as him or bringing him along as a companion, Astarion can choose up to four feats as he levels up, as opposed to others' three. These come at Levels 4, 8, 10, and 12 for Rogues.

But which ones should you be taking for your playthrough? We're going to take a look at the best feats for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3, to make sure you get your build just right.

Best feats for Rogue Astarion in BG3

When looking at the best feats for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3, we'll highlight the four we think you should be taking throughout your playthrough. There are so many BG3 feats that these four aren't the only ones you can take, so we'll also include some honorable mentions that also work pretty well for an Astarion run.

The priority with these feats is to create a ranged Astarion BG3 build. In the late game, this can result in some pretty crazy damage with the right feats in place.

Ability Improvement feat for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3

With four feats to choose from, you should always be taking Ability Improvement. Usually, for a Rogue, you'd dump the extra two points here into Dexterity, allowing you to take advantage of Stealth skills and giving you a bonus for abilities such as Sleight of Hand.

We'd recommend taking Ability Improvement for your Level 4 feat in Baldur's Gate 3. Astarion will reap the benefits if you take this one as early as you possibly can.

Sharpshooter feat for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3

Any Astarion build in BG3 isn't complete without taking the Sharpshooter feat. It makes him an absolute menace from range, and the removal of penalties from low ground is just overpowered. Make no mistake - if you choose Sharpshooter as one of your feats for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3, you should switch primarily to ranged attacks.

You should take Sharpshooter as your Level 8 feat for Astarion. The -5 penalty to Attack Roles can be negated by high Dexterity if you took Ability Improvement earlier, and the extra 10 damage is an enormous buff in exchange.

Dual Wielder feat for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3

When you're really starting to hone your Astarion build in Baldur's Gate 3, we'd definitely recommend Dual Wielder. This feat will allow you to dual-wield crossbows, which, when combined with your previous two feats, makes Astarion a damage-dealing machine. The +1 bonus to Armour Class isn't too shabby, either.

Dual Wielder is a Baldur's Gate 3 feat you should take for Astarion at Level 10. The previous two are so beneficial at an early stage, that you'll see more rewards from taking them first. Dual Wielder is great, but it's quite a specialist feat.

Mobile feat for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3

The Mobile feat is one of the best for players who enjoy the stealthy aspects of a Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion playthrough. It's commonly used alongside Dash to avoid Opportunity Attacks as you maneuver around the battlefield, then Cunning Action: Hide to go into Stealth mode.

When using Mobile as part of that combination, Astarion can pop in and out of stealth during combat, dealing massive damage before slipping away into the night. Even for ranged characters, Mobile is great for simply repositioning quickly without taking tons of damage. Grab this feat at Level 12 - it shouldn't be an early priority, but it's worth having.

Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion feats: honorable mentions

The four feats above aren't the only viable ones for an Astarion playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3. Here are some honorable mentions you can use, even if you're not embracing the range-heavy build we recommended above.

It's also worth noting that you can always experiment with your Astarion feats in Baldur's Gate 3. If you think you've made the wrong choice for your playthrough, you can respec your class via Withers and choose your feats all over again. This will set you back 100 gold each time, which isn't much at all when you get into the latter stages of Baldur's Gate 3.

The post Best feats for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) appeared first on Destructoid.

The Steam Deck has been something of a revelation for PC gaming. This powerful device allows you to play your PC games on a portable screen, allowing for an experience more akin to something like the Nintendo Switch.

This is all well and good, but some PC games require the pinpoint precision of mouse-and-keyboard input. That's why we're taking a look at the 15 best Steam Deck games, so you know which titles are worth playing on your portable PC device. All of the following games are marked "Steam Deck Verified," meaning you can guarantee a solid experience with these selections.

15. Phasmophobia

Hunting ghosts with friends, what could be more fun? Despite still technically being in Early Access, Phasmophobia is arguably the best game in its genre. You're placed on a map, which can be as small as a suburban house or as large as an entire prison, haunted by a ghost.

There are 24 different ghost types, each offering up three types of evidence to help you and your friends decipher what they are. You find this evidence using various types of ghost-hunting equipment, from spirit boxes to EMF readers. It's not entirely that simple, as these ghosts will drain your sanity before hunting and killing you. Phasmophobia is a blast, and we recommend playing with friends.

14. Diablo 4

Blizzard's long-awaited follow-up in its iconic ARPG series was worth the wait. Diablo 4 follows the same general gameplay loop as previous iterations, defeating powerful enemies throughout dungeons while collecting hordes of loot to upgrade your build.

While technically an RPG, Diablo 4's quests and storyline play second fiddle to the game's unique brand of chaotic action. There's nothing quite like melting swarms of demons while finding a rare item that takes the havoc up a notch. Some might recommend a mouse and keyboard for Diablo 4, but you can definitely do just fine on a Steam Deck.

13. Balatro

Balatro isn't your standard card game. There's almost too much complexity to sum up in a few sentences, but the gist of it is this: it's a roguelike deck-builder where you must score points by playing poker hands against blinds. With these points, you can upgrade your deck and buy joker cards, which affect the game in various ways. It's absurdly addictive and puts an impressive spin on a classic card game.

Given the nature of Balatro's controls, it really doesn't matter whether you play on a regular PC or on a Steam Deck. It plays very well on Valve's portable devices, so if you're looking for a more laid-back Balatro, Steam Deck is the way to go.

12. Portal 2

Portal 2 might be well over a decade old at this point, but it can still kick it with any modern release on the market. With sharp humor, challenging puzzles, and an endlessly replayable co-op mode, Portal 2 remains one of the best video games ever made.

Valve gets so much mileage out of one simple concept: you have a portal gun that you can use to open portals around the game world. You must use these portals to solve puzzles throughout each level, most of which are physics-based. Luckily, these puzzles don't require pinpoint mouse precision, which is why this is perfect for chilled-out Steam Deck play.

11. Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 had its troubles upon its 2020 release, disappointing almost everyone. In the years since, CD Projekt Red has remained committed to making it the best game it can be via countless patches and the sublime 2023 expansion, Phantom Liberty.

At long last, Cyberpunk 2077 is (almost) everything it was hyped up to be, and it runs great on the Steam Deck. With engaging characters, powerful RPG choices, and the staggeringly beautiful open world of Night City, Cyberpunk 2077 is a game you can really sink your teeth into nowadays.

10. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

If The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth isn't the best roguelike ever, then I don't know what is. Straight from the brain of Super Meat Boy developer Edmund McMillen, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth sees you fight through procedurally-generated dungeons against some of the most terrifyingly-designed monsters you'll ever see in a video game.

As you progress, you collect items on each floor. This contributes to your build, but not every item complements one another. This means you're constantly making important choices about what to pick up and what to leave behind. Each run is permadeath, resetting you right to the start if you die while progressing through the floors. Because of the randomized floors and items, it might be one of the most replayable games ever made.

9. Dave the Diver

How many games do you know that can blend the action-adventure and restaurant simulator genres seamlessly? There's not many, let me tell you that much. Dave the Diver is one such title, and it's undoubtedly one of the best games on the Steam Deck.

Dave the Diver is split into two gameplay sections. During the day, you dive into the sea, collecting ingredients from the ocean floor while fighting sealife with your harpoon gun. Later in the evening, you use these ingredients to run a sushi restaurant, improving its reputation through good food and service. All of this is complemented by a gorgeous pixel art style, resulting in a game unlike anything you'll have played before.

8. Resident Evil 4

2023's Resident Evil 4 might be the best remake in the series to date, and that's a high bar to clear. The game sees the return of Leon Kennedy, who is tasked with rescuing the president's daughter, Ashley. You're faced with hordes of the undead throughout your adventure, which tops the 2005 original in just about every way.

Its graphics? Stunning. Its controls? Modern. The story? It has a tighter pacing this time around. And that's before we even get to the atmosphere, which is the real star of the show in the Resident Evil 4 remake. It's absolutely dripping with tension, which carries over even on the small screen of the Steam Deck.

7. Skyrim

13 years after its launch, and there's still nothing that quite evokes the same feelings as Skyrim. It's a classic RPG in every sense of the word, with one of the most detailed open worlds you'll ever explore, even after all this time. Interesting questlines and memorable characters are the tip of the iceberg in Bethesda's magnum opus.

On PC, Skyrim modding takes things to another level. Nexus Mods has almost 100,000 mods to download for the game, so the question is: can you mod Skyrim on Steam Deck? Yes! It's a bit more hassle, but it's certainly possible, meaning you can bring Skyrim up to modern standards on your handheld device.

6. RimWorld

Ludeon Studios' RimWorld is a far deeper game than it seems on the surface. At first glance, it appears to be just another construction and management simulator. Simply put, it isn't. RimWorld gives you numerous starting scenarios, where you must attempt to survive and escape from a procedurally generated planet.

To make every playthrough unique, it employs the use of an AI storyteller, which can make decisions on the fly to affect proceedings. You can choose from various storytellers, each of which will change its behavior based on various parameters. Want something intense? Go with Randy Random. Want a more traditional narrative? Cassandra Classic will make that happen. The third is Phoebe Chillax, which offers a more laid-back experience. It's this storyteller feature alone that elevates RimWorld above every other game in the genre.

5. God of War

2018's God of War finally arrived on PC in 2022, breaking Santa Monica Studio's masterpiece free from its PS4 restraints. The game tells a powerful story between Kratos and his young son, Atreus, and their journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye, at the highest peak in Jötunheim.

Its hack-and-slash gameplay is similar to previous God of War games, yet the combat still manages to feel distinctly modern. That's an achievement in itself. Just everything, from the impeccable score from Bear McCreary to the awesome world design, comes together as a full package to make God of War one of the best Steam Deck games.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

How will CD Projekt Red ever top The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? The culmination of an epic trilogy, this title is an extraordinary RPG, with impactful choices to be made even in the smallest of moments. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features some of the most well-written side-quests you'll ever see, as well as two fantastic expansions in Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine.

For a 2015 release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt holds up extremely well from both a visual and gameplay perspective. The combat still feels very fluid, which is why it remains one of the best Steam Deck games you can play after almost a decade.

3. Stardew Valley

There's a reason life-simulation fans are still returning to Stardew Valley almost nine years after its release. ConcernedApe's game strips the formula back to basics but does everything it attempts just about perfectly.

There's farming, fishing, building, mining, socializing, romancing, and even combat - it's a pretty simple life in Stardew Valley. If you enjoy life-simulators, there's a good chance you've already played this game. If you haven't, there's a good chance Stardew Valley will convert you to the genre.

2. Elden Ring

Elden Ring is not for the impatient gamers out there. This open-world RPG by FromSoftware will test the limits of your patience, punishing you with sweet, sweet death over and over again. It's a classic Souls-like, defined by nigh-impossible bosses and frustratingly infrequent checkpoints, but with a bigger scale than anything the studio has ever attempted before. The satisfaction from victory in Elden Ring will have you jumping for joy.

Given that many would recommend Elden Ring with a controller anyway, I feel safe saying the game works great with the Steam Deck joysticks. Go forth and explore the Lands Between from the comfort of your own couch.

1. Baldur's Gate 3

Top spot was only ever going to Baldur's Gate 3. Larian's 2023 CRPG is an instant classic. With deep customization, fun combat, brilliant companions, and a gripping narrative, Baldur's Gate 3 is a game we'll all be playing for many years to come. I could wax further lyrical about its epic world, engaging quests, and a staggering level of freedom, but I reckon you get the picture.

Baldur's Gate 3 feels made for the Steam Deck in many ways. The turn-based combat lends itself well to the joystick controls, and the slow-paced gameplay in general makes it perfect for kicking back on the couch and playing at your own pace.

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Baldur's Gate 3 is a game that lives and dies by its companions. The characters in Larian's RPG are arguably its biggest strength, but they can be even better.

This collection of the 10 best Baldur's Gate 3 companion mods alters both the look and behaviors of the game's followers. These are the must-haves, the cream of the crop.

More Reactive Companions

More Reactive Companions is a Baldur's Gate 3 mod that makes the game truly feel like a group adventure. It doesn't even add any new content, instead repurposing many of the throwaway dialogue lines used by the characters when playing as them.

These lines will be used as "companion chatter" when using this mod. Each one has been hand-picked for every scenario by mod author LightningLarryL, giving it a real feeling of authenticity. It makes a massive difference to make your party feel more alive than ever.

Full Custom Companions (Hirelings)

Full Custom Companions (Hirelings) expands the hireling system in a huge way. Instead of being constrained to the same old hirelings offered by Withers, this allows you to customize your own. You can even use Baldur's Gate 3 race mods to create extra unique hirelings.

That's not all this mod does, though. It also allows you to duplicate regular NPCs and use them as companions. These custom hirelings can also use tadpoles to gain illithid powers, making them feel much more like a regular BG3 companion.

Summon Guenhwyvar - Drizzt Legendary Panther Companion

If you're a Dungeons & Dragons lore fanatic, Summon Guenhwyvar - Drizzt Legendary Panther Companion should be right up your alley. The panther Guenhwyvar is a popular figure in the Forgotten Realms lore, and with this mod, you can summon her to fight by your side.

Upon installation, you'll be given a figurine of Guenhwyvar. This can only be used to summon her once per Long Rest, so it's not entirely overpowered. Overall, it's a solid, lore-friendly addition to Baldur's Gate 3.

Adjustable Party Limit

Oh, you want a party? Adjustable Party Limit can give you a party. As the name suggests, it allows you to change the number of companions allowed in your party at a time, selecting from anywhere between 1 and 16.

There are a few similar mods that do this, so why's this one the best? According to mod author PixellBytes, it's the only one that has "built-in ways to prevent you from encountering some of the most infamous party limit extender bugs, such as the Act 1 lake boat bug and the long resting bug." So, there.

JWL Scratch is Back

We all love Scratch; he's the best boy. But he isn't the most useful boy in combat scenarios. You can fix this with JWL Scratch is Back, which adds 11 elemental-themed variants of Baldur's Gate 3's cutest pup.

This is done in a lore-friendly way, giving you 11 enchanted collars to collect throughout the game, each of which offers a different buff to BG3's canine companion. Recommended if you want to bring Scratch along for the adventure.

Fireproof Karlach

If you think about it, even on a surface level, it doesn't make sense that Karlach takes fire damage in Baldur's Gate 3. She burns so hot that you can't even touch her!

Obviously, resistance doesn't always equal immunity, but I reckon Fireproof Karlach makes more sense to have than not. It simply gives her the Hellish Resistance trait, nullifying all fire damage.

Really Shadowheart

Really Shadowheart might be one of the most considered Baldur's Gate 3 mods out there. It completely alters her character in Act 3 to be more consistent with Acts 1 and 2. But what does that actually mean?

For starters, romanced Shadowheart no longer tolerates cheating. No more casual fun with Halsin or the Drow Twins for you! It's much more in line with the Shadowheart we meet earlier in the game, but that's only the tip of the iceberg for everything this mod does. She'll try to save her parents no matter what, she'll take a lot more persuasion to kill Viconia, and you can even propose to her if you do choose to save her parents. That's right: you can be married to Shadowheart in the epilogue with this mod. 10/10, no notes.

Karlach Overhaul WIP

Nexus Mods user vyrelis has seriously cooked with Karlach Overhaul WIP. It's by far and away the best overhaul of the tiefling companion's face, making it look a little softer than the base game.

It also gives her a cool new hairstyle that, in my opinion, trumps the vanilla one. Overhauling the appearance of a fan-favorite character will always be controversial to some players, but this one's pretty tasteful.

A Visit with Volo - Astarion Reimagined

Now, for something a little more dramatic. A Visit with Volo - Astarion Reimagined de-ages Neil Newbon's popular vampire a good 20 years, giving him a look closer aligned to something you might see on a runway or the front of a magazine.

This pretty-boy-Astarion aesthetic won't be for everyone, and understandably so. But for those who do like it, it could prove to be one of the best Baldur's Gate 3 companion mods out there.

Lae'zel - Alternate Faces

Of all the Lae'zel overhauls on Nexus Mods, I reckon Lae'zel - Alternate Faces takes the crown. This one offers numerous face options, each based on a different Baldur's Gate 3 race.

The differences from the base game version of Lae'zel are pretty small, so you won't be left feeling like she's a totally new character with this mod.

The post 10 best Baldur’s Gate 3 companion mods appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm surprised by the lack of Baldur's Gate 3 merch we've had access to since its release over a year ago, but that's all about the change with this new BG3 Funko Pop! collection. There are technically three characters in total part of the original lineup, though one has two different styles, bringing the total number to four. Let's take a look at all the Baldur's Gate 3 Funko Pops as well as where you can preorder them and how much they are going to cost.

All Baldur's Gate 3 Funko Pops

If you were hoping to get your hands on a Mindflayer or some other crazy BG3 Funko Pop!, sadly it's not an option with the launch lineup. In fact, even from all the awesome and memorable BG3 companion characters, only 3 are getting a Funko Pop! with this launch collection. Here's all four Baldur's Gate 3 Funko Pops in the first launch:

• Astarion (Dagger Style)
• Astarion (Tome Style)
• Karlach with Clive Buddy Duo
• Shadowheart

Astarion (Dagger Style) and Astarion (Tome Style)

First up is the beloved High Elf Rogue bloodsucker Astarion Ancunin. It's no surprise that Astarion is one of the launch lineup Funko Pops for BG3, as the intelligent and witty character was one of the most played companions according to Larian Studios. What makes the Astarion Funko Pop! particularly interesting is that there are technically two styles, as the character is part of Funko's "Chance of Chase" program. This means you don't get to choose which style you get, but instead, every purchase has a chance of getting the rare Chase Variant.

The default version of Astarion comes with the red-eyed vampire holding a dagger in his right hand. According to Funko, 5/6 purchases of the Astarion Funko Pop will come with this version. For the other 1/6, however, you will receive the rare Astarion with the Necromancy of Thay tome in his right hand instead of the dagger. The rest of the Astarion Funko Pop, including his red eyes, hair, and clothing, are the same between the two versions.

Preorder Details

Price: Amazon: $12.99 or Funko Store: $12

Release Date: December 16, 2024

Shadowheart

You can admit it, you knew Shadowheart was going to be part of this launch lineup. After all, surely you can fix her, right? That's right, the half-elf Cleric of Shar, Shadowheart, is the second character in the BG3 Funko Pop! launch lineup. Oddly enough, she's the most simple of the three characters in the lineup, not coming with anything special other than the Artifact. Still, it's Shadowheart.

For the uninitiated, Shadowheart was the most romanced character in BG3 according to Larian. The Artifact in her right hand looks pretty simplistic, but there's no doubt that this is Shadowheart, donning her chainmail Cleric clothing and the chain in her hair.

Preorder Details

Price: Amazon: $12.99 or Funko Store: $12

Release Date: December 16, 2024

Karlach with Clive Buddy Duo

The final Funko Pop! in the Baldur's Gate 3 launch collection is the Zariel Tiefling Barbarian Karlach and her teddy Clive, as part of a Buddy Duo collection. This means you're pretty much getting two Funko Pops for the price of one! Karlach herself clocks in at 4.55 inches tall while Clive is a teeny tiny 1.35 inches tall.

This is without a doubt the most detailed Funko Pop! in the collection, with Karlach's Tiefling horns in full detail as well as her black and red hair which admittedly looks pretty cool in Funko Pop! form. Even her armor is the most detailed of the three, and she comes wielding a battle axe. Oh, and of course she has her red Tiefling tail.

If you don't know who Clive is, I suppose that's ok. But for others, you'll recognize Clive as the cute and cuddly teddy that Karlach always has in her area of the Campsite if you recruit her. The cuddly bear shows some wear—surely he's gotten lots of hugs—and dons the crossed-out eyes. Who said Karlach wasn't deep?

Preorder Details

Price: Funko Store: $12 (It doesn't look like this one is on Amazon!)

Release Date: December 16, 2024

All three Baldur's Gate 3 Funko Pops in the launch collection are set to release on December 16, 2024.

The post All Baldur’s Gate 3 Funko Pops, with preorder and price information appeared first on Destructoid.

Throughout Baldur's Gate 3, choosing your character's race is one of the most important decisions you'll make. It affects tons of dialogue throughout the game, and changes how some characters treat your Tav.

As with every aspect of the game, Baldur's Gate 3 has tons of mods adding new races. Some are based on D&D lore, while others are homebrewed by fans. If you're starting a fresh Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, why not consider one of these race mods?

Flutter and Whimsy (Fairy Race)

Flutter and Whimsy (Fairy Race) might be the most polished mod on this list. You can play Baldur's Gate 3 as a Fairy, complete with customizable wings. Fairies have their own custom cantrips and spells, including Tinify, which shrinks you down to size.

If you use other Baldur's Gate 3 customization mods, Flutter and Whimsy (Fairy Race) has you covered, including compatibility patches for many of the most popular downloads on the Nexus.

Half Angel (Aasimar 5E)

Half Angel (Aasimar 5E) takes inspiration from the 2016 Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook, Volo's Guide to Monsters, to bring the Aasimar race to Baldur's Gate 3. This winged race features three unique subraces fit for various playthroughs, each with extensive lore.

If you enjoy sitting in Baldur's Gate 3's character creator for hours, deliberating over every detail, you'll get lots out of Half Angel (Aasimar 5E). Creator DarthRen has added 25 halos and horns, as well as 10 wings and tails. That's not to mention the unique hairstyles and heads!

Ghastly Ghouls - Playable Undead Race

If there's one thing Larian's previous game, Divinity: Original Sin 2, has over Baldur's Gate 3, it's the ability to play as the undead. No longer. Ghastly Ghouls - Playable Undead Race solves this with four subraces: Lich, Ghoul, Wight, and Mummy. Each has custom heads and bodies, meaning you can tinker with your Undead's appearance to your heart's content.

This mod makes my immersion-obsessed heart happy. It uses the vanilla "Undead" tag for your Tav, affecting how various spells affect you. You'll be immune to some, while others, such as "Turn Undead," make you more vulnerable.

The Dunmer - Playable Dark Elf Race

Adding a race from The Elder Scrolls isn't exactly lore-friendly, but The Dunmer - Playable Dark Elf Race was simply too extensive to leave out of this list. I mean, let's take a look at what this Baldur's Gate 3 race mod includes.

Six subraces, "themed after the Great Houses, House Dagoth, and the Ashlanders." Seven new spells, all of which have custom visual effects. 11 unique heads, 50 skin tones, and 19 hand-drawn tattoos. And there are custom piercings based on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. A must-have mod, really.

Half-Dragon

Half-Dragon is based on an original homebrew TTRPG system by author johauna's husband. Four races are added, and numerous subclasses are meticulously designed to create a fun gameplay experience.

The highlight here is the ability to take the form of a Dragon. It's cool every single time and is reason enough to try this Baldur's Gate 3 mod. It feels like it should've been part of the base game all along.

Spirited Seasons - Playable Fey Eladrin

There's a lot to love about Spirited Seasons - Playable Fey Eladrin, especially to enjoy creating stunning Tavs that look great in a screenshot. This adds the Eladrin race, with four subraces based on each season, extensive customization options, and unique spells to match.

The only drawback is that you can't change seasons throughout your playthrough, as the Eladrin can in Dungeons & Dragons. This is due to the technical limitation of changing subraces mid-playthrough. Don't let that put you off - this is one of the most polished Baldur's Gate 3 race mods out there.

Whispers of the Fey - Goblins Race

Goblins exist in Baldur's Gate 3, so why can't we play as them? Whispers of the Fey - Goblins Race solves this issue, adding two new subraces: Greenskin Goblin and Dankwood Goblin. You can customize your Goblin as you would a regular Tav. There's even a custom Hireling named Ol' Shiny to bring along on your adventures.

If that hasn't convinced you, playing as a Goblin gives you access to a baby squirrel companion that will accompany you throughout Faerûn. I, for one, am sold.

Playable Myconid Race

Remember the Myconids? Those fungus folk that you meet in Baldur's Gate 3's Underdark? You probably never considered the fact that you couldn't play as one, but with Playable Myconid Race, now you can. Who asked for this? Who cares!

Understandably, customization is limited with this race mod, so you're restricted to picking from the models already available in Baldur's Gate 3. Creator porridge77 admits it's a little janky, but for the novelty factor alone, this is hard to beat and is well worth a slot in your load order.

Hearts of the Forest - Playable Dryad Race

Much like the previous mod, Hearts of the Forest - Playable Dryad Race takes a race already in the game and makes it playable. Considering their humanoid form, it's a little surprising they're not playable in the vanilla game, but regardless, this mod solves this.

Creator EmeraldTechno has gone the extra mile, creating new male Dryads. This isn't lore-friendly, but the end result looks great, so they get a pass here.

Wine and Revelry (Satyr Race)

Using Wine and Revelry (Satyr Race) is a way to guarantee a unique Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough. The main highlight here are the digitigrade legs, which obviously aren't possible in the vanilla game.

Creator labotor has added many customization options to flesh out Wine and Revelry (Satyr Race), including various tails, horns, and ear options to give you total flexibility with your Satyr Tav.

The post 10 best Baldur’s Gate 3 race mods appeared first on Destructoid.

Baldur’s Gate 3 was one of the biggest games of 2023, winning multiple GOTY awards and being on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Even with all that though, there are plenty of gamers who haven’t touched the game because they simply don’t like turn-based combat — but with this new mod, players can now enjoy the BG3 with real-time combat.

The mod comes from user tinybike, which you can download on GitHub. The modder calls it “an experiment” to see if they could get real-time combat working. This overhaul completely reworks the combat system, which speeds up every fight by a significant amount. Instead of each character getting a turn while the others wait, characters fight each other all at once.

A new Baldur’s Gate 3 mod lets you fight in real-time instead of turn-based

Brawl, the name of the mod on GitHub, is still very much in the early stages. The mod doesn’t even work with the campaign at this time. But impressive videos are posted on the mod page and by tinybike on YouTube that show real-time fights, which show some pretty solid action.

The biggest issues with the mod being fully integrated so far are the lack of being able to pause the game, and fights being very imbalanced. Modder tinybike states in the Status section that they are “just trying to see if the system fundamentally works”, and both of these issues are on their to-do list. Pausing will hopefully be the next update to the mod, and balancing will come at a later time. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 features plenty of memorable fights from start to finish throughout the campaign, from common encounters to imposing boss battles. The game has received countless praise for every aspect, including its turn-based combat. However, since the game has been out for a while now, players are looking to shake up gameplay and this could be the mod that does it. It could make for a whole new experience when starting your new playthrough. 

Since there are so many mods for BG3 for gamers, a lot of them get lost in the trenches of the internet forums. But, if development continues on Brawl, then it could easily rise to be one the best mods for Baldur’s Gate 3 available.

For gamers who can’t get into the genre due to its pacing, this could be the mod that gets them to jump on the bandwagon and enjoy one of the best games of 2023. However, with plenty of work still needing to be done, we’ll just need to keep our fingers crossed for a world where BG3 combat doesn’t take 20 minutes per fight.

The post This Baldur’s Gate 3 mod removes turn based combat so you can fight battles in real time appeared first on Destructoid.

Mods are a great way to spice up your Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough, letting you customize the game to your heart’s content. BG3 Mod Manager is the ultimate tool for it, but after its Patch 7 debut, you might be running into errors when trying to use it.

If the official BG3 Mod Manager is getting stuck on the loading profile screen while booting your game, we’re here to show you how to fix it and get your mods back up and running.

Fixes for the BG3 Mod Manager getting stuck on the loading profile screen

Here are all the solutions we’ve found to this bug in the BG3 Mod Manager:

Delete the modsettings.lsx file

The quickest way to fix the problem is to find the “modsettings.lsx” file and delete it. This file can be found under AppData>Local>Larian Studios>Baldur's Gate 3>PlayerProfiles>Public. Once you’ve navigated to this folder, simply right-click on the file and delete it or drag it to the trash bin.

Be aware that deleting this will delete your load order. Unfortunately, you will likely need to continue finding and deleting this file every time you need to change your load order or download any new mods. 

So, while this is a quick fix, this is a solution you’ll need to continue doing while adding new mods. If you don’t want to lose your load order, you can duplicate the file using the Save Order As option in the BG3 Mod Manager. Keep that file somewhere else on your computer, and load it back up in the manager when you need it.

Uninstall and Reinstall BG3 Mod Manager

The next solution is the tried and true delete it and reinstall it method. Completely uninstall your BG3 Mod Manager to start, and once it’s been removed, remove the modsettings.lsx file from the folder listed above. 

Then, you can re-download and install the BG3 Mod Manager, and you shouldn’t be getting stuck on the loading profile screen anymore. For some people, deleting the modsettings.lsx file alone isn’t enough, and this should solve the bug if it’s being stubborn. It gives you a clean slate with the BG3 Mod Manager.

Use the BG3 Patch 6 beta branch

The final solution comes from Larian Studios, who have made a Patch 6 beta branch to play the game in if you don’t want to lose your mods by updating to Patch 7. This will also keep any mods running that haven’t been updated yet for the latest patch, including customization mods, dice mods, and more. Here’s what you can do to run Patch 6:

• Right-click on Baldur’s Gate 3 in the Steam Library and choose Properties, then Betas
• On the Beta Participation screen, choose release_patch6_hf9

Since Patch 7 is the root of the issue, by going back to Patch 6, it should solve the problem.

The post How to fix the BG3 Mod Manager if it’s stuck on the loading profile screen appeared first on Destructoid.

It has been over a year now since the launch of Baldur's Gate 3, and its modding community is starting to come into its own. No aspect of the game remains untouched as talented modders aim to perfect Larian's legendary CRPG with additions of their own.

This includes the weapons. Sure, Baldur's Gate 3 has a lot of weapon variation throughout the game, but there can always be more. Use these 10 BG3 weapon mods to really spice up your adventure through Faerûn.

Elven Weaponry - Longbows and Quivers

Elven Weaponry - Longbows and Quivers is the first in a long line of mods on this list by creator kharneth, and there's a reason for that. This mod takes the base game's lackluster longbows and transforms them, adding new ones with edited and custom models of their own. According to kharneth, the objective of this mod is to put longbows on par with crossbows in Baldur's Gate 3, and it certainly achieves that.

Drow Weaponry - Rapiers

With Drow Weapon - Rapiers, kharneth has added a ton of new rapiers into Baldur's Gate 3. They've tried to make it as lore-friendly as possible, placing them only in areas where Drows are located. All these weapons take an offense-first approach, meaning you'll often sacrifice safety for damage. However, the rapiers found in this mod are caster-friendly, which, according to kharneth, "makes them good weapons for mixed martial-caster classes."

Half-Orc Weaponry - Clan Weapons

Half-Orc Weaponry - Clan Weapons is another kharneth banger. This mod is all about adding custom new Half-Orc weapons to the game, from Uncommon rarity all the way to Legendary. Much like the rest of kharneth's mods, these have been carefully placed throughout the game, to make them feel like they're a part of the vanilla Baldur's Gate 3 experience.

Dwarven Weaponry - Hammers

Dwarven Weaponry - Hammers. Everything you need to know is in the name, really. A bunch of new warhammers and handhammers are included in this mod, with options for all rarities. Like all kharneth mods, you'll only find these new hammers in immersive locations, so they're not just carelessly placed around the world.

Dwarven Weaponry - Drakefire Flintlock

Over the next few years, I've no doubt that several games will be marketed as "Baldur's Gate 3 with guns" to win fans over. But what if Baldur's Gate 3 did have guns? Dwarven Weaponry - Drakefire Flintlock answers that question by adding a pint-sized flintlock pistol to the game, complete with a custom model and textures. You can dual-wield them, too, allowing you to go full Lara Croft-akimbo mode across Faerûn. It's the kind of thing that makes you fall in love with modding again.

Underwood's Weapon Pack

Compared to what we've seen so far, Underwood's Weapon Pack is a little more low-key. It adds 24 new weapons and a shield around the world, and it even lets you dual-wield axes and hammers. The weapons themselves fit in perfectly with Baldur's Gate 3's aesthetic, and you may find yourself using items from Underwood's Weapon Pack without even realizing it.

UnholyBerserk

This one's for the BG3 Berserkers out there. UnholyBerserk adds a new greataxe titled Nor to the game, which is made to complement a Berserker playthrough. Found in Act One's Blighted Village, Nor can be upgraded by players using Soul Coins and Memory Shards, dealing big AOE damage to everyone (yes, even your companions). It's a little overpowered, but it features one of the most awesome custom models I've ever seen, and it couldn't miss out on this list.

Dark Urge Demonic Blood Swords

When a mod is called Dark Urge Demonic Blood Swords, you already know you're in for one of the coolest things you've ever seen. And that it is. This mod doesn't overcomplicate things, adding an awesome set of dual-wieldable swords and a demonic shield to the game. The visuals alone make this one of the best Baldur's Gate 3 mods and worth a spot in your load order.

Elven Weaponry - Blades

Elven Weaponry - Blades is the last kharneth mod on this list, I promise. They're just too good at what they do. The creator claims it was born from scimitars feeling "lackluster as main weapon for combat characters," adding a few new custom models and modifying the game's existing scimitars to make them more viable for a complete playthrough. Here, kharneth has done a great job creating unique-looking weapons that won't feel overpowered as you hack and slash your way through Baldur's Gate 3's story.

Lightsabers - Star Wars Mod

Did you really think I would make a list of the best Baldur's Gate 3 weapon mods and not include Lightsabers - Star Wars Mod? There's no way. In any game that extensively features melee combat, a lightsaber mod usually follows, and Baldur's Gate 3 is no exception. Choose your lightsaber color, and give the world of Faerûn a taste of a galaxy far, far away.

The post 10 best Baldur’s Gate 3 weapon mods appeared first on Destructoid.

When a creative's imagination is the limit, there's no shortage of attractive characters in gaming. And when you spend hours, sometimes even dozens or hundreds of them, staring at a protagonist, villain, or trusted companion, it never hurts for them to be easy on the eyes.

Sometimes, I find myself a bit head-over-heels for a few of them, reminiscing about the handsome men I've met on a few of my journeys. While I'm not sure I could fully commit to a relationship with a troubling few of these guys—regrettably, I can't fix him—I’d definitely take them out for a nice dinner date. 

10 Video game guys I'd take to dinner, and (maybe) a movie

10. James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2

Whether it be just dinner or grabbing coffee, any kind of commitment to James is probably a bad idea, given his track record with Mary in Silent Hill 2. He may have seen it as a mercy killing, or purely out of selfishness to seek a life free from burden, but either way, it's not exactly something I'd be willing to look past.

It's just that I think James could really use the pick-me-up a nice dinner date would give him after the whole being stuck in a haunting mind hell ordeal, you know? Plus, he’s quite easy on the eyes, and dependable if I’m being attacked by the horrific creatures of the eerie town of Silent Hill. So, I’ll take him on a date, but just one.

9. Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

Look at that flowing, gorgeous hair. The cool black jacket, the sword, the wings? Obviously, I would say yes to a date with Sephiroth if he asked me, just based on aura alone. You can’t ignore him.

However, this is the only character on this list I probably wouldn’t even enjoy the date with. He’s so consumed by his hatred that I don’t think he could put it aside for even one meal at a cozy bistro in the city. But, seeing as he’s just so pretty, he had to be here.

8. Johnny Gat from Saint’s Row

Johnny Gat is a murderous gang banger to the extreme. But, he’s a handsome murderous gang banger. And he’s pretty fun to chill out with when he’s just hanging out at the crib with his fellow Saints. 

Sadly, Johnny also lost his girl Aisha to the Ronin in Saint’s Row 2, so I’m not so sure he could protect me from those same rival gangs. That’s why a relationship with him would never work out; it's just not practical. Surely, they won’t target me if we go on just one date, right?

7. Solid Snake from Metal Gear

We love a man who can get things done, and nobody does it as well as Snake. This is the man who makes the impossible, possible after all. Give Snake a mission, and you can bet it’ll be completed, whether it’s a highly classified operation or loading the dishwasher.

Unfortunately, the rapid aging business puts a huge damper on things. Does he still deserve love? Yes. Could I provide it, knowing his lifespan is dramatically shorter than mine thanks to all the espionage? Probably not. So a few nice dates we both enjoy, but move on from, will work.

6. Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2

You could just tell me I’m going on a date with a real cowboy, and I’d be there. But Arthur Morgan? He’s not only a cowboy but a true Wild West heartthrob. We could hunt for dinner ourselves, then enjoy it under the stars by a roaring campfire.

However, there’s one major issue with Arthur: spoiler alert, he’s dead. I'm not really looking to go back in time, either, especially a time so far back I'm lacking modern comforts. And seeing as how the game takes place in 1899, it's just a non-starter. Time may keep us apart, but I can dream about the lovely dinner I’d enjoy with this cowboy.

5. Master Chief from Halo

The suit stays on. I don’t need to know what he looks like underneath it. It doesn’t matter. This man almost single-handedly saved all of humanity from both The Covenant and The Flood—that alone would get me out the door and sat in an Olive Garden booth.

Master Chief also has one of the smoothest voices in the history of gaming, and you just know an intimate conversation with him would be music to the ears. I don’t think marrying him would be ideal, though, since if anyone’s committed to their job, it’s him. I’ll go on as many dates with him as I can before the UNSC calls him back yet again.

4. Wyll from Baldur’s Gate 3

I’m sick of everyone talking about Astarion and Gale all the time. Yes, they’re lovely, but you’re missing out on this hunk of a Warlock, Wyll. This folk hero is kind, brave, and will do anything to keep Baldur's Gate safe. Plus, he’s got the whole tortured, dark secret that haunts him every day going for him. All the makings of a great romantic interest.

Now, there is the whole Mizora soul-binding thing to contend with, and I understand how that will turn people away. However, I can look past it. Not forever, but at least for a few romantic steak dinners before we part ways.

3. Link from Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

He’s the Hero of Hyrule and nearly every gamer girl’s first crush, so, obviously, I would take Link out to dinner. Even better, he can just cook dinner for us since he’s got the skills to make things like meat pies in a single cooking pot. There’s a reason nearly everyone in Hyrule is thirsting over him during the Era of the Wild.

There is one issue with Link though, and it’s that he’s very committed to someone already. He is so committed to Princess Zelda that he will, and has, died for her. I’m not willing to get between their relationship, and I don’t think I could. But I’m sure Link can spare me a few dates just to make my thirteen-year-old self happy.

2. Waluigi from Super Mario Bros

I don’t need to explain this one. If you know, you know.

1. Leon Kennedy from Resident Evil

How could you look at this man and not want to take him on a date? He’s beautiful. He fights zombies. He’s got some of the most luscious hair in all of gaming. Of course, Leon Kennedy is number one on this list because he’s clearly the best option.

Much like Link, though, Leon seems to already be involved with Ada. Their relationship is far more complicated than Link and Zelda’s, but it’s pretty clear he’s not going to let her go. I hope they can both be happy together, but only after I get my dinner date with Leon first.

The post 10 Video game guys I’d take out to dinner (and maybe a movie) appeared first on Destructoid.

Baldur's Gate 3 has numerous companions you can recruit throughout your playthrough, from Origin characters available minutes after escaping the Nautiloid to those you meet during your travels. Alfira is a peculiar case, though, ever since Larian tweaked her interactions slightly during BG3's seventh patch.

Having Alfira join your party in Baldur's Gate 3

As of Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 7 update, you can recruit Alfira as a temporary companion. However, you must play as The Dark Urge to unlock her as a temporary party member. If you're playing any other Origin character or a created Tav, you won't have this scene at all, and Alfira will just go about her usual business.

This scene can fire at any point as the Dark Urge, but if you want to try and tee it up, you can complete her side quest in the Emerald Grove to speed things along.

Finding Alfira

You'll first encounter Alfira east of the Druid's Grove on a cliffside. Once you enter the Emerald Grove for the first time, head toward the Sacred with the Idol of Silvanus statue. Rather than heading toward any quest markers, go east up the ramp before turning south to find Alfira playing the lute in front of two squirrels.

Helping Alfira with her song

When you first speak to Alfira, she'll express discontent over the song she's writing. By offering to help, you're met with two options: help her come up with lyrics or take a lute and play the song. Both have their benefits and drawbacks.

Choosing to play the lute for her requires completing two Performance Checks. The first is a DC 15 Charisma check, followed by DC 10. If your character is a bard or has high Charisma, your odds of succeeding are pretty high. Your chances are even better if you use Shadowheart's guidance. Succeeding both will reward you with the lute, musical instrument proficiency, and inspiration if you have the Entertainer background.

Coming up with lyrics prevents you from these three benefits but requires no conversation checks. Overall, it's an easier and less risky option if you're fine with not becoming a musician. Regardless of your pick, she'll tell you some of her backstory regarding her late teacher, Lihala before moving on to finishing the song.

From here onward, there are some spoilers for The Dark Urge's plotline. If you want to avoid them and experience it for yourself, pause your reading here.

Recruiting Alfira

To see Alfira again, you'll need to progress further through Act One's story. You don't have to resolve everything here; I found Alfira after chatting with the three True Souls, and my editor ran into Alfira while searching for Withers in the tomb.

Needless to say, you won't want to raid the Emerald Grove with the goblins, or else Alfira will die during the battle, preventing you from recruiting her as a temporary companion.

Once you make your way through at least part of the Goblin Camp, head back to your camp. Before getting ready for a long rest, tell one of your party members to stay in camp so you free up a space in your team. After initiating a long rest, Alfira will appear and tell you she wants to fight by your side. Tell her she can join you to recruit her into your party until your next long rest.

With Patch 7, Alfira now joins your party in a more official capacity; you can level her up, equip her with armor and weapons, and generally treat her like one of the gang. Make the most of this brief interaction.

You might know where this leads if you're already familiar with The Dark Urge's interactions with Alfira. I won't spoil exactly what happens, but let's just say not all stories have a happy ending. At least you got to have her as a pseudo-companion for a bit.

The post Can you recruit Alfira as a companion in BG3? appeared first on Destructoid.

One of the best parts of Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 7 is the introduction of the official Mod Manager, which makes modding easier for everyone.

While modding was certainly possible prior to the latest patch, the new addition makes a big difference. Compared to the third-party options available on the market, it feels easier to install mods with the official tool. If you still haven't managed to install a mod using the official Mod Manager, let's take a look at how to enable them in the first place.

How to install mods using Baldur's Gate 3's official Mod Manager?

There are specific prerequisites before you can use the official Mod Manager to download and use mods.

• Your in-game client must have the latest Patch 7 update downloaded and installed.

  • Note: I had to download the tool kit; without it, the Mod Manager would instantly crash my game. If you're crashing on launch, try that.

Once done, the next few steps are easy.

• Go to the Mod Manager from the home screen.
• Accept the terms and conditions.
• You're now good to go. You can browse the wide range of options that are available on the home screen.
• To the left, there's the option to use filters. For example, if you want to cheat, there's a way to find mods that help you do that as well.
• You can also use the Search bar and directly type what you're looking for. This could be the specific name of a mod you want to try out or something general, like "dice."
• If you're searching for a specific mod, you'll likely get the exact result. If you're searching for something more general, all mods with the particular search term will be available in the results.
• Select a mod, and you can view its details, including what it does, its file size, and the number of downloads so far.
• Click on 'download' and wait for it to complete.
• Now, go to the Installed tab. This will show all the mods you've installed. The mods will be automatically enabled, but you can also choose to disable them.
• Come back to the main screen and continue on your journey.

If you've installed a new mod, you can play with your ongoing save. However, you'll see a warning pop up. As long as the mods you installed are updated to the latest version, there shouldn't be any issue, so just proceed with loading your save file.

Once loaded, you should be able to see the effects of the mods straightway. In my screenshot, you can see the custom design of the die from one of the mods I installed and used. Of course, different mods will have different effects, and some might not be as visible as my die color.

Additionally, there could be conflicts in case you have used third-party mods. A message will pop up when you try to load a save. In some cases, you could have to uninstall the mod to run the game without any problems.

If you need to update any mods downloaded using the official Mod Manager, you can do so by going to the mod's details page. Make sure to always update to the latest version to ensure that your mods are running without any issues.

The post How to mod Baldur’s Gate 3 using the official Mod Manager appeared first on Destructoid.

If you're like me, Baldur's Gate 3 has made you fall in love with modding again. Larian's epic CRPG is a world filled with possibilities, expanded even further by a dedicated modding community looking to improve every aspect of the game.

Customization is one of Baldur's Gate 3's biggest strengths, and that only gets even better when envoking a little fanmade magic in the Character Creator. There's no aspect of your Tav you can't change, and by using this pick of 10 awesome customization mods, you'll have more choices than ever.

Tav's Hair Salon

If there's one thing to be said about Baldur's Gate 3, it's that the hair options are slightly limited. Not to worry - Tav's Hair Salon is precisely what you need to fix this. Adding plenty of new hair options for Elf, Half-Elf, Drow, Human, and Tiefling characters, Tav's Hair Salon should be sufficient for roleplaying any type of character in Baldur's Gate 3, with plenty of different styles represented. In my experience, this is the single most impactful customization mod for Baldur's Gate 3 for the average player.

Horns of Faerun

Let's face it: horns are cool. And yes, Baldur's Gate 3 has horns, but why not more? Horns of Faerun does exactly what it says on the tin, allowing you to add various new horns during character creation. The only restriction here is that Dragonborn characters can't use these options, which is a shame but is understandable. It doesn't replace any vanilla horn options either, so you can still pick those if you want. But when Horns of Faerun's options look so great, why would you?

Faces of Faerun

If there's one recurring theme throughout this list, it's options. More options are always a good thing, and Faces of Faerun delivers in this regard. Aloija's mod adds lots of new heads for character creation and, crucially, doesn't replace any vanilla options. There are some stunning choices here, almost all of which are a marked improvement over what the base Baldur's Gate 3 has to offer. With this mod, your Tav's face card will never decline.

Astralities' Skintone Expansion - Natural Tones

Astralities' Skintone Expansion - Natural Tones is a simple mod that probably should have been a part of the vanilla game. It adds a wider variety of skin tones to Baldur's Gate 3, expanding on the color families included in the base game as well as adding a few separate options, too.

Mari's Tattoo

One of the most interesting ways to spice up any Baldur's Gate 3 character is to add tattoos. If the base game offerings were a little bland for your taste, then Mari's Tattoo should have what you're after. This mod replaces the base game's tattoos with a few more exciting choices. What more is there to say? Ink up.

Eyes of the Beholder

If you thought the eye options in Baldur's Gate 3 were lacking, then Eyes of the Beholder is the customization mod for you. This mod allows you to replace your Tav's eyes with something a little more exciting, replacing the base game textures to allow for more extensive options. As said, this is a full replacer, so you don't get to switch out these options while using the in-game character creator. You'll have to install an entirely new preset to do that, but we think it's well worth the time.

Flutter and Whimsy (Fairy Race)

Forget customization mods for just a second. Flutter and Whimsy (Fairy Race) is one of the best Baldur's Gate 3 mods, full stop. It gives you the opportunity to play as a fairy, complete with custom-made animated wings of various shapes and sizes. Mod author labotor has considered everything here, with custom traits and spells based on the Monsters of the Multiverse sourcebook for Dungeons & Dragons. Flutter and Whimsy (Fairy Race) feels like a natural evolution of the vanilla game, and you'll wonder how you ever created a new character without it.

Wine and Revelry (Satyr Race)

Just like the previous mod, Wine and Revelry (Satyr Race) comes from modder labotor. With inspiration from the Mythic Odysseys of Theros sourcebook, it adds the ability to play as a satyr, including custom options for tails and goat ears. Of course, the goat legs are the most unique thing about this mod, although it does cause a few animation issues at the moment. Still, we think that Wine and Revelry (Satyr Race) is great for immersion, and if occasional janky animations are the price to pay, then I'd say it's worth it.

P4 Dragonborn Scale Colours

The Dragonborn race in Baldur's Gate 3 is probably the game's most unique race, and as the default choice for a Dark Urge playthrough, it is extremely popular among players. P4 Dragonborn Scale Colours improves the customization options for the race massively, giving you 190 new colors to play with during character creation. Sure, the number of choices in the base game is fine, but this is a whole new world, and you won't be able to return. You'll certainly never be lost for choice with this mod in your load order.

Vessnelle's Hair Collection

I'm ending this list where I began it: with another hair set. Vessnelle's Hair Collection is simply too good to miss out, offering tons of stunning new hairstyles for you to use throughout your playthrough. If you're someone who already spends hours in Baldur's Gate 3's character creator, then cycling through the options in Vessnelle's Hair Collection is sure to add a considerable amount of time to your experience.

The post 10 best Baldur’s Gate 3 customization mods appeared first on Destructoid.

Just over a year after its release, the Baldur's Gate 3 modding community has already established itself as one of the most dedicated in the gaming space. Since launch, fans of Larian's critically acclaimed CRPG have expanded on the game in various exciting ways, which, of course, means you can face the Mind Flayers ahead looking on point.

In a title where player customization is important, many of the best Baldur's Gate 3 mods have added to the game's armor and clothing options. If you could only choose 10 from the plethora of options available, these are the ones you should go for.

Basket Full of Equipment

Basket Full of Equipment is the most extensive armor and clothing mod on this list. It adds over 800 pieces of new equipment to Baldur's Gate 3, some of which is brand-new, while other bits are in the game but inaccessible to the player. Orin's outfit? You got it. Gortash's robe? Sure, go ahead. You should use Basket Full of Equipment as a base mod to complement the rest of your load order.

Cloaks of Faerun

Baldur's Gate 3 has a few cloaks to choose from, but more options never hurt anyone. Cloaks of Faerun adds a total of 33 new cloaks into the game, from Common all the way to Legendary. Mod author Araelynn has placed them carefully throughout the game, to help make them feel like a vanilla part of the vanilla Baldur's Gate 3 experience.

Faerun Colors (Dye and color sets)

Faerun Colors (Dye and color sets) is, no exaggeration, one of the best Baldur's Gate 3 mods ever. Mod author techroot has added over 80 new stunning dye colors to the game, each "based on deities and famous entities from Faerûn." It's lore-accurate, it adds more armor and clothing customization options, and it expands the roleplaying possibilities for players who love to embrace that side of Baldur's Gate 3. What's not to love?

Modular Equipment

Modular Equipment is a mod that only a few players can use, as it's only compatible with "tall slim femme characters," according to mod author wesslen. If that fits the description of your Tav, then it's a must-download, adding various armor and clothing pieces designed to be interchanged with one another. These pieces are cleverly made to complement many vanilla items, so you can even use individual items to enhance an outfit comprised mostly of base game clothing and armor pieces, too. There's even dye support, which works well (for the most part - some items don't necessarily look like they're supposed to).

Druu's Clothes and Armours

Druu's Clothes and Armours adds a couple of new outfits for your Tav. It's not a massive selection like something like Basket Full of Equipment, but I loved these outfit options so much that I had to include them. They've got physics support, and even allow you to use custom dyes from mods like Faerun Colors (Dye and color sets). Not every player will find a use for Druu's Clothes and Armours, but I'm confident these outfits are perfect for plenty of playthroughs.

Dye Support For Shields

It doesn't make much sense that you can't dye shields in Baldur's Gate 3. Well, with Dye Support For Shields, now you can. There's not much to say about this one - all the base-game shields can now be dyed, a cool quality-of-life change that should have been in the vanilla game.

Helms of Faerun

Helms of Faerun is the kind of Baldur's Gate 3 mod that'll make you fall in love with modding again. Frankly, it's utterly bizarre, but unapologetically so, with 12 new helmets added to the game to choose from. While some options look awesome, others, such as the Thrall Helmets, will make your Tav look a little odd, to say the least. Ever wanted to look like you're wearing an intellect devourer? Then this is right up your alley.

Bladesong Garment

I've tried to avoid adding individual armor and clothing sets to this list, but Bladesong Garment is simply too good to miss out. This set of clothing is intended to complement a College of Swords bard roleplay, although a creative player could have other uses for each piece, too. Once installed, you can purchase the Bladesong Garment set from Arron in the Emerald Grove during Act One, or you can pick it up from the tutorial chest on the Nautiloid if you want it right from the start.

Aether's Black Dye - Item Shipment Framework

Aether's Black Dye - Item Shipment Framework is a mod that is somewhat surprisingly not in the base game. It's not exactly complex - it just adds a black dye to Baldur's Gate 3, so you can embrace darkness no matter your outfit. This black dye has infinite uses, too, so you can turn your group into a party of goth adventurers if you so desire.

Faerunian Carnival

Last but not least, there's Faerunian Carnival. This mod adds a collection of carnival masks to the game, allowing you to look anything from mysterious to ridiculous as you adventure across Faerûn. There are plenty of interesting designs here, and I have no doubt someone more creative than me could produce some fascinating roleplay ideas for a playthrough using Faerunian Carnival. Some of these masks are exclusive to either male or female characters, so bear this in mind when creating your Tav.

The post 10 best Baldur’s Gate 3 armor and clothing mods appeared first on Destructoid.

Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios, has revealed that Baldur's Gate 3 players download over 1 million mods in 24 hours. This follows the game's most recent update, which added modding support and a full mod manager.

Players have been modding Baldur's Gate 3 ever since it was initially released for PC. However, as of the launch of Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7, fans have a dedicated native mod manager and toolkit built into the game. This makes the game easier to mod than ever before, and that's almost certainly why so many players downloaded so many mods as soon as this update became available and was installed on their PCs.

Ready, set, mod

It's hard to quantify just how many Baldur's Gate 3 players must have downloaded mods as soon as Patch 7 was settled. The game sold at least 2.5 million copies during early access, and is reported to have sold as many has 10 million copies as of February 2024. If we use this data, then we can say that roughly 10% of the player base downloaded mods for the game within a 24-hour period, but more could have downloaded mods since.

Fans have their own thoughts on Vincke's revelation. User J0lly-Rancher said, "Are they all mommy and daddy mods? Cuz I was trying to find something that would be cool or useful and couldn’t find anything among all of those so I gave up lol."

I think Chefpk nails exactly what this patch does for the game, though. "Well, you and your team just gave us a way to play BG3 for the next 5-10 years like we a did with Skyrim. The possibilities are now actually endless."

It's true, modders can create all sorts of things for games. I'd expect to see a new essential mod pack come together over the next few weeks, consisting of mods that all PC players feel improve the game and make for the best experience.

Over time, considering Larian Studios is no longer making DLC for Baldur's Gate 3, who's to say what modders might create? After fixing Skyrim with mods, modders went on to create all sorts of new quests and content for the game. Fallout modders even made a new entry in a location the main series has never visited. Provided there's a strong community who wants to play, I can't see why the mods will ever stop coming.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 players downloaded more than 1 million mods in 24 hours appeared first on Destructoid.

There is a lot of hype surrounding Baldur's Gate 3's seventh patch, with its own closed beta and informational announcements months prior. Now, you can experience this patch yourself, as Larian has officially released Patch 7 on PC, with console and Mac players getting the update in October.

Let's check out Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 7 patch notes. From here onward, there are major spoilers for all three acts of BG3. Proceed with caution!

Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7 update notes and changes

Baldur's Gate 3's seventh patch, as detailed in Larian Studios' announcement post, features hundreds of new additions, bug fixes, and quality-of-life changes in its 11.6 GB update. While there are many new features to explore, this patch focuses on three core areas.

The first highlight is new evil ending cinematics for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in a more chaotic and wicked playthrough. Whether you're playing as the Dark Urge or just want to cause some mischief, you can now encounter up to 13 new evil endings depending on your choices throughout BG3.

Another major addition to Baldur's Gate 3 is official modding support, including a toolkit that'll go live on September 5. There's now an official in-game mod manager you can use to browse and install mods and a Toolkit you can install through Steam to make your own.

Alongside these two new features, Larian added multiple changes to Honour Mode, including legendary actions and tweaking pre-existing ones. These include bug fixes and quality-of-life changes for certain bosses, but a few enemies, particularly the famous surgeon Malus Thorm, have new Legendary Actions to spice things up.

Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7 update patch notes, listed

Although the changes above are some key additions in Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 7, hundreds of other changes will drastically change how you play. Alongside significant major improvements, there are also plenty of smaller bug fixes to polish the game further.

Here are the complete list of Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 7 patch notes.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Introducing 'Evil Endings': Brand new cinematic endings for the truly villainous playthroughs.
• Added our very own Mod Manager, which lets you browse, install, and use mods created by the community.
• Revamped split screen gameplay: When playing on split screen, the two halves of the screen will now dynamically merge together when player characters come close to each other in-game, and dynamically split back up when the characters move apart. This revamp comes alongside many other improvements and polishes to improve the overall split screen experience.

Honour Mode Combat

• If Dror Ragzlin finds himself inside the spider pit, he'll try his best to befriend the spiders residing there with a new spell called Arachnid Compulsion so they can band together to fight the real enemy - you.
• The Bulette has a new condition called Diamond Scales and a new Legendary Action called Shredding Scales.
• Malus Thorm has a new Legendary Action called Grasping Appendage.
• Added a new aura and spell for Spectators: Panicked Sentinel and Ocular Nightmare, respectively.
• Ch'r'ai Tska'an, the leader of the githyanki ambush in Act II, has a new Legendary Action called Soul Sacrifice.
• Ch'r'ai Har'rak, the githyanki leader at the Knights of the Shield Hideout, has a new Legendary Action called Tu'narath's Embrace.
• Ptaris has a new Legendary Action called Ptarian Dogma.

UI

• Revised and reorganised the in-game video options to be more logical and robust. You now have an Upscaling Type drop-down, an Upscaling Mode drop-down, and an Upscaling Sharpness slider, followed immediately by the options that are affected by them.
• Updated the Reactions UI so that you only have to toggle the Reactions you want to use and then confirm them. (This saves you from having to select 'Do not react' multiple times!)
• Added a new Equipment Options menu to the Character Sheet on controller.
• The panel that opens to 'Donate' magic items to Gale will now also show items in your Traveller's Chest. It also now indicates which items are currently equipped.
• We noticed some of you hiccoughing bubbles, so the action for washing yourself with soap and sponges is now called 'Use' instead of 'Consume'.
• Fixed your player character's name getting reverted to 'Custom' during Character Creation if you moved on to create your Dream Guardian and then went back to edit the player character again.
• Fixed the wrong spell Ability showing up when selecting a Feat during Level Up.

Art

• Added a new loading screen in Act III, showing the busy streets of Baldur's Gate.
• Fixed the skirt part of the Adamantine Splint Armour missing for female dwarves.
• Fixed the Adamantine Scale Mail clipping on large male characters.

Gameplay

• You can now start Custom Mode games using Honour Mode mechanics when starting a new playthrough. You'll be able to do this via the 'Ruleset' dropdown.
• The kuo-toa that promised to build you an army will now support you in the final battle. Unless they all died in Act I.
• The help that the Gondians promised for the final battle will now arrive in the form of a friendly Steel Watcher. Apologies from Zanner Toobin for the delay.
• The hair colour options in Character Creation will now remain accessible after you choose the bald hairstyle, so that you can continue fiddling around with eyebrow colours.
• Overhead dialogues that support multiple player characters can now involve characters assigned to different players. (They were limited to characters controlled by a single player until now.) This means that there will be more banter among player characters in multiplayer games.
• Group Hide will no longer affect summons that aren't linked to the group in the Party Line.
• Changed the behaviour for selecting camp supplies for a Long Rest. When selecting camp supplies that are stacked, the game now only takes what it needs from the stack.
• You can no longer cheese the Leap of Faith trial at the Gauntlet of Shar by just clicking the final platform and letting your character pathfind their way there. Shar threatened to smite us if we didn't fix this one.
• Fixed a bug where resurrecting Lae'zel on the beach in Act I would cause her to appear in the Party Line but not in the world, preventing you from leaving Act I.
• Patched up some savegames where Gale still had his Necrotic Aura when he shouldn't on load.
• Fixed Minthara's body sometimes turning invisible on the Level Up screen. (We sorta liked the floating-head-and-hands look, but hey.)

Animation

• Astarion now has idle animations at camp that aren't just him reading a book.
• Added a new idle animation for Minsc at camp - Boo may or may not have taught him some tai chi.
• Karlach will no longer brush the shaved side of her head.
• Polished the appearance of neck kisses in lovey-dovey scenes with Shadowheart on the Sharran path for characters with large body types and dragonborn characters.

Writing and Flow

• Dotted some dialogue options and voiced lines into a handful of dialogues across the game, particularly to account for edge-case flows. These changes are described in more detail in the main patch notes below.
• Added three new Narrator lines for Dark Urge characters to add a bit more reactivity across the game. These additions are described in more detail in the main patch notes below.
• Resolved an issue that had been rendering some romance party banters inaccessible while adventuring.
• Fixed a flow issue where Avatar Lae'zel did not have the option to leave and ascend or stay on Faerûn after the Netherbrain is defeated.
• Added a dialogue option asking for a kiss in more paths of Wyll's epilogue dialogue.
• If you're in holographic form in the epilogue, Wyll won't automatically assume he's talking to Lae'zel.
• A bug that had been preventing Wyll’s romance greeting from triggering has now been fixed, so players in Act III who have a stable, loving, and committed relationship with Wyll will now see his romance greeting triggering correctly.
• Fixed priorities on Wyll’s greetings so that low approval greetings will now trigger accordingly for players with low approval. 
• Companions should now be more sympathetic to Astarion fleeing from the sun.
• Added a new dialogue in which Karlach will react to Dammon if she finds him dead after he told her that he can help her.
• In Act II, Minthara will now react to you having knocked her out in Act I.

Scripting

• Fixed several issues (related to resurrecting characters via Withers, restructuring the party at night, and automatic camp night scenes) that would trap you in an eternal slumber, unable to end a Long Rest.
• Fixed a bug causing Shadowheart to keep repeating one line when you talk to her after she's resurrected by Withers from the Shadowfell.
• Fixed a small flow issue preventing you from commenting on Gale's last name.
• Fixed several occurrences of Wyll still having an exclamation mark above his head when he already told you everything he had to say. 
• When playing as the Dark Urge, Minthara will no longer act as though you accepted Bhaal when you've been stripped of his influence.
• Fixed a broken kissing scene after you gave Shadowheart the Idol of Shar.
• Fixed an issue where Jaheira would stop following the party after spending a night outside of the party.
• Fixed the rune tablets on the nautiloid sometimes not triggering the Narrator's lines.
• Clerics of Lathander should now recognise his symbol on a Lathanderian amulet.
• Ensured the avatar is prioritised as the main speaker in dialogues related to the hag's Act I surrender.
• Minthara does, in fact, now have something to say about Orin after you kill her.
• Made the romance scene at night with Wyll in Act III unskippable if it triggers to avoid accidentally skipping it and not being able to finish the romance arc.
• If Avatar Karlach and Wyll are partners and go to the Hells together, he'll now act accordingly during the epilogue.
• Fixed Karlach's scene in Avernus not playing if you decided to go with her when playing as Wyll.
• A bug has been fixed so that Wyll will now talk to his father if Ansur is defeated after the pact with Mizora is broken but Ravengard is saved from the Iron Throne despite this, to decide on his title. 
• Lae'zel will now wait a little longer for you at the site of her recruitment if you tell her you'll be back.
• Improved Lae'zel's idle camp behaviours to align a bit better with the other companions'.
• Fixed the fade-to-black after Karlach's scene in Avernus at the end of the game, which would give you a very brief glimpse of Game Developer Land.
• Breaking up with Karlach by speaking with another companion you're dating the morning after her romance scene won't block her dialogue anymore.
• Reinstated Gale's last line in his detailed explanation of ceremorphosis and tweaked a dialogue option to react to it.
• Now that you can give Gale magic items from the Traveller's Chest, he will leave again if you refuse to do so.
• Patched up some savegames that had a bug that would prevent the dialogue between Gale and Mystra at the end of the game from triggering.
• Fixed a bug that let you kiss Gale even if he was in a disguised form before confronting the Netherbrain.. Also fixed this dialogue with him cutting off before you could give him a smooch.
• Reworked the script that determines whether a character is too busy to talk. This will prevent bugs like Minthara's dialogue not triggering at Moonrise Towers after you rescue her, and knock-on effects as a result of this, like not being able to rest or fast travel.

Performance

• Continued to make performance and stability optimisations across the game and implemented many under-the-hood code fixes.
• Optimised performance. This will have a more noticeable impact in areas with large numbers of NPCs (like the Lower City) and will reduce peak memory usage when loading levels for the first time. It will also be noticeable when managing lots of loot (e.g. when transferring everything from a camp chest to a character's inventory).

Cinematics

• Reworked and revamped the cutscene that plays when you interact with Ansur's bones in the Wyrmway.
• Polished facial expressions and emotions across companion dialogues, including to the facial animations of your character during some kissing cinematics, including with the Vampire Lord Astarion.

CRASHES AND BLOCKERS

• Fixed a crash when loading the Act I region.
• Fixed a crash when mousing over characters in combat.
• Fixed some issues with Long Rest: Loading a save made during a Long Rest could cause a crash and you could sometimes get stuck in a Long Rest forever and ever, amen.
• Fixed a potential crash when saving at the end of Act II.
• Fixed a potential crash on load.
• Fixed a potential crash on Level Up.
• Fixed a potential crash when approaching the Abandoned Refuge on a fresh save.
• Fixed a blocker related to Orin's dagger, which will now respawn near the altar if you hurled her into a chasm and a cultist picked it up before you did. (Because it's bound to her, it would zip back to her corpse in the chasm, lost forevermore.)
• Fixed a potential crash when trying to load into the Lower City.
• Fixed a crash when quickly pressing 'Connect' and 'Create' in the lobby browser on GOG.
• Fixed a potential crash when the game runs a check for whether you have the Deluxe Edition DLC.
• Fixed a potential crash when Player 2 leaves a split screen dialogue.
• Fixed some camera activation issues on split screen potentially causing a crash when Player 2 rejoins a game mid-cinematic.
• Fixed a potential crash caused by the Reeling condition getting stacked too high.
• Fixed a crash when dragging the portrait of a dismissed Minor Illusion summon over another party member's portrait.
• Fixed a bug where using the Mould Chamber in Grymforge while in combat would prevent you from moving.
• Fixed a potential crash in Felogyr's Fireworks on Avery's turn in combat.
• Fixed a potential crash due to the game script requesting combat from a character that isn't loaded into the region.
• Fixed a crash that could occur during the cutscene that triggers when you reach the Netherbrain.
• Fixed a potential crash when switching between keyboard and mouse and controller during a dice roll.
• Fixed a crash when attempting to reload a savegame or return to the main menu.
• Fixed a crash when choosing to 'Take All' from the Chest of the Mundane.
• Fixed a crash when the dialogue with Baelen Bonecloak was forcibly cut short while mousing over a dialogue option.
• Fixed an edge-case blocker preventing you from Long Resting.
• Added a savegame error to prevent a potential crash.
• Fixed a bug where you could get locked in combat if your character was Downed but not dead when Isobel was killed.
• Fixed a bug where you could get locked in combat with Cazador if Astarion was alive and incapacitated in his ritual position, one of the other spawn was dead, and the rest of the party was defeated by Cazador. Now combat ends correctly with a Game Over screen.
• Fixed a potential crash when leaving the Iron Throne combat.
• Fixed a bug where you could get stuck under the elevator in the Colony, blocking progress.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when using fast travel in Rivington and Wyrm's Crossing.
• Fixed a crash that could occur when fighting mimics.
• Fixed a crash when dropping certain objects.

COMBAT AND BALANCE

Across Acts

• Fixed a potential soft-lock where if you have multiple summons that are Surprised and you switch to a character whose turn it is on controller, the combat would get stuck passing turns between the summons.
• Fixed Form of Dread triggering a Saving Throw for Frightened if the character was already Frightened.
• Upcasts of Witch Bolt can no longer be used with Metamagic: Twinned Spell.
• Fixed a bug with the Goaded condition where if a summoned companion applied Goaded to an enemy, that enemy would attack the owner of the summon instead of the summon itself.
• Fixed some goblins missing the Fury of the Small passive in Tactician Mode.
• Dampen Elements will no longer require a Channel Divinity point.
• Improved monks' Deflect Missiles by helping the projectiles avoid obstacles on their way back to the target.
• Monks' Clench of the North Wind spell now targets up to 2 characters at Level 9. They just have to clench a little harder.
• Enemy NPCs can no longer use Dash again while the effect of a first Dash is active.
• The Saving Throw for the Dire Raven Companion's Bad Omen action is now a Wisdom Saving Throw and scales with the raven's level.
• Fungal Infestation can now be used as a Reaction when killing a target.
• The Spectator's Charm condition should now be broken through damage or by killing the Spectator.
• The druidic spells that Halsin gains for free can now be upcasted.
• Fixed Cloudkill not affecting characters at the edge of its range.
• Fixed Infernal Spears joining combat when dropped.
• Patched up some savegames that were stuck in combat where the game's script was not intentionally pausing them.
• Reduced the duration of the Shar's Darkness spell and the frequency with which NPCs choose to cast it.
• Swapping weapons between characters in combat now properly consumes an Action for both.
• Fixed the Meenlock Fear condition triggering a Constitution Saving Throw instead of a Wisdom Saving Throw.
• Fixed Auntie Ethel's Weird Magic Surge not triggering with Counterspell.
• Combat will now end correctly if you find that you're still in combat after speaking to the Emperor in the Astral Plane.

Act I

• Fixed Nere's Coerced condition sometimes getting removed from characters despite them being temporarily allied to him due to his Wicked Coercion.
• Priestess Gut will no longer hit herself with her own conditions. Silly gob-gob.
• Fixed Mayrina and Auntie Ethel disguised as Mayrina having different HP values in Tactician Mode.

Act II

• Fixed a bug where the combat at the Last Light lakeside would end and no further waves would spawn.
• Made the combat at the Last Light lakeside trigger more consistently even if you're standing in odd positions.
• Balthazar should no longer occasionally stand idle, causing combat to halt within the Colony.
• Balthazar's reanimated skeletons in the Shadowfell now have Shove only in Tactician Mode.
• Increased the HP that the Undead Nurses resurrect at from 25% to 45% during the combat with Malus Thorm in Tactician and Honour Mode.
• We've suggested to Yurgir that when he's invisible he should take advantage of it and actually try to move around a little so that he's harder to find.
• Improved the Thisobald Thorm combat in Honour Mode:

  • Fixed his Legendary Action explosion hitting itself.
  • Increased the damage and radius of his Legendary Action explosion.
  • His Legendary Action explosion now applies a debuff based on the explosion type.
  • Increased the damage of the buff given to his blighted allies.
  • Blacked Out no longer applies Vulnerability to all damage in Honour Mode.

• Improved the Shadowed Spirit of the Land combat:

  • His Shadow Friends will no longer disappear during combat as long as they're still controlled.
  • His Shadow Friends will now disappear after his dome is destroyed.
  • Improved the visuals for when his Shadow Friends disappear.

Act III

• Cazador can now use his Legendary Action in his Mist Form.
• Ptaris now has Alert and Legendary Resistance in Tactician Mode.
• Rolan will now become more powerful after taking over Ramazith's Tower.
• Gortash's Avatar of Tyranny form is no longer dependent on whether it's his turn or not.
• Fixed multiple issues related to Gortash's turrets:

  • Fixed Micromodron Force Curtain and Deranged Force Curtain becoming active even if they weren't in combat near Gortash and even though they can only target Gortash.
  • Fixed the Grenade Impellers and Incineration Casters becoming active as soon as Gortash entered combat and leaving combat as soon as Gortash left, even if they were in a different area (Gortash in the Audience Hall, turrets in his office). They no longer depend on Gortash and become active or inactive when a combat nearby starts or ends.
  • Fixed Micromodron Force Curtain and Deranged Force Curtain sometimes having two contradictory conditions (Active and Malfunctioning at the same time).
  • Fixed a bug causing the Incineration Casters to be affected by the First Strikes combat penalty (causing them to skip their first turn) the first time they enter combat.
  • Fixed two Incinerator Casters in Gortash's office not working correctly.
  • Fixed the warning zone VFX of the Incinerator Casters not working properly and therefore not accurately representing the area of danger.
  • Fixed an issue with the Incinerator Casters' warning zone VFX, causing the warning zone to be inaccurate.

• Made sure Ritual Drain is applied correctly on Asta, Yousen, and Violet in the combat with Cazador.
• After ascending, Cazador will no longer receive healing from Vampire Regeneration.
• Fixed a bug in Cazador's fight where it was possible to get more than 1 extra Bonus Action per turn for the same character by stepping on and off the pentagram in front of Astarion several times per turn.
• Improved the combat with Viconia: In line with its description, Viconia's Divine Intervention won't target followers of Shar anymore, even if they are enemies; and the illusory Mapped Terror forms will not change the character portraits.
• Lady Jannath and Oskar will no longer get Opportunity Attacks against the poltergeists in Jannath's Estate.
• The Moonlight Slivers' Banishing Smite will now stop myrmidons from empowering Lorroakan if the myrmidons are successfully Banished.
• Enemies in High Hall should now leave combat when Knocked Out.
• The second wave of Intellect Devourers at the Morphic Pool should now consistently join combat.
• Fixed Gortash's Legendary Action not working when Blinded.
• To improve her chances of survival, Hope now has a new passive called Last Hope that grants her Death Ward for free when she enters combat.
• During combat, Raphael will no longer care about walking on Fire or Hellfire surfaces.
• Improved the fight against Lorroakan: Elemental Retort now costs a Reaction to cast; targets will now roll a Dexterity Saving Throw against Elemental Retort; and myrmidons now also buff Lorroakan with additional Reactions.
• Tweaked several settings for the windows in Jannath's Estate to fix where combat can trigger.
• Fixed the Chult Alioramus not attacking you if you were wearing damage-reducing armour.
• Improved the Restore Soul spell so it's easier to reclaim a soul from Raphael. Also updated its visuals.
• Viconia now only receives Mortal Reminder as an additional passive in Tactician Mode.
• Added some lightning clouds to the final battle in the Wyrmway.
• In the fight against Dribbles at the circus, ranged attacks will now also crit against creatures with the Menaced condition.
• Fixed Krank not flying back up to higher floors in Ramazith's Tower.
• Ramazith's defences now include the internal turrets again. Also fixed the turrets' script so that they end their turn when they won't shoot, and don't shoot when it's not their turn.
• Fixed some technical names showing up for each of Ansur's limbs. Naming them all 'Ansur' was the ansur.
• Fixed Ansur's friendly Lightning Strike units sometimes attempting to attack the lightning strikes.
• Mystic Carrion's Legendary Action now triggers on hit, not when an Undead ally dies. His Legendary Action conditions are now curses, and his Legendary Action condition buff now heals Undead when it ticks out instead of when applied.
• Raphael can no longer steal souls from creatures that narratively don't have souls, such as Undead and Constructs.
• Viconia can now target Shadowheart with her trademark spells even if Shadowheart is Wild-Shaped.
• The enemy wolf summon in the combat near the sandy dock west of the South Span Checkpoint can no longer use Help and its summoner now has Hunter's Mark.
• Cazador's bats and werewolves are now immune to Ghastly Fumes, which his ghast-like Fallen Gur Hunters spawn each turn.
• Fixed a bug where, if Cazador is already dead and his spawn can fight back, killing a spawn during combat could restart the combat.
• Casting Dominate Person on Dolor before combat will no longer lead to all companions becoming enemies of the caster.
• Kled doesn't have Dror Ragzlin's Legendary Actions anymore. Dror's not one for sharing.
• Raphael's Infernal Salve spell will now only work on his allies who are also Fiends.
• The Wayward Undead condition will now get removed when combat ends, and the Undead entity will get destroyed when the condition is removed. The condition also now has an icon.

GAMEPLAY

Across Acts

• Improved AI pathfinding around dangerous areas both in and out of combat.
• Fixed a bug where combining Wild Shape with the Seeming spell could let characters get reduced to 0 HP but remain alive.
• Fixed a rare issue where druids could not revert their Wild Shape when playing on a save with mods.
• Enemies will now properly drop loot when dying from having one of their ability scores reduced to 0.
• Fixed how the Chest of the Mundane handles item stacks higher than its maximum. (It should no longer gobble up your enormous coin stack and spit back a measly 21 cups in return.)
• Fixed a bug that prevented monks' Shadow Step from giving Advantage for rogues' Sneak Attack.
• Fixed an issue causing Tempest Domain clerics' Channel Divinity to not deal maximum damage for some spells like Shocking Grasp.
• You can no longer open locked containers through trade as if they weren't locked.
• Fixed a bug preventing you from looting mounds you dig up if you started a dialogue during the digging animation.
• Fixed some flickering shader artefacts that were appearing on, for example, Karlach's tent and Justiciar Crusaders in Umbral Form.
• Fixed some minor visual glitching between surfaces.
• Fixed items sometimes flickering when you approached them with the camera.
• Fixed the combat cursor on controller reappearing too soon after you cast a combat spell.
• Fixed surface lights only being created on split screen when Player 1's camera is nearby.
• Fixed dialogues sometimes not starting with characters who were pickpocketed.
• Fixed blocked or barricaded doors sometimes resulting in incorrect pathfinding.
• Fixed summons like cats not being able to squeeze through crevices and holes.
• Fixed druids being unable to unequip weapons after Long Resting while Wild-Shaped as myrmidons.
• Fixed a case where you could end up soft-locked after a Long Rest if a custom character spent the night outside the camp when they had a camp scene queued up.
• Dismissing a companion with Scratch's ball will no longer transfer the ball to Scratch after a Long Rest.
• Fixed a rare case where custom characters no longer followed the controlled player.
• Improved an edge-case quirk of AI spellcasting by ensuring that it has a source and target position before committing to a projectile-based attack.
• Prevented summons and followers like Glut from being able to consume Noblestalk. Yes, your Mage Hand probably ate it. No, we don't know where its mouth is.
• Dismissing hirelings or avatars via dialogue now functions the same way as dismissing companions.
• When Withers resurrects an avatar, the Dream Guardian will no longer immediately prompt another nearby avatar to loot them for a tadpole. Similarly, dead, dismissed avatars will no longer trigger this same prompt. Some decorum, please.
• When multiple characters in the party discover a trap or hidden item, only one will comment on it. We figured you don't need four people telling you to watch out for the same trap at the same time.
• Fixed an issue that allowed multiple party members to learn how to summon Shovel. Just the one Basket is enough, thanks.
• Made NPCs' overhead dialogues for certain crimes more fitting for the crime.
• NPCs will now react as though a crime was committed when they succeed on Saving Throws against hostile spells.
• Fade-ins and -outs now only occur after a crime combat when there is someone around to take you to prison.
• If you fail to lockpick a booby-trapped item, the trap will now trigger. If you succeed, the trap will not trigger and the trap will remain armed.
• Dismissing the leader of a party follower will now reassign that follower to an active avatar.
• You can now swap out party members by speaking to the companion you want to replace even if the one you want to replace them with is Wild-Shaped. What your companion will think of you replacing them with a sheep is another story.
• Lathander's Light will no longer be able to save companions that the Dark Urge was driven to kill.
• Summons will now disappear alongside their owners when you dismiss the latter to camp.
• Fixed multiple spots where Perception checks were being made through solid objects.
• The 'All Knowledge Is Worth Having' background goal will now only trigger after you read the last page of the Necromancy of Thay (instead of when you succeed the initial ability checks).
• Fungal Infestation can now be used without a corpse in areas with Rejuvenating Miasma.
• All myrmidons except Earth Myrmidons are now ethereal and cannot be thrown.
• Fixed some identical, stackable items not stacking.
• Fixed surfaces not being created if you press F5 in the same frame that they're created.
• Fixed a bug in multiplayer where using Withers to resurrect an avatar belonging to Player 2 could lead to the avatar being unable to rest or fast travel if, before the resurrection, the avatar was in a prison cell after being arrested.
• The illithid power Mind Sanctuary now consumes resources when consuming potions. Additionally, potions can be used within the Mind Sanctuary nexus if there is only one Action available.
• Fixed the Gibus of the Worshipful Servant not generating Momentum at the start of combat.
• Fixed a bug causing Dark Urge characters to get renamed after using the Magic Mirror.
• Elminster should no longer react to crimes that don't affect him. (We distracted him with some Stilton.)
• Fixed the position of pings for corpses.
• Fixed loading a savegame made during trade possibly not restoring the trade correctly and crashing.
• Fixed splitting not working in trade when moving items from your companions' inventories.
• Fixed the context menu not showing trade actions on items that are in a companion's inventory.
• Fixed cinematics looking broken on split screen if Player 2 disconnects from local co-op via the menu.
• Fixed ribcages stacking onto each other, causing items stored in them to be lost.
• Fixed an issue on multiplayer where Gale would briefly appear to be in his undies for the client if the host has the Donate UI open and Gale is wearing magical robes that he can consume.
• When you unlock a trapped item using its key, the trap will now be disarmed.
• Fixed a bug that would let you waltz your way through destructible walls without actually destroying them. (You could attempt to attack the wall and your character would pathfind right through it in search of a comfortable spot from which to take a swing.)
• Bald characters with the Wet condition will no longer have darker scalps.
• You can no longer loot the underwear of non-recruited companions when you knock them out.
• Fixed a username mixup on multiplayer where if a player was hosting a game via GOG and another player joined as a client via Steam, the latter's Larian Account username would appear where the host's username should.
• Fixed a split screen issue where Invisible characters would sometimes not render at all for a second player joining the game. We need them to be invisible, but not that invisible.
• Some Legendary Actions and other Reactions can now trigger from further away.
• Fixed a bug on controller where pressing the right stick to turn tooltips off would cause the A button ('More Details') to become unresponsive.
• Fixed a multiplayer bug causing characters to get stuck in dialogue if you swapped characters while in dialogue during an active roll.
• Fixed a bug where acquiring the Devil's Sight passive while standing in a cloud of Darkness didn't work until you moved out of the cloud.
• Fixed a small delay when playing spell animations.

Act I

• Fixed the owlbear cub sometimes disappearing from camp when killing goblins in the Goblin Camp.
• When playing as the Dark Urge, if you invite her, Alfira will now actually join your party as a controllable character if there's room for her in your party setup. Temporarily, of course.
• Alfira no longer has a tadpole, can now be levelled up, and will no longer be able to use the Magic Mirror.
• Attacking the Zhent inside the Zhentarim Hideout will now more consistently drag your entire party into the fight.
• Shoving someone down the pit to the Underdark in the Whispering Depths will award XP more often.
• Soldiers will now be Inspired if you defeat the goblins attacking the Emerald Grove if there are no losses on the tieflings' side.
• Fixed the crucible at the Adamantine Forge becoming uninteractable after Grym dies.
• The 'Acolytes of the Demonweb Pits' background goal will now trigger if the spiders become Lolth's followers by succeeding any dialogue ability check, not just the Persuasion check.
• Throwing a fish at Tuffet, the sleepy bear at the Emerald Grove, will now properly remove it from your inventory.
• Fixed a bug where the Emerald Grove gate wouldn't open after the goblin raid.
• Fixed a split screen issue related to the Unstable Statue in the Shattered Sanctum causing player characters to disappear.

Act II

• The Dark Urge should now be Inspired by killing Nightsong.
• Fixed a bug where your party members would very quickly change out of their armour and into their cosy camp clothes when you talked to them after having left the Astral Plane. We don't really blame them for being so desperate to hit the hay.
• Minthara now properly leaves the party when you tell her to go to Baldur's Gate alone.

Act III

• Fixed a bug causing Omeluum to be unresponsive in the Iron Throne.
• Fixed the Wyrmway door not opening for characters behind it.
• Fixed a fading issue causing some background NPCs in the Lower City to have duplicates.
• Fixed an issue where resurrecting a mind-controlled Nightsong would cause enemies to become allied to you.
• During the final battle, backup companions being called upon with ally abilities will now appear with some clothes on for the occasion.
• Gale no longer has access to Netherese Orb Blast in the Netherbrain's Psyche.
• Hanged bodies in the Lower City (including Florrick) are less likely to fall down when you meddle with them. Only movement, a change in their type of death (like getting pulverised), or additional physical harm can take them off the gallows.
• Fixed the camera not following you when you get teleported to the Sorcerous Sundries entrance after interacting with the wrong portal.
• The smugglers' tunnels underneath the Open Hand Temple are now accessible from the cave-in entrance if you already came through them and cleared the cave-in from the inside.
• You can no longer use the Active Search feature to bypass the booby-trapped display case in Ramazith's Tower and pick up the key inside it. Smarty-pantses.
• A rat at Basilisk Gate will now come back after a Long Rest if you attacked it.
• Improved Lumbar support: Lumbar will now stand still after you paid him to hit him.
• Gortash's grenades should explode after being picked up now.
• Fixed a bug where interacting with the crate full of explosive toys in Rivington could cause you to get stuck in an endless loop of crime dialogues (being interrogated and sent to prison) and/or in combat with temporarily hostile NPCs.
• Crimson Mischief and Murderous Cut's Prey upon the Weak passive now works properly against enemies with 50% HP or below.
• Fixed several issues with the portrait that Oskar gives you. Principally, the image on the portrait will now be that of the active character claiming the reward, regardless of their position on the Party Line.
• Fixed a bug where dropping or selling certain items looted from the Lower City graveyard could cause NPCs to react as though you'd committed the crime of moving a corpse.
• Fixed the interaction between the Spell Savant Amulet with the Smite spells, Divine Smite, and Create Sorcery Points that caused the spell to always add one Sorcery Point when reequipping the amulet.
• Fixed Protection from Evil and Good not protecting from Incubus Charm.
• If you decide to turn Sorcerous Sundries into a battlefield, clients will now properly run away from the shop forever if there are no guards left to defend it.
• Fixed projection clerks in Sorcerous Sundries not disappearing in some rare cases if all combatants were killed, causing looping warning dialogues.
• Fixed Cordrane the Recent being able to raise a zombie in Sorcerous Sundries when he shouldn't be able to, like when he's dead or Silenced.

FLOW AND SCRIPTING

Across Acts

• Improved the soundscape of crowded areas by reducing the number of background characters talking at one time.
• Fixed a bug where the entire party would stop following you, even if everyone was grouped in the Party Line.
• If you're prevented from going to camp, you'll no longer potentially be teleported outside of the current region when trying to flee combat.
• Interrupting Withers after asking him to resurrect someone by immediately talking to him again when the dialogue ends will now still resurrect the target instead of cancelling the request.
• Fixed a bug where player characters would fall into a chasm and become invisible.
• Fixed a bug where killing someone while they were walking to camp would stop camp night scenes from triggering.
• Fixed some edge-cases in which players could end up soft-locked in a camp night scene because a companion triggered the wrong dialogue. Now the game will select the right scenes for that night after the others finish.
• Attacking your companions as the Dark Urge after murdering one of them will now correctly lead to combat.
• Fixed the background goal 'Blueblood Solidarity' not completing after you talk to Wyll about him being the son of Duke Ravengard.
• Characters who lost the Necromancy of Thay after unlocking its secrets will see this book returned to their inventories.
• Minthara will no longer repeat herself when you try to recruit her with a full party.
• Fixed Florrick not joining combat in Acts I and II.
• Fixed your character speaking instead of Shadowheart when you sit beside her at camp in multiplayer.
• Shadowheart is now more engaged with the flora and fauna at camp.
• Fixed hirelings sometimes not having dialogue options.
• Lae'zel will no longer tell you not to give the egg to Lady Esther if the latter is already dead.
• Made characters' overhead dialogues for crimes triggered by the Banishment spell more contextually appropriate.
• Minthara now ceases to be a True Soul of the Absolute when she is recruited.
• Origin characters will no longer comment aggressively about Minthara's death.
• Fixed Lae'zel's main dialogue sometimes not ending correctly when you select the 'Leave.' option.
• Fixed an issue where the party with the goblins at camp in Act I could trigger even after Minthara had moved on to Moonrise Towers in Act II.
• A camp night scene with Shadowheart will no longer trigger if she's not in the party and, uh, also dead.
• Fixed Gale's 'splosion sometimes not showing correctly, meaning you'd get a Game Over without knowing why.
• Made further fixes to Us being in the party when it shouldn't be.
• Fixed your player character introducing themselves with the wrong name when talking to Mizora.
• Fixed certain camp night scenes not playing when you go to bed while Polymorphed (e.g. in Gaseous Form).

Tutorial and Act I

• Fixed Avatar Lae'zel behaving like a companion at the end of the tutorial and telling you (or telling herself) to hurry.
• Fixed a bug preventing you from throwing or dropping the corpses of devils taken from the nautiloid.
• Lae'zel will no longer keep buffs like Bardic Inspiration and Longstrider after the tutorial.
• The hag will no longer react to spells cast while she's negotiating for her life with the Legendary Action she usually uses in response to spells in that combat.
• Kagha will now be imbibing if she's at the tiefling party.
• Mol will no longer repeatedly address you in the same way when you trespass in the tieflings' hideout. All the thieving little tieflings will now also leave the hideout when you anger them.
• You'll longer get stuck in an infinite trespassing loop with Mol after she asks you to leave calmly.
• You're now able to leave the tiefling hideout after Mol asks you why you're still around and Mol will run off when she warns you that you asked for whatever comes next.
• Fixed a bug preventing you from interacting with Alfira after you agreed to let her stay in your party.
• Shadowheart should now address you before running off if she dies before you go to the Emerald Grove and is then revived.
• Fixed a bug where Astarion wouldn't comment on being killed by the lance at Rosymorn Monastery after being resurrected if the resurrection happened outside of camp.
• Fixed a bug where picking up an Exsanguinated Boar and then looting it from within your inventory would soft-block the game. Only looting Exsanguinated Boars that aren't already in your inventory will trigger an investigation dialogue.
• Fixed an issue preventing you from talking to Nere before completing the quest to save him if his dialogue got interrupted after you sided with him against the duergar.
• Minthara will no longer ask you to eliminate non-existent tieflings in the Emerald Grove.
• Fixed a bug preventing you from interacting with Alfira after you invite her to join you at camp as the Dark Urge.
• Fixed Oskar Fevras acting like you'd never met if you talked to him after all his captors were killed after a previous dialogue with him had been interrupted while he was thanking you for purchasing his freedom, and if you talked to him after a previous dialogue with him had been interrupted by another player committing a crime.
• Zarys should now set off the explosives in the Zhentarim Hideout if you don't successfully negotiate with her.
• Fixed Abdirak's self-flagellation idle animation.
• Fixed visual issues with trying to save Alfira from being murdered if she's already at camp.
• Halsin's dead body will no longer join your camp in Act I after the camp celebration.
• Fixed a non-sequitur in Gribbo's dialogue at the Goblin Camp.
• Fixed a visual artefact on the fiery bridge at Grymforge. Also fixed creatures and objects immune to fire catching fire there.
• In the dialogue with the Ornate Mirror in the Apothecary's Cellar, fixed a re-rolling History check (regardless of success or failure) and fixed one of Avatar Lae'zel's lines never appearing.
• Ward Magmar and Ward Pistle, the duergar at Grymforge, will now make a snide remark if you're playing a small race.
• The gith in Créche Y'llek no longer attack you for simply getting too close to the door in the Inquisitor's Chamber. Now you actually have to leave for them to get angry.
• Shadowheart and Lae'zel will now have new equipment if it was taken during the nautiloid escape and they have travelled sufficiently far to realistically acquire it before getting recruited.
• The UI should no longer spoil the effects of Auntie Ethel's ingredients.
• Fixed a bug where agreeing to spend a night with Astarion in a conversation with him during the camp celebration and then deciding to sleep alone instead could still result in a romance scene with him.
• Fixed some cases where Grym wouldn't appear because the cinematic didn't work.
• Benryn will no longer follow you to camp or leave with you through a waypoint while you're in the process of escorting him out of the burning building at Waukeen's Rest.
• You'll now acknowledge that you know who Minthara is when talking to Sazza if you've spoken to Minthara before.
• Made sure your Wild Shape is dropped during the scene with Kagha, her snake, and Arabella.
• Zevlor's victory dialogue after defeating the goblins at the raid will no longer trigger if you're Invisible.
• Fixed Scratch getting stuck in older savegames if you celebrated at camp with the goblins.
• Fixed Korrilla being killable in the goblin camp prison after she kills Priestess Gut. This was causing her to spawn as a corpse later on in Act III.

Act II

• If Isobel's room is Silenced while she's giving you your first explanation of the state of affairs in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, which prevented Marcus from attacking her, he will no longer return to finish the job while you're in the Shadowfell. The dialogue will also no longer suggest that he's about to appear.
• Karlach will now tell you her backstory if you reach the point of no return in the Shadow-Cursed Lands even if you didn't confront the paladins of Tyr.
• Fixed a bug where the imprisoned tieflings in Moonrise Towers would be saved and brought to Moonrise if you left the area while they were being rescued.
• Fixed a bug where Shadowheart did not receive the Spear of the Night when talking to Nightsong alone as a companion.
• Dark Urge characters will no longer get stuck ruminating on their past in front of Ketheric if they're disguised.
• Knocked Out Minthara will now always flee to Moonrise Towers.
• The Ketheric transformation cinematic in the Colony will now play even if no available player characters are in combat with him.
• Fixed a potential Initiative spam involving the skeletal involucres when player characters are invisible.
• Ketheric will no longer be fooled by distractions in the Colony.
• Fixed an issue that was causing Shadowheart to keep asking to retrieve the Spear of the Night at the entrance to the Shadowfell even when the Spear of the Night had already been acquired.
• The duergar at the lift in Grymforge will no longer warn you about the shadow curse and needing a Moonlantern if you've already used the lift to go from the Shadow-Cursed Lands back down to Grymforge.
• The goblins will now leave the Goblin Camp once Minthara has arrived at Moonrise Towers.
• Wulbren will now free the tieflings even if you're far away.
• Fixed Shadowheart getting a Narrator line not appropriate to her background when leaving the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
• If you fail to save the prisoners from Moonrise Towers and then gain audience with the Absolute, the prisoners will no longer be zombified and then killed and thrown into the Oubliette. They should now just be present in the Colony's Necrotic Laboratory.
• Fixed a secret button in the Tollhouse that was visible but uninteractable if you failed its Perception check. It no longer has a Perception check.
• Fixed the flow for Zevlor after saving him in the Colony. Combat interruptions will no longer prevent him from wanting to know about the other tieflings.
• Fixed an issue that forced you into picking a fight with Balthazar when you returned his mother dearest to him.
• Fixed an issue where attacking Jaheira at the entrance to Last Light would repeatedly trigger the same dialogue.
• Mizora will now call out in frustration while she's in her pod in the Mind Flayer Colony if she hasn't been spoken to yet.
• When the party is full, sending Jaheira to camp after the victory at Moonrise Towers will now actually send her to camp.
• Fixed Jaheira repeating some lines after the victory at Moonrise Towers.
• Improved the transition between Isobel's death and the start of the following cinematic at Last Light.
• Some repeating overhead dialogues in the Colony will no longer appear in the combat log to reduce log and audio spam.
• The Warden of Moonrise Towers now confiscates Minthara's Xyanyde mace and keeps it as evidence.
• Fixed the ghouls at Moonrise Towers bumping into a tower and sliding off instead of flying into it before they disappeared.
• Nightsong can no longer be Immune to being Soul Caged when she gets sent down into the Mind Flayer Colony.
• Fixed a bug where leaving the Shadowfell could resurrect an unrecruited Shadowheart and have her turn up at your camp anyway. She just liked the cut of your jib.
• Fixed a bug sometimes preventing you from resting or fast travelling after escaping from the Last Light prison.
• Minthara no longer lingers as a follower if she dies while trying to escape Moonrise Towers with you.
• Companions will once more comment on witnessing the Apostle of Myrkul.
• Fixed a bug related to breaking Wulbren et al. out of Moonrise Towers, where jumping back into the Oubliette would cause the prisoners to appear dead even if you saved them. Also fixed the journal indicating that Wulbren was both saved and killed.
• Ensured the avatar is prioritised for cinematics in relation to Ketheric's final death.
• Patched up savegames after Patch 6 where Ketheric's Netherstone disappeared after being stored in a ribcage.

Act III and Epilogue

• If you knock out Raphael with your final blow during his boss fight at the House of Hope, he will no longer stand back up again during the cinematic that follows, which would block quest progression.
• Fixed an issue preventing you from transforming with the Supreme Tadpole if you refused it the first time.
• Fixed some issues with the overhead dialogues between Scribe Goosequill, Baz Hopbank, and Fist Gummidge.
• Karlach's death scene no longer ends abruptly when a non-gith player chooses to leave with Lae'zel.
• Fixed a bug where, if you promised Cazador to bring Astarion to him and Astarion was in your party, you could go to Astarion at camp and tell him to replace himself in your party.
• Fixed some rare broken scripted character behaviours near the end of the game.
• Zanner Toobin will now trigger the self-destruct sequence correctly instead of suddenly forgetting he was supposed to be in a panic because of the Steel Watcher Titan.
• Fixed some repeated dialogue options when discussing Sorcerous Sundries with Gale.
• Elminster will no longer tell Gale to speak to Mystra in the Stormshore Tabernacle if you have already done so.
• Fixed an issue that caused Viconia to play the wrong dialogue when defeated.
• Told Devella to be more patient and wait until the end of the dialogue before she moves on to Basilisk Gate after being saved from Dolor.
• You can no longer ask Silfy in Wyrm's Crossing about Mol's location after already having visited Mol.
• When rescuing Minsc at the end of Jaheira's questline, the game will now default to selecting the character of whichever player is in control of Jaheira for the conversation, rather than whoever is nearest. This way, Jaheira will have a much higher chance of not only being included, but also interacting with the correct player.
• Fixed some duplicated books appearing in NPCs' inventories in the Lower City.
• Fixed an infinitely looping dialogue in Sorcerous Sundries.
• The entire basement of the Baldur's Mouth is now correctly considered a dangerous area.
• Jogged Nine-Fingers' foggy memory - she will now recognise you when you bring Jaheira to her after she asked you to.
• Removed a second letter from Tara's nest.
• Avatar Astarion will now correctly roll a passive Perception check to recognise the scar on Sebastian's face.
• Shadowheart no longer sometimes still thinks that Viconia is alive after having killed her. Poor thing.
• Sweet Stone Features, the condition granted by the Boney and Stoney statue, is now applied to the owner even if they are not part of the party and are waiting at camp.
• The Sweet Stone Features condition no longer gets cleared by the Bless condition. These conditions still do not stack.
• Karlach now will correctly react to Wyll becoming the Blade of Frontiers.
• Knocking out Minsc a second time after failing to save him will no longer kill him.
• Wulbren will no longer comment on Toobin's daughter being dead if Toobin is not present.
• Civilians talking to Carrion's zombies will now leave if said zombies either die or leave to Philgrave's Mansion.
• You can now return Mol's eyepatch to her when you find her in the Guildhall.
• Gave Sticky Dondo more lines to yell to sell his wares in the Guildhall.
• When Minsc meets Nine-Fingers after the Zhent coup, the skill checks will now affect Minsc instead of Nine-Fingers to match the narrative.
• Fixed player characters and the Narrator talking over each other when interacting with Minsc's relics in his hidden chamber.
• You can no longer open the barricaded doors at the Crimson Draughts apothecary from the inside. We forgot barricades are supposed to work both ways.
• Wulbren and Barcus will no longer clip into each other after the Steel Watch Foundry is destroyed.
• Failing to disarm the pedestal trap in the Archive in the House of Hope should now trigger the alarm.
• Yoinked Sceleritas Fel's hat back from Helsik's desk.
• If you choose to sacrifice Jaheira and Minsc to the Murder Tribunal, they will now die if they are defeated non-lethally.
• If you attack Sarevok on his way to the initiation ritual, the Echoes will no longer join him in combat if the door is still locked.
• Valeria's dialogue will play properly again if you kill Sarevok after beginning the initiation ritual.
• The members of the Murder Tribunal will now always become permanently hostile if you offend them.
• The Murder Tribunal will stop being a danger zone if you defeat everyone there.
• Jaheira will no longer discuss having met and talked to Gortash in Wyrm's Rock even if you killed him before talking to him.
• Mizora will now acknowledge that you've spoken to Gortash in older savegames.
• Made small improvements and tweaks to Karlach's main dialogue and her epilogue dialogue.
• Fixed the same dialogue option sometimes appearing twice when talking to Halsin about your adventures in Sharess' Caress.
• You should no longer potentially see the great empty void of Game Developer Land after starting the epilogue.
• Added more lines for Jaheira and Minsc to exclaim during the battle with the Stone Lord.
• Fixed a bug where it was possible to get stuck in a dialogue with the Emperor about killing Gortash if you clicked on Gortash's corpse with Karlach (which starts a dialogue, after which she leaves the party and goes to camp) while, with another character, you also clicked on Gortash's body and sent his gauntlet to Karlach via the context menu right before her dialogue ended and she left the party. Yep. You can read it again if you want.
• Fixed a rare issue preventing Ravengard from properly joining combat in the Iron Throne escape sequence.
• Fixed a flow issue at the end of the game where players with romantic partners would get a cinematic reserved for solo players.
• Devella will no longer disappear from Figaro's after killing Dolor under very specific conditions.
• On the Dark Urge's resist-Bhaal path, fixed a rare edgecase where Orin's Netherstone dagger did not appear on her. It should now appear in Orin's gore pile or near the temple altar.
• You can no longer summon Scratch in the epilogue using Find Familiar. This was preventing you from interacting with him.
• In the epilogue, Minsc should now account for the edgecase of Happy not being there.
• Fixed Scratch's spawn point in the Elfsong Tavern camp.
• If you fail a pickpocket attempt at High Hall, your allies will no longer become hostile towards you. We reminded them that the fate of the world lies in the balance and that you play a pretty big part in it, thief or not.
• Fixed Gortash's title potentially reverting back to 'Archduke Nominee' when reloading a savegame after the ceremony.
• Gale will now greet you more appropriately in the epilogue if you left Faerûn with Lae'zel and ended your relationship with him and he went back to Waterdeep.
• Improved the idle behaviours of Chef Marjoram and Sous-Chef Falura at Jannath's Estate.
• Wyll will no longer talk about hunting down Mizora when she's, like, right there.
• Added some more dialogue reactivity about the Shadow Druids when talking to Halsin about them in Act III.

Journal

• Fixed a bug preventing you from finishing the Aid the Underduke quest if you brought Minsc back to Nine-Fingers.
• Fixed the 'The Blade of Frontiers' quest not opening when you recruit him by replacing another companion.
• The 'Investigate the Beach' quest now closes after you complete 'Find Your Belongings'.
• Fixed the 'Free The Artist' quest not closing if Oskar was left in the Zhentarim Hideout.
• The journal update in the 'Unlock the Ancient Tome' quest that triggers after having read the Tharchiate Codex will now also trigger if Mystic Carrion or Tolna have revealed it to be important.
• You'll no longer get the journal update to look for the Tharchiate Codex once you enter the vault if you don't know it's relevant.
• Fixed an issue that caused the 'Find the Nightsong' quest to update in the wrong location.
• The 'Find the Nightsong' quest will now be listed in the journal under the correct region for the current step.
• The 'Embrace Your Potential' quest will now close if you choose to squelch the Astral-Touched Tadpole beneath your toes like a sentient little grape.
• The 'Daughter of Darkness' quest will now close properly when you surrender Shadowheart to Viconia.
• Sazza's quest now completes properly if you kill Minthara and her entourage.
• Fixed a bug where the 'Escape the Nautiloid' quest never closed on multiplayer if someone had already started a dialogue while everyone else was still waking up.
• Made it easier to open the 'Rescue the Grand Duke' quest.
• Fixed the 'Investigate Cazador's Palace' quest not closing in certain cases if you allowed Cazador to ascend and then defeated him. Defeating Ascended Cazador and dealing with the Gur people now closes the quest.
• Fixed a bug preventing the 'Steal the Sacred Idol' quest from closing when you leave Act I.
• Made it possible to finish Helsik's quest if you manage to steal the gauntlets from the House of Hope and avoid Raphael's wrath.
• The 'Free Lae'zel' quest will correctly update if Lae'zel is sent directly to camp during her recruitment scene in the cage. The quest will also correctly update if you open the cage after the tieflings are already defeated.
• Fixed a bug where the 'Get Help from Auntie Ethel' quest wouldn't close after you started a fight with her.
• Fixed the 'Rescue the Druid Halsin' quest sometimes not closing after he gives his briefing about Moonrise Towers.
• The 'Help the Hag Survivors' quest will now close properly if the hag is defeated.
• Fixed a journal update for the 'Find the Missing Boots' quest not triggering if you entered the Underdark, discussed the Underdark with your companions, and then left without reaching the Decrepit Village.
• Killing Cazador and then Ulma without Astarion in your party will now correctly close the 'Investigate Cazador's Palace' quest.
• Jaheira's journal could at times say she had something to talk to you about, but then she wouldn't discuss it. She's a bit less tight-lipped now, so you know what to do in the city.

PERFORMANCE AND OPTIONS

• Video Options:

  • DLAA: Fixed an issue where enabling DLAA when FSR 2.0's 'Ultra Performance' was enabled would cause the output image to jitter and have incorrect colours.
  • DLAA: Fixed an issue where enabling DLAA when the sharpness slider was set to a high value (>0.5) would cause the output image to be over-sharpened. Now, when DLAA is enabled, the sharpness slider and value are set to a safe default value that does not cause an over-sharpened image.
  • DLSS & DLAA: Slightly improved performance when changing any DLSS- or DLAA-related settings.

• Fixed the item-stacking system taking a long time to work if it needs to split up massive stacks that exceed the game's max stack amount.
• You'll now be logged in automatically if you successfully create a Larian account in-game.
• Fixed anti-aliasing affecting the visual quality of fur.
• Improved performance when moving many inventory items at the same time.
• Fixed the game sometimes freezing right before combat begins.
• Fixed helmet visibility being reset on save and load.
• Fixed DLSS paired with Bloom causing some strong sparkly flashes in the Colony.
• Added a timeout to the confirmation pop-up on controller when changing a video option.
• Fixed the game freezing briefly when calling forth your allies during the combat at High Hall.
• Fixed the 'Slow HDD Mode' setting not being saved to disk and resetting to default values when booting the game.
• Summoning critters will no longer cause the game to freeze briefly.
• Improved render bounds in certain areas to improve performance on GPU-bound systems.
• Improved protection against failed savegame overwrites on PS5.
• Improved server performance by having item containers get evaluated once when loading into a region instead of every frame.

UI

• Added the ability to toggle the visibility of tutorials in the Journal that you haven't encountered in the game yet.
• Renamed the 'Show Cinematic Nudity' option to 'Show Sexual and Violent Cinematics' and updated its description to more accurately communicate what it does.
• Fixed items sometimes not being shown in the Reward UI.
• Fixed the map and minimap Atop the Netherbrain showing some of the buildings beneath it.
• The Advantage and Disadvantage tutorial pop-ups will now also trigger outside of dialogues.
• Fixed the Party Line sometimes disappearing when clicking the 'Toggle Group Mode' button multiple times.
• Improved Camp Supply selection at camp so you'll always know what you're selecting and what will be consumed.
• Fixed a bug where the Reward UI let you select all optional rewards instead of the determined maximum amount.
• Fixed the Custom Mode banner (that shows up on the left with the Custom Mode artwork, name, and description on it) not showing up if you start a game in Custom Mode with the Honour Ruleset.
• Custom Mode savegames using the Honour Mode ruleset will now be named correctly (instead of suggesting they're pure Honour savegames).
• The Book Text Size option now also affects the font size in other readables like notes and scrolls.
• Fixed icons on the hotbar sometimes not greying out when they should.
• Auntie Ethel is now better at concealing her Polymorphed condition in Act III.
• Added NPCs' Saving Throw proficiencies to their Examine UI.
• Fixed the 'Equipped by' text on tooltips not always being the right colour (where white is the currently controlled character, blue is a character in your party, and purple is a character controlled by another player).
• Added a tutorial pop-up for rolling with disadvantage.
• Updated the icons in the Character Sheet for instrument visibility to more accurately reflect their function.
• Fixed the alchemy hotkey in the 'New Recipe' notification opening the character panel on the wrong tab.
• Text in the Spellbook about being able to change spells on Level Up now wraps to avoid it getting cut off, particularly in localised versions of the game.
• Fixed the encumbrance warning not showing on item tooltips when trying to equip items from other party members' inventories while already exceeding the carry limit.
• Fixed an issue where the save list would disappear when selecting another save file.
• Fixed the Game Over pop-up showing as an Honour Mode death while in a Custom Mode game using the Honour Mode ruleset.
• Tweaked the order of some spell variants on the hotbar. For example, variants based on different abilities are now in the typical D&D ability order.
• Fixed the icon not showing properly for some bonuses in the Active Roll UI.
• A tutorial pop-up for Non-Lethal Attacks will now trigger when you fight possessed Oskar.
• Improved the framing of some creatures in the Examine panel.
• Offset the Insert UI slightly so it's not immediately obscured by the Inventory when you open it.
• Fixed another trade exploit where items could be taken from traders without paying when moving them into a container by dragging them onto the icon of the container. That's enough now.
• On keyboard and mouse, the purple dot on the hotbar that indicates a condition on your weapon is now also visible on the Character Sheet.
• The Objective UI widget telling you to reach the Netherbrain will now be cleared if you reach the stem while in stealth mode. Quietly singing the Mission Impossible theme tune while you do so remains optional.
• Updated the text size for books and single-page documents. (Don't forget you can adjust the text size in the options!)
• Added speaker portraits to the dialogue history in the Journal for the keyboard and mouse UI. (The controller UI already has this.)
• Fixed the border animation for pop-up notifications (like the 'Used Thieves' Tools' notification) being slightly offset from the border behind it.
• Fixed some terms not being properly displayed in some languages when browsing dialogue history in the Journal.
• The number that indicates how many camp supplies you have now updates correctly.
• Fixed the Common and Reactions tabs of the Character Sheet missing for recently recruited companions.
• Made sure the quest objectives that appear during gameplay for certain quests are updated properly on some older saves.
• Adjusted the spacing in the Reactions UI to make resource costs a little clearer.
• The equipment pop-up that opens when you select an equipment slot will now show the correct off-hand weapons when the character in question has the Dual Wielder passive.
• Fixed the listed location on savegames made at a certain point in High Hall suggesting you're still atop the Netherbrain.
• Fixed the Larian splash screen sometimes not appearing when launching the game.
• The 'Shared Stash' message now specifies whether a character is taking an item from the Traveller's Chest or from another party member.
• Fixed a technical name showing up in the combat log for the lava while in combat with the magma mephits in Grymforge.
• Someone pulled the ol' switcheroo on the Eldritch Knight and Battle Master subclass icons. We've switchereed them back.
• Revamped the location label on the minimap to make it easier to know where you are.
• Updated the font in the game launcher.
• Fixed a bug where examining a character and then examining an item would merge both character and item into a monstrous model in a single Examine window. The character would also be T-posing and naked.
• Re-enabled the context menu for the pickpocket panel on keyboard and mouse.
• Fixed the text indicating your likelihood of Shoving a character rapidly changing values when you have Bardic Inspiration.
• The Load Game screen will now correctly fill to the edge of ultra-wide screens.

Controller

• You can now switch between grid and list view for the spellbook.
• Fixed the confirmation pop-up not appearing when changing a video option.
• Fixed a bug where quickly skipping through the dialogue that begins when you interact with the Flumph Mating Rituals book would sometimes cause a blank edition of the Baldur's Mouth Gazette to open.
• When using the Camp Supply/Insert/Combine UIs, the selector no longer falls outside the selection bounds.
• Fixed the deity options not showing up when multiclassing Minthara into a cleric.
• Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause the Party Line to disappear when you open the Transcribe Scroll to Spellbook UI. Also moved the position of your party's gold amount so it isn't shown twice.
• Pressing both controller triggers at the same time should now open the Shortcut Radial Menu and hide the Party Line.
• The 'More Details' button on the Examine panel will now work even if tooltips are disabled.
• Fixed the 'Place in World' function not always working properly.
• Buttons and the controller Party Line now only show during dialogue on hover or when there are dialogue options available.
• Fixed a bug where receiving a journal update that adds a quest marker to the map and then joining as Player 2 on split screen wouldn't show the quest marker for Player 2 until the next save or load.
• Added some quality-of-life improvements to the Active Search UI and HUD, like an hourglass icon to indicate when an item is awaiting travel.
• Added icons to the Active Search UI to help easily detect containers and check what the target of the current action is.
• Fixed the Action radial menus displaying a spell cost for spells gained through feats.
• Fixed Action radial menus not auto-closing when using a throwable item.
• Fixed the portraits of corpses sometimes being misaligned.
• Added characters' titles beneath their names and above their health bar.
• You can now toggle comparison tooltips (the ones that compare the item you're viewing against the one that's currently equipped). The tooltips also have a margin so they don't conceal the button prompts at the bottom of the screen.
• Visually updated the cursor when selecting a target.
• Updated the selector so it doesn't darken the content within the selector and the edge glows more obviously.
• Made several improvements related to condition indicators on controller:

  • Fixed the position of the overflow indicator (the number that shows how many more conditions a character has set on them if there are too many to visualise) for Player 2 on split screen.
  • Repositioned the Dual-Wield indicator on split screen.
  • Tweaked the number of conditions that are shown.
  • Set Player 2's race and class label to align right horizontally.

• Fixed panels not auto-closing when using a grenade or a throwable item.
• Fixed panels not showing an error when trying to throw a throwable item without enough Strength.
• Fixed the Party Line button prompts concealing the camp companions.
• Fixed the damage roll text sometimes getting cut off on tooltips.
• The Active Search UI will now show you when corpses are empty.
• Added an arrow icon beside the currently selected dialogue option, like in the keyboard and mouse UI.
• Fixed the Camp Supplies scrollbar overlapping the container of the UI behind it.
• Fixed Player B's Party Line UI closing when Player A closes theirs.
• Fixed the Dialogue UI sometimes disappearing for the listener when the dialogue owner selected a different character.

Multiplayer and Split-Screen

• Removed the 'Friends' filter from the multiplayer lobby when playing via GOG because this filter isn't supported.
• Removed an unnecessary mute button from the lobby on the PS5.
• Fixed the position of the virtual keyboard on split screen on the PS5.
• Fixed some issues with the number of valid and maximum player slots in the multiplayer lobby after reloading the UI.
• In multiplayer, other players can now also see the reward that a character received.
• Prevented the 'Reset Tutorials' pop-up from showing up while you're still in the multiplayer lobby.
• The Trade UI will no longer mute cinematics on split screen.
• Fixed the panning for items getting moved around in the Trade UI on split screen.
• Fixed an issue on multiplayer where all map markers were getting updated (and therefore flashing on the map and minimap) when more than 1 client was connected.

Tooltips

• Fixed the tooltip for Detect Thoughts in dialogues showing a Wisdom roll instead of an Intelligence roll.
• Fixed some visible placeholder text for Kar'niss' Spindleweb Sanctuary spell.
• Fixed some spell tooltips incorrectly indicating that they trigger a Saving Throw.
• The tooltip for the Cursed Imp's Ray of Sickness spell will now indicate the spell level and school.
• Added Evasion modifiers to the tooltips in the combat log for monks.
• Improved the clarity of the calculation breakdown tooltip for reflected damage in the combat log.

Character Creation and Level Up

• Fixed the 'Unconfirmed character changes were not saved' warning sometimes appearing after Character Creation.
• Fixed the Character Creation UI sometimes remaining visible when you play Origin character introductions.

LEVEL DESIGN

• If a companion leaves the camp and their tent disappears, the area will now be walkable again.
• Removed the turrets from the ground floor of Wyrm's Crossing since they weren't supposed to be there in the first place and never worked.
• Tweaked the position of the Neural Apparatus to improve navigation with controller near the elevator in the Mind Flayer Colony.
• Fixed a spot in the Emerald Grove beside Cal, Lia, and Rolan where moving the camera would occlude the world badly.
• Fixed the door to Isobel's room in Moonrise Towers appearing black.
• Fixed an unreachable fruit porridge in Wyrm's Rock. Makes you wonder how it got there in the first place.
• Moved an unreachable book ('On the Greater Healing Potion') at Last Light.
• Tweaked the level in the Act I chapel refectory to fix a balustrade you couldn't shoot through.
• Fixed dismissed hirelings at the Shadow-Cursed Lands camp facing away from Withers.
• Map markers over hidden caches in the Sewers are now area markers to hint at all the mounds.
• Moved Player 3's Traveller's Chest out of Wyll's tent in the owlbear cave camp in Act I.
• Improved the position of and interaction with the Strangledeath Manifesto.
• Fixed a table you could walk through in Waukeen's Rest.
• Fixed a group of random refugees spawning on one of the boats in the Lower City Harbour.
• Fixed a bug where teleporting using the 'A Magical Journey' painting and then clicking on the ladder would give you a 'Can't get there' error.
• Fixed the camera getting stuck in the ceiling in the Festering Cove.
• Made some minor level design and art improvements in the city.

ART

• If Minthara's camp trousers get blood on them, the spatters will now be spread across them more tastefully rather than concentrated between the legs.
• Equipped the missing pants on the Scale Mail outfit for male dragonborn characters.
• Added an icon for Hope's new passive, Last Hope.
• Fixed an issue with heterochromia on tieflings where setting the left eye to an elven or demonic colour with the right eye set to a regular colour would cause the left eye to glow incorrectly.
• Kerz, the half-orc hireling, was wearing clothes that didn't fit properly. We found a tailor and everything's looking spiffy now.
• Fixed the standard male gnome underwear being visible through several types of armour.
• Fixed druid armour clipping on male dragonborn characters.
• Tweaked the Sovereign's Key so it's easier to click on and pick up.
• Updated the portraits for the NPCs that get zombified in the Colony.
• Updated Kali Hammerhand's portrait so the headwear matches her in-game model's.
• Updated Bex's portrait so it matches her in-game hair colour.
• Fixed the appearance of some tiles hidden behind Perception checks in the Gauntlet of Shar.
• Fixed some particularly intense and alarming-looking smoke coming out of the chimney at the Rivington General.
• Fixed some camera culling issues in Grymforge.
• Fixed Devout Mezzka's armour clipping into his shoulders.
• Fixed an inconsistency between the Helmet item and its icon.
• Fixed a missing chunk of wall along the Rosymorn Monastery Trail.
• Switched a wrongly used head on Horus Crysst.
• Gave a skirt to the chicken lady who mentions a skirt.
• Fixed the belt on the warlock starting armour clipping into the cloth on large male characters.
• Fixed some see-through spots on the paladin starting armour on female halflings.
• Updated the portraits for Traveller's Chests and Gortash's Force Curtains.
• Fixed some small issues with the appearance of Leather Outfits.
• Fixed Half Plate Armour +1 gloves not hiding sleeves.
• Fixed a small issue with scale mail when worn by male dwarves.
• Added missing tooltip and radial menu icons for the Traveller's Chest and Rogue's Morsel.
• Fixed some blank NPC portraits in Act I.

ANIMATION

• Companions in Wild Shape at camp will no longer perform their idle animations as though they are still humanoid.
• Fixed Lae'zel popping from her idle drinking animation into an idle standing pose.
• Fixed a pop in a crouch animation.
• Fixed the spawn animations for the spiderlings.
• Fixed the spawn animation sometimes getting interrupted when another one triggers, causing a pop in the transition between the two.
• Fixed spawn animations sometimes getting interrupted or skipped altogether when combat is triggered.
• Auntie Ethel will now be cleaning her table.
• Fixed an edge-case animation issue where the throwing animation was used instead of a specific ranged attack animation when a spell was prepared, but the character moved to cast it and the cast happened right after the caster stepped down a ledge.
• Added a new animation for Raphael's Beguiling Rebuke spell.
• Fixed an issue that would cause some NPCs to have a popping animation when they start appearing on screen.
• Fixed some awkward shots in the scene with Haarlep that make it look like you suddenly, and rigidly, stand up and lie back down again.
• Bursar Uktar will now check the contents of his chest from time to time.
• Updated and polished Cazador's animation when he shapeshifts into his Mist Form.
• The guard at Heapside Prison will now occasionally check her ledger.
• Fixed the wrong animation playing for several races when preparing for a Jump. (They looked like they were preparing a melee attack.)
• Tweaked the location of some barrels and fish at the docks by the Steel Watch Foundry for some fish-related idle NPC animations.
• Fixed the animation for the Crawling Claw's footsteps. (Fingersteps?)
• Fixed some knee issues for the running animation used in the cutscene of the Rosymorn Monastery getting obliterated.

• Fixed the Armour of Moonbasking getting all stretchy between the legs.
• Fixed an issue with the sleeves of Gortash's robe when worn by male gnomes.
• Fixed the texture on githyanki shoulder plates.
• Fixed several races' ears clipping through the Hat of Uninhibited Kushigo.
• Fixed the Monastic Robes stretching into a violent-looking point when you wake up on the beach after falling from the nautiloid.
• Fixed the Armour of Agility clipping with several gloves when worn by halflings.
• Fixed some fur on the Sharpened Snare Cuirass clipping on female dwarves.
• Fixed Plate Armour clipping on large female and dragonborn body types.
• Fixed the sleeve of the Oak Father's Embrace armour stretching quite dramatically on dragonborn characters when petting Scratch.
• Fixed some default class clothing clipping on dragonborn characters in Character Creation.
• Fixed a gap appearing between arm and sleeve on the short-sleeved Sorcerer Robe.
• Fixed Brynna's clothes clipping through her arm and revealing her armpit. She informed us she was not, in fact, begging for a tickle.
• Fixed a gap between Lump's big ol' neck and his armour.
• Fixed Astarion's Padded Armour sometimes clipping through his bum.
• Fixed visible neck seams on Body Type 1 gnomes when wearing the Teal Slimfit Outfit.
• Fixed Estra Stir's collar clipping into her neck.
• Fixed the Protecty Sparkswall clothing clipping into female shoulders.
• Fixed the Anarchic Outfit clipping into the shoulders of female dragonborn characters.
• Fixed the Armour of Persistence clipping on dragonborn characters.
• Fixed the appearance of fur on the barbarian outfit on female dwarves.
• Fixed the appearance of Dark Justiciar trousers for male humans.
• Fixed the Absolute Outfit clipping on female dragonborn characters.
• Fixed Waldo Walnut's collar clipping through his neck.
• Fixed the cloth that hangs between the legs of the Dream Guardian's armour clipping through legs while in movement.
• Fixed one of the armplates of the Armour of Devotion stretching while talking to Jaheira.
• Fixed doublets not always hiding the correct body parts for gnomes.
• Fixed refugees' jackets clipping on female humans.
• Fixed the Adamantine Scale Mail clipping into the necks of male dwarves.
• Fixed some clipping while wearing the Armour of Moonbasking.
• Fixed Saer Frunilla's clothes clipping slightly on her hip.
• Fixed a small patch of skin visible through Thokki's shirt.
• Fixed two small patches of skin visible through Avourel's shirt.
• Fixed Lord Shattershield's Bodyguard's robes clipping around his hips.
• Fixed Big Huido's leather vest clipping through his undershirt.
• Fixed an untextured part of the Solemnity Outfit when worn by large female characters.
• Fixed Karlach's camp trousers clipping on Wyll's bum when he wears them.
• Fixed the Graceful Cloth and Mighty Cloth looking like crop tops on male halflings.
• Fixed the Dwarven Splintmail looking like it's split in two when worn by gnomes. Who'd have thunk that armour for dwarves wouldn't fit gnomes properly?
• Turning Invisible while wearing the Hide Armour or Hedge Wanderer Armour will no longer reveal lines stretching vertically through it.
• Fixed Leather Armour clipping through the legs of female half-orcs in movement.
• Fixed some cloth on bard clothing and floating buttons.
• Fixed Carys' outfit clipping into her collarbone.
• Fixed Astarion's camp outfit clipping on female humans.
• Fixed a missing texture on Scale Mail when worn by female gnomes.
• Fixed Captain Goldwake's collar clipping into her neck.
• Tweaked the appearance of the Zhentarim pin worn by Roah Moonglow.
• Made several other similar tweaks and polishes across the game.

SOUND

• Made sure footstep impact sounds play consistently for cinematic-only characters.
• The magicians outside of Sorcerous Sundries were yelling and casting spells so loudly that it was hard to hear your companions over them if you spoke to them nearby. We've toned this down and cleaned up the mix.
• Fixed Minthara's torturers in Moonrise Towers not playing their overhead dialogue.
• Fixed the audio delay on the main menu on Xbox.
• Fixed some SFX not playing when talking to Z'rell at Moonrise Towers.
• Fixed characters other than the one who initiated a trade not triggering sounds when buying something.
• Fixed unwanted sounds when opening or closing some UIs using keybinds.
• Reduced excessive noise in Sorcerous Sundries caused by the Find Familiar spell.
• Fixed the music cutting off prematurely in the cutscene that plays when you find yourself in the Shadowfell.
• Updated the behaviour of Narrator voice lines in the world: More recently triggered Narrator lines in the world (e.g. from signs or tombstones) now stop other Narrator lines to avoid overlaps and aren't affected by typical distance-based culling.
• Fixed voice lines not playing in single player when two active conversations are happening.
• Tweaked some SFX in the dialogue with the owlbear cub in its cave.
• Fixed the Detect Thoughts SFX playing twice when Kith'rak Voss casts it on you by the Risen Road.
• Fixed some SFX playing too early in the dialogue with Akabi.
• Added death vocals ('uurghghhh's) for dragonborn and half-orc NPCs.
• Polished the SFX in the dialogue with the Dying Stone Lord Thug.
• Improved rumble for spells on controller.
• Added some more SFX to the scene where you lie awake at night at the end of Act II with thoughts about the truth behind the Absolute.
• Fixed regular gameplay music playing instead of custom music in the incubus scene if you chose the female form.
• Fixed default-sized female characters having extra footstep SFX while walking.
• Fixed misassigned SFX in the Reward UI.
• Fixed a music desync in the scene where the dragon arrives in the Mountain Pass.
• Fixed a volume spike in the hag's combat music.
• Fixed an issue causing the ending of the combat music to increase in volume.
• Fixed the music for Orin's impersonations not playing during transformation scenes.
• Fixed the combat music stopping the moment you leave the room during Raphael's boss fight in the House of Hope.

VFX

• The chanting ghosts in the Murder Tribunal look ghostly again.
• Fixed VFX missing from Gale's 'splosion.
• Fixed VFX missing from Dark Urge lines when interacting with the Sacrificed Cultists on the nautiloid.
• Fixed the Misty Step VFX not affecting hair.
• Fixed the mind-read-y VFX and SFX endlessly looping in Lae'zel's recruitment scene.
• Fixed Spore Servants not having their spore VFX in dialogues that trigger when they commit a crime.
• Fixed some VFX appearing on Nightsong's eyelashes and shoulders when it shouldn't.
• Fixed some missing glowy VFX on Lorroakan.
• Fixed some missing gameplay lighting that was present in cinematics.
• Fixed the Hook Horror Spore Servant missing its VFX in some cinematics.
• Fixed some broken VFX in the fight between Lae'zel and Shadowheart.
• Fixed missing VFX for when you connect with Minthara's mind in Moonrise Towers.
• Tweaked the VFX of the Spindleweb Fanaticism aura so it visually reflects the range of the aura in gameplay.
• Fixed the VFX that plays when you connect with Astarion's mind in his recruitment dialogue not lasting long enough.
• Fixed a VFX issue where the radial blur effect used when Vlaakith first appears before you in Créche Y'llek wouldn't go away. It looked pretty terrifying, actually.
• Made sure Karlach's eyes glow orange when she's being taken by the Absolute at the end of the game.
• Fixed Gale's Spectral Voice VFX missing in gameplay in the epilogue.
• Fixed an unintentional dither pattern appearing on the skin of shadow-cursed creatures.

WRITING

• Added better dialogue reactivity for players partnered with Wyll who joined Karlach in the Hells or Lae'zel in the rebellion.
• Added a line where the Dark Urge contemplates arson.
• Added a few reactions to ongoing events from Shadowheart.
• Added a dialogue option to tell Astarion about meeting Ulma if you met her without him. Astarion also has a new line in your dialogue with Ulma if you first meet her without him and then talk to her again with him in the party.
• Dark Urge players will now notice Gortash reacting to them in the dialogue in his office at Wyrm's Rock.
• Fixed a subtitle that wasn't showing up for Arbiter Cirrus.
• Wyll will now have a comment to make after you convince Lorroakan that Nightsong is dead.
• Halsin now has responses specific to having been sacrificed by Orin.
• Fixed a torch by Minthara's tent at camp displaying its technical name. It's now appropriately called a 'Bone Torch'.
• Fixed the Martial Exertion tooltip implying that it lasted more than 1 turn.
• Fixed the Ensnaring Strike spell container showing up as 'Ensnaring Strike (Ranged)'.
• Fixed an incorrect condition length on the Blood of Lathander's Sunbeam tooltip.
• Fixed incorrect descriptions of the end conditions for Invisibility in the tooltips for the Potion of Invisibility, Invisibility spell, and Scroll of Invisibility.
• Corrected the tooltip for the owlbear in Honour Mode, which now indicates that she can call for help every combat, not every round.
• Clarified that the Lifedrinker passive only works for attacks made with your Pact Weapon.
• Fixed the display title of Baalor Ale (previously Balor Ale) to match the other instances in the game.
• Fixed some typos and mismatches between the subtitles and the voiceover in Withers' epilogue dialogue.
• Fixed the name of a decorative pot in the Colony, which was lying about being a cookpot.
• Rephrased the warnings for when the game fails to start or load a game to improve clarity.
• Fixed some typos and minor inconsistencies between voiceovers and subtitles across the game, as well as some minor inconsistencies and inaccuracies in technical text across the game.
• Fixed a handful of minor dialogue flow issues across the game.

CINEMATICS

Across Acts

• Improved camera shots, mocap animations, character staging, and facial expressions in many dialogues across the game.
• Fixed pops, jitters, and clipping in many dialogues across the game.
• Improved camera shots across several dialogues to account for different player heights.
• Fixed several lighting bugs across the game.
• Polished the cinematics in the dialogue flows that were added in Patch 6 for dismissing a companion while talking to the companion you want to replace them with.
• Improved the cinematic that triggers after you kill Shadowheart and the artefact transfers to you to fix an awkward camera shot, improve the depth of field, and add more nuanced facial expressions for companions.
• Fixed where characters are looking in Gale's recruitment dialogue.
• Fixed a split screen bug where if you were already on split screen before a shared cinematic (i.e. one that takes up the whole screen) started, the subtitles showed up on just one half of the screen.
• Fixed some cases where companions would keep their helmets on for a smooch.
• Fixed a dialogue with Shadowheart appearing to jump to another location if you dismissed another companion to recruit her.
• Fixed a shot in the Astral Plane where the terrain was invisible beneath you, making it look like you were floating in the Astral Sea.
• Fixed certain noses clipping into each other when smooching Minthara.
• Fixed some hand jitters on tall players when planting a kiss on Astarion.
• Fixed some clipping and animation issues with your hands, particularly when playing a shorter race, when Gale places your hand on his chest.
• Fixed a couple of pops when interacting with the Book of Dead Gods.
• Fixed an animation pop on Halsin in his camp dialogue.
• Fixed some pops in the dialogue between Elminster and Gale.
• Tweaked the spikes on the artefact in the dialogue where it passes from Shadowheart over to you so it doesn't look like it's impaling you.
• Fixed some issues in the scene where Gale contemplates his mortality, including him turning his back to you and floating above his bedroll.
• When you open your mind to an illithid tadpole, it'll no longer blip out of existence mid-air.
• Made minor animation adjustments to avoid clipping when assimilating the illithid tadpole.
• You'll no longer pop suddenly when Elminster turns to talk to you.
• Improved camera shots to account for different character heights, among other general improvements, in the scene where Vlaakith visits Lae'zel at camp.
• Fixed an animation pop in the dialogue with the Emperor about Stelmane.
• Cleaned up some jittery animations and polished Karlach's main dialogue.
• Fixed a repeated line when talking to Wyll.
• Fixed Lae'zel freezing for a few frames before stabbing Shadowheart at camp.
• Fixed some head pops and improved a camera shot in the dialogue with Wyll and Karlach at camp. Also fixed Karlach sometimes popping out of frame during their confrontation.
• Made minor improvements to the cinematic shots when dismissing companions.
• Fixed some clips and pops during the romantic night with Mizora.
• Fixed a pop on Ravengard when talking to him at camp.
• Fixed Astarion leaning too far forward when getting the artefact from Shadowheart.
• Fixed some issues with where characters are looking and standing when prompting Gale to see what's inside the Annals of Karsus.
• Fixed large races and characters with horns obscuring Mizora in certain shots when she visits Wyll at camp.
• Fixed a camera shot after giving food to the owlbear cub.

Tutorial and Act I

• Fixed Shadowheart's kissing animation playing before you actually chose the dialogue option indicating you wished to do so.
• Fixed a lighting pop in the dialogue with Us on the nautiloid before you've pried it out of the skull.
• Fixed some popping shadows on the nautiloid during the brain extraction.
• Fixed bards' instruments sometimes appearing on their back in a scene on the nautiloid.
• Fixed Wyll clipping into the remains of a broken statue if Mizora transforms him at the Grymforge camp.
• Tweaked the camera to fix a clipped shot in the dialogue between Kagha and Arabella's parents at camp.
• Fixed characters suddenly changing position when recruiting Shadowheart in the Emerald Grove and swapping another party member out for her.
• Fixed a bug causing Liam to drastically change position between shots in the torture scene at the Goblin Camp.
• Fixed an animation and camera pop in the dialogue where the goblins at the Goblin Camp are proposing a toast.
• Fixed your hand clipping into your face while smearing poo on it.
• Fixed animation pops on the player character and Nettie.
• Told Wyll he doesn't need to hold his sword threateningly close to the chest of small races during his recruitment dialogue.
• Added a fade-to-black to improve the transition after Astarion says 'Let's see where the night takes us' at camp in Act I.
• Fixed Nere popping and generally looking a little stiff after you free him from the cave-in.
• Fixed multiple animation quirks and head pops during the first romantic night you spend with Shadowheart at the camp party.
• Fixed Mizora's body popping when she comes to pay Wyll a visit at camp. Save the popping and locking for the club.
• Fixed a popping animation on Auntie Ethel in the Emerald Grove and made sure she actually faces the potion when she's making it.
• Fixed some pops in the dialogue with Ghustil Stornugoss at Créche Y'llek.
• The dire wolves at Créche Y'llek are now a little further away from the camera in their dialogues.
• Fixed some camera quirks in Karlach's recruitment dialogue, one of which made Gale look particularly short.
• Fixed a visual bug where the sword in the stone in the Underdark could disappear.
• Fixed one of Kith'rak Therezzyn's lines getting cut off prematurely.
• Fixed some minor pops and camera quirks in the scene with the zaith'isk.
• Fixed Volo's hand clipping into your head while he performs his highly professional and sanitary surgical intervention.
• Fixed Kar'niss clipping slightly into the ground.
• Fixed an animation pop in the first romantic night with Lae'zel after the celebration at camp.
• Fixed some clipping on your shoulder when you spend the night with Minthara the night of the celebration at camp.
• Fixed your weapon appearing mid-dialogue when talking to Rolan at the Emerald Grove.
• Fixed the Dream Guardian's leg getting all jittery when they kneel down to let you stab them. The facade of stoicism breaks a little when you can see their legs turn to jelly.
• Fixed the scared boar in Act I looking like it's running into a rock.
• Fixed a pop and an awkward pause in Astarion's recruitment dialogue.
• Fixed player characters turning around a little robotically to glance at the zaith'isk. Also fixed a similar bug when you free Shadowheart from the nautiloid pod.
• Fixed halfling feet clipping into the ground in Shadowheart's beach recruitment dialogue.
• Fixed a disappearing duergar and a companion clipping into a pillar when entering Grymforge for the first time. This was visible on widescreen.
• Made Laridda look at Lunkbug correctly in their dialogue in Grymforge and fixed some pops.
• Fixed a Flaming Fist popping slightly when he walks away in the dialogue with Florrick at Waukeen's Rest.
• Fixed a small pop on Lae'zel when talking to her during the camp celebration.
• Fixed a camera shot for shorter races when talking to the ogres in the Blighted Village.
• Fixed large characters' arms partially blocking a shot of Kagha in the Emerald Grove.
• Fixed a clipping issue with a weapon in a shot in the chapel beneath the Overgrown Ruins.
• Tweaked the initial shot in Gale's recruitment scene so you can see the player character and the ancient sigil a little better.
• Fixed Crusher's hands clipping into the ground when he gets down to kiss your feet.
• Fixed a bug where biting off Crusher's toe and then defeating him in a fist fight would result in a cinematic where the toe was still present. An embarrassing inconsistency in an otherwise realistic chain of events.
• Polished the dialogue with the owlbear cub, improving where characters are looking and standing.
• Fixed Mizora's wings popping when she arrives at camp.
• Fixed a pop in the confrontation between Aradin and Zevlor at the Emerald Grove.
• Fixed Pooldripp's thumb clipping with his mouth.
• You can now see Pooldripp when BOOOAL tells you he's a god.
• Fixed a line getting cut short in the dialogue with Sovereign Glut.
• Updated the camera shots for different character heights in the dialogue with the zaith'isk at Créche Y'llek.
• Tweaked a couple of camera angles in the dialogues with Tusk and Bosk at the Emerald Grove.
• Adjusted some cameras to better suit different race heights in the dialogue with Halsin and Kagha.
• Added a fade-out on the mocap in the dialogue with Baelen in the Underdark.
• Fixed a pop in the dialogue with the githyanki patrol at the Mountain Pass.
• Tweaked the timing of animations to fix pops in the dialogue with Scratch in the forest.
• Adjusted some camera shots to account for different player heights when talking to the myconids before having met the Sovereign.
• Polished the timing of some animations and motion capture fades to fix Sharp-Eye Mirg's pops.
• Fixed Shadowheart sometimes turning her head concerningly far over her shoulder during her recruitment dialogue at the Emerald Grove.
• Fixed minor pops when playing as Avatar Shadowheart if the artefact explodes and kills Lae'zel.
• Astarion will no longer forget to ask you if you 'know anything about these worms' in his recruitment dialogue.
• Improved the position of Torturer Spike's head during the scene with Liam.
• Fixed short races' fingers clipping into their heads and improved where characters are looking during Wyll's recruitment dialogue.
• Fixed the console on the nautiloid at the start of the game missing its bottom half in some cinematic shots.
• Fixed some overlapping goblins in the scene at the Goblin Camp where Volo's desperately spewing nonsensical poetry.
• Fixed some jittery mocap animations on Gekh Coal.
• Fixed stiff-looking hands on one of the goblins by the windmill.
• Fixed a line with one of the goblins in the Blighted Village sometimes getting cut off prematurely when playing as a drow.

Act II

• Made general improvements to the scene where Jaheira and Isobel reunite after the combat with Marcus.
• Fixed a pop in the first dialogue you have with Isobel when you approach her at Last Light.
• Fixed some scene props clipping and sliding from view in Yurgir's lair.
• Fixed several visual bugs caused by Yurgir's crossbow in the dialogue with him in his lair.
• Fixed some uneven lighting on Fezzerk at Moonrise Towers.
• Adjusted Art's position on the bed slightly to reduce clipping. Fixed a shot that was blocked by Art's leg when playing as a short race.
• Fixed a pop and a depth-of-field issue in the scene with the Harpers out in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
• Your weapon will now be visible when you choose the option to attack Isobel.
• Fixed your character snapping their body backwards and wibbly-wobbling around as though trying to pass beneath a cursed limbo stick in the cutscene where Kar'niss approaches you in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
• Fixed a pop in the scene with Minthara in the Moonrise Towers Prison.
• Fixed Yurgir's crossbow clipping into his fingers in his lair.
• Fixed the chalice that you hold when talking to Jaheira at Last Light vibrating suspiciously after you set it down on the table.
• Fixed some visual issues on the Spear of the Night due to it appearing to be equipped in a cinematic when it should have gone into your backpack.
• Fixed Raphael briefly disappearing from his chair during his game of lanceboard with Mol.
• Fixed a Reconstituted Duellist's line getting cut off prematurely. He really, really wanted you to hear him finish saying 'come to my inner chambers'.
• Fixed one of the Winged Horrors at Moonrise Towers getting its line cut off prematurely.
• Slowed down your head movement when you turn to look at Jaheira in the dialogue with her and Isobel at Last Light.
• Fixed an animation pop on Astarion in the dialogue with Raphael by the Thorm Mausoleum.
• Fixed a camera and mocap pop on Jaheira at Moonrise Towers after the combat in the Colony.
• Avatar Karlach now says 'Edict of Bane' instead of 'Lash of Bane' when referencing Gortash in the Colony.
• Fixed Art Cullagh floating onto the bed when you speak to him a second time.
• Fixed your legs clipping into your bedroll when you're tossing and turning at night after the events of Act II.
• Fixed the Netherbrain's position in the sky popping slightly in the cinematic at the end of Act II when the army of the Absolute marches forth.
• Fixed a dialogue at camp with Elminster that looked like it was taking place at Moonrise Towers.
• Fixed the VO getting cut off in the dialogue with a guard when you try to leave Last Light without Isobel's blessing.
• Fixed the getaway boat at Moonrise Towers looking like it's got a leak.
• Fixed one of Jaheira's lines at Last Light getting cut off prematurely.
• Fixed a pop on Z'rell when she's addressing Thorm in the scene that triggers when you enter Moonrise Towers, and smoothed out the animations for the background characters on ultrawide monitors. Also fixed a pop on your character and Ketheric's weapon clipping into his throne when he's sitting down.
• Improved some facial expressions and animations for smoother transitions in the dialogue with Raphael outside the Mausoleum, and fixed Raphael's shoulder blocking shorter races in a shot.
• Fixed Minthara's animation when she's getting tortured not looping correctly.

Act III and Epilogue

• Fixed Valeria's wine slipping and sloshing right through the bottom and sides of the chalice when it's lifted into the air.
• Dark Urge characters who have not cured themselves of Bhaal's influence or who have embraced Bhaal at the end of the game will no longer appear in Karlach's final scene as though they didn't just stalk off on a mad hunt for blood.
• Fixed one of Shadowheart's lines getting cut off prematurely when talking to Viconia.
• Non-Vampire-Ascendant Astarion now has something to say after you spend the night with Mizora.
• Fixed some clipping in the scene where Minthara gives you a kiss when talking about your final moments, particularly if you're playing as a tiefling.
• During Gortash's inauguration, Ravengard's head, sword, and legs will no longer leave his body suspended in the air behind him when he walks down the steps.
• Your weapon will no longer block Orin's face when she's impersonating you.
• Fixed a shot of the wrong character during Karlach's interjection when talking to Gauntlet Edwynna at the South Span Checkpoint.
• Fixed a cinematic bug where the submersible would approach the Iron Throne and, the moment it arrived, would nope out and appear to reverse back to the surface.
• Fixed short races getting blocked by the camera in the dialogue with Borgus Elamin.
• Cazador's Woe staff no longer slides and clips through your fingers when you use it to free or kill the spawn.
• Fixed a pop when you turn to face Gale in a dialogue at the end of the game.
• Fixed a pop on Watchman Gyordi as he delivers a line at High Hall.
• Fixed a couple of lines getting cut short when talking to the spawn in Cazador's cells.
• Fixed the wrong subtitle showing up for one of Orin's lines at the Temple of Bhaal.
• Improved the fade-in and fade-out transitions for Wyll's Act III romance scene.
• Fixed Astarion looking like he's floating on steps and, separately, like he's frozen after the battle with the Netherbrain.
• Fixed a camera pop in the dialogue with Lorroakan at Sorcerous Sundries.
• Fixed Astarion's awkwardly long pause after he responds to you asking him if this is how he used to live, in reference to the spawn at Cazador's palace.
• Fixed Yurgir sometimes getting blocked in a shot of him at High Hall when he tells you that you can count on him.
• Fixed a mocap pop on Jaheira in the dialogue with Sarevok.
• Fixed a pop when Dolor first notices you at Facemaker's Boutique.
• Fixed some lines getting cut off prematurely when talking to the vampire spawn in the cells at Cazador's palace.
• Fixed a camera pop after the Narrator says your Dark Urge character wants to butcher the crowd at the circus.
• Fixed a pop on Sceleritas Fel when he talks about Orin killing him every day.
• Fixed male gnomes' right ring finger jittering when transforming into a mind flayer.
• Extended a voiced line to fix a pop caused by a fade-in in a dialogue with Shadowheart at the House of Grief.
• Astarion no longer jitters during his line in the aftermath of the Black Mass.
• Fixed a weird-looking head turn in the dialogue after the battle with the Netherbrain is over and the gith have departed.
• Fixed a pop on Dark Urge characters in dialogue with Orin.
• Tweaked some timing and animations to avoid Astarion's hand clipping into the player character's neck and collar in the dialogue with Dalyria and Pale Petras.
• Tweaked an over-the-shoulder shot to avoid characters clipping into each other when talking to a Steel Watcher in Wyrm's Rock.
• Tweaked the timing of an animation to fix a pop when talking to Arves.
• Tweaked the timing of a pose to fix a pop when talking to Lorna Esthelian.
• Added a new camera shot when talking to Ben Golewits.
• Fixed several animation and mocap pops in a dialogue with one of the Steel Watchers at Wyrm's Rock.
• Fixed a pop on Ulkov Sully after you apologise for bothering him.
• Fixed a minor pop on Karlach if she's a mind flayer at the end of the game.
• Fixed Sarevok looking like he's in the ritual chamber instead of his throne room if you talk to him after killing Orin.
• Cleaned up the animations of the companions walking to shore after the defeat of the Netherbrain when playing as Avatar Karlach.
• Fixed some small pops and tweaked where characters are looking in the dialogue where Shadowheart decides her parents' fate.
• Fixed some broken ghostly VFX in one of Gale's romance dialogues.
• Lifted Gale out of the ground in the scene after the Netherbrain is defeated.
• Fixed a knee pop on a mind flayer during ceremorphosis in the Lower City.
• Fixed a body pop on Nine-Fingers when she's talking to Minsc.
• Fixed a body pop on Aradin at Sorcerous Sundries.
• Fixed some missing lipsynching on Valeria.
• Fixed some character positions getting broken when skipping through a dialogue with Wyll near the end of the game when he's your partner.
• Fixed some camera and character placement issues during the dialogue with your allies and Beorn Wunterbrood at High Hall.
• Fixed Gortash's Speak with Dead dialogue appearing to take place in the wrong location.
• FIxed some bugs in Minsc's epilogue dialogue, like perfectly innocent barrels in the background blipping out of existence.
• Fixed a minor pop on Gale in his epilogue dialogue.
• Fixed Wyll's arm clipping against his chest armour in his epilogue dialogue.
• Polished the appearance of hugs and some facial expressions in Minsc's epilogue dialogue.
• Fixed some pops in the dialogue with the Emperor where he admits he has nothing left to hide.
• Fixed Orpheus' hands clipping into the ground when you free him. In the same dialogue, also fixed mind flayer Karlach disappearing and a mocap pop.
• Fixed a multiplayer bug where the scene at the end of the game of Withers addressing the mural of the Dead Three wouldn't play for all players under certain circumstances.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 7 Patch Notes: New endings, Modding support, and Honour Mode changes appeared first on Destructoid.

Minthara is a possible party member that you can recruit in Baldur's Gate 3. If you didn't recruit Minthara in Act 1, you find that she has ended up in the jails of Moonrise Towers in Act 2. This is your one opportunity to save and recruit her while you still can in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3: How to save Minthara

To reach this point in Baldur's Gate 3, you must have sided with Minthara in destroying the Emerald Grove (or side with her without destroying the Grove).

In my playthrough, I defeated Minthara in the Shattered Sanctum because she was one of the three Goblin Leaders that Halsin needed me to defeat. If you do this, you obviously can't recruit Minthara or rescue her at Moonrise Towers because she is dead and, unfortunately, taken off the list of potential companions for that playthrough.

After siding with Minthara, convince her to meet at Moonrise Tower. However, once you reach the Moonrise Towers throne room, you'll see that Minthara has angered Ketheric Thorm. Eventually, during this scene, you'll get various dialogue options that use your Wisdom modifier. But all of these options will result in the same thing: Minthara will be sent to the jails below.

After this scene, you'll get the Decide Minthara's Fate quest. This will activate a quest marker that shows you where the stairs to the Moonrise Towers jail are. And this is where we'll be able to save Minthara from being executed in Baldur's Gate 3.

If you're still having trouble finding it just head through the western exit of the throne room down the small set of stairs and then head down the next set of stairs just ahead. Then once you're in the jails, head to the south section of the area to find Minthara. You might as well rescue Wulbren and the Tieflings while you're down here.

The first way to deal with this nasty situation is by convincing the Questioners to let you handle Minthara. Now, I know this may seem counterintuitive since we are here to save Minthara after all. But trust me, this will work itself out. Once you've initiated a conversation with them, select the first dialogue option. This will then give you a Deception and an Intimidation check option. Choose whichever one your character is more proficient in to progress.

This then allows you to either attack the guards straightaway or reach into Minthara's Mind. If you can pass a DC 18 roll here, you can speak to Minthara through her mind. Here you have three choices: gain her support in the fight against the guards, have her fake obedience to make the guards leave, or be extra villainous and erase her mind yourself.

For our purposes, either of the first two options will work here. If you choose to have her fake obedience, you'll need to pass an Intimidation, Deception, or Persuasion speech check to convince the Questioners that the job is done.

Escaping the Moonrise Towers

Once Minthara is free from the Questioners, you'll need to get her out of the Moonrise Towers. Once you leave the jail cell, one of the nearby guards will stop and ask you to explain what's going on.

Again, you'll need to pass an Intimidation, Persuasion, or Deception check. And failing that, you'll also need to fight the guards outside the cell. It doesn't matter if you fought and killed the Questioners or convinced them to leave. Either way, you'll have to deal with the guards outside the room too.

After that's done head straight out through the front door of the Moonrise Towers. Here we've got one last conversation to have before Minthara will truly be free. You really don't want to fail the speech check here as you'll get into a fight with eight enemies if you do. So don't be afraid to save scum a tiny bit here to avoid a nasty encounter.

Then once you get across the walkway you'll finally have saved Minthara in Baldur's Gate 3. You can then choose to take Minthara to your camp where she will become a full-fledged party member. She's a Paladin, so if you need a tanky healer to be a part of your team, she'll prove very useful.

When I played through Moonrise Towers, I had the option to save Tieflings and Wulbren locked in the jail. If you sided with Minthara to destroy Emerald Grove, you may not get this option. However, if you do have this option, you'll have to figure out how to rescue the Tieflings and Wulbren.

How to recruit Minthara and save the Grove

While the easiest route to recruiting Minthara is helping her take over the Grove, there's still a way to recruit Minthara while simultaneously saving the Grove. Players figured out that if you knock out Minthara using non-lethal attacks during your first encounter with her, you can then kill the rest of the Goblin leaders and save the Grove. That way, you get the best of both worlds.

You'll then find Minthara in Moonrise Towers during Act 2. At that point, you're free to rescue Minthara and recruit her, even though you initially knocked her unconscious and saved the Grove. Players online have also noted that after knocking Minthara out, you have to get rid of the two other leaders without leaving or taking a Long Rest.

This will ensure that Minthara stays knocked out for the entire duration of you saving the Grove and you'll find her in Moonrise Towers. You'll then need to figure out the best build for Minthara once you recruit her.

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Shadowheart isn’t my favorite character in Baldur’s Gate 3, but she is absolutely essential to my party’s setup in combat. That's especially for those parties looking to keep Origin characters within their canonical classes.

It’s always good to keep a Cleric on hand, and since I can never bring myself to roll one as my main character, Shadowheart is my trusty standby. Clerics have an incredible spell list, and it’s not all just support abilities. I can’t tell you how many times Spirit Guardians or Turn Undead has gotten me out of an unexpected jam.

Perfecting Shadowheart’s build is mostly about choosing the right spells and equipment, but the right feats can help you maximize everything else you’ve got going on. Here are my recommendations. 

Ability Score Improvement

The Ability Score Improvement is easily the best feat for Shadowheart, just like it is for basically any other character. As a Cleric, many of Shadowheart’s best spells and abilities rely on her Wisdom, and this is an instant boost to her modifier that she can get as early as level four. There’s really no better option for her, especially that early in the game. 

War Caster

Once you’ve taken at least one Ability Score Improvement, War Caster is worth considering. It gives Shadowheart advantage on Concentration saving throws and grants her the ability to cast Shocking Grasp as a Reaction in place of taking an Opportunity Attack. My favorite Shadowheart spells, like Spirit Guardians, rely on Concentration, and getting in the occasional zap on an enemy is fun. This one is a no-brainer. 

Sentinel

As a Cleric, Shadowheart doesn’t just have to rely on her spellcasting abilities in combat. If you find you’re pulling out her mace more often than not, you might want to consider taking Sentinel for her second or third feat. It lets her attack enemies with a Reaction when they successfully hit one of your teammates with a melee attack. It also gives her advantage on Opportunity Attacks, and causes enemies to stop moving for the rest of their turn when they get hit with one of her Opportunity Attacks. It’s a little more niche than the other options, but it has its uses. 

Spell Sniper

This is another contender for Shadowheart’s second or third feat slot. It lowers the roll Shadowheart needs for critical hits with spells by one, and it gives her access to either Bone Chill, Eldritch Grasp, Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, or Thorn Whip. This one is better for players who use Shadowheart more like a full caster than a melee fighter. 

Mobile

In the honorable mentions category, we have Mobile. This feat gives Shadowheart an extra three meters of movement, lets her avoid difficult terrain when using the Dash action, and lets her avoid Opportunity Attacks when she successfully hits the enemy with a melee attack before moving. Those abilities make Shadowheart play the support role even better by letting her get in range of distant allies for healing spells, and that extra movement can be extremely powerful when you have Spirit Guardians up. 

Alert 

Another honorable mention, Alert gives Shadowheart +5 to Initiative and prevents her from being surprised. Look, going earlier in combat is always a good thing. It can be especially useful for Shadowheart, who can cast some crowd control spells before enemies get up and moving. If you can find the slot for this in your Shadowheart build, you’ll definitely get some use out of it. 

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Throughout your adventures in Baldur's Gate 3, you'll encounter a character known as the Strange Ox. Talking to it results in a few "moos" initially, but there's more to this mysterious creature than you'd expect.

While this mystery won't quite unravel until the game's final act, there's some information you can glean starting from Act One, with more details surfacing as you progress. Let's learn more about the Strange Ox, including its behavior, dialogue, and potential rewards in all three acts. Just be careful, as there are some minor Act Two and Act Three spoilers coming up.

What is the Strange ox in Baldur's Gate 3?

At first, Baldur's Gate 3's Strange Ox is an odd cow you'll spot during Act One. Aside from some weird movements, it won't show any obvious signs of being unusual, even if you speak to it. However, using Speak With Animals and following its movements throughout the game will reveal its true nature, with Act Three turning it into a side quest.

Act one location and dialogue

You'll first encounter the Strange Ox in the Emerald Grove during Act One at coordinates (X: 221, Y: 540). The ox will stand beside two other oxen inconspicuously, and speaking to it regularly won't lead you far. However, there are a few interesting ways to reveal some information.

The first is using Speak With Animals to talk to the ox directly. It'll maintain the appearance of an ox and attempt to answer your questions to the best of its abilities, albeit with some suspicious hesitance. Depending on whether your character catches on to this, you can persuade, deceive, or intimidate it into revealing more information, prompting the ox to tell you it'll eventually make its way to Baldur's Gate. In other words, you won't get your full answer until Act Three.

Another way to deal with the ox is by attacking it. Upon inflicting damage to it, some peculiar ooze will spurt out and hit anyone, including NPCs, in range. Killing it results in a goop explosion, killing anyone and anything nearby. While this won't destroy the entire camp, it can definitely wipe out a couple of party members if they're too close.

Generally speaking, I wouldn't recommend killing the Strange Ox yet. Not only will the other oxen become aggressive, but any nearby NPCs will also join the fight. On the plus side, you'll get a special ring from it, which we'll get into later.

Act two location and dialogue

If you keep the Strange Ox alive during Act One, you'll spot it again at Last Light Inn at coordinates (X: -28, Y: 168). Any character who succeeds in an Insight Check will comment on this ox, saying they recognize it and still find it very strange.

Like before, it'll initially make ox noises if you talk to it without Speak With Animals active. You can attempt an Animal Handling (Wisdom) Check, but not much will come from it. Instead, you'll need Speak With Animals to learn more about the ox.

Remember when I mentioned you can attack the Strange Ox in Act One? Now is another opportunity, but it might be slightly tricky if you're just starting your time in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Waiting until Act Three will open up some interesting dialogue options with the ox, but attacking it reveals something particularly special.

For the first time, we officially learn that it isn't an ox at all, but in fact, a weird ooze monster. Attacking the ox will cause it to turn into a level five ooze with resistance to slashing and lightning, alongside acid immunity. Rather than nearby NPCs fighting against you, they'll become hostile toward the ooze. Like before, you'll get the Shapeshifter's Boon Ring, alongside a few other goodies for the trouble.

Act three location and dialogue

The final location for the Strange Ox is at the beginning of Act Three in Rivington. It spawns in a barn at coordinates (X: 41, Y: -143). However, while the Requisitioned Barn is here, we're not looking for this location; instead, you'll want to visit the other nearby barn on a small hill. Opening its shabby doors reveals the ox alone in the barn, ready to talk.

Waiting until Act Three to interact with the Strange Ox is where things start to diverge. By this point, if you didn't attack the ox, your party won't know its true secret and instead recognize it once more if they succeed in another Insight Check. Like before, trying to pet the ox won't do anything. You'll need Speak With Animals one last time.

Talking to the Strange Ox with Speak With Animals active starts off bizarre. It'll still try to conceal its identity at first, but with a successful Persuasion Check, it'll share some rather horrifying imagery with you. I won't spoil exactly what you'll find, but let's just say even your character is dumbfounded by it.

From this point onward, you have two choices: threaten it and defeat the ox or help it. If you try to leave the conversation, it'll ask for your help getting into the city. Accepting the request will lead to it turning into an apple, introducing you to the Help the Devilish Ox quest. Upon entering the Lower City, he'll give you the Shapeshifter's Boon Ring, allowing you to claim this prize without shedding any blood or ooze. After completing the Gather Your Allies quest, you'll also gain the "An Apple a Day" ability, giving you one more friend to help you later in Act Three's story.

What does the Shapeshifter's Boon Ring do in Baldur's Gate 3?

The Shapeshifter's Boon Ring is a surprisingly helpful ring that gives you a +1d4 bonus to all Checks while you're shapeshifting or disguised. This applies to numerous situations, from perception and survival checks during your travels to conversation checks.

Its main uses are for buffing a Druid shapeshifter or a rogue who often disguises themselves, but anyone with either of these abilities will benefit. It's especially powerful on any character with the Mask of the Shapeshifter, which you'll automatically have in your camp's chests if you have the Digital Deluxe Upgrade version of BG3.

The post What does the Strange ox do in Baldur’s Gate 3? appeared first on Destructoid.

There are many layers to the Zhentarim Hideout in Baldur's Gate 3. Not only is it difficult to find, but it's easy to only see its first few rooms without exploring its entirety. Here's how to find the Zhentarim Hideout, also known as the Zhentarim Basement, in BG3.

Zhentarim Hideout location in Baldur's Gate 3

You'll find the Zhentarim Hideout during Act One at Waukeen's Rest. It's in a small house at coordinates (X: -111, Y: 611), where several wooden crates will block the door. Clear them away to access the building.

Waukeen's Rest location

Waukeen's Rest is located north of the Blighted Village and west of the Emerald Grove. Depending on your route, you'll likely encounter two groups of Yeenoghu-cursed hyenas, who can give you a hard time and potentially wipe your team if you're low-level. Defeating them will provide you with some valuable EXP and an inspiration point for Karlach if she's in your party.

Upon entering Waukeen's Rest, you'll first see a group of Fist Recruits trying to save Grand Duke Ravenguard in a burning building. Whether you help them is up to you; it's not required to access the Zhentarim Hideout, but it will give you a choice between a rare lightning-infused quarterstaff, longbow, or trident.

If you decide to help them, you can save multiple NPCs from the fires on the first and second floors, including a trapped man stuck under wooden beams and Counsellor Florrick. I recommend swapping over to turn-based mode during this, as the fire will rapidly spread around the building, and the NPCs and your party can be quickly wiped out within a few seconds.

Once you're ready to head to the Zhentarim Basement, head north from the fire building to find the small house leading to its true location.

Entering the Zhentarim Basement

Be careful, as entering the Zhentarim Hideout's first door is the easiest part of this process. If you're lucky, your characters will point this out through a Perception Check, revealing that someone is moving inside the building.

You'll immediately encounter an NPC, Salazon, who initially threatens you to leave. If you have a stealthy character in your party like Astarion, you can use them to sneak through Salazon's field of vision and eliminate him. Otherwise, you can get through this first encounter with zero casualties if you succeed in a few speech checks.

While the dialogue may change slightly depending on your race, class, and other traits, below are the first few I found:

• Wait - listen! (DC 10 Dexterity roll)
• Read his mind. (DC 11 Intelligence roll)
• Prepare to attack.

Reading his mind allows you to repeat the secret phrase and access the basement. He'll give you a key to go down freely without hurting anyone. Otherwise, you can attack him right away or pass the dexterity check to lead into the next set of dialogue options:

• Careful. You won't kill me, but you will make me mad. (DC 15 Charisma roll)
• Just calm down - I'm not here to fight. (DC 15 Charisma roll)
• Prepare to attack.

The first two options will have the same results, with him giving you the key to the basement.

There's more to the Zhentarim Hideout than you think

Once you descend the hatch to the basement, you'll initially find a bunch of vases, wardrobes, and other miscellaneous decorative items in a small space. While this looks like a small area, the hideout's true location reveals itself once you open the hidden wardrobe at coordinates (X: 382, Y: -259). You'll need to succeed a DC 12 Sleight of Hand check, so bring your most dexterous character to the area.

Now that the wardrobe is unlocked, you can descend the ladder to unlock the Zhentarim Hideout fast travel point. A whole lot is going on down here, with the list below highlighting a few encounters you can have:

• An introductory conversation with Zarys, who you can give the Find the Missing Shipment's strongbox to.
• Oskar Fevras, the artist you can save if you wish.
• Brem the merchant
• Indra, Istor, and Isbeth, the wolves who'll frighten Shadowheart if she's in your party.
• Multiple locked iron gates containing treasure chests.

Tread carefully, as it's easy to make these guys hostile if you fail certain checks or walk into the wrong mines. You can get a lot out of this area, but it's also very easy to initiate a hideout-wide battle that can wipe out your party if you annoy the wrong people.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3: How to find and enter Zhentarim Hideout appeared first on Destructoid.

Of all the classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, Druids are the only characters that can pivot between being powerful casters and crushing skulls with animalistic melee attacks. 

Picking the right feats for your Druid means understanding your playstyle, and that’s why I should preface this list with my own biases. I tend to find pleasure in the simple things, like the image of an owlbear smacking a goblin directly in the face. My Druids don’t have much time to cast epic spells, because I make them shift into a bear, or a dinosaur when possible, and smash into everything in sight. My favorite feats tend to boost that melee-heavy approach, but I’ve included some feats for Druids that want to flex their spellcasting muscles and some honorable mentions that should appeal to everyone. 

Ability Score Improvement

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Taking an Ability Score improvement instead of an actual feat is the best, most boring option available to any level 4 character. It works for Sorcerers, Druids, and every other class because it’s the most reliable way to get a permanent increase in overall power. It’s also available fairly early, and as a Druid, you really can’t go wrong with taking two extra points to your Wisdom as your very first feat. 

War Caster

War Caster is a phenomenal feat for Druids, mostly because of the way it interacts with Wild Shape. This feat grants advantage on Concentration saving throws and allows characters to cast Shocking Grasp as a reaction. The reaction will only be available to Druids in their human form, but the advantage on Concentration saves carries over into Wild Shape. Because of that, you can massively buff yourself with a spell like Haste, for example, and then run into the melee in your Wild Shape without much fear of losing the buff. 

Elemental Adept 

When Druids are casting spells, they’re usually taking advantage of the destructive power of the elements. The Elemental Adept feat lets your Druid ignore damage resistance to one type of element, and when you use that element, you can’t roll a 1 on any of your damage dice. Your damage type choices are Acid, Cold, Lightning, Fire, or Thunder. There’s no wrong choice, but I’d recommend Lightning because it pairs so well with my favorite Druid spell, Call Lightning, and it’s even more useful if you also take the War Caster feat. 

Mobile

Enough with the casting, it’s time to get back to bashing things. Mobile increases a character’s movement speed by 3 meters, allows movement with the Dash action to ignore difficult terrain, and lets characters avoid attacks of opportunity from enemies they’ve already hit with a melee attack. People might typically associate this feat with Barbarians or other melee-first characters, but I love choosing it for Druids because the bonuses also apply to your Wild Shape. In animal form I can smack an enemy to cancel out an opportunity attack, and then take a ton of movement to flank my other opponents. It’s useful and really plays into the fantasy of shifting into an immensely powerful creature. 

Spell Sniper

I promised some feats for Druids specializing in spellcasting, and it really doesn’t get much better than Spell Sniper. The feat lets you pick up a free cantrip, with great options like Eldritch Blast and Bone Chill, but more importantly it also reduces the number you need for a Critical Hit with a spell by 1. Critting on both a 19 and 20 might not sound like a huge improvement, but when most of your actions are spent dishing out spell attacks, you’ll notice the difference very quickly. Suddenly 10% of all your spell attacks are critical hits, and that’s a lot of extra damage. 

Honorable Mentions

Athlete

The Athlete feat grants a +1 to Strength or Dexterity, reduces the movement required to stand from prone, and boosts jump distance by 50%. This is a fun feat for Druids because the bonuses apply while in Wild Shape, but because the jump distance doesn’t stack with abilities like the Dilophosaurus form’s Pounce attack, I’d prioritize Mobile. 

Magic Initiate 

The Magic Initiate feat grants a Druid two cantrips and a 1st level spell from the Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard spell lists. If you’re someone who plays a Druid as a full caster, then this is absolutely worth considering as it can really help round out your personal spell list. 

Lucky 

Three times per long rest, the Lucky feat allows you to either gain advantage on an attack, ability check, or saving throw, or force an enemy to reroll an attack. Need I say more? This feat works well for any character, though it’s obviously less focused than some of your other options. 

Resilient

Resilient gives you a +1 to any Ability Score and grants you proficiency with that ability’s saving throws. Because you can choose Constitution, which also counts for Concentration saving throws, this feat is in direct competition with War Caster. I’d rank Resilient second, but there’s definitely an argument to be made for taking either. 

Sentinel 

Sentinel is a tempting option for Druids, with one drawback that could be mitigated by your playstyle. The feat allows you to take a melee attack on an enemy as a reaction when they attack one of your party members, and it also gives you advantage on attacks of opportunity and makes those attacks, when successful, stop enemy movement for the rest of the turn. All that said, the reaction part of this feat doesn’t work when you’re in Wild Shape, so it’s significantly less useful for Druids like me that spend most of their time melee fighting as an animal. 

The post Best Druid Feats in Baldur’s Gate 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Depending on the race of your characters, getting into some spaces, like the rocky crevices, can be quite tricky in Baldur's Gate 3. Sometimes, in the game, you will come across small, interactable spaces that you just can't seem to get into. Well, here is the solution.

Baldur's Gate 3: How to get into rocky crevices and burrow holes

First, these Rocky Crevices can come in two forms in Baldur's Gate 3. You've got medium-sized openings and then others that are really tiny. You can usually find these in little corners of an area or somewhere you wouldn't initially think to look, like in the rafters of an old building. But as you approach one, your party should spot it as long as at least one of you passes the Perception check.

These spaces require you to be able to either change size or be naturally gifted with a tiny body. If you're too large, it's simply impossible to squeeze into the rocky crevasses or any spaces in Baldur's Gate 3. For the two types of spaces, you will need to fit the following parameters:

• Rocky crevices – Medium spaces

  • Be a Halfling or Gnome.
  • Use Disguise Self or Shapeshift to change into a Halfling or Gnome.
  • Use Enlarge-Reduce to shrink.
  • Use Wildshape to turn into a small animal.

• Burrow holes – Small spaces

  • As a Druid, use Wild Shape to turn into a cat.
  • Use Gaseous Form.
  • As a Halfling or Gnome, use Enlarge-Reduce to fit through. This will only work on the smaller races in Baldurs Gate 3.

For medium-sized crevices, only small Baldurs Gate characters can fit inside. So, unless you have some kind of shape-shifting ability, only Gnomes and Halflings will be able to squeeze in.

How to shapeshift in Baldurs Gate 3

But, as mentioned, if you don't have either of these in your party, you can use Shapeshift, which is a 1st level Illusion spell. This lets you transform yourself into any race, including Halflings and Gnomes.

For all the spells on this list, look for scrolls. The use of a scroll will help you fit through the small crevices and burrows located around Baldurs Gate 3.

So you can just transform into either of these and squeeze through the rocky crevice or burrow hole in Baldurs Gate 3 without issue. If you haven't got it yet, Astarion can learn this spell via the Arcane Trickster subclass at level 3. Deciding on the best race and class to have in your party can be overwhelming, but a Mage is always a good choice.

How to use Wildshape

Very small rocky crevices are a bit more of a problem. Shapeshift won't be able to give you a form that's small enough to fit inside these. For this job, a Druid with Wild Shape is needed. With this, you can turn into a cat and get through the hole this way. This method would work for medium-sized crevices in Baldur's Gate 3 as well.

Wildshape can be accessed by any level 2 Druid. There are some fantastic options to play with once you have it equipped. Playing as an animal in Baldur's Gate 3 has a lot more to it than first meets the eye.

Use Gaseous Form or Reduce

Another option to get through rocky crevices and burrow holes is to use Gaseous Form, which is a level three spell. You can also use the Reduce spell to get through small holes if you're a Halfling or Gnome.

However, be aware that using Reduce will not work for larger characters. But it will let the little guys get into incredibly tight spaces like the rocky crevices in Baldur's Gate 3.

Don't worry too much if none of these options are available to you just yet. Explore elsewhere in these areas, and you'll likely discover alternate entrances you can use. I recommend pulling up your map and placing a custom marker to mark the spot for later. Many elements of Baldurs Gate 3 will require you to backtrack, but it is almost always worth it.

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