The game’s early access has been available for a while now, having opened its doors in October 2020. Our early access preview of Baldur’s Gate 3 was already very positive, but it must be recognized that the game has much changed since. The developers have communicated a lot since then, with regular events organized to present new features and to show that Baldur’s Gate 3 is not just Divinity Original Sin 2 under D&D5.
And of course, the important question that gamers keep asking the studio: when is the release date? After a year and a half in early access, it is indeed time for the team to set a clear objective. There are no limits to the number of improvements that can be made to a game, and many promising titles have fallen into the never-ending early access trap. So far, the team hasn’t gotten too wet, and the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 is simply scheduled for 2023without further details.
List of additions since the start of early access
For all those who haven’t followed the updates closely, it would be difficult and too long to try to be exhaustive, but here are the main improvements made to Baldur’s Gate 3 for a year and a half, with the 7 major patches:
- The Druid class with 2 specialties has been introduced: the circle of the Earth and the circle of the moon.
- Loaded dice were introduced in order to provide a less random gaming experience for those who choose to use them.
- An improved dialogue and skill roll system has been added. It automatically casts spells and abilities that provide success bonuses. It doesn’t seem like much said like that, but for players who like to optimize their chances, and who want to succeed in all their actions, it’s a huge gain in comfort.
- Long rests in camp have been revised, with a system of provisions to manage so as not to abuse them between each fight.
- Many spells have been introduced, and others have been improved. Their interface has also been seriously revised.
- Graphically, the game is also much more beautiful, especially at the level of the characters, with a greatly improved management of shadows and light.
- Patch 6 was certainly the most massive, as it introduced the Grymforge region, with an ancient fortress full of quests, combat, items, and NPCs.
- This patch also introduced the Sorcerer class, along with its Wild Magic and Dragonline subclasses.
- Finally, patch 7 added the Barbarian class, with its 2 specialties, Berserker and Savage Court.
To all this must be added several hundred additions, i.e. tutorials, cinematics, bug fixes, and optimization in general. The companions have also been seriously improved, in terms of their dialogues, their attitude, their skills or their romance options.
There’s also a lot to do before release, with several base classes still missing, such as the Monk, Bard, and Paladin, among others.