It’s been a long time since its early access launch, but it’s undeniable that Baldur’s Gate 3 continues to evolve, grow, and refine with each update. Larian Studios is now at Patch 8, which demonstrates its efforts, with regular additions. We must admit that creating a AAA title with all the rich content of Dungeons & Dragons 5 is not an easy task.
Bard class
Revealed during the Panel from Hell, and accompanied by a performance by metal band Hunter, Update 8 introduces long-requested items, including the Bard class. It’s the jack-of-all-trades class, which is perfect for players who want to be able to do it all, even if they don’t excel in combat. The Bard can cast spells, inspire his allies, use many skills, and, of course, perform in order to charm or convince his audience. It is also the ultimate class for insulting enemies. The Bard has 2 subclasses, with radically different specializations:
College of Valor
This subclass is more combat oriented. Bards of the College of Valor learn skills that make them tough enough to fight on the front lines of battle while allowing them to support and inspire their allies.
Signature Feature: Battle Inspired
- Inspire an ally with your courage.
- He can add a +1d6 bonus to his next attack roll, skill check, or saving throw.
- He can also choose to add a +1d6 bonus to the damage of his next weapon attack, or a +4 bonus to his Armor Class for one attack.
college of knowledge
The Bards of the College of Knowledge seek to gather knowledge wherever they go, and use their eloquence and magical abilities to confuse and weaken their enemies while encouraging and inspiring their allies.
Signature Feature: Sharp Lyrics
- Use your mind to distract a creature and undermine its confidence.
- It suffers a 1d6 penalty for attack rolls, skill checks, and damage inflicted until the start of the next turn.
The studio reports having recorded no less than 97 different insults, custom-made so that they can be used on any occasion. Some may lash out at the racial slurs of bards who will make fun of the goblins’ small size and skin color.
Contents of Patch 8: Of Valor and lore
The update is not limited to a new class, or even a new race. Here is a list of what’s new:
- Recital Ability : Musical instruments can be used by any class with the Recital achievement at level 4. Play songs wherever you want, but be prepared for some NPCs to react to your performance or even decide to join you. If they really appreciate your musical talents, they may decide to reward you for that too.
- New playable race – Gnomes : Adventurous and dynamic, curious and small in stature, Gnomes are the first new race added to Baldur’s Gate 3 since its launch in Early Access. The notable point of the gnomes is their high intelligence, which makes them the ideal race to play a mage, for example.
- Swarm AI : Minor enemies like animals and goblins are now grouped together. They move and attack together, making the combat experience much faster and smoother in larger battles. You will no longer spend 3 hours waiting during the Goblin Camp battle.
- killcams : Ranged critical hits now use combat cameras. Much like in Sniper Elite, you will be able to admire the magic arrows and missiles as they pierce the skulls of your enemies. Nothing is as interesting to watch as violence and death.
- Improved hairstyles : L’Oréal may have opened a business on the Sword Coast, since the inhabitants now have much neater hair and hairstyles. The rendering of hairstyles has been improved, including using a new rendering model for shadow effects. Swipes and graying hair have also been added to the character editor.
Other improvements have been made, with greater stability in multiplayer, and a translation of the game into Brazilian Portuguese.
It’s hard to say what the next additions in Baldur’s Gate 3 will be, but there are a few notable contenders, which players have been clamoring for for years now. For example, the Paladin class and the Monk class are still missing. There are also quite a few races missing from the cast, such as the popular Half-Orcs.
For the record, the release of the full version of Baldur’s Gate 3 is scheduled for 2023 on PC.