NOTICE: Due to a build error causing new crashes, we’ve rolled back Hotfix 4 for the time being. We'll re-release it as soon as we’ve fixed the cause.

If you’ve saved since updating, you won’t be able to load those saves until we’ve re-published Hotfix 4. You can keep playing on your Hotfix 3 saves, you just won't be able to load saves from today’s Hotfix 4 until it’s pushed live again. Sorry about the inconvenience. 🙏

(8/16/23 @ 3:40pm PDT)
----

Hello everyone,

Thanks to all of you, we had an even better second weekend on Steam than our first, taking us to over 850,000 concurrent players on Sunday. We can’t quite believe it, but we’re firmly in the top 10 most played games of all time on Steam now, and we’re immensely grateful.

All that said, Hotfix #4 is here and it’s taking aim at several crashes, bugs, flow issues, and companions who keep trying to sleep in, all detailed below. Beware of spoilers!

As Swen mentioned on Twitter, up next on our roadmap is Patch 1 – a larger update of over 1000 fixes and tweaks, followed by Patch 2, which will incorporate some of the biggest requests we’ve received from the community since launch.

Please reach out to our support team with further issues. We’re busy working away on further patches and hotfixes, and your reports make the world of difference. Thank you for playing Baldur’s Gate 3.

• Fixed players getting stuck mid-Long-Rest due to companions not waking up.
  
• Fixed being able to Long Rest in the Astral Prism, potentially causing the portal to disappear.
  
• Fixed Orin getting pulled from her location in the Temple of Bhaal if the door was opened before killing Gortash in Wyrm's Crossing.
  
• Fixed a script issue preventing some players from loading savegames.

• Fixed characters disappearing when disconnecting and reconnecting in split-screen.
  
• Added a warning for hosts in multiplayer when clients join through drop-in during Character Creation. Hosts must now grant approval before new players join.
  
• Fixed the visibility of multiplayer servers on GOG.

• Slightly increased Isobel's HP so she doesn't die as easily.
  
• Fixed a bug that would make Gortash join the combat taking place in Wyrm's Rock's Audience Hall while he was in his office upstairs.
  
• Fixed Cruel Sting adding infinite additional Psychic damage to attacks.

• Fixed the 'Enemy of the Absolute' crime not clearing from player characters, resulting in a soft block when speaking to the Steel Watch.
  
• Fixed the game thinking the Emperor had died in the Astral Prism when you healed a downed ally.
  
• Player resources are now correctly restored at the end of Act II.
  
• Having dead party members no longer prevents you from entering the Astral Prism.
  
• Fixed a bug preventing you from talking to Ravengard if he gets moved to the camp in a certain case.
  
• Hostages in the Iron Throne will no longer be stuck if you turn back and return again.
  
• Players with modded or cheated savegames with characters at Level 13 or above can now travel to the House of Hope.
  
• Killing Anders will no longer make the other paladins leave the Tollhouse.

Hello everyone,

We’ve got another hotfix for you today, fixing over 200 bugs, issues and more. Dogs: man’s best friend, but remarkably high maintenance. In this update, we’ve let Scratch off the leash a little bit, and he’ll sniff out digging spots by himself! Make sure you give him a pet for every bit of treasure he uncovers, you heartless monsters.

Also, we’ve decided to make the Blue Behir Dice permanently available to all players. Some lucky players may have gotten hold of it early, but we’ll just… roll with it.

As ever, thank you for playing Baldur’s Gate 3 and reporting these issues! Behind the frontlines, our team would like to thank you for how much information you’re providing in your bug reports, it’s enabling us to get these hotfixes ready very quickly. Continue to be thorough, we appreciate it. Please reach out to our support team if you run into trouble.

• Fixed an issue with spell slots that would prevent you from levelling up while multiclassing.
  
• Fixed an edge case issue preventing you from initiating a Long Rest.
  
• Fixed a cross-save issue causing you to get stuck syncing indefinitely, which prevented saving and loading.
  
• Fixed a crash that would occur when selecting a summon without a hotbar while a deck in the hotbar was maximised.

• Fixed the Hireling UI from being split in half on each monitor in splitscreen.
  
• Fixed some visual artefacts appearing on split-screen when using Vulkan.
  
• Wyll now correctly recognises and confronts Karlach when you speak to him with a Karlach avatar after another avatar has already spoken to him.

• Fixed the cultists in the Temple of Bhaal reacting strangely to Wild Shaped characters in combat.
  
• The guards in the Counting House will now continue pursuing you through the vault room.
  
• Fixed the camera not working correctly in combat with Ansur.
  
• Fixed a bug that would let you use the Hide action outside of your turn in combat.
  
• Increased Isobel's AC to restore the intended balance.
  
• Increased Glitterbeard's HP and Dexterity and gave him the Shield spell.
  
• If you deal damage to certain Bhaalist lackeys in the Sewers, they will now lose their Unstoppable condition.
  
• Fixed Haarlep going to the Ethereal Plane on the killing blow and then coming back again.
  
• Added the NPCs in the drider's convoy to the same combat group.
  
• Fixed the hag having her illusions occasionally spawn on top of an explosive mine.
  
• Fixed an issue where gnolls took too much time to react during the start of their turn after their pack leader attacked them.

• Fixed mismatches between colours in Character Creation and in game, mainly affecting horns.

• When things go south in Crèche Y'llek, the music now goes from mellow to metal.

• Fixed an issue preventing you from talking to Withers in Act 3.
  
• Companions can now also trigger various tutorial pop-ups.
  
• Scratch can now find digging spots by himself.
  
• Fixed a hatch in the Emerald Grove not unlocking after a successful check.
  
• The Devil's in the Details achievement can now be achieved by all party members, including followers.
  
• Fixed an issue with crimes that meant you wouldn't get caught committing a crime if another party member had already committed a more severe crime and resolved it peacefully.
  
• You now consistently get the Bloodless condition the morning after Astarion bites you.
  
• Fixed a bug allowing you to spam party members' voiced lines near the log where you can recruit Karlach.
  
• Wyll no longer says you should find and slay Karlach after you've recruited her.
  
• If Jatlo is still disguised after the shadow curse has been lifted, he will now drop his disguise when attacked.
  
• Made sure Youth Vis'kiir looks like he's cleaning before you talk to him in Crèche Y'llek.
  
• Fixed the hatchery and infirmary map markers in Crèche Y'llek.
  
• Lae'zel will no longer permanently leave the party if you refuse to follow through with Vlaakith's orders.
  
• Fixed a bug preventing you from using the planecaster in Crèche Y'llek.
  
• Removed ownership from the portraits of Lohse and Sebille so that taking them is not a crime.
  
• Increased the bounds of the Inquisitor's room in Crèche Y'llek so that the game doesn't think you've left if you enter one of the side rooms.
  
• When playing as Shadowheart, telling Astarion about your affiliation with Shar now affects his approval rating.
  
• Astarion will now be better at remembering whether you've seen his back.
  
• You can no longer loot the items belonging to the Inquisitor in Crèche Y'llek without consequence.
  
• Fixed the range indicators on the orthon's quickly ticking mines.
  
• The dialogue that follows combat with Cazador will now trigger correctly even if you interact with a certain sarcophagus during combat.
  
• Alfira's lute is no longer invisible while she plays it at camp.
  
• Fixed the explosion VFX for the toy chest in the barn in Wyrm's Crossing.
  
• Added a proper name to a note in Sharess' Caress.
  
• Carrion will now resurrect with full health instead of 0 HP, and you can now reach his jars.
  
• Interacting with certain rune slates on the nautiloid now correctly triggers the narrator's line.
  
• Fixed the alarm in the Counting House going off when it shouldn't.
  
• Orin will now react to Wild Shaped characters in the Temple of Bhaal.
  
• Added a world label to Orin's body so she's easier to find.
  
• Removed duplicated furniture in the Elfsong Tavern.
  
• Made a door in the Elfsong Tavern indestructible.
  
• Fixed edge cases where characters would not correctly attach to the game grid, causing knock-on issues.

• Fixed the journal not updating after you meet the pale individuals at Fraygo's Flophouse.
  
• The journal now updates correctly for the Rescue the Trapped Man quest.
  
• Dame Guisarme now reacts more accurately to your progress in the Investigate the Murders quest.
  
• Fixed an inaccurate line in the Help the Hag Survivors quest.
  
• Fixed a misleading journal update in the Find the Mushroom Picker quest.
  
• Updated Wyll's map marker to make a quest objective more precise.
  
• Made it easier to resolve the Wake Up Art Cullagh quest if you follow up with Art.
  
• Fixed a confusing map marker and added an extra step for clarity in the Find the Nightsong quest.
  
• Improved the journal entry flow for the Solve the Open Hand Temple Murders quest.
  
• Fixed the Investigate Cazador's Palace quest not completing if you help Astarion finish what Cazador started.

• Fixed Shadowheart's dialogue on the nautiloid playing twice when playing as Avatar Lae'zel.
  
• Removed a dialogue option that's no longer relevant when talking to Karlach.
  
• Made sure you get Astarion's bitey scene at camp if you discover his secret through other means.
  
• Fixed Astarion mentioning things that haven't happened yet if you romance him early on.
  
• Fixed Avatar Gale's hunger not progressing if doesn't meet Tara before leaving the nautiloid crash site.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented Brakkal from triggering the correct dialogue when he's being released if his goblin guards left with Minthara for the raid.
  
• Minthara now reacts more appropriately if you kill all the tieflings.
  
• Removed unnecessary VFX in a dialogue with Raphael at Last Light.
  
• Fixed Glut saying the wrong line when he reanimates a spore servant.
  
• Made the dialogue options with Therezzyn more relevant if you've already been to the hatchery.
  
• Fixed a bug causing the wrong dialogue to play when speaking to the Reconstituted Duellist if you haven't met him before.
  
• Fixed the same dialogue option appearing twice when interacting with the Mirror of Loss.
  
• Kled will now play the correct dialogues in Old Garlow's Place.
  
• Made sure Lakrissa and Alfira don't appear in the Elfsong Tavern if you didn't save them.
  
• Fixed a line about Lorroakan appearing in a dialogue at camp if you haven't met him yet.
  
• You can no longer ask Isobel the same question about Ketheric on two separate occasions.
  
• Fixed some wrong lines playing when you reach a late stage of the game.
  
• Fixed Toobin thinking you have a runepowder bomb when you don't.
  
• Mizora no longer disappears from the game after you resolve the Iron Throne situation.
  
• After Mizora pops up at the Iron Throne, she will now be back at camp instead of disappearing.
  
• Wyll no longer talks about his father as if he's not there anymore if his father was saved.
  
• Fixed Havkelaag accepting the gith egg via dialogue when he doesn't have enough gold for it, and made it impossible to pickpocket back if you sold it to him.
  
• Korrilla is now better at recognising how you responded to Raphael's deal.
  
• Swapped two couples in the Elfsong Tavern so that they sit at the right tables.
  
• Fixed Jaheira becoming a follower in Moonrise even if the conditions weren't met, which could cause other issues with Jaheira's flow.
  
• Fixed Jaheira not returning to her human form once she leaves your party.
  
• If Cazador's bats are too far from the player to join combat, they will now join anyway.
  
• Fixed the dialogue skill checks if you die in combat with the honour guard and are revived by the Emperor in Wyrm's Lookout.
  
• Fixed the AI taking control of Lae'zel and kicking you out of a multiplayer game, with Lae'zel becoming hostile towards the remaining player if they chose to betray Vlaakith and Inquisitor W'wargaz.
  
• Improved Halsin's reactivity to whether or not you've been to Grymforge.
  
• Fixed some incorrect options showing up in dialogue with Halsin about a particular drow couple.
  
• Fixed Orin assuming you ate a particular morsel, even if you didn't.
  
• Fixed a blocker preventing Nightsong from going to Ramazith's Tower, and other issues related to her appearing in the wrong place or not appearing at all.

• Made Blue Behir Dice permanently available on all platforms with just the base game.
  
• Fixed the UI seemingly disappearing because the game thinks a character is still in a dialogue, which could happen when going into a dialogue in the middle of combat.
  
• Fixed the Attack button disappearing from the dialogue UI after loading a savegame made during a dialogue.

• Made sure that you get a certain dialogue with Voss at camp.
  
• Fixed a repeating dialogue when talking to Gale while Wild Shaped.
  
• Fixed Astarion repeating information about his master if you speak to him twice in a row.
  
• Fixed Astarion oversharing about his master a little too early.
  
• Fixed a leg twitch in a conversation between Shadowheart and a certain dame.
  
• Moved the Dark Urge to a different pod on the nautiloid to prevent the wrong dialogue from playing.
  
• Fixed Astarion's knife not being held against dragonborn throats correctly during his recruitment dialogue at the beach.
  
• Made general improvements to a dialogue at camp with Astarion.
  
• Added a missing animation for Karlach in Astarion's recruitment dialogue.
  
• Gale's head now rests correctly on his bedroll pillow.
  
• Cleaned up pops and mocap issues in the dialogue where Gale teaches you a spell.
  
• Fixed Gale's arms clipping with his thigh.
  
• Fixed where characters are looking and facing in the dialogue where Gale reveals his history.
  
• Fixed Wyll's head jitters and strange turns during his recruitment dialogue.
  
• Made general improvements to cameras, facial reactions, and movements in a dialogue at camp with Wyll.
  
• Cleaned up the mocap in the scene where Lae'zel is suspended in a cage.
  
• Tall characters' hands no longer clip with their face when interacting with Karlach in a romantic moment.
  
• Adjusted Edowin's pose in the dialogue with him and his siblings in the forest.
  
• Fixed a corpse in the Goblin Camp from standing back up when you use Speak with Dead on it.
  
• Tweaked the cameras and facial expressions in the dialogue with Halsin during the celebration at camp.
  
• Fixed clipping with a statue in a camp dialogue at night with Gale.
  
• Fixed animation issues if you turn down Gale in the dialogue where he teaches you a spell.
  
• Adjusted some hand positions when interacting with the console on the nautiloid.
  
• Shadowheart is now sitting in a better pose when fiddling with her mysterious artefact during her camp scene.
  
• Fixed emotions and facial expressions in dialogues with Shadowheart, Omotola, and Minthara.
  
• Fixed a camera shot when talking to the mind flayer on the beach.
  
• Fixed an irrelevant line playing in a camp dialogue with Shadowheart.
  
• Fixed dragonborn players turning in the wrong direction after Astarion's bitey scene at camp.
  
• Fixed Roland and Lia looking in the wrong direction in their dialogue in the Emerald Grove.
  
• Fixed a camera issue in a dialogue with Silfy in the Emerald Grove.
  
• Fixed characters' legs clipping into the ground when looking through the telescope in the Emerald Grove.
  
• Fixed some mocap-related pops in a dialogue with Cerys in the Emerald Grove.
  
• Fixed a pop for one of the ogres in the Blighted Village.
  
• Fixed some camera issues and removed a ring from the background in the dialogue where Crusher asks you to kiss his foot.
  
• Improved facial expressions, camera shots and other issues in Shadowheart's recruitment dialogue at the Goblin Camp.
  
• Fixed a twisting forearm in a dialogue between Lae'zel and Voss at camp.
  
• Fixed characters clipping into each other when they're feeling ill at camp.
  
• Characters now appear correctly in the dialogue with the bugbear in the forest. The ogre's weapon is also now hidden.
  
• Fixed the camera clipping into the ground when speaking with your Dream Visitor at camp.
  
• Cleaned up the animations when Sceleritas Fel tells the Dark Urge to commit a certain misdeed.
  
• Fixed halflings' thumbs clipping through the Soul Coin when speaking to Nadira.
  
• Made general improvements to cameras, facial expressions, and animations for a romance dialogue with Wyll.
  
• Fixed some camera issues in the dialogue with Oskar in the Zhent hideout.
  
• Lae'zel is no longer invisible during Shadowheart's recruitment dialogue by the Chapel.
  
• Cleaned up some mocap and made general improvements in the dialogue with Glut.
  
• Removed an incorrect animation during the dialogue with The Necromancy of Thay.
  
• Fixed a minor clip when speaking to Sovereign Spaw in the Underdark.
  
• Fixed feet not making contact with the ground when using Feather Fall to leap into the Underdark.
  
• Fixed an animation issue when exchanging noblestalk with Derryth in the Underdark.
  
• Fixed a head pop in the scene on the raft in the Underdark.
  
• Fixed Lae'zel's crossed eyes in the dialogue with Lady Esther near Rosymorn Monastery.
  
• Fixed a couple of lines related to Zorru and Crèche Y'llek playing at the wrong moment.
  
• Fixed the position of characters' feet to prevent clipping, and moved Lae'zel to prevent her looking the wrong way in Crèche Y'llek.
  
• Added fade-ins and -outs and tweaked the facial expressions in the dialogue with Kansif in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
  
• Hid a goblin floating in the background when talking to the drider in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
  
• Fixed paddle hands in the scene where Harpers ambush the drider's convoy in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
  
• Fixed the drider jittering and cameras looking the wrong way when you examine the Harpers' bodies after the ambush in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
  
• Fixed some animations and camera issues in the dialogue with Harper Skywin in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
  
• Fixed one of Jaheira's lines getting cut off in the dialogue with her at Last Light.
  
• Fixed the timing of Marcus' wing flap animation when he flies away from Last Light.
  
• Fixed a dagger appearing beneath the Strange Ox at Last Light if you use Speak with Animals on it.
  
• Fixed Jaheira looking like she sinks into the ground on certain lines.
  
• Fixed a barrel clipping with Thisobald Thorm's pipes.
  
• Thisobald Thorm's tubes no longer twitch and twist.
  
• Fixed head angles and pops in a dialogue with Araj and Astarion at Moonrise.
  
• Fixed camera and character placement issues in a dialogue with Jaheira at Moonrise.
  
• Fixed some camera angles in a dialogue with Araj at Moonrise.
  
• Fixed the lipsyncing for a rat in the Gauntlet of Shar.
  
• Made sure large characters don't block or clip into Shadowheart when you arrive in the Shadowfell.
  
• Fixed clipping in a shot in the Colony with the three Chosen.
  
• The camera will no longer try to show a shot of Minsc if he isn't present in the Temple of Bhaal.
  
• Removed certain pale individuals from the background of a camp dialogue.
  
• Fixed a duplicate line in dialogue with Gortash in Wyrm's Crossing.
  
• Cleaned up the animations for Izzy, the girl trying to sneak into the circus.
  
• Fixed hirelings clipping into whoever's talking in the dialogue with Zethino in the circus.
  
• Fixed character placement and clipping issues in a camp scene at the Elfsong Tavern.
  
• Cleaned up the mocap in the dialogue with Allandra Grey in the Water Queen's House.
  
• Fixed the pacing of how a certain character in the House of Grief is revealed.
  
• Fixed where companions and Shadowheart are looking when meeting a particular character in the House of Grief.
  
• Fixed some facial expressions and camera issues in the dialogue that plays after Gortash is defeated.
  
• Fixed several snaps and twitches in the dialogue with the pale individuals at Fraygo's Flophouse.
  
• Improved the facial expressions and timing when talking to Lady Flux in the Guildhall.
  
• Fixed an issue with where characters are looking in the dialogue with Aradin at Sorcerous Sundries.
  
• Fixed the wrong animation being used when closing a sarcophagus in Cazador's palace.
  
• Added new camera shots in a romance dialogue with Halsin and in dialogues in the Stormshore Tabernacle.
  
• Fixed Sarevok looking like he floats upwards at the Tribunal.
  
• Made sure the chains are no longer there after you free Valeria.
  
• Fixed an animation to avoid clipping for halflings male when they hold the Helm of Balduran.
  
• Fixed Orin and her victim being invisible when you enter the Temple of Bhaal.
  
• Fixed Astarion jittering in a dialogue by a particular pool.
  
• Made sure characters don't stay in their Wild Shape in an endgame cinematic dialogue.
  
• Fixed excessive neck twisting in an endgame dialogue.
  
• Fixed some mocap-related pops in an endgame dialogue with Wyll.
  
• Fixed an issue in one of Karlach's final dialogues, causing it to end too early.
  
• The Emperor is no longer missing from one of the endgame cinematics.
  
• Fixed a line being cut off in a game over dialogue.
  
• Fixed some issues with Wyll's mocap in an endgame dialogue.
  
• Fixed pops in an endgame dialogue with Gale.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing one of Karlach's final scenes from triggering and made sure she's wearing her camp clothing in romance dialogues.
  
• Fixed the wrong characters appearing in a cinematic shot near the end of the game.

Hello, everyone!

During the launch weekend, you played a combined 1225 years of Baldur’s Gate 3 – almost as long as it took to make it. And 368 of you managed to finish it within that 3-day weekend. We salute you.

We’re about to enter the second weekend of launch, and thanks to you, it’s looking like it might be a big one. Last Thursday, we released Baldur’s Gate 3 in its final form (give or take a few hotfixes), and since, you’ve taken it into the top 10 all-time most concurrent players on Steam, and according to this Tweet, accounted for 28% of all player time on Steam last Sunday.

As we continue to look forward, releasing hotfixes and working toward our first serious patch, we also decided to look backwards this week. We’ve cooked up some statistics highlighting data from the opening weekend following launch and prepared a handy infographic outlining player choices, actions, deaths, and the like. Some inspiration as we head into our second weekend, if you will.

93% of you decided that your first journey through Baldur’s Gate 3 will be with a custom character, which included the Dark Urge. You spent a combined 88 years in Character Creation to craft your Tavs. Perfection!

For those of you who decided to play as one of our Origin characters, Gale was the number one choice, which is funny because he’s also the seventh highest cause of death out of any other cause of death. Speaking of death, one NPC was shoved into a chasm for every player at our peak concurrent player count – roughly 815,000.

We know you’re dying to know race and class split. The majority of you rolled half-elves, with the least popular (somewhat surprisingly) being the githyanki. Kaincha!



When it comes to classes, paladin takes the lead by some distance. Righteous! Cleric was the least popular choice, poor Shadowheart. (You can always respec Origin characters if you want!)



Though 93% of you rolled custom Tavs, of the 7% who decided to embark on one of the Origin stories, the majority chose Gale – though Karlach and Astarion are a close tie for second place. Based on how this played out with our previous game, Divinity: Original Sin 2, players will often embark upon their first playthrough with a custom character, and then, once they've gotten to know them a little better, play their second with one of the Origins as their avatar.

Interestingly, 10% of characters made in Character Creation were there for over an hour. You perfectionists.



The full infographic will be posted below and on social media, and once again only contains data from the game's opening weekend. After this weekend, we’ll see if things look any different! For example, although Astarion has already rejected 100,000 of you, we expect that number to climb. He must be exhausted.



We’d like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the profound joy you've given us throughout this launch. The love and support you've shown us has lifted us up and energised us to tackle the bugs that pop up as you do the unexpected. We’ve created a game where you can do almost anything with the tools and systems we give you, and with that come a lot of unexpected surprises, but as you report them, we continue to work away on fixing them with our spirits high.

Your journeys were so full that we recently had to increase the size of savegames to allow for each individual’s personal tapestry. It was a surprise as humbling as it was serious, and serves as the perfect example of the type of unpredictable situation we work quickly to remedy. And yes, all of the hotfixes and changes that come with forthcoming patches will be reflected in the PlayStation 5 version of the game and beyond.

We have a roadmap for hotfixes and patches, thanks to your thorough reporting and the stellar work of the support and development teams behind the scenes. We don’t publish our roadmaps because we need the freedom to push and pull things around when the unforeseen happens without locking ourselves in, but we want to let you know that it’s there and that we’re currently working towards Patch 1, which will feature a gigantic list of tweaks and changes. We’ll publish these once it’s finalised.

Enjoy the adventure!

Hello everyone,

As it turns out, many of you were doing so much in Baldur’s Gate 3 that some of your personal ‘story’ databases (where your choices and actions are stored) got too big. We now made the size infinite (or at least as infinite as you have storage space), to account for the sheer amount of things you’re all doing on your journeys.

As of today, we’re also reactivating cross-saves as we near our PlayStation 5 launch.

Hotfix #3 is currently in the oven, and will include further fixes in the near future.

Please reach out to our support team if you encounter any troubles on your journey through the Forgotten Realms.


CHANGES

• Fixed an issue with save games that could occur if a save file grew too large.
  
• Re-enabled Larian Cloud savegames.

Hello everyone,

Over the weekend, Baldur’s Gate 3 hit over 800,000 concurrent players on Steam – a number that surpassed our wildest expectations. Thank you for getting BG3 in the 10 most popular games of all time on Steam! It means the world to us, and we’ll continue to read and watch everything over the coming weeks.

That said, there’s work to be done on the road to the PlayStation 5 launch on September 6, and we’re busy working away on squashing some of the remaining bugs and issues that have come up since launch. We’ve got a new hotfix for you this week, addressing almost 300 crashes, blockers, and bugs. We saw a video floating around on the internet this week of… an unintentional gnome sorcerer wardrobe malfunction, and have kindly asked them to cover up while descending into the Underdark.

As ever, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to report these issues to us. Please reach out to our support team if you run into trouble.

• Fixed an issue causing you to get stuck in dialogue.
  
• Fixed a potential crash when reloading a savegame made mid-dialogue.
  
• Fixed being unable to enter the Shadowfell if you saved while the prompt was on screen.
  
• Fixed a crash caused by the UI.
  
• Fixed a potential crash when saving while standing on a surface during combat or in Turn-Based Mode.
  
• Fixed a rare blocker when loading a savegame made in camp that would cause a party member to spawn outside of camp.
  
• Fixed a potential crash when choosing to stop listening in on a dialogue.
  
• Fixed a potential crash when applying dye to an item outside of the inventory or through non-conventional means, such as the Reward panel.
  
• Fixed a potential multiplayer crash when the client touches the transponder on the nautiloid and leaves the party, and then the host tries to open Party View.
  
• Fixed a potential crash caused by the game trying to load the Character Creation UI when you are no longer in Character Creation.
  
• Fixed a potential crash related to the tooltips of items that grant skill advantages but don't have an owner.
  
• Fixed a rare PhysX crash.
  
• Fixed a rare crash related to moving items.

• Fixed long fade-outs when listening in on dialogues in multiplayer.

• Penises C and D no longer clip through some githyanki clothing.
  
• Male gnome sorcerers are no longer missing their undies.
  
• Fixed an infinite loop that could occur with spells like Minor Illusion, where the enemy and the illusion would repeatedly enter and leave combat.
  
• Fixed necromites not joining the combat with Ketheric.
  
• Fixed enemies on the upper floor of Moonrise entering combat with those on the lower floor.
  
• Fixed Voss' dragon reappearing after the githyanki scene near the Mountain Pass.
  
• Fixed a book in Moonrise Towers showing an internal variable name instead of the correct content.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing the boss fight with Ketheric from progressing.

• Removed the version number that was below the minimap.
  
• Improved UI stability by preventing possible crashes and possible savegame corruption.

• Fixed issues with rendering on Vulkan when minimising the game.
  
• Added additional multiplayer servers and server scaling support.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the wrong refresh rates to be applied if the game was not running in fullscreen.

• Fixed pauses and long silences in over 200 dialogues.
  
• Companions no longer block the camera in some dialogs.
  
• Fixed a camera issue where you see the back of Gale's head when he asks you to place your hand over his chest.
  
• Fixed a pop on Shadowheart when she hears the voice of Shar.
  
• Fixed Gale's paddle hands in one of his dialogues.
  
• Fixed Guex looking at the floor in his dialogue in the Emerald Grove.
  
• Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with Benryn at Waukeen's Rest.
  
• Fixed clipping and other issues in the scene where you hear the voice of the Absolute when approaching the Goblin Camp.
  
• Fixed a camera issue and a pop in the dialogue with the owlbear in its cave.
  
• Fixed players' feet sliding around in the dialogue with Jaheira after combat at Last Light.
  
• Fixed one of Astarion's lines getting cut off in a camp dialogue.
  
• Fixed several animation issues in the dialogue after some acquaintances of Astarion visit camp.
  
• Fixed a pop for players using Body Type 4 in the scene with poor Liam at the Goblin Camp.
  
• Fixed a camera issue in the dialogue with Edowin, Andrick and Brynna in the forest.
  
• Fixed Kagha's eyes rolling backwards à la Exorcist after the goblin leaders are defeated.
  
• Fixed a positioning issue with Lorin in the hag's lair.
  
• Cleaned up some mocap in conversations with Astarion.
  
• Fixed a head pop in the scene with the ogres in the Blighted Village.
  
• Fixed Wyll's head animation in the dialogue with Florrick at Last Light.
  
• Fixed Sceleritas Fel standing a little too close for comfort when he tells the Dark Urge to commit a certain misdeed.
  
• Fixed a camera issue in the scene with Radija at Moonrise.
  
• Fixed a minor pop when rescuing Zariel's asset for Mizora.
  
• Fixed a clipping issue with a certain hag's arms and leaves in the Blushing Mermaid.
  
• Fixed some character placement issues in an endgame scene.
  
• Fixed a camera issue for female gnomes in a dialogue at Moonrise involving something coming through a wall.
  
• Fixed a pop for the flesh golem when speaking to Balthazar.
  
• Fixed a camera issue when talking to one of Therezzyn's dire wolves in Crèche Y'llek.
  
• Fixed character placement issues in the lanceboard scene with Mol and Raphael at Last Light.
  
• Fixed a character placement issue that caused Lae'zel to float off the edge of the nautiloid.
  
• Fixed several issues in the dialogue with Bernard at the Arcane Tower.
  
• Fixed a camera issue in the boat scene where you're heading to a particular pool.
  
• Fixed a minor mocap issue with Fist Rowan at Wyrm's Crossing.
  
• Fixed Minthara looking to the side with suspicion the night after the celebration at camp.
  
• Fixed characters' heads popping downward when throwing a coin into the well in the Blighted Village.
  
• Fixed a minor pop when Shadowheart tries to convince you that you need her at the Goblin Camp.
  
• Adjusted Astarion's expression in dialogue with Gandrel in the Sunlit Wetlands.
  
• Fixed Blurg being invisible and Astarion being stuck in the wrong animation in the Myconid Circle.
  
• Fixed several issues in the dialogue with the monk's amulet.
  
• Fixed several issues in the dialogue with Dammon and Karlach about her heart.
  
• Fixed several issues in the dialogue with Fortuno Dibbs at Wyrm's Crossing.
  
• Fixed several animation issues in the dialogue with Kansif and Warrior Vez in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
  
• Fixed a minor timing issue with a Dream Visitor line when talking to Therezzyn in the crèche.
  
• Fixed issues with several voice-over lines.
  
• Fixed characters' eyes looking in the wrong direction in the ambush scene in the Shadow-Cursed Lands if you side with the Harpers.
  
• Cleaned up some mocap in conversations with Gale.
  
• Cleaned up some mocap in the dialogue with Astarion about illithid powers.
  
• Added some pained grunts for the player in a scene about Wyll in the Colony.
  
• Added grunts in a scene for Dark Urge players after they resisted the allure of their Urges.
  
• Drenn is no longer invisible in the scene at Moonrise when Minthara has to defend herself.
  
• Fixed a very long pause in a dialogue with Halsin after the endgame fight.

Hello everyone,

Happy post-BG3-launch day! Thank you so much for all the love and support you’ve shown Baldur’s Gate 3 – it’s been surreal to finally launch this game after six years in development, and an incredible honour to watch so many of you play and discover what the team has built. We hope you’ll enjoy BG3 for many months – even years – to come.

All that said, Hotfix #1 is coming in fresh: today’s update takes care of several crashes, bugs and much more.

We’ve been reading your reports on issues with saving your game, and have found a culprit – our cross-saves. Bearing in mind this will only be a useful feature come September 6 when the PlayStation 5 version launches (and beyond), we’ve decided to disable it for now to allow us to solve the issue in the interim. You shouldn’t notice anything in-game and Steam Cloud saves are unaffected by this change.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to report these issues to us. As always, reach out to our support team if you run into trouble.

And please keep showing us your Tavs and their adventures in the Forgotten Realms! We’ve been waiting for so long to see what you get up to. 🙏

• Fixed possibly getting stuck in a dialogue in the first confrontation with a major boss.
  
• Fixed a rare issue where player character states would not update properly after dying.
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur related to one of Astarion's cinematic dialogues in the endgame.
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur when loading an old savegame while at Last Light.
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur when using the brain reader in the Colony.
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause you to get stuck in a loading screen when loading a savegame after dying.
  
• Fixed a blocker during Character Creation preventing you from progressing if you chose a Zariel tiefling as your Guardian.
  
• Fixed a potential crash triggered by the light system.
  
• Added an error message to prevent crashes being caused by mods when starting the game.
  
• Disabled Larian Account cross-saves temporarily to solve an issue blocking loads and saves. Steam cross-saves are unaffected.
  
• Fixed a startup crash with the Steam API.
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur when quick-loading a game while a container or corpse was open for looting.
  
• Fixed a crash that could happen if an item unlocked a spell for a game entity without stats.
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur when switching a race or a class in Character Creation.
  
• Fixed potential crashes that could occur when closing screens like the options menu or when ending dialogues.
  
• Fixed a potential crash when an enemy tries to use the Motivator during combat in the Steel Watch Foundry.
  
• Fixed a blocker that could occur if you choose to attack the Emperor during a dialogue after you side with him.
  
• Fixed a crash in PhysX.

• Players will now correctly join cinematic dialogues that require all players to be present if they were listening in previously.
  
• Fixed an issue that allowed players to listen in on private dialogues using the context menu.
  
• Fixed an issue causing players to get stuck and not be able to join a dialogue if someone else is already in a dialogue.

• Fixed hair physics on drow and elf male strong body types.
  
• Fixed an issue causing phase spiders to skip their turn in combat if they're standing on a web that's been destroyed.
  
• Fixed an issue with dice rolling, where retrying could cause the roll to fail if you were applying bonuses and clicking really fast.
  
• Duplicate spells no longer appear on followers' hotbars and you can no longer customise their radial menus. (Important to note: followers are not companions or full party members.)
  
• Fixed Dark Urge randomisation in Character Creation for non-white dragonborn characters.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing you from interacting with Withers in one of the camp locations.

• Fixed issues in cinematic dialogues when listening in.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the character models for half-orcs, dragonborn, and half-elves to not update correctly when unequipping armour in the character sheet.
  
• Fixed some issues with prepared spells during Level Up, when multiclassing.
  
• Hid the version number during dialogues.
  
• Fixed splitscreen cinematics showing sampling garbage.

• Fixed audio issues with grunts, shouts, and moans across gameplay and cinematics.
  
• Fixed a line being cut off when speaking to the Restless Myconid in the Underdark.
  
• Removed a clicking sound during the credits.
  
• Fixed audio levels in a dialogue with Mayrina in the Lower City.

• Fixed a bug causing textures to appear in bright, neon colours.
  
• Fixed a splitscreen issue causing characters to remain invisible after a dialogue ends.
  
• Fixed an aspect ratio issue when FSR is active during splitscreen.
  
• Fixed surface texture details not updating when changing Texture Detail in the game video options.

• Fixed characters looking in the wrong direction in a dialogue with Mizora.
  
• Fixed the Emperor turning backwards in an endgame cinematic.
  
• Fixed a camera issue with the deep rothé.
  
• Fixed camera and lighting issues with the strange ox at Last Light.
  
• Fixed a blank screen in the cinematic when you put on one of Auntie Ethel's masks.
  
• The nautiloid crash scene will now play even if your avatar is dead and a companion used the transponder instead.
  
• Fixed Jaheira's youngest daughter clipping in a cinematic dialogue.
  
• Fixed an issue with clipping characters in a cinematic dialogue in the Colony.
  
• Ravengard is no longer missing from a dialogue involving all the allies you've made.
  
• Fixed the avatar's head popping into place in a dialogue in the Colony.
  
• You no longer look like you're walking through Sceleritas Fel in the Temple of Bhaal.
  
• Fixed Cazador's staff disappearing in a cinematic dialogue.
  
• Fixed a camera that was zoomed in too far on a wolf.
  
• Fixed Lae'zel's head popping in a dialogue with Vlaakith.
  
• Fixed issues with animations, clipping, and camera shots in the romantic scene in the House of Hope.
  
• Fixed Orin and her victim clipping into an altar.
  
• Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with Lunkbug and Laridda.
  
• Fixed companions disappearing the morning after the Dark Urge gives into a particular Urge.
  
• Fixed lighting issues in a scene with Z'rell at Moonrise Towers.
  
• Fixed Araj's hands clipping when talking to her in the Lower City.
  
• Fixed some companions being visible in the background of dialogues where they shouldn't be.
  
• Fixed some lines being cut off when speaking to Ravengard in Wyrm's Crossing.
  
• Fixed Ketheric's corpse standing back up in an idle pose.
  
• Fixed a blocked camera in the dialogue with the ogres at the Blighted Village.
  
• Fixed Raphael popping during the dialogue with the orthon.
  
• Fixed camera, audio, and character movement issues in the dialogue with the monk's amulet.
  
• Fixed a looping animation in the cinematic dialogue with the Brewer.
  
• Fixed half-orc hirelings clipping when speaking to the pale individuals in Fraygo's Flophouse.
  
• Fixed male halfling Dark Urge's hand clipping through his body when lying down.
  
• Fixed lighting issues in the endgame cinematic.
  
• Fixed Jaheira having jittering and popping hands in a dialogue in the Lower City.
  
• Fixed a repeating animation on the submersible.
  
• Fixed Wyll looking in the wrong direction when recruited.
  
• Added reactions to the player character's face when talking to the ox in Last Light.
  
• Fixed clipping between two Zealots of the Absolute in the Colony.
  
• Lae'zel no longer floats in a cinematic dialogue in the Temple of Bhaal.
  
• Fixed popping issues with Cazador in several dialogues with Astarion.
  
• Fixed some issues with where characters are facing, animations, and cameras in the final combat cinematic.

Six years in the making and more than twenty years in the waiting, we can finally say this:

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now on PC!

It's time to gather your party and venture forth. Make sure you're sufficiently prepared with our tips for ensuring a smooth transition from Early Access to release. If you have questions or run into issues, check the FAQ below or contact our support team.

Look for more updates from us in the coming days, but for now, here's a message from our founder & creative director, Swen Vincke.

It’s hard to express how much love went into creating Baldur’s Gate 3. For over six years, more than 400 of us poured our hearts and souls into making this, helped by over 2.5 million Early Access players who spent countless hours giving us feedback.

The result is a beautiful, rich universe where you can escape from your daily worries, experience adventure and wonder, and have many many cool and exciting encounters. It’s a place where your identity and choices matter, where surprise lies around every corner, and where your agency is truly rewarded.

I’m super proud of what our team accomplished and I hope you will have an incredible amount of fun exploring what we prepared for you.

-- Swen Vincke

For the full FAQ, check the FAQ post on our Steam forums.

What is Baldur’s Gate 3?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons where your choices shape a tale of fellowship & betrayal, survival & sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power.

Do I need to have played Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2 to be able to enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a new adventure set in the Forgotten Realms and focuses on new characters. You’ll see some familiar places and faces if you’ve played Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2, but you don’t need to have played them to enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3.

What platforms can I play the game on?
Baldur's Gate 3 is currently released on PC, via Steam, GOG and Nvidia GeForce NOW.

Baldur’s Gate 3 will release on September 6th on PS5 (September 3rd for owners of the Digital Deluxe Edition). We’re also targeting September 6 for Mac (via Steam, GOG, GeForce NOW) — to be confirmed. Additional platforms TBD.

What other platforms is the game coming to? Will it release on Xbox?
Our goal is to bring our games to as many platforms as possible. We’re optimistic about Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Xbox Series X, but in order to announce and release the game on Xbox, we need to ensure that the game is performing without compromise across the entire Xbox X|S ecosystem in multiplayer and with split-screen. We’ve already put a lot of effort into making it work and will continue to do so. Like with the PS5 version, we’ll release it when it’s ready.

I have an issue, where can I get help?
Make sure you check out our Frequently Asked Questions page over at https://larian.com/support/
To get help and report any issues you have encountered you can email supportbg3@larian.com

Can I use a controller?
Baldur’s Gate 3 has full controller support on PC.

What languages is BG3 available in? What are the minimum system requirements?
Check our Steam store page for more information.

How do I play Baldur’s Gate 3 through GeForce NOW?
You can now experience Baldur’s Gate 3 across more devices with GeForce NOW, from underpowered PCs to unsupported devices. All you have to do is head to NVidia’s website and follow their steps to create a membership (you will need to own the game in your Steam library): https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce-now/memberships/

You can find more information on NVidia’s GeForce NOW FAQ: https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce-now/faq

What's the difference between DX11 and Vulkan mode?
Vulkan presents a potential performance increase over DX11 in most cases, though may be slightly less stable for now. Baldur’s Gate 3 defaults to DX11.

Please note that Vulkan is driver-sensitive, and might need some experimentation to find which driver runs best.

What game engine is being used?
Baldur’s Gate 3 has been built using the new in-house Divinity 4.0 engine.


What is an Origin character?
Origins are playable heroes, each with their own stories, desires, and attitudes towards the world around you. Whether you choose to experience the story of Baldur’s Gate 3 through an Origin’s perspective or recruit them to journey alongside you as companions, your choices as a player have a huge impact on the way their stories unfold.

If recruited as companions, their previous experiences and attitudes will influence their opinion about what you should do and how you should behave. Everything that you do or say might influence the course of your relationship with them, and determine whether you'll become friends, lovers, rivals, or bitter enemies.

What Origin Characters are available to play/recruit?
The Origin Characters are: Astarion, Gale, Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Karlach, Wyll and The Dark Urge.

Unlike Baldur’s Gate 3’s other playable protagonists, the Dark Urge is a fully customisable character: from your class and species, to your gender and overall appearance, and even your name. The Dark Urge will not be recruitable when not played.

Can I change the class of the Origin characters when I recruit them?
Yes! In Baldur’s Gate 3, you have the freedom to respec not only your chosen protagonist’s class but also that of your playable companions and pre-authored Origin characters.

Bear in mind that some characters' class is closely intertwined with their story, and respeccing them will not change this.

Can I create a custom character?
Yes, you can create a custom character.

If you create a custom character, you’ll have the freedom to define your race, class and appearance, and you'll still find yourself embedded in the story of Baldur's Gate 3 through personal connections to the events that unfold.

What is the final level cap in the game?
Level 12.

What difficulty options are available?
As well as the default Balanced mode, you will be able to play the game in Explorer Mode and Tactician Mode;

In Explorer mode, combat has been made more forgiving so players can fully immerse themselves in the narrative layer of this adventure. In this mode, friendly NPCs are harder to kill, trader prices are at a 20 percent discount, and you'll begin the game with a +2 starting proficiency bonus.

Tactician mode, then, is where to test your mettle. In this mode, enemy lethality is cranked up to Brutal, ensuring that enemy AI are stronger, will prioritise squishier targets with low AC, and will seize opportunities to go in for the kill. Additionally, many adjustments have been made to the fights themselves specifically for Tactician mode, with certain enemies receiving additional support through reinforcements, spells, or consumable items.

Will there be modding support?
Modding will be supported sometime after launch. We loved what our modding community did with DOS2, and we’re excited to see what they’ll do with BG3.

Can I Pet The Dog?
There are multiple dogs in the game and you will be able to pet some of them!


Is there multiplayer?
Yes, there is 4 player online multiplayer. In 4 player online multiplayer, players can either start a multiplayer journey together and both create their own custom character or join a friend’s single player game during the adventure. In this case, they will take over a companion.

Is there Cross Play?
Baldur’s Gate 3 currently supports cross-play between Steam and GOG on PC.

Is there split-screen co-op?
Yes.

Is it the sequel of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2?
Yes. The story takes place 100 years after the events in Baldur’s Gate 2 and shortly after the events of Descent into Avernus. We don’t want to spoil anything about the story, but it will be connected to the previous games in meaningful ways.

How is the storyline linked to D&D?
Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place right after the events of Descent into Avernus. The holy city of Elturel disappeared from the Forgotten Realms and descended into Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. In our canon, it was saved by a party of heroes. The game is based on the 5th edition ruleset of D&D and was created closely together with Wizards of the Coast.

Is your party permanent or can you change members out throughout the adventure?
Recruited companions will be at camp when not in the adventuring party, and can be swapped in and out at camp.

USEFUL LINKS
Game website: https://baldursgate3.game/
Larian Studios website: http://larian.com/
Larian Studios Support: https://larian.com/support/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/larianstudios/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/baldursgate3/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarianStudios/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BaldursGate3/
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/larianstudios/
Larian Forums: http://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm

Hey everyone!

We are ONE DAY away from the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, so we hope your hearts are ready for adventure and your eyeballs are primed for tadpoling.

Many of you have been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 since the start of Early Access, all the way back in 2020. You may have accumulated a backlog of old save games, or even a few mods along the way. Even if you’re a first-time player, there’s information here that will be useful to you.

To make sure you’re prepared for the journey ahead, we strongly recommend you take the following steps before venturing forth.

We’ve taken measures to ensure a smooth transition into the launch version of BG3, but we still recommend deleting your in-game Early Access save files if you still have access to an Early Access version of the game.

Your Early Access saves and player profiles aren’t compatible with the release version of Baldur’s Gate 3, and leaving them in your save folders may in some fringe cases cause issues. Note: simply deleting the game’s save folder may create conflicts when either Steam Cloud or Larian Cloud re-downloads the save files.

1. Open Baldur’s Gate 3.
   
2. On the main menu, click Load Game.
   
3. Click through old campaigns and select Delete Campaign.

This method will ensure your saves are deleted from your computer as well as from the cloud.

We know it can be hard to say goodbye: if you want to back up your saves before removing them from the cloud, you can move them from %LocalAppData%\Larian Studios to another location for safekeeping, before removing them.




Having the Early Access version of Baldur’s Gate 3 installed will not speed up your download of the full game, and could affect your installation of the full game. Due to the game being in Early Access, we’re unable to offer pre-loads, as this would break existing Early Access saves. To uninstall:

1. In the Steam client, open your Steam Library.
   
2. Right click Baldur’s Gate 3.
   
3. From the menu that appears, select Manage -> Uninstall.

Existing mods will not be compatible with the release version of Baldur’s Gate 3, and will cause issues or break the game in unpredictable ways.

After uninstalling the game, check your Baldur’s Gate 3 installation folder and your AppData folder for Baldur’s Gate 3 to ensure there are no remaining folders for mods.

If you use a mod installer like the Vortex Mod Manager from Nexus, make sure you also uninstall the mods in the mod manager to ensure they aren’t automatically re-downloaded.

For mod-related troubleshooting, check out our Mod Information support page.

A solid-state drive (SSD) is highly recommended to play Baldur’s Gate 3, and we recommend you install the game on yours. It’s good practice to make sure you have more space on the drive than is needed.

Updating to the latest graphics card drivers will help with compatibility and performance of the game.

If you have any problems launching BG3 when we switch to the final version of the game on August 3rd, we’ll have an FAQ accessible from the launcher that will detail some of what we believe may be the most likely problems, with solutions.

Outside of the above, our support teams will be happy to assist you with any problems, but we sincerely hope you have fun with the final version of Baldur’s Gate 3!

Happy launch week, folks!

We hope you’ve printed out your lawyer-approved special dispensation form to explain your mysterious absence from work on August 3rd to your boss, because there are only three days to go before release.

After six years in the making, Baldur’s Gate 3’s PC launch is right around the corner and we couldn’t have gotten here without you. So let’s have one last Community Update before then to wrap things up, answer some of your biggest questions, and reveal a few final surprises before you finally get stuck in.


When we announced and launched Baldur's Gate 3's Early Access back in 2020, we ran with the line “Mysterious abilities are awakening inside you, drawn from a mind flayer parasite planted deep within your brain,” and since, we never really expanded on what this meant mechanically. We hinted right from the get-go that mind flayers would be a central pillar in our story, which we’ve explored many times since then, but now it’s time to explore how it ties into the RPG systems of Baldur’s Gate 3.



While these creatures may be a source of great power, all that they offer comes with a cost. As the parasites' hosts, you must make a choice. Will you resist the powers and the corruption that comes with them or will you embrace them, risking your body, mind and soul to save the Realms... or destroy them?

If your desire for power outweighs your concern for the well-being of anyone else, or if you simply think psionic levitation would be a really neat party trick, then Illithid Powers may be for you.

Illithid Powers are a hidden skill tree used to enhance your command over your newfound illithid capabilities. Those who wish to harness the parasites' power must first find more of these parasites throughout the Forgotten Realms – some can be located inside jars and in pools of brine, others within the skulls of the infected. And then you must consume them.



Each parasite consumed unlocks one new Illithid Power within a skill tree of 25 powerful mind-flayer-inspired abilities, completely separate to the options you have when you level up in a traditional sense. These are divided into five branches themed around manipulation, health restoration, psionics, and abilities that can inflict immense damage and torment enemies to gradually weaken them over time. Some abilities can be used to control those around you, pushing them to say things in dialogue they would otherwise not. Others endow you with the power to push and pull enemies like ragdolls during battle.



You can even become a displacer beast.

The deeper you go through the illithid skill tree, the more powers you'll discover. But nothing comes without cost. While your companions can also consume parasites to gain their powers, not everyone in your party will agree to it, and your companions' perception of you can undergo a significant shift based on how you approach this opportunity.

Things can also get a bit more… complicated. But we won’t spoil it. That’s for you to discover.


As you may know, Baldur’s Gate 3 has audience interactivity on Twitch, as well as a few options to make the game streamer-friendly. But what about the audience?

You can now earn exclusive Baldur’s Gate 3 loot while simultaneously supporting your favourite streamers as they play Baldur’s Gate 3. Check out these Baldur’s Gate Twitch Drops!

Starting August 3rd, 2023, at 9am PDT/4pm UTC and ending August 17th, 2023, at 9am PDT/4pm UTC, when you watch two hours of Baldur’s Gate 3 on Twitch, you’ll earn the Camp Clothing Set.

Do you have helmet hair that just won’t quit? Sore shoulders from sleeping in your pauldrons? Change out of your armour and get cosy in your camp clothes! This regal set of Twitch-purple finery is sure to smell better than the breeches you pulled off that dead goblin.



The Camp Clothing Set includes the following 4 items:

• Chatterbox's Tabard
  
• Streamhopper Loafers
  
• Periwinkle Undergarments
  
• Channeler's Trunks

Last week, we revealed our third and final villain of Baldur’s Gate 3, joining J. K. Simmons and Jason Isaacs in an unholy triumvirate of evil: Orin the Red, as voiced by the ever-iconic Maggie Robertson. But the cast of Baldur’s Gate 3 is much bigger than the terrible trio you’ve seen in some of our recent trailers.



Today, we wanted to shine the spotlight on our talented extended cast. The world of Baldur's Gate 3 is brought to life by many talented voice actors who bring incredible performances to each role, whether it’s a supporting character, a narrator, or a circus ringmaster/necromancer/drag queen.

If you've already played Early Access, you'll recognise the dulcet tones of Amelia Tyler, who returns from her role voicing Malady in Divinity: Original Sin 2 to take on the role of narration in Baldur's Gate 3. Also returning from D:OS2 is Brian Bowles, who will play Sceleritas Fel – the vile and loyal servant to the Dark Urge. (If you played Blood in Baldur’s Gate, you’ll recognise his voice from the video shorts that bookend the tale.)

Actor Vinegar Strokes, known for her role in the West End musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie and the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, plays Lucretious, the proud leader of an extraplanar circus filled with mummies, redcaps, djinni, dryads, elementals – you name it, she's got it. She loves red wine, denying her employees paid holidays, and strives to be, above all else, utterly fabulous.



Sophia Nomvete, fresh from her role in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, takes on the role of Captain Grisly, a former pirate who retired from a life terrorising the Sea of Swords to become the proud owner of the Blushing Mermaid – one of the roughest taverns in Baldur's Gate.

They will be joined by the likes of Doug Cockle – the voice of Geralt of Rivia in the game series The Witcher – and Abigail Thorn of the fantastic Philosophy Tube, among many, many more.


In Baldur’s Gate 3, you have the freedom to respec not only your chosen protagonist’s class but also that of your playable companions and pre-authored Origin characters, whether you’re looking to make a few adjustments to their existing build, you’ve got a burning desire to experiment with entirely new playstyles and class combinations, or you just want to create an all-badger supergroup.



Keep in mind that certain Origin stories are closely intertwined with their characters' respective classes. If you’re opting for a non-cleric Shadowheart or a Wyll without his warlock pact, this will undoubtedly influence your roleplay options in dialogues and the overall narrative for these characters. But their stories will instead be yours to create.


So just how big is this game, anyhow? What time should you expect the game to release? And where did I put my keys? The answers to most of these questions can be found below.



Baldur’s Gate 3 will launch on August 3rd at 5pm Gent time, or your non-Belgian timezone equivalent as shown above. There will be no pre-loading of the game before then.

The full release of the game weighs in at approximately 122 GB. Please note that your Early Access save games will not be compatible at launch; however, so much has changed that it’s really worth it to start afresh.

We've also been receiving questions from some of you who have already purchased the game about replacing your PC key with a Mac one. Purchases of Baldur's Gate 3 made through Steam and GOG actually come with both PC and Mac access, so you're all good! The Mac version is set to arrive after our PC launch.


Baldur's Gate 3, through virtue of our own accounts system, is cross-save compatible at launch. This will continue to be the case through September 6th’s PlayStation 5 launch, meaning that, for example, if you wanted to play on your PC or Steam Deck, you could continue the adventure on your PS5 on September 6th. The PS5 version is sold separately.

Whether you’re playing on PC, Mac, or PS5, you’ll be able to upload your saves to the cloud via your Larian account and continue right where you left off on a different platform.


Yes, you can play Baldur’s Gate 3 on your Steam Deck at launch and it looks rad. We are aiming for Steam Deck Verified by August 3’s launch date. It launches on Steam Deck with what we consider to be the most optimal graphics settings, but feel free to play around. You’ll be able to avail of full controller support, and split-screen will be disabled on Steam Deck.

We recommend trying out your preferred method of antialiasing. We’ll continue to work on implementing FSR 2.2, but that will be closer to September 6.




Baldur’s Gate 3 can be played in 4K and on ultrawide monitors. We created a pipeline that meant that all cinematics in the game were created in a way that supports those of you with a penchant for excess. Let’s have a look!





The purple bars in the images above show the 16:9 cutoff. The green bars show where ultrawide begins, to capture the full expanse of every elongated tentacle.

With a good CPU and a GeForce 3060, you can play at 1440p at 60fps. Native 4K will require double fill rate, so we recommend using a top-end GeForce 4080/4090 or AMD equivalent. And of course, with DLSS, you can reach 4K with lower requirements, thanks to the wizards at Nvidia.


A wise French-Canadian once said, "I believe that the heart does go on." Was she referring to the love lives of D&D characters? This writer says yes until proven otherwise.*

*Editor's Note: There is no evidence in D&D lore that suggests Celine Dion ever wrote her famous song in a bizarre allusion to D&D romance.



Many of you have asked about your options in romance, as well as the limitations you can set for yourself, and that we set for you.

Throughout your journey, you'll forge genuine connections with those you venture with. These can flourish into relationships that add gravity to every decision you make in the game, and you’re free to pursue them through deliberation, choice, and consequences. However, you’re also able to back out of them at any moment, change your mind, or fall in love with someone else.

What's more, in some cases you can even form polyamorous relationships.

To offer further clarity on exactly who can romance who in Baldur’s Gate 3, we’ve laid it out in the least romantic way possible, below:

• A played Origin can romance an NPC Origin
  
• An NPC Origin cannot romance an NPC Origin
  
• Played Origins cannot romance other player Origins

Our relationship system is designed for romancing NPCs only; however, if you and your co-op partner both kiss your monitors at the same time, the static shock you’ll experience produces a heart-racing effect similar to the feeling of love. If you begin to feel pain or numbness in your limbs, please go to a hospital immediately


Many eagle-eyed chatterboxes have noticed that Baldur’s Gate 3 allows you to look back at a dialogue history while you’re in conversation, in case you’d forgotten what you said (understandable – you’re tadpoled), or wanted to realign your train of thought. We’re happy to confirm that, yes, you needn’t worry about forgetting what you’ve said (potentially exploding the entire world, ending up in jail, allying yourself with an actual murderous alien, etc.) thanks to the ability to look back at the conversation and get a sense of where you’re at. It's a neat feature that pops up in the community a lot, so we’ve decided to highlight it for those who haven’t yet jumped in! Doom-scrollers, do not worry, we got your back.

On the topic of doom and chatter, we get a lot of questions about how conversations work in a party of four, so we thought we’d lay out some scenarios that explain how it’s handled.

Typically, the character who initiates a conversation (in both single player and multiplayer) hosts that conversation. In multiplayer, the other players can witness the conversation by clicking on the appropriate icon or character, which will allow them to vote on the host character's choices in dialogue. The host is free, and often right, to ignore them.

“What if I enter a conversation with a character who has the wrong proficiencies for the choices I’m dealt?” This depends on a few things. When a conversation is started unexpectedly, the character who initiated whatever led to the conversation will host the conversation. That character's proficiencies will therefore be the ones used to decide the fate of the conversation.

To give you an example, if you run around a corner and bump into someone unexpectedly, you’re the person who’s going to have the conversation.



In some cases, you can back out of the conversation and re-enter it with another character by (in single player) selecting another member of your party. In others, fate works as intended: as fate. Our dialogue systems are designed to feel organic, as they would in real life. Where there’s agency in life, there’s agency in Baldur’s Gate 3. When situations are more fateful, you’ve your wits – and your proficiencies – to untangle them.

In multiplayer, you will also have the option to set certain dialogues to private, so your teammates won't be able to listen in on them. Perfect for romance... or betrayal.

Whether it’s based on race, class, or other proficiencies, it’s important to remember that there are truly no wrong answers, but plenty of consequences. In the long term, the story will be defined by your choices, and the consequences of your actions. You will always have choices to make. Trust the dice, it’ll always show you a good time!

Three more days.

A malevolent new Origin character. A disembowelled video game producer. A night of passion with a bear.

What a way to go out!

Thank you so much for joining us last week at Panel From Hell: Release Showcase, our final big show before launch.

As you saw for yourself, Baldur’s Gate 3 is going to be a truly deep, systemic RPG with a story and world that is yours to mould. No two playthroughs will be the same, and that even goes for those of you who have clocked a few hundred hours in Early Access.

Act 1 makes up less than a quarter of the total content that will be available at launch. And compared to the start of Early Access, even Act 1 has roughly 33% more content in it. Much has changed, a lot has been added, and we’re finally at a place where we’re happy with the fidelity and performance of the game.

Today’s update will explore those new features: fresh Character Creation options, Multiclassing, a malevolent new playable Origin character, crowds who gossip and react to your deeds, the introduction of Alchemy, and much more. If you’re here, we’re assuming you’ve played Early Access. If you’re new to the game and you’re looking for a broader overview of what Baldur’s Gate 3 will be at launch, we’re working on a separate video. Stay tuned for that later in the month.


Our Character Creator has evolved in many ways since we first launched in Early Access, but our philosophy behind it has always remained the same.

To forge a legacy, you need an identity. Character identity is at the centre of Baldur’s Gate 3, and making a character is about more than aesthetic choices. You are defining your identity, making decisions about your protagonist that will impact your experience in the game.

Whether your protagonist be hero, villain, or Ed Sharran, a simple bard travelling the roads of Faerûn with his trusty lute and a barely-concealed inner darkness that gnaws and festers, demanding release – the Character Creator provides a lot of room for expression.



Our Character Creator has been updated over the course of development to include a robust selection of hairstyles, highlights, skin tones, and faces. But at launch, you’ll have the chance to experiment with even more ways to create diverse, personalised characters.

New skin options like freckles and vitiligo will soon be available, alongside new tattoo designs, scars, lip makeup customisation, accessories like piercings, and horn colour customisation for Tieflings. In 1.0, we’re also introducing heterochromia, letting you create David Bowie – uh, characters with different-coloured eyes.



And at long last, we are very happy to announce we are introducing an age slider and – for those wanting to know if they can have a Halsin-sized buff Barbarian – strong body types, allowing for larger body sizes across all genders.

Whether you are an experimenter at heart who forges class hybrids through careful consideration or you just can't decide between a warrior and a mage, we’re excited to finally announce that Multiclassing will be coming to Baldur's Gate 3.



Multiclassing really changes the game – literally – because it allows you to fully customise the theme of your character. It has both a roleplay and a practical function, leading to all sorts of chaotic combinations and experimentations.

In order to allow all your wildest dream class combinations, we've removed Ability Score Prerequisites. So there's no more need to get your Charisma up to a pesky 13 if you decide to make a soul pact with a playful archfey or dangerous fiend. You can Multiclass into anything your roleplay and build desires demand. In short, this means warriors will be able to wield arcane spells, rogues can master divine magic, spellcasters may dabble in martial prowess, and you’ll have the freedom to build the exact class that you want.



Each level, you'll have the option to choose a different class to spend points on and begin building a bespoke Multiclass character. Given the possible combinations, we recommend you have previous experience as a D&D player to fully leverage this feature. But should you decide to evenly spread all your points into every class for no strategic reason whatsoever, there’s naturally an achievement for that too.

Controversial? Maybe. But a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. We want to facilitate your experiments! With 12 classes, 46 subclasses, and now Multiclassing, when it comes to your character build, both veterans and novices of D&D are sure to make a few mistakes along the way. We want to encourage you to try new things, find fun combinations, and ultimately discover the playstyle that suits you best as you adventure across the Sword Coast and beyond.

Very early in your adventure, you’ll find that one particular NPC who was already helpful in Early Access has suddenly become even more useful. When you find him in the early stages of Act 1, he’ll have a few extra helpful abilities to help you in this arena – giving you the opportunity to restart your build from Level 1 with new starting proficiencies, attributes, spells, and cantrips.




“But what if I want to create a party that is made up entirely of giant druidic badgers?”

We hear you loud and clear, community. Should you so choose, you’ll be able to create a custom party without any Origins, opting instead to have Hirelings join you on the road – mercenaries who can be hired to join your team temporarily.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, there are 12 Hirelings available for you to recruit – one for each class. Each has their own name, visuals, and race, and can be respecced at any time.


So what is an Origin character exactly? They’re playable heroes, each with their own stories, desires, and attitudes towards the world around you. If you choose to create your own customised character instead, these Origin characters become your companions, who you may (or may not) recruit throughout your journey.



You may have already met Shadowheart, Wyll, Gale, Astarion, Lae’zel, and Karlach – heroes each with their own tale to tell and secrets to reveal, driven by your choices as the player. Today, however, we’re looking at an entirely new way to play Baldur’s Gate 3. The Dark Urge.




Over the past three weeks, we’ve been leaving a breadcrumb trail of clues leading to the reveal of the final playable Origin character. The community-driven murder mystery Blood in Baldur’s Gate saw players investigate a series of vicious murders across the Lower City and attempt to track down their perpetrator. While y’all were ultimately brutally murdered at the killer’s hand, in your last waking moments, you saw your executioner: the Dark Urge, an imposing dragonborn with alabaster skin and the piercing gaze of a predator in the wild.

Unlike Baldur’s Gate 3’s other playable protagonists, the Dark Urge is a fully customisable character. Should you prefer that this darkness take the shape of a doe-eyed gnome instead, or think true evil is a half-orc armed with a bongo, the choice is yours: from your class and species, to your gender and overall appearance, and even your name.

Who is the Dark Urge, then? That’s a good question, and it’s one that players will answer for themselves as they journey down this dark path. As the Dark Urge, you begin Baldur’s Gate 3 with your memory lost after an unfortunate encounter between a parasitic tadpole and your brain. Now all that’s left is an insatiable urge – an urge that makes itself known in your subconscious, through your deepest thoughts and in your dialogue options.



Guiding the Dark Urge in their time of need is Sceleritas Fel, voiced by Brian Bowles (narrator in Divinity: Original Sin 2). A vile and loyal servant, Fel lives only to see the Dark Urge return to their rightful, bloodstained path and urges them to commit some of the most lurid acts of violence that you'll encounter in the game. But whether you indulge your most depraved impulses or attempt to resist them in this role is entirely up to you.

Because despite the darkness lurking within this character, how you choose to play the Dark Urge is for you to decide. In Baldur’s Gate 3, there is no clear-cut “Evil path” and no path that is plainly Good. There are simply choices, ramifications, and a personal evolution that will ensure who you play is as complex and multifaceted as you are.

The Dark Urge can even form a romantic relationship just like any other Origin character. Of course, relationships with those who harbour dark secrets are often complicated, and this is one that will require a patient paramour capable of tempering and restraining their partner's most primal and untamed desires – and hopefully one with more than a passing interest in bondage.




In Baldur’s Gate 3, we wanted romantic relationships to possess the same complexity and depth as any other part of our narrative.

Every relationship you forge is different, reflecting the personality and personal arc of that character over the course of the game. Some may begin with a steamy Wild Shape transformation, others start cautiously and require more attention to foster a deeper connection. Relationships change over time, and neither you nor your partner will be the same person in Act 1 as you are by the game’s end.

This includes in your relationship to your Guardian – the character you create at the start of the game who represents all that you desire. The Guardian has changed significantly since you first encountered them in your dreams throughout Early Access. We’ve worked to thematically deepen this narrative thread, going beyond the realm of physical desire to encompass the full spectrum of complex emotions that must be navigated in order for you to truly trust another. (We hope you enjoyed the previous maddeningly vague sentence, because you’ll have to play for yourself to find out what any of it means.)

The path to intimacy also varies greatly for each relationship along the course of the game. A companion like Lae’zel who exudes sexual energy at the beginning of a relationship can take time to let her guard down, making the act of holding her hand all the more intimate.

On the other hand, a relationship that begins with a night of post-goblin-slaughtering passion could also blossom into something vulnerable and sweet, given proper care. No two relationships follow the same formula.

It was important to us to portray sex as more than a trophy for complying with a companion's quest line. In Baldur’s Gate 3, you are encouraged to navigate your relationship – to argue with your partner and challenge their way of thinking. After all, if you just go along with whatever they want to do, you may find yourself sacrificed in an evil god's sex rite, turned into a vampire, or – worst of all, warns Senior Origin Narrative Designer Baudelaire Welch – you might even end up getting married.


A new crafting feature comes to Baldur’s Gate. The domain of magic-wielders, conjurers, and anyone with a passing interest in mysterious fumes, Alchemy allows you to turn your collection of herbs, wild mushrooms, crystals, and monster limbs into useful items you can prepare ahead of a fight.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, you can use ingredients found in the wilderness to create a variety of extracts, then combine extracts to create potions, poisons, and oils to imbibe or coat your weapons with.






Completing the trinity of villains in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Orin, a practitioner in the art of inflicting pain and a grandmaster of murder. Orin has killed for many years, but has yet to be caught, thanks in part to her shapeshifting abilities, which enable her to take the form of anyone – perhaps even someone in your camp.

She hides her cravings to commit murder beneath these numerous masks, disguising her intentions and herself to lure unsuspecting victims. It’s during the act of murder that she is her truest self. At that moment she is murder.

Orin is voiced by the incredible Maggie Robertson, known to many as the voice of Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village) and Skjóthendi the Unerring (God of War Ragnarök).




In addition to having online multiplayer for four players, in Baldur’s Gate 3, two of you can grab controllers and jump straight into two-player split-screen couch co-op.

Baldur's Gate 3 comes to life in multiplayer, empowered by all those extra fingers poised to tip the dominoes and unleash a cascading chain of events upon the Forgotten Realms. Players can join a party before the start of a playthrough, during Character Creation, or during an ongoing game. Each of the playable Origin characters can be chosen only once, or, should you prefer, you can mould a creation of your own.

Players will share most of the information that the game provides them, like Journal notes about ongoing adventures, minimap discoveries, and alchemical recipes. Player inventories are also shared by default in multiplayer, but there is an option to lock your inventory from your thieving pals.

Players also share Inspiration points that they gain when fulfilling goals defined by their chosen Background. These points can be used to reroll checks in dialogue. In multiplayer, you can listen in on conversations started by another player and vote on which dialogue option you want them to take. Some select scenes are private by default in your options, however, including romance scenes. But players can make all secret scenes public to their party should they wish.




Baldur’s Gate 3’s 174 hours of cinematic content is a reflection of all the possible choices players can make in the game, and the narrative permutations that will come out of each of those decisions.

With more than 2000 characters for you to interact with, different reactivities based on your chosen species and class, and a golden path that takes over 80 hours to complete, you can expect to discover a staggering amount of previously unseen content in your second or even third playthrough.



If you caught Panel From Hell last week, you'll have seen just how those decisions affect your experience once you set foot into Act 2. Trek through the mountain pass as Shadowheart then explore the Sharran territory of the Shadow-Cursed Lands safely as a cleric of Shar. Or you might instead choose to traverse the Underdark, then find safety within a hamlet of Harpers – led by the long-standing series icon herself: Jaheira, #mommy.


Upon reaching Baldur’s Gate, your choices will begin to express themselves throughout the world in other ways. Crowds in the city will systematically gossip and talk about your escapades and failures, and can even be influenced through you directly modifying the paper and printing the most favourable headlines.


As we near release, we thought it prudent to remind anyone looking to stream Baldur's Gate 3 of some useful tools designed to create a better experience for you and your audience.

Some of you have shown concern about mature content that could potentially become flagged by your chosen streaming platform. For those of you who want complete peace of mind, you will find two new user options within the Options menu: “Show Cinematic Nudity” and “Show Genitals”. From here, you can enable or disable this content at your convenience.

We’d also like to remind you that there is a really cool Twitch Integration that, once enabled and connected to, lets your viewers see your Party View, track your quests, and vote on dialogue options.




We’ve updated our Steam page to better reflect the content of the game and bring the Early Access section up to date, as well as the specifications. On that page, we’re recommending that players don’t buy the Early Access version of Baldur's Gate 3 with a view to play through that content, partly because it’s out of date but mostly because we’re so close to launch and want to make it very clear that saves in the Early Access version will not transfer into the final game. This is due to technical reasons.

Essentially, the game is so vastly different that it’s not possible to make those save files compatible. Early Access will, of course, remain playable up to launch.

A purchase of Early Access is essentially a pre-order, and will still grant you access to the Digital Deluxe content for Baldur's Gate 3 on PC, granting you access to: an exclusive in-game dice skin, the Divinity Bard Song Pack, Treasures of Rivellon Pack, Adventurer’s Pouch, Digital OST, Digital Artbook, and Digital Character Sheets for D&D IRL.

The PC Digital Deluxe Edition does not include a 72 hour head start, which would have essentially made the game’s release date July 31st. Shifting the release date – and thus communication around the Digital Deluxe Editions across PS5 and PC – came with a few complexities that we didn’t manage to communicate very well, so we thought it best to clarify it here, given that a 72 hour head start on PC wouldn't have been plausible.

But isn’t it wild? Our PC launch is just a few weeks away! Baldur's Gate 3 is set to release to PC on August 3rd, followed by its PlayStation 5 release just a few weeks later on September 6th – or September 3rd if you pre-ordered the Digital Deluxe Edition for PS5.

For those of you who have been with us throughout Early Access, we want to thank you for all your support over the years. One of the reasons we chose to release Baldur's Gate 3 in Early Access is because it would give us an opportunity to listen to your feedback and make meaningful changes in return. As a result, your participation has been instrumental in helping us bring the Forgotten Realms to life. Everything you play – be it Act 2 & 3, or a return to Act 1 – will reflect how we’ve gotten better at making the game, thanks in no small part to all of your feedback, comments, and love over the years.

We also want to send out a very special thank you to everyone who’s been sending us hyperrealistic Halsin fan art. It inspires us, it sustains us, it frightens us to our core. The meme game has been real.

We still have some work to do, but we’re thrilled to learn that those who played the game at our recent press event really enjoyed what they experienced, and we can’t wait for you to experience it yourselves.