Baldur’s Gate 3 has been in Early Access since October 2020. The developers have released four major patches since then. The next one was presented in a new Panel from Hell on July 8th. This shows once again how much the role-playing game can still change before its release. And it will take a few more months before that happens. The release was only recently postponed to »sometime in 2022«.
We have summarized for you what will now change in detail in the EA. But you can also watch the complete developer update as a video. Then you can see what will change in the future using examples from the actual game:
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Baldur’s Gate 3 developers present the new features of Patch 5 in the video
Big changes from patch 5
Active Roll System
Baldur’s Gate 3’s cube system is the basis of much debate. On the one hand, cubes are of course part of Dungeons & Dragons, and Baldur’s Gate 3 tries to integrate its rules and regulations as well as possible. On the other hand, random elements can also create a lot of frustration. That is why the system is constantly being revised and new features added.
Another now adds the option to cast a spell before rolling the dice. Some spells give bonuses to throws, like the cleric spell Guidance. This gives players a four-sided dice in addition to their dice, the number of which they can add up. These spells can also be cast by your companions.
Background Goals
The main purpose of the next feature is to encourage players to do more role-play. So to behave more like your character and less like yourself. This is why the Background Goals were introduced. Quite a simple but exciting mechanism.
When you create your character, you choose a historical background. For example, a nobleman, a folk hero or a wise hermit. Then when you make decisions or do actions that fit that background, you will be rewarded with inspiration. This means that dice rolls can be repeated once during a skill test. If you already have four points of inspiration, your character will get experience points instead for good role-play.
Mini camps & rations
The camp for your long rest has been redesigned. Up until now, your heroes’ sleeping bags were always in a forest area. It doesn’t matter where you want to set up your situation. With the new mini camps, the camp background always corresponds to the current location. All cut scenes have even been adapted so that they can also be played in a cave, a dungeon or the Underdark.
In addition, the quality of your rest now depends on supplies. There was food in the game beforehand and could give lasting buffs. Now bread, fish or cheese are also important for regeneration. Before your party hits your ears, you need to eat a certain amount of food. If this limit is not reached, the group does not regenerate all health points and does not restore every spell slot. The higher your level, the more food you will need.
Minor changes from patch 5
There will also be a few minor improvements. Again, Vincke was happy to tell how this affects the current state of the game. We have summarized these small changes here:
- Free Shadowheart: In the tutorial we can already meet the later companion Shadowheart, who is in a capsule here. After patch 5, there should be a way to open the capsule and include Shadowheart in the group earlier.
- Point&Click-System: As in the earlier Baldur’s Gate titles, all characters now say something when we perform an action with them or click anywhere. Even if you just walk to a different place. What exactly the characters say can also change depending on the course of the story.
- Disengage: As an action, heroes in DnD can perform an escape maneuver. This gives opponents no opportunity for a pass if the character runs away. In Baldur’s Gate 3, this maneuver was previously linked to jumping. A separate action has now been built in for this.
- Cancel concentration: Some spells require concentration to stay active. With the new patch, players can now voluntarily drop their concentration and end the spell.
- Non-lethal attacks: Those who like pacifist passages now have an easier time. All attacks can now optionally be non-lethal. Opponents simply pass out instead of dying.
Of course, Patch 5 also contains a lot of bug fixes. A complete list with all patch notes is still pending. But the release is already known. You can download patch 5 on July 13, 2021.
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