Larian would like you to know that he's not done with Baldur's Gate 3 yet. The studio has now revealed what's next for the multi-award-winning RPG, with cross-play, a photo mode, and 12 new subclasses all set to launch next . year.
As detailed on Steam, Larian currently has “one more major patch” in the works for Baldur's Gate 3, officially known as Patch 8, and is set to introduce “some of the most anticipated features,” starting with cross-play.
Baldur's Gate 3 already supports cross-progression, of course, allowing players to pick up where they left off regardless of the platform they're playing on. However, starting next year, you'll also be able to team up with players on other platforms and seamlessly make your way through western Faerûn with your friends on PlayStation, Xbox, Mac, and PC.
“Once the update is available,” explains Larian, “you will be able to invite your friends to join your cross-play lobby directly, regardless of platform, and find available multiplayer lobbies with friends on other systems using the Larian Network.” .
Patch 8 also introduces a new Photo Mode, which features “a host of options that allow you to customize and edit your photographs in the game, with various levels of freedom depending on whether you're using it while adventuring or during combat, dialogue, and cinematographic scenes.”
Players can, for example, activate the camera reticle and composition grid with the press of a button, while lens settings include adjustments for field of view exposure, depth of field and focus. It's also possible to hide characters you don't want in the shot, whether they're players, party members, NPCs, or enemies, and Larian also includes facial expressions and over 40 static and animated poses (each with their own variations!). which can be applied to the character before shooting. And that's still not all, as Photo Mode also includes post-processing effects including contrast, saturation, highlights, brightness and vignette, plus a selection of stickers and frames to add those finishing touches.
Perhaps the biggest addition in Patch 8, however, are those new subclasses, with Larian set to introduce new subclasses for each of the existing classes in the game, i.e. Bard, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard are all represented. The names of the new subclasses are listed below, but you'll want to read Larian's full post for detailed descriptions of each one.
- Bard – College of Glamor
- Barbarian – Path of the Giants
- Cleric – Domain of Death
- Druid – Circle of Stars
- Paladin – Oath of the Crown
- Fighter – Arcane Archer
- Monk – Drunk Master
- Ranger – Swarm Guardian
- Rogue – Swordsman
- Sorcerer – Shadow Magic
- Witcher – Hexagonal blade
- Wizard – Song of Swords
Larian says he will be testing Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 before release to get feedback from players. “The goal,” he explains, “is to go beyond our internal testing and help us catch things before they become a problem once a patch has been released.”
The Patch 8 stress test begins “early January,” and those who want to participate (it's open to Xbox and PlayStation players, as well as PC) can register their interest before then, so expect more details relatively soon. . So it's good news for Baldur's Gate 3 players after this week's good news for Larian, which reportedly posted a pre-tax profit of €249m (£207m) by 2023, largely thanks to to the great success of his hit role-playing game. .