Larian Studios has officially announced that the much-anticipated Patch 8 for Baldur's Gate 3 will be released on Tuesday, April 15. This update, which has been in stress testing for a while, is now ready for all players. Patch 8 brings a wealth of new content to this record-breaking Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, including 12 new subclasses. Additionally, players can look forward to a new photo mode, cross-play functionality, and Xbox Series S split-screen support. For detailed information, be sure to check out the Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 patch notes.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 New Subclasses:
Bard - College of Glamour
As a member of the College of Glamour, Bards gain the ability to heal allies and command enemies. The Mantle of Inspiration spell grants allies 5 temporary hit points, and if an enemy attacks while it's active, they become Charmed. This can be leveraged further with Mantle of Majesty, allowing you to command Charmed enemies to flee, approach, freeze, drop to the ground, or disarm.
Barbarian - Path of Giants
Choosing the Path of Giants enhances your Barbarian's strength and size through the Giant’s Rage passive, enabling you to deal extra damage with Throw attacks and increase your carrying capacity.
Cleric - Death Domain
Clerics of the Death Domain can wield necrotic spells and three new necromancy cantrips, including Toll The Dead, which causes 1-8 damage, scaling up if the target is already injured. Additionally, you can now explode nearby corpses to damage foes.
Druid - Circle of Stars
Circle of Stars Druids harness celestial power through Starry Forms, choosing from the Archer, Chalice, or Dragon constellations. Each form offers unique benefits, from dealing radiant damage to healing or enhancing constitution rolls.
Paladin - Oath of the Crown
Paladins sworn to the Oath of the Crown can aid allies and disrupt enemies with Righteous Clarity, taunt foes, and use Divine Allegiance to absorb damage and restore health to their party.
Fighter - Arcane Archer
Arcane Archers combine magic and marksmanship, utilizing new shooting animations and abilities like banishing foes to the Feywild or inflicting Psychic damage that can blind enemies.
Monk - Drunken Master
Drunken Masters can consume alcohol to recover Ki, and with Intoxicating Strike, they can share a drink with enemies to boost their Armour Class and hit chance against intoxicated targets. Additionally, Sobering Realisation deals damage to sober up drunk enemies.
Ranger - Swarmkeeper
Swarmkeeper Rangers can summon deadly swarms such as Cloud of Jellyfish for lightning damage, Flurry of Moths for Psychic damage and blindness, or Legion of Bees for piercing damage and knockback, each also offering teleportation.
Rogue - Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler Rogues can engage in dirty tactics like blinding enemies with sand, disarming them with a flick of their weapon, and using Fancy Footwork to avoid opportunity attacks during melee.
Sorcerer - Shadow Magic
Shadow Magic Sorcerers thrive in darkness with Superior Darkvision, Shadow Walk capabilities, and the ability to summon a Hound of Ill Omen. Strength of the Grave prevents them from being downed, perfect for Honour Mode runs.
Warlock - Hexblade
Hexblade Warlocks can curse enemies and raise their spirits as summons for ten turns, dealing necrotic damage and healing themselves by absorbing the enemy's soul.
Wizard - Bladesinging
Bladesinging Wizards blend swordplay and spellcasting with new animations, the Bladesong ability for enhanced speed and agility, and a bonus to Constitution saving throws.
Every IGN 10 of 2023
18 Images
Patch 8 marks the final major update for Baldur's Gate 3, concluding a stellar period for Larian Studios. The game, which launched to critical acclaim and significant commercial success in 2023, has maintained strong sales through 2024 and into 2025.
In a surprising move, Larian announced plans to move on from Baldur's Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons to develop a new, undisclosed project, resulting in a media blackout. Meanwhile, Hasbro, the owner of D&D, has expressed interest in continuing the series. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, Dan Ayoub, SVP of digital games at Hasbro, indicated that with Larian's departure, there is significant interest in Baldur's Gate.
"We're kind of working out our plans for the future and what we're going to be doing with that. And actually, in pretty short order, we're going to have some stuff to talk about around that," Ayoub mentioned. While he did not confirm if this would involve a new Baldur's Gate game or a crossover, he expressed a desire for a Baldur's Gate 4, albeit acknowledging it would take time.
"It's somewhat of an unenviable position," he added. "I mean, we're not in a hurry. Right? That's the thing, we're going to take a very measured approach... We've got a lot of plans, a lot of different ways to go about it. We're starting to think about, okay, yeah, we're ready to start dipping toes a little bit and talking about a few things. And I think, in really short order, like I said, again, not to over-tease that point, we're going to have some other things to talk about around that."
To celebrate the release of Patch 8, Larian will host a Twitch livestream where senior systems designer Ross Stephens will discuss the update's changes and additions.
