The next major patch for Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released on 13 July and is intended to further improve Early Access. The patch contains numerous innovations, including a new role-playing mechanic
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Baldur’s Gate 3 has been in Early Access since October 2020. The developers have released four major patches since then. In a new panel from Hell on 8 July, the next one was presented. This shows once again how much the role-playing game can still change until its release. And it will be several months before that happens. Only recently the release was postponed to “sometime in 2022”
We have summarised for you here what will change in detail in EA. You can also watch the complete developer update as a video. Then you can see right away what will change in the future using examples from the actual game:
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Developers present the new features of Patch 5 in a video
Big changes of patch 5
Active Roll System
Baldur’s Gate 3’s dice system is the basis of much debate. On the one hand, dice naturally belong to Dungeons & Dragons, and Baldur’s Gate 3 tries to integrate its ruleset as well as possible. On the other hand, random elements can also cause a lot of frustration. Therefore, the system is constantly being revised and new features added.
Another one now adds the option to cast a spell before a dice roll. Some spells give bonuses on dice rolls, such as the cleric spell Guidance. This gives players a four-sided spell 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 roleplay more. That is, to behave more like their character and less like themselves. Background Goals were introduced for this purpose. A rather simple but exciting mechanic.
When you create your character, you choose a historical background. For example, a nobleman, a folk hero or a wise hermit. If you then make decisions or perform deeds that fit this background, you are rewarded with inspiration. This allows you to re-roll the dice once during a skill test. If you already have four inspiration points, your character will receive experience points for good roleplaying instead.
Mini Camps & Rations
The camp for your long rest has been revised. Until now, your heroes’ sleeping bags were always located in a forest area. No matter where you wanted to set up your camp. With the new mini-camps, the camp background always corresponds to the current location. All cutscenes have even been adapted so that they can be played in a cave, a dungeon or the Underdark.
In addition, the quality of your rest now depends on supplies. Food existed in the game before and could give persistent buffs. Now bread, fish or cheese also become important for regeneration. Before your party goes to bed, you must eat a certain amount of food. If this limit is not reached, the party will not regenerate all of its health and will not restore every spell slot. The higher your level, the more food you will need.
Smaller changes from Patch 5
There will also be a few minor detail improvements. Again, Vincke was happy to share how this affects the current state of the game. We have summarised these small changes here:
– Free Shadowheart: In the tutorial we can already meet the later companion Shadowheart, but here she is stuck in a capsule. After patch 5 there should be a possibility to open the capsule and take Shadowheart into the group earlier
– Point&Click-System: As in the previous Baldur’s Gate titles, all characters now say something when we perform an action with them or click somewhere. Even if they just walk to a different place. Exactly what the characters say can also change depending on how the story progresses.
– Disengage: As an action, heroes in DnD can perform an escape manoeuvre. This gives enemies no opportunity for a passing blow should the character run away. In Baldur’s Gate 3, this manoeuvre was previously linked to jumping. Now a separate action has been built in for it.
– Break Concentration: Some spells require concentration to remain active. With the new patch, players can now voluntarily drop concentration and end the spell
– Non-Lethal Attacks: Those who like pacifist passes will now have an easier time. All attacks can now optionally be non-lethal. Opponents then simply faint instead of dying
Of course, Patch 5 also includes a lot of bug fixes. A complete list with all patch notes is still pending. But the release date is already known. On 13 July 2021 you can download Patch 5.
