You are burdened with a great power devouring you from within.
How far down the path of darkness will you let it take you?
The fate of Faerûn is on your party’s shoulders.
Will you carry it to salvation, or descend with it to hell?

Created in close collaboration with the Dungeons & Dragons team at Wizards of the Coast, Baldur’s Gate III is based off current D&D mechanics and spells and is the official new chapter in the legendary series.

Baldur’s Gate III will push the boundaries of the RPG genre and offer a rich narrative with unparalleled player freedom, high-stakes decisions, unique companion characters and memorable combat. It is Larian Studios’ biggest production ever and will be playable together with friends or as a single-player adventure.

Alone you may resist, but together you can overcome. Gather your party.

Forged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine and coming to early access later this year, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that truly reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before as you venture through the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons & Dragons in Larian’s biggest adventure yet.

Hello everyone, 

It’s big patch time. But this time, not only are you going to feel the improvements, you’re also going to see them. As we’ve previously said, Early Access is about improving and iterating on every single facet of the game, and that includes all of the things you see and hear. 

In this big patch, we’ve got general fixes for cinematics such as this one below. He was starting to get a crooked neck, and we’re pretty sure he doesn’t have health insurance so we helped him out a bit. See for yourself: 

It’s not just about tweaks though. As many of you know, despite playing through the Early Access content sometimes for up to a hundred hours or more (wow!) you still haven’t seen all of the content, because incrementally new things are seeded into the game. In this case, a missing cinematic. Where once was darkness, there is now light!  

A certain song has also been ‘re-shot’ by our cinematics team, which gives you an excuse to check it out again. Did you need one? Side note: we’ve been watching your reactions to this song in your VODs and YouTube videos, as well as in various streams, and the reactions are beautiful. Watching you play the game as we improve it is very motivating for all of us.

On the topic of music and joy, last week saw the Symphony of Sin, which included the first ever live performance of some of the music from Baldur’s Gate 3, as well as some wonderful songs from Divinity: Original Sin 2. You can watch the VOD here, it’s well worth it.

With that said, let’s look at some of the data that’s been making us smile over the week. 

Everyone knows you can pet the dog in Baldur’s Gate 3, but did you know the dog has been petted 400k times? Such a good boy deserves that many pets.  

Speaking of good boys, last week we discussed how Gale was ultimately attacked quite a lot. Check out last week’s update for the stats on that. Somewhat contradicturally, he’s the most “romanced” of the party. He’s been “romanced” by 33% of players. Shadowheart came second, falling in love with 31% of players, and in return 31% of players fell in love with Shadowheart.

1.37% of players chose to sleep alone. Which is cool too! We have the other stats, but thought it might be fun if you gave it a shot and guessed them. One thing we’re seeing is the stan memes aren’t correlating with the actual “romance data”. For sure, there’s enough tinder in the campfire to ignite some flames. 

On a less romantic note (though this really depends on your tastes), 5.87% of players tried to steal the ring… but 26.3% of those players merely sucked a toe. If you haven’t got there yet, you’ll know when you see it. Since we’re talking about failure statistics, many people have made it to The Underdark. But 40.79% of players who jumped down a large, dark hole arrived dead, because they leapt without Feather Fall. 

We’re saving perhaps the most interesting until last. Slight spoiler, so if you don’t want spoilers, don’t read this. You may know that at a point in the game, you may side with one of two factions: the Tieflings against the goblins, or with Minthara who demands the gates are opened for the goblins to attack the Druids Grove. 

74.85% of you stood with the Tieflings, and 25.15% of you sided with Minthara. Good outweighs evil, it seems. 

An optimistic note to end on. 

Changelist:

Improvements:

• Optimized overall sound settings to improve performance on lower spec machines
• Added polish to several in-game cinematics
• Attack of Opportunity indicator is now correctly hidden for invisible enemies
• Improved timing of some tutorial messages
• Improved usability of skill selection in character creation
• Added new tutorial messages related to combat
• Listening to other players’ dialogs now correctly shows the other players’ dice rolls
• The reason for a waypoint being unavailable is now displayed on the map
• Party members now correctly cancel their spell prepare state when switching to another character

Fixes:

• Fixed a crash on startup for specific driver and hardware combinations
• Fixed a crash related to trading with Zevlor after the raid on the grove
• Fixed a crash in dialogs related to dynamically adding items
• Fixed a crash in combat AI 
• Fixed a potential crash with moving platforms
• Fixed a crash related to loading savegames while in a dialogue
• Fixed a crash when destroying multiple familiars with a single spell
• Fixed a crash related to unloading resources (when loading a save or returning to main menu)
• Fixed a blocking issue when someone would join during level transition
• Fixed a blocking issue when starting a dialog just as someone leaves the game
• Fixed not being able to save anymore on the host when another player is stuck in “in dialog” state
• Fixed players getting stuck in the same dialog inside the camp after choosing to fight Minthara
• Fixed characters being stuck in animation if downed during precast spell
• Fixed characters not being at the correct position after loading
• Fixed not being able to talk to party members after talking with gale and summoning the weave
• Fixed not being able to use some spell scrolls when out of spell slots
• Fixed a rare issue for players that don’t have a profile on startup, requiring selection or a profile or creation of a new one
• Fixed quest markers not showing up correctly when multiple markers point at the same object or location
• Fixed the tieflings’ celebrations not proceeding correctly if the player had already done a long rest right before
• Fixed the physics of the door on the Nautiloid reappearing after saving and loading
• Fixed Ethel not triggering her ambush if she leaves her home during combat
• Fixed several minor bugs related to in-game cinematics
• Fixed zone spells not targeting invisible characters
• Fixed summons from items not having an owner, causing them not to join combat
• Fixed the goblins not using the war drum correctly 
• Fixed issues with lockpick progress going out of sync
• Fixed savegame screenshots being too dark
• Fixed spell sounds not playing correctly in multiplayer
• Fixed a long black screen being displayed if a dialog was started just as another player was joining
• Fixed Zevlor initiating dialog during combat
• Fixed audio settings not resetting when switching profile 
• Fixed not being able to correctly switch character in trade window
• Fixed not being able to click through scenery you can see through, improving navigation
• Fixed the Gith becoming hostile incorrectly if Lae’zel was never recruited
• Fixed additional reroll when using an inspiration point
• Fixed inspiration points not being able to go up after using an inspiration point or gaining another one
• Fixed an issue with the hidden vault entrance closing again after the puzzles are already solved
• Fixed marking an item as a ware not getting set correctly
• Fixed being able to select summons in the trade window
• Fixed Zariel Tiefling clerics not being able to level up to level 4 
• Fixed character creation color tooltips
• Fixed characters sometimes falling off  moving platforms
• Fixed several animation issues with torches
• Fixed being able to select invalid targets for Misty Step skill
• Fixed not being able to see other players’ hidden summons at all
• Fixed party members being rearranged when detaching and reattaching characters to the group
• Fixed certain equipment still generating sound after unequipping
• Fixed several texture and skinning issues
• Fixed several minor localization issues
• Fixed minor issues with the action log

Mac specific:

• Automatic crash reporter is now enabled for mac

 

Gather your party for a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Abducted, infected, lost... You are turning into a monster, drawn from a Mind Flayer parasite planted in your brain, but as the corruption inside you grows, so too does your power. That power may help you to survive, but there will be a price to pay. More than any ability, the bonds of trust that you build within your party could be your greatest strength. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms together. Resist and turn darkness against itself — or embrace corruption and become the ultimate evil.

Choose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Play alone, selecting your companions carefully, or as a party of up to four in online multiplayer.

No two adventures will ever be the same. The Forgotten Realms are a vast, detailed and diverse world, and there are secrets to be discovered all around you -- even verticality is a vital part of exploration. Adventure, loot, battle, romance… how you survive, and the mark you leave on the world, is up to you.

Key Features

• Online multiplayer for up to four players allows you to combine your forces in combat and split your party to follow your own quests and agendas. Devise the perfect plan together… or introduce an element of chaos when your friends least expect it.
• Origin characters offer a hand-crafted experience, each with their own unique traits, agenda, and outlook on the world. Their stories intersect with the wider narrative, and your choices will determine whether those stories end in redemption, salvation, domination or other outcomes.
• Evolved turn-based combat based on the D&D 5E ruleset. Team-based initiative, advantage and disadvantage, and roll modifiers join combat cameras, expanded environmental interactions, and a new fluidity in combat that rewards strategy and foresight.
• Define the future of the Forgotten Realms through your choices and the roll of the dice. No matter who you play or what you roll, the world and its inhabitants will react to your story.
• Player-initiated turn-based mode allows you to pause the world around you at any time even outside of combat. See an opportunity for a tactical advantage before combat begins? Want to pull off a heist with pin-point precision? Need to escape a fiendish trap? Split your party, prepare ambushes, sneak in the darkness — and create your own luck!

Larian Studios is developing and publishing Baldur’s Gate III on PC and Google Stadia.