Larian Studios has officially announced that the much-anticipated Patch 8 for Baldur's Gate 3 will be released on Tuesday, April 15. After being available in a stress test form for some time, this update is now ready for all players to enjoy.
Patch 8 brings a wealth of new content to the critically acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Players can look forward to 12 new subclasses, a photo mode, cross-play functionality, and split-screen support for Xbox Series S. For a detailed breakdown of all the changes, be sure to check out the Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 patch notes.
Here's a closer look at the new subclasses introduced in Patch 8:
Bard - College of Glamour
As a College of Glamour Bard, you'll harness the power to heal allies and manipulate enemies. With Mantle of Inspiration, you can grant your allies 5 temporary hit points, and if an enemy attacks while this is active, they'll become Charmed. Use Mantle of Majesty to command these charmed enemies to flee, approach, freeze, drop to the ground, or relinquish their weapon.
Barbarian - Path of Giants
Choosing the Path of Giants grants you immense strength, making it easier to throw both friends and foes. The Giant’s Rage passive increases your size and strength, enhancing your Throw attack damage and boosting your carry capacity.
Cleric - Death Domain
As a Death Domain Cleric, you'll wield dark powers, including spells that deal necrotic damage and three new necromancy cantrips. Toll The Dead causes 1~8 damage, scaling if the target is already injured. You can also explode nearby corpses to damage enemies.
Druid - Circle of Stars
Circle of Stars Druids draw power from the stars, adopting one of three Starry Forms: the Archer, Chalice, and Dragon. Each form supports different strategies, from dealing radiant damage with astral arrows to healing and enhancing constitution rolls.
Paladin - Oath of the Crown
Sworn to uphold the law, Oath of the Crown Paladins can guide allies with Righteous Clarity, taunt enemies, and protect their party with Divine Allegiance, absorbing damage and restoring health.
Fighter - Arcane Archer
Arcane Archers blend magic and marksmanship, offering unique skills and new shooting animations. They can banish foes to the Feywild or deal Psychic damage, potentially blinding enemies.
Monk - Drunken Master
Drunken Masters can consume alcohol from their inventory or around the Sword Coast to recover Ki. Intoxicating Strike buffs your Armour Class and hit chance against drunk targets, while Sobering Realisation deals physical and Psychic damage to sober them up.
Ranger - Swarmkeeper
Swarmkeeper Rangers command three types of swarms: Cloud of Jellyfish for lightning damage, Flurry of Moths for Psychic damage and potential blindness, and Legion of Bees for piercing damage and knockback. Each swarm also enables teleportation.
Rogue - Swashbuckler
Swashbuckler Rogues can blind enemies with sand, disarm them with a flick of their weapon, and use Fancy Footwork to avoid opportunity attacks during melee.
Sorcerer - Shadow Magic
Shadow Magic Sorcerers thrive in darkness, gaining Superior Darkvision and the ability to Shadow Walk. They can summon the Hound of Ill Omen and use Strength of the Grave to avoid being downed, perfect for Honour Mode runs.
Warlock - Hexblade
Hexblade Warlocks form pacts with Shadowfell entities, manifesting as magical weapons. They can curse enemies, raise spirits from slain foes to deal necrotic damage, and heal themselves by stealing enemy souls.
Wizard - Bladesinging
Bladesinging Wizards combine swordplay with spellcasting, featuring new animations and the Bladesong ability for enhanced speed, agility, and focus, plus 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 remarkable journey for Larian Studios. The game, which launched to critical acclaim and commercial success in 2023, has continued to perform strongly into 2025.
In a surprising move, Larian announced its departure from Baldur's Gate 3 and the Dungeons & Dragons universe to focus on a new, undisclosed project, prompting a media blackout.
Meanwhile, Hasbro, the owner of D&D, has hinted at future plans for the Baldur's Gate series. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference, SVP of digital games at Hasbro, Dan Ayoub, expressed interest in continuing the franchise. "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 stated. While he didn't specify whether this would involve a new Baldur's Gate game or another form of content, he expressed a desire for a Baldur's Gate 4, acknowledging that its development would take time.
"It's somewhat of an unenviable position," Ayoub 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 featuring senior systems designer Ross Stephens, who will discuss the new changes and additions in detail.
