• Larian Studios is bringing one of the biggest and perhaps final updates to Baldur’s Gate 3 early next year.
• The update introduces 12 new subclasses with fresh spells and animations, a powerful photo mode and cross-platform multiplayer.
• A beta stress test will be opened for players to check out the new classes before all the new features are rolled out.

Larian Studios has announced another huge update for the 2023 Game of the Year Baldur’s Gate 3 – Patch 8 – set to become available early next year. Likely the final major update for that game until Larian “bids Faerûn adieu in search of stranger shores,” they write in the patch notes.

The update brings a Photo Mode, cross-platform play and 12 new subclasses on top of the 46 existing subclasses to choose from. The new subclasses will feature some long-anticipated by members of the Dungeons & Dragons community, adding even more replayability for the Bard, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard classes.

Brand new subclasses, abilities, playstyles and animations

And it isn’t just shifted abilities and numbers, Larian is crafting brand new spells, models and animations to go with them.

Clerics now get the Death Domain subclass. Larian says this class includes “three new necromancy cantrips” as well as an ability to explode enemy corpses, damaging others near them.

Paladins will receive a new oath for a more party support playstyle instead of outright damage – Oath of the Crown. The tankiest oath yet with abilities to draw agro from enemies and absorb damage done to your allies to the Paladin.

Drunken Master is a really cool one coming in for Monks. Now you can do something with the liquor items you pick up in the world, as the Drunken Master monk can use these items to recharge their Ki. As long as you have a drink on you, you can keep performing abilities without having to rest.

Hexblade Warlocks will finally be in the game come next year. This class sees a warlock make a pact with an entity that manifests as a magical weapon. Fjord from Critical Role is the most relevant example of this class.

Slain enemies can have their souls ripped from their bodies and assist the player, dealing damage to enemies for ten turns.

Wizards aren’t left out either, with the Bladesinging subclass. If you thought your Wizard was too nerdy, now they can cast spells using weapons, with brand new spell-casting animations.

There are so many more new additions to the classes that we can’t cover them all. Check out the full patch 8 notes for the complete details.

Baldur’s Gate 3 gets a Photo Mode

Larian is bringing a powerful photo mode to Baldur’s Gate 3 in the new patch, one of the community’s most requested features, previously having to use third-party software to take decent screenshots.

“Baldur’s Gate 3’s Photo Mode is a little like a photo booth that lets you set up pretty much any shot you’d like. This new feature introduces a whole slew of options to let you customise and edit your in-game photography, with various levels of freedom depending on whether you’re using it while adventuring, or during combat, dialogue, and cinematic scenes,” the patch notes read.

You can select over 40 poses and preset facial expressions, toggle off NPCs, party members or enemies and edit pictures in-game with depth of field, exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, focus and more all through a brand-new menu.

The only limitation is that you can adjust your party or play around with lens and camera during cinematics and dialogues – because this will likely break the game – but as long as your party is adventuring, you can take screens as you see fit.

Larian is even adding frames and stickers. What could go wrong?

All platforms will support multiplayer cross-play

Players on PS5 will be able to join players on PC, Xbox even Mac, and vice versa as Larian is adding cross-platform play to Baldur’s Gate 3 in Patch 8 to make sure that you can play with any of your friends. This is a really nice change and something that the developers really didn’t have to do.

They could have rested on their laurels and let people just buy the game again on different platforms if they wanted to play with friends and family.

“Once the update is live you’ll 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.”

The developers say that in due time they will announce a beta period “stress test” and will invite players to check out the new classes and photo mode ahead of the update’s wider rollout. We’ll be sad to see Larian stop patching Baldur’s Gate 3 but are excited to see what they’ll do next outside of the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Want more Baldur’s Gate 3? Read our review here.