Baldur's Gate III - Early Access Patch #5 Now Live
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Showcased during the recent Panel from Hell livestream, the fifth major early access update for Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate III is here. The update's big new features include the so-called Active Roll system, the secret Background Goal miniquests, expanded party interactions, improved enemy AI, and more.
The full patch notes go on for quite a bit, so here's just something to get you started:
Is the sausage mightier than the sword? Depending on the meat content, yes.
Today you get to try it out for yourself. Patch 5 is now live!
Onward, for a read of our patch notes in full.
IMPROVEMENTS and ADDITIONS
- Added new scenes expanding on Shadowheart's mysterious artefact.
- Added new recruitment scenes with Shadowheart.
- Additional reactivity from Shadowheart when she approves of you.
- Added Background Goals - Now every character will have their own series of secret miniquests based on their Background and for each you complete you’ll receive an Inspiration Point up to a maximum of 4.
- Added new camp scene with Scratch and the owlbear cub.
- Added Point and Click character responses.
- Added 12 new magic items in loot and quest rewards.
- Revised active roll UI during dialogue. This includes improved displaying of bonuses and double dice for rolling with Advantage or Disadvantage.
- You can now use spells and items to increase chances when rolling during dialogue (including your companions' spells and items).
- Picking locks and disarming traps are now active rolls.
- Added a new Disengage action that allows you to avoid provoking Attacks of Opportunity.
- Adding an item during Bartering will automatically equalise the gold on both sides.
- Added a way to cancel concentration from the concentration indicator.
- You can now pin most tooltips to hover over additional terms... for more tooltips.
- Increased the line limit in the dialogue history window.
- You can now save while leveling up.
- Added unique visual effects for class-specific spells.
- Added new icons for spells, statuses and items.
- Added dozens of new interactable items, expanding on the lore and background of the world.
- Revamped visuals for spells used by multiple classes to create more cohesion with Class-specific spells.
- Properly indicate when an action is fully free (does not count as a full or bonus action in combat).
- Added a tooltip for surfaces in combat log entries.
- Added better feedback on saving throws.
- Added feedback to clarify why casting a spell at a target is impossible.
- NPCs have new reactions when they're unable to talk to you.
- Updated assorted spell, item, status, and book descriptions.
- Cinematics
- Cinematic character emotions.
- Camera choice and motion.
- Cinematic VFX.
- Improved cinematic motion when characters look around.
- Improved cinematic behaviour involving objects.
- Introduced a cinematic visual for 'The Mark of the Absolute'.
- Animations
- Updated Worg model and its climbing animations.
- Added Crab and Spider climbing animations.
- Added Stave animations for Goblins.
- Improved Mind Flayer animations.
- Improved Human running and idle animations.
- Audio
- Characters now have semi-procedural armour sounds during cinematics that follow their movements.
- Creatures now have jumping vocalisations.
- Added new ambient sounds and music to camps.
- Explosions - bigger booms, louder braaams.
- Impacts and gore - combat actions are more nuanced and represented much more 'close-up'.
- Item Destruction - all new debris system to increase realism.
- Added sound feedback when Moon Puzzle is solved.
- New UI sounds.
- More detailed cinematic sounds.
- Remastered Spell Vocals.
- Multi Output - You can now choose your audio device to tailor a better audio experience.
- Midnight Mode - A dedicated mix to avoid disturbing people around you.
- Multiplayer
- Added multiplayer support for local ready checks if other party members are not nearby.
- A warning is now shown when trying to talk to another player's followers.
- Added additional feedback when connecting to a lobby.
- You can now lock your inventory in a multiplayer game.