Latest Patch for Baldur's Gate 3 Promotes Pacifism
The team at Larian Studios released a major update for Baldur's Gate III. Patch 3 introduces many improvements to the game, including rewards for pacifists and creative players, as well as more tactful companions.
- Improved companion behavior, both in dialogues (less complaining about petty things) and in following the hero;
- Rewards and additional options were introduced for avoiding bloodshed, as well as cleverness in conversations and exploration;
- Cantrip and spells were balanced;
- Added cross-save function;
- Fixed numerous bugs and balanced gameplay.
For almost two months now we can once again explore the world of Baldur's Gate, this time in the third installment of the series. Of course, this is still just early access: most of the map is not open for exploration, and the developers are constantly making various improvements. Also the latest update for Baldur's Gate III, Inspiration, Freedom & Pacifism, is full of them. The novelties introduced in the patch are discussed in the entry on Steam and a video prepared by Larian.
NOTE: the changes introduced by Patch 3 are so big that after downloading it the game doesn't support existing save files! If you want to continue playing, you must block automatic updates. To do this, go to your game collection on Steam, right click on Baldur's Gate III and select "Properties". Then just go to the "Updates" tab and tick "Update this game only when it's launched" in the "Automatic Updates" field. If you just want to keep your existing save files,you go to the "BETA" tab in "Properties" and select Patch 2 in the "Select the beta you want to participate in" field.
Pacifism (and cunning) pays off
The team at Larian Studios listened to the player opinions on the current version of Baldur's Gate 3 closely. Although the title was enthusiastically received by Steam users, there was also some criticism of some elements. For example, fans were disappointed that the game doesn't reward them for avoiding bloodshed or being creative in solving environmental puzzles. This has changed in Patch 3: from now on, pacifism, efficient rhetoric in conversations and exploration of less frequented paths will bring measurable benefits or open up new opportunities for the characters.
More "social" companions
Another little thing that the fans complained about was... nagging companions. They were able to scoff at any little thing, regardless of the situation and player's annoyance. With Patch 3's debut, the companions are more forgiving and they even happen to throw in a good word now and then. In addition, the developers have made a small but important correction. When the player character jumps over a hole or over stones on the river, etc., the companions will follow in their footsteps. Before that, you had to do it yourself, and separately for each character, which was tedious and time consuming.
Spells and cantrips
One of the common drawbacks was the balance of magic, and more specifically, overreliance on cantrip spells. In theory, their advantage should be that they do not require the preparation and use of spell slots, so that the Wizard is not helpless after using them up. In practice, some of the cantrips turned out to be a bit too good, practically overshadowing "real" spells. Larian Studios changed this in Patch 3, removing the creation of fields of fire, acid, etc. on any surface by some cantrips (which resulted in hard to avoid damage). Of course, this element was not completely removed: if we use a Fire Bolt a clearly flammable surface, we will be rewarded with a fire.
Cross-save, balance and bugs
Patch 3 also brings a large number of fixes and minor but helpful improvements. For example, from now on, the same spell on different levels will be hidden under one option, which solves the problem icon overload. The interface has also been improved, the camera shake has been reduced when casting more powerful spells, and stealth attacks have been made impossible for characters who don't use finesse-based weapons. For a full list of changes in English, see the entry on Steam.
The update also introduces a cross-save feature so we can continue the same gameplay on Steam, GOG.com, Stadia and Mac. In theory it has been ready for some time, but only on the first two platforms. Game data is automatically saved in the cloud as long as we are connected to the web.
