Larian have released Baldur’s Gate 3 patch 5, which they’re calling the fantasy RPG’s “most feature-filled” update so far, and glancing over the patch notes, it’s hard to disagree. It’s not just about shaving the cats, this time: the standout additions and fixes include a new story epilogue, two new modes, and some performance boosts aimed specifically at the game’s ever-divisive third act.
Here’s are Larian’s own highlights for your avid consumption. No, I don’t know what a “PS5” is either. Some kind of mid-level D&D enchantment?
– Epilogue: An entirely new section at the end of the game after the defeat of the Netherbrain that aims to provide a well-deserved sense of closure with your allies.
– Two new play modes: Honour Mode and Custom Mode.
– Many performance improvements, particularly in Act III.
– Added dynamic resolution for PS5.
– Players playing on machines with low VRAM/RAM should see improved performance.
– The game is now available in Korean!
– While at camp, you can now access and manage the inventories of companions who aren’t in your active party.
– Added a brand new fight in Ramazith’s Tower if you betray Nightsong there.
– Orin’s outfit now drops as loot and is wearable by anyone. We also gave it a suitably disgusting description and name.
According to a press release, the new epilogue represents “some of the most complex writing in the game so far, as it takes advantage of Baldur’s Gate 3’s reactivity across the entire adventure.” There are 3,589 lines of new writing and additional cinematics.
As for the new modes, Honour Mode is both “more difficult in and out of combat”, and something of an NG affair, with over 30 new tweaks to each BG3 bossfight and a new Legendary Action system “designed to catch players off-guard and increase the challenge”. Bosses will perform new actions in Honour Mode, and Inspiration points will be much more valuable, too, as you won’t be able to load a previous save. The release adds that “some of the more powerful ‘unintended exploits’ have been removed for players who embark on an Honour Mode adventure, though they have been kept open for players to exploit in other difficulty settings.”
All that said, if you’re struggling you can switch off Honour Mode when you perish, continuing your adventure on launch difficulty. Complete the game in Honour Mode, and you’ll earn a golden D20.
And Custom Mode? As you’d expect, it lets you fiddle with a raft of broader campaign settings, including the option to hide the required roll to succeed dice checks, regain full health from Short Rests, hide Perception checks (which means you’ll never be told that there’s something you’ve missed), and hide enemy HP in battle.
There are many other smaller tweaks and twizzles, as listed over on Larian’s official website. In accordance with time-honoured tradition, I’ve put together a list of my own highlights, based mostly on how weird they sound out of context. Here you go!
Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5 notes – The Edwin Cut
– Withers will sneakily resurrect any dead companions that fell before the final battle so they can join the ending cinematics. What a helpful skeleton.
– Boo will no longer take damage when thrown.
– No such thing as a free lunch. Consuming the noblestalk mushroom during combat now costs an Action.
– When players start a combat inside the Elfsong Tavern, all the patrons will now cower instead of continuing to drink.
– Tweaked some code to simplify and improve the camera system. [Burying the lede with this one, Larian? – Ed]
– Fixed occasional T-poses and frozen animations related to the Incapacitated condition.
– Improved the visuals for dropping a dead body out of your inventory (keep your friends close and your enemies closer, we guess?) and for moving living bodies out of Withers’ Wardrobe.
– Fixed an issue with characters wildshaped into Dilophosauruses appearing below the ground upon exiting Wyrm’s Rock Prison via the secret exit.
– Fixed bibberbangs not reacting to summons. Now bibberbangs only ignore creatures that have different weights to Air and Fire Elementals, Mage Hands, Shadows, etc.
– Fixed a rare bug where Halsin would decide to turn into a bear whenever you went to talk to him at camp in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
– The Emperor can no longer use the Extract Brain ability on Prone creatures. He prefers his food to be fighting fit.
That last one is from about a third of the way down the page – I had to stop somewhere. Feel free to keep digging and share any choice WTF moments I’ve missed. Lord, what a peculiar game.
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