'Baldur's Gate 3' (Image: Larian)
Yes, you heard me. If it’s not too cold, rejoice in the streets, real or pixelated, because new classes are coming to Baldur’s Gate 3. Whether you’re into Astarion and his whimsical one-liners and voiceovers or completely there for Shadowheart, there’s no reason not to enjoy these patches. What’s getting the patch of life slapped on it? Hear me out—updates include new subclasses, cross-play and photo mode.
What’s the best way to enjoy life with your pixelated beloved in Baldur’s Gate 3? Photos, of course. Snap that photo and use it as wallpaper. Come on! We know you’ve all got that photo or video of Astarion’s best one-liners somewhere. The voice actor’s work has proliferated the internet at a rate where even I know if I get the chance to play, he’s on my companion shortlist.
Photo mode’s update allows the player to decide who is center-stage in their works or not as important. Cough, cough. I’d put myself out of sight because I can and being a photo subject isn’t my cup of tea. Photograph your shenanigans and edit in, out and adjust them in patch 8 since, after all these years of showing off all your catches, both human and animal still won’t get you a date. While photo mode allows you to set up your photo booth and edit it like you are using a less weighty version of Photoshop, it won’t be in for the holidays, so you can’t take pictures of all your mischief this year. Players can add stickers of all kinds, ranging from objects and gore to cat ears. Texturize your gameplay or frame it all with the biggest smile on your face. Adjust your lens to capture that perfect shot. There will be new hotkeys and pathways to cover all of this in the patch notes, but if you look ahead now, you can learn it now.
Cross-playing Baldur’s Gate 3 has long been a dream of people who want to get together as a community. Now, no matter what platform you use, you can party with your people. Whether you’re on a Mac or using an Xbox, you can party with your friends. Once this update happens, there are no limits, so party up, adventurers.
New subclasses are always interesting in most cases. A total of 12 new subclasses are coming to the game in 2025, and they’re full of ideas. If you know your classes of bard, monk, ranger, barbarian, cleric, rogue and the whole list down into the nether, you’re one step above this writer who has trouble remembering them all.
- Cleric-Death Domain: This class won’t follow the Geneva Convention since it can allow you to explode corpses. Yes. You read that right. Explode corpses. It’s possibly one of the most lawful chaotic or chaotic creations out there. Your life as a cleric of death has new spells, such as cantrips like Toll the Dead, that do 1~8 damage. As if that wasn’t toxic enough, the necrotic damage scales with attacks, putting the word death in death cleric.
- Druid-Circle of Stars: Look to the stars for answers, and you shall find them here, as this class uses three forms of constellations to draw power from to fit gameplay styles. Pick from The Archer, The Chalice and The Dragon for your power and enforce your aesthetic as a divine celestial since you’ll most likely glow bright enough to send Astarion into a hissy fit, like when he dies to the sun. The Archer constellation allows you to shoot blazing arrows, another sign from the skies that you can be a real divine celestial of doom. The Chalice gives restoration healing to you and your allies, plus that starry glow. Get your heal on. For The Dragon constellation, if you’re a fighter, which is what this one is made for, you can deal more damage and boost your constitution.
- Bard-College of Glamour: If you hate bards enough that you’d kill every bard you see, this probably isn’t for you. Bards, especially this bard, have some traits you might not appreciate. This sub-class of the bard can give a temporary five hit point restoration and manipulate enemies using a charmed status. The trick works the following way: cast Mantle of Inspiration, wait, and if you’re attacked during the cast, your target is charmed. From here, you can control your enemy with limitless possibilities.
- Paladin-Oath of the Crown: This addition allows you to take extra damage off your team. If you’re as righteous as you think you are, you can clear your teammates’ damage taken away and heal them. You can also interrupt enemy skills.
- Fighter-Arcane Archer: Master both magic and marksmanship with this subclass with the use of various spells that can limit your enemies for turns and put you back into your archer-mage fantasy. Shoot on archers, shoot on.
- Barbarian-Path of Giants: If you’ve heard of the Skyrim Space Program, you can now make your own Baldur’s Gate Space Program with the addition of added strength to your barbarian. (A space program in any game like this is done by launching people or yourself into the skies with sheer force.) With your newfound passive, referred to as Giant’s Rage, you are no longer unencumbered by your pack and can carry more items. You gain the strength and size of giants while one-shotting enemies into space like they were never there. With this passive, you can ditch the protein and the gym to beast mode carry like a boss.
- Ranger-Swarmkeeper: Bees, bees bees! Believe it or not, you’re the real apocalyptic swarm-giver here. Commune with swarms of moths, jellyfish and bees as friends and summon apocalyptic levels of these swarms during turns to take down enemies. Check the damage types each swarm gives you, and then leap into action with your new best friends. Shock, knock into the air and blind your enemies with the help of your newfound friends in combat. To add insult to injury with your pet swarms, these lovely little friends can teleport you, too. Ride on swarmkeepers; the world awaits your apocalypse.
- Monk-Drunken Master: Putting the drunk in the always brewing monk, you have a real drunken master style coming into play here. Replenish your Ki anywhere, as you can drink straight from your inventory and from the bottles you find in Sword Coast. Mead? Another! Drinking gives you a buff that strengthens your armor class and increases your chance of hitting drunk targets. After all, who wants to be on the losing side of a bar fight? Plus, sharing your libations with the enemy allows you to utilize more of your skills. From there, if you use your skill named Sobering Realization, you can sober up your drunken targets by humiliation or whatever means given to deal psychic damage and physical damage. Who lost the bar fight? Not the drunken master.
- Wizard-Bladesinging: While this sounds like a massive mistake, as wizards are depicted carrying a staff, it’s not. Merge your swordsmanship with magic in this subclass so you can take it to magic school to fend off bullies. There will be new animations for this, so don’t expect there not to be. Do expect you’ll inherit new supernatural speed, agility, focus and, to top it all off, a bonus if you make a constitution-saving throw.
- Warlock-Hexblade: Make a pact with an entity from Shadowfell for magical weapons. It’s a whole other ballgame from there. Packed with life-steal abilities and weaponry for the ultimate toxic, necrotic damage, this class brings new levels and new plans for those looking to kill with impunity. That soul-ripping damage and that limited ability to raise what you’ve killed back as thralls sounds wonderfully satisfying if you’re into that. The limitations for raising your slain enemies are that they must not be already dead, a general element of nature, giant blob, or a construct.
- Sorceror-Shadow Magic: Here, the darkness is your friend and your strongest ally. Shadow walk your way through the world, create your Hound of Ill Omen and save yourself from being killed in battles.
- Rogue-Swashbuckler: You are a pirate. No really. This piratical-themed addition allows you to do some fancy footwork as you battle, giving you the skill to disarm enemies and blind them in a way that would make Anakin Skywalker cry his eyes out since the medium you’re using is sand.
Read the patch notes for more details here.
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