"Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 Release Date Announced with 12 New Subclasses"

Larian Studios has officially announced that the much-awaited Patch 8 for Baldur's Gate 3 will be released on Tuesday, April 15. This update, which has been in a stress test phase for some time, is now ready to roll out to all players, bringing a wealth of new content to the acclaimed Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

Patch 8 introduces a significant array of features, including 12 new subclasses that promise to enrich gameplay and player engagement. Alongside these, players can look forward to a new photo mode, cross-play functionality, and split-screen support for Xbox Series S. For a comprehensive overview of all the changes, be sure to check out the Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 patch notes.

Bard - College of Glamour
As a College of Glamour Bard, you gain the ability to heal your allies and manipulate your enemies with equal finesse. By casting Mantle of Inspiration, you can grant your allies 5 temporary hit points. If an enemy attacks while this spell is active, they might become Charmed, allowing you to use Mantle of Majesty to command them to flee, move closer, freeze, drop to the ground, or disarm themselves.

Barbarian - Path of Giants
Choosing the Path of Giants enhances your Barbarian's strength, enabling you to throw both friends and foes with ease. The Giant’s Rage passive not only increases your size and strength but also boosts the damage from Throw attacks. Plus, enjoy an increased carry capacity, making inventory management a breeze.

Cleric - Death Domain
Embrace the darker side as a Death Domain Cleric, wielding spells that deal necrotic damage and three new necromancy cantrips. With Toll The Dead, ring the bell of doom to cause 1-8 damage, which scales up if the target is already wounded. Additionally, you can now use a homebrewed ability to explode nearby corpses, damaging enemies around them.

Druid - Circle of Stars
As a Circle of Stars Druid, you harness the power of the cosmos through three Starry Forms: the Archer, Chalice, and Dragon. Each form supports a unique playstyle—the Archer deals radiant damage, the Chalice restores hit points, and the Dragon enhances constitution rolls. These celestial transformations not only look stunning but also provide strategic advantages in combat and healing.

Paladin - Oath of the Crown
Dedicated to upholding the law, the Oath of the Crown Paladin can guide allies in battle with Righteous Clarity, taunt foes with strategic interrupts, and support the party with Divine Allegiance, which absorbs damage and heals allies.

Fighter - Arcane Archer
The Arcane Archer Fighter blends magic with marksmanship, offering unique skills and new shooting animations. You can banish enemies to the Feywild or unleash Psychic damage, potentially blinding them until their next turn.

Monk - Drunken Master
As a Drunken Master Monk, you can consume alcohol from your inventory or around the Sword Coast to recover Ki. Using Intoxicating Strike, you can share a drink with enemies to boost your Armor Class and hit chance against them. Drunk foes are more vulnerable to your abilities, like Sobering Realisation, which deals both physical and Psychic damage while sobering them up.

Ranger - Swarmkeeper
The Swarmkeeper Ranger can summon three types of swarms in combat: the Cloud of Jellyfish for extra lightning damage, Flurry of Moths for Psychic damage and potential blindness, and Legion of Bees for piercing damage and knockback. Each swarm also grants teleportation capabilities.

Rogue - Swashbuckler
Embrace the pirate life with the Swashbuckler Rogue, who can throw sand to Blind enemies, flick a weapon to Disarm them, or use Fancy Footwork to avoid opportunity attacks during melee.

Sorcerer - Shadow Magic
As a Shadow Magic Sorcerer, you thrive in darkness with Superior Darkvision and the ability to Shadow Walk. Summon the Hound of Ill Omen to harass foes and use Strength of the Grave to stay in the fight during Honor Mode runs.

Warlock - Hexblade
Hexblade Warlocks forge pacts with Shadowfell entities, manifesting as magical weapons. Curse enemies and command their souls, raising spirits from slain foes to deal necrotic damage and heal yourself.

Wizard - Bladesinging
The Bladesinging Wizard merges swordplay with spellcasting, featuring new animations when casting spells with a weapon. The Bladesong ability grants supernatural speed, agility, focus, and a bonus to Constitution saving throws.

Every IGN 10 of 2023

18 ImagesPatch 8 marks the final major update for Baldur's Gate 3, concluding an exceptional journey for Larian Studios. The game, launched in 2023, received widespread critical acclaim and achieved significant commercial success, continuing to sell well into 2024 and 2025.

Larian Studios surprised the gaming community by announcing their departure from Baldur's Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons to focus on a new, undisclosed project, entering a media blackout to concentrate on this venture.

Meanwhile, Hasbro, the owner of D&D, has hinted at future plans for the series. In a recent interview with IGN at the Game Developers Conference, Dan Ayoub, SVP of digital games at Hasbro, expressed interest in continuing the Baldur's Gate saga. While specifics remain under wraps, Ayoub confirmed a desire for a Baldur's Gate 4, albeit acknowledging that its development would take time.

"We're not in a hurry," Ayoub stated. "We're going to take a very measured approach... We're starting to think about, okay, yeah, we're ready to start dipping toes a little bit and talking about a few things. And I think, in really short order, we're going to have some other things to talk about around that."

To celebrate the launch of Patch 8, Larian Studios will host a Twitch livestream, featuring senior systems designer Ross Stephens, who will guide viewers through the new updates and additions.