Baldur’s Gate 3’s hotly anticipated Patch 8 stress test is live now after it was accidentally rolled out to PS5 users earlier this week.
Developer Larian said those who put their name down for the Patch 8 stress test on PC or PS5 should be on the look out for an email invite. If you registered through the Xbox Insider Programme, the Baldur’s Gate 3 Stress Test application is now live in the Xbox Insider Hub for you to download.
If you were one of the PS5 players who downloaded Patch 8 early, Larian said you can roll back to Patch 7 by deleting and reinstalling the game. “Think of it as a time-travel mechanic,” the developer said in an update on Steam.
During the Patch 8 stress test, Xbox, PlayStation, and PC players will be able to test out cross-play by either creating or joining a lobby.
Patch 8 also adds split-screen to Xbox Series S. Split-screen on Microsoft’s less powerful console was cited as the cause of Baldur’s Gate 3’s delay on Xbox, given the company’s commitment to parity between Xbox Series S and X for all games. Microsoft ultimately made an exception for Baldur’s Gate 3 so it could launch later in 2023.
Elsewhere, there’s photo mode and 12 new subclasses to get stuck into. Larian hasn’t said when Patch 8 will be made available generally, but it’s expected later in 2025. Check out the Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 patch notes for more.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 Stress Test Patch Highlights:
While some of you will get to try out Patch 8 for yourself, starting today, here’s just some of what you can expect with Patch 8 once it is ready for release!
Highlights
- Photo mode
- 12 new subclasses
- Cross-play
- Xbox Series S split screen
Gameplay
- When you succeed a Perception check, the spotted item will now ping on the minimap and be listed in the combat log.
- Fixed an issue where the special abilities of some of your allies weren’t properly provided at the end of the dialogue with them at High Hall.
- Scrolls and potions inside unlocked containers in your party inventory can now be used when rolling in dialogues.
- Neutral and friendly NPCs will no longer become hostile when, outside of combat, they walk into surfaces created during combat that trigger passives (like electrified surfaces triggering Thunderbolt Strike). Take it easy, lads.
- Fixed Freecast being reset when any condition is applied.
- Fixed characters getting stuck when pathfinding via a ladder that’s already in use by another companion.
- Fixed a bug with the moving platform in the Gauntlet of Shar that would sometimes leave you behind, causing you to plummet to your death.
Combat
- Fixed an issue causing neutral NPCs to trigger combat for seemingly no reason.
- Cerys will stop getting involved in combats with Minthara from across the region. An eager beaver no longer.
Modding
- Fixed an issue causing you to get stuck at a 0% loading screen when attempting to join a multiplayer session that uses mods.
- The Mod Verification window will now trigger regardless of where the request to connect to a multiplayer game is coming from.
- Replaced the third-party mod warning with clearer messaging.
Performance and Options
- Fixed the ruleset selector not appearing on the ‘Alter Custom Mode’ screen when accessing the ruleset settings via the multiplayer lobby.
- Improved server performance in the Adamantine Forge.
Scripting and Flow
- Fixed an issue where you could tell Astarion that Gandrel has been looking for him even if Gandrel refused to tell you the name of his prey.
- Fixed a savegame issue where you wouldn’t get the appropriate amount of Umbral Gems for the Gauntlet of Shar.
- Minthara now comments on reveal.
- Reminded Minthara that ‘knocked out’ does not mean ‘dead’, so she’ll more reliably appear in Moonrise Towers.
- You can no longer teleport out of Moonrise while controlling Minthara unless you tell her to stay put.
- Minthara is now willing to talk to you after you tell her to wait in the torture chamber.
- Minthara no longer gets stuck babysitting Thaniel in Act II.
- Fixed an issue where you could talk about Art Cullagh as though he’s alive even if he isn’t.
- Your character will no longer think Shadowheart is dead if she isn’t when talking to
- Characters who were in a relationship with Gale when he will now receive a tonally appropriate (read: lovey-dovey) letter.
- Fixed a dialogue issue preventing Avatar Gale from talking about the orb to Lae’zel after consuming a magic item.
UI
- Discovered and available (non-hostile, alive, etc.) traders are now shown on the world map regardless of how far away you are from them.
Cinematics
- Shadowheart has agreed to stop repeatedly changing her hair colour during certain intimate moments.
- Tidied up and improved some cinematic animations for characters of different heights if you kiss during the evil ending.
Writing
- Fixed a duplicated dialogue option and the wrong version of another dialogue option appearing in Minthara’s main party dialogue.
Patch 8 will bring a multitude of fixes for various crashes and blockers, combat bugs, scripting and flow issues, and more. The full patch notes will be shared once Patch 8 goes live!
Reporting Bugs During The Stress Test
Internal playtesting has been ongoing for several weeks now, and thanks to the introduction of photo mode in Patch 8, our playtesters have discovered new means to highlight some interesting issues.While we don’t expect you to showcase every unexpected bug you run into (please, don’t do that), we would be grateful if you could report any issues you experience in the Patch 8 stress test using the existing bug reporting form. Please make sure to state “Patch 8” in the Game Version field!
Known Issues
As the Patch 8 stress test is a work-in-progress build, we’re aware of some issues, and have listed the ones relevant to the new features coming in Patch 8 below!
Modding
While it’s our hope that supported mods remain mostly unscathed with Patch 8, this stress test also helps us understand how your mods interact with the latest patch and identify any issues ahead of release.
- ImpUI users may find that radial descriptions aren’t visible, and some menu options don’t work as intended. If you are joining us for the stress test, we recommend creating a new save or loading an existing save that does not use ImpUI or any mods that use ImpUI as a dependency.
Photo Mode
- Photo Mode becomes visually corrupted when using Vulkan.
Cross-Play & Multiplayer
- Some lines in the cross-play settings aren’t fully localised.
- Players in a multiplayer lobby can lose movement input after picking up an item.
UX
- Some keyboard hotkeys and controller buttons may stop working after trading with merchants.
Keep an eye out for updates during the Patch 8 stress test as we continue working on fixing these issues!
Sharing Your Experience
We want to know how you get on with Patch 8, so we have created a short form for you to share your experience with us. If you’ve been accepted into the stress test, look out for the link in your access email!And with that, we’ll catch you next time.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
