Community Update #28: Closed Beta

Community Update #28: Closed Beta

Ah, summer—when temperatures soar, the scent of sunscreen fills the air, and Dad insists on wearing that same sweat-stained tank top for days. What better moment than now to relax indoors and catch up on the latest updates coming to Baldur’s Gate 3?

Coming this September, Patch 7 delivers the ultimate escape with split-screen updates, new cinematics for evil endings, numerous bug fixes, and our official modding toolkit, which we discussed in our recent Community Update!

Let’s dive in! But beware, as always – spoilers ahead.

Split Screen Updates

Exciting news! A dynamic split-screen mode is on its way. With our next update, friends playing in co-op will no longer be confined to their side of the screen. The power of friendship triumphs even over screen partitions.

When playing co-op, split screens can now merge into one when players come close to one another. You can enable this feature directly from the HUD and within the game settings, both in and out of combat.

Honour Mode Enhancements

We’re continuing to refine combat in Honour Mode. With Patch 7, more creatures have been granted additional Legendary Actions, including the bulette, everyone’s favourite neighbourhood doctor, Malus Thorm, and the githyanki Ch’r’ai Tska’an, Ch’r’ai Har’rak, and Ptaris.

Dror Ragzlin will also gain a new spell, Arachnid Compulsion, to rally the nearby spiders to battle the true enemy—you.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Modding Toolkit

This update also introduces our official modding toolkit! In September, you’ll be able to load your game with a variety of mods and even try creating some yourself.

We suggest checking out our Modding FAQ for more information on what modding support means for Baldur’s Gate 3.

We’ve been collaborating with Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod Authors during our Closed Alpha, who have been testing the toolkit. Read on to discover what some of these Mod Authors have been working on!

The toolkit includes everything you need to edit or create entirely new content, including:

  • Items – Equipment like weapons and armours, consumables, and miscellaneous items.
  • Cosmetics – Including different hair, beards, and other textures.
  • Classes and Subclasses – Create new variants or modify existing ones to adjust abilities, powers, and skills.
  • Races – Create or edit races to define their appearance, powers, and abilities.
  • Dice Skins – Customize or redesign the appearance of your dice skins!
  • User Interface – Including extensions and restyling of the game UI.
  • Quality of Life Improvements – Mods that refine or enhance gameplay without depending on unsupported elements.

Evil Endings

Patch 7 also introduces several new cinematics for your more villainous playthroughs, offering them a more grandiose conclusion!

From avatar Origin characters, including the Dark Urge, to multiple pathways for your own player character, each new cinematic can be discovered through nefarious means.

While we don’t want to spoil everything just yet, you can check out the teasers below. Stay tuned for more updates coming your way!


Would you lie with me and just forget the world?


My sugarboo, I’m levitating.

Dark Urge Bug Fixes

Alongside the new evil ending cinematics, we’ve made numerous improvements and fixed bugs for Dark Urge players—addressing camera pops, missing inspirations, VFX issues, and more.

For example, a bug that sometimes prevented combat from starting when a Dark Urge player decided to murder a companion has been fixed. This now triggers combat with the rest of the party. Additionally, Minthara will now respond appropriately if you’ve been stripped of Bhaal’s influence.

We even allowed a certain bard to join your party as a controllable character if there’s an empty slot—temporarily, of course.

“But can we kiss Gortash?” we hear you ask. “We want to kiss Gortash!”

Listen, he’s a complicated fellow preoccupied with death cult office politics. Babygurl just doesn’t have time to kiss.

Origin Character Bug Fixes

This update also brings improvements to certain cinematics, endgame dialogues, and Origin characters. We’ve addressed clipping issues, broken quest triggers, dialogues, romance scenes, cases of retrograde amnesia, and persistent exclamation marks.

Additionally, the Blade of Frontiers will no longer swing his sword dangerously close to the necks of shorter races trying to recruit him.

Let’s highlight some of the improvements!

Wyll Highlights

Patch 7 includes a host of fixes for Wyll, ranging from improved dialogue reactivity to fixes for romance scenes.

If you’ve encountered issues with triggering the romance scene with Wyll, this update will resolve that. If your relationship is headed that way, the cutscene will now trigger when you speak to Wyll at camp before your Long Rest.

A bug that prevented his romance greeting from triggering is also fixed, so players in Act III with a stable relationship with Wyll will now see his romance greeting trigger correctly.

We’ve enhanced Wyll’s dialogue reactivity during the epilogue for partnered players who joined Karlach in the Hells or Lae’zel in the rebellion. Additionally, we’ve added more opportunities to kiss Wyll during the epilogue.

And if you’re in a holographic form during the epilogue, he’ll no longer mistakenly think he’s talking to Lae’zel.

Astarion Highlights

In Patch 7, we’ve improved your character’s facial animations during kissing scenes with the ascended Astarion.

We’ve also adjusted how Origin characters react in certain cutscenes to heighten their emotional impact. For instance, companions will now show Astarion more empathy when he loses his ability to withstand sunlight.

Lae’zel Highlights

Lae’zel will wait longer at her recruitment site if you tell her you’ll return. Once she’s at camp, she will cycle through more varied idle animations.

This update also resolves an issue where resurrecting Lae’zel on the beach in Act I caused her to appear in the Party Line but not in the world, preventing you from leaving Act I.

Karlach Highlights

Besides some general fixes for Karlach, she will now react appropriately if she finds Dammon dead after he told her he could help her.

We’ve fixed a visual bug that caused a brief glimpse of the gameplay region following her final scene in Avernus.

The dialogue block caused by choosing to stay with a different companion after the second romance scene with Karlach is now resolved.

Also, she will no longer touch the wrong side of her head during her camp idle animation.

Gale Highlights

With tweaks to camera angles, animation fixes, and improved donation UI, we’ve polished up Gale and his scenes.

The panel that appears when donating magical items to Gale will now show all eligible items, including those on your person, in your party’s inventories, and your Traveller’s Chest.

This completeness is part of our ongoing work to enhance the donation UI and access to certain quest-related items, initially implemented with Hotfix #16. We’ve now reinstated the intended function removed in Hotfix #17. So if you now deny Gale a magical item three times in a row, from your person, your party’s inventories, or your Traveller’s Chest, he will leave your party.

Conversely, selecting “I’m not giving you anything. Not now, not ever” will still lead to Gale departing your party permanently.

We also addressed a bug that prevented the final dialogue between Gale and Mystra from triggering, as well as an endgame scene that would cut off before the kiss.

Shadowheart Highlights

A few of Shadowheart’s animation bugs have been fixed, along with several quest issues.

A bug where the Spear of Night wasn’t received or was spoken about as if it hadn’t been acquired is fixed. Another case of amnesia where Shadowheart occasionally thought Viconia was still alive after her death is resolved. The ‘Daughter of Darkness’ quest now closes properly if you surrender Shadowheart to Viconia.

And yes, we’ve refined some kissing scenes for her, fixing a broken romance cutscene after giving her the Idol of Shar and adjusting kissing animations to trigger correctly. The appearance of neck kissing has been polished, embracing Michelangelo’s sentiment that no great work of art is ever finished.

Party Banter Enhancements

Prior to this update, party banter was limited to characters controlled by a single player. In Patch 7, multiplayer parties will support banter between characters assigned to different players.

This patch also addresses issues that had rendered some romantic party banters inaccessible while adventuring.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Toolkit: Closed Alpha Progress

With the Baldur’s Gate 3 Toolkit, we aim to make modding more accessible and convenient for everyone.

To enhance the tool’s offerings, we invited Mod Authors to join a Closed Alpha, where they have been creating mods using the official tools arriving in Patch 7. Here are some of their creations!

Mod Author Padme4000 has been experimenting with the toolkit during the Alpha, bringing her Dragonborn Scale Colours mod to life.

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

I really love making CC colours in the toolkit. As a visual person, seeing my changes in the Toolkit by utilising the Character Visuals and switching the preset to view mine… it’s beyond words.

– Mod Author, Padme4000.

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

I have a lot of health issues, so modding is a good creative outlet since I can’t do other things I used to love as much.

On days when my senses are overstimulated, I usually put on my headset with calming music and mod. But sometimes, due to text overload, I couldn’t work much on CC colours. With the toolkit’s setup, I can work on CC colours during those times.

– Mod Author, Padme4000.

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

Thanks to the toolkit, my Horn/Makeup/Tattoo/Lip colours can now be compiled together more easily. Especially since I add the same colours across them.

Another Mod Author, TechRoot, has also experimented with in-game colour modifications:

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

FaerûnColors is a small mod that, despite being mostly visual, had to be written entirely in code. Adjusting the exact colour tone without seeing it was challenging. Before the toolkit, I had to imagine it, transcribe it into code, and run the game multiple times to check the result.

Now, the toolkit allows me to select colours precisely and see what a thousand other colours look like. I’m no longer writing; now I’m painting.

Tasks that were tedious, like creating icons and registering them within the game, are now simple with easily understandable menus. I no longer need multiple versions of the same icon in various files. With the Toolkit, I can create the atlas in one window without complications.

Mod Author, LostSoul, shared:

#Discussions_QuoteBlock_Author

After learning the UI, I made my first test mod within one hour of installing the toolkit.

I’m grateful to Larian for giving mod authors the chance to learn and provide feedback. Actual modding highlights areas for improvement, and having authors with varied skills is important in the development process.

Closed Beta – July 22nd

Interested in playtesting Patch 7? With all these bug fixes, updates, and new features, we want to ensure nothing is broken or problematic. (We’re joking, our legal team assures.)

As mentioned in Community Update #26, we’re increasing internal playtesting and want to test Patch 7 on a larger scale with a variety of systems and savegames. This is where you come in!

Registration Now Open

Visit the Baldur’s Gate 3 store page on Steam and register for a chance to participate in the Patch 7 Closed Beta starting on July 22nd!

Entry to the playtest will be given to randomly selected registered players. If chosen, you’ll receive more details on what to watch for, including partial patch notes and reporting any issues.

New Merch Available Now

Your wait is over! Check out our new merchandise, including original t-shirt designs by Anna Hollinrake, the Baldur’s Gate 3 OST on cassette with an exclusive bonus track, Down By The SynthWave, a beautifully ornate mind flayer poster, and more!

It Ain’t Goodbye Yet!

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since we launched Baldur’s Gate 3. But our journey isn’t over.

Patch 7 is not the final update for Baldur’s Gate 3. We still have several updates planned, including community-requested features like crossplay and a photo

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