Baldur’s Gate 3’s 1.0 launch will have tons more stuff. Let’s go by the numbers of the new and exciting features come release day.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Launch Details Show Off New Classes, Races, Companions, and More!

Larian revisits their journey with Baldur’s Gate 3 development. One of the things they shared is how gargantuan the experience was, compared to their previous title, Divinity Original Sin 2. That game was created by 120 individuals, across 3 years. Baldur’s Gate 3, on the other hand, was helmed by 400 folks. Development for this one took almost 6 years, many of which were spent in Early Access. Speaking of which, almost 2 million players partook in this early period. 

Comparing the two herculean games shows exactly how massive a leap Larian took when creating Baldur’s Gate 3. DOS2 had a total of 5 races, as compared to BG3’s 11 (and 31 subraces, more on this later). The older game had 225 player spells and actions compared to BG3’s 600. DOS2 also had 45 talents (passive skills) vs the newer game’s 308. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 also has a staggering 2 million words in its script. This probably doesn’t account for the various lore books, item descriptions, and other fun tidbits. The game’s cinematics are also three times the length of all three mainline Lord of the Rings movies, combined. No mention though if this is the regular or the (superior) extended cut editions. 

The new news for Baldur’s Gate 3 is the confirmation of the level cap, new races, the monk class, and possible party companions. 

A Feather in Your Cap

One of the biggest announcements was that Larian confirmed that Level 12 will be the max level in Baldur’s Gate 3. While they originally planned the maximum to be level 10, they realized that there were too many fun abilities locked behind level 12. They did not go too much into detail, but they did mention spells such as Planar Allies, Otto’s Irresistible Dance, and Chain Lightning. 

Two new races have also been confirmed, though one was possibly teased in one of the previous trailers. Players can now choose to be a Dragonborn or a Half-Orc. The Dragonborn has a plethora of choices when it comes to subraces. Specifically, we have Black, Blue, Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, Green, Red, Silver, and White. A player’s choice of subrace will determine the character’s damage and resistance strengths. 

Half-orcs seem to be the perfect choice for those who want to be in the thick of things, like Barbarians or Fighters. They have powerful Savage Attacks which deal insane crit damage. Defense-wise, they get Relentless Endurance which saves them from outright death, letting them live to fight another day (or at least 1 more turn, if unlucky). 

Class is in Session

The announcement also confirmed not just the 12th class, the monk, but also all of the new subclasses being thrown into the mix. 

Players will get to select Wild Magic Barbarians, Spore Druids, Champion Fighters, Gloom Stalker Rangers, Assassins, Storm Sorcery Sorcerers, Sword Bards, Archfey Warlocks, or Vengeance Paladins. Clerics get a ton more options, with the Knowledge, Nature, Tempest, and War subclasses opening up. Wizards get a similar treatment with the new Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Necromancy, Illusion, and Transmutation subclasses being made available. 

Monks are your traditional punchy martial class. They prefer to be light on their feet, with some traversal options like Step of the Wind. This class fights best when unencumbered by pesky things such as armor and heavy weapons, preferring to fight with Unarmored Defense, clubs, or even just their fists. Monks will have three subclasses available to them: Open Hand for close beat-em-up combat, Shadow for stealthy sneaking, and Four Elements for launching spells with your fists. 

Three’s Company

Baldur’s Gate’s 6th Origin Character has been confirmed. The Barbarian Karlach, previously an in-game quest giver, will now have a fully playable Origin Story. Just like Astarion, Gale, Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and Wyll, Karlach can be a permanent companion in your party as well. Larian did tease that there will be a seventh and final Origin Character that will be revealed in next week’s Panel from Hell. 

Moving on to non-origin companions, we get confirmation that Halsin, Jaheira, Minsc, and Minthara will be recruitable. We do know that both Halsin and Jaheira are druids, Minsc will likely be a Ranger like in old times, and Minthara is a Paladin. 

Larian did mention that there were plans to lock party compositions after the game’s first act, like in a pivotal moment in DoS2. However, they backtracked on this decision and will allow players to swap their companions at any point in the game instead. They further confirm that most companions will be romanceable, specifically calling out Halsin the druid. 

Feats and Spells, and Baldur’s Gate 3

There are tons more info revealed in the lengthy press announcement. The game will launch with 37 feats in total. Some of the new feats in the launch version are Resilient, Elemental Adept, Dungeon Delver, Sentinel, Lucky, Mage Slayer, Heavy Armour Master, Sharpshooter, Medium Armour Master, Ritual Caster, Savage Attacker, Performer, Polearm Master, Durable, and Observant. 

The game will also have over 600 spells. Some of the new ones being introduced are Banishing Smite, Hold Monster, Cloudkill, Heroes’ Feast, Disintegrate, Sunbeam, Destructive Wave, Blinding Sickness, Flesh Rot, Circle of Death, and more. 

A Countdown to Greatness

The surprise announcement that Baldur’s Gate 3’s PC version releasing 4 weeks earlier could not have made us more excited. Just like previously announced, those who already own the Early Access version will have a 72-hour head start, though limited only to the game’s first Act. Speaking of which, there will also be three difficulties at launch: Normal, Story, and Hardcore. 

Be sure to hop on over to the Baldur’s Gate 3 Wiki for more on the game! 

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