It’s a big day for Baldur’s Gate 3 fans as Patch 5 arrives, bringing with it both welcome and surprising new updates. From an expanded conclusion to the adventure to new ways to kick off the journey, Larian is shipping a pretty big patch today.
Patch 5 is rolling out later today for Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC and PlayStation 5. As Larian Studios has been teasing, it’s a pretty big one. In fact, you’ll want to clear out a hefty amount of space—130 GB to be exact—to download and install it, though the update only chalks up to 30 GB.
The most notable inclusion is a new epilogue. This playable section happens after the final fight of the game and before the credits. Any players who have already rolled credits should be able to load up a prior save and head there.
Taking place in camp, at a party six months after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3 hosted by Withers, players will have the time to say proper goodbyes to all their adventuring pals. In a release, Larian says this has been some of the most complex writing in the game thus far with new writing and cinematics to manage across all the possible permutations.
A quest for Honour (Mode)
The epilogue is only one piece of the Patch 5 pie in Baldur’s Gate 3, though. Also arriving today are two new modes for gameplay: Honour Mode and Custom Mode.
Honour is something akin to a classic “Ironman” mode. No save-scumming, and you only get one life (if you die, you get the option to continue as a normal playthrough). Not only does Honour make Baldur’s Gate 3 more difficult inside and outside combat, but Larian has removed some “unintended exploits”, though those have been left open for exploitation in other playthroughs.
To add onto it all, Honour Mode also gives BG3‘s bosses new actions, with a new Legendary Action system. So don’t expect your next tussle with the story’s biggest bads to pan out quite the same. Complete an Honour Mode run without dying, and you’ll get a Golden D20 for your efforts.
Customize your Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough
Custom Mode, meanwhile, puts all the toggles in the player’s hands. This can range from helpful options, like letting short rests fully restore HP, to disabling Perception check notifications or even hiding enemy HP altogether.
Additionally, Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5 adds some improved inventory access, letting you manage the companions’ inventories from a single UI, whether they’re in your party or not. All this, plus Larian is rolling out some performance improvements for all platforms, based on the work they’ve done for the impending Xbox launch.
It’s a frankly massive update, and a welcome one for the end of the year, especially as awards season has put Baldur’s Gate 3 back in the spotlight. Patch 5 rolls out for Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC and PlayStation 5 today, and should be included with the Xbox version when it goes live sometime this month.
Published: Nov 30, 2023 10:05 am