BG3 Patch 8 Is So Big, It Needs To Be Stress Tested

Larian Studios has released a Stress Test update to prepare for the monumental Patch 8 for Baldur's Gate 3. This stress test is crucial to ensure the patch's stability before it goes live. Dive in to learn more about the stress test, its purpose, and what Patch 8 has in store.

Patch 8 Stress Test Update 1 Arrives With Bug Fixes

Only Available To Testers

Larian has rolled out an update to the Patch 8 Stress Test build, addressing several bugs, crashes, and scripting errors. This update ensures that Gale properly consumes magical items as intended. However, this update is exclusively available to those participating in the Patch 8 stress test. If you're not a tester, you'll need to wait for the full, polished patch to enjoy all the new enhancements and content.

Key improvements in this update include ensuring containers within inventories retain their contents when destroyed, simplifying screenshotting in Photo Mode for Steam Deck users, enhancing pose responsiveness, improving cross-play functionality, updating the Booming Blade tooltip values, and resolving several crash issues. For a detailed list of all the updates, visit the Baldur’s Gate 3 official website's news section.

As one of the final major updates from Larian before they move on from the world of Faerûn, Patch 8 is set to be a game-changer. It introduces platform cross-play, over 12 new subclasses including the Death Domain Cleric, Path of Giants Barbarian, and Arcane Archer Fighter, and the much-anticipated Photo Mode.

Photo Mode Is As Customizable As It Can Be

While awaiting the official release of Patch 8, players can get a sneak peek at the highly customizable Photo Mode. Larian aims to help players get the "Absolute most out of Photo Mode from the start."

Photo Mode can be accessed almost anytime, whether you're adventuring, in combat, or in multiplayer (by the host player). You can pose companions and characters exactly as you envision, with or without party members, and even include whimsical elements like a jumping frog. The free-moving camera allows for capturing the perfect angle.

Enhance your photos with post-processing effects, stickers, and frames. However, during dialogues and cinematic cutscenes, you can only add post-process effects and cannot manipulate poses.

This sneak peek is just the beginning. Larian plans to release a tips and tricks video to further inspire the creativity of the player base's budding photographers.