‘Baldur’s Gate 3’: Patch 8 Will Get TWELVE New Subclasses In 2025
Christmas is both early and late this year. Larian Studios revealed 12 new subclasses coming to Baldur’s Gate 3, Patch 8.
Just when you thought it was safe to stop playing Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian Studios teased some of the exciting things in the upcoming Patch 8, which is due out in (hopefully early) 2025. Among features like Crossplay for PC and console and photo mode is the reveal that Larian is adding a whole dozen new subclasses to the game.
I don’t know if you know this, but that’s a lot of subclasses. That’s basically a whole splatbook’s worth of subclasses coming in one fell swoop. I can only imagine the work that went into that alone – but that’s just one of the new features.
So get ready to keep playing Baldur’s Gate 3. We’re probably going for a few consecutive unofficial Game of the Year awards, an imaginary feat that hasn’t been repeated since everyone collectively agreed that Skyrim was somehow GOTY in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 – Twelve Subclasses Means Another Ten Thousand Years In Character Generation
Okay, but what are the actual subclasses though? Let’s get to it.
It all starts with Bards, who get the College of Glamour subclass. This is all about healing your friends and commanding enemies to do things. You can charm targets, and then make them do hilarious things, like run to a cliff edge where you can push them to their untimely death.
Barbarians unlock the Path of Giants subclass, which is sure to delight Shadowheart (and other Karlach fans). Especially considering how much Baldur’s Gate 3 improves on throwing attacks. Get huge, stay huge, and chuck your enemies and allies to victory.
Speaking of Shadowheart, Clerics get the Death Domain. All necrotic power all the time. Plus, Larian has a homebrew “corpse explosion” ability that will make all your barrelmancy shenanigans even more spectacular.
Druids get the Circle of Stars subclass. These druids shapeshift into celestial forms, glimmering with stars patterned into one of three different constellations. This should give players unparalleled flexibility in a single character.
And Paladin players will find the power of law in their hands with the Oath of the Crown subclass. I, personally, can’t wait for the Baldur’s Gate subreddit to be flooded with people who don’t understand why they can’t just murder everyone without breaking their oath.
Fighters get the Arcane Archer. And honestly, the Arcane Archer being in Larian’s hands is probably the best chance we’ll have to see what a good version of the class looks like. They fixed the Rangers, so fixing one Fighter subclass shouldn’t be a problem.
Monks get the Drunken Master. I’m honestly scared to see how good this will be in the game, considering how powerful Monks already are. Especially since this version seems to do a lot of custom things, like get your enemies drunk and then sober them up to deal more damage, that the tabletop version of the class simply cannot do.
Swarmkeeper is the Ranger subclass. And what a welcome subclass it is. Rangers are already much cooler and better than their tabletop D&D cousins. Now, with the ability to call upon a Cloud of Jellyfish, Flurry of Moths, or Legion of Bees that each offer different boons, they’ll be unstoppable.
Rogues get Swashbuckler. This is incredibly exciting because of the sheer number of weird builds this will enable. Swords Bards and Swashbuckler Rogues will make for an interesting build, mark my words.
Shadow Sorcerers will wield the power of darkness. And given Larian’s propensity for actually playing with the lighting rules, I think this is gonna be a real fun one, folks. Why adopt the darkness when you can be born to it instead?
The Warlock gets the Hexblade subclass. And I’m very curious what Larian is going to do to change things. Because the Hexblade’s signature ability is that they use Charisma instead of Strength or Dex for melee attacks, but that’s something any Warlock can get (if they choose the Pact of the Blade feature at level 3), so it’ll be interesting to see what they get in compensation.
Finally, the other big Build Enabler: Bladesinger Wizards. Yet another way to mix magic and melee. It’s a fun subclass, but combined with others? I can’t wait to see how broken things get. The Absolute won’t know what hit it.
All this – and more in Baldur’s Gate 3, Patch 8!
