BG3 Patch 8: Massive Update Requires Stress Testing

Larian Studios has launched a Stress Test update for Patch 8 of Baldur's Gate 3, ensuring a smoother rollout by testing the patch's stability before its official release. Dive into the details of the stress test and what Patch 8 has in store.

Patch 8 Stress Test Update 1 Arrives With Bug Fixes

Larian has released an update to the Patch 8 Stress Test build, addressing numerous bugs, crashes, and scripting errors. This update ensures that Gale properly consumes magical items as intended. Keep in mind that 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 fully polished patch to enjoy all the new enhancements and content.

Key improvements in this update include ensuring that containers within inventories retain their contents when destroyed, enhancing the ease of taking screenshots in Photo Mode for Steam Deck users, refining character poses for more responsiveness, improving cross-play functionality, updating the Booming Blade tooltip values, and resolving several crash issues. For a detailed rundown of all the fixes, visit the official Baldur's Gate 3 website's news section.

As one of the last major feature-packed updates before Larian moves on from the world of Faerûn, Patch 8 is set to be a monumental update, hence the necessity for stress testing. This patch introduces platform cross-play, over 12 new subclasses, including a Death Domain Cleric, a Path of Giants Barbarian, and an Arcane Archer Fighter, along with the much-anticipated Photo Mode.

Photo Mode Is As Customizable As It Can Be

While awaiting the official release of Patch 8, players can explore an in-depth sneak peek video that demonstrates how to maximize the upcoming Photo Mode. Larian aims to ensure that players can extract the "Absolute most out of Photo Mode from the start."

Photo Mode offers unparalleled flexibility, allowing players to access it almost anytime—during adventures, in combat, and even in multiplayer sessions led by the host. You can position companions and characters in custom poses, with or without party members, and even include additional elements like a jumping frog for a whimsical touch. The free-moving camera enhances the ability to capture the perfect shot from any angle.

Once your scene is set, you can enhance your photos with post-processing effects, stickers, and frames. However, during dialogues and cinematic cutscenes, you'll be limited to adding post-process effects without the ability to adjust poses.

This sneak peek is just the beginning, as Larian plans to release a tips and tricks video to further inspire creativity among the game's budding photographers.