Baldur's Gate 3: Release Date, Gameplay, Max Level, Classes, Races... Everything About The Return Of The King Of CRPGs

Summer is unusually hot this year, and not just because of climate change. Several major releases are on the agenda, including the long-awaited sequel to a cult license dear to the hearts of many millennials who’ve been hooked on their PC since the ’90s, though they’re far from the only ones. As a reminder, Baldur’s Gate 3 is being developed by Larian Studios, to whom we owe Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2, RPGs that have had great success. That gives every reason for optimism, because the studio seems to have the issue under control. Despite the rather high price in Early Access (€59.99), over 2 million copies have already been sold. We have every reason to believe that the full game deserves your full attention and a place in the fierce competition that is GOTY 2023.

Contents

release date

We’ll start with the potentially confusing point, as the release date has changed. This is very rare, but well advanced on PC and Mac (Steam and GoG) as Baldur’s Gate will be available on August 3rd, 2023 (instead of August 31). At PS5, On the contrary, the game will be postponed for a week and it will not take place until the next day September 6th. It could serve as a consolation prize for players frustrated with the Starfield exclusive coming out the same day. It is possible that this also influenced the rushed release on PC.

At the moment, Baldur’s Gate 3 is not planned for the Xbox Series, but it could happen. A release on Switch seems unlikely at the moment, the studio may be waiting for Nintendo’s next console.

Gameplay and Difficulty

The Baldur’s Gate 3 universe and its in-game systems are derived from the role-playing game D&D 5, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, published by Wizards of the Coast. We still find an aerial view and group games (up to 4), but the progression of the characters and the battles is quite different from that of the old titles based on the previous editions (Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2, Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights, among others) in their mechanics. And especially, Battles are turn-based only in this case as on the table. Its operation is quite simple and intuitive enough to quickly master the basics and avoid protracted confrontations. At least as long as you don’t attack an entire camp of goblins head-on.

It is not possible to fight in real time, which gives a more tactical aspect. On the other hand, we avoid some of the heaviness of the old games that we also find in Pathfinder, where mages and other wizards have to play buff bots casting tons of spells before every big fight. An amusing detail is that even the UI of the dialogues and contextual actions are designed to cater to the worst tendencies of the players and allow for the automatic activation of spells that can grant a bonus on a skill check.

Apart from that, Baldur’s Gate 3 has everything you would expect from a modern Western RPG Extensive maps to explore including Outland and the town of Baldur’s Gate, lots of dialogues, a camp where you can interact with your companions in more or less lewd ways and a story full of twists that can be approached in different ways. You are free to play a noble paladin or the worst vermin not afraid to ally with the forces of evil. In addition to the many options offered in each situation, it is also possible to modulate the level of difficulty. We have the essential Normal mode, Story mode with easier fights and reduced prices, and Hardcore mode. Instead of giving enemies massive power bonuses, this game optimizes the AI, which focuses on weaker characters (prepare a specific mage’s resurrection scroll) and provides more consumables and spells. Reinforcements will also complicate the situation.

Max level

The famous character level cap keeps reviving the debates. We certainly won’t reach the legendary heights that some of the old titles offer, but we won’t be as limited as in Baldur’s Gate 1 either. It will be possible to reach them level 12This is an important step, since additional attacks are obtained, new gifts are available and, above all, there is the possibility of starting the Level 6 spells like the iconic Chain Lightning. Overall more than 600 spells and 37 exploits will be available for you to play your character as you see fit.

List of races

Choices were limited in early access for a long time, but the full game has since grown massively 11 different racesdivided into 31 sub-breeds are available. We specifically mention dragonborn and half-orcs that have just been added. If you fancy a dragon head and elemental breath, it’s an interesting choice, especially with its 10 variants. Half-orcs, on the other hand, are absolute brutes and are perfect for the role of barbarian with massive damage rolls. Also, Duergar Dwarves have been introduced, which will open up some interesting new racial dialogue in some regions. This is one of the strengths of the game. Your race can have a huge impact on how certain characters interact with you, and it can allow you to resolve a situation in unique ways. However, keep in mind that it can be a double-edged sword, because racism is not unique to real life. This results in:

Human
Githyanki
half-orc
Dwarf (Hills, Mountains or Duergar)
Eleven (High Elf or Wood Elf)
drow (from Seldarine or Lolth)
Tiefling (from Asmodeus, Mephistopheles or Zariel)
halfling (light-footed, robust)
half elf (High, Woodland or Drow)
gnome (Forests, rocks, depths)
dragonborn (white, blue, black, red, green, brass, silver, bronze, copper or gold)

List of classes and subclasses

But at least in contrast to older D&D editions All classes are eligible for all races, although there are clearly more optimal options than others. Again, you’re spoiled for choice, since all the classes in the core rulebook are there: There they are A total of 12 classrooms, with the monk being the last to be made official. Then you can choose 46 subclasses. If you decide to think a little outside the box, you can create a truly unique character:

Barbaric (Berserker, Totem Warrior, Wild Magic)
bard (Knowledge, Valor, Swords)
cleric (Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Storm, Deceit, War)
Druid (circle of moon, earth, spores)
wizard (Draconic, Wild Magic, Storm)
warrior (Champion, Warmaster, Dark Knight)
wizard (Abjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Invocation, Necromancy, Transmutation)
monk (path of the palm tree, the shadow, the four elements)
occultist (archifee, fiend, dude)
paladin (Oath of Devotion, Elder, Vengeance, Oathbreaker)
ranger (Hunter, Beastmaster, Deep)
dodgers (Assassin, Rogue, Arcane Deceiver)

companions

A common criticism from Early Access players is that all of the companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 have poor alignment and their behavior is beyond questionable. The developers were aware of this. In total, There are 7 original characters to choose from at the beginning of the campaign. If you’re unfamiliar with this term, it consists of impersonating a given character with a look and an already established story as the protagonist, like the band’s vampire. This creates new interactions and a series of events of its own. You can also Create a character freely and write your own story. Either way, the other original characters will be encountered throughout the campaign and you can recruit them into your party. Unlike Divinity Original Sin 2, so will you You are free to change the composition of your party after the end of Act 1.

Companions can also be recruited that aren’t original characters, such as Halsim and Mintara, who were very popular with EA for reasons that are difficult to openly acknowledge. And that’s not all, we’ll also find some old friends from Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2: Minsk and Jaheira can also join your group.

lifespan

According to Larian Studios you need 200 hours to complete the campaign once by exploring all the content, which is already extensive. But that only scratches the surface in our view. Certain sections of the game can be approached in completely different ways depending on your alignment, race, class, or simply your choices. Between these intersections and the different original characters that you can embody as a party leader or steer in different directions, the replay value promises to be absolutely tremendous. There is a chance that players will still discover surprises in a few years.

Solo and cooperative

Baldur’s Gate 3 is basically a game to be made only. But it can also be fun to experience the adventure online with friends, 2 to 4 players. Then you split the attribution of the characters and the actions during the fights. It’s probably not the most optimal, but it mimics the tabletop gaming experience and is a lot of fun when played with the right people.

PC requirements

The benefit of a game that’s been in Early Access for years is that the developers have had time to optimize it for our machines. Also remember that it also works on Mac for people who can’t find games on those machines anymore. In any case, you must have a configuration that is not too old and, above all, you must have plenty of space on your hard drive. If you have a good machine, the game can be very beautiful.

minimum

64-bit operating system and processor required
Operating system: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel I5 4690 / AMD FX 8350
RAM: 8GB memory
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970 / RX 480 (4GB+ VRAM)
DirectX: version 11
Storage space: 150 GB available storage space

Is Baldur’s Gate 3 worth it?

It’s too early to tell and it remains very subjective. But while we await our test, with our verdict on the full version of the game due out in a few weeks, you can already take a look at our preview of the Early Access release 3 years ago. We were very excited at the time, and the changes made over the years have proved significant: new classes, races, and regions, a completely redesigned UI, and more. Of course we can’t guarantee that you’ll enjoy the game, but if you’re partial to Western turn-based RPGs, Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost certainly for you.

Baldur’s Gate 3: Companions and Original Characters

Baldur’s Gate 3: release date, gameplay, max level, classes, races… everything about the return of the king of CRPGs – Millennium