Video Games

BG3 Patch 7 leaks are making some fans very unhappy

Everyone gets a special ending! Except Wyll, apparently

Josh Broadwell

Larian Studios/GLHF

Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 7 leaks are slowly trickling out into the wild – inevitable, as more people get access to the RPG’s last big beta – and some folks aren’t happy with what they see. It goes beyond just the usual “fans who complain about everything” scenario as well, and extends to frustrations with how Larian handled fan feedback since BG3 exited early access.

We won’t link the leaked footage, but we will briefly describe it. Head over to our best BG3 mods list if you’d rather avoid spoilers.

The tipping point was a leaked clip showing the new evil ending for Wyll. Patch 7 introduces new evil ending cinematics for every Origin character designed to flesh out the paltry endings that launched with the game, assuming it didn’t glitch out and skip the ending altogether. Larian teased several on Twitter over the summer, including some particularly ghoulish ones for the Dark Urge.

Everyone gets something special. Astarion has an awful ending that underscores just how damaging his evil route is. Lae’zel has something with dragons. Wyll has an ending almost identical to Bad Tav minus a few small changes – always assuming this footage is final and not subject to change before the patch launches. He turns everyone afflicted with a tadpole into Mindflayers, and that’s the end of that. Ruling over Baldur’s Gate with an iron fist? I can see that. Mindflayers, though? Pretty out of character.

The BG3 community started posting through it on Reddit and Twitter, with Astarion and Wyll trending at various times throughout the last few days. An old image showing how many hours of footage each companion gets resurfaced and set fans off even more. Astarion has 12 hours and 45 minutes, despite being only tangentially connected to the main plot. Lae’zel and Karlach have approximately 10 hours.

Wyll has eight. Much as I like Wyll and his BG3 romance, it’s hard not to see a bit of disparity there, especially since his plot meanders through Act 2 before culminating in a random Big Moment in Act 3 that seems completely divorced from everything that came before, more like a remnant of the old Wyll from early access.

Astarion in BG3, covered in blood, crying after he stabs Cazador to death
BG3 community when they see more Astarion content / Larian Studios/GLHF

Even people professing to be Astarion fans said they were tired of getting so much of the vampire in these patches and wanted other companions to have their stories fleshed out more. That seems unlikely, unless Larian’s holding something back for Patch 7.

However, it’s also what a not-insignificant number of fans have asked for since launch – a fleshed-out story for Wyll, who was completely rewritten shortly before launch, along with bug fixes for longstanding issues and a functioning Minthara, who’s been so bugged since launch that it was impossible to actually see all of her storyline.

Instead, the complaints go, Larian just pumped out endless Astarion, which is, admittedly, rather inaccurate. Larian’s data shows Astarion is one of the most popular Origin romances and characters, so it’s hardly surprising to see him at the front of marketing and social posts.

Regardless, it’s true that Larian’s updates have generally focused on things a small number of fans wanted, while genuine issues present since launch remained untouched – things like an epilogue that occasionally borders on fanservice, an option to ignore consequences of your very bad actions, and, if other leaks are accurate, soon an option to recruit a certain Bard under specific circumstances, though maybe just for one day.

How accurate these leaks are and what they actually add to the game is still anyone’s guess, but barring any delays, we won’t have much longer to wait. BG3 Patch 7 is meant to release sometime in September 2024.

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Josh Broadwell

JOSH BROADWELL

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