BG3 Patch 8 adds cross-play at last, plus a new subclass for every class and some love for Oathbreaker

Stop waiting for a Divinity Original Sin 2 upgrade and get ready for another run of Baldur’s Gate 3 once BG3 Patch 8 launches in 2025

Larian Studios

Stop waiting for a Divinity Original Sin 2 upgrade and get ready for another run of Baldur’s Gate 3 once BG3 Patch 8 launches in 2025. Larian played a “will we, won’t we” game with Patch 8 for a while, teasing that it would add a photo mode and cross-play, but nothing else, maybe, possibly, but it turns out they had something rather big in store: new subclasses for every class.

• Read more: The best RPGs to play in 2024

Larian’s even augmenting some of them with customized abilities pulled from popular homebrew options. The Oathbreaker Paladin is getting new, unique voice lines and visual effects and some fresh reactivity written just for them. Breaking your oath usually does nothing outside of changing your class, so this upgrade is a welcome one.

BG3 Patch 8 will also add photo mode, and it seems like a robust one at that. In addition to the usual things common to photo modes, such as frame options, stickers, and a suite post-processing editing options, you can choose facial expressions for party members and experiment with a selection of 40 animated and static poses. As if that’s not enough, each of those has little variations to give your shots more personality.

Finally, Larian said in the announcement blog that Patch 8 adds cross-play support, so if you’re playing in multiplayer, you can join friends regardless of what platform they’re on.

• Read more: The best Baldur's Gate 3 mods you need to use

BG3 Patch 8 subclasses

Here’s what to expect from each new subclass.

• Bard – College of Glamour: Can grant allies temporary hit points, charm enemies, and dominate them
• Barbarian – Path of Giants: Giant’s Rage passive grants you the same effect as giant potions and favors a playstyle that throws friends, foes, and whatever you’ve got in your pockets
• Cleric – Death Domain: Toll the Dead cantrip deals necrotic damage to foes and increases that damage if they’re already wounded. Also gets the ability to detonate corpses for that extra bit of Divinity OS 2 flair
• Druid – Circle of Stars: Summon a Starry Form to augment your playstyle with support and damage skills
• Paladin – Oath of the Crown: Uphold the law to maintain this Oath, and you can taunt enemies and even take damage intended for allies
• Fighter – Arcane Archer: Finally, a ranged option for Fighters. The Arcane Archer can banish foes to the Feywild and dish out Psychic damage that might blind enemies if they lose a Wisdom check
• Monk – Drunken Master: Can drink alcohol from your inventory or found around the world to recover Ki points. Sharing alcohol with enemies makes them drunk, buffs your armor class, and makes them susceptible to other skills that sober them up and deal Psychic damage
• Ranger – Stormkeeper: Rangers get three swarms to command in battle, including a jellyfish mob that deals lightning damage, moths that harm foes psychically, and bees that pierce enemies and may knock them back
• Rogue – Swashbuckler: The Swashbuckler rogue baffles foes by blinding them with sand, disarming them, and using fabulous footwork to evade hits
• Sorcerer – Shadow Magic: A homebrew hound, the Hound of Ill Omen, attacks enemies on your behalf, while the Strength of the Grave ability keeps you from dying. Attacking from the shadows also boosts this Sorcerer’s powers
• Warlock – Hexblade: This Warlock’s patron comes from the Shadowfell and lets them curse and command foes and recover health by dealing necrotic damage
• Wizard – Bladesinging: Someone’s giving Gale a sword instead of a gun. Bladesinging Wizards get an ability that increases their agility and focus, and they have a whole suite of new animations for casting spells with their sword

Whether it's enough to shake up our BG3 class tier list remains to be seen, but I, for one, am looking forward to taking down Orin with nothing but a swarm of bees by my side.

BG3 Patch 8 launches sometime in 2025, and Larian is holding a series of stress tests soon. You'll be able to register interest in taking part, though Larian is waiting to say how until its next community update.