Larian Studios had its fifth Panel From Hell earlier today to go over what’s coming next for the third Baldur’s Gate. For the most part, fans will soon have a new character class to play and apparently, a new sport: tossing goblins. That ‘sport’ is actually a skill for the Barbarian, who joins the cast of Baldur’s Gate 3 when Patch 7 arrives later today.
The Barbarian class is the big news for the game. This wild and violent character is, according to the team, “fueled by nature’s fury, and boasting chaos energy louder than a thousand reality TV stars combined.” You get two subclasses, the Wildheart Barbarian and the Berserker Barbarian. The former requires you to choose and protect a Bestial Heart, which offers “combat abilities and facial piercings depending on their choice.” The latter is, of course, your dyed-in-the-wool Barb, using Frenzy to grant new, violent abilities.
If you aren’t a fan of weapons or objects around you, then good news. Improvised Weapon is a new ability that lets you toss pretty much anything as a projectile weapon — hence the ‘goblin-tossing’ joke Larian made. The object’s weight affects how much damage it’ll dish out. Other, actual weapons can be thrown in Baldur’s Gate 3 with Patch 7. The list includes daggers, spears, and handaxes.
I cannot jump the distance, you have to toss me
Larian also briefed on some improvements that Patch 7 is bringing to Baldur’s Gate 3. The game will get its UI completely overhauled to be “slicker, streamlined, and easier to use.” Stealth and exploration have also been upgraded. Finally, the game is getting new magic loot and upgraded cinematics with nearly 700 improved cutscenes.
As for when the game will reach 1.0, that’s tough to say. So far, Larian is expecting the game to officially launch out of Early Access next year. Speaking with our sister-site Destructoid, Larian boss, Swen Vincke, said there was “about a year left of development.” Vincke explained that the focus is on reaching a level of quality before release.
“As long as it doesn’t hit that (level of quality), we’re not gonna release it,” Vincke said. “But we’re getting closer to hitting what we have as our internal benchmark for the quality level that we want to achieve.”
