Highlights
- Baldur's Gate 3 has the potential for an expansion that could take players to Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells in Dungeons and Dragons lore.
- Having a standalone expansion is a way to avoid contradicting the base game's endings, but it may result in the absence of beloved characters from the original cast.
- An expansion would provide an opportunity to raise the level cap and reintroduce cut spells in a balanced way, while the possibility of post-release content for Baldur's Gate 3 remains uncertain.
Baldur's Gate 3 is an incredibly expansive game that feels like an epic adventure across the Sword Coast. It's a game that should be taken one day at a time due to the breadth of content on offer, but there is still some room for the game to grow via an expansion.
Given that Baldur's Gate 3 has a level cap of 12 out of the 20 found in the Dungeons and Dragons TTRPG, this locks away some of the most potent and exciting abilities that might have been difficult to balance within a reasonable development time. Even if the base game offers a complete adventure with various satisfying conclusions, there is potential for another adventure that takes players far from the base game's setting.
Avernus Would be a Great Setting for Baldur's Gate 3 DLC
Avernus is the first layer of the Nine Hells present in Dungeons and Dragons lore that makes a couple of appearances in Baldur's Gate 3 and is mentioned even more throughout the game. Several companions have arcs that tie directly within the predominant forces found in the Hells, including the Archduchess of Avernus Zariel.
The most notable companion with these ties is Karlach, a Tiefling who was sold out by her employer Gortash to serve Zariel, who experimented on her and replaced her heart with an infernal machine that makes her body literally too hot for anyone to touch. None of Karlach's endings involve being permanently cured of her condition, with one involving her returning to the realm with either Wyll or the player so that she can continue living.
Given the number of ways Baldur's Gate 3 can end, a narrative issue is how to avoid an expansion's premise contradicting some of the base game's endings. This can be avoided by having the story take place on a different plane and remain a standalone experience with some references to the choices players made.
A downside to having a Baldur's Gate 3 expansion be standalone is that most of the lovable cast from the base game will probably be absent. Assuming there is a feature that allows players to import their saves into the expansion, characters like Karlach and Wyll can appear since they would have reason to be in Avernus, but others like Astarion and Shadowheart would likely not.
This would be unless the expansion follows up on the original game's cast because even if they take the path to conquer Faerun at the end of the game, Avernus offers a different playing field with greater threats. It goes back to the previously stated issue of giving several characters an actual motive to go to Avernus, so the standalone approach might better suit the expansion's story.
Whatever approach is utilized, it does provide the perfect opportunity to raise the level cap to somewhere like level 16 so that players can feel powerful while not having to deal with many of the broken abilities the highest-level players can achieve. Since some great spells were cut from Baldur's Gate 3 that could have been unlocked at the base game's level cap, an expansion would offer another opportunity for Larian Studios to reintroduce them in a way that feels balanced with the game's mechanics.
The possibility of a Baldur's Gate 3 DLC or expansion is still up in the air despite the game's success due to how large of a feat it would be to reflect the main title's quality. Since Larian Studios is already discussing future projects, the game could potentially not receive much post-release content, which may be disappointing for some fans to hear. Whether the studio does apply its knowledge to an expansion or to an entirely new game, exploring at least one of the Nine Hells would be a great idea for a game.
Baldur's Gate 3 is out now on PC and will come out on September 6 for PS5. A version for Xbox Series X/S is currently in development.
