Larian Studios continues to work toward the future full release of Baldur's Gate 3. Currently available in Early Access, Larian has already issued three substantial patches for the CRPG. Most recently, Patch 3 for Baldur's Gate 3 better-rewarded players for pacifist play, made companions more positive and constructive; and addressed other player feedback. Now Larian is ready to start talking about Patch 4, at least in terms of how Baldur's Gate 3 players should prepare for it.
Starting next week, Larian will start revealing what's coming next for Baldur's Gate 3, including the release of the game's "biggest patch notes ever forged in the fiery pits of Larian." At the center of it all is Larian's second Panel From Hell, which will air on February 17 at 10:00 AM PT. Larian doesn't explicitly state Patch 4 will be discussed during this panel, but the implication is heavy and clear. Perhaps there's a different event where the plans for Patch 4 will be revealed first.
The confirmation that Patch 4 is "right around the corner" also comes with a big warning for current Baldur's Gate 3 players. Since Patch 4 is going to be so big and will make so many changes, Larian says that it can't be made compatible with the current Patch 3 version of Baldur's Gate 3. That means that players' save files will be erased as a result of the patch being issued. All Baldur's Gate 3 players who update to Patch 4 will have to start their game fresh.
Baldur's Gate 3 players do have an option, if they want to save their current save files, however. Larian is making a "branch" of Baldur's Gate 3 available through Steam that will keep players on the current version of the game. Larian also did this with Patch 2. Going into Baldur's Gate 3's properties in Steam will allow users to select the "Betas" menu, from which the game's different versions can be selected. This can be done either now, to stay on Patch 3, or after Patch 4 hits, to revert back to Patch 3.
Larian does tease some of what will be discussed during next week's Panel From Hell presentation. A sneak peek at updated cinematics, Tieflings, new spells, and cows will be featured. Again, this doesn't mean that this content will be in Patch 4. It's just upcoming content, for the time being.
Progress on Baldur's Gate 3 continues to move rapidly forward. Larian's previously said that Early Access will last at least one year from Baldur's Gate 3's October launch and so far hasn't changed that schedule. Anything's possible, though. Fans will have to once again consider whether to buy in now or wait for Baldur's Gate's 3's eventual release in 2021 or beyond.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now in Early Access on PC.
