[GameSpot] - Baldur's Gate 3 Adds Paladins And Reworks Reactions In The Last Major Update Before Release

[343iBot]

The last content patch before Baldur's Gate 3's August 2023 release adds the Paladin class, reworked Reactions, and the ability to reach level five.

As fans of Dungeons and Dragons may know, Paladins are bound by an oath. In Baldur's Gate 3, you can take one of two oaths. The first, Oath of the Ancient, sees you pledge to preserve the natural world; you can call upon your oath to cast Healing Radiance and heal nearby allies. The second, Oath of Devotion, requires you to pledge to protect justice and order. You can call on this oath to cast Holy Rebuke. This spell surrounds an ally with an aura that deals 1d4 damage to anyone that melee attacks them. Paladins of any subclass can spend a spell slot to cast Divine Smite and add radiant damage to weapon damage.

Paladins who break the tenets of their oath will become Oathbreakers and gain a new set of abilities and disadvantages, as well as new dialogue and story beats. Paladins can break their oaths for good, nefarious, or ambiguous reasons. The Oathbreaker subclass lets you explore your Paladin's potential beliefs and motivations.

In more general additions, players can progress to level five, getting stronger and unlocking new abilities, powers, and spells. Spellcasters will be able to cast level five spells like Fireball, Counterspell, and Animate Dead. The Fly spell can be utilized in and out of combat to explore new areas, flank enemies, or flee tough battles. Weapon-focused classes like Paladins, Fighters, Barbarians, and Rangers will be able to attack a second time per turn with their weapon for free.

Additionally, the reaction system has been revamped. Players can now choose whether to react to enemy actions when appropriate. For example, if any enemy attempts to move past you in a way that triggers an attack of opportunity, you can choose whether to attack or not. Another use-case is casting Counterspell.

Outside of the mechanical side, it was announced that Matt Mercer will voice fan-favorite character and Baldur's Gate party veteran Minsc. With these updates, this will be the last major content patch before the game officially releases in August 2023. You can check out more details and patch notes on Steam.

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