Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8: All New Subclasses Explained

Larian Studios recently announced that Baldur's Gate 3 will be getting some brand new additions in the form of cross play, Photo Mode, and some exciting new Subclasses — as if you needed another reason to start a fresh playthrough.

A new Subclass will be added for each of the existing 12 classes; Bard, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard. These subclasses will add in new abilities, animations, VFX, summons, cantrips, and new voiced dialogue for the Oathbreaker Knight.

Baldur's Gate 3 New Patch 8 Subclasses: Abilities & Features Explained

There will be 12 new Subclasses added to Baldur's Gate 3 with the rollout of Patch 8 in 2025, one for each of the existing classes. 

Bard - College of Glamour 

College of Glamour, a new Subclass for the Bard, offers the power to heal allies and command enemies. New abilities include:

• Mantle of Inspiration — bestow your allies with 5 temporary hit points. Enemies thayt attack while it is cast will be Charmed.
• Mantle of Majesty — Target Charmed enemies to command them to flee, move closer, freeze, drop to the ground, or drop their weapon.

Barbarian - Path of Giants

Path of Giants offers better Strength, giving you a better shot at shoving enemies Abilities include:

• Giant’s Rage — a passive that grants both strength and size, and allows you to deal additional damage with Throw attacks. You'll also benefit from increased carry capacity.

Cleric - Death Domain

A Cleric with Death Domain specializes in necrotic damage, adding three new necromancy cantrips to their kit. This includes:

• Toll The Dead — a cantrip that causes 1~8 damage when your cleric rings the bell of impending doom. The number scales if your target has already been damaged. Players will also have the ability to explode nearby corpses, damaging enemies, though this is likely linked to a separate cantrip.

Druid - Circle of Stars

Circle of Stars Druids can take on three Starry Forms, boosting either a healer, fighter, or strategist role. The forms are:

• Archer —  dealing radiant damage with astral arrows.
• Chalice — restoring hitpoints to you and others nearby.
• Dragon — deal damage with an added bonus to constitution rolls.

Paladin - Oath of the Crown

A Paladin with the Oath of the Crown subclass has the power to aid allies and disrupt foes. New abilities include:

• Righteous Clarity — taunt enemies and interrupt them.
• Divine Allegiance — absorb damage on behalf of allies while restoring their health.

Fighter - Arcane Archer

Arcane Archers have the gift of using magic with their archery. New actions include the ability to banish foes to the Feywild and removing them from the battlefield for a turn, or dealing Psychic damage that forces enemies to make a Wisdom saving throw or face being blinded. 

Monk - Drunken Master

Not quite Naruto's Rock Lee, but as the Drunken Master subclass you'll get a new use for all that alcohol you've been hoarding in your inventory. Drinking now recovers Ki, allowing you to perform the following:

• Intoxicating Strike — gain a buff to your Armour Class and a Chance to hit Drunk targets.
• Sobering Realisation — sober up drunk targets to deal physical and Psychic damage. 

Ranger - Swarmkeeper

We've all been thinking it; Baldur's Gate 3 is great, but it just needs more... Bees! The Swarmkeeper provides Rangers with just that, and other swarms. Each swarm  has the ability to provide you with teleportation capabilities

• Cloud of Jellyfish — deal extra Lightning damage.
• Flurry of Moths — deal Psychic damage and the chance to Blind enemies.
• Legion of Bees — deal Piercing damage and force enemies to make a strength-saving throw, or be knocked back 15ft. 

 Each swarm also has the ability to provide you with teleportation capabilities.

Rogue - Swashbuckler

Is the pirate life for you? Turn your Rogue into a Swashbucklet to gain new actions, such as throwing sand at enemies to Blind them. Additionally, use your weapon to Disarm and enemy, or the new Fancy Footwork passive to mitigate opportunity attacks. 

Sorcerer - Shadow Magic

Sorcerers with the Shadow Magic subclass thrive in darkness, with new abilities to let you embrace your dark side:

• Superior Darkvision — fairly self-explanatory.
• Shadow Walk — walk between places of dim light or darkness.
• Hound of Ill Omen — call forth a hound to harass enemies.
• Strength of the Grave — prevents you from being downed. 

Warlock - Hexblade

Hexblade Warlocks are those in a pact with an entity from the Shadowfell, making use of magical weapons. Any enemy that isn't an element of nature, construct, or undead can have their spirit raised for ten turns. This summon deals necrotic damage, while healing its caster. 

Wizard - Bladesinging

Fancy a dab of magic in your swordplay? Bladesinging offers new spellcasting animations for Wizards when casting spells with weapons, and includes a new ability:

• Bladesong — grants the caster supernatural speed, agility, and focus, plus a bonus to any Constitution saving throw you make.

At the time of writing, it's unclear exactly when Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 8 will be releasing, other than it being scheduled for sometime in 2025. The stress test for the patch is expected to begin in January.