Early Access for Baldur's Gate 3 is a feature that allows early game purchasers to preview the game while still in development. Released on Steam, Stadia, and GOG on October 6, 2020, Early Access is meant to allow players to give feedback on the game before it is finished, and therefore players should expect to encounter bugs, unfinished portions, and a lack of balancing. Players can expect that their feedback will be carefully considered, and possibly incorporated into the final product, which is usually rather different than the one experienced during Early Access.
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Should I Play Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access?
In terms of being able to play the game and experience its different aspects, Early Access will be enjoyable for you if you simply can't wait to experience a Dungeons & Dragons game in video game format. If you want to see how well the Tabletop Role-playing Game could be initially translated into a video game format, with all its facets like player progression, Class progression, combat, and actual roleplay choice in dialogues, then Early Access will be a good experience for you. As previously mentioned, however, don't expect a fully-working game that allows you to play non-stop comfortably. Early Access is there for players to have a taste of what the game could be while giving developers feedback in terms of what could be improved, and what could be added. Additionally, playing Early Access should mean that you are alright with being spoiled at the beginning of the game's story. All that being said, if you are the type to want to contribute towards being able to play an amazing game, or you simply want to scratch the D&D itch early on, then Early Access is for you.
BG3 Early Access Impressions
Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access
How Big is BG3 Early Access Content?
Early Access for Baldur's Gate 3 is approximated to be twenty-five to thirty-five hours of content, filled with Quests, different Locations, and Act 1 of the game's story. Players are able to enjoy a full-fledged Character Creation System, a Real-time with Pause combat system, as well as multiple available playstyles in Classes and Subclasses. There are eight Races, most of which will have Subraces to choose from for your characters, which carry with them different Ability Score bonuses. Early Access content encompasses just the first Act of the game's story, and players can only gain up to five levels at a maximum. Players can choose from eleven Classes, and two Subclasses later on when they reach a certain level, with the exception of the Paladin and Cleric Classes which have three Subclasses each.
Character Creation in BG3 Early Access
For Early Access, players will be able to create their characters with an already full-fledged Character Creation system. Players will be able to see a preview of their Abilities and Proficiencies on the left side of the screen, while customization choices are displayed on the right. Customization starts with Origins but players will find all the options greyed out for now, aside from the Custom option. Players will then be able to choose their character's Race from nine different Races, along with a Subrace. Afterward, players will be able to choose from eleven different Classes, as well as other customization options for that class, if any, including the Subclasses. Players will then be able to choose three Skills in which their character will be proficient, aside from the ones granted by previous customization choices like their character's Background, Subrace, or Subclass. Players will then be able to fully customize their character's Appearance in a full-blown customization system. Lastly, players will then be able to choose how they want to spread out their points into their character's Abilities. There will be twenty-seven points in total to distribute. There should already be a recommended spread by default in case the player has a hard time choosing.
Races and Subraces in BG3 Early Access
Drow
Subraces: Lolth-Sworn Drow, Seldarine Drow
Dwarf
Subraces: Gold Dwarf, Shield Dwarf
Githyanki
Subraces: None
Gnome
Subraces: Deep Gnome, Forest Gnome, Rock Gnome
Half-Elf
Subraces: Drow Half-Elf, High Half-Elf, Wood Half-Elf
Halfling
Subraces: Lightfoot Halfling, Strongheart Halfling
Human
Subraces: None
Classes and Subclasses in BG3 Early Access
Barbarian
The strong embrace the wild that hides inside - keen instincts, primal physicality, and most of all, an unbridled, unquenchable rage.
Berserker
Wildheart
Bard
You know music is more than a fancy - it is power. Through study and adventure, you have mastered song, speech, and the magic within.
College of Lore
College of Valour
Cleric
Clerics are representatives of the gods they worship, wielding potent divine magic for good or ill.
Life Domain
Light Domain
Trickery Domain
Druid
Druids channel the elemental forces of nature and share a deep kinship with animals. Mastery of Wild Shape allows them to transform into beasts from all over the Realms
Circle of the Moon
Circle of the Land
Fighter
Fighters have mastered the art of combat, wielding weapons with unmatched skill and wearing armour like a second skin.
Battle Master
Eldritch Knight
Paladin
Fuelled by the Oaths you swore to uphold justice and righteousness, you are a beacon of hope in dark times.
Oath of Devotion
Oath of the Ancients
Oathbreaker
Ranger
Rangers are unrivaled scouts and trackers, honing a deep connection with nature in order to hunt their favored prey.
Beast Master
Hunter
Rogue
With stealth, skill and uncanny reflexes, a rogue's versatility lets them get the upper hand in almost any situation.
Thief
Arcane Trickster
Sorcerer
Sorcerers are natural spellcasters, drawing on inherent magic from a gift or bloodline.
Draconic Bloodline
Wild Magic
Warlock
Bound by a pact to an all-powerful patron, warlocks trade their loyalty for supernatural abilities and unique magic.
The Fiend
The Great Old One
Wizard
Wizards master the arcane by specializing in individual schools of magic, combining ancient spells with modern research.
Abjuration School
Evocation School
What Will Be Different in the Full Game for BG3?
New Races and Subraces in Baldur's Gate 3 Full Game
Dragonborn
Subraces: Black Dragonborn, Blue Dragonborn, Brass Dragonborn, Bronze Dragonborn, Copper Dragonborn, Gold Dragonborn, Green Dragonborn, Red Dragonborn, Red Dragonborn, Silver Dragonborn, White Dragonborn
Half-Orc
Subraces: None
New Class in Baldur's Gate 3 Full Game
Monk
A master of martial arts, harnessing the power of the body in pursuit of physical and spiritual perfection
Way of the Open Hand ♦ 
Way of Shadow ♦ 
Way of the Four Elements
New Subclasses in Baldur's Gate 3 Full Game
- Barbarian: Wild Magic
- Bard: College of Swords
- Cleric: Knowledge Domain ♦ Nature Domain ♦ Tempest Domain ♦ War Domain
- Druid: Circle of Spores
- Fighter: Champion
- Paladin: Oath of Vengeance
- Ranger: Gloom Stalker
- Rogue: Assassin
- Sorcerer: Storm Sorcery
- Warlock: Archfey
- Wizard: Conjuration School ♦ Divination School ♦ Enchantment School ♦ Necromancy School ♦ Illusion School ♦ Transmutation School
Wild Magic
College of Swords
Knowledge Domain
Nature Domain
Tempest Domain
War Domain
Circle of Spores
Champion
Oath of Vengeance
Gloom Stalker
Assassin
Storm Sorcery
Archfey
Conjuration School
Divination School
Enchantment School
Necromancy School
Illusion School
Transmutation School
Character Creation in BG 3 Full Game
On full release, Baldur's Gate 3 will have an even further revamped Character Creation System at the start of the game. This is both in terms of graphics, to match the general improvements the developers have made from Early Access, and also in terms of its content. As listed above, the Dragonborn and Half-Orc Races will be officially added when the game launches, along with the Subraces in Dragonborn's case. A new Subrace will also be added for the Dwarf to represent their Underdark-dwelling cousins. An entire new Class, the Monk, will be added along with its Subclasses, as well as new Subclasses for the already-existing Classes for a staggering total number of forty-six Subclasses. Character's Ability Score bonuses will not anymore come with and depend on their Race, but on the chosen Class instead. The Appearance customization of Character Creation will also undergo a significant expansion, with players able to customize more parts of their character's Appearances, with tons of more options, and even the option to change their character's Genitals. Finally, the different Origins will finally be selectable, allowing players to experience the game as the characters who are only available as Companions during Early Access. The Origin options called The Dark Urge and Karlach will also be added which were not even in the options during Early Access.
For an in-depth guide to Character Creation for Baldur's Gate 3, visit our page here.
For an in-depth guide to Origins in Baldur's Gate 3, visit our page here.
New Content in Baldur's Gate 3 Full Game
In terms of actual gameplay content, Baldur's Gate 3 will be released with one hundred to one hundred and twenty hours of gameplay. The full version of the game will have a lot of major changes to content, story, and even most of the dialogues that we've already seen and played throughout the first Act of the game's story. The full game will have a total of three Acts to play through, filled with tons of Quests and explorable Locations. They've stated that the game will have a whopping seventeen thousand different endings, which plainly speaks to how much content the game will be releasing. Finally, characters are also now able to reach a maximum level of twelve, increasing all the Abilities, Skills, Feats, Traits, and Features that they would be able to learn and gain for the duration of the game.
Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access Q&A
When is early access available?
The Early Access version of Baldur's Gate 3 will be available on Steam, Stadia, and GOG on October 6th, 2020.
Which Dungeons & Dragons edition will Baldur's Gate 3 be based on?
Baldur's Gate 3 is based on Larian's interpretation of the 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. CEO Swen Vincke explained that some rules and systems don't translate well directly from tabletop to digital game, so Larian has worked to create an interpretation of 5th Edition rules that works well as a digital game but still feels true to D&D.
Will there be Companions or allies who are not Origin characters?
Yes, you will be able to recruit mercenaries.
Will Feats be included?
Yes, but not immediately in Early Access though.
Will my characters from Early Access be carried over to the Official release?
Sorry but no, you will have to start a new adventure in the official release.
Will Baldur's Gate 3 get modding support?
Yes, but not in Early Access.
What's the difficulty setting of Early Access?
There will be only one difficulty in Early Access release, more will be added in later updates.
Will there be a Dungeon Master mode in BG3?
The devs are working on it, but may not include it in Early Access.
Will all 5e classes be available at launch? How many will be in EA?
All classes from 5e Player's Handbook will be included at launch. In Early Access, you can play as a Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, or Wizard.
Will custom characters have Voice Acting?
Yes, you can choose a voice as part of character creation.
How will multiclassing work?
Multiclassing is not going to be available in Early Access at launch, but the devs are planning to add it later.
Will Reactions be included in the game? Like D&D 5e?
While it's not going to be in EA immediately, the features and mechanics that allow a character to perform an action as a reaction will be added in the official launch.
Are there classic magic items from the existing D&D source material?
Yes, there will be a mixture of magic items from published DnD materials and some homebrew items of similar complexity and power level.
How much of Baldur's Gate 3 can you play in early access?
Larian says that the early access version of the game will contain about 20 hours of gameplay. About 80 combat encounters, 45,980 lines of dialogues, and 596 characters in BG3 EA.
What's the Level cap in Baldur's Gate 3?
In Baldur's Gate 3, your characters can reach a maximum level of 10, however, you can only reach level 4 in early access.
AnonymousAre there plans on increase the level cap beyond 10 when the full game is released and are there plans to add more than just the PHB classes/subclasses?
If you hold shift and try to open a chest, the chest jumps into your inventory, note: they do not add to the weight and additional it becomes more space for items in inventory. My character has 10 chests along with backpacks. I think it is a bug,
- Anonymous
1.) Herb type items do not stack.
2.) It would be nice if the inventory doesn't close when you read a book.
3.) The inventory scrolls back to the top if you are switching items between characters and there is a scroll bar. If I am switching several items, it is a pain to have to scroll back down every time to find an open slot to drop the item in.
4.) if I open a container (chest, box, bag, etc) and have my inventory open as well, if I sort the inventory the container window closes. I then have to close inventoy, re-open container, then re-open inventory to have both windows open after sorting.
- Anonymous
BG3's early access on GOG, on 30 September: https://twitter.com/GOGcom/status/1304426739414765569
If you by Baldurs gate 3 early access will you get the full access at the end of the day when it released?
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