Baldur’s Gate 3’s latest Patch 8 finally lets us rock out as gnome bards Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Baldur’s Gate 3’s latest Patch 8 finally lets us rock out as gnome bards The ‘Of Valour And Lore’ update tweaks the pace of combat, and hairstyles News by CJ Wheeler News Reporter Published on July 7, 2022 14 comments Eurovision is always held in May, so it's a bit random that Baldur's Gate 3 developers Larian decided to theme today's Panel From Hell stream after the popular-yet-cringeworthy song contest. From another angle, it makes total sense when you consider that the outcome of it all was info about BG3's musically-tinged eighth patch, arriving later today. We're finally getting those gnome bards, fam. You can check out the stream for yourselves below. Larian always put on a good show when something new comes to Baldur's Gate 3. It's always awesome playing as a bard, so I'm very excited for this update. There's two subclasses, or colleges, to pick from: College Of Valour and College Of Lore. Valour concentrates on combat while Lore favours spellcasting, basically, but both have the suite of buffs and debuffs to draw on that you'd expect from bards. Oh, and Larian say they've recorded 97 "bespoke insults fit for any occasion" to really make your bards sing. Each college of bard has their own signature feature too. Valour bards can use combat inspiration, which inspires an ally of choice with your courageousness. It also adds a +1d6 bonus to your bard's next attack roll, ability check or saving throw. Lore bards have the cutting words signature feature, which employs their wit to distract an opponent and cause it to become less confident. Aww. That leaves it with a 1d6 penalty to attack rolls, ability checks and damage dealt until the start of your bard's next turn. Any class can use the new 'performer' feat available at Level 4, not just bards. Performing lets you get your instrument out wherever you like. NPCs can join in, or maybe just tell you to shut it. Larian say you might even be rewarded if an NPC really vibes to your pithy ditties. Along with adding impromptu jam sessions to Baldur's Gate 3, this latest update brings the curious gnomes to the game. They're the first new playable race introduced since early access began. Watch on YouTube Baldur's Gate 3's eighth patch also brings a swish update to characters' hairstyles thanks to a new hair-shading model. You can now go bananas with highlights and greying in character creation, the best part of any RPG. There's the new Swarm AI to contend with, which groups minor enemies together for faster combat in larger battles, and killcams for ranged critical hits with projectile weapons and spells. Larian say the update stabilises multiplayer through network compression too. A fairly steady stream of new classes have been bundled in with Baldur's Gate 3's patches since October 2020. Druids planted themselves in the game in February last year, followed by sorcerors and the Grymforge region in October. The last patch released before today hurled barbarians into the game all the way back in February. Larian confirmed this April that Baldur's Gate 3 will launch out of early access in 2023. We still don't know exactly when Baldur's Gate 3 will actually arrive next year yet though. If you fancy strutting your funky stuff as a gnome bard while you wait, then you can nab the game on Steam or GOG for £50/$60/€60. Disclosure: Adam Smith (RPS in Peace) is now a senior writer at Larian and has worked on Baldur's Gate 3. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 21 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here