News of Baldur’s Gate 3 patches only draws an eye roll from me these days. Gone are the early days of bug fixes and friction reduction. Instead, they seem to mostly spend their time crowbarring in fan service in ways that dilutes the impact of the experience to appeal to a small but loud cohort of extremely online fans. But this latest patch is different.
Patch 8, said to be the last major update (and the atmospheric orchestra played Believe It If You Like), does come with plenty of additions. There’s a photo mode that I’m very curious about, but most interesting are the 12 new subclasses. Each class is getting one additional way to play, adding massive replay value to a game I love too much to ever play again. Oh well. However, the Fighter subclass is a standout for all the wrong reasons.
Arcane Archer Is The Only Bad Subclass Being Added To Baldur’s Gate 3
Most of the picks are some brand of excellent. Bladesinging Wizard, Hexblade Warlock, and Swashbuckler Rogue are excellent in the sense that I’d forgotten they weren’t in the base game. They’re each such classic ways to play those classes that it feels like only with this patch are they finally complete. Then there’s the left field choices, like the newest subclass in D&D (introduced in 2023’s Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants) through Path of the Giant Barbarian, or the vastly underrated Drunken Master Monk.
In fact, every class other than Fighter you could make the case that the subclass adds something significant to the game. Even Oath of the Crown Paladin I understand, despite considering it one of the lesser Paladin options. Then again, Paladin is such a boring way to play (apologies to the majority of BG3 players) that I don’t really care. But Fighter should be exciting. I see what Arcane Archer is going for, but it all seems a bit pointless.
First, the good stuff: Arcane Shot. This lets you imbue your arrows with magic for extra effects. Now the bad: this power is highly situational, and doesn’t get a power boost until level 18, which you cannot reach in Baldur’s Gate 3 (or many modules of D&D). All of the other improvements it gives you are basically covered by Battlemaster too. I was a little peeved at Fighter anyway, because its two good classes – Champion alongside Battlemaster – are both a more generic way to play Fighter. That worked for Lae’zel, who I just needed to hit things, but held less appeal for my Tav.
The third Fighter subclass was Eldritch Knight, whose imbalance of magic and melee often makes them Jack Of All Trades, Quite Bad At Most.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Had Much Better Fighter Subclasses To Choose From
I’ve already gotten angry about this once, back when the game first launched. I had planned to be an Echo Knight Fighter, and was disappointed to find it was unavailable in the game. Being an Echo Knight means you get to clone yourself in battle, and has mechanical complexity that can make running one annoying and difficult for both you and your DM. In a video game, these complexities would be taken away, making things much simpler.
But I’ve already made the case for Echo Knight, so what of Rune Knight instead? In a similar fashion to Arcane Archer’s Arcane Shot, they get access to mystical runes that offer different abilities. These aren’t all damage output options, giving them greater versatility, but some can devastate your enemies. It also allows you to grow and become a giant, which is very cool. I probably should have opened with that.
I would previously have said merging a subclass with giants might break the thematic atmosphere of the game (same reason I wouldn’t pitch Samurai Fighter), but with Path of the Giants in the game, why not? I’d also have put Psi Warrior and Purple Dragon Knight ahead of Arcane Archer, but then I’d have put Run Around Naked And Tickle Enemies With A Feather ahead of Arcane Archer too.
There are a few Fighter subclasses that are impossible in BG3, with no firearms for Gunslingers or mounts for Cavaliers, but even though the rest here do add a little bit more than the ease of Battlemaster or Champion, I would have liked to have seen this last hurrah for the game that is otherwise quite experimental give Fighter a bit of a break. Alas, I’m just going to have to keep Lae’zel as a very strong Champion who hits things very hard.
- Top Critic Rating:96/100
