BG3 Patch 7 leaks make some fans very unhappy

Leaks about Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 7 are slowly trickling out – which is inevitable as more and more people get access to the RPG's last major beta – and some people aren't happy with what they're seeing. It's also going beyond the usual “fans complaining about everything” scenario and extending to frustrations with how Larian has handled fan feedback since BG3 left Early Access.

We won't link to the leaked footage, but we'll briefly describe it. If you want to avoid spoilers, check out our list of the best BG3 mods.

The turning point was a leaked clip showing the new evil ending for Wyll. Patch 7 introduces new evil ending cinematics for every Origin character, designed to flesh out the meager endings introduced with the game, assuming there was no bug and the ending was skipped entirely. Larian teased several of these on Twitter over the summer, including some particularly creepy ones for the Dark Urge.

Everyone gets something special. Astarion has a horrific ending that underscores how damaging his evil ways are. Lae'zel has something about dragons. Wyll has an ending that's almost identical to Bad Tav except for a few minor changes – always assuming that this footage is final and can't change before the patch launches. He turns everyone afflicted by a tadpole into mind flayers, and that's it. Rule Baldur's Gate with an iron fist? I can imagine that. But mind flayers? Pretty out of character.

The BG3 community started posting about it on Reddit and Twitter, with Astarion and Wyll trending at various times over the past few days. An old image showing how many hours of footage each companion gets resurfaced, making fans laugh even more. Astarion has 12 hours and 45 minutes, despite only being tangentially connected to the main storyline. Lae'zel and Karlach have around 10 hours.

Wyll has eight. As much as I like Wyll and his romance in BG3, it's hard not to see a little discrepancy there, especially since his storyline meanders through Act 2 before culminating in a random big moment in Act 3 that seems completely disconnected from everything that came before, more like a leftover from the old Wyll from Early Access.

Even people who claimed to be Astarion fans said they were tired of learning so much about the vampire in these patches and wanted to see other companions' stories fleshed out in more detail. That seems unlikely unless Larian is holding something back for Patch 7.

However, it's also what a not insignificant number of fans have been asking for since launch – a more fleshed-out story for Wyll, which was completely rewritten just before launch, along with bug fixes for long-standing issues and a working Minthara, who had been so buggy since launch that it was impossible to actually see her entire storyline.

Instead, the complaints claim, Larian has simply been churning out Astarion endlessly, which is admittedly pretty inaccurate. Larian's data shows that Astarion is one of the most popular origin romances and characters, so it's hardly surprising to see him at the top of marketing and social posts.

Regardless, it's true that Larian's updates have generally focused on things that a small number of fans wanted, while leaving real issues that have been present since launch untouched – things like an epilogue that occasionally borders on fanservice, an option to ignore the consequences of very bad actions, and, if other leaks are accurate, soon an option to recruit a specific bard under certain circumstances, though perhaps only for a day.

How accurate these leaks are and what they actually add to the game is something no one can say yet, but if there are no delays, we won't have to wait much longer. BG3 Patch 7 is scheduled to be released sometime in September 2024.