An ambitious Baldur’s Gate 3 custom campaign mod which adds a whole new region to explore between the RPG’s second and third acts is finally out in beta. This extra adventure midway through BG3’s main quest is the result of nearly two years of work from modder SquallyDaBeanz, who’s put together a trip to The Chionthar Wilds full of new missions and dungeons.
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As we reported when it got its second trailer earlier this year, the mod – simply dubbed Act Two Expansion – sees you and your party “find a way to cross the Chionthar River before taking part in an epic battle against the Absolute’s army at Rivington”. Its new region, The Chionthar Wilds, is designed to be “similar in scope” to act one’s Wilderness, offering quests, dungeons, and fights geared towards mid-to-highly skilled parties between levels eight and ten.
“The Act Two Expansion is still in Beta,” SquallyDaBeanz wrote of their creation’s state on this release. “The first implementation of all planned features is done and the mod is playable from start to finish, but it’s an uneven experience in terms of polish right now. I recommend you save often for when you encounter potentially game-breaking bugs.”
“I recommend having a way to cheat to Act 3 in case the finale bugs out,” they added. “The mod has been known to softlock and not let you proceed to Act 3 if you have unfinished camp events (i.e Oathbreaker) before you start the finale. Ensure these things are taken care of in the main region before starting the finale. There is a warning message in-game before you proceed.”
That technical fragility and the fact the mod’s not as “reactive” as the base game in terms of rewarding experimentation to find unorthodox paths forwards or having choices switch up what happens later in the game aside, what looks like a pretty sprawling trek with plenty of new characters to meet and custom creatures to battle awaits. It looks as though the new NPCs only have subtitled dialogue, with the modder noting they don’t have any plans to give these characters voice acting “at the moment”. For those keen on having a real life mate tag along, the good news is that SquallyDaBeanz wrote that their creation should work with multiplayer mods, provided “everyone has the mod installed and no mismatched files”.
They’ve also laid out a list of features and improvements they’re hoping to introduce with an eventual 1.0 version of the mod. Better “writing, dialog, and characters”, more character background/skill specific lines, and a mechanical overhaul of bosses are all planned.
If you fancy giving Act Two Expansion a go, you’ll need to install either its Main Download or Quickstart version, with the former being aimed at new playthroughs, while the latter warps you straight to The Chionthar Wilds. If you choose the former, the mod’s description has instructions on how to get to the new region.
