Bard Joins Baldur’s Gate 3 Party

Do you want Alfira to become a party member in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Larian Studios may finally be adding everyone’s favorite bard Alfira to the Baldur’s Gate 3 party upon the release of Patch 7 in September 2024. Although not entirely confirmed, the patch notes released on July 16th said Larian “may have also let a certain bard now join the party as a controllable character if there’s an empty slot, temporarily, of course.”

A Bard’s Popularity

Fans have been urging the studio to make Alfira a recruitable companion since Baldur’s Gate 3 launched in August 2023. This recent tease has ignited a renewed wave of excitement. A tiefling bard encountered during Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, Alfira tasks the party with helping her compose a song. She may be briefly involved later in the story, including in one particularly dark quest, but doesn’t play a significant role in the overall plot. Despite her limited role, Alfira has become a fan favorite.

Players Plot to Keep Alfira

As reported by Dexerto, players are already scheming ways to keep Alfira in the party permanently, despite Larian’s warning that she will only be available “temporarily.” Players are already anticipating the possibility of exploiting glitches to keep her in the party for good.

• “I’m giving it three days before glitchers figure out how to keep her in the party permanently,” said KingdomOfZeal on Reddit. “Larian may as well add dialogue and quests for her.”
• Even if players can’t permanently keep her, Bucket_Of_Magic notes that her addition is “prime real estate for mods” because if Larian adds her as a playable character, they have “already laid the foundation.”

Patch 7: A Game-Changer

While mods are usually a boon for PC players and a disappointment for console users, Larian is bridging this divide with Patch 7’s headline feature: official mod support on all platforms. Although no specific release date beyond “September 2024” has been shared for the update, it is potentially Baldur’s Gate 3’s final major patch. Larian is planning to move on to new projects after releasing Patch 7, including the game, franchise, and Dungeons & Dragons altogether.

In our 10/10 review of the game, iGV said: “With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs.”