Baldur’s Gate 3 fans can download a new update, but only if taking part in the Stress Test.

Launching later today, the new update is available for Stress Test testers, which kind of makes it like an update within an update.

The news was announced by Larian on X, alongside a preview about what to expect: “Update 1 for the Patch 8 stress test is going live later today! Unable to feed Gale his magical shoes?

“Worry not, his appetite has been restored and we’ve fixed a range of issues in the Patch 8 stress test!”

READ MORE: Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 8 PS5 warning – PlayStation probably shouldn’t download new update

Available for PS5, Xbox and PC via Steam, Stress Test update 1 primarily makes bug fixes across the board.

This includes fixes for cross-play not working as intended, which is pretty much the point of the Stress Test to begin with.

Likewise, the new update makes a ton of fixes for the Photo Mode, not to mention some useful changes to make it a bit more intuitive.

This includes the addition of an in-game pop-up for Photo Mode that triggers at the beach at the start of the game and can be found in the Journal.

That’s on top of a specific Steam Deck Photo Mode update, which makes it easier to access your screenshots.

As Larian points out, the update is only available for Stress Test users, with all the fixes coming with the full Patch 8 release later this year.

The developer has also released a new video showing how best to use Photo Mode, which you can see above the patch notes below.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Stress Test Update 1…

Gameplay

• Fixed containers inside inventories not scattering their contents when they get destroyed, which could potentially lead to key quest items getting lost for good.

• Fixed a bug causing Oath of the Crown paladins to lose spell slots instead of gaining them when levelling up.

• Fixed an issue where picking up items from the ground in multiplayer could then block movement via the controller stick.

• Fixed the Wild Shape: Panther’s Prowl action and Prowling condition not working correctly.

• Fixed a bug where items getting added to the inventory would lose their conditions. This could cause, for example, the Elemental Cleaver buff to disappear when the imbued weapon is thrown.

• Shadow Blade will now retain the behaviour of being locked to the caster when upcast.

• Fixed Freecast getting enabled again after you unequip a piece of equipment.

Photo Mode

• Added an in-game pop-up for Photo Mode that triggers at the beach at the start of the game and can be found in the Journal.

• Updated Photo Mode’s screenshot function on Steam Deck so that it uses Steam’s proprietary screenshot function, so you can access your photos more readily from the Steam Screenshots page.

• Prevented characters from being able to pop into private cutscenes while activating Photo Mode when playing in multiplayer.

• Hid the ‘Toggle Photo Preview’ legend while taking screenshots via Steam’s screenshot function.

• Fixed Photo Mode making the screen go blurry when opened on split screen.

• Added camera shutter SFX when taking a photo in Photo Mode.

• Fixed the Attacking and Jumping poses for wolves.

• Fixed a cross appearing in the middle of the screen when the Vignette is at its thickest setting.

• Fixed some creatures not listening when you select the ‘Look At Camera’ option.

• Fixed the game sometimes freezing when switching quickly between tabs in Photo Mode.

• Improved the Depth of Field sliders so the strength and distance scale in proportion to the slider itself.

• Fixed an issue causing dragonborn tails to appear detached from the body.

• The Grasping Vine’s poses now work correctly.

• Fixed a bug where switching between control inputs while in Photo Mode would prevent you from being able to close it.

Cross-Play

• Fixed an issue that could get the client stuck in a loading screen if the client unfriends the host and then clicks ‘Join Party’ after re-adding the host.

• Fixed some of the PS5 splashscreens not showing up when they should.

• Fixed a crash at the start of combat.

Subclasses

• The Booming Blade tooltip now updates its values when upcast.

• Fixed an inaccurate bonus value in the Rakish Audacity tooltip.

• Updated Toll the Dead and Bursting Sinew to work with Potent Cantrip and deal half damage on saves.

• Fixed Pact of the Blade’s Extra Attack being added to Deepened Pact even if you didn’t choose Pact of the Blade.

• Fixed the Reaper passive letting you target the same target multiple times.

• Updated the light source used by Shadow Magic sorcerers to improve the visibility for the Eyes of the Dark ability.

• Fixed a bug allowing you to infinitely switch your Twinkling Constellation for free.

• Dirty Trick: Sand Toss now uses your Dexterity modifier on attack.

Art

• Fixed an issue causing the Flaming Fist armour to clip and generally freak out a bit.

UI

• Fixed a bug with Gale’s donation UI preventing you from feeding him magical items.

• All of the Hexblade’s class actions and subclass features are now shown correctly in Character Creation.

• Fixed the new subclasses’ action resources not showing up when Levelling Up.

• Fixed button or keyboard shortcut inputs in the UI sometimes not working.

• Fixed some Reaction tooltips like Divine Allegiance not showing some values correctly in the description.

• Fixed a bug causing the UI to lock up when rapidly switching between keyboard and mouse input and controller input.

• Fixed a bug where opening the Main Menu on controller wouldn’t automatically select the ‘Resume’ option at the top of the menu.

• Fixed the condition icons on the party line getting duplicated when transitioning between acts during cross-play.

• Fixed some settings that were missing their wrap-around navigation functionality on controller, preventing you from looping from the last option back to the first option with the same button input.

• Fixed a bug where you’d have to deselect your current passive when respeccing a character before selecting a new one. Now, you can just click the new one.

• Fixed a bug that caused the toggleable Illithid Powers to disappear from the Character Sheet and be uninteractable in the Illithid Powers UI.

• Fixed player avatars not showing up in the multiplayer/cross-play lobby.

• Mentioned the damage that Corrosive Spit deals in its condition tooltip.

Scripting

• With 12 new subclasses arriving in Patch 8, we’ve rechecked some achievements, including ensuring the armed version of Stunning Strike no longer counts as an unarmed attack for the Fists of Fury achievement, and its unarmed variant now does.

• Monks’ Unarmed Strike bonus action now also correctly counts toward the Action Surge achievement.

Crashes

• Fixed a crash when trying to start a game from a lobby multiple times.

• Fixed several crashes and freezes related to the UI.

• Fixed a crash on Vulkan when taking a photo in Photo Mode.