Hey friends,

Update #2 for the Patch 8 stress test is rolling out to participating players! 

We’ve now tackled an issue affecting cross-play, which means players in the stress test will now be able to fully test cross-play with friends.

Another wave of invites will be going out this week, so keep an eye on that mailbox, and if you’re already in and want your friends to join you, request an additional Steam or PlayStation 5 stress test code by heading to https://larian.com/account/connected, linking your account, and requesting a code for a friend!

Xbox players can take part by downloading the Xbox Insider Hub App, becoming an Xbox Insider, and joining the stress test from the app.

Share Your Experience With Us

If you’ve been tinkering around in the stress test for some time now, we’d love to hear about how you’ve got on! Fill in the feedback form found in your access email, or if you’re playing on Steam, click on the banner from the game launcher. 

Letting us know about how you’ve found taking photos in Photo Mode, testing out the new subclasses, and mentioning any bugs you’ve come across will help us get Patch 8 in shape and ready to be released to everyone. Want to report a bug? Click here!

Patch 8 Stress Test - Update #2

Read on for the full list of changes in Update #2 for the Patch 8 stress test!

SPOILERS - Please bear in mind some of the entries below might contain spoilers, proceed at your own risk 

Gameplay

• Fixed a bug preventing you from clicking and dragging objects.
• Fixed an error when joining a game via a friend invite on Xbox.
• Fixed War Magic being active before Extra Attack, forcing the player to use a bonus action before getting access to other Extra Attacks.
• Eldritch Knights now properly use free Extra Attacks before their War Magic attack.
• Fixed Freecast getting enabled again after you unequip a piece of equipment.
• Fixed Valiant Damage not triggering properly.
• Fixed an issue with Shadow Blade spells and the Knife of the Undermountain King dagger not granting Advantage against an obscured target.
• Fixed a bug where moving the controller sticks in specific directions wouldn't register any input.
• Fixed Jhannyl's Gloves not correctly triggering the Defy Villainy passive that casts Lesser Restoration.
• Updated Elemental Weapon to allow all damage types at all spell levels and include upcast benefits at Levels 5 and 6.
• Examining in-world surfaces with the 'Pin Tooltip' keybind now correctly displays the tooltip.
• Fixed a bug causing keyboard input to block if you spam the Level Up button and the Esc key.
• Fixed a potential blocker causing mouse input to get disabled when clicking an enemy's portrait as they die.
• Fixed a blocker when a follower or summon used the Scrying Eyes in the Iron Throne.
• Fixed a blocker when you tried to use any item while your character was Knocked Down.

Photo Mode

• Fixed mind flayer tentacles T-posing.
• Told the Swarmkeeper's swarm VFX to play nice and show up in Photo Mode.
• Fixed the elemental myrmidons sometimes balling their fists up so tight in certain poses that their fingers clipped through the back of their hands.
• Fixed the owlbear's pointing poses making it look like it was tucking its chin deep into its chest.
• Fixed the Field of View slider value sometimes jumping up or down in unexpected increments when clicking on the arrows.
• Tutorial and notification pop-ups will no longer appear in Photo Mode.
• Fixed the 'Exit Photo Mode' option appearing in English on controller when the game was set to another language.
• Disabled physics for genitals in Photo Mode to avoid some distressing twisting and contorting when switching between poses.
• Overhead dialogues that have been triggered during Photo Mode no longer all stack above the characters' heads when you return to gameplay.
• Resizing stickers will no longer affect their original position.
• Fixed Body Type 2 characters' left arms looking terribly twisted and emaciated in the 'Shy' poses.
• Updated the position of the button prompts on controller so they don't overlap in different languages.

Cross-Play

• Resolved an issue that was creating conflicts when enabling cross-play on Xbox.
• Fixed the game sending you back to the main menu with a 'Connection Error' pop-up on PS5 if the console went to sleep.
• Fixed a bug preventing PS5 players from joining cross-play games via the Friends List.

New Subclasses

• Limited the Booming Blade cantrip so it cannot be used more than once per turn. 
• Fixed some missing and mistimed VFX for spells when cast by Bladesingers.
• Clarified the descriptions of Cosmic Omen's Attack Roll and Saving Throw reaction tooltips.
• Fixed some missing bow animations for Arcane Shot.
• Updated the visibility of the VFX light source used by Shadow Magic sorcerers 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.
• Fixed Swashbuckers' Dirty Tricks not conferring Advantage when they should.
• Added the new subclass spells to the Action Surge and Fists of Fury achievements.
• Nimbus, the Shadow Sorcerer’s shadow mastiff summoned via the Hound of Ill Omen ability, can no longer go on his own little adventures and trigger dialogues when separated from his summoner.
• The Hexed Weapon condition is now properly removed from equipped weapons after you respec out of the Hexblade subclass.
• Updated Piercing Arrow to always consume an Arcane Arrow resource and updated Bursting Arrow to not consume more than one Arcane Arrow resource on hit.
• Rebalanced the number of Arcane Shots that Arcane Archers gain at Levels 7 and 10.
• Action resources gained by Bladesingers, Swarmkeepers and Glamour Bards will now show up properly in Character Creation.
• Fixed the Dirty Trick: Flick o' the Wrist spell missing its animation for dwarves wielding scimitars.
• Circle of the Stars druids can no longer enter animal Wild Shapes while already in a Starry Form.
• Cosmic Omen will no longer linger after you respec with Withers.
• Deepened Pact now works for Hexblade weapons if the Hexblade warlock has Pact of the Blade.
• The Swashbuckler subclass will no longer force all weapons to use Dexterity after Level 4.
• Fixed the Initiative bonus from rogues' Rakish Audacity feature being +4 at Level 9.
• Rakish Sneak Attack can no longer be used with Disadvantage. Also updated and simplified the associated tooltips.
• Fixed the Reaper passive letting you target the same target multiple times.

Tooltips

• Mentioned the damage that Corrosive Spit deals in its condition tooltip.
• Updated the names of the condition tooltips for the Dilophosaurus wild shape's Corrosive Spray spell, adding 'Dissolving' and 'Dissolved' for clarity.
• The Tides of Chaos passive tooltip now correctly states that it only works for ability checks.
• Updated the Lifedrinker tooltip to match functionality; it does not require Pact of the Blade.
• Rephrased the Hexblade's Curse tooltip to prevent the technical text '+ProficiencyBonus' from appearing in Character Creation and Level Up.
• The Acolyte of Nature passive tooltip now shows up in the Character Sheet as expected.

UI

• Fixed the new subclasses' action resources not showing up when Levelling Up.
• In Character Creation on controller, fixed the left and right button prompts missing their opaque background, making it difficult to read the text on the tabs behind them.
• Fixed the audible voice not changing when you're previewing different voices in Character Creation.
• Fixed the controller UI not accurately showing when you're logged into your Larian Account, which could cause cross-play connection issues.
• Fixed a bug in Character Creation where disabling heterochromia wouldn't actually disable it.
• Fixed area names missing from the minimap.
• Fixed the multiplayer session manager panel not populating properly for players that connected while the panel was open.
• Fixed the small preview of the colour you've selected in Character Creation sometimes missing.
• Fixed a bug where if a user tried to join your session while you were filling out a user report, cancelling the request would close the report window in the background instead of cancelling the request.
• Fixed the body type slider sometimes skipping through a choice on controller.
• Fixed the context menu not opening properly on unselected items if you already have other items multiselected on controller.
• Fixed the 'No savegames available.' message showing up in the background while the game is loading the list of saved games on controller.
• Fixed some settings that were missing their wrap-around navigation functionality on controller when playing Custom Mode.
• Updated the credits to include developers who have worked on the game since release, playtesters, and modding testers. Also updated the order of the voice actor credits to prioritise larger roles at the top.
• Fixed a bug causing an empty text-input panel to pop up and block gameplay.
• Fixed the 'Rename Character' field appearing blank in the Magic Mirror UI.
• Fixed an '%%% Empty' passive feature appearing for rogues during Character Creation.
• Fixed a bug causing the minimap to disappear after switching to keyboard and mouse while having any UI accessible via the shortcut menu open on controller.
• Fixed some UI issues caused by the game continuing to accept controller inputs when loading a savegame.

Scripting

• You should no longer be able to ask Shadowheart about her Shar worship after recruiting her at the Goblin Camp if you don't know about her faith.
• Fixed a bug that caused Alfira to be retroactively murdered if that camp scene had played with Quil instead.
• Shadowheart's wound flare during the Arabella scene in the Emerald Grove will not be considered to have triggered when Shadowheart wasn't present in the dialogue.

Cinematics

• Fixed the VO getting cut off prematurely for githyanki and drow characters entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands for the first time.

Crashes

• Fixed a potential crash when pressing to view 'More Details' on an item on split screen.
• Fixed potential UI-related crashes.
• Fixed a potential crash on PS5 when the game is left idle.
• Fixed a crash when attempting to open the game menu on controller while the pickpocket panel is open.

Modding

• Fixed a bug causing the Mod Verification window to appear empty and preventing you from closing it if you get a warning about insufficient storage before it opens.
• You can now navigate between the left and right columns of the Installed tab in the Mod Manager with a controller.
• Improved Character Creation functionality for modded games.
• The Mod Verification window will now also appear on PC for console-related mod issues to account for cross-play.