Larian Studios to tone down Baldur's Gate 3's pushy companion romances, and that’s a good thing

With Baldur's Gate 3, developer Larian Studios welcomes series faithful and newcomers alike to the world of Faerun. On top of a massive RPG adventure, players can also romance a variety of personable characters and companions they encounter. However, fans have been complaining about the frequency of romantic sequences.

Thankfully, the studio has revealed this was not intended and is a bug. This comes as a breath of relief for those who found their advances a bit too strong.

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Baldur's Gate 3 companions will now hit on players far less frequently

Speaking in an interview with TheGamer, studio CEO Sven Vicke confirmed that this was due to a bug. In a nutshell, Baldiur's Gate 3 features an approval system where a character will react positively or negatively to the player's actions and raise or decrease their approval accordingly. At higher approvals, they will try to make overtures to the protagonist.

Sven reveals that, somehow, approval thresholds ended up being set too low, which is why even small upticks in approval resulted in a companion falling quickly for the player. This ended up throwing off many and even turning them off the romance system. Gale the Wizard was the most impacted by this, which is why he was considered to be the tackiest companion in the game.

Now that it has been fixed, however, players should expect to see a more natural progression with regard to courting their desired companion. This way, players need not jump through hoops trying to turn down a character's advances or even avoid romance altogether in Baldur's Gate 3.

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All romanceable companions in Baldur's Gate 3

The game offers a variety of companions to meet, both new and returning faces. These range from the charming Astarion to the hardened Minsc. Here are all options available to players, each with their own distinct personalities, likes, dislikes, motives, and more.

• Astarion: This gentlemanly vampire Half-Elf is one of the first companions met in Baldur's Gate 3. As a Rogue, he excels at sneaking through the shadows and striking at unsuspecting foes.
• Lae'Zel: Belonging to the Githyanki warrior race, Lae'zel is a stone-faced killer who will stop at no cost to achieve what she wants in her ultimate goal of serving her queen. Since she is a robust Fighter class character, she excels at close-range combat in Baldur's Gate 3.
• Shadowheart: A fellow abductee aboard the Mind Flayer Nautiloid, she is a Trickery Domain Cleric serving the goddess known as the Shar. She has an air of mystery around her, emboldened by the mysterious artifact she travels around with.
• Karlach: This big-hearted Tiefling is the life of the party when she accompanies the player in Baldur's Gate 3. As a Barbarian, however, she can harness immense power that is a force to be reckoned with.
• Gale: The Wizard of the party, Gale boasts a charming personality that is hard to resist. He has access to a powerful repertoire of magical spells and abilities to help in battle.

• Halsin: Encountered on the quest to aid the denizens of the Emerald Grove, Halsin is a Druid who has access to powerful magic that is one with nature. He also was the center of controversy thanks to the bear romance scene that shook the internet.
• Minthara: One of the few characters on here that players can easily get on bad terms with, Minthara belongs to the Drow race and governs an army of goblins. However, she is also a Paladin and is thus able to use Radiant magic in conjunction with melee strikes.
• Jaheira: A returning character from the past Baldur's Gate titles, Jaheira is also a Druid. Unlike most other companions, she is not a target of the Mind Flayer tadpole menace infecting the rest of the party.
• Wyll: Wyll is a Warlock serving the Infernal known as Mizora. After gambling his soul with evil beings, he must redeem himself while helping players on their journey in Baldur's Gate 3.
• Minsc: Another fan-favorite Baldur's Gate character is Minsc the Ranger, who returns with his adorable hamster companion Boo. He is one of the last companions to feature in Baldur's Gate 3, however, appearing late in the game in Act 3.

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Baldur's Gate 3 is out right now for PC and PlayStation 5 platforms.