A fan-made custom campaign for Baldur's Gate 3 that adds an entirely new region between the game's second and third acts has been released in beta, Rock Paper Shotgun reported. The mod, called Act Two Expansion, is the product of nearly two years of work by modder SquallyDaBeanz.
The expansion sends the party to The Chionthar Wilds, a region its creator describes as similar in scope to the Wilderness area of the game's first act. Players must find a way across the Chionthar River before taking part in a battle against the Absolute's army at Rivington. The region includes new quests, dungeons, and encounters aimed at mid-to-high-skill parties between levels eight and ten, along with new characters and custom creatures. The new characters' dialogue is subtitled only, and the modder said there are no current plans to add voice acting.
Beta caveats
SquallyDaBeanz was direct about the state of the release. They wrote that the first implementation of every planned feature is complete and that the mod can be played from start to finish, but that it remains uneven in polish, and advised players to save often in case of game-breaking bugs.
I recommend having a way to cheat to Act 3 in case the finale bugs out.
The modder warned that the expansion has been known to softlock and block progression to Act 3 if players still have unfinished camp events, such as the Oathbreaker sequence, when they begin its finale. They recommended resolving those events in the main region first, and said an in-game warning appears before the finale starts. Rock Paper Shotgun also noted that the mod is less reactive than the base game when it comes to rewarding unconventional approaches or having choices change later events.
According to SquallyDaBeanz, the expansion should work with multiplayer mods as long as every player has it installed with no mismatched files. It is offered in two versions: a Main Download intended for new playthroughs, and a Quickstart version that places players directly in The Chionthar Wilds. The mod's description includes instructions for reaching the new region with the main version.
SquallyDaBeanz has also published a list of improvements planned for an eventual 1.0 release, including better writing, dialogue, and characters, more lines tied to specific character backgrounds and skills, and a mechanical overhaul of the mod's bosses. The mod previously drew attention earlier this year with the release of its second trailer.
