In Baldur’s Gate 3 romances play a big role. Two coveted companions kiss more passionately now, while the fan favorite somehow falls behind. MeinMMO reveals to you what lies behind it.
The latest extensive patch of Baldur’s Gate 3, released on November 2, surprised players with some unexpected changes in the companions’ kiss animations. While fans of Karlach and Halsin can’t get enough of the new animations, Astarion fans are left with a hint of disappointment.
Spoiler: This article contains spoilers about the romances with Karlach, Halsin and Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Karlach and Halsin receive romantic upgrades
What are the changes to Karlach and Halsin? Larian Studios made some profound changes affecting the relationships and romances of the companions. With Patch 4, for example, it is now more challenging to date Lae’zel. Notably, the improvements to Karlach’s kiss animation stand out.
The fans of the Tiefling barbarian are thrilled with her new kiss animation, which creates a more passionate atmosphere. Players share clips and screenshots to show their excitement and emphasize how impressed they are with this change.
Here you can see Karlach’s kiss animation:
Likewise, Halsin’s kiss animation has been revised to better suit his character. On X, ghoulbrainz writes: Halsin also has a new “casual” kiss animation that I think fits the mood of his romance well.
Here you can see Halsin’s kiss animation:
Astarion fans are disappointed
Why are Astarion fans disappointed? Unfortunately, Astarion fans have not had the same luck. The kiss animation of the popular companion disappoints some players.
Player BusinessContent9507 now expresses frustration in a Reddit post: The angle is nice, but I prefer the previous version a little more.
Apparently, the original version of the animation holds a special place in his heart.
Normally, it was the player’s own character who made the first move and kissed Astarion, except for the last scene where Astarion took the lead, as the player describes it on Reddit.
Another player named lidlRini experienced an unfortunate situation when she asked Astarion for a kiss and the game simply skipped the kiss animation – which is fairly a bug. After the player removed mods, she was able to experience the kissing scene – but the dialogue with him seems not to be running smoothly, as she notes.
Here you can see her Twitter thread:
We have summarized some reactions to the kissing scenes (via Reddit):
- Fit_Travel_8201 emphasizes:
Halsin’s kiss is SO HOT.
- Meikos writes:
[…] Karlach is very intimate and passionate, she really leans into the “Starstruck Lovers” mood I feel during her romance. As if there is nothing else but you in that moment, very sweet.
- rosebuds2725:
[…]I think Astarion’s kiss suits him well. He is just learning how it is to be in a relationship and what it is to have a partner, and this kiss fits, but apparently it does not work properly.
While Karlach and Halsin fans enjoy the new kiss animations and share their emotions on social media, Astarion remains a question mark. However, Larian Studios is continuously working to improve the gaming experience and fix bugs – so it is guaranteed just a matter of time before they fix the bugs and possibly revise the animation again.
What do you think of the new kiss animations? Are you convinced? And have you noticed any bugs? We look forward to your comments.
MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski has spent over 200 hours in Baldur’s Gate 3 and feels like she is still finishing the tutorial: I am still in my first playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3 after 200 hours
