Barbarians make for terrific frontline fighters in Baldur's Gate 3. They're naturally durable, and they can deal tons of damage. However, when it comes to finding armor to wear, Barbarians might find a bit of trouble given the nature of the class and the limited selection of stuff early in the game.

Baldur's Gate 3's terrible miniatures "missed the mark" so much, WizKids is offering refunds Company is taking complaints "seriously." Image credit: Eurogamer/WizKids News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on May 19, 2025 Board game company WizKids has apologised for its recent line of Baldur's Gate 3 miniatures, acknowledging the melty faced monstrosities "missed the mark" and offering full refunds. WizKids announced the range - officially known as Dungeons & Dragons: Icons Of The Realms: Baldur's Gate 3 - at the end of last year, and US customers began receiving their £50/$49.99, seven-character sets earlier this month. However, rather than the crisply detailed renditions of Astarion, Karlach, Gale, Shadowheart, Wyll, Lae'zel and Withers featured in WizKids' promotional material, customers instead received pre-painted miniatures that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Borja church fresco - and complaints were swift. And now, with more and more images of the squishy faced disappointments being shared online, WizKids has been forced to concede that, yes, its Baldur's Gate 3 miniatures are in fact rubbish. "As a company, WizKids seeks to create products that enhance and add to the enjoyment of game play," it wrote on its website. "We want our customers to build long-lasting, fond memories around game nights with friends and family using our products." Uncanny. | Image credit: Eurogamer/WizKids "Unfortunately, we missed the mark on this goal with the D&D Icons of the Realms: Baldur's Gate 3 Character Boxed Set," it continued. "If you purchased this set through our online stores, we will be offering a full refund to those who are unsatisfied with their set... We're aware of the recent reports and complaints and are taking them seriously. Our team is currently investigating these issues and taking action to make this right for those whose purchases were negatively affected and to ensure these issues do not recur in future products and reprints." WizKids notes anyone who purchased the box set from a third-party retailer should contact them directly for a refund, while those wishing for a replacement - one that "meets the standards expected" - can do so via its website. "Please accept our sincerest apologies for the frustration and disappointment these quality issues caused our customers," WizKids concluded. "We, too, feel the same as the final product did not meet our expectations or that of our Wizards of the Coast partner. Our teams are working to find the best solutions to resolve this for all involved and to work with you, our customers, to fix this. We appreciate your patience as we focus on getting back to those affected and helping them with their refunds in a timely manner." It's hardly a fitting celebration of developer Larian's acclaimed 2023 RPG, but with the studio's work on the game now largely at an end following April's massive Patch 8, Astarion, Karlach, and friends are now entirely at Dungeons & Dragons owner Hasbro's mercy. And if that means licensing them out to be turned into unrecgonsisable bits of plastic, then so be. Hasbro has, of course, already confirmed it's keen to find a studio to make Baldur's Gate 4, but with Larian now working on its own mysterious projects, it's unclear how far off that may be.

Last week, WizKids' Baldur's Gate 3 miniatures arrived, and they didn't exactly garner rave reviews. The public response seems to have been heard, and now WizKids is offering refunds to anyone who feels dissatisfied with their minifig boxes."As a company, WizKids seeks to create products that enhance and add to the enjoyment of game play," the company said in an announcement. "We want our customers to build long-lasting, fond memories around game nights with friends and family using our products. "Unfortunately, we missed the mark on this goal with the D&D Icons of the Realms: Baldur’s Gate 3 Character Boxed Set. If you purchased this set through our online stores, we will be offering a full refund to those who are unsatisfied with their set."WizKids went on to say it's aware of the reports, and its team is investigating the issues and taking action to both "make this right" and to ensure issues do not pop up again in future products.The $49.99 pre-painted D&D Icons of the Realms: Baldur’s Gate 3 Character Boxed Set started rolling out to buyers last week, and the results surprised more than a few. Opening the box to strange paint jobs, off details, and a seemingly melting Withers left purchasers feeling frustrated.WizKids is offering refunds through two options. If you bought the set online, you can contact customerservice@wizkids.com to start a request. If you went through a local retailer, you can return it at the point of purchase for a full refund. The company is also offering a product replacement through its replacement site, where WizKids says it will work to provide a replacement that "meets the standards expected."PlayIt's not exactly the happiest ending for those hoping for a nice new set of Baldur's Gate 3 miniatures, but it's at least something for those disappointed with the outcome of their box of minis. Hopefully those affected can find some other figure-makers to fill the miniature-shaped hole in their hearts.Larian just bid farewell to Baldur's Gate 3 with Patch 8, its final major patch for its 2023 RPG that took the world by storm. The studio's CEO Swen Vincke has dropped some hints about what's next for Larian, but aside from it not being Baldur's Gate nor Dungeons & Dragons, there's not too much more to go on.Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

Baldur's Gate 3's seven-year development journey might officially be at an end thanks to April's final major update, but Larian is still loitering around to hammer out the last few wrinkles. That brings us to its newly released Hotfix #31, which, among other things, excises some bits of "defunct dialogue" from an abandoned Minthara storyline inadvertently restored in Patch 8. Read more

Paroni Member Dec 17, 2020 4,769 Expectation: Reality: There has also been a documented case of a headless Shadowheart, without a doubt a victim of very vicious paintbrush. News on the subject: Baldur's Gate 3 companions got official $50 D&D minis, and I am casting Vicious Mockery because what in the Nine Hells is this Gale, you feeling all right? www.gamesradar.com The Baldur's Gate 3 cast got a new set of pre-painted minis and—oh, oh no, oh no no no Maybe the mind flayer tadpoles finally got to 'em. www.pcgamer.com Paint a lock if old.  MangoUltz "This guy are sick" Member Mar 24, 2019 4,087 Oof. Brutal paint job.   hydro94530 Chicken Chaser Member Oct 27, 2017 8,159 Bay Area Man those are butt ugly lol.   nsilvias Member Oct 25, 2017 29,963 whose kid did they pay to paint these?   Jawmuncher Crisis Dino Moderator Oct 25, 2017 44,753 Ibis Island Got two of these for a friend, sadly we did not get any of the main cast. The paint jobs on them weren't this bad though.   tapdancingFreak Member Dec 12, 2017 4,854 Charlotte, NC Lmfao!   Nostalgic Feeling Member Oct 19, 2024 511 LMAO 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣   y0shizawa Member May 3, 2021 635 Good lord that's awful   MadJosh04 Member Nov 9, 2022 2,734 Good lord that's bad lol   Foolhardy Member May 4, 2024 3,301 Pre-painted paired with D&D Minis have long been a recipe for hilarity and I am so happy the tradition has continued.   Derkon Member Oct 25, 2017 3,609 yikes   MadMod Member Dec 4, 2017 4,791 Like a 5 year old painted them from their mums nail polish draw.   onibirdo Member Dec 9, 2020 3,559   Pepsimaaan Member Oct 20, 2023 757 Shadowheart is missing her head in the packaged picture.....   LewieP Member Oct 26, 2017 19,790 The smart move here for Larian would be to immediately 3D scan these figures and then add them to the game as characters.   Sai Prophet of Truth The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 6,977 Chicago holy lol. incredible work.   shodgson8 Shinra Employee Member Aug 22, 2018 5,233 EDIT: Ninja'd  Spacejaws "This guy are sick" of the One Winged Slayer Member Oct 27, 2017 8,828 Scotland Yi-fucking-ikes Top is the press release. Bottom is the pic from the store webpage. Something went wrong here lol.  Banjo_ Member Mar 16, 2025 64 what have they done to my girl shadowheart 😭   jph139 One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 15,666 Hoenstly, that's par for the course with pre-painted mass produced plastic minis - I feel like the quality standards have dropped considerably over the past 10-20 years. Back in the day you'd be spending $1-2 per mini and they'd look consistently good. Not hand-painted quality, but solid. Now to get anything near quality it's like $10 a mini? Maybe? (And with D&D minis you're spending that much and still getting garbage.) Like, I used to play Heroscape, and the Master Set with 30 miniatures and a shitton of terrain was only $40. The rebooted version that came out last year is 20 unpainted miniatures and like half the terrain for $125... or the version with painted minis for $225. It's crazy. I've just learned to settle for unpainted.  Takamura-San Member Oct 25, 2017 1,235 I haven't opened mine, and just looked up close and ooffff lol   Yerffej Prophet of Regret Member Oct 25, 2017 29,351 Poor Gale had his eyes scooped out. Shame.   Feral Gingy Member Oct 30, 2017 434 Finland Absolutely disgusting!   DanteMenethil Member Oct 25, 2017 8,972 FIFTY BUCKS HAHAHA   Nostalgic Feeling Member Oct 19, 2024 511 It's Tomb Raider all over again   Takamura-San Member Oct 25, 2017 1,235 Here's mine View: https://imgur.com/a/dzkTguT   Harmen Member Aug 30, 2023 1,372 Hahahaha, I love it   Brawly Likes to Brawl Member Oct 25, 2017 16,464 Ryohei Suzuki's bedroom Boulder's Gape 3   DiceHands Member Oct 27, 2017 4,783 someone tell them to thin their paints before applying   Apath Member Oct 25, 2017 3,493 That is worse than fast food promo pics vs the real thing. Hopefully they are giving refunds.   Jubilant Duck Member Oct 21, 2022 9,189 It's possibly confirmation bias but I don't think I've ever seen a mass-market pre-painted figure line that wasn't messy as fuck? There's just no way to ensure the quality across so many figures.   SpellSwordFoxx Member Feb 27, 2025 317 whoever they paid to do the pain jobs really didn't give a fuck XD   Ring Dings and Pepsi Member Jan 23, 2024 1,537 Spacejaws said: Yi-fucking-ikes Top is the press release. Bottom is the pic from the store webpage. Something went wrong here lol. Click to expand... Click to shrink... The colors don't even remotely match, wow  OP OP Paroni Member Dec 17, 2020 4,769 DiceHands said: someone tell them to thin their paints before applying Click to expand... Click to shrink... View: https://youtu.be/m3p_VuPIS2c   dreamfall Member Oct 25, 2017 7,330 Beyond hideous ! Paint job looks insane!   Praxis Sausage Tycoon Member Oct 25, 2017 8,141 UK Shadowheart shall be avenged   Anoregon Member Oct 25, 2017 16,115 texture and definition are crutches used by weak artists   Alvis Saw the truth behind the copied door Member Oct 25, 2017 12,089 EU That's pathetic lmao   Mandos Member Nov 27, 2017 39,102 Welcome to prepainted minis! This is why you do it yourself. Even if you can't do details you can do a fun shaded look   Stabi Member Oct 25, 2017 2,033 France / san francisco Tsk'va! My most regretted purchase ever. I'm first time i bought dnd pre painted because the press release pictures looked amazing. Never again. 

Twenty-six years ago, a role-playing game based on the Harry Potter books was pitched and even received a demo. However, it never developed into a full game and only recently became known to the public through a museum tour.The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, had kept some footage of this project. Andrew Borman, the museum's director of digital preservation, told GamesRadar+ that Volition, the developer behind the iconic Saints Row franchise, wanted to recreate the world from the books in a video game. Remember, it was 1999, two years before Electronic Arts' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone came out, so there was no visual reference at that time. The footage, though can't be shared, presented a game which is "pretty much just PS1-era Harry and Hagrid wandering around a small, unpopulated, unfinished town." The outlet described its environment and characters would resemble what a "Baldur's Gate-style top-down RPG" could provide.Although no videos here, we're lucky to see some of the screenshots. There is a loading page and a scene showing tiny Harry and Hagrid standing together:The demo, which allowed you to switch characters freely but offered few other actions, was developed over roughly a couple of weeks, according to Borman. He also revealed a detail when the game was pitched: "The story is that, when Volition and THQ pitched this game, at least some of the THQ executives came dressed in robes and had owls with them."Unfortunately, the idea and demo did not evolve into a game, and the project seemed to stop there without any known reason. Volition, after 30 years of business, was shut down in 2023 with Embracer Group's restructuring. Don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 came out of nowhere. Yes, it made waves at Microsoft’s Xbox showcase last summer. And true, it continued to look exceptional as it revealed its star-studded cast. But I don’t know that anyone expected it to get quite so much love as it has, and not just from diehard RPG fans. It’s currently the highest-rated game of 2025 on Metacritic and a possible frontrunner for Game of the Year at the Game Awards. No one could have predicted this. Except someone did: the director of Baldur’s Gate 3. Suggested ReadingBaldur's Gate 3 Narrator Reads Your Down-Bad Tweets Share SubtitlesOffEnglishview videoSuggested ReadingBaldur's Gate 3 Narrator Reads Your Down-Bad Tweets Share SubtitlesOffEnglishOnly a few months back at The Game Awards 2024, Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke took the stage to announce that year’s GOTY winner—Astro Bot—but also to offer his prediction for who would win the best game of 2025 and every year after that as well. “How do I know this? Well, an oracle told me,” he joked. TheBG3, which swept most awards shows the year prior, laid out what would be the defining qualities of future winners as an allegory for what he hoped more studios and companies would strive for in the years ahead. “The oracle told me that the Game of the Year 2025 is going to be made by a studio who found the formula to make it up here on stage,” Vincke said. “It’s stupidly simple, but somehow it keeps on getting lost. A studio makes a game because they want to make a game they want to play themselves. They created it because it hadn’t been created before. They didn’t make it to increase market share. They didn’t make it to serve the brand. They didn’t have to meet arbitrary sales targets, or fear being laid off if they didn’t meet those targets.”He continued,They were driven by idealism, and wanted players to have fun, and they realized that if the developers don’t have fun, nobody was going to have any fun. They understood the value of respect, that if they treated their developers and players well, the same developers and players would forgive them when things didn’t go as planned. But above all they cared about their games, because they love games. It’s really that simple. The speech’s relevance to the circumstances surrounding Sandfall Interactive and its debut game hasn’t gone unnoticed among Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 fans as the developers have talked about their passion for the genre and the classics that inspired them. At a time when turn-based RPGs are considered more niche, Expedition 33 doesn’t shy away from throwback features like a world map and separate battle screens, all in service of a story that’s not afraid to leave players fumbling for answers. The connection to Vincke’s speech recently blew up on the game’s subreddit. “It’s not that Expedition 33 is a perfect game,” wrote one fan. “If you look for flaws or things that other games have that E33 doesn’t, you’ll find a few things. But still, the game has passion at its every corner and that’s what really sticks with us in the end. The flaws are so easy to ignore because the things that really matter are perfect.”In a video game industry struggling to please players and hit sales targets amid swelling budgets, increased competition, and stagnating creativity, Expedition 33 has been turned into something of a golden child: a small team utilizing off-the-shelf tech and extensive outsourcing to bring a good idea to fruition without breaking the bank or succumbing to feature bloat. The efficacy of that roadmap for other developers is debatable, but the results so far speak for themselves. Following Vincke’s advice might not guarantee success, but not doing so increasingly seems to assure mediocrity..

Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 8 was the game's last big update, but it's still getting handly little hotfixes to iron out bugs and issues. The latest, hotfix 31, takes care of plenty of stuff like that, including a pretty wacky-sounding visual glitch, but I do have to take issue with one of its tweaks to photo mode. Read more