A Solo Modder Just Released a Massive Baldur’s Gate 3 Expansion After Nearly Two Years of Work
Larian Studios wrapped up its own work on Baldur’s Gate 3 a while ago, but the game’s modding scene hasn’t slowed down at all. The latest proof is Act Two Expansion, a fan-made addition from modder SquallyDaBeanz that just launched after nearly two years of development, adding an entirely new region players can explore between Act 2 and Act 3.
What the Chionthar Wilds Actually Adds
The mod’s centerpiece is the Chionthar Wilds, a custom zone built to roughly the same scope as Act 1’s wilderness area. According to its Nexus Mods listing, it packs in more than 70 new items, over 30 combat encounters, new dungeons, quests, NPCs with their own cutscenes, custom creatures, and additional lore to dig through. It’s aimed at parties around level 8 to 10, slotting neatly into the point in a playthrough where Act 2 wraps up and Act 3’s escalation hasn’t kicked in yet.
One of the new NPCs players will meet in the Chionthar Wilds
Two Ways to Play It
Players get two routes into the new content. The main path opens up via a bridge near Reithwin once the Shadow-Cursed Lands are behind them, folding the Chionthar Wilds directly into an existing save. For anyone who doesn’t want to replay that far, there’s also a QuickStart option that drops a party straight into the new region with customizable starting equipment and hirelings, no story prerequisites required.
Still Rough Around the Edges
SquallyDaBeanz is upfront that this is a beta release, currently sitting at version 0.8. New characters don’t have voice acting, some of Baldur’s Gate 3’s systems like speaking with the dead or with animals aren’t supported in the new zone, and choices made in the Chionthar Wilds don’t carry over into Act 3. Experience gains have also been deliberately scaled down so the expansion doesn’t throw off the game’s difficulty curve once players reach the back half of the campaign. In the modder’s own words, the mod is playable start to finish but remains “an uneven experience in terms of polish right now.” Players are advised to save often and to finish up any pending camp events before moving on, since skipping them can reportedly cause softlocks going into Act 3.
Where to Get It
Act Two Expansion is available now on Nexus Mods for PC players running Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s not balanced around Honour Mode, and companion-specific interactions in the new zone haven’t been fully tested yet, so anyone picking it up mid-run should treat it as an experimental detour rather than a fully polished extension of the base campaign. Still, for a nearly two-year solo passion project, it’s a substantial amount of new Baldur’s Gate 3 to explore while waiting to see what Larian and the wider modding community do next.
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Picture Source: Larian Studios, SquallyDaBeanz (Nexus Mods)
