Baldur's Gate 3 is pretty great right out of the box, but it could be argued that its second act lacks some variety. If you aren't endlessly dazzled by shadowy forests and J.K. Simmons, you might have wished you could hang out after the family drama in the Shadow-Cursed Lands is sorted and explore some less gloomy vistas before arriving in the game's eponymous metropolis.
As always, modders have you covered. An ambitious mod for BG3, simply called "Baldur's Gate 3: Act Two Expansion" just released after "almost two years in development," according to modder SquallyDaBeanz. As the description states, the expansion implements a custom zone called The Chionthar Wilds—"a whole new region to experience that is similar in scope to the Act 1 Wilderness."
With the mod installed, you can start adventuring in the new region (ideally with a party that's around level 8 or higher) after wrapping up in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, or via a quickstart button that takes you straight to the new stuff with options for equipment and hirelings.
Once there, the mod packs in new creatures to fight in over 30 new encounters, over 70 new items to collect, as well as new quests, NPCs, and cutscenes. EXP in the new zones is "artificially reduced," so clearing all this custom stuff shouldn't completely invalidate Act 3's difficulty if you're doing a full playthrough.
The new characters aren't voiced, and some of BG3's more ambitious aspects aren't accounted for (you can't speak with dead or animals, and choices you make in Chionthar won't ripple into the third act). In that way, it's an old-school sort of CRPG expansion, so break out your reading glasses and get ready to roll them bones. To further warp Baldur's Gate 3 until it's the D&D adaptation of your dreams, check out our list of the best mods.
