Baldur’s Gate 3 Act Two Expansion Mod Adds a New Region Before Act 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 has received a substantial new fan made expansion that inserts an entirely new region between Act 2 and Act 3. Created by modder SquallyDaBeanz after nearly 2 years of development, the Act Two Expansion is now available in beta with new quests, dungeons, characters, combat encounters, items, puzzles, and story content built around parties between levels 8 and 10.

The centerpiece is the Chionthar Wilds, a completely new region set after the events of the Shadow Cursed Lands but before the party reaches Baldur’s Gate. According to the official Act Two Expansion page, the project aims for an explorable area similar in scope to the Wilderness from Act 1, although its progression is more focused on exploration and combat than the extreme narrative reactivity found throughout Larian’s original campaign.

The current version includes more than 30 combat encounters and over 70 new items, alongside custom creatures, stat blocks, NPCs, cutscenes, lore, secrets, puzzles, quests, and dungeons. Completing most of the expansion is expected to provide around 30,000 XP, with rewards deliberately reduced so players do not enter Act 3 excessively overleveled.

Players following a normal campaign can enter the new region through the bridge near the Road to Baldur’s Gate waypoint in Reithwin. With the mod installed, the route that would normally begin Act 3 instead leads into the Chionthar Wilds, with Act 3 starting after the expansion is completed. Existing saves are supported as long as the mod is installed before leaving Act 2. A separate QuickStart version is also available for players who want to immediately enter the new content without replaying the earlier acts.

The new area does not immediately lock players out of the Shadow Cursed Lands. A later point of no return eventually moves the campaign toward Act 3, with an in game warning appearing before access to the previous regions is removed. Multiplayer is also supported as long as everyone in the session has matching mod files installed.

There are limitations to keep in mind. Version 0.8 is still considered a beta and the creator warns that game breaking bugs and softlocks are possible. The mod also does not attempt to reproduce every layer of Baldur’s Gate 3 reactivity. Choices made inside the expansion do not carry into Act 3, there are no new companion quest progressions, and voice acting for the new characters is not currently planned. It is also unavailable through the official Workshop, consoles, or Mod.io.

Version 1.0 is expected to improve dialogue, writing, characters, cutscenes, combat balance, equipment, boss mechanics, lore, and character specific dialogue options. The project already represents another major step for Baldur’s Gate 3 custom campaigns, following community projects such as The Grand Theater and the combat focused Trials of Tav Reloaded.

The most interesting part of the Act Two Expansion is where it fits. Instead of creating a detached adventure, SquallyDaBeanz has inserted the new content directly into the journey between the Shadow Cursed Lands and Baldur’s Gate, giving returning players a reason to approach another full campaign differently.

Its creator is also realistic about the limitations of a community project. Reproducing the enormous number of branching reactions, companion interactions, and narrative consequences found in the base game would dramatically increase the scope. Focusing on exploration, combat, and a substantial new region gives the project a much better chance of reaching a polished 1.0 release.

Would a new region between Act 2 and Act 3 convince you to start another Baldur’s Gate 3 playthrough?