A major PC update, patch 2.6, has been released for the enhanced editions of Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, Siege of Dragonspear, and Icewind Dale.

　　According to the development team, this “mammoth” patch packs hundreds of bugs, upgrades the games to 64-bit systems, adds 11 new character portraits, and 7 new character voice sets. In addition, the 2.6 patch includes multiplayer improvements alongside game-specific changes to abilities, spells, audio, achievements, and much more. Some of the new character portraits can be seen at the top of this post.

　　Down below you’ll find the highlights and main changes for all games. The full release notes, including game-specific changes, can be found here.

Patch 2.6 for Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, Siege of Dragonspear and Icewind Dale Enhanced Editions

　　Upgrade to 64-Bit | A much needed upgrade for modern machines— this improves system compatibility7 New Character Voice Sets | New player voice sets, including two from the legendary Mark Meer reprising his roles as Alveus Malcanter and Baeloth Barrityl11 New Character Portraits | New character portraits to customize your hero’s lookHundreds of Bug Fixes | Includes scores of fixes to spells and hero abilitiesImproved Pathfinding | Smoother party movement and navigationNew Localizations |

　　Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition | Added French text localization (beta)Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear | Added French (beta), Italian, German, Ukrainian and Polish text localizationsIcewind Dale: Enhanced Edition | Added Brazilian Portuguese and Chinese (Simplified) text localizations

Updates | All Games

　　Upgrade to 64-bit

　　This upgrade improves system compatibility, including the 64-bit requirement for macOS. 32 bit-operating systems are no longer supported.

　　New Character Options

　　11 New Character Portraits | New character portraits to customize your hero’s look7 New Character Voice Sets | New player voice sets to customize your hero's battle criesMark Meer | The legendary Mark Meer reprises his roles as Alveus Malcanter (the most major of minor mages) and Baeloth Barrityl (The Entertainer of the Black Pits)CEO & Co. | You'll also be treated to the barbarian battle cries of Beamdog CEO, Trent Oster (who

　　lost his voice for a few days after the recording session), plus four more Beamdog team voices!Mark Meer voiced the Enhanced Edition characters, Alveus Malcanter and Baeloth Barrityl. New voice sets let you use these character voices for your hero! (Images left to right: Alveus Illustration, Baeloth Illustration, Photo of Mark Meer as Baeloth)

　　Multiplayer Improvements

　　Area Names | Area names now display correctly on multiplayer savesCharacter Imports | Fixed issue with multiplayer character imports, specifically thief skillsChat Hotkey | Added a hotkey for multiplayer chat: hit “T” to open the chatCrash Fixes | Fixed several multiplayer crashesClient Connection | Fixed a few conditions preventing client connectionError Handling | Improved internal error handlingHost Reload | Hosts reloading no longer cause clients to get stuck in level-upNew Characters | New characters joining multiplayer sessions no longer receive default equipmentPlayer Familiars | Player familiars and their stat blocks now load correctly in multiplayer gamesTime Played | Fixed error in multiplayer time played informationTroubleshooting | Improved multiplayer troubleshooting by adding a network.log file and a fix to how the jingle.log file resetsGeneral Fixes

　　Character Imports | Advanced AI now loads correctly with character importsGerman Font | Fixed German text font size in menu for character voice selectionItem Comparison | You can now disable item comparisonMap | Fixed visual issues in map area backgroundsText Input | You no longer need to click before typing in text inputs— the cursor will remain activeAbilities, Spells & Magic

　　Aid Bonuses | Aid bonuses to hits and damage now display correctly on the inventory screen, and the status icon displays on the character record screenBigby’s Hand Spells | Updated spell graphics and fixed saving throws for Bigby’s Clenched Fist and Bigby’s Crushing HandBreach | Breach now uses projectiles and visuals consistent with the other spell protection removal spellsDetect Illusion | Corrected the casting range on Detect IllusionCall Lightning and Pillar Spells | Effects that involve pillar animations, such as Call Lightning have been remastered into a single animation sequence rather than several stacked animationsChaos Shield | Chaos Shield and Improved Chaos Shield now use graphics distinct from Miscast MagicChaotic Commands | Chaotic Commands now use the correct projectiles at all levelsCloud Projectiles | Updated Cloud Projectiles so they are cleared by Zone of Sweet AirCloud Spells | Several Cloud Spell visual effects have been updated to match their color descriptions (including Cloudkill, Stinking Cloud, Death Fog, and Incendiary Cloud)Club Proficiency | Club proficiency now displays correctly on character recordsFire and Cold | Fire and cold graphics of numerous items, spells, and abilities have been recolored to appear more realisticFire Shields and Blade Barriers | Fire shields and similar effects no longer display text feedback if the striking creature is out of range of the struck creatureFire Shields and Blade Barriers | Damage suffered when striking a protected creature now ignores mirror imageFire Shields and Blade Barriers | These spells may now be refreshed before their durations expireFireball | Updated visual effects for the Fireball spell and for items that use Fireball style explosionsHaste Scrolls | Haste Scrolls now correctly target an area rather than a particular creatureHit Dice | Spells affecting creatures based on their hit dice now work as expectedHP Drain | Spells that drain HP now work as expected, and cannot drain more HP than available from a targetInvisibility, 10' Radius | Invisibility, 10' Radius now no longer affects enemies and uses a 10 foot radius area of effectLightning Bolt | Lightning Bolt was restored to behave as it did in the original games (the first creature in a targeted line takes no damage, while the creatures further down the line take lightning damage)Magic Resistance | Spells such as Glitterdust, Contagion, and Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere no longer bypass magic resistanceMelf's Minute Meteors | Updated damage type from piercing to missileMovement Effects | Movement effects from spells such as Entangle now relate properly with stacking or counteracting effects from spells or the environmentNon-Detection | Spells blocked by Non-Detection will no longer play visuals or sound effects on targeted creaturesPhysical Mirror | Physical Mirror effects now have consistent duration and dispel behaviorPoison Immunity | Creatures immune to poison no longer visibly recoil in combat when hit by poison or disease effectsPolymorph Self | Fixed inconsistencies, casting time and minor issues with Polymorph SelfPower Levels | Corrected the power level of several items and spells to make sure they interact properly with spell protections, such as Spell Turning or Globe of InvulnerabilityPower Word and Symbol Spells | audio and visual spell effects will only play if targets are actually affected by the spellProjectile Speeds | Updated projectile speeds so they are more consistentProjectile Speeds | Thrown darts and dagger speeds have been sped up to appear more realisticPriests of Tyr | Divine Favor and Exaltation now play expected graphics and soundsPriests of Tempus | Chaos of Battle now plays different animations on allies and opponentsPsionic Blast | Description for Psionic Blast now appears in the innate ability menu when you shapechange into a Mind FlayerRaise Dead & Resurrection | Raise Dead and Resurrection type spells can no longer be cast on living targets, only dead targetsRecurring Effects | Spells and items with effects that refresh each round now reapply the recurring effect properlyRegeneration | Updated Regeneration status icon used on portraitsRepulse Undead | Aligned School of Magic for Repulse Undead’s parent and child spellsSaving Throws | Corrected saving throw messages and functionality on a handful of spells and magic itemsShaman Spirits | The spirit animals summoned by shamanic dancing are now correctly dispelled when they reach the edge of the shaman’s visual rangeShamanic Spells | Shamanic spells and abilities now play consistent visual effects with “shamanic themed” colorsShapechange | Fixed inconsistencies, casting time and minor issues with ShapechangeSimulacrums | Simulacrums and Projected Images no longer incorrectly inherit temporary abilities from castersSleep & Unconsciousness | Fixed a few minor issues in the Sleep and Unconsciousness effects; status icons on character record screen now differentiate between Sleep and UnconsciousnessSpell and Potion Icons | Added or updated portrait icons to portray suitable magical effects for several spells, potions and abilitiesSpell Protection Removal | Spell Protection Removal spells may now be cast onto invisible creaturesSpell Target Glow | Creatures targeted by spells now glow consistentlySpellstrike | Spellstrike now uses projectiles and visuals consistent with the other spell protection removal spellsSpirit Armor | Spirit Armor saving throws now work as expectedSpirit Fire | Aligned School of Magic for Spirit Fire’s parent and child spellsTime Trap | Trap projectile for thieves’ Time Trap ability now plays audioWish and Limited Wish | These spells now behave correctly as level 9 and level 7 spells when interacting with spell protectionsModding

　　Missiles | Corrected a handful of labelling inconsistencies for missile idsMissiles | MISSILE.ids now accurately label projectiles2da | Added labels and standardized SPLPROT.2da across Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II and Icewind Dale Enhanced EditionsBaldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, Siege of Dragonspear, and Icewind Dale Enhanced Editions are available globally now for PC and consoles.