Patch 5 for Baldur's Gate 3 is out and, as I mentioned in a feverish swarm of typing yesterday, it's massive. Among a laundry list of other changes, there's a big sparkly new epilogue which wraps the game's story up in a nice bow. Some light spoilers ahead, though I've kept the details light.
You might be wondering how to get to the epilogue without messing anything up, as well as whether it's worth it to load up your old save file to do so. Luckily, I'm here to tell you that's absolutely fine—I'd even recommend it, for two very big reasons.
First up, getting to the epilogue of Baldur's Gate 3 with an old save is super easy. While the patch announcement mentions it's accessible to "all players by loading the game prior to the final fight", Larian's just erring on the side of caution.
I loaded up a save right before I landed the final hit on the Netherbrain (I quicksave a lot, it's a bad habit) and I was able to access it just fine. You'll have to play out the final scenes again, but if it's been a while since your adventures in the Sword Coast, the refresher is nice anyway.
Secondly, you might be wondering whether you'll feel lost story-wise. Coming back to a game after months away is bound to feel weird. You might feel like it's not worth it to engage in an epilogue when you've lost that much momentum—you may even want to start a new playthrough to get the "pure" epilogue experience.
While this is more of a personal recommendation, I think you should load up your old save and do it, anyway. The "six months later" framing is genuinely a super smart move from Larian. While it's been months since I'd touched my tiefling, it had also been months since he'd seen any of his companions, as well. As such, the epilogue feels like catching up with a bunch of old friends.
That makes the experience of booting up your oldest, dustiest, most cobweb-filled save feel natural, poignant, even. I'd go so far as to say the break I took between finishing my game and playing through the epilogue actually made it better. Hugging my character's old adventuring mates felt like coming home for one last send-off. Considering I likely won't be touching that save file again outside of testing stuff, it was really special.
There are some further details I won't mention, though I fully intend to share them after the weekend once everyone's had a chance to play it themselves. For now, if you're wringing your hands about visiting some old friends I want to say: go for it. It's been a while, but you won't be disappointed.
