Baldur's Gate 3's long-awaited Patch 8 introduces twelve new subclasses to the game, one for each of the existing classes. However, these classes offer more than just powerful new builds or the perfect opportunity for Baldur's Gate 3 players to start up yet another playthrough in 2025. Several of the subclasses have the potential to draw on existing memes for humor—in particular, the Swarmkeeper Ranger and its ability to summon bees to attack the enemy.
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The Swarmkeeper Ranger Can Summon Bees In Battle
The Swarmkeeper Ranger has the ability to summon swarms of three different creatures to attack its foes: bees, moths, and jellyfish. Each swarm does a different type of damage, allows the user to teleport around the battlefield, and has a unique ability, such as potentially Blinding or Shocking an opponent. One of the three swarms, the Legion of Bees, possesses the following abilities:
- Deals an extra 1d6 Piercing damage to the target of the Ranger's attack (upgraded to 1d8 at Level 11)
- Lets the Ranger teleport 5m/17ft (temporarily increasing AC by 2 at Level 11)
- Pushes the target back 5m/17ft if they fail their Strength saving throw (knocks them Prone at Level 11)
This Swarm Brings To Mind The "NOT THE BEES" Meme
However, the Swarmkeeper's Legion of Bees is more than just a powerful ally in battle that can damage foes and knock them down. It can also allow players to re-enact a famous meme known as "NOT THE BEES." In the 2006 horror film The Wicker Man— a re-imagining of the 1973 film of the same name—policeman Edward Malus, played by Nicolas Cage, investigates a neo-pagan cult who he believes has abducted his daughter Rowan.
However, the "abduction" turns out to be a setup, and Malus is sacrificed in a bid to restore the cult's failing honey production. During the sacrifice scene, Malus has a mesh helmet placed on his head and filled with live bees, which sting him. He repeatedly shouts "NO," "NOT THE BEES," and "MY EYES," which quickly became a meme due to the over-dramatic nature of Nicolas Cage's performance, making the scene feel humorous rather than frightening. While the meme usually consists of a GIF of Cage screaming, the shouted phrase "Not the bees" is sometimes paired with other characters associated with bees, such as Winnie the Pooh.
Baldur's Gate 3's Swarmkeeper Lets Players Re-Enact This Iconic Scene
Now, Baldur's Gate 3 players can play a Swarmkeeper and summon bees to re-enact the iconic "NOT THE BEES" scene. It would even be possible to play a Swarmkeeper designed to look like Nicolas Cage playing Edward Malus in The Wicker Man. It is humorous to imagine some of Baldur's Gate 3's more dramatic bosses, such as Raphael or Lord Enver Gortash, screaming "NOT THE BEES" as they are defeated by a Swarmkeeper's Legion of Bees in battle.
While the "NOT THE BEES" meme has not seen direct acknowledgment from Larian Studios, unlike the "Pocket Sand" meme associated with the new Swashbuckler subclass, the deadly power of the Legion of Bees is definitely on display. In "The Final Patch," an animated short released to celebrate Patch 8, Swen Vincke as a Swarmkeeper rescues the six Origin Characters from a dragon by using Legion of Bees to strip the flesh from its bones. Vincke shouts "Release the bees" as he sends his swarm at the dragon, so it is possible that that phrase could also become a meme, and maybe even combine with the existing "NOT THE BEES" to create a brand-new meme.
Baldur's Gate 3
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Engine
- Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Full cross-platform play.
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- RPG
