Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Technical & Gameplay Problems Auntie Ethel

Since Patch 6, Auntie is totally broken. She doesn't really fight back and in this playthrough, she opened up the secret passage, but then did nothing and let herself get killed. It's a bit sad, since Ethel is my favorite boss fight in this game.
Does anyone else have that problem?

Dunno if this is the issue but previously she'd bug if you snuck into the second encounter area. You had to walk in loud and proud or she'd just be a punching bag.

I’ve never had that it’s always a good fight for me. Did have that brief time when she was invisible even if she got hit etc but that was a while ago now…one of the tougher encounters in the game - as are her minions beforehand that scrap can get ugly on ya real quick too 😊

I double silenced the room last time and she just wiggled about a bit on her turn. While funny I do believe the AI requires some fine tuning as in some of the larger battles the NPC's seem to mong-a-dong doing dumb stuff like throw grenades at walls and in one case literally explode killing the surrounding NPC's.

Maybe it is s scripted. I did come in through the balcony in the last fight, but before, I did go in normally.
I heard, that Auntie can bug out, if you do too much damage in one round.

I just had this fight for the first time (only had the game for a few weeks) and was surprised I beat her easily on first try since I still kind of suck at combat. She did fight back but was very weak, turned invisible for one turn, stayed in place, lobbed some poison orbs or something but that was it. She did open the fireplace but made no attempt to escape so I think the OP is right about something happening with patch 6 as I had always read this was a tough fight.

The actual 'fight' is not meant to happen in her tea-house - it's supposed to be a quick 1-2 turn scuffle before she villain-escapes into her lair, and you have the 'real' fight down below in the area with the hanging cage. Right now, though, it seems she's dropping her scripts when she opens the secret passage, and doesn't follow through on her escape plan.

She did in my last playthrough ( also patch 6), but then in her lair she didn't really fight back.

Had the same thing. She goes to the fireplace to get rid of the illusion but then rather than going through, she stands there and makes ranged attacks instead.

I really hope, they fix Ethel with the next hotfix.

My encounter with Auntie Ethel was rather bemusing. I wasn't trying to game the system or anything like that.
I hope spoilers are ok here,

I think she bugged in my playthrough as well. I killed her in the tea house. She summoned some redcaps, said her "Bye-bye" words but she did not leave. She did set 2 members on fire and things were looking grim. I (as a player ) panicked, used wyvern poison and dealt more than her left 70 points at once which killed her after one full attack round.

I did enter the fireplace with her around, though, so this is where I started the fight: my party was split between the teahouse and secret passage. That or the witch bolt on her might have triggered the bug.

I too defeated her in the tea house. Some details in case it matters: I avoided the immediate-post-dialogue fight so that I could position my party around her in an optimal fashion (high ground) and then attack her off guard. Summoned a cloud of daggers and then did everything I could to prevent her from moving: Bane, Command Stop, T's Laughter, entangle, etc... She did eventually say something and removed the fireplace illusion and didn't move as others have described. I assumed she wasn't moving because of the other spell effects holding her in place. Or maybe her pathing AI wouldn't allow her to walk further into the cloud of daggers (which likely was between her and the fireplace).

I remember thinking when she went down that the game shouldn't actually allow us to win that fight. I was going to suggest it in the feedback. IE: Maybe that version of her should just be a Simulacrum or Illusion. Or maybe she should just go invulnerable and teleport out when the moment occurs that would normally kill her. But it sounds like it was more than just a lucky win. Definitely seems there is something buggy about the encounter now.

Last time i get to Auntie i didnt kill her minions before ...
When she dispelled the fireplace i was like "damn" ... and i start focusing on minions instead since i was thinking that damage to her would be wasted anyway.

To my surprise she staybed and keep fighting for 3 or 4 next rounds ... but then when i decided to start damaging her again she run ...
So my guess is that she simply stay longer now before runing out and you were simply too strong for her to handle.

I think I sequence broke her, Auntie Ethel I mean...

All this is post Patch 6 mind you...

When I first got to the Druids' grove her NPC wasn't there. Then when I got to her Tea house and outright chose to attack her, I was able to kill her there. At first I thought it might just have been a decoy but when I got to her actual chamber, where the "real" fight with her was supposed to happen I was unable to see her NPC and I was able to free Mayrina without triggering any retaliatory attack from Auntie Ethel whatsoever, sequence breaking the quest in a way. But with a debilitating side effect that I could not walk through the second Illusory door that led to the alternate portal to the Underdark.

Doesnt seem broken to me, you were simply lucky on dices ... or find more effective way to kill than Larian expected.

Nah

Thats bcs she is dead.
That is not broken, that is consequences.

I was never able to walk through those. O_o

You could walk through those fake doors as long as you had Ethel's Masks equipped, well that was pre-Patch 6 though.

She broke for me, we talked on the path. But she was not in the house. Instead the girl just vanished on her own.
She did show up in her cauldron cave for some cussing... and i chose another charachter to attack. Which had her puff away.
Then in the final fight room, nothing. Just freed the girl (who has been standing outside her cage since) and looted stuff.

I didn't have the mid fight scene because I did too much damage, I believe. She got her first turn, then by the time party member #4 got to her, she was dead. Sneak attack was a crit, fighter did near max damage and had action surge. Gale rolled well on necrotic wounds or whatever that 4d10 spell is and my druid just sat there looking pretty, effectively.

I've had issues with my patch 6 playthrough not triggering all the scenes on high graphics. Hopefully that's not an issue going forward.

In these instances did the affected events play out, but without the associated cinematics/Up close/Face to face interactions included? I ask because I did encounter a few instances of these, starting with the encounter with Nettie. I was also eagerly anticipating Astarion's first bite scene, but was kinda put off when the cinematic didn't play and I just watched my Avatar laying on his bedroll with Astarion also just the same but the scene's dialogues were playing out. And I would have loved to actually see the new wooden stake scene too :'(