Auntie Ethel's Tea Party Gone Wrong: A Baldur's Gate 3 Hag Fight Guide for XenGamer Welcome, fellow adventurers, to another deep dive into the treacherous world of Baldur's Gate 3.

Welcome, fellow adventurers, to another deep dive into the treacherous world of Baldur's Gate 3. Today, we're tackling a particularly nasty encounter: the Hag, Auntie Ethel, in the Putrid Bog. This isn't just another boss fight; it's a multi-stage test of your party's combat prowess, strategic thinking, and willingness to embrace a bit of environmental trickery. Whether you're struggling to save Mayrina or just want to claim Ethel's loot, this guide will provide you with a no-nonsense strategy to emerge victorious from the Putrid Bog. Forget the fluff; let's get straight to the point.

Context: The Putrid Bog and Ethel's Deceit

Auntie Ethel is first encountered as a seemingly harmless old woman in the Emerald Grove. However, a series of clues and encounters will lead you to the Putrid Bog, a fetid swamp where Ethel's true nature as a Green Hag is revealed. The main objective here is twofold: save Mayrina, a woman Ethel has kidnapped, and put an end to Ethel's wicked deeds. The environment itself is a character in this fight, filled with poisonous clouds, illusionary traps, and whispering masks that can inflict madness. Prepare for a claustrophobic fight that will test your party's ability to handle environmental hazards and a deceptive enemy. The air hangs heavy with a sickly green mist, and twisted trees claw at the sky, their branches adorned with disturbing effigies.

Step-by-Step Strategy: From Bog to Burning Cage

This fight is divided into two primary phases, with a tricky transition in between. Here's how to conquer each stage:

Phase 1: The Bog Ambush

1. Prepare Your Party: Before engaging Ethel, ensure your party is rested and equipped with healing potions and consumables. Characters with high Perception are crucial for spotting traps. Position your melee characters at the front and ranged characters further back.
2. Initiate Combat: When you confront Ethel in her hut, she'll quickly reveal her true form. The fight begins with her having the high ground and several minions (Redcaps) at her side.
3. Focus Fire: Immediately target the Redcaps. They're relatively weak but can deal significant damage if left unchecked. Use spells like Magic Missile or Burning Hands to quickly eliminate them.
4. Ethel's Illusions: Ethel will frequently create illusionary copies of herself. Use single-target attacks to quickly identify the real Ethel (the illusions disappear in one hit). Area-of-effect spells are effective here as well.
5. Managing the Environment: The Bog is filled with poisonous vapors. Equip gear with poison resistance or use spells/potions to mitigate the damage. Be mindful of your positioning to avoid standing in these clouds.
6. Lowering Ethel's Health: Keep the pressure on Ethel, focusing your attacks on her whenever she's not creating illusions or summoning minions. Don't waste resources on the illusions. Get her health down to approximately 20% to trigger the next phase.

Phase 2: The Underground Lair and Mayrina's Fate

1. The Gnarled Doorway: Once Ethel's health is low enough, she'll flee through a Gnarled Doorway hidden behind her fireplace. This doorway is concealed by an illusion – a successful Perception check will reveal it. Interact with the fireplace and pass the check to reveal the doorway.
2. Navigating the Underground: The underground lair is a maze of traps and masked servants. Disarm traps with a character proficient in Sleight of Hand. The whispering masks inflict madness, so destroy them quickly with ranged attacks or spells.
3. The Waterfall Room: This room contains a waterfall and a seemingly impassable gap. Look for a cleverly hidden path along the left side of the room; a successful Perception check will highlight it. Use Jump or Misty Step to cross the gap.
4. The Masked Servants: These enemies are weak but numerous. Use area-of-effect spells to quickly clear them out. Be wary of their ability to inflict the "Madness" condition.
5. The Final Confrontation: You'll eventually reach Ethel, who has Mayrina trapped in a burning cage. This is where things get tricky. Ethel will attempt to bargain with you, offering a strand of Mayrina's hair in exchange for letting her go.

Saving Mayrina (and the Alternative):

This is the most challenging part of the fight. There are a few ways to approach this:

• The Ideal Outcome (Saving Mayrina): You need to act fast and strategically. Position a character near the cage's mechanism. On your first turn, have that character use Help on Mayrina to remove the Unconscious condition. Then, either destroy the cage mechanism (it has low HP) or use a spell like Misty Step or a potion of invisibility to quickly move Mayrina out of the cage. Immediately focus fire on Ethel. If Ethel gets a turn, she'll likely throw Mayrina back into the cage or use other nasty spells.

• The Sacrifice (Letting Mayrina Die): If you're struggling to save Mayrina, you can simply focus on defeating Ethel. This will result in Mayrina's death, but it will make the fight significantly easier.

• The Deception (Accepting Ethel's Offer): If you accept Ethel's offer, she will give you a strand of Mayrina's hair, which can be used to gain a permanent stat boost. However, this is generally considered the "bad" ending, as it allows Ethel to escape and continue her evil deeds.

Phase 3: Finishing Ethel

1. Focus Fire: Once Mayrina is safe (or you've accepted her fate), focus all your attacks on Ethel. She has several nasty spells, including Hold Person and Bestow Curse, so prioritize disabling or killing her quickly.
2. Environmental Awareness: Be mindful of the mushrooms scattered around the arena. Some of these mushrooms explode when attacked, dealing significant damage. Use them to your advantage against Ethel, or avoid them if you're low on health.
3. Utilize Consumables: Don't be afraid to use potions, scrolls, and other consumables to gain an edge. Healing potions, potions of invisibility, and scrolls of powerful spells can turn the tide of battle.

Tips and Tricks: Mastering the Hag Fight

• Potion of Invisibility is Your Friend: Seriously, this potion trivializes much of the underground section, allowing you to bypass traps and masked servants.
• Silence is Golden: A well-placed Silence spell can shut down Ethel's spellcasting, making her much less dangerous.
• Knockback Effects: Spells like Thunderwave can knock Ethel off ledges, dealing fall damage and potentially interrupting her spellcasting.
• Meat Shield: Use a summoned creature or a character with high HP as a meat shield to absorb Ethel's attacks.
• Don't Underestimate the Masks: Those whispering masks in the underground lair can quickly drive your party mad. Destroy them as soon as possible.
• Cheese Strategy (Use with Caution): It is possible to "cheese" the fight by using a character with high stealth to sneak into the final arena and destroy the cage before initiating combat with Ethel. This makes saving Mayrina much easier, but it can feel a bit cheap.

PC-Specific Notes: Optimizing Your Baldur's Gate 3 Experience

• Controls: Familiarize yourself with the hotkeys for actions like jumping, hiding, and using items. Customize them to your liking for faster response times.
• Graphics Settings: If you're experiencing performance issues, try lowering settings like shadows, ambient occlusion, and volumetric fog. These are particularly demanding on your GPU.
• Mods: While mods can enhance your experience, be cautious when using them, especially during critical story moments. Some mods may introduce bugs or glitches. Nexus Mods is a reputable source for Baldur's Gate 3 mods (https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3).
• Known Bugs: Some players have reported issues with Ethel's AI getting stuck. If this happens, try reloading a previous save or restarting the game.
• Ray Tracing: If you have a high-end GPU, experiment with ray tracing for improved lighting and reflections. However, be prepared for a performance hit.

Example Graphics Tweaks for Performance

• Lower End Systems:

  • Turn Shadows to Low or Off
  • Disable Ambient Occlusion
  • Reduce Texture Quality to Medium
  • Lower Resolution

• Higher End Systems:

  • Enable FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) or DLSS for a performance boost without significant visual loss.
  • Experiment with Ray Tracing settings (if supported by your GPU)

Conclusion: Rewards and What Lies Ahead

By defeating Auntie Ethel, you'll gain valuable experience, loot, and the satisfaction of saving (or avenging) Mayrina. You'll also acquire Ethel's unique staff, which can be a powerful weapon for spellcasters. If you saved Mayrina, you'll earn her gratitude and potentially unlock a future questline. And of course, there's the feeling of triumph over a genuinely challenging and unsettling encounter!

With Ethel defeated, you can continue your journey through Baldur's Gate 3, exploring new regions, uncovering more secrets, and facing even greater challenges. The road ahead is long and perilous, but with the knowledge and strategies you've gained here, you'll be well-equipped to overcome any obstacle. Now get out there and show those monsters what you're made of!