If you have gone ahead and started the Save Vanra and Help The Hag Survivors quests in Act III, you may already know that Auntie Ethel still lives.
Whether you are attempting to save the child that she has taken or are helping Mayrina once more, the problem is that Auntie Ethel appears to be immortal.
This requires that you take certain steps to kill her, which will often be a task that takes place in the Avenge The Hag Survivors quest.
Where To Find Auntie Ethel in Act 3?
Auntie Ethel will be at The Blushing Mermaid, which is found to the south of the Lower City Central Wall as she has made its basement her lair.
If you have attempted to search for Vanra, you will discover the lair and notice that the owner of The Blushing Mermaid is not who she seems to be.
This is because the real Captain Grisly is wearing one of Ethel’s masks and is wandering around inside the lair, meaning that Auntie Ethel is disguised as the captain in The Blushing Mermaid.
How To Kill Auntie Ethel in Act 3?
Auntie Ethel will be fighting in the basement of The Blushing Mermaid and there are two ways for you to set the fight up, which either involves confronting her above or below.
If you decide to throw a Hag’s Bane at Captain Grisly (Ethel in disguise) in The Blushing Mermaid, she will run off after vomiting Vanra, leaving you to fight Red Caps.
The same will happen if you have already explored her lair and decide to talk to Captain Grisly, which makes her reveal herself and flee to the lair.
Head down the basement in The Blushing Mermaid (the door is next to the bartender Bosun Gannet) and climb up the barrels and you will be able to pass by a hidden entrance.
Auntie Ethel will have captured some victims, and you can either knock them out or sneak past them to reach her by heading to the left.
Once you reach her lair, you will be able to fight her if you confront her in The Blushing Mermaid or may trigger her appearance by attacking one of her mushrooms.
Once the fight begins, you will need to destroy the mushrooms located in the lair, or else Auntie Ethel will be resurrected after you have killed her.
A good way to easily destroy the mushrooms would be to place Smokepowder Barrels near them and position your characters so that each of them can ignite them.
After Auntie Ethel has been defeated and the mushrooms are destroyed, she will die for real this time and Captain Grisly will be released from her control if she is still alive.
How To Destroy Pearlspore Mushrooms?
The Pearlspore Mushrooms are the key to a hag’s immortality and if you plan on getting rid of Auntie Ethel for good, these will need to be destroyed.
Pearlspore Mushrooms won’t be destroyed as easily as hitting them repeatedly since they can regenerate hit points.
To disable their healing ability, you will need to use Bone Chill so that its healing becomes useless, and you may also use Fire Damage to take out its hit points faster.
Should you be able to deal a lot of damage in a short amount of time, this may be enough to destroy the mushrooms before they can heal.
Placing 2 Smoke barrels near each Pearlspore Mushroom and igniting them before or during the fight will be enough to destroy them.
Auntie Ethel Drops in Act 3
Once Auntie Ethel has been defeated, you will be able to interact with her corpse to loot the following items from her inventory:
- Tarnished Charm (Uncommon Necklace) – Increases chance of succeeded Death Saving Throws
- Sapphire
- 2x Poisonous Slime Bomb
- Potion of Invisibility
- Diamond
- Potion of Angelic Slumber
- Ring of Feywild Sparks – Causes you to always trigger Magic Sure when casting spells if Tides of Chaos feature is active.
Rewards For Defeating Auntie Ethel
Since defeating Auntie Ethel is required for completing the Avenge The Hag Survivors quest, you may speak to Mayrina to receive the Fey Semblance Amulet.
The Fey Semblance Amulet provides its wearer with an Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma Saving Throws.
Verdict
Auntie Ethel may have been thought to be gone in Act I but it turns out she fled and searched for a new child for her to kidnap in the Lower City.
Being connected to multiple quests, taking out Auntie Ethel for good is a decent way to get experience and rewards as you progress to the fight with the Elder Brain.
Saving Captain Grisly is optional as she does not give any reward for your help aside from her undying gratitude but for some, it is a good way to feel like the good guy in the story.