How Do You Treat Mayrina from Hex?

The optimal treatment of Mayrina in the popular video game Baldur’s Gate 3 is a complex and nuanced decision deeply interwoven with morality, personal agency, and the long-term consequences of your choices. There isn’t a single “right” answer, as the best course of action depends entirely on your character’s values and the type of playthrough you’re aiming for. Generally, the most compassionate and arguably “good” approach involves attempting to save her from Auntie Ethel, the green hag, and ultimately allowing her to resurrect her husband, Connor, even with the tragic limitations that entails. However, alternative approaches exist, each with its own ethical considerations and repercussions. Let’s explore the options.

Understanding Mayrina’s Plight

Mayrina is introduced as a distraught young woman desperately searching for her missing husband, Connor. Your investigation will quickly reveal that Connor was taken by Auntie Ethel, who promises to revive him but harbors sinister intentions. The initial encounter with Mayrina in the Overgrown Tunnel sets the stage for a series of challenging decisions that will determine Mayrina’s fate and her husband’s. Understanding Ethel’s motives and the nature of hags in general is crucial to making an informed choice about Mayrina’s future. Hags are known for trickery, manipulation, and their use of souls for their own twisted purposes.

Entering Auntie Ethel’s Domain

Successfully navigating the traps and illusions within Auntie Ethel’s lair is the first step in potentially helping Mayrina. This requires careful observation, strategic thinking, and often, overcoming difficult skill checks. The lair is filled with whispering masks and enchanted mushrooms, designed to confuse and disorient intruders. Each challenge overcome strengthens your position to confront Ethel and ultimately influence Mayrina’s destiny.

The Confrontation with Auntie Ethel

The confrontation with Auntie Ethel is the crux of the Mayrina questline. This battle can be approached in several ways, each impacting Mayrina’s outcome.

Saving Mayrina During the Fight

The primary objective should be to prevent Ethel from killing Mayrina during the battle. Ethel frequently uses Mayrina’s pregnant form as a shield or attempts to sacrifice her outright. Strategies to protect Mayrina include:

• Focusing all attacks on Ethel: Eliminating Ethel quickly removes the immediate threat to Mayrina’s life.

• Using crowd control spells: Spells like Hold Person or Tasha’s Hideous Laughter can temporarily disable Ethel, allowing you to rescue Mayrina.

• Healing Mayrina: If Mayrina takes damage, prioritizing healing her is essential to keep her alive.

The Choice: Save Mayrina or Take Ethel’s Power

After reducing Ethel to low health, she offers a bargain: spare her life, and she will give you a piece of her power. However, this bargain comes at a cost. Accepting the deal will leave Mayrina vulnerable and potentially subject to further manipulation by Ethel in the future. The morally “good” choice is generally considered to be refusing Ethel’s offer and continuing the fight until she is defeated.

Dealing with Connor’s Resurrection

Even after defeating Ethel, Mayrina remains heartbroken over the loss of Connor. Ethel leaves behind a Bitter Divorce wand, which can be used to resurrect Connor, but with a significant caveat: he returns as a mindless zombie, bound to Mayrina’s will.

The Bitter Divorce Wand: A Tragic Choice

Using the Bitter Divorce wand presents Mayrina with a difficult choice. On one hand, she can be reunited with her husband, albeit in a tragically limited form. On the other hand, she can choose to let him remain dead, potentially saving herself from further suffering.

Allowing the Resurrection

If you encourage Mayrina to use the wand, she will resurrect Connor as a zombie. While this provides her with a semblance of companionship, it also chains her to a tragic reality. She will be forced to care for a mindless husk, constantly reminded of her loss.

Discouraging the Resurrection

You can try to convince Mayrina that resurrecting Connor as a zombie is not the best course of action. This requires persuasive dialogue options and potentially highlighting the ethical implications of controlling a mindless being. If successful, Mayrina may choose to destroy the wand and begin the process of healing from her grief.

The Aftermath: Guiding Mayrina

Regardless of your choices, Mayrina’s story is a poignant reminder of the complexities of loss, grief, and the seductive power of desperation. Supporting Mayrina through her grief, regardless of whether Connor is resurrected or not, demonstrates compassion and empathy. There’s a final opportunity to help Mayrina find a more peaceful existence, potentially directing her to a more supportive community.

FAQs: Treating Mayrina in Hex

Here are 15 frequently asked questions regarding the treatment of Mayrina in Baldur’s Gate 3, offering further insights and guidance:

1. Can Mayrina be saved completely unscathed?

No, Mayrina will always be traumatized by the events surrounding Connor’s death and Ethel’s manipulation. Even with the best possible outcome, she will carry emotional scars.

2. Is it possible to kill Auntie Ethel without fighting her in the lair?

Yes, it is possible to defeat Ethel earlier in the game, before she even reaches the lair. This requires specific dialogue choices and a successful skill check, but it is a viable option to avoid the direct confrontation in her lair.

3. What happens if Mayrina dies during the fight with Ethel?

If Mayrina dies during the fight, the questline ends abruptly. Connor cannot be resurrected, and you miss out on potential rewards and story development.

4. Does the Bitter Divorce wand have any other uses besides resurrecting Connor?

The Bitter Divorce wand primarily serves the purpose of resurrecting Connor. It doesn’t have any other significant function outside of this specific questline.

5. Can I use the Bitter Divorce wand on other corpses?

No, the Bitter Divorce wand is specifically tied to Connor’s corpse. It cannot be used to resurrect other characters.

6. What are the consequences of letting Ethel escape?

Allowing Ethel to escape can have repercussions later in the game. She may reappear, potentially causing further problems for you and other characters.

7. Is there any way to restore Connor to his original self?

Unfortunately, there is no known method in the game to restore Connor to his pre-death state. The Bitter Divorce wand only creates a zombie version of him.

8. What happens if I steal Ethel’s hair?

Stealing Ethel’s hair grants you a permanent +1 to one of your stats. However, it also makes Ethel hostile.

9. How does my character’s alignment affect the Mayrina questline?

Your character’s alignment can influence the dialogue options available to you. A “good” aligned character may be more inclined to help Mayrina, while an “evil” aligned character might prioritize their own gain, potentially siding with Ethel or manipulating Mayrina for their own purposes.

10. Are there any unique items or rewards associated with helping Mayrina?

Yes, besides potential experience points and story progression, you can obtain Ethel’s hair (mentioned above) and potentially other items depending on how the quest plays out. You might find useful potions or scrolls within Ethel’s lair as well.

11. Can I romance Mayrina?

No, Mayrina is not a romanceable character in Baldur’s Gate 3. Her story is focused on her grief and loss, not on forming a romantic relationship with the player character.

12. Is it possible to skip the Mayrina questline altogether?

Yes, you can choose to ignore Mayrina’s plea for help and avoid entering the Overgrown Tunnel. However, this will mean missing out on a significant portion of the game’s story and potential rewards.

13. How does Mayrina react if I am a Drow?

Mayrina’s initial reaction might vary slightly depending on your race, but it will not fundamentally alter the questline. However, she will be wary of anyone, including Drow, especially given the circumstances.

14. Is there a “best” ending for Mayrina’s quest?

The “best” ending is subjective and depends on your moral compass. However, most players consider it to be helping Mayrina defeat Ethel, preventing the resurrection of Connor as a zombie, and guiding her towards a path of healing and acceptance.

15. What impact does siding with Ethel have on the overall game?

Siding with Ethel will likely lead to a “bad” ending for Mayrina and potentially negative consequences for the surrounding area. It may also impact your reputation with other NPCs and factions within the game.