Broken oar Grotto bug?

[Kelsenellenelvian]

I was doing some surfing and research and found there is a glitch with broken oar grotto:

 

This is the best description of it. I read that its attributed to a broken navmesh issue. Is it really a thing? Has it been fixed here? If not can someone make a fix?

 

Thanks for your work here!

[BlackPete]

Not sure if it's really a thing or not, but someone else made a bug ticket for the same (or similar) issue years back. We weren't ever able to reproduce the problem because no followup was provided. Chances are a fix could be done if we could narrow down where any bad navmeshes are located which would require that a game save be provided or at the very least a detailed description of where in the cave followers get stuck. Without specifics the chances of finding the problem are not good since it's a rather large location.

[Kelsenellenelvian]

I don't have the issue I just read about it while searching for things to include in a mod of mine. A google search turned up a bunch of reported instances. (Enough that there are reported work arounds) 

Essentially for some reason while followers will follow you into the grotto, they will not leave. They just don't exit when you do. I only ready 1 report that said it was likely a navmesh issue but most of them said a fast travel wouldn't work to make the follower get to you. Only extreme steps (Like getting arrested in Solitude and doing your time) would make to follower jump to you.

Also quick question - anyone know of any negative issues with making broken oar grotto respawn?

"You can enter, but you can never leave..." 

[Arthmoor]

Locations marked not to reset usually have a very good reason for it and it's generally a bad idea to change that. It would be disruptive to anything that might take place there as well as possibly causing strange results with radiant quests trying to use it when it might not be properly set up for that.

As far as followers not leaving, I've never encountered this problem myself and I always travel with 2 of them. Serana and the female DB initiate. So in order to find out if there's a problem here we'd need something precise to look at. Random Google hits are something we usually ignore because 99.9% of those cases turn out to be due to broken mods being used.

[Kelsenellenelvian]

Ok thank you guys!

[alt3rn1ty]

Oh heck I had this many moons ago, reported it too (but for the life of me cannot find the report - I think it went down as a cant repro so into the wont fix pile it went under the old bug tracker)

Using Skyrim original at the time, with Oldrim Vilja in tow, and prior to that with Jenassa I had the same problem (which is how I knew how to get Vilja free)

Come out of Broken Oar Grotto, but having previously been to Brinewater Grotto, fast travel to there and go inside the other cave .. When you come out of that cave your follower should be running up to you http://srmap.uesp.net/?locx=-60393&locy=137106&zoom=15

The location of the problem is quite literally inside the mouth of Broken Oar just before you step outside, your follower gets stuck there.

I haven't been up that way with another follower since, but will try it with Skyrim SE and Inigo .. See if I can get him stuck in there ..

 

Eolhin describing this vanilla bug someone using Inigo thought was a bug with the companion ..

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/1088692-inigo/page-1461

http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Broken_Oar_Grotto

http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:254062

http://www.gamesas.com/cicero-stuck-broken-oar-grotto-damn-t239206.html

http://www.gamesas.com/warning-not-enter-broken-oar-grotto-will-trap-your-t290147.html

.. plus loads more similar reports

[Arthmoor]

Yes, but as I recall, we've looked at the area immediately in front of the exit inside the cave. There's no defect in the navmesh there. We can't exactly fix a defect that we can't see.

[alt3rn1ty]

Yep I know. Just went to visit Broken Oar Grotto for the first time ever in Skyrim Special Edition, with Inigo in tow after picking him up from Riften. Went to Solstheim and walked around the coast to the Grotto, killed a couple of the bandits in there ..

And then went to exit - I dont know if this will make a difference but try exiting with you and your companion sneaking

(typically I sneak a lot, so it may be a factor where anyone else who has cleared the caves will probably stroll out of there not sneaking, and may not have the problem due to that ?)

As expected, Inigo became trapped in there, and no amount of fast travelling to the other grotto, entering, exiting, going back to Broken Oar grotto, entering, exiting, entering and trying to push Inigo out the exit .. Nothing works

So for me Skyrim SE is a bit worse than Old Skyrim, in that the fast travel elsewhere solution no longer works .. I went back to a save prior to entering and will leave Inigo somewhere before going in there again.

I have no idea what to look for that makes this location so good at pinning down both game original companions, and mod companions.

Active Mod Files:

 

00  Skyrim.esm
01  Update.esm
02  Dawnguard.esm
03  Hearthfires.esm
04  Dragonborn.esm
05  Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp  [Version 4.0.7]
06  RelightingSkyrim_SSE.esp
07  SimplyBiggerTreesSE.esp
08  Run For Your Lives.esp  [Version 3.1.1]
09  Ars Metallica.esp
0A  When Vampires Attack.esp  [Version 3.1]
++  DesyncBirdsOfPrey.esp
0B  Smilodon - Combat of Skyrim.esp
0C  Inigo.esp
0D  Bashed Patch, 0.esp
0E  DynDOLOD.esp

Edit : Dont ask me how, but I managed to get Inigo buried in the sand inside the grotto (I would not be able to reproduce this again though, no idea how it happened)

Edit 2: Sneaking has nothing to do with this issue, I just tried from the save I have just prior to entering the grotto for the first time with Inigo, to killing a couple of bandits, then exit without sneaking = He still gets stuck.