So far, the only fix I've found is to restart the whole game with a new save.
I've done it, and had to slog through everything I've already done just to get back (which, tbh, was not without some benefits of stuff I passed before), but as of right now, if you encounter this bug, you are boned, and EA hasn't been helping.
Same. Is there any hope they patch this?
Hard to say if they'll patch it. Restarting allowed me to pass it (and I picked up extra goodies the next time, but I also missed out on things I found the first time around because the maps are huge and there's no fast-travel), but all that unskippable stuff was a pain in the neck to have to do over.
I get that they're trying to Darkish Soulsish with the Meditation Circles to prevent save-scumming and make progress feel real, but that's worthless with a game-breaker like this.
