The Witcher 3: There Is No Canon Ending & Here’s Why
Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is greatly influenced by the player’s choices. Some of those choices can affect your game in a positive way, and some in a negative way. Speaking of choices, some result in actions that affect Geralt directly, and some are more subtle in nature. Most of the players are aware of the fact that Witcher 3 has multiple endings, and some of them are rather conflicting. Due to that, many players are wondering what the canon is ending for Witcher 3?
How many endings does Witcher 3 have?
In terms of the base game’s main ending, the conclusion of Ciri’s story, Witcher 3 has only three endings. If we’re discussing endings in the context of various other side-quests, Blood & Wine, and Hearts of Stones expansions, then we’re talking about 36 endings in total. But as we’ve mentioned, when players refer to the Witcher 3 ending, they mostly refer to the base game ending that you get after Ciri faces the White Frost.
In that case, three scenarios are possible
- Ciri dies in a fight against White Frost
- Ciri lives and becomes the Empress of Nilfgaard
- Ciri lives and becomes Witcheress
The first ending is considered the worst one, while the last ending is, according to many players, the best one. Now let’s analyze every ending in a bit more detail.
Ciri dies
This ending is the result of negative interactions with Ciri during the quests “Battle Preparations,” “Blood on the Battlefield,” and “Final Preparations.”
During the final confrontation with White Frost, Ciri will lose confidence in herself, and she will not consider herself to be strong enough to face the cosmic threat that is White Frost. In the aftermath of the battle, Geralt can be seen in the Crookback Bog, killing Weavess, one of the three monstrous sisters that inhabit Velen’s swamps.
He will reclaim Ciri’s amulet that Weavess stole during one of the previous main story quests. After the confrontation, he will seemingly grieve Ciri and will be surrounded by the monsters from the swamp. We ultimately do not know whether Geralt lives or dies, but this is by far the worst ending you can get.
Ciri becomes Empress of Nilfgaard
For this ending to occur, several things need to happen. First, you need to have positive interactions with Ciri during “Battle Preparations,” “Blood on the Battlefield,” and “Final Preparations” quests. Nilfgaard also needs to win the war, and you need to visit Emhyr during the “Blood on the Battlefield” quest.
Your positive interactions with Ciri will result in her surviving the final confrontation with the White Frost. After the battle, we see Geralt at the place where his last adventure started, White Orchard Inn. He is accompanied by Zoltan and Dandelion but will leave them in order to pursue activities with Ciri.
Both of you frolic through the forest, and when your day of bonding ends and you return to the inn, you can see Nilfgaardian watchdogs waiting to accompany Ciri into her new life as empress of Nilfgaard. Emhyr decided that he would very much like for Ciri to inherit him, and she decided this was the best way to make some true good change in the world.
Ciri becomes Witcher
This ending results from positive interactions with Ciri during “Battle Preparations,” “Blood on the Battlefield,” and “Final Preparations” quests. You also need to avoid visiting Emhyr during the “Blood on the Battlefield” quest.
After Ciri faces White Frost, you make your way toward Emhyr and inform him that Ciri never came back from her battle. He shows little emotion but is generally disappointed in you and in the fact that he lost his successor.
Geralt returns to White Orchard, where disguised Ciri is waiting for him. He hands her the custom-made silver sword needed for her upcoming adventures as a Witcher. Ciri becoming a Witcher ending is regarded as the best by the fans. Even though the books left Ciri’s fate a bit open-ended, her becoming a Witcher is satisfying as she always wanted to prove herself as one.
What is Geralt’s canon ending?
Geralt, like Ciri, doesn’t have a canon ending as well. Where and if he will retire is mostly based on who you romanced during the games. Upon the completion of the base game, you can either retire with Triss in Kovir if you’ve decided to romance her. Or you can retire with Yennefer far from the politics and controversy if you’ve been loyal to her.
If you’ve never attempted to romance either of them, you will get the worst ending – you will reminisce about the life you could have had.
The second ending awaits you during the “Blood & Wine” expansion. During the expansion, Dutchess Anna Henrietta will gift you Corvo Bianco, a vineyard complete with a charming house. The ending for “Blood & Wine” dictates who will move in with you in Corvo Bianco, and once again, it’s affected by your choices.
- If you’re romanced Triss, Triss will move in.
- If you’ve romanced Yennefer, Yennefer will move in.
- If you’ve romanced both of them (or either of them), Ciri will move in.
- If you’ve romanced both of them or avoided both of them and Ciri died during the events of the base game, Dandelion will move in.
Generally speaking, the first two endings are the best, with the third one being passable. The fourth ending is regarded as the worst because it means that Ciri is dead, and you’ve got the worst ending during the base game.
Other endings mostly affect who will rule which territory. Your choices have the power to defeat Nilfgaard or install Radovid on the throne. You likewise have the power to install either Cery or Hjalmar as the ruler of Skellige. No matter what your choice is, however, everything is considered to be both canon and not canon at the same time. Ultimately, we’ll see when the next game in the Witcher franchise comes out.
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