DieAntwoord
Banned
since it wasn't answered in the official thread. Haven't started just yet despite having it since launch. I've only seen Zoltan in a single screenshot. Is he involved in this story at all? Or just a side character?
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The Witcher 3: Official Spoiler Thread - HLAKBR
- Thread starter viveks86
- Start date
therealminime
Member
He's around for a decent bit in the back half.
Admiral Woofington
Member
1. This is the spoiler thread. No need for spoiler tags.
2. You shouldn't be in here. People are discussing end game stuff.
3. Yes he's there. As big as any other NPC that isn't Yen or Ciri.
2. You shouldn't be in here. People are discussing end game stuff.
3. Yes he's there. As big as any other NPC that isn't Yen or Ciri.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Haven't seen anything about Iorveth or Saskia. Are they just not in the game at all?
Beginning mentioned Aedirn had fallen to one of the warring sides but other then that nothing.
Seems odd the choices made in Witcher 2 at least for me are insignificant regarding these 2.
Beginning mentioned Aedirn had fallen to one of the warring sides but other then that nothing.
Seems odd the choices made in Witcher 2 at least for me are insignificant regarding these 2.
Basileus777
Member
There's nothing but vague references to them as far I know.
Admiral Woofington
Member
They're not. There's always the possibility they'll appear in one of the expansions/DLC's. But not anytime soon. First expansion is set in Oxenfurt so chances are it'll involve Roche.
Cracklox
Member
Yep. I too had had a 'disagreement' with Kiera and she wasn't able to attend the battle. Lambert made it through mine too.
At 1 point in the battle when Vesemir is getting everyone to pull back, Lambert stays on the front line and you have to go give him help. A health bar pops up on the screen and you have to, I gather, make the save before it expires or he dies. I got to him ezy, and Letho was still fighting with him at that, though no concern was shown for him obviously
Admiral Woofington
Member
That must be the deal then. It might be that there isn't a retry if the health bar goes down. This is probably the scene where Keira automatically saves him instead of having you go down there.
Also I lol at those guys who killed Letho in Witcher 2. The guy ended up being such an amazing bro. He's even the only one who decides to stay back in Kaer Morhen and thanks you for the invitation.
burntchomsky
Member
I am a bit confused...I got the Empress Ciri ending, and in it, there is a blizzard occurring in White Orchard. Does this mean that Ciri did not actually defeat the white frost? Is this tied to a specific choice I made?
I'm a bit torn on whether Empress Ciri is a 'good ending' or not. While its good if she ends up doing something that makes her happy (as a witcher), in this empress ending, she does seem to actually believe that this is something she will be good at and has the skills for. Will it make her happy? I mean it seems like what actually makes her happy is just being around Geralt, so I was more angry that Geralt didn't go with her to Nilfgard.
I'm a bit torn on whether Empress Ciri is a 'good ending' or not. While its good if she ends up doing something that makes her happy (as a witcher), in this empress ending, she does seem to actually believe that this is something she will be good at and has the skills for. Will it make her happy? I mean it seems like what actually makes her happy is just being around Geralt, so I was more angry that Geralt didn't go with her to Nilfgard.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Winter =/= the end all be all event.
As to what the best ending is it's debatable but if they ever continue the witcher games with ciri the witcher ending will likely be canon
Shining Sunshine
Banned
I wonder if there is any youtuber that has made and uploaded all the ending bits.
Mr. Smiley
Member
The variations or just the Ciri parts?
i really like the elf characters in the series. wished yaevinn was in 2 and i wished iorveth was in 3 but it wasnt meant to be :'(
letho is such a good character. i dont know how anyone would kill him
RipperGrim
Member
So am I the only one thinking that Ciri went to the world that 2077 is set in? She talks about going to a world where people use technology to communicate and have metal in their heads which is obviously referring to androids like in the 2077 trailer.
Could she have a cameo in the game? It would be weird but fascinating as well
Could she have a cameo in the game? It would be weird but fascinating as well
Shining Sunshine
Banned
I guess all the variation? Just those portrait ending parts after going through the winter part of White Orchard.
Admiral Woofington
Member
you aren't the only one it's a fairly agreed nod to their next game.
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
Admiral Woofington
Member
My guide had every card listed but honestly it seems pointless to read through everyone as i can take a guess at what happens.
Basketball
Member
SUMMON THE BITCHES
i only played the tutorial and i lost the first time to do some dude in vizima then i never played againAdmiral Woofington
Member
probably something similar to talking to triss about the rose or giving triss back her earrings. aka a bit of conversation
Shining Sunshine
Banned
Hmm not exactly everything.
I was looking forward to the Triss and Yennefer ending variations. Also, seems like the endings there only had one variation for the Skellige throne choice.
Cracklox
Member
Yeah, when I saw his health bar pop up and Ves constantly yelling at him to get back, I kinda figured it was a one shot kinda deal. Thing is, it was really easy to save him. He barely even took a hit by the time I got there. You can pretty much drop straight into the courtyard where hes fighting, making sure to roll on landing to negate what would otherwise take a massive chunk of health and you're basically there.
The minmap thing wanted me to run all the way around and down some stairs. If you follow that then maybe I could see it being an issue. Not sure what was up with the people who wrote that guide letting him die. Maybe they didn't like him which is sort of understandable
Agreed on Letho. Rolling with him in the early missions was just so fucking cool. Felt bad stuffing up faking his death. I kept his warning in mind through the whole thing, but dammit how could you not do something at the end.
Curious now on what happens if you do nothing? Does he still end up at Kaer Morhen? You wouldn't have the opportunity at that point to invite him. As far as you're concerned he's dead.
Also, crap! You're saying if you ask him to stay at Vesemirs funeral, he actually does? After chatting to Eskell and him wanting to bail, I didn't think I'd trouble Letho by asking him. It seemed like the place was falling apart and with Vesemir dead there was no real reason to stay. Letho had well and truly fulfilled all bro duties by that point and if anything I felt I owed him. So I just asked him what he was going to do and he basically said take off over some mountains into another land or some shit. Gave him an imaginary virtual fist bump and that was that...
Admiral Woofington
Member
Can't find the card, but the Triss ending is basically Geraly laying in bed looking at Triss and her in a towel/lingerie staring at him in a mischievous way. Then the ending said something along the lines of
"Geralt and Triss lived a very happy life. Geralt took the occasional Witcher job here and there, not for necessity as Triss' court sorceress job provided more than they'd ever need." So basically Geralt got to live a life of luxury and sex.
In the Yen ending it's him in a bath tub with Yen combing her hair in a chair in front looking back at him, and the ending said that Yen and Geralt went to live very happily far away from all the politics and bullshit with just each other's company.
If you tell him "You're welcome to stay as long as you want" or w/e the dialogue was, he says something along the lines of "thank you. It'd be nice to stay in one place. At least until things calm down"
I didn't tell any of the other witchers to stay. One was going on a mission with his waifu, and the other after the shit we'd been through deserved to go clear his mind far away.
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
burntchomsky
Member
Didn't see this question answered yet...
How I understand it is that the white frost is this thing (and what it is is completely vague...no clue on that) that threatens all worlds, including the worlds of Geralt and the Aen Elle elves, two of whom are Avellac'h and Eredin. The Aen Elle elves's world is under extreme threat from this white frost right now, so both Avellac'h and Eredin likely believe it dire to attempt to save their home world from the threat. Eredin via the Wild Hunt raids other worlds in the hopes of finding a suitable one to colonize, which requires overcoming that world militarily, and thus he requires some sort of method for large scale teleportation between worlds. Avellac'h is not as ruthless as Eredin, but still desires his world to be saved very greatly. He desires to use Ciri to accomplish that purpose. Therefore, both Eredin and Avellac'h's ultimate goals are the same (saving their world from the frost), but they use different means to get there. One thing that is never properly explained is why precisely ciri must travel to fight the white frost right while you are in battle with Eredin. I mean, why would she and Avellac'h not wait till after the battle is over?
Cracklox
Member
Just on that something a little odd I noticed. Eskell basically says afterwards, that hes out and that there's no point in staying. However if you read his bio in the Glossary it says that after Vesemirs death he went on to be the main caretaker at Kaer Morhen. Seemed to contradict the conversation with him afterwards a bit.
Maybe he changed his mind after a while. I gather the written bios and quest summaries are penned from an old Dandelion years from when they happened, so there's a good chunk of time for him to clear his head on the road and go back I suppose
Admiral Woofington
Member
Wouldn't be the first time in the history of human beings that after a really stressful moment you want to gtfo and never come back. But eventually do.
I wonder if the character bios change depend on who you romance.
I assumed it was due to two things:
1. Avellac doesn't believe Geralt and co. can beat the Hunt
but
2. he still needs a distraction for Ciri to do her thing - we know that Eredin is capable of homing in on her when she uses her ability, so he needs to be occupied with other matters when she hops to take on the White Frost directly.
Still really rushed though. It's one of those things that didn't need to be dealt with in this story.
Cracklox
Member
Yikes! Popped over to the OT (2) to see if I could offer any advice on anything, and all anyones talking about is the XP bug (or, already well covered, romance options)
I may or may not have been affected. I didn't even notice. I was doing grey quests, knowing I wasn't getting xp, but just out of interest to see the stories and characters. Also once I got to around level 15 or 16, I felt pretty OP the rest of the way and levels didn't matter as much. Quite often had a few unallocated skill points lying around too.
Wonder just how prevalent it is, or people don't realise you don't get xp once you go 5 (or is it 6) levels over the recommendation. It is obviously out there though
Edit - Sorry don't mean to derail this thread in the same direction. Was just thinking out loud
I may or may not have been affected. I didn't even notice. I was doing grey quests, knowing I wasn't getting xp, but just out of interest to see the stories and characters. Also once I got to around level 15 or 16, I felt pretty OP the rest of the way and levels didn't matter as much. Quite often had a few unallocated skill points lying around too.
Wonder just how prevalent it is, or people don't realise you don't get xp once you go 5 (or is it 6) levels over the recommendation. It is obviously out there though
Edit - Sorry don't mean to derail this thread in the same direction. Was just thinking out loud
SnakeLinkSonic
Member
If you don't ask anyone to come to Kaer Morhen, Lambert kills all of the Wild Hunt by himself and Vesemir lives. ᕦ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕤ
SunBroDave
Member
This game's visuals never cease to amaze me
EDIT: Wrong thread. But fuck it.
EDIT: Wrong thread. But fuck it.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Finished, adored the ending even as it was unexpected (Ciri Empress). Loved how they handled more or less everything. Playable epilogue was perfect.
The main quest as a whole isn't without some faults but the some total of parts elevate it. The only really glaring blemish I see is Ciri fucking off to the white frost then returning with zero exposition of what the fuck happened. Avallach's betrayal was hinted at already and the prophecy has been a theme throughout the series, so even though it was kinda sped up towards the end and could have done with a bit more development I didn't mind. But yeah, the Ciri stuff was just a whole bunch of what. The sequence implies she's going to her death, but then she doesn't die and you never see why, or what she did, or what happened, or anything. Unless I missed something it's basically a massive development left (intentionally?) vague and unexplained.
Otherwise yeah, adored the ending.
The main quest as a whole isn't without some faults but the some total of parts elevate it. The only really glaring blemish I see is Ciri fucking off to the white frost then returning with zero exposition of what the fuck happened. Avallach's betrayal was hinted at already and the prophecy has been a theme throughout the series, so even though it was kinda sped up towards the end and could have done with a bit more development I didn't mind. But yeah, the Ciri stuff was just a whole bunch of what. The sequence implies she's going to her death, but then she doesn't die and you never see why, or what she did, or what happened, or anything. Unless I missed something it's basically a massive development left (intentionally?) vague and unexplained.
Otherwise yeah, adored the ending.
thequickandthedead
Member
I feel like the only person who enjoyed the bad ending. It felt like a realistic and natural conclusion to Geralt's story. Having a happily ever after ending just doesn't suit the series imo. Ciri could also still be alive in the bad ending.
edit: Eatchildren's post above is another reason why bad ending is superior. Having ciri nip off to beat the white frost and come back like nothings happened is just stupid.
edit: Eatchildren's post above is another reason why bad ending is superior. Having ciri nip off to beat the white frost and come back like nothings happened is just stupid.
SunBroDave
Member
The cut from Ciri potentially sacrificing herself to save the world to her just being back with no explanation is almost definitely a holdover from the Witcher ending, where they lead you to believe that Ciri actually died until its revealed she's alive when Geralt meets her at the tavern in White Orchard. They must've just been pressed for time and couldn't add in more to the Empress ending, because in that particular ending it really doesn't make any sense not to give more explanation to what happened.
Oh the bad end is fine, the only problem is that it is the bad ending.
It strikes me as somewhat curious, given that they had defined the 3 main endings +variants very early in development. They certainly could have squared off the white frost stuff a bit better to fit all 3 endings.
thequickandthedead
Member
To be fair I only refer to it as the bad ending because thats what everyone calls it. I don't really consider it to be bad.
darkwing-buck
Member
What do you guys think is the best ending? I got the one where Ciri becomes empress. Man it was bittersweet and almost made me cry seeing Geralt seeing her leave.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Suicidal depressing ending doesn't fit the world just because it's a dark fantasy. This isn't a Stephen king book.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Watched the other endings. I'm less fussed about the white frost ambiguity and feel it may be intentional, as the latter half of the game really drills home that this story is almost completely told from Geralt's perspective, and despite other factors/characters it's his journey at the centre. Ciri may live in the "bad ending" too, but it's left completely open as she's essentially abandoned Geralt.
I still feel the white frost sequence could have been handled better, but maybe they intentionally wanted to keep events vague, while also playing off the notion that Ciri is an exceptionally powerful individual. That just because you don't see it or know it as a player, doesn't invalidate the possibility of Ciri conquering the white frost and living to tell the story. Or more to the point, not telling the story, because its nobody's business but her own.
I definitely prefer the Empress Ciri arc the most, as it seems fitting for her character arc, or at least the extent of my interaction. Ciri-on-the-run is an ongoing theme, as is taking ownership of her powers and identity. Witcher Ciri is freedom, but shows her neglecting what she could achieve. It's the "neutral" path, but still questions if neutrality is always right. Empress Ciri is ownership of identity and abandonment of the neutral path. And the "bad" ending to me is the Ciri-on-the-run ending, that whatever happened with the White Frost left her either dead or feeling such hopelessness that she could never return to the people once important to her life.
So yeah, I don't think the white frost thing was ran-out-of-time or anything, but intentionally vague maybe for thematic reasons. Whether or not that worked is another matter entirely.
EDIT: I think the lack of explanation in both the witcher and empress endings exist also to drive home a "it doesn't matter" point. Time has passed, some stuff happened, but it's not important. What matters is the bond between Geralt and Ciri, and what comes after.
I still feel the white frost sequence could have been handled better, but maybe they intentionally wanted to keep events vague, while also playing off the notion that Ciri is an exceptionally powerful individual. That just because you don't see it or know it as a player, doesn't invalidate the possibility of Ciri conquering the white frost and living to tell the story. Or more to the point, not telling the story, because its nobody's business but her own.
I definitely prefer the Empress Ciri arc the most, as it seems fitting for her character arc, or at least the extent of my interaction. Ciri-on-the-run is an ongoing theme, as is taking ownership of her powers and identity. Witcher Ciri is freedom, but shows her neglecting what she could achieve. It's the "neutral" path, but still questions if neutrality is always right. Empress Ciri is ownership of identity and abandonment of the neutral path. And the "bad" ending to me is the Ciri-on-the-run ending, that whatever happened with the White Frost left her either dead or feeling such hopelessness that she could never return to the people once important to her life.
So yeah, I don't think the white frost thing was ran-out-of-time or anything, but intentionally vague maybe for thematic reasons. Whether or not that worked is another matter entirely.
EDIT: I think the lack of explanation in both the witcher and empress endings exist also to drive home a "it doesn't matter" point. Time has passed, some stuff happened, but it's not important. What matters is the bond between Geralt and Ciri, and what comes after.
SunBroDave
Member
Really? Maybe they decided that they wanted to have 3 endings, but not specifically what those endings are? Because they all seem rushed. The game takes its time, pacing out story excellently the entire game, including the sidequests, only for the final chapter to be 5 minutes long for the Witcher ending, 10 for the Crone ending, and 15 for the Empress ending, taking very little time to breathe or resolve things.
The lack of explanation in the Witcher ending is entirely to trick the player into thinking that Ciri is dead.
I don't know man, glad you enjoyed it but it would've left a very bad taste in my mouth if I had gotten that ending, after all that time and investment. After all that time and investment, to an unsatisfactory ending is unforgivable for me, but then again I come from a writing background. I would've been even more furious if I found out just what the criteria was that decided the ending.
Agreed, the ending doesn't need to be dark just for the sake of being dark. That's poor writing, and it's the reason why the entire game isn't depressing. As dark and serious as some parts are, its always paced excellently between well-written humorous and light-hearted spots.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I know, but there's still no explanation. Both the witcher and empress endings deliberate set themselves a notable amount of time after the narrative's climax where Ciri and Geralt would have already discussed at length what happened, so I don't feel the empress ending falters any more so than the witcher ending. They just present themselves differently, the latter playing with the "Ciri is dead" idea more than the former.
But yeah, all three endings basically leave the white frost event completely ambiguous. Frustration will vary
EDIT: I actually don't feel the empress ending was rushed. Quite the opposite. As a personal journey it was as beautiful, short little cap on the story and accentuated the state of the world through the setting (like all the white orchard soldiers wielding Termerian shields, and commentary from folk on the state of the war and Novigrad). To me this is the Mass Effect vs Witcher difference: the former heavily relies on Shepard being the centrepiece for every single narrative thread no matter how ludicrous the scope, while in the latter Geralt is often a passenger to greater events that even if influenced he has no real investment in. So the playable sequence is centred on what matters most to Geralt: the personal element. Meanwhile the state of the world is appropriately narrated by old man Dandelion, who is the most likely person to be telling such stories that cover everything.
As a personal journey choosing Triss and having Yennefer totally absent and unreferenced is probably the biggest missing element.
thequickandthedead
Member
So was CDPR's claim that W3 has 36 different ending states true? Because it really doesn't seem that way.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Probably 3 endings and 12 different cards?
SunBroDave
Member
Depends how you look at it. The Ciri plot only has the three, but take into account the minor worldstate details and it might total to something like 36. I say "minor" for those worldstate details because they seem to not really matter to me as much, but I'm wondering if that's because they were relegated to still images and not given an actual place in the ending scenes.
EDIT:
I mean I think the Empress ending was super rushed because of the criteria for getting that ending vs the Witcher ending, which is just go visit Emhyr, and then even though Ciri yells at him she still takes the throne. I don't see how that one action radically changes her character arc from "someone who wants to be free and not be subject to the whims of others" to "someone who is going to sacrifice her independence for the greater good." There's just nothing in that one scene that can change her like that. And even if there was, it would be an egregious fuck you to the player to have that pivotal moment offscreen, as Geralt waits outside while they talk. You're really telling me that THAT scene is the most pivotal one of her character arc? Come on. And that's the ONLY scene different leading to the Empress ending. Obviously Radovid can die in either the Witcher or Empress endings.