You have been warned.
What is an "ending"?
In these notes, I'm defining an "ending" as the end-state of the Northern Kingdoms and the Council of Mages. The end-state of each is due, directly or indirectly, to the decisions you make for Geralt in the game. These decisions also affect the end-state of Iorveth and Roche, but I don't consider the state of other NPCs such as Loredo, Shilard, Sile or Letho as being especially important, nor do I include choices that are fully resolved within the game, such as whether or not you return Iorveth's sword.
In most cases, the endings are based on the status of the kingdoms as described by the participants at the Loc Muinne Peace Summit, or just before it takes place, but in some cases, later events mean that the situation can't be the same any more, but we don't get a further update.
When someone in the game says "This is what will happen to Country X", it doesn't mean that it's cast in stone. Kings don't always tell the truth, events at the end of the summit change the situation, and Nilfgaard is about to launch an attack on the North, which will change everything.
All endings leave Geralt and Triss in the same state. Geralt will have recovered most of his memories, and will apparently be planning to find Yennefer and solve the mystery of the Wild Hunt. Triss will be accompanying him. Even if Iorveth or Roche is with Geralt as he leaves Loc Muinne, he's not expected to accompany the Witcher for long, as each has plans of his own.
In most cases, the endings are based on the status of the kingdoms as described by the participants at the Loc Muinne Peace Summit, or just before it takes place, but in some cases, later events mean that the situation can't be the same any more, but we don't get a further update.
When someone in the game says "This is what will happen to Country X", it doesn't mean that it's cast in stone. Kings don't always tell the truth, events at the end of the summit change the situation, and Nilfgaard is about to launch an attack on the North, which will change everything.
All endings leave Geralt and Triss in the same state. Geralt will have recovered most of his memories, and will apparently be planning to find Yennefer and solve the mystery of the Wild Hunt. Triss will be accompanying him. Even if Iorveth or Roche is with Geralt as he leaves Loc Muinne, he's not expected to accompany the Witcher for long, as each has plans of his own.
The Sixteen Endings
CDR themselves claimed that there were sixteen endings to the game. The endings were later confirmed to reflect four major choices in the game, which ties in fairly well with the "political differences" definition:
So that means we now have eight endings, instead of sixteen. However, your Loc Muinne decision on who to rescue has more than two branches.
On the Roche path, if you rescue Anais, you get a second decision point on whether to hand her over to Radovid or Natalis. If you choose Radovid, the result will also be dependent on a decision you made way back in Vizima, if you imported a savegame from The Witcher, as Radovid's plans for Anais will depend on whether or not Adda is alive. (If you don't import, the game will assume Adda is dead).
On the Iorveth path, if you rescue Triss, your final choice regarding Saskia will also clearly have consequences on the political status, although this isn't addressed within the game itself.
So the endings are based on the following decisions:
- Whether you kill Aryan or persuade him to surrender at La Valette Castle
- Which path you take in Flotsam (Iorveth or Roche)
- Whether or not you allow the killing of a king or prince to take place in your presence
- Whether you rescue Triss or the other prisoner in Loc Muinne
So that means we now have eight endings, instead of sixteen. However, your Loc Muinne decision on who to rescue has more than two branches.
On the Roche path, if you rescue Anais, you get a second decision point on whether to hand her over to Radovid or Natalis. If you choose Radovid, the result will also be dependent on a decision you made way back in Vizima, if you imported a savegame from The Witcher, as Radovid's plans for Anais will depend on whether or not Adda is alive. (If you don't import, the game will assume Adda is dead).
On the Iorveth path, if you rescue Triss, your final choice regarding Saskia will also clearly have consequences on the political status, although this isn't addressed within the game itself.
So the endings are based on the following decisions:
Roche Path
- Henselt Alive or Henselt Dead (2 branches)
- Rescue Anais and hand her over to Natalis, or to Radovid with Adda alive (import only), or to Radovid with Adda dead, or rescue Triss (4 branches with an import, 3 branches without)
Total: 8 endings (6 if you're not importing)
Iorveth Path
- Stennis Alive or Stennis Dead (2 branches)
- Rescue Philippa, rescue Triss and kill Saskia, or rescue Triss and let Saskia live (3 branches)
Total: 6 endings
So the final count is fourteen endings if you're importing a savegame, twelve if you're starting from scratch.
So the final count is fourteen endings if you're importing a savegame, twelve if you're starting from scratch.
Temeria
Your decision regarding Anais has the biggest impact. If you don't rescue Anais, the state of Temeria will depend on whether or not Henselt is alive.
- If Anais is with Natalis, the kingdom remains intact, with Anais as the intended Queen and Natalis as regent.
- If Anais is with Radovid, he will take control of Temeria in her name, but the kingdom will remain intact and he will promise to reinstate Anais when she's of age. If Adda is dead, he will declare his intention to marry Anais later and unite the two kingdoms.
- If you choose the Roche path, allow him to kill Henselt, and rescue Triss instead of Anais, Temeria will remain in a state of internal conflict, with the barons vying for power and no monarch. Anais will be in hiding with Roche, so may return in the future.
- If you stop Roche from killing Henselt and then rescue Triss, or if you take the Iorveth Path, Radovid and Henselt will join forces to take over Temeria and partition it between them.
Pontar Valley
The most important factor is who wins the battle for Vergen, which depends on whether you take Roche or Iorveth Path. This is then varied by whether or not the intended ruler survives.- On Iorveth Path, Saskia wins the battle, and should become Queen.
- If you rescue Philippa, you'll cure Saskia.
- If you rescue Triss and let Saskia live, she'll presumably still become Queen but will be spellbound by Philippa.
- If you rescue Triss and kill Saskia, the status of the Pontar Valley is unknown - it's still free, but has no clear leader.
- On Roche Path, Henselt wins the battle and should become King. If you allow Roche to kill Henselt, the future of the Pontar Valley is unknown.
Aedirn
This is determined by whether or not Stennis and Henselt survive.
- On Iorveth Path, if you prevent Stennis from being killed, he'll escape and be crowned King of Aedirn. If you allow his death, Aedirn will be in a state of internal conflict, with no monarch.
- On Roche Path, Stennis dies when the mist first appears outside Vergen. If Henselt survives, the Aedirnians will submit to him as their king after his victory at Vergen. Otherwise, Aedirn still has no king.
Kaedwen
This is dependent only on whether or not Henselt survives. If he does, he will continue to rule Kaedwen. If he dies, Kaedwen will have no king. Henselt will always survive on Iorveth Path. On Roche Path, it depends on your decision when Roche wants to kill him.
The Council of Mages
This is dependent only on your decision on who to rescue in Loc Muinne. If you choose Triss, she will be the one to denounce the Lodge, and the Council will still be formed. If you choose Anais or Philippa, the Nilfgaardians and Letho will denounce the Lodge with a distorted story, the Council will not be formed, and there may be a pogrom against mages and sorceresses.
Roche
If you take the Iorveth path, you only get an update if you rescue Triss, but it's probably the same either way. Roche will still be working to protect Temeria.
On Roche path, if you rescue Anais, Roche will go into service with whoever has custody, to protect her in the future. If you rescue Triss, he will rescue Anais himself, but will fail to kill Dethmold, who then denounces Roche as a criminal. Roche will be an outlaw.
On Roche path, if you rescue Anais, Roche will go into service with whoever has custody, to protect her in the future. If you rescue Triss, he will rescue Anais himself, but will fail to kill Dethmold, who then denounces Roche as a criminal. Roche will be an outlaw.
Iorveth
If you take the Roche path, again, you only get an update if you rescue Triss. Iorveth will be Public Enemy #1, still free, but with everyone searching for him.
On Iorveth Path, if you rescue Philippa, Iorveth will return to Vergen with Saskia to build his life as a free elf. If you rescue Triss, he will go for the dagger on his own, and succeed but be badly injured. Triss takes him to safety at Vergen, but it's unclear what will happen next.
On Iorveth Path, if you rescue Philippa, Iorveth will return to Vergen with Saskia to build his life as a free elf. If you rescue Triss, he will go for the dagger on his own, and succeed but be badly injured. Triss takes him to safety at Vergen, but it's unclear what will happen next.
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