i feel like she really wanted the witcher ending. after the first battle with wild hunt where she goes ape shit and almost kills everyone, she wanted to go and kill imlerith immedlaitely afterwards (to avenge vesemir). but there is the option to say "i need to see the emperor first". i felt like she didnt really care to see him that much and was more comfortable taking her angers out on the wild hunt (or monsters for that matter if she goes into witcher). also i havent seen the empress ending but it sounds like she is kind of sad at some point in the epilogue part? with the witcher ending she was much more up beat and excited about the future. wanting to test the sword right away. also as a witcher she probably has more freedom to do what she wants and not be concerned about consequence as much. she can always teleport
this, also during the empress ending, she says something like it's her only choice if she no longer wants to run away. SO even if it's her own choice, it's a forced one, since she thinks there is no other way.
During the witcher ending though, you give her another choice, by making everone believe she is dead and with the Wild Hunt and the White Frost defeated, she is free to do whatever she wants.
the only thing i wonder is eventually id think the emperor would learn she is still alive. they talk about rumors of an ashen haired witcher etc. im sure at some point she will meet people and word will travel. again she could always just teleport if they do try to find her. now without wild hunt there is no risk with her teleporting for long periods of time
Oh, Ciri definitely wanted the Witcher ending.
The Empress ending is all full of sadness because Ciri believes she'll never see Geralt again.
Whereas Witcher Ciri and Geralt will meet regularly, undoubtedly.
Ciri wants to travel, marry for love (or just take a lover), and enjoy the freedom of helping people.
Nilfgaard, like ALL ROYAL COURTS, is a snake pit made for people like Phillipa and Dijkstra
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Guilt.
The idea that she has to keep sacrificing herself for the ungrateful SOBs of the North and South.
That's my take, at least.
Witcher ending seems much more happy, and why would she sacrifice her life to be empress dont you think she is done enough to this world alredy why ask her to do more let her do what she wants
While I agree with the rest, I don't agree with the wording here. I agree the 'witcher' ending would've made her happier.That however doesn't mean she didn't want the 'empress' ending - she chose it herself after all. I think she wants to make the world they live in a better place and feels responsible for said world. So she decides to ignore her own happiness and takes on all those responsibilities to live for the once she loves and make this world a better place.
What ultimately is better, is subjective and depends on your perspective.
What is better for the world? The empress ending probably (though I guess that's worth a discussion in it's own right).
What would make Ciri happier? The witcher ending.
As for what she wants. She wants what she picked. In one ending she simply finds the one more important - or the other isn't possible.
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Not sure what's best, all I know is that the empress ending made me, a grown man, cry like a little bitch. And I didn't even get that ending, I looked it up on YouTube out of curiosity.
Got the witcher ending instead, but I still felt empty inside. Can't cope with the fact that it's over
Got the witcher ending instead, but I still felt empty inside. Can't cope with the fact that it's over
Because you can't stop a woman on a mission.
Ciri's mission in life is to help others and unlike Geralt, who is too proud, too cynical and way too selfish to do anything more help to the occasional villager, Ciri is perfectly willing to get herself far more involved in far bigger things even at the cost of her own life.
The Empress ending is her choice, certainly your decisions led to the possibility but Ciri ultimately made that choice, and it's not strictly necessary that she will never meet Geralt again, that depends on what you say, you can leave it on a sad note with Geralt saying goodbye or you can refuse to say goodbye in which the dialogue makes it clear they'll meet again.
The Witcher ending is in line with what Geralt has always wanted for Ciri, it's HIS ending choice and it's perfectly valid but the Empress ending is Ciri's choice and in the long run it's the only viable path I see for her, whether or not happens months or years after defeating the White Frost the Nilfgaardians will eventually conquer the North and Ciri will find herself in a position where she can take control to become the great leader she was always meant to be.
Do note that the Witcher ending takes place two weeks after Undvik while the Empress one takes place several months after. It's obviously not something Ciri took lightly or as a spur of the moment decision.
I can see your point of view on empress ending and understand them, but like you said witcher ending is what Geralt want for her, but is it not then empress ending what emhyr want for her too, in the end its actually Geralt who choose for her both endings with his advice
A large driving force of her character is the fact that she doesn't want to be what other people think she was 'always meant to be', though. She just wants to be relatively normal. Seemed to me more like Emhyr guilt-tripped her into falling on her sword and sacrificing her personal happiness again with all his talk of the greater good. The witcher ending isn't just what Geralt wants, it's what Ciri wants too if she never meets Emhyr.
If you go through game and just support Ciri decision which ending you actually get witcher or empress, answer come on its own
If you support all her decisions, she became a witcheress.
The point is...support her to go on the Bald Mountain, or take her to the Emperor.
That is the ultimate choice.
Ciri wants to be a normal person more than anything, and for her that means becoming a Witcher. Throughout the game she states time and time again that she is sick of other people's plans for her, that she hates what she was born into, and she talks a lot about wanting her own freedom. Even at the end of the books she denies her "destiny" and chooses the life of a witcher instead. This ending ultimately makes the most sense for Ciri, and it is also what she has always wanted (Seriously. Ciri has wanted to be a Witcher since the first short story that she was featured in).
The way I went about getting Ciri to be a Witcher was like this... I told her that her biological father wanted to see her, she asked Geralt for his opinion on that request... Geralt told her it was her decision to make... She insisted on his opinion, and then Geralt tells her the truth. Emhyr is manipulative and would easily be able to manipulate her into becoming the Empress (the manipulation as we find out in the Empress ending was done through guilt). With that information she decides that it is best to avoid Vizima.
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Advising Ciri to visit Emhyr is pretty messed up in hindsight. Emhyr killed Ciri's mother, killed almost all of the other people who raised Ciri, and was the main reason why Ciri's grandmother (The Lion of Cintra) killed herself. Why did he do all of that? So he could kidnap Ciri, his daughter, marry her, and then impregnate her. I mean this is a guy who has killed THOUSANDS all for the sake of incest for power. Like I said, I let Ciri make her own decision, but I made sure it was an informed decision.
The way I went about getting Ciri to be a Witcher was like this... I told her that her biological father wanted to see her, she asked Geralt for his opinion on that request... Geralt told her it was her decision to make... She insisted on his opinion, and then Geralt tells her the truth. Emhyr is manipulative and would easily be able to manipulate her into becoming the Empress (the manipulation as we find out in the Empress ending was done through guilt). With that information she decides that it is best to avoid Vizima.
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Advising Ciri to visit Emhyr is pretty messed up in hindsight. Emhyr killed Ciri's mother, killed almost all of the other people who raised Ciri, and was the main reason why Ciri's grandmother (The Lion of Cintra) killed herself. Why did he do all of that? So he could kidnap Ciri, his daughter, marry her, and then impregnate her. I mean this is a guy who has killed THOUSANDS all for the sake of incest for power. Like I said, I let Ciri make her own decision, but I made sure it was an informed decision.
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I don't think Ciri really wants to become Empress in her heart of hearts, but rather she feels obligated to due to Emhyr's persuasive tongue. I'd rather someone else take over the reigns of Nilfgaard, it wouldn't be the first time an empire swapped dynasties. Ciri also hardly has any training in governance at that point in time, while there's likely a plethora of capable politicians in Nilfgaard.
You make a good point Saricc, in that Ciri actually decides not to see her father if you give her the choice while informing her that her father likely has plans for her. She decides that she's had enough of people trying to plan out her life and chooses to go straight to Velen. So it's possible for Ciri to choose to become a Witcheress while not withholding any information about Emhyr from her.
You make a good point Saricc, in that Ciri actually decides not to see her father if you give her the choice while informing her that her father likely has plans for her. She decides that she's had enough of people trying to plan out her life and chooses to go straight to Velen. So it's possible for Ciri to choose to become a Witcheress while not withholding any information about Emhyr from her.
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Not at all... in fact, as long as Radovid is killed and Siggi doesn't rule it either, the North will be more or less fine, even without Ciri as empress.
Personally, I think the Witcheress ending is the best one, even though I didn't get it this time.
Siggi ending will suck for the resettled people but the aftermath will be glorious as suddenly there's a shared cultural melting pot and trade.