Is this possibly the best ending? (SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY)

[TangibleChop]

Is this possibly the best ending? (SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY)

So with about 120 hours clocked in, I just finished the game and I have to say I'm really satisfied with me ending. Ciri beat the white frost and became Empress in turn inheriting the empire.

Also, I helped kill Radovid which means Ciri owns most of the north as well plus the witch hunts would finally come to an end Cerys is the Queen of Skellige and the isles seem to be at peace.

It was sad seeing Ciri go but I think it's best for the greater good because she would be hte most powerful individual in the world but at the same time she has morals and compassion like Geralt. My Geralt ended up with Yennefer and they lived quite peacefully. Basically no wars, everybody at peace, Geralt finally gets to be with yen.

Only "bad" thing was seeing Ciri go and at first it felt sad but afterwards I thought it was actually the best outcome really. Obviously it's just my opinion that it's the best ending. Any thoughts?

 

[Willowhugger]

So with about 120 hours clocked in, I just finished the game and I have to say I'm really satisfied with me ending. Ciri beat the white frost and became Empress in turn inheriting the empire.

Also, I helped kill Radovid which means Ciri owns most of the north as well plus the witch hunts would finally come to an end Cerys is the Queen of Skellige and the isles seem to be at peace.

It was sad seeing Ciri go but I think it's best for the greater good because she would be hte most powerful individual in the world but at the same time she has morals and compassion like Geralt. My Geralt ended up with Yennefer and they lived quite peacefully. Basically no wars, everybody at peace, Geralt finally gets to be with yen.

Only "bad" thing was seeing Ciri go and at first it felt sad but afterwards I thought it was actually the best outcome really. Obviously it's just my opinion that it's the best ending. Any thoughts?

I think Ciri becoming the Empress of Nilfgaard is pretty terrible, honestly, and I prefer the Witcher ending. Ciri is a woman who has been tortured by her "responsibility" and destiny her entire life and wants to live amongst the common people and live a normal life. As Empress, she will be subject to terrible intrigues, responsibility, and not be allowed to marry for love. She might have a mistress or lover on the side (or several) but it will be the worst thing that could happen to her, IMHO. Especially since her father and Phillipa Eilhart will be right by her side the entire time, both of whom are scum.

On my end, I couldn't get behind a treaty with Nilfgaard and my Geralt walked away from Roche. The idea of selling Aedirn and Lyria to the Nilfgaardians was a horrible-horrible thing as Temeria's surrender just means that next time there's a Nilfgaardian invasion, it'll be with their gold and men. Dijkstra becoming dictator of the North isn't really great but it allows the North to become a powerful enlightened monarchy as well.

Hopefully, the Northern Empire and the Southern Empire can develop peace as equals now.

Plus, it has the awesomeness of Emrhys being assassinated.

Burn in hell, you sick old bastard.

It's not a HAPPY HAPPY ending but it was very satisfying to me.

 

[prelate7]

For me the best ending was when she beat the frost, and she chosed to be a witcher... received sword from Geralt. Geralt with Triss...

 

[Lesota]

In term of pure emotions - the witcher ending as positive and the bad ending as negative. In term of logic - the empress.

 

[dzbrown]

I think the real dilemma is whether or not you want to perceive the ending through Ciri's lens or through the lens of a 'third person omniscient' perspective as the player. I think in the former example, you would take into account Ciri's motivations and desires while in the latter you are looking at it from the perspective of "what's best for the world". This is complicated because in one sense, we are repeatedly told (perhaps not often enough) what Ciri would like to do, while there are other scenes told to the player outside of even Geralt's field of view.

I think that CDPR took this approach has created a lot of strange choices and consequences that are the subject of a pretty vigorous debate from many different angles while on others seem to have uniform rapport. In addition, it has also heightened the sense that even though it's supposed to be the end of Geralt's story, Geralt's role in it is relegated to that of a secondary character often not privy to making impactful decisions on the events surrounding him.

Don't get me wrong, he is clearly front and center (for the most part). But it is peculiar that the narration shifts from that of being inside of the mind of the character and yet not being fully knowledgeable about their motivations and desires to a narrative form that exists outside of the character and railroads them into certain conclusions.

You usually find these kinds of scenarios where they cut to the villain to provide additional exposition on their character, but in this case it is still focused on the protagonist(s) and you have this consistent shifting between Geralt's field of view and what exists outside of it. Given the fact that Geralt is a skilled investigator and tracker, it seems cheap that they wouldn't assume he would have figured out most of this on his own and would then reinforce the dynamic that what Geralt knows, the player knows, and vice versa rather than the constant shift in how the narrative is presented. To give CDPR credit, they do actually do this in certain scenarios where Geralt perceives 'flashbacks' of what happened, including a cut to Ciri, but in others the choices and consequences dynamic takes on a railroaded nature, which only gives an illusion of choice rather than it actually being one.

 

[TangibleChop]

I think Ciri becoming the Empress of Nilfgaard is pretty terrible, honestly, and I prefer the Witcher ending. Ciri is a woman who has been tortured by her "responsibility" and destiny her entire life and wants to live amongst the common people and live a normal life. As Empress, she will be subject to terrible intrigues, responsibility, and not be allowed to marry for love. She might have a mistress or lover on the side (or several) but it will be the worst thing that could happen to her, IMHO. Especially since her father and Phillipa Eilhart will be right by her side the entire time, both of whom are scum.

On my end, I couldn't get behind a treaty with Nilfgaard and my Geralt walked away from Roche. The idea of selling Aedirn and Lyria to the Nilfgaardians was a horrible-horrible thing as Temeria's surrender just means that next time there's a Nilfgaardian invasion, it'll be with their gold and men. Dijkstra becoming dictator of the North isn't really great but it allows the North to become a powerful enlightened monarchy as well.

Hopefully, the Northern Empire and the Southern Empire can develop peace as equals now.

Plus, it has the awesomeness of Emrhys being assassinated.

Burn in hell, you sick old bastard.

It's not a HAPPY HAPPY ending but it was very satisfying to me.

Yeah I get what you saying but I think that Ciri becoming Empress is a good thing because she has enough power to truly shape the world for the better. It's not a "happy" ending yes but to me it's best for the world.

---------- Updated at 07:14 PM ----------

Honesly guys, at the end of the day, it's still Ciri's choice what to do. We aren't choosing things for her. But by not taking her to emyr we aren't even giving her a choice. Yes she always wanted to live happily as a witcher and with geralt but after taking into account her meeting with emyr she HERSELF decided that it's best for her to become empress. The thing is opinions can change and she tells geralt she can make a difference as empress so at the end of the day it all came down to what SHE wanted.

 

[Willowhugger]

Yeah I get what you saying but I think that Ciri becoming Empress is a good thing because she has enough power to truly shape the world for the better. It's not a "happy" ending yes but to me it's best for the world.

Maybe. Either way, I think the world will get along just fine. Just like the fact Geralt retiring with Yennefer is worse for the world since the world needs him. I don't begrudge him, such, though and I don't begrudge Ciri the chance to enjoy her life either.



I'm glad you enjoyed it, though.

Honesly guys, at the end of the day, it's still Ciri's choice what to do. We aren't choosing things for her. But by not taking her to emyr we aren't even giving her a choice. Yes she always wanted to live happily as a witcher and with geralt but after taking into account her meeting with emyr she HERSELF decided that it's best for her to become empress. The thing is opinions can change and she tells geralt she can make a difference as empress so at the end of the day it all came down to what SHE wanted.

Actually, you have to tell her to go visit the Emperor in order to make her Empress. If you ask Ciri what she wants, she asks your advice.

My advice was that Emhyr was scum (Geralt said it more tactfully) and would never see Ciri as more than a tool.

Ciri decided, ON HER OWN, not to go see him.

Basically, the best ending for the world is Geralt and Ciri working themselves to death for people who hate them.

 

[TangibleChop]

Maybe. Either way, I think the world will get along just fine. Just like the fact Geralt retiring with Yennefer is worse for the world since the world needs him. I don't begrudge him, such, though and I don't begrudge Ciri the chance to enjoy her life either.



I'm glad you enjoyed it, though.



Actually, you have to tell her to go visit the Emperor in order to make her Empress. If you ask Ciri what she wants, she asks your advice.

My advice was that Emhyr was scum (Geralt said it more tactfully) and would never see Ciri as more than a tool.

Ciri decided, ON HER OWN, not to go see him.

Basically, the best ending for the world is Geralt and Ciri working themselves to death for people who hate them.

Yeah but saying her father's scum is also YOUR opinion. Honestly I don't really see her meeting her real father as a bad thing. I told her we should meet him out of respect that he is her father after all. Also, even if she's a witcher, it's said at the end that she's becoming quite famous so surely the emperor would eventually find out. That's not to say he needs to be alive but with Radovid, you dooming non-humans, mages, witchers etc. Is her becoming a witcher worth genocide? And djikstra as rule means you have to betray Roche and Ves. I just don't see Geralt allowing them to die. No matter how you look at it, the political situation is really crap for Ciri being a witcher. It's the happy ending yes but her becoming empress is more logical. Besides I didn't find the empress ending bittersweet at all. It's literally JUST Ciri's departing that's sad but eveything else was fine.


Her choosing to become empress was the choice she made. Yes the witcher ending means she's happy because she can live life the way she wanted but choosing to become empress shows she was being mature and that she feels she has a greater purpose in life. Besides, she can still teleport and visit Geralt. But I honestly really believe the empress ending is the more canonical of the 3.

 

[magnuskn]

So with about 120 hours clocked in, I just finished the game and I have to say I'm really satisfied with me ending. Ciri beat the white frost and became Empress in turn inheriting the empire.

Also, I helped kill Radovid which means Ciri owns most of the north as well plus the witch hunts would finally come to an end Cerys is the Queen of Skellige and the isles seem to be at peace.

It was sad seeing Ciri go but I think it's best for the greater good because she would be hte most powerful individual in the world but at the same time she has morals and compassion like Geralt. My Geralt ended up with Yennefer and they lived quite peacefully. Basically no wars, everybody at peace, Geralt finally gets to be with yen.

Only "bad" thing was seeing Ciri go and at first it felt sad but afterwards I thought it was actually the best outcome really. Obviously it's just my opinion that it's the best ending. Any thoughts?

IMO, it's definitely the best outcome for the world and most characters. Ciri sacrifices a bit of her personal happyness for a chance at really improving the lives of others, which seems very much in her character. I was a bit taken aback at first, but after comparing this end (with all of its modifiers, I got basically the same ending as you did) to other variations and, damn if it doesn't seem like I got the picture perfect ending on my first try.

 

[Willowhugger]

I'm not trying to persuade you guys, just sharing my opinion and Im glad the ending works for you. I was just sharing why I thought the ending with Dijkstra and Ciri as a Witcher were better endings both from a character standpoint and emotional one for ME.

Differnt strokes.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the Empress ending is canonical. HOWEVER, I do think that such is a set up for a gut punch as a Ciri game would probably take her to Cintra and then there's no chance in hell she's going to end up siding with her dad.

Any Ciri game is going to make her term as Imperial heir a short one. The Witcher ending is just the best one from a gameplay perspective.

 

[magnuskn]

I'm not trying to persuade you guys, just sharing my opinion and Im glad the ending works for you. I was just sharing why I thought the ending with Dijkstra and Ciri as a Witcher were better endings both from a character standpoint and emotional one for ME.

Differnt strokes.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the Empress ending is canonical. HOWEVER, I do think that such is a set up for a gut punch as a Ciri game would probably take her to Cintra and then there's no chance in hell she's going to end up siding with her dad.

Any Ciri game is going to make her term as Imperial heir a short one. The Witcher ending is just the best one from a gameplay perspective.

Sorry, but you are clearly trying to make terminal conclusions without knowing that they are true. That's called speculating, so please try to phrase them as such, not as certainties about to happen.

 

[Willowhugger]

Sorry, but you are clearly trying to make terminal conclusions without knowing that they are true. That's called speculating, so please try to phrase them as such, not as certainties about to happen.

My bad. Sorry.

I actually used to be very harsh on the Imperial wins ending but have warmed to it since. In no small part due to this thread. Thank you for making it.

 

[magnuskn]

My bad. Sorry.

I actually used to be very harsh on the Imperial wins ending but have warmed to it since. In no small part due to this thread. Thank you for making it.

It's no problem. I can see how the Witcheress Ciri ending is the more heart-warming one, but I personally think that it leaves a ton of problems, ones which can make for a much worse situation for Ciri than her being Empress.

 

[Willowhugger]

It's no problem. I can see how the Witcheress Ciri ending is the more heart-warming one, but I personally think that it leaves a ton of problems, ones which can make for a much worse situation for Ciri than her being Empress.

It does say something about Ciri's life that she thinks a life Geralt HATES in the book is a glamorous profession and better than her current life. She may change her mind with the bad pay, constant insults, and so on from everyone else. I think, as you mention, she is a selfless person though. With great power comes great responsibility and she's using that as a superhero when I'd have just as been happy to let her join Dudu's acting troupe. The violence of a Witcher's life is also a bloody nasty thing too.

I also won't lie to you, I don't think Dijkstra is a nice person in the slighest as his ending reminds me of STALIN of all things. Given the Nilfgaardians have been often portrayed as Nazi stand-ins in the book (which they are manifestly NOT in the games--and to the improvement of the narrative in my opinion--go Team Red), it's kind of unsettling to realize that a man who engages in massive industrialization, resettlement, and utterly ruthless in his takeover of Fantasy Poland is someone that *I* put in charge. In that respect, Radovid might actually be BETTER.

This contrasted against putting a kind, decent, and noble person in charge who believes the common people are human beings.

Allow me to completely back away from any potential Witcher 4 plotlines or my own impressions of the gameline's future while also stickinge entirely with the presentation in game and the game alone. As such, you could definitely see the Empress Ciri ending as the nicest and most hopeful ending for not only Ciri but the world. The narrative also is very clearly heavy-handed that "some" decisions are "more right than others" not in terms of morality but what they seem to be thinking Geralt should choose.

Siding with Roche, more than Witcher Ciri, seemed to be something the game acted like would be Geralt doing both because of his strong personal loyalty to them as well as the fact that the Temerian ending is so hopeful. I'm not so sure about the Empress Ciri ending but a lot of fans seem to believe it is supported by the game even as I always snapped down on the "I'm not taking Ciri to Emhyr" in every conversation option so my experience was different. Everyone is different, though, and for once I'm glad CD_Red DID avoid favoritism in decision making.

I think part of my issue is that I started as neutral to who wins the war between the Nilfgaardians and the North, intending a neutral playthrough but gradually drifted to the belief that my Geralt would do what he had to do in order to prevent the former from winning. I'm not sure what persuaded him to do so but I think, ironically, it was the Roche missions and the Bloody Baron's territories where the Nazi parallels came back (specifically Vichy France). The problem is, like siding with Iorveth and Saskia, the end results are horrible but were good storytelling to me. The game also bent over backwards to give you a chance to strike at Radovid but never really gave you a chance to strike at Nilfgaard with equal fury.

The problem is that "Walking away from the fight between Roche and Dijkstra" didn't feel very Geralt-y but I also was projecting the fact that I found the idea of Roche's treaty with Nilfgaard horrifying, an option not expressed in the dialogue options other than, "Emhyr is going to screw you, Roche."

Clearly, the developers didn't seem to possess my view of the subject as Geralt's walking away isn't righteous indignation at Roche's actions but "not my problem." I'm satisfied with my ending but I do think it has its definite dark side--which I'm okay with but others might not be.

 

[magnuskn]

See, I've said this a few times already, but I think not taking Ciri to Emhyr is making again a choice on her behalf, even if she asks you to do it. The game hammers home the narrative very heavily that Ciri is her own person, perfectly capable of making her own choices and standing up for herself. As such, I was confident that she would get it and deal with it if Emhyr was trying to blackmail her . I wanted her to make her own choice with the full plenitude of information available to her, not my (or better said, Geralts) biases closing off avenues of choice for her.

And that is also why I think that she will do fine as Empress. Yes, Emhyr and Philippa and hundreds of others will try to manipulate her or harm her. But I am confident that she is eminently capable of dealing with that. In fact, I think that she is eminently capable of playing off Emhyr and Philippa in such a way that they will teach her the "tricks of the trade", so to speak, so that when she really becomes Empress after Emhyr abdicates, she will be supremely equipped to deal with any political threat to her reign, as much as she already is supremely equipped to deal with physical threats to herself.

Also, I think Emhyr does feel quite a bit of parental protectiveness towards her, as I think was shown in the Witcheress Ciri ending. That was pain he was feeling when he heard of her "death".

And, yes, that involves quite a bit of speculating from myself, but I think it is supported well enough by what we have seen of her in the game.

 

[Willowhugger]

See, I've said this a few times already, but I think not taking Ciri to Emhyr is making again a choice on her behalf, even if she asks you to do it. The game hammers home the narrative very heavily that Ciri is her own person, perfectly capable of making her own choices and standing up for herself. As such, I was confident that she would get it and deal with it if Emhyr was trying to blackmail her and wanted her to make her own choice with the full plenitude of information available to her, not my (or better said, Geralts) biases closing off avenues of choice for her.

And that is also why I think that she will do fine as Empress. Yes, Emhyr and Philippa and hundreds of others will try to manipulate her or harm her. But I am confident that she is eminently capable of dealing with that. In fact, I think that she is eminently capable of playing off Emhyr and Philippa in such a way that they will teach her the "tricks of the trade", so to speak, so that when is really becomes Empress after Emhyr abdicates, she will be supremely equipped to deal with any political threat to her reign, as much as she already is supremely equipped to deal with physical threats to herself.

And, yes, that involves quite a bit of speculating from myself, but I think it is supported well enough by what we have seen of her in the game.

I understand,

On my end, I trusted Ciri 100% but didn't trust Emhyr and felt it akin to turning Ciri over to the Wild Hunt. The game allowed me to express that option repeatedly even as the opposite opinion was also available.

I do think this is something that CD_Red DIDN'T drop the ball on in that all of the permutations about how Geralt should and would respond are appropriately addressed. It is a nice contrast to the decisions like Reasons of State, Triss Merrigold vs. Yennefer, and several other very persistent issues people have talked about regarding the "proper" path for Ciri to go. I don't think there's a "more favored" option in the game over whether to take her or not, though, with both Witcher and Empress endings very well supported in the game.

Which is how it should be, IMHO.

Indeed, its conspicuous by the fact both ARE well supported.

Which is not usually their bag.

 

[magnuskn]

I don't think there's a "more favored" option in the game over whether to take her or not, though, with both Witcher and Empress endings very well supported in the game.

Which is how it should be, IMHO.

Agreed. I like the Empress Ciri ending way more, but I don't begrudge people who prefer the Witcheress Ciri ending. Let us not talk about that third option. <shudder>

 

[Willowhugger]

Agreed. I like the Empress Ciri ending way more, but I don't begrudge people who prefer the Witcheress Ciri ending. Let us not talk about that third option. <shudder>

I'm going to get Ciri and Geralt STARING DEATH at me for saying it but I think it's probably the only time in the history of bad endings I'm going to say that I think this is entirely appropriate as well. No, actually, wrong, there's also one in the Telltale Game of Thrones one where you murder your enemy at his banquet and then your family is murdered. That felt pretty Games of Thrones since you can wipe out his family before you die, even if it's the "Bad Ending."

The WORST way you can play in Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is to side with Iorveth and then Saskia over Roche and Triss as this leads to a pogrom as well as a massive Witch-Hunter craze across the North. It's also very intense and emotional throughout. The "good" is manifestly less than the bad done by these choices, which is ironic since to do so you need to be a champion of the downtrodden and an idealist who believes Saskia is doing something important.

The Ciri dies ending is an ending where Geralt tries to keep Ciri safe and treats her like a little girl, HIS little girl, and Ciri decides that she can't go on because her father is killing himself along with others to protect her.

Better to die and save the world.

And Geralt then kills himself.

Because while a lot of players who didn't bond with Ciri wondered why anyone would let him do this, it struck me as true that at the end of the day, Geralt loved Ciri more than anything else on Earth and that included Yennefer or Triss. That Ciri so horribly underestimated her father's love for her (or misunderstood the nature of his love) that he had no interest in continuing his immortal life without her.

That....was the feels.

THE FEELS.

 

[magnuskn]

Yeah, okay. I can see how it works for the people who like tragic endings, of which I am not one.

And, hm, I did choose the Iorveth path (I've always been more of a "fight the powah!" type, at least in my philosophy) and I think I even chose rescueing Saskia, so I guess I did make the wrong choices. Although Triss lived in my Witcher 2 ending, does she too if you chose rescueing Saskia?

 

[Willowhugger]

Yeah, okay. I can see how it works for the people who like tragic endings, of which I am not one.

And, hm, I did choose the Iorveth path (I've always been more of a "fight the powah!" type, at least in my philosophy) and I think I even chose rescueing Saskia, so I guess I did make the wrong choices. Although Triss lived in my Witcher 2 ending, does she too if you chose rescueing Saskia?

Yes, Letho rescues her.

After that, I put any thought away from hurting him in any playthrough.