(SPOILERS) Which Choices Are You Planning To Use For Your First Witcher 3 Playthrough?

[BlackWolf500.298]

I'm kind of always conflicted between the Geralt of the books (though I have to say I didn't read all of them, just bits and pieces here and "The Last Wish") and my own interpretation of Geralt. I see it the way that Geralt has changed since he lost his memory and came back, but that on the other hand there are still the core traits of who he was deep within him, even if he does not realize it. So it's a mix of old and new.

I did the following in TW2:

- Spared Aryan and then Saved him from the prison
- Gave Iorveth his sword
- Iorveths path - He seemed to be the better choice to get to Triss, and my Geralt by this time was more interested in finding his past and saving his friends rather than immediately clearing his name. Also I shared the ideals of Saskia&co. It's like Geralt says later speaking to Saskia, he shares the ideals but is not bloodthirsty enough to ever become a revolutionary or something like it
- Let Loredo go and saved the Elven women
- Let the crowd kill Stennis - I needed that blood and I wasn't sure if he would give it to me in the end, especially since he refused in our dialogue
- Saved Triss - Comrades and Friends always go first
- Let Sile die - I was thinking too long, and in retrospective it might be better, considering she might have burned on the stake otherwise, not to speak of the things they might have done to her before that
- Spared Saskia - Witchers don't kill Dragons, also there might be a chance to save her in the future
- Spared Letho - I didn't have anything against him personally. In the end, killing him would not bring the Kings back or prevent Nilfgaard from evading, also he might poof an ally in the future, since we are heading in the same direction (south) I thought. It is not my responsibility (as a Witcher) to drabble in politics more than I need to, I do not care for Kings, Thrones or Power in the end, what I care for are friends and comrades, monster hunting and justice. (Also it's not like Geralt had any deep emotional connection to Foltest, he wanted to go anyway after the LaValette battle)

 

[Polistiren1]

My playthrough:
- Kill Aryan - why not, this was a siege and I had to make his men surrender;
- Gave Iorveth his sword - it's unwise to get on someones bad side; I'd rather have one more ally;
- Iorveths path - this was my second playthrough since I didn't have the previous saves and now I had imported those from The Witcher 1 so I changed it up this time;
- Save the elven women - is there an option not to? I know not;
- Take the royal blood from Henselt - again didn't want to alienate possible allies;
- Saved Triss - why wouldn't I?
- Sile died - I got rid of an enemy;
- Spared the dragon - because I knew she was Saskia and again, more people at my side, even if she was controlled by Philippa Eilhart (who seems to survive no matter what);
- Spared Letho - I watched the "Sword of destiny" trailer prior, so he'll stay alive.

 

[truthinoneword]

Hm... Let's see:

Spared Aryan
Gave Iorveth the sword
Saved the Elven women (Iorveth path)
Spared Stennis Eh I gave him a "wise" trial...
Saved Triss (obviously) My main man Letho had that covered for me thankfully because I had an adventure to go on with my elf friend.
Spared Sile
Spared the Dragon
Spared Letho

Guess this is the save i ll start TW3 with

Oh Stennis. He, and I both agreed that he needed to be judged by a council of the wise, but we just had a different opinion on who would staff this wise council. He was thinking it would be some big who ha noble thing at a later date, but the drunken mad villagers made so many good points that I couldn't help but leave it to their "wise" council. Sure enough they had an almost unanimous decision to beat him death with sticks almost immediately. Talk about fast, and wise results.

Wait... wise does mean fast right?

 

[GHOSTMD]

Uhhm... well i personally wouldn t say WISE = FAST, but ok *smirk* if "your" Geralt thinks that.

HOW DARE YOU leaving our lovely TRISS hanging in that Nilfgaardian Chamber?! One does
not abandon his friends...

 

[GuyNwah]

Witchers solve human problems, not always with a sword.

Spared Aryan, Foltest wanted me to reason with him, can't reason with a fellow whose head is rolling down the stairs.
Punched Iorveth, I'm facing Blue Stripes with itchy trigger fingers, no way am I giving them a chance to mistake me for a collaborator.
Went with Roche, because he had a plan for dealing Loredo out (and a Kaedweni takeover of Flotsam would be terrible for the nonhumans).
Spared Henselt, no point in killing a cockroach (and if Ves is carrying Henselt's little bastard, Henselt alive may be the guarantee of her safety).
Rescued Triss, that's why I went all the way to Loc Muinne in the first place. Roche can have his revenge on the Kaedwenis, he's good at it.
Spared Sile, siccing a dragon on me was a little too much, but she won't get far, and I'm the sword of Destiny, not Revenge.
Spared the dragon, witchers don't kill dragons, full stop.
Spared Letho, witchers have to hang together if we don't want to hang separately.

 

[wichat]

If one trust Iorveth for making the plan agaisnt Letho how suddendly change of mind and don't still trusting him when a third party attack? Reflexes made me keep in mind stable and don't allow others to spoil my goal with their unexpectect attack.... My Geralt only want to get Letho. If someone want to kill my partner at this actual moment they will face me too.
I'm The witcher, I can control Iorveth and 30 soldiers more at the same time, so I have no fear to trust him and don't allow him be executed without any change of selfdefense.

 

[Elegast7]

I see many people here sparing Letho. I certainly understand that choice but I always felt like he didn't deserved to be spared. Him killing Cedric and taking Triss was always in my mind.
I also played Geralt mostly as someone who chooses violence as a last option. I'm still not sure what my 'canon' playthrough will be, but I guess something like:
Sparing Aryan
Still not sure about Roche/Iorveth. (I'm replaying TW2 now, and will decide later.)
Iorveth -> choose saskia over Dennis
Roche -> spare Henselt (My Geralt is not going to become the one who got him into trouble in the first place)
But with both I will always save Triss. Because she is a prisoner and I trust Iorveth/Roche to handle the things on their own.

 

[ReptilePZ]

I see many people here sparing Letho. I certainly understand that choice but I always felt like he didn't deserved to be spared. Him killing Cedric and taking Triss was always in my mind.

One does not simply kill this glorious bastard:

 

[KingHochmeister]

I see many people here sparing Letho. I certainly understand that choice but I always felt like he didn't deserved to be spared. Him killing Cedric and taking Triss was always in my mind.

First, he had to wound Cedric, he was in his way.

Second, he kidnapped Triss only to teleport him to Aedirn, after that, he did not even touch her, hell, he even saves her in Loc Muinne if you don't.

Third, he is a bro of all bros.

 

[wichat]

I spare him because He is not my direct enemy, not because I've seen a friend in him.
My Geralt try to not judge (well, I try to make him act this way as long as CDPR allow me). At least, chosing the lesser evil.

Yes, I love Letho, but I was to influenced by the Geralt from the book and how he reacted with some less dangerous than Letho: Cahir. So Letho might to proof he is a trustful fellow. I still only have his word. And a witcher who sold his skill to kill humans, and no monsters, hardly waste his time killing a sorceress went trolls can doi instead him...

I'm a romantic, I believe in goodness of people but... this is the witcher world, and Letho is another one who looks for power. The only one who I really trust from all the characters is Geralt and his skills. Even Jaskier, the best among the best of friends lied to Geralt....

 

[Deathstruck92]

Witchers solve human problems, not always with a sword.

Spared Aryan, Foltest wanted me to reason with him, can't reason with a fellow whose head is rolling down the stairs.
Punched Iorveth, I'm facing Blue Stripes with itchy trigger fingers, no way am I giving them a chance to mistake me for a collaborator.
Went with Roche, because he had a plan for dealing Loredo out (and a Kaedweni takeover of Flotsam would be terrible for the nonhumans).
Spared Henselt, no point in killing a cockroach (and if Ves is carrying Henselt's little bastard, Henselt alive may be the guarantee of her safety).
Rescued Triss, that's why I went all the way to Loc Muinne in the first place. Roche can have his revenge on the Kaedwenis, he's good at it.
Spared Sile, siccing a dragon on me was a little too much, but she won't get far, and I'm the sword of Destiny, not Revenge.
Spared the dragon, witchers don't kill dragons, full stop.
Spared Letho, witchers have to hang together if we don't want to hang separately.

Sounds exactly like my playthrough. Although I made a save point right before the choice between Triss and Roche so I can compare in the future.

 

[Klavi]

What choices will you import in W3? (spoilers for the first two games)

W1:
Sided with Triss
Supported Siegfriend at every opportunity
Saved Thaler
Cured Adda and Vincent
Ditched Aerondight for the Moon Blade
Sided with the Order in the end
Killed Alvin myself

W2:
Spared Aryan
Maximum Triss again
Cleansed Melitele's Heart
Sided with Roche
Spared Henselt
Accused both Kimbolt and Maravel
Rescued Triss
Let Sheala blow up
Spared Saskia and Letho
Kept the tattoo

 

[Eruvadhor]

SPARE ARYAN
GIVE SWORD
CHOOSE IORVETH
PURSUE LOREDO
LYNCH STENNIS
SPARE HENSELT
GO WITH PHILIPPA
SAVE SILE
DISENCHANT SASKIA
XX SPARE LETHO XX

You can only get rid of so many baddies. Henselt, Sile, and Phil are necessary evils for the moment, but clearing out Loredo, Stennis, and Letho removes a whole barrelfull of instability and evil.

EDIT: Screw it, replaying Loc Muinne...I just couldn't kill him. For what he did for Geralt and others. Geralt in his position, may have very well done the same.

 

[Klavi]

You can only get rid of so many baddies. Henselt, Sile, and Phil are necessary evils for the moment, but clearing out Loredo, Stennis, and Letho removes a whole barrelfull of instability and evil.

So, the weapon that did the job is worse than the people who actually put him up to it? Letho, as misguided as he might have been, had at least somewhat decent motivations. Not to mention that he never was your true enemy: he spared you and took care of Yen in the past. Killing him, especially right after he saves your friend from a certain death, seems even more... wrong.
And then there's Sile, who has nothing redeeming about her character, who screams about how she "won" and everyone in Loc Muinne is already dead. I just don't understand why would someone spare her while killing Letho.

 

[Eruvadhor]

So, the weapon that did the job is worse than the people who actually put him up to it? Letho, as misguided as he might have been, had at least somewhat decent motivations. Not to mention that he never was your true enemy: he spared you and took care of Yen in the past. Killing him, especially right after he saves your friend from a certain death, seems even more... wrong.
And then there's Sile, who has nothing redeeming about her character, who screams about how she "won" and everyone in Loc Muinne is already dead. I just don't understand why would someone spare her while killing Letho.

I do understand where you are coming from with Letho, and the rest. My reasoning is without Phil & Sile (as her henchman), the Northern Kingdoms are in pretty rough shape. Phil is brilliant, and while I don't want to see her rule in the end either, I think she's nessisary to hold the North together (let's not cut hairs here, we know The Lodge is Philippa). Aryan is at least neutral (we don't see him making any egregious judgement errors). Stennis is never going to ally with a sorceress, he'd sooner fight everyone. Regarding Letho, my fear is that he goes on to kill Henselt, or Saskia, or whoever ends up being important to the North, everyone loses. He was, is, and will be a cunning tool of Nilfgaard. It pains me because he does seem to do right when he has the opportunity, but none the less, his end goals are at odds with mine.

In short, I don't want to see either the North or Nilfgaard rule in the end, but at the beginning of TW3, I feel Nilfgaard has the vast upper hand.

 

[dragonbird]

And then there's Sile, who has nothing redeeming about her character, who screams about how she "won" and everyone in Loc Muinne is already dead. I just don't understand why would someone spare her while killing Letho.

Yup, I don't think I'd consider Sile evil, but I'd definitely consider her more deserving of death than Letho. My canon playthrough had her dead. The playthrough I'll be using for TW3 has her alive, but only because the game may be more interesting that way, if she does put in an appearance.

 

[Klavi]

I do understand where you are coming from with Letho, and the rest. My reasoning is without Phil & Sile (as her henchman), the Northern Kingdoms are in pretty rough shape. Phil is brilliant, and while I don't want to see her rule in the end either, I think she's nessisary to hold the North together (let's not cut hairs here, we know The Lodge is Philippa). Aryan is at least neutral (we don't see him making any egregious judgement errors). Stennis is never going to ally with a sorceress, he'd sooner fight everyone. Regarding Letho, my fear is that he goes on to kill Henselt, or Saskia, or whoever ends up being important to the North, everyone loses. He was, is, and will be a cunning tool of Nilfgaard. It pains me because he does seem to do right when he has the opportunity, but none the less, his end goals are at odds with mine.

In short, I don't want to see either the North or Nilfgaard rule in the end, but at the beginning of TW3, I feel Nilfgaard has the vast upper hand.

The North needs mages and mages need proper organization, that much is true. Which is why saving Triss matters even more - the new Conclave will be much more helpful than Phili's magical Illuminati ever was. Sure, Phili is brilliant, but she can't be tamed, as Radovid puts it, and she'll remain a threat to everyone for as long as she has any power.
In the epilogue, Letho says that his job is done and he's going to retire. But yeah, I understand your concern, Emhyr might use him again and Letho isn't going to refuse. I guess in the end it comes down to whether you spare him, since he's kind of a friend, or kill him in the name of politics. I feel like both choices are viable, as long as you don't make him save Triss for you.
And, let's be honest here, Stennis is unique among bumbling fucks. No one's going to miss the guy and you can't possibly make matters worse by killing him.

As for who rules in the end - I don't see how the North can win the war. Even a stalemate will require a lot of work.

 

[Eruvadhor]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't think the North can crush Nilfgaard either. However, I do see a future of a truce with Phil as de facto Empress of the North. Which would be awful, as would Henselt being in the same position. Stennis....yeah the sooner he bows out, the better. And no one needs Loredo, when Nilfgaard bids him highest.

 

[wright1978]

Spared Aryan
Sided with Iorveth
Saved Elven women from fire
Spared Henselt
Rescued Triss
Spared Sile
Killed Cynthia
Spared Saskia
Spared Letho

 

[Darkhollow]

W1

Triss support all the way + romance
Sided with non elves throughout
Saved Thaler
Cured Adda and Vincent
Kept Aerondight
Sided with non elves at the end
Denied Wild Hunt to take the soul of Alvin

W2

Spared Aryan
Sided with Iorveth
Saved Elf Woman
Spared Henselt
Rescued Triss
Killed Sile
Spared Cynthia
Spared Saskia
Spared Letho