So the promoters had said there would be nothing as big as the Iorveth/Roche choice in the Witcher 3. Now that turned out to be a load of bullshit, didn't it?
Clearly there is no bigger decision in the history of gaming than deciding whether you wanna go with Triss or Yen!
Ok, first things first, obviously this is not a global crisis problem, I get it we are discussing a game, but let's examine the problem in some seriousness, which is why I won't bother with stupid jokes like "but oh redhead" or whichever one you find sexier etc. I will instead try to tackle this using the below methodology:
1. What do the books say?
2. What do the games say?
3. Who do I like?
4. What is the morally correct thing to do?
5. What is the correct thing for me?
So as people have repeated here ad nauseam, the books prefer Yennefer.
Yes she's a bitch, yes her relation with Geralt is toxic, yes she had another man while also clinging to Geralt, yes she broke up umpteen times for whatever reasons ranging from serious to silly, yes no one likes her including older and younger Witchers and any of Geralt's other friends including dwarves, yes she was jealous of Ciri, yes she was chastised by even Mother Nenneke but Geralt wants her and her alone and she did actually (kinda) die trying to save him.
Also yes Triss is sweet, yes she's loved by all except that idiot Lambert, yes she's kinda Vesemir's lovely daughter, yes Geralt has a very soft corner for her unlike that for any other, and yes she too saved Geralt's life multiple times and yes she is crazy for him but Geralt does not want him for his woman, he has eyes only for Yennefer.
SO BOTTOMLINE, BOOKS UNEQUIVOCALLY AND UNAMBIGUOUSLY ANSWER YENNEFER
---------------------
But the answer is not so simple, because we are not asking this question after the books.
We are asking this at the end of TW2.
And what has happened between the books and before the start of TW3.
First, both Geralt n Yen have (kinda) died; end of one life, end of the djinn's bind?
Geralt (at least, and perhaps Yen too) had lost his memory and for all intents he and Triss are together; even Foltest acknowledges that enough to grant them both leave (which never happens as Foltest gets assassinated and things take a different turn).
So is Geralt for Triss now?
Your mileage may vary depending on your actions in TW2 and your reactions to certain dialogues as well as your perceptions but I got this feeling playing TW2 that Geralt really liked Triss but from his side they were more like friends with benefits; from her side, she really wanted to be with him but, and this is the point, he was open.
And trust me, I hadn't read the books till then but I still got this feeling that Geralt truly cared for and liked Triss but wasn't really in love with her, so great job with that CDPR!
Having said that he was about to fall in love with her
And now, enter Yennefer (or actually the remembrance of her existence and what happened with the Wild Hunt etc.) and things get messy again.
Because you really want to find Yen (and especially if you haven't read the books by then) you have nothing much to go on with because you don't know exactly who or how she is (you only find more about her after the conversation with Letho at the end and by reading the books).
On the other hand Triss has also gone missing and, because you were about to fall in love with her, you wanna find her first - brilliant conflict because you are torn in two directions and are first searching for the other woman! Very well done CDPR, you managed to put me inside Geralt's head without having read the books; amazing writing!
And right through the 2nd and 3rd acts and especially after you have that mind-blowing conversation with Letho (needless to say I didn't fight him, again hats off CDPR for a climax where you don't kill who you thought to be the main villain till then but instead kinda feel friendly about him and have a chat and vodka!) you start getting this gnawing feeling what a darling Triss is!
She so loves you and couldn't have you (no pun intended
) in your first life and there she is at it again trying to help you find Yen, really poor girl, she was so close this time!
And then after that succinct character exposition by Letho and the books which you read between TW2 and TW3 YOU CAN'T BUT HELP FEEL, SERIOUSLY GERALT, THAT BITCH OVER TRISS?
SO FROM THE TW2 IT'S A REAL BAD AND DYNAMIC TIE WITH SHIFTING LOYALTIES BETWEEN TRISS AND YEN; ONE A CURRENT ALMOST LOVE AND ONE A REMEMBRANCE.
(I'm discounting TW here because I don't wanna get involved in the Shani angle, we are talking only about Triss and Yen.
But if you wanna go that route, Shani has an even more negligible role in the books, and if Shani then why not Fringilla Vigo (who I'm hoping would be in the Toussaint pack
), why not Little-Eye, why not Phillipa Eilhart even (Dandelion's suspicion), or having got to that part in the TW3 why not Keira Metz (she too had a bigger role, books and games, than Shani)? )
---------------------
Which brings us to the interesting topic of who do I like and what I (and not Geralt) would do; as there are 2 ways to approach this RPG, one to make decisions as Geralt would, the other as I, in his place, would.
Subjectively I adore Triss, I just wanna cuddle n bear hug her all day.
Objectively I think she is better for Geralt (who I am playing in my way) and I provide my reasoning here; first Yennefer:
1. Yen and Geralt's relation is really toxic, especially for him.
2. Yen is not a good person, at multiple levels.
3. In all probability, it isn't even love between the two, it's just the last wish.
4. In spite of the wish Yen broke up with Geralt many many times and possibly the only reason she got back finally is because she wanted a child and Ciri came as a package deal and thus their destinies intertwined again.
5. Sex is a very casual thing for both witches n witchers and Yen does it all the time with almost anyone that catches her fancy. Geralt only has a few sexual encounters mostly with likeable persons for likeable reasons and even then he tries to stay as pure as he can for Yen; heck he even turns down Triss multiple times! Apart from this Yen also indulges in a serious relation with the sorcerer Istredd while keeping Geralt on stand-by. And after all this, the bitch has the nerve to ask Geralt again and again if he had other women, and to get upset forever over Geralt and Triss' one-off stand even though Triss loves him and he likes her.
On the other hand Triss is really likeable and noble; some reasons:
6. She has huge feelings for Geralt, and him alone, and still she never seriously tries to drive a wedge in his relation with Yen; asking for the occasional sexual favour is not weird in their world or in their particular hazy friend/love relation and her desperately sorry state.
7. She is universally liked and takes care of Ciri to the best of her abilities, naturally as a caring and loving person and because Ciri means a lot to Geralt; while Yen is initially and for a long time jealous of Ciri and only comes around as she wanted a child.
8. Triss is loyal to all her friends, in particular to the Lodge to the point where she tolerates Fringilla seducing Geralt for the greater good.
9. She is intelligent, honest and courageous enough to get out of the Lodge once the greater good starts to resemble the greater evil.
10. She saves Geralt on more than one occasion and she too almost gets killed for him (and earlier for the common people); she even wishes to die with Geralt, though Ciri cuts her off then.
11. To allege that she takes advantage of Geralt's amnesia would need her to know that Yen was alive, which only Letho knows; and come on she has suffered so much romantically and emotionally, I would give her that one weakness to hold on to a loved one. And again, as I saw it, she never thrust herself on him (only talking TW2) and he was open to decide.
12. She is kind and childlike and good for Geralt who wishes to settle down in some village doing nothing; Yen, I can't imagine like that and she even reads his thoughts and hurts him for thinking that way. In fact even when they are (kinda) dead and in heaven, Geralt and Yen are not fully blissful.
So all things considered after the events of the books and games, I SUGGEST GERALT DESERVES TO BE WITH TRISS AND LIVE A HAPPY SETTLED LIFE SOMEWHERE QUIET.
---------------------
Now coming to the question of is it moral?
Well if you take both books and games into account, and forget things like was it djinn or love etc., Geralt does owe something to Yennefer and Ciri and ideally should not leave them.
However given that Triss is kinda his girl right now and knowing how she has suffered and Geralt's feelings for her, I think THE MORALLY RIGHT THING WOULD BE IF ALL FOUR OF THEM (OR THREE, DISCOUNTING CIRI WHOSE OPINION DOESN'T COUNT HERE) AGREED TO STAY TOGETHER.
But given the kind of bitch Yen is, and also because CDPR decided to play it safe here and not allow the option of 'why not both' (seriously CDPR it's not all about sex, you guys need to think about this option more thoroughly rather than try to be cheesy to avoid the implications and make it sound fun or cheap; you guys have pulled of much greyer stuff than this, it could have been an ideal end!), IF GERALT COULDN'T CONVINCE YEN, THEN I THINK THE MORAL THING IS TO STAY WITH TRISS.
---------------------
Finally I hate talking about morality in matters of the heart; if Geralt loves both but one of them can't understand he should stay with the other.
SO ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, BEING THE KIND OF PERSON I AM, I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED ALL OF THEM STAYING HAPPILY TOGETHER.
SINCE THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE AND SINCE YEN IS A VINDICTIVE BITCH AND SINCE YEN HAS HAD HER LIFE AND, DEFINITELY NOT THE LEAST BUT PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANT, SINCE I LOVE TRISS,
#TEAMTRISS
---------- Updated at 01:56 PM ----------
even in d real world u cn love two women at d same level, true story
tho i haven't reached there but bcos of reading/seeing spoilers i'm really pissed at CDPR for not having d option of reaching a nice relation with both women, tht wd hv bn perfect for me as it's no one's fault tht both f them love him n tht he loves them back
pls CDPR, if u guys making changes to Triss romance, do hv d option of hvin a good relation with Yen