Most Morally Gray Decisions In The Witcher 3

Key Takeaways

• The Witcher 3 presents players with morally complex decisions that lack clear good or evil outcomes.
• Key decisions in the game involve sparing abusive figures, sacrificing for the greater good, and navigating political alliances.
• Players face dilemmas like choosing between harsh pragmatism and patriotic romanticism, questioning the impact of their choices.

Very few games succeed at making players feel the weight of moral decisions like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt does. Players can expect to deal with a variety of complex decision-making situations, including political manipulation, human-monster liaising, and relating to ordinary human struggles. The game doesn’t always draw a black-and-white line in certain scenarios, and players will frequently find themselves walking a gray moral path with neither of their choices making any significant impact on the situation.

As players take on the role of Geralt of Rivia, they must also balance personal loyalties and professional obligations as they play through the gripping main story and equally exciting side quests. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt stands out for its ability to keep the player questioning the impact of their choices, and sometimes these decisions aren’t simply good or evil.

1 The Fate Of The Bloody Baron & His Family

Should An Abusive Father & Husband Get A Second Chance?

The Bloody Baron is one of the first main NPCs players can encounter upon arriving in Velen. The initial interaction eventually leads to the baron asking Geralt to help find his missing wife and daughter. As the quest unfolds, players will uncover the baron’s abusive past and the mistreatment of his wife and daughter.

As Geralt gathers evidence on the whereabouts of the baron’s family, he learns that his wife, Anna, is cursed and trapped by the Crones, and his daughter, Tamara, has sought refuge with the Witch Hunters. The outcome of the quest varies depending on how players choose to deal with the baron, and as a result, they could witness Anna succumbing to the curse, Tamara never reconciling with her father, or the baron ending up dead. So, it’s up to the player to decide whether an abusive man like the baron deserves a shot at redeeming himself or leaving his family in shambles.

2 Killing Or Sparing The Whispering Hillock

Will You Sacrifice An Entire Village Or Save Innocent Children?

• Quest: The Whispering Hillock
• Key NPCs: The Whispering Hillock, the Crones

In the Whispering Hillock quest, Geralt encounters a spirit trapped in a large tree, and he’s given a choice between saving or slaying it. Unfortunately, choosing either to kill or save the spirit results in negative consequences, with the primary difference being the severity.

What makes the situation with the Whispering Hillock delicate is that this spirit offers Geralt an option to save the orphans that have been taken hostage by the crones. However, setting the spirit free will lead to the massacre of Downwarren village. So, it’s up to the players to choose between the lesser and greater evils.

3 The Fate Of Kiera Metz

Will You Vouch For Her Freedom Or Stand For Responsibility

• Quest: For The Advancement Of Learning
• Key NPCs: Keira Metz

One of the first familiar faces Geralt meets in Velen is Kiera Metz. Geralt’s engagement with the sorceress unlocks a series of new quests, which both provide exposition on the politics of the land and highlight her motivations. As the game progresses, Kiera considers a bargain with Radovid in hopes of absolving herself from the Logde’s association. She decides to move forward with this plan despite knowing all too well the Redanian king’s hatred for mages and sorceresses.

Choosing to support Kiera in her decision to seek an alliance with Radovid results in her barbaric death later in the game. Rebuking her from turning over the notes to the king turns her into an enemy, resulting in a bitter battle. However, Geralt can also convince her to seek refuge at Kaer Morhen, which turns her into a formidable ally during the Battle of Kaer Morhen. What makes this decision morally gray for the player is the inability to judge the potential consequences of their choice, with two of them unraveling in mid-game and one immediately.

4 The Vampires Of Toussaint

Should Geralt Punish A Killer Or Protect A Misunderstood Creature?

The Blood and Wine expansion in The Witcher 3 culminates in Geralt having to choose between killing or sparing Dettlaff, a serial-killing higher vampire. After Geralt pieces together the evidence regarding the mysterious murders, it becomes apparent that Dettlaff was both a victim and a murderer. He was manipulated and forced to carry out the brutal murders by a woman that he presumed to love him.

If the player chooses to kill Dettlaff, they risk severing their relationship with Regis, but if they spare the higher vampire, the Duchesses’ sister dies. At this moment, players must tread the thin ice that separates humans and non-humans and navigate the dynamics of both species.

5 Gaunter O’Dimm’s Final Bargain

Should You Give A Cruel Man A Second Chance, Or Let His Pact With The Devil Play Out?

• Quest: Whatsoever A Man Soweth
• Key NPCs: Gaunter O’Dimm, Olgierd Von Everec

Gaunter O’Dimm is an enigmatic character who plays a central role in the Hearts of Stone expansion. However, after a few interactions with this man, it becomes evident to the player that he isn’t just an ordinary merchant and there’s something more sinister about him. In the expansion, Gaunter O’Dimm traps another key NPC, Olgierd von Everec, who trades his soul for immortality without understanding the deeper consequences of his decision.

Throughout the length of the expansion, Geralt learns about Olgierd von Everec’s horrid past and the mistreatment of his now-late wife. However, Olgierd in the present is a broken man who constantly regrets his past actions and wishes to see a peaceful death. It is up to Geralt to decide whether to save a man who wishes to absolve himself of his past actions and get a second shot at living his life, or walk away and let the devil play by his twisted rules.

6 Allying with Dijkstra Or Roche

Should You Support A Calculated & Cunning Despot Or A Patriotic Freedom Fighter In Shaping The Future Of The North?

• Quest: Reason Of State
• Key NPCs: Sigismund Dijkstra, Vernon Roche, Ves, and Philippa Eilhart

In the Reason of State quest, Geralt must decide the political future of the North by assassinating King Radovid V. Players must choose between Sigismund Dijkstra, a cunning strategist who can offer stability and pseudo-independence while ruling with an iron fist, or Vernon Roche, a loyal patriot who concerns himself with liberating Temeria at the cost of Northern independence.

Supporting Dijkstra ensures that the North remains independent albeit with civil liberties suppressed, while backing Roche promotes his ideals of resistance against tyrannical rule but leaves the North under Nilfgaard’s rule. This choice can have players ponder the difference between harsh pragmatism and patriotic romanticism with no perfect outcome in sight.

7 Stand By Letho Or Leave Him Behind

Will You Assist The Hunted Kingslayer In Escaping His Enemies, Or Leave Him To Face His Fate Alone?

• Quest: Ghosts of the Past
• Key NPCs: Letho Of Gulet

In the Ghosts of the Past quest, Geralt encounters Letho of Gulet, an infamous kingslayer, who is on the run after being used and disowned by the emperor of Nilfgaard. Geralt finds Letho hiding from bounty hunters who are after his head, and at this moment, the player can choose to either help Letho or leave the witcher to attend to his problems.

Choosing to save Letho involves faking his death and then asking him to seek refuge at Kaer Morhen, where the infamous witcher can live a life free from his bloody past. Letho’s fate is determined by the player’s choice between justice and compassion, questioning whether a man who threw the Northern kingdoms into chaos and turmoil should walk away without facing any consequences.

8 Help Or Hunt A Thieving Doppler

Should You Help A Struggling Doppler, Or Turn It Over To The Authorities To Serve Justice

• Quest: An Elusive Thief
• Key NPCs: The Doppler, The Villagers

In Novigrad, Geralt can pick up a contract to hunt down an elusive thief, and tracking it down leads the White Wolf to uncover the thief’s identity as a Doppler. Threatening the thief to reveal the motivations behind the recurring thefts highlights its struggles at surviving in a society that won’t think twice before damning it to death.

While Doppler’s actions are criminal, they haven’t caused bodily harm to anyone. So, it’s up to the player to decide whether the impostor should be warned and set free or exact justice by handing it over to the authorities, leading to its potential execution.