The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt boasts an amazing 36 possible endings. That might seem daunting, but rest assured that all of those endings are actually more like end “states,” determined by how you chose to complete certain quests. There are actually only three main endings, and the one you get is decided largely in the final stages of the main story. Here’s a full guide to The Witcher 3 endings.

Beware! This guide is riddled with spoilers!

Witcher 3 Endings:

The final quest is always called Something Ends, Something Begins. How it plays out is determined by your choices leading up to the end, and the main factor that differentiates them is what becomes of Ciri. In this final quest, Ciri will either become a witcher, become empress, or die. The outcome is determined by the choices you made during the following quests:

1. Blood on the Battlefield
2. Final Preparations
3. The Child of the Elder Blood
4. The sidequest chain, An Eye for an Eye, A Deadly Plot, Redania’s Most Wanted (Act Two) and Reason of State (Act Three).

The best ending (according to me): Ciri Becomes A Witcher

Whether or not Ciri survives her battle with the White Frost all comes down to her self-confidence. If Geralt’s choices gave her confidence in herself, one of the two endings where Ciri lives will be achieved. To get the one where she becomes a witcher, the following choices have to be made:

1. During the quest Blood On The Battlefield, say “I know what might lift your spirits” when Ciri looses her temper after Avallac’h’s training.
2. Do not bring Ciri to visit the emperor.
3. During the Final Preparations quest, urge Ciri to go alone to speak to the Lodge of Sorceresses.
4. During the Child Of The Elder Blood quest, say “go for it” when Ciri rages about Avallac’h.
5. Also during Child Of The Elder Blood, say “Yeah, I’ll go with you” when Ciri asks you to come visit Skjall’s grave.

Note: To achieve this ending, you must follow step 2. You only need to choose at least 2 out of the 4 other options.

Ciri Becomes Empress

This ending’s also about Ciri’s self-confidence. To achieve this outcome, the following choices have to be made:

1. During Blood On The Battlefield, bring Ciri to visit the emperor.
2. Complete the sidequest chain of An Eye for an Eye, A Deadly Plot, Redania’s Most Wanted (Act Two) and Reason of State (Act Three). To unlock Reason of State, you’ll need to be nice to Dijikstra and give him information about Ciri when you go to his bathhouse for Philippa. You’ll also need to side with Roche and Ves against him at the end of the quest.
3. During the quest Blood On The Battlefield, say “I know what might lift your spirits” when Ciri looses her temper after Avallac’h’s training.
4. Say “Didn’t do it for coin” to the emperor, refusing payment from bringing Ciri to him.
5. During the Final Preparations quest, urge Ciri to go alone to speak to the Lodge of Sorceresses.
6. During the Child Of The Elder Blood quest, say “go for it” when Ciri rages about Avallac’h.
7. Also during Child Of The Elder Blood, say “Yeah, I’ll go with you” when Ciri asks you to come visit Skjall’s grave.

Note: Steps 1 and 2 must be completed to achieve this ending. At least 3 of choices 3-7 must be made.

Ciri Dies

This is probably one of the most depressing endings to a game I’ve ever experienced, so I don’t recommend it. But if you’ve got your heart set on misery, this ending is all about making choices that cause Ciri to feel self-doubt. This means she will die during her confrontation with the White Frost.

1. During the quest Blood On The Battlefield, say “Relax, you don’t have to be good at everything” when Ciri looses her temper after Avallac’h’s training.
2. Accept payment from the emperor for bringing him Ciri, if you chose to visit the emperor.
3. During the Final Preparations quest, go with Ciri to speak to the Lodge of Sorceresses.
4. During the Child Of The Elder Blood quest, say “calm down” when Ciri rages about Avallac’h.
5. Also during Child Of The Elder Blood, say “no time” when Ciri asks you to come visit Skjall’s grave.

Note: You need to make at least three out of the above five choices to trigger the sad ending.