Warning: major spoilers for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ahead.
Which ending you get in the base version of The Witcher 3 depends on a lot of factors. There are the obvious big choices, but also a bunch of small ones, the former really shaping the final proper cutscene, after which the game paints the rest of the storybook style. It turns out that one of the final cutscenes had a bit of substance, and now a modder has restored it.
Like most of the more interesting creations to come out of The Witcher 3 modding renaissance over the past few months, this one wouldn’t have been possible without the REDkit modding tools, which provide a lot of cool stuff to tide us over while we wait for more news on The Witcher 4 and the other projects CD Projekt is currently busy working on, you know.
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If you often choose the route in TW3’s main story that sees Ciri escape and become a demon hunter after the game’s climax, then you will be familiar with the scene that modder Merigoldmaribor has recreated in his mod “Ciri Witcher Ending Restoration”.
After Gerry gets her a new sword, he and his stepdaughter meet up at the White Orchard Inn for a brief chat before setting off on a post-credits adventure we didn’t get to see. As you can see here, the original cut cuts to black as Ciri shoves her new sword back into its sheath before a voiceover tells you the consequences of your next actions.
Merigoldmaribor’s mod restores the scene after the re-scabbarding, where Gerry and Ciri actually stand up and walk out of the inn. Geralt begins by saying that either Yennefer or Triss (depending on who the player chooses to pair up with during the game) is waiting in Ellander. Ciri then replies, “If we hurry, we can see her in two days.” The two walk to the door, and boom, the credits roll.
While the mention of Ellander is nice for lore lovers, considering it’s the principality near Vizima where the Temple of Meliteri is located, which is featured in both the books and season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher, I’d wager that there’s unlikely to be much substance to read here in future Witcher games, especially judging by comments from Merigoldmaribor and fellow modder MerseyRockoff that this unused section CD Projekt left behind is “full of holes.”
If anything, I’d say this could be a sign that CD Projekt will choose to include a beautiful reunion with your chosen partner or Ciri in the Blood and Wine DLC, which is basically the proper ending for any Witcher 3 game right now. But hey, who knows what more hardcore fans than me might find.
If this was how The Witcher 3’s Ciri became a demon hunter, would you prefer it? Let us know below.