The world of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is filled with a host of atrocious characters. One of the best parts about the game is how polarizing a majority of the NPCs are, and what kinds of emotional reactions they can elicit from players. Notably, the villains in The Witcher are shown to commit so many misdeeds and grievances that their deaths can feel like a reward to players for putting up with their antics for so long. While some occur offscreen or are simply alluded to in ing, the continent is better off without any of these characters.
[Warning - major spoilers for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt below.]
While some of the mentioned deaths are a natural part of the story and will happen no matter what series of choices players make, a majority of them happen at the crux of a decision. Although the world of The Witcher is a violent and bloody one, mercy is an option in most scenarios, allowing players to have some sway over how ruthless Geralt is to his enemies. Quite a few of the deaths though happen at the hands of other characters and are simply a result of a series of events.
Although all of these villains have committed blatant crimes, there are levels and nuances to their horribleness. It is easy to make an NPC violent and vulgar, but what The Witcher 3's story does so well with its character development is making its antagonists subtly evil. Be it with their prejudices, their blatant disregard of other lives, or their mistreatment of beloved characters they cement players' hatred for them with everything they do.
Emhyr Var Emreis Goes Out Like Caesar In The Witcher 3
It is not that Emhyr Var Emreis commits any particularly atrocious grievances during The Witcher 3’s long and difficult gameplay journey, but it is his notoriously bloody history, his prickly attitude, and his sideways ideologies that make his death a relief for players. His mistreatment of Ciri also makes it easy to laud his demise. While players are not directly involved in his death, their choices will ultimately decide his fate. If anyone other than Nilfgaard controls Novigrad by the end of the game, then Emhyr will go out similarly to Julius Caesar at the hands of his own people. While a touch anticlimactic, it feels rightly deserved.
The Witcher's Dijkstra Is Punished For His Betrayal
Witcher 3 players are set up to have a complicated relationship with Dijkstra. Although he can be helpful at times, he spends a majority of the game antagonizing Geralt and making morally questionable decisions that put other people in peril. His fate comes to hang in the balance during the quest Reasons of State, when the former Redanian intelligence agent decides to betray his country and embroil himself, Geralt, and Vernon Roche in a plot to assassinate King Radovid V. After the assassination is successfully completed, Dijkstra will turn on players and attempt to kill Vernon Roche and the other Temerians involved. If players defend Roche, then Dijkstra will summarily be killed.
Finally Ending The Witcher 3's Main Antagonist
Eredin Bréacc Glas is the semi-titular antagonist of the third Witcher game, earning himself the title of King of Witcher 3's Wild Hunt after betraying and slaughtering the previous king. The anticipation of building up Eredin’s formidability and his looming threat against Ciri, and consequently the entire continent, is designed to gear players up for their final battle against the Wild Hunt and to finally be rid of Glas.
He and Geralt’s final battle is an epic one on the deck of the ghostly ship Naglfar traveling through various portals and realms. His death is not only satisfying but is accompanied by a helpful bit of information on Avallach.
Players Help End Radovid's Tyrannical Rule In The Witcher
Radovid the Stern is one of the most adversarial, combative, potentially enemy monarchs in The Witcher 3 that players will encounter. He is the current reigning king of Redania when the game begins, but his rule is devolving into terrorizing his subjects and waging war against Nilfgaard. Players head into the city of Novigrad just as Radovid is beginning his infamous witch hunts, which involve burning any non-human or magic- at the stake as a public display. With the help of Sigmund Dijkstra and Vernon Roche, Geralt is offered the opportunity to aid and abet in the assassination of Radovid. If they go through with the coup, then either Dijkstra or Emhyr will take over the Redanian territory and the witch hunts will slow to a stop.
The Witcher 3's Whoreson Junior Meets A Deserved End
Although there are multiple, terrible fates that could potentially befall Whoreson Junior, perhaps the most satisfying for players is that he is simply eliminated. From the moment he is introduced as one of the former crime lords of Witcher 3's detailed city of Novigrad, players are keyed in to just how horrible of a person Cyprian Wiley is. Not only does he delight in betrayal and sending his thugs out to torment the people of Novigrad, but he also has a penchant for kidnapping and torturing women, only to keep their corpses and decorate his home with them. After discovering how horrid he was to Ciri in the brief time he met her, the opportunity to do away with him was welcome for both Geralt and the players.
It is a testament to the side quests and storytelling on The Witcher's part for being able to make a character so vile and hated that their death can feel like a positive story beat. While mercy may be one of the possible virtues players can bestow upon Geralt, at times his ruthlessness can make the continent a better place. The Witcher 3 features a host of dark storylines filled with unsavory characters who do bad things to people who don't deserve it, but it's nice to know that justice can sometimes be dispensed on their behalf.
