10 Moments in The Witcher 3 That Are Better Once You Know the Lore

In a world as detailed as The Witcher, there are going to be things lost in translation because of missing context. There were a couple of times a character was greeted as an old friend where I was like, "who is this?", or past events referenced in banter where I didn't know what was going on (I have since read the books and played the first two games).

There's a lot of story and lore backing The Witcher 3 that isn't explicitly explained in-game. While reading the books or playing the other games isn't necessary to understand and enjoy The Witcher 3, they do bring a lot of context to characters, factions, and the state of its world. Other moments change because of revelations made in-game, making The Witcher 3 one of those games you just have to replay to fully appreciate. Here are some of them.

10 The Introduction of The Wild Hunt

They're Not Ghosts and There's a Lot More Happening Here

With so much happening in The Witcher 3, it's easy to accept the Wild Hunt as a terrifying group of unstoppable spirits. The truth is more mundane. As explained later in the game, the Wild Hunt is a group of dimension-hopping elves looking for a way to end the White Frost that threatens multiple worlds, including that of the Wild Hunt's leader, Eredin.

What's more implied than outright explained is that the Wild Hunt has been plaguing Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer for years, and The Witcher 3 is the conclusion of that story. The Wild Hunt is a natural return because of the main trio's history with it, and is a long-awaited resolution in a very long tale.

9 Fighting Eredin

He's a King Trying to Stop the Apocalypse

Speaking of the Wild Hunt, interacting with Eredin and individuals in the Wild Hunt take on a different meaning if you know what they are right from the start. Eredin is the enigmatic leader of the Wild Hunt, and so is the primary antagonist of The Witcher 3. By all accounts, he's a terrible person, but he's a bit more nuanced than the specter that most on the Continent see him as.

The world of The Witcher is a multiverse, and Eredin and his subordinates are Aen Elle elves who inhabit another dimension. Eredin is their king in all but name, and is looking for Ciri so that the Aen Elle elves may escape the White Frost that is close to destroying their world. It's not bad as motivations go and makes him more sympathetic as a king looking to save his people from the apocalypse. This doesn't make him any less of a terrible person, though, just someone more nuanced than an evil ghost in the sky.

8 Seeing the Crones' True Forms

Knowing Lore Means Their True Appearance Isn't Surprising

The Crones of Crookback Bog present themselves as beautiful women who help the people who live in the swamps of Velen, but those familiar with European mythology, and Slavic mythology in particular, will immediately clock their role. Powerful women in mythology who live in the woods often appear as three, eat wayward children, and make deals with mortals that rarely end in the mortal's favor.

I never kill the spirit simply because of this. Real world mythology that The Witcher 3 is based on warns against trusting witches like the crones, and leaving the Crones to continue eating children is something I can't justify, even if the consequences involve Anna's mutilation. Her story is one of tragic desperation, but also a lesson about trusting the Crones in any capacity.

7 Vesemir’s Death

Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again

Vesemir's death is already sad without knowing the implications of it. It's the death of a mentor, a father-figure, and an ultimately kind man who made mistakes but tried to care for those around him.

His death goes further though, in that his death marks the end of an era. With the witchers on the decline and most of the Schools closed, the knowledge of the Path, the Trial of Grasses, and so many more traditions and knowledge of fighting monsters is lost. The witcher tradition obviously continues in some way, but Vesemir's death truly marks the end of one era and the start of the next for the group.

6 The Trial of the Grasses

An Emotionally Fraught Moment

The Trial of the Grasses is an extreme solution to Avallac'h's situation. When it's first mentioned, everyone responds in-character: Lambert is disgusted, Geralt and Eskel are reluctant, and Yennefer sees the potential. And, while it's obvious that the Trial of Grasses is deadly and was used on children to mutate them into witchers, understanding just what the Trial of Grasses does and represents in the lore makes this solution even less desirable.

This is also a hallmark moment of The Witcher as it's the first time the Trial is shown onscreen. The Trial of the Grasses is an important part of Geralt's personal history, as well as the history of all the witchers present, but their experiences are rarely talked about beyond how it killed many of their peers.

5 Romancing Triss

The Choice Becomes Obvious

Triss or Yen are presented as equal romance options in The Witcher 3, but there is a lot of drama behind this choice and things that are left unsaid. I find it very difficult to justify romancing Triss after discovering how she took advantage of Geralt when he had amnesia, and the bond and history he and Yen have with each other.

I like Triss well enough as a character, but her history with Geralt is so messy, and none of it is addressed. Yen's story path goes all the way back to the beginning with the djinn, puts to bed any past transgressions, and creates a path to the couple finally getting the happy ending they always deserved.

4 Dijkstra's Final Moment

Someone's Getting Assassinated, and It Isn't Roche

This is widely reviled as the worst quest in the entirety of The Witcher games, and not because it's poorly designed or a waste of time, but because it puts Dijkstra so out of character that he's unrecognizable.

The quest on its own is fine, and if you don't know Dijkstra and Roche beyond The Witcher 3, it's kind of believable as a twist. For those who know Dijkstra, this entire moment is unbelievable. For Dijkstra to actually be there at the moment of his betrayal, while Geralt is still present, is an oversight that Dijkstra would never make, and expecting Geralt to step aside while Dijkstra kills his friends is also beyond the realm of possibility. Knowing the lore turns this moment from an okay ending to an okay quest, to one of the worst character assassinations in video games.

3 Avallac'h's Lab

The Witcher 3's Most Shifty Character

Avallac'h actually has a very long history with Ciri that goes far past her journey with him depicted in The Witcher 3, and that context makes him even less sympathetic. The two met when Ciri was a teenager and stranded in Aen Elle, and Avallac'h became something of a guide for her. He also engineered a plan for Ciri to have children with the Aen Elle king to continue the Elder Bloodline.

The Witcher 3's depiction of Avallac'h already frames him as dodgy, but the moment Ciri and Geralt discover his lab filled with drawings of Ciri just scratches the surface of his obsession with Lara and the Elder Blood. He's an immensely complex character who wanted to end the White Frost and had complicated feelings about Ciri, but overall, he can't be considered trustworthy or good in any way.

2 Emhyr's Meeting in Vizima

You Could Cut the Tension with a Knife

Emhyr is the Emperor of Nilfgaard and Ciri's biological father, and their meeting in Vizima feels awkward. This can be explained by the fact that Emhyr is one of the most powerful men on the Continent while Geralt is just a witcher, but there's a lot of baggage in their relationship that's been left unsaid.

Geralt and Emhyr have a history that dates all the way back to before Ciri's birth, one made all the more complicated by Geralt's relationship with Ciri as her adoptive father. Geralt once saved Emhyr's life, but resents how Emhyr treats Ciri as a political piece on a chessboard. Emhyr, in turn, resents Geralt's role in Ciri's life. Neither of them like each other, and there's a lot of tension in the room when they are together, especially when the issue at hand concerns Ciri.

1 Meeting Gaunter O'Dimm in White Orchard

He's Just a Helpful Traveling Merchant

Gaunter O'Dimm is one of the first NPCs you meet. He's a friendly chap who points you in the right direction to find Yennefer, then disappears immediately. In the grand scheme of things, he doesn't make much of an impact.

Gaunter makes an unexpected return in Hearts of Stone as evil incarnate. He wanders the Continent, preying upon vulnerable people and offering them favors in return for their souls. That he would offer information on Yennefer's whereabouts, and know all about Geralt, changes a mundane interaction into something far more sinister after completing Hearts of Stone.