Objective: Break Uma's curse, then defend Kaer Morhen.
Pivotal moment: A major character dies. Choices here affect Ciri's state of mind for the ending.
1. Lifting Uma's Curse
At Kaer Morhen, the Witchers and sorceresses perform the brutal Trial of the Grasses ritual on Uma. It works: Uma is revealed as Avallac'h, and — more importantly — the ritual leads you straight to Ciri. The family is reunited at last.
2. Gathering Allies ("Brothers in Arms")
The Wild Hunt will come for Ciri, so you recruit help. Yennefer is present regardless, since she's the one running Uma's ritual, but up to eight more can join through the "Brothers in Arms" questlines: Zoltan and Ermion just need asking; Keira Metz and Triss require finishing their full questlines first (ending on "For the Advancement of Learning" and "Now or Never" respectively — Triss returns for the fight automatically according to Gamer Guides, while PowerPyx says you must tell her at the harbor that you want her to stay and that you love her); Vernon Roche joins if you completed "An Eye for an Eye", and Ves too, presuming she didn't die in the Novigrad plotline; Hjalmar needs Skellige's succession quests done; and Letho, if he survived The Witcher 2 and you finish "Ghosts of the Past," fights too, though he doesn't count toward the "Full Crew" achievement. The 1,000 crowns on offer come from Dijkstra's aid, not from recruiting allies.
Finish all side content, contracts and gear hunts in the base game before triggering the battle — the world changes significantly afterward. Two prep choices also change the fight itself: fixing the keep's wall removes an entire wave of Wild Hunt attackers, and cleaning out the old armory both arms Geralt with a stronger silver sword and boosts every witcher's damage.
3. The Battle
- 1
Defend the walls
Set traps, hold the gates and cut down waves of Wild Hunt warriors and hounds. Keep Yrden and Northern Wind bombs ready — they're vulnerable while frozen.
- 2
Boss: Caranthir & the loss
The Wild Hunt navigator Caranthir and the general Imlerith break through. In the fighting, Vesemir is killed protecting Ciri — unleashing her Elder Blood powers in a burst of rage.
4. Chapter Complete
The Hunt retreats, but at a terrible cost. Grieving, the group holds Vesemir's pyre. Now you go on the offensive: hunt down Imlerith on Bald Mountain and end the Wild Hunt for good.
No preparation changes that outcome — Vesemir's death is fixed regardless of how many allies you brought or which wall and armory choices you made. What those choices change is how hard the fight leading up to it feels, not whether he survives it.