The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the greatest open-world RPGs ever made, and it's easy to see why this is the case. The game is rife with attention to detail, with the world of the game absolutely shining in each and every area. It helps that the story and characters are quite immersive in their own right, with players falling in love with pretty much every character they interact with in both the main and side quests.
While some of these characters may not stick around for too long, there are others that have a great character arc and end up developing way more than any person could've expected. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the best characters in The Witcher 3 that have amazing arcs of their own.
10 Phillip Strenger AKA The Bloody Baron
There's no better place to start off than one of the first complex characters that players interact with in The Witcher. The Bloody Baron has anger issues and a history of domestic abuse... but he also has a conscience that weighs heavily on him after his wife disappears.
What makes his story even more tragic is his ending should Geralt go down a different route than what the Baron expects. His wife ends up dying despite being rescued, promoting the Baron to hang himself in grief.
9 Triss Merigold
To understand Triss' arc, some context is required. After entwining herself romantically with an amnesiac Geralt, Triss ends up staying with Geralt and enjoying these happy days instead of revealing the truth.
This guilt weighs upon her heavily when Geralt ends up remembering his past, even if Triss was the one who helped him do so. Watching her atone for her unforgivable actions before the player chooses to either love her back or stick with Yennefer instead makes for a truly harrowing decision indeed.
8 Yennefer Of Vengerberg
Yennefer is a great character who plays a major role in the books. Watching her come back in The Witcher 3 is a blast, even if she might be cold towards Geralt for abandoning her all this time.
That being said, it doesn't take long for her to warm up to Geralt during their quest for Ciri. While confessing Geralt's love to Yennefer makes for a happy ending, it's the rejection Geralt can respond with after dispelling the Djinn instead that leads to one of the most heartbreaking moments in the game.
7 Ciri
There was a time when Cirilla was nothing more than a spoiled brat who hated the fate she'd been dealt. However, she's developed quite a bit since these days and even goes through her fair share of character development in the game.
Escaping the Wild Hunt definitely led to Ciri becoming more mature, and Geralt can respect her maturity by letting her be instead of coddling her at every step of the day. In fact, promoting Ciri's independence is crucial if players want to get the good ending!
6 Vesemir
Vesemir is the oldest witcher of Kaer Morhen who personally saw to the training and development of the many witchers of the Wolf School, including the legendary Geralt himself! He's a father figure for everyone in Kaern Morhen... which is precisely what makes his fate in the games so hard to bear.
In a bid to protect Ciri from the clutches of the Wild Hunt, Vesemir ends up sacrificing his life in one of the game's most emotional moments. It's a heartbreaking moment that shows just how much Vesemir stuck to his ideals to the very end and completely goes against the widespread notion that witchers are nothing more than emotionless mutants.
5 Philippa Eilhart
To truly understand Philippa Eilhart's character arc, players need a bit of context from the previous game. She was a pretty heinous character who used the Lodge of Sorceresses to attain power at all costs... and paid for it after her scheme was brought to light.
The Philippa that players get to see in The Witcher 3 is a shadow of her former self. She pretty much begs Geralt to help her get revenge against her captors, and players can't help but feel sorry for her despite her villainous nature
4 Olgierd Von Everec
The expansion packs for The Witcher 3 did a great job of incorporating new and more emotional stories into the game. One such tale comes from Olgierd von Everec, who has quickly become one of the best characters for many fans of The Witcher 3.
This character seems pretty violent and egoistic, but it's only when players get to know more about him that they understand why he became the person he is right now. The fight against him is an emotional affair with an impactful choice at the very end.
3 Dandelion
Dandelion seems like nothing more than a goofy bard who loves to sleep around a bit more than he should. By all accounts, he should be a pretty selfish character... but that's nowhere near the case.
In fact, Dandelion actually loves his friends and would sacrifice his own life for them, which he shows multiple times throughout the games. The fact that he never betrayed Ciri despite almost being tortured is a great example of how no book should be judged by their character in The Witcher 3.
2 Cerys An Craite
In a realm dominated by men, it takes a particularly headstrong woman to stand up against all odds and proclaim herself to be the rightful successor to the throne. It's this stubborn and tough nature that makes Cerys an Craite one of the highlights during Geralt's excursion to Skellige.
Helping her convince her father and stand up against her brother and all the other selfish who doubted her makes for a great watch. Cerys had to move mountains to get her way, but players who helped her ascend to the throne knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were making the right decision.
1 Emhyr Var Emreis
Emhyr var Emreis is one of the more complicated characters in the series. People who see his demeanor early on in the game and are familiar with the books know just how vile some of his acts have been.
However, it seems that Emhyr actually grew somewhat of a conscience in The Witcher 3. Of course, some people might not find this character development to be enough and can still go out of their way to go against the wishes of this Emperor.