Blood on the Battlefield picks up right after The Battle of Kaer Morhen, at Vesemir’s funeral, and it looks like a quiet stretch of grieving and travel. Underneath, it hides two of the choices that quietly tally toward Ciri’s fate. Get them right and you keep her on track for a positive ending in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Quick answer: Pick “Think I know what might lift your spirits” to start the snowball fight, and if you take Ciri to Emperor Emhyr, choose “Didn’t do this for the coin” to refuse the reward. Both count as positive.
The two choices that affect Ciri’s ending
Only two moments in this quest matter for the ending. Everything else, including the dialogue at the funeral and whether you win or lose the snowball fight, has no lasting effect. The table below shows the positive pick for each.
| Decision | Positive choice | Negative choice |
|---|---|---|
| Comforting Ciri after training fails | Cheer her up with a snowball fight | Take it easy; nobody excels at everything (drink) |
| Emhyr’s reward (only if you visit Vizima) | Didn’t do this for the coin | Thanks. Definitely need it more than you do |
Visiting Emhyr is optional. Skipping it removes the coin choice entirely, so you steer toward the Witcher ending using the positive choices elsewhere in the game instead.
Comfort Ciri with the snowball fight
Whether to take Ciri to Emperor Emhyr
The next morning Ciri wakes Geralt, eager to reach Bald Mountain and take revenge on Imlerith. Before leaving, you decide whether to detour to see her father, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, in Vizima. The two lines are “Gotta visit the emperor first” and “All right, Velen it is.”
Picking Velen skips Emhyr and points toward the classic Witcher ending, where Ciri becomes a witcher. Visiting Emhyr is the requirement to unlock the Empress ending, though that outcome also needs Ciri to survive and Nilfgaard to win the war through Reason of State. The visit alone does not guarantee it.
Refuse Emhyr’s coin at the Royal Palace
At Vizima, Emhyr presents the balance of the reward he pledged for finding Ciri. This timed decision affects the ending. Taking the gold makes Ciri feel as if she was sold like a stray, earning a negative point. Turning it down earns her respect and a positive point.
| Response | Reward | Effect on Ciri |
|---|---|---|
| Thanks. Definitely need it more than you do | 4,000 Crowns and the Bill of Exchange | Disapproves (negative) |
| Didn’t do this for the coin | New black-coated Roach | Approves (positive) |
The Bill of Exchange is supposed to be worth 100,000 Crowns after the war, but the game never reaches that point, making the money effectively useless. Before Patch 4.0, the coin payment was 2,000 Crowns instead of 4,000.
How these choices count toward Ciri’s fate
Several moments across the game add or subtract a point on a hidden scale. Make three or more negative choices and Ciri dies. Keep enough positive ones and she lives, either as a witcher or as Empress if you took her to Emhyr and Nilfgaard wins. Neither Blood on the Battlefield choice locks an ending on its own; they are the first values in that running total.
You will know the snowball choice registered when Ciri cheers up, embraces Geralt, and returns to her training with renewed energy. Refusing the coin shows Geralt bristling and turning down the gold outright, with Ciri visibly relieved. After the Vizima detour, or after skipping it, the quest ends on the road to Bald Mountain, which contains no ending-relevant choices, so you can play it at your own pace.
