Before you set foot in White Orchard, The Witcher 3 asks whether you want to simulate a Witcher 2 save. The prompt is vague and gives you almost no context, but the decision shapes several conversations later and can lock you out of an entire side quest if you get it wrong.
Quick answer: Choose Yes to simulate a save, then during the Imperial Audience quest answer that you spared Aryan, left Flotsam with Roche, saved Triss, let Síle get what was coming to her, and that Letho is still alive.
Why you should simulate a Witcher 2 save
Picking Yes lets you manually set the outcomes of five key decisions from The Witcher 2 later in the game. The biggest reason to do it is Letho. Keeping him alive unlocks the side quest Ghosts of the Past, and it gives you an ally you can recruit during the main quest The Battle of Kaer Morhen.
If you own a completed Witcher 2 save on your device, you can instead choose to import it, which carries your original choices over automatically and skips the interrogation entirely. Importing also brings across cosmetic details a simulated save ignores, such as the Blue Stripes neck tattoo. Simulating is the right pick when you have no save file, or when you simply want to hand-pick each outcome.
Choosing No does not skip these decisions. The game just applies a fixed set of outcomes for you, one of which kills Letho and removes Ghosts of the Past from your playthrough with nothing gained in return.
Where you make the choices: the Imperial Audience quest
A simulated save makes no difference immediately. First, progress through the White Orchard prologue and find Yennefer at the White Orchard Inn. She then brings you to Vizima’s Royal Palace, where you meet Emhyr var Emreis, Nilfgaard’s Emperor and Ciri’s father.
While Geralt is bathed and shaved for the audience, a Nilfgaardian officer named Morvran Voorhis steps in and questions him about his past. His five questions are where your Witcher 2 outcomes get locked in. If you declined to simulate, Voorhis simply asks about the soldiers who escorted Yennefer and leaves.
The five best answers for Morvran Voorhis
Here are the recommended responses to each of Voorhis’ questions and what each one sets in motion.
| Question | Best answer | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Did you kill Aryan? | “I spared his life. He escaped.” | Friendly chat with Maria Louisa La Valette |
| How did you reach Vergen? | “Got out of Flotsam with Vernon Roche.” | Roche greets you as a friend |
| What happened at Loc Muinne? | “Had to save Triss.” | Triss stays a romance option |
| What happened to Síle? | “Got what was coming to her.” | Síle is dead, avoids the Oxenfurt scene |
| What happened to Letho? | “That alliance still alive? What happened to Letho?” | Unlocks Ghosts of the Past |
What each choice changes in The Witcher 3
Aryan La Valette
Saying you spared him means Maria Louisa La Valette greets you warmly when you search for Dandelion during Broken Flowers. It only adds pleasant dialogue, but there is no downside to choosing it. Kill him and his mother recognizes you as her son’s murderer and retreats into the house.
Roche or Iorveth
Picking Roche gives you a warm start with him. When you approach the Temerian Blue Stripes hideout, he calls you a friend and waves you in. Side with Iorveth and Roche stays quiet at the entrance, forcing you to talk your way past the guard. Roche still helps you either way, but the Iorveth path also changes your options for the next question.
Saving Triss at Loc Muinne
Triss survives no matter what you pick here and holds no grudge, so she remains a romance option regardless. The only real difference is a minor NPC. Choosing “Helped Roche rescue Anais” instead means Carduin, a member of the Council and Conclave, won’t be found near Radovid’s ship in Oxenfurt.
If Geralt didn’t save Triss in Witcher 2, Letho rescues her instead, and Radovid ends up with power over the Council and Conclave. Saving Triss keeps that storyline intact.
Síle de Tansarville
“Got what was coming to her” establishes that Síle died. Choosing that she escaped instead means you’ll find her being tortured in the Oxenfurt dungeons during The Great Escape, where you must grant her a mercy killing. Her role is minor either way, so the choice depends on which scene you prefer.
Letho of Gulet
This is the most consequential choice. To establish that Letho survived, answer “That alliance still alive? What happened to Letho?” This response opens the Ghosts of the Past side quest, where you encounter him and can later recruit him for The Battle of Kaer Morhen. Choose any other response, and Letho is dead; the quest won’t appear.
Since Iorveth, Anais, and Saskia never actually appear in The Witcher 3, the choices tied to them add nothing meaningful to your playthrough.
The default outcomes if you choose No
Decline to simulate and the game applies this fixed world state, which matches most of the recommended answers except for Letho.
- Aryan La Valette was spared.
- Vernon Roche accompanied Geralt out of Flotsam.
- Geralt saved Triss Merigold at Loc Muinne.
- Letho’s trap brought about Síle de Tansarville’s death.
- Letho of Gulet was killed by Geralt.
The dead Letho is the deciding factor. Because that outcome costs you Ghosts of the Past and a potential ally with nothing to make up for it, simulating and hand-picking the answers is the stronger option for a first playthrough. You’ll know your choices took hold once Voorhis has you sign the deposition confirming your statements, and the world states appear later in the quests tied to each character.
