The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Main Quests – The Battle of Kaer Morhen, Blood on the Battlefield

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Welcome to Prima’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt walkthrough. The final part of Act 2 involves The Battle of Kaer Morhen, one of the toughest quests in the game. In this guide, we provide step-by-step instructions on how to beat The Battle of Kaer Morhen with both Geralt and Ciri. Later, during the Blood on the Battlefield quest, you will make choices that impact Ciri and her opinion towards Geralt. 

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Main Quest: The Battle of Kaer Morhen 

Note: The number of allies fighting by your side in The Battle of Kaer Morhen heavily depends on choices you made during the Brothers in Arms line of side quests. 

You kick things off by entering Witcher Keep where the council is located.  Again, depending on what you did during Brothers in Arms, you will speak with characters you invited, along with Yennefer and Triss. In fact, these two ladies will react based on choices made from our Witcher 3 Romance Guide. 

Vesemir tells you that Geralt’s allies arrived. You may chat with the characters who made the trip. 

• Hjalmar and his buddies, Folan and Vigi, are ready to throw down against the Wild Hunt.
• Zoltan is hard at work prepping explosive barrels filled with Mahakaman Mix. He will also craft stuff for you. 
• Vesemir and Ermion are busy staring at a break in the floor. Ermion plans to blow up some gas to burn the Wild Hunt minions. If you neglected to ask for Ermion services during the side quests, Vesemir is by himself. You’ll find him in the yard sharpening some blades. 
• Lambert is working on a giant crossbow but the device is a bit wonky for some reason. Conversely if you didn’t call upon Roche and Ves (and Letho is around), Lambert will be in the main yard chatting with Eskel about Letho. 

Note: Chat with Keira and buy some items she has for sale. Go into the Keep and look for her just before the grand hall. 

Much battle planning ensues, with characters going over strategy. Now you must make a choice. Will you go with Eskel’s traps or Vesemir’s potions? Check out the benefits of each:

• Go with the traps and they automatically appear in the Kaer Morhen yard. Go this route if you feel traps will have a greater impact on your opponents.
• If you finished the Following the Thread quest alongside Lambert, potions give Geralt Fortified Rafard’s Decoction and Superior Swallow. These prove useful during the battle. 

Upon making your choice, now it’s time to make another. Will you repair a break in the wall, or clear up a cave that’ll let you grab sword? Here are the results of your actions: 

• Fix the wall and there will be less Wild Hunt enemies. We’re talking an entire wave that won’t show up during the battle. 
• Cleaning up the armory allows Geralt to wield a powerful silver sword. On top of that, ally attacks do more damage than usual. 

Whatever you choose, it’s time to meet up with Lambert when you’re ready for battle. 

Tips for the Battle of Kaer Morhen 

• Before starting the battle, stock up on potions and bombs. You won’t be able to do this when the action kicks off. 
• Close the three portals immediately. Don’t worry about the soldiers and hounds that much, and save bombs and potions for much later in the fight. 
• Ciri’s Blink ability will let you quickly maneuver to avoid taking damage. 
• Meanwhile, Ciri’s Charge attack destroys multiple adversaries. 
• Play the objective! Don’t get sidetracked fighting enemies. Head towards the next objective and focus on completing it. 
• Use bombs and potions when the fight shifts to the Interior Courtyard Battle. 
• When you go to blow up those Mahalaman explosive barrels, ignite these objects with Igni Sign magic. Aard Sign magic proves useful for pushing enemies into traps. 

You’ll learn of three portals, and the idea here is to shut them for good using Dimeritium Bombs. Alternatively Geralt can use Yrden Sign magic to close portals.  The portals are south and southeast, so head over there while the Wild Hunt enemies succumb to spiked traps. You, meanwhile, can ride over these traps without taking damage. The Wild Hunt commander, Imlerith, will appear. You fire a crossbow but nothing happens.

Note: You may need to deal with some enemies when trying to close each portal. 

From here you assume control of Ciri. Respond to Vesemir however you wish, then take off to help Triss while slaughtering bad guys you come across. Providing Zoltan is nearby, he will kill Wild Hunt forces in the yard, and you want to help this guy, because doing so causes him to set off towards Triss. You go there as well. Kill the enemies you encounter. 

Now the game transitions back to Geralt, with Triss providing a much needed assist.  From here, summon Roach and head north back to the castle with Lambert. When you reach the entrance, get off Roach and dig in for a difficult fight.  Slaughter nearby warriors and wait for Vesemir to instruct Geralt to close the keep gate. Immediately set off towards the lever that will allow Geralt to complete this task.

You return to the courtyard and must deal with roughly five enemies and several hounds. There’s a lot to take in and you may become overwhelmed, but set your sights on baddies aiming at Geralt and just continue hacking away until they’re no more. 

Head back to the Middle Courtyard. Vesemirprovides an assist by dropping an archway on any Wild Hunt chasing after Geralt.  You, meanwhile, will remain in the courtyard and take down the warriors and hounds. In addition, use Yrden Sign magic or those aforementioned bombs to shut the portals. 

Run up the stairs until Geralt reaches the closed doors. Providing Zoltan is nearby, you’ll see explosive barrels you can blow up to kill several enemies at a time. Additionally, Ves and Roche will attack the Wild Hunt with arrows. 

Walk towards Triss, closing a portal as you go.  Enemies stand in Geralt’s way, but Letho and Lambert will help.  Ciri shows up and agrees to go in search of Eskel. 

You are now in control of Ciri, with the task of defeating Caranthir and his thugs. This is a short battle, and when it’s over head to the next marker on the map, slaughtering two hounds and two warriors. Dominate the lower portion of the courtyard and then unlock the gate leading into Kaer Morhen’s inner courtyard using the big wheel made of wood. 

Assuming control of Geralt, use Yrden Sign magic and Dimeritium bombs to shut down the portals.  If Hjalmar is around, he leaps into a portal, reappears and then helps Geralt close it. 

With the portals closed, kill remaining enemies. Eskel then informs you the Wild Hunt will enter Savolla’s breach. Go up the stairs and travel northeast, where you will need to close three additional portals. 

Now go south towards the upper courtyard. Hjalmar strikes an enemy before a portal appears.  You need to close two portals, then go to the main gate upon hearing Triss’ cries for help. 

There’s a lot of story to take in, so respond how you wish and enjoy the following cinematic, which leads you to the next quest. 

Main Quest: Blood on the Battlefield 

If The Battle of Kaer Morhen left you a bit frazzled, no worries. There’s less action in Blood on the Battlefield. You should start by speaking with Avallac’h about next steps.  When that’s over, you talk to characters who were at the battle to learn of their future plans. 

• Ves and Vernon Roche plan to revisit Novigrad. 
• If you want, invite Letho to remain at Kaer Morhen. 
• Eskel plans to leave Kaer Morhen. 
• Emrion has plans to go to Ard Skellig, but will give you some medicine beforehand. 
• Hjalmar will go to Skellige to battle Nilfgaardians. 
• Zoltan is thirsty for revenge. 
• Lambert and Keira Metz plan to leave together. 
• Lambert seems to be in a bad mood. 

Go north and walk down a hill leading to the fortress to encounter Triss, Ciri, Avallac’h and Yennefer. Speak with these characters. 

What happens next is especially important, because choices you make will impact Ciri’s fate in the game.  You have five choices, and we suggest manual saving in case you don’t like the outcome. 

You may choose a +1 positive response of a -1 negative response when talking to Ciri. 

• Say, “Think I know what might light your spirits” and then begin the snowball fight, which is +1 positive. Winning or losing are unimportant. Ciri is happy either way. 
• Say, “Relax, you don’t have to be good at everything” for the -1 negative. Ciri’s mood will improve somewhat, but she’s still downtrodden. 

After that, the next choice occurs when Ciri wakes up Geralt the next morning. She wants to go to Bald Mountain to find Imlerith.  You must decide if that’s the plan or whether you think going to see Emhyr var Emreis in Vizima is the better option. 

You can say: 

• “Gotta visit the emperor first” and head to Vizima. 
• “All right, Velen it is.”

Heading off to Velen ends this quest.

If you choose to visit Vizima, Ciri will meet with the emperor and become the Empress.  You now stand a chance of accessing Epilogue: Something Ends, Something Begins (2) if you make enough positive decisions.

If you decide not to go to Vizima, Ciri will still receive a favorable ending, but she won’t receive a promotion. 

When you meet the emperor, he agrees to fork over 2,000 Crowns. 

• Refuse the Crowns for a +1. Ciri addresses you as her adopted father. You also gain a black horse that takes Roach’s place. 
• Take the Crowns for -1. This will depress Ciri, but she still accompanies you to Velen for the next stage of the game. 

Continue your quest with Prima’s free The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt walkthrough. Learn tips to play Gwent like a pro, and earn rewards by completing Monster Contracts. You will now move on to Act 3: The Final Age and fight Imlerith.

Ready to stand against the Wild Hunt? Prima’s official strategy guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough to help make decisions, navigate the vast game areas and reach the ending you want. The collector’s edition offers even more, with 32 pages of bonus content.