The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt: Ranking the top 10 Antagonists in the game (DLC included)

The vast and expansive world of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt comes with its very own blend of unique characters who have a surprising amount of depth to their back story.

Depending on the dialogue options you choose, each of the characters will respond to the story’s progress (and to Geralt) differently. And it’s often very difficult to predict which of them are ultimately villains and which of them are going to turn out to be the witcher’s biggest assets.

But after almost 200-hours of gameplay with the main story quests and DLCs concluded, we have come up with a list of our 10 favorite baddies that Geralt needs to face throughout the entire game.

Though most of these characters are very relatable, that doesn’t dampen the fact that they are some of the cruelest and cold-hearted characters in the game.

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#10 Philippa Eilhart

She has a lot of grey areas, and as one of the most powerful witches in the game, she is capable of rivaling even the most influential of kings

If you just take characterization into account, then Philippa won’t exactly come across as just a black and white character. She has a lot of grey areas, and as one of the most powerful witches in the game, she is capable of rivaling even the most influential of kings.

Coldhearted, calculative and manipulative, Philippa is cruel and ambitious, and she will not hesitate to use those around to further her needs.

#9 The Crones

Being able to kill them with Ciri in the latter half of the game makes for some of the most satisfying gameplay in the entire saga

There is not a single relatable thing about the Ladies of the Woods. From the very first second of their introduction in the Crookback Bog quests, not much feels right about the ladies even if the neighboring village folk praise them for their yearly bountiful harvests.

Being able to kill them with Ciri in the latter half of the game makes for some of the most satisfying gameplay in the entire saga.

#8 Olgierd von Everec

Much like with Philippa, Olgierd’s intentions, too, are pretty hard to gage when he is first introduced in the Hearts of Stone expansion. Initially, players may not find him to be all that appealing of a character, but the further you progress into the DLC, the more mysterious his back story gets.

His character progression will depend on the player’s choices, though, and how you make Geralt see the unfolding situation.

#7 Radovid V

Much of the later part of the Witcher 3’s main quest line goes into questioning Radovid’s sanity. Players often catch themselves wondering if there was at all any method to his madness even after Philippa thrusts a dagger through him.

Radovid’s witch hunts were scenes for some of the most horrifying images in the game, and it’s pretty hard not to end up hating the character as the game progresses.

#6 The Caretaker

The Caretaker may not play a big enough story like Olgierd in the Hearts of Stone expansion, but he does successfully leave a lasting impression which haunts the player for the rest of the DLC’s playthrough.

The dark and ominous Caretaker has a dominating presence, which even makes the seasoned witcher lose his composure for a moment.

#5 Imlerith

There are a lot of reasons for hating the Wild Hunt general, but one of the major ones is the fact that he killed Vesemir. It was one of the most emotionally driven scenes in the game that made even Ciri explode with anger and discharge huge bursts of ‘elder blood power.’

He is an incredibly powerful being, whom even the Crones feared. And putting a sword through his heart after melting his face-off with Igni was an incredibly satisfying feeling, to say the least.

#4 Sylvia Anna

Sylvia raised herself to be as malicious and as conniving as a water hag trying to lure drunk victims into the swamp

Say what you will about Sylvia, but we found her to be one of the most relatable and tragic antagonists in the entire Blood and Wine DLC.

As a victim of the stigma surrounding her as a child because of her birth during the Curse of the Black Sun, Sylvia raised herself to be as malicious and as conniving as a water hag trying to lure drunk victims into the swamp.

Her character has a lot of depth, which is very well portrayed through dialogues and events.

#3 Eredin

Neither can one like Eredin and nor hate him to be completely honest. His reasons for hunting down Ciri might sound logical to many, but his methods of doing it aren't.

His machiavellian outlook is what makes him so very unrelatable, and going up against him in a one on one fight, just feels like fighting a robot who won’t even betray a hint of emotion when he lay dying by the end of the game.

#2 Gaunter O’Dimm

The Hearts of Stone expansion introduced players to a character so twisted that he would even put the vilest of nekkers to shame.

The Master Mirror can be first encountered by players at the beginning of the game in White Orchard when searching for the sorceress Yennefer. But little will they know that during the hearts of Stone quests, this man would evolve to be one Geralt's biggest foes.

Manipulative, all-knowing with a bag full of tricks up his sleeve, Gaunter O’Dimm at times feels like the most dangerous man to have ever walked the lush fields of Novigrad.

#1 Emhyr var Emreis

Emperor Emhyr might have felt like a complex character that players can sympathize with

At the beginning of the game, Emperor Emhyr might have felt like a complex character that players can sympathize with. A distraught father, hiring a witcher to find his long lost daughter.

But as the story progresses, the more hated he gets. To Emhyr, the end always justified the means, and he is constantly calculating to meet his ambitions.

In the Witcher books, he was shown to be someone who is devoid of any human emotions. He was so far gone that he even decided to have a child with his daughter Ciri as he believed that his child with her would fulfill a particular prophecy. Humanity was something which was an alien concept to him.

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Edited by Alan John