The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Simulate Witcher 2 Save On or Off?

This guide explains whether you should have the ‘Simulate Witcher 2 Save’ option on or off in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The long wait is over and fans can finally play an enhanced version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The Witcher 3 next-gen update arrived on 14 December and now players are getting stuck in.

In case you’ve been living under a rock since 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the acclaimed action role-playing game from Polish developer CD Projekt Red.

It made CD Projekt Red arguably the most lauded video game developer in the industry. Unfortunately, all of this goodwill vanished following the calamitous release of Cyberpunk 2077.

But there’s no doubt the company has been working hard to resurrect its reputation. Following numerous updates, Cyberpunk 2077 is finally in a satisfactory state.

And the good work has carried over to The Witcher 3, too. Those who have already played The Witcher 3‘s next-gen update are calling it a worthy re-release with lots of improvements over the original version.

Whether you’re picking the game up for the first time or someone who’s jumping back in after several years, you will likely be stumped by the ‘Simulate Witcher 2 Save’ option.

This kind of option is pretty unusual as most sequels are based on pre-determined events from the previous game. However, the games of The Witcher series are role-playing games. So nothing is set in stone.

Let’s go over whether you should have the ‘Simulate Witcher 2 Save’ option on or off in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and examine what difference it makes…

Simulate Witcher 2 Save On or Off in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The word ‘simulate’ is confusing in this context. In most games, it means the computer will take choices out of your hands by simulating a given scenario. Most commonly this mechanic is found in sports games.

However, in the case of The Witcher 3, it actually means it will let the player choose the outcomes of certain key decisions from The Witcher 2.

The reason for this is that there’s no way to import a save from the last game on console like you can on PC.

For players who played The Witcher 2 on PC but are now playing The Witcher 3 on console, they will likely want to see the outcome of the actions they took in the last game. And this is where simulating a Witcher 2 save comes in…

Should you have the ‘Simulate Witcher 2 Save’ option on or off in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?

If you played The Witcher 2 and want to artificially replicate your old save OR if you want complete control over the past events of the game’s world – set this option to ON.

If you didn’t play The Witcher 2 and are happy to go with the pre-set world state chosen by CD Projekt Red – set this option to OFF.

N.B. While this option gives you an additional layer of control over The Witcher 3‘s story, it doesn’t have a particularly huge impact either way. So, don’t stress too much if you’re unsure whether to have it on or off.

What happens if you set ‘Simulate Witcher 2 Save’ to ‘On’?

After setting ‘Simulate Witcher 2 Save’ to ‘On’, you will start The Witcher 3 like normal. It isn’t until a few hours into the game that you can determine the events of The Witcher 2.

Following the game’s story, you will eventually meet Morvran Voorhis. He will ask you a number of questions about what Geralt did in his past. The responses you give dictate your ‘simulated’ Witcher 2 save. So, this is the option to go for if you want complete control over Geralt’s history and what happened in the previous game.

What happens if you set it to ‘Off’?

‘Off’ is the option to go for if you didn’t play the last Witcher game or are just happy to go with the default options.

These are the pre-set events that happened in The Witcher 2 with ‘Simulate Witcher 2 Save’ set to ‘Off’:

• Geralt spared Aryan La Valette.
• Geralt sided with Vernon Roche instead of Iorveth.
• Geralt saved Anais instead of Triss (N.B. Triss lives regardless)
• Geralt left Sile de Tansarville to die.
• Geralt killed Letho at The Witcher 2‘s conclusion

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Hopefully this guide has given you some help when deciding to simulate a save or not. After all, it is a particularly confusing option when booting up the game for the first time.

Did you choose to simulate a Witcher 2 save in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt next-gen update? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…