The Witcher is a beloved franchise involving both books and video games. Soon, it will also include a Netflix series starring Henry Cavill in the title role of monster-hunter, Geralt of Rivia. If you've read the books or played the games, then you know there are romantic options in your playthroughs. Depending on how you were introduced to the game, you probably have differing opinions on the main women, Triss and Yennefer.
Book readers have a different experience than people who only played the game, and people who have only played The Witcher 3 have an even more unique opinion. We're taking a look at five reasons that Yennefer is the superior of the two mains and five reasons that Triss is.
10 Yennefer: She has a special relationship with Ciri.
Everyone knows how important Ciri is to Geralt. Triss doesn't have much of a relationship with Ciri, but Yennefer is essentially her surrogate mother. Unable to have a child of her own due to sorceresses being sterile, Yennefer takes Ciri under her wing.
When Ciri was a child, Yen taught her all about magic. One of the most compelling parts of the Witcher is the found family between Yennefer, Ciri, and Geralt. There is a powerful bond between all three of them that Triss wouldn't be able to understand or become part of that familial unit.
9 Triss: She's more fun.
Yennefer and Geralt may have a lot in common in terms of their personality, but Triss is a fiery spirit. She is more outwardly flirtatious and playful than Yen. Where Yen can, at times, come off as cold and unapproachable, Triss is warm and friendly to most.
She is especially endeared by Geralt due to how much she loves him and tends to be more agreeable. The two of them do have a good time together. In The Witcher 3, they even get to attend a masquerade party together and have a few drinks in the process.
8 Yennefer: She doesn't want any magic to influence their relationship.
In one quest titled "The Last Wish" during The Witcher 3, Yennefer decides to have a djinn remove the magical bond from her and Geralt. Her goal is to see if they truly do love one another still or if they only feel that way due to a bond.
As the player, you can decide how Geralt thinks in the aftermath, but it proves how genuine of a person Yennefer is. She doesn't want anything about their relationship to be falsified. The same cannot be said for Triss, who once intentionally manipulated Geralt's memory.
7 Triss: Triss gets more development in the games.
If you don't read the books, then odds are you're going to find yourself more inclined to choosing Triss as a romantic option. This is especially true if your first introduction to The Witcher is through The Witcher 3, as it is for many fans.
Yennefer doesn't get much backstory or development in Witcher 3 while Triss is featured far more and much earlier on in the game. It's easy to understand why people would be persuaded to choose Triss when she gets so much development. You don't know about her sordid past with Geralt and only what's put in front of you.
6 Yennefer: She would do anything to help Ciri.
During the long quest to track down Ciri in The Witcher 3, Yennefer has to do some dark magic to help Geralt find her. At one point she is forced to do necromancy. The scene is one of the more horrific in the game as Yen reanimates a corpse and forces it to tell them what happened to him that lead to his death.
We find out valuable intel about Ciri's location, but it costs Yennefer quite a bit to perform magic so dark. She even comments on feeling incredibly disturbed about it in the aftermath of the act.
5 Triss: She was the love interest for the last two games.
If you haven't read the books but have played all the Witcher games, then odds are you have a special relationship and interest with Triss. After all, Yennefer wasn't featured much in the first two games whereas Triss was the main love interest.
It makes sense why you would want to continue your journey onwards by making Triss your love interest in the third and final game of the trilogy (so far as we know anyway). There's no reason to change things up if you have already connected with Triss as a romantic option.
4 Yennefer: She is willing to die to protect both Geralt and Ciri.
One thing Triss wouldn't do, die for Ciri or Geralt. Depending on whether you read the books or just play the games, you may not know the extensive history behind Geralt and the two main ladies.
But Yennefer died for Geralt and was willing to be tortured for an extended period of time to keep Ciri safe. She refused to give up Ciri's location to those who were after her. There is nothing Yen wouldn't do for her makeshift family. Triss isn't nearly as loyal, and neither is Geralt, for that matter.
3 Triss: There is more freedom with Triss.
Triss is more of a free-spirit than Yennefer is. As beloved as Yennefer is, she is somewhat controlling in her relationship with Geralt. Even other characters in the game notice this and comment on it with frequency. Triss is far less hands-on in terms of making Geralt do things for her.
She does request his help frequently, but she never questions his choices or tries to force him to bend to her will if he doesn't want to. Also, since Triss doesn't have a strong relationship with Ciri, Geralt doesn't necessarily have to be tied down to one place if he doesn't wish to be.
2 Yennefer: Yennefer and Geralt have similar personalities.
Even though Yennefer and Geralt fight often, there is something about their pairing that is intensely realistic. They fight and bicker often, but it's because they both have similar personalities. They love to tease each other, and their back-and-forth banter is incredibly endearing.
It's hard not to be charmed by how the two of them act together, and therefore it makes sense that you would want to see them make it as a couple at the end. They appear to be an excellent fit for one another in a way that Triss and Geralt don't entirely mesh. Yennefer challenges him more. It keeps their relationship exciting.
1 Triss: The relationship is more balanced with Triss.
Again as many online forums have pointed out, and you can see for yourself in the game, the power struggle between Geralt and Yennefer is far more pronounced. Geralt follows Yennefer around like a lost puppy dog at times.
Whereas with Triss, they always seem to be on equal footing. If anything, Geralt has the upper hand given it's obvious how strongly Triss feels for him. With Yennefer and Geralt, it's hard not to feel like Yen is the one in complete control and Geralt is helpless to do what she says.