As soon as chapter 3 starts in The Witcher 2, For a Higher Cause quest will begin if you are on Lorveth’s path. This quest requires Geralt and Iorveth to navigate through the mountains to the city of Loc Muinne and see how power changes the place.
You also get to make an important choice here, so choose wisely. Without wasting much time, here is a guide to help you complete the For a Higher Cause! quest.
How to complete the For a Higher Cause! Quest?
To progress in the For a Higher Cause quest in The Witcher 2, you must initially follow Lorveth. After a while of tailing behind Lorveth, you’ll come across Knights of the Order. Here, you can keep following Lorveth or snoop around the knights.
Well, the choice here isn’t a choice, as the other one is useless for this quest, so follow Lorveth. After a few steps, stop where the path splits and let Lorveth go down. Take the other path, and you’ll encounter two Arachas.
Defeat them and get your hands on loot and a silver sword. Now leave and go down the path Iorveth went. He will lead you through a cave system that would have Arachas and other minor monsters.
Fight through them until you reach the outside again in The Witcher 2 For a Higher Cause! quest. Here, Harpies will attack again as you are now in the open. Go ahead a little and jump down into a broken structure. This place is one of the areas where you can defeat Gargoyles for the Gargoyle Contract.
Follow Lorveth out towards the streets of Loc Muinne until the cutscene starts. The scene shows some soldiers talking about Philippa, captured in the dungeons. This will prompt a conversation with Iorveth where Geralt wants to save Philippa so she can save Saskia.
Lorveth agrees and tells you to head there through the sewers. Meanwhile, he will go to her house and look for some information. You have two choices to get to the dungeons.
- Through the sewers like Iorveth suggested
- By surrendering and getting captured by the guards
Option A: Through the Sewers
If you choose to go through the sewers, you need to be careful and not get caught by any of the patrolling guards. Start by going towards the room on the right, another area filled with Gargoyles in The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings.
There is also a seal here that is needed for the Gargoyle contract. Wipe the area and spot a crumbled slope towards the upper level near the mountains. Go around the left side and descend from another connecting slope.
As you land back on the ground, two soldiers will be nearby. Try to avoid them and reach a stop with a four-way intersection. See if there is a table on your right. From this angle, look straight ahead and open the door.
This will lead to the sewers. The serves are filled with bullvores, so be prepared for that. Climb up some ledges, and you’ll soon reach the corridor that leads to the cells.
After a few steps, the scene of Philipa getting blinded will start after King Radovid accuses her of betrayal. As the scene stops, run forward and fight with a few soldiers in The Witcher 2 For a Higher Cause will start!
Once defeated, the ambassador will arrive, and the cutscene will show being stunned by Gerald. Finally, approach Philippa and make the decision.
Option B: Surrender
If you surrender, you can save time and reach the dungeons in minutes. Go in front of the guards and don’t fight at all. After a few blows, the guards will surround you, and the next scene will show Geralt in dungeons, tied up in a cell.
Beware of this decision, as even if it’s fast, it strips Geralt of all his weapons, armor, and other equipped items. There’s a bug you may experience after all your items are gone. If you still have their weight on you with nothing in sight, add those items back in the same order and remove them when needed.
This can solve the problem. Otherwise, the save and load option is always there. Once Geralt wakes up in the cell, Philippa will be right in front of him in another cell in The Witcher 2. Talk to her and ask her anything you want until King Radovid arrives.
He will talk to her about her betrayals and tell his guards to blind her. This scene is followed by King talking to Geralt and a few dialogues by the ambassador.
Once this ends, use Igni to burn your ties. Press the desired button continuously until the bar with the yellow line is filled. Also, be quick because if you are a few seconds late, the ambassador’s soldiers will attack you. Now free, Geralt will kill them all and take the sword himself.
Who to choose: Philippa or Triss?
After freeing yourself, you have to make another decision,w which is to choose between one person to save.
- Save Philippa
- Save Triss
If you decide to save Philippa, you will get the item later used to free Saskia, the Enchanted Dagger. This means saving Philippa is saving Saskia. If you prefer to keep her, then go with this option. Also, Triss would later be saved by Letho and only be able to meet Witcher near the end.
On the other hand, if you decide to save Triss in The Witcher 2 For a Higher Cause, Geralt will run out, and a new quest will start named Where is Triss Merigold? This would increase the interaction between Geralt and Triss, and Triss could testify against the bad guys.
However, this decision would then seal Saskia’s fate, and she’d remain spellbound. You can choose either depending on what type of The Witcher 2 ending you want.
