Rumor has it that The Witcher 3 will be getting a brand new expansion set in Zerrikannia later this year to tide us over until the sequel, but in the meantime fans have recreated the Hearts of Stone cut ending for Shani.
Brothers in Arms is a collection of nearly 6,000 bug fixes that includes quests, scenes, NPCs, gameplay, and more, but what makes this mod special is that it also restores a litany of cut content, such as Yennefer's romance scene. But the latest update went even further, “reviving an entirely new storyline – Shania's fate.”
As broken down by YouTuber xLetalis (via PC Gamer ), this plotline better explains why Shani returned in the Hearts of Stone expansion, as The Brothers in Arms revealed unused dialogue in which Gaunter O'Dimm uses her as leverage to get Geralt's help and threatens to kill Shani if she refuses—something he will if you're not careful, do in the restored storyline.
Shani Lives or Shani Dies: Hearts Carved in Stone
Some minor moments are added with the mod, like Geralt warning Shani to run and “never look back.” These excerpts highlight his anxiety over Gaunter's threats and lay the groundwork for two different endings: Shania's death and survival.
I won't go into spoilers about how both endings play out – I recommend playing the DLC for yourself with the mod to get a completely fresh Hearts of Stone experience – but it's a major change that gives Shani a whole new look in The Witcher 3.
Since the team was able to piece it together with recorded dialogue taken from the files, it looks like this part of the expansion was cut very late in development, but the team managed to almost perfectly match the quality of CDPR in terms of cutscenes, so the restored content flows seamlessly with the rest of the game.
Of course, if you'd rather take advantage of the mod's bug fixes, then you can opt out of the restored cut content entirely, but after ten years, it's a new way to experience the great story of this expansion for the first time, which provides the perfect excuse to keep playing.
- Released
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May 19, 2015
- ESRB
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M for Mature: use of alcohol, blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content
- Engine
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REDengine 3
- Cross-platform play
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Yes
- Cross Save
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Yes
