The Witcher III: Wild Hunt sets itself apart from most other RPGs by not only making its protagonist the star of the show, as its villains are also amazing. In The Witcher 3’s case, the villains names are already in the title. Ironically, they’re not exactly the star villains of the games. In fact, the two most interesting villains of The Witcher 3 came from the expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine.

Hearts of Stone has the nefarious Gaunter O’Dimm while Blood and Wine has the raging Dettlaff. Both villains give the Wild Hunt a run for their coins, so it would be best to pit them against each other. Which of them is actually a better villain for The Witcher 3? Let’s look at their strengths.

10 GAUNTER IS BETTER: HE’S MORE POWERFUL

Making a villain for Geralt of Rivia shouldn’t be that hard, he’s already an underdog in any sense. However, he can get overpowered especially with the way the players handle him and how he makes the Wild Hunt look like pushovers. That’s why Gaunter’s introduction kept Geralt in check.

Here’s a being who can do whatever he wants and is even more powerful than Ciri. Gaunter O’Dimm can play with time and souls along with many other unseen capabilities. Not many antagonists can enslave Geralt, but Gaunter did it effortlessly.

9 DETTLAFF IS BETTER: VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE

While Gaunter O’Dimm might have been powerful, he’s a little too evil without any reasoning behind it. A villain can only be as interesting as their motivations. Hence, Dettlaff is the more relatable of the two.

He wasn’t even supposed to take on the role of the villain and by the end of the Blood and Wine storyline, he even appears less villainous. Dettlaff is someone who was forced to become a bad guy and this makes him unique as far as enemies go.

8 GAUNTER IS BETTER: ONE OF THE SMARTEST VILLAINS

Everyone loves a smart and clever villain. They’re the ones who have the most chilling monologues, the most sinister plans, and the most deceptive smiles. Gaunter O’Dimm is just that and complements Geralt’s bluntness and brashness well enough.

Furthermore, villains who plot and concoct some nasty machinations provide the best stories. Dettlaff might have been terrifying but without Syanna pulling the strings, he’s just an angry and lethal infant. Gaunter on his own is a menace to the universe.

7 DETTLAFF IS BETTER: CLEARER MOTIVATION

As intelligent as Gaunter might be, his motivations are a little obscure and what his goals are can be muddled. Is he just a bored deity toying with human souls or does he have a bigger boss who he must sate? The game never answered these questions, sadly.

While it did make Gaunter mysterious, it also made his involvement in the story less palatable. Dettlaff, on the other hand, has clear objectives and it’s easy to see why he did what he did. In being like that, he appears to be more of a bigger threat than Gaunter and gives a better sense of urgency.

6 GAUNTER IS BETTER: HAS HIS OWN RULES

A villain with their own rules is a good character. It shows how they’re coherent and that they still do value or honor something. This strength of character is very much visible with Gaunter O’Dimm, especially with how he treats his contracts.

Dettlaff being more chaotic and turbulent makes him appear less respectable and more immature. One look at his actions and nobody would think of him as an eons-old vampire. Gaunter suffers from fewer contradictions and is more stable in his villainous acts.

5 DETTLAFF IS BETTER: NOT INHERENTLY EVIL

Of course, there’s also that angle that Dettlaff was never really a villain initially. Syanna was the other half of the antagonist profile in Blood and Wine and she’s the brains of the plot. As such, Dettlaff is not even that evil.

He’s more like a shade of grey that’s darker than the rest, giving off a false hope that he can redeem himself. Meanwhile, Gaunter is just pure evil and somehow doesn’t fit in with The Witcher’s subversion of the good vs. evil fantasy trope.

4 GAUNTER IS BETTER: CONSIDERED AS THE DEVIL

With that said, being “evil” in The Witcher 3 isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For one, Gaunter proclaiming himself as pure evil and everyone else in the story agreeing with this has its own benefits to the storyline, namely having a clear enemy.

It makes things simple enough and makes the effort of defeating Gaunter in a mind game more satisfying and fulfilling compared to killing a rabid Higher Vampire. After all, defeating a “devil” has always been rewarding in any literature.

3 DETTLAFF IS BETTER: MORE EMOTIONAL

Gaunter O’Dimm being the smarter of the two villains makes him less sympathetic  compared to Dettlaff. He’s cold, calculating, and devoid of humanity. Dettlaff at least shows more emotions than Gaunter.

He’s known love, fear, and hatred. All those emotions make him a more compelling character and not just a mere villain or tool to the story. He’s his own person; this makes his actions more believable and personal than Gaunter’s.

2 GAUNTER IS BETTER: CAN’T DIE

Well, technically, Dettlaff also can’t die unless to a Higher Vampire’s hands but he’s still vulnerable enough that he feels less of a cosmic nuisance than Gaunter. Because according to Gaunter, he can’t die. He’s like a force of nature that will keep coming back.

This automatically makes Gaunter a good nemesis against Geralt who is also functionally immortal unless killed. It provides more potential for future stories or even games. He’s someone who can never be truly defeated and that makes him more troublesome than Dettlaff.

1 DETTLAFF IS BETTER: TRAGIC STORY

This might be subjective but a lot of people prefer a villain who has a good backstory compared to someone who is a bad guy for evil’s sake. How Dettlaff became a villain is tragic and sad; it makes his rage and villainous actions somewhat justified.

This is a great way to remove the cookie cutter good vs. bad template in stories. Dettlaff is a more polarizing villain than Gaunter– some players might even want to side with him. In that regard, Dettlaff is a great morally grey antagonist and fits well with The Witcher games’ tradition.

NEXT: The Witcher: Which Monster Are You, Based On Your D&D Alignment?