Operator

The Operator is a secondary character and the guardian of ancient vran chamber in Loc Muinne in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

He is found in the sewers in Chapter III after solving 2 puzzles during the From a Bygone Era quest. The player can choose to accept his offer to use "the artifact" and reallocate Geralt's talents; any other option results in combat.

Despite being supernatural in nature, he is considered human so attacks should be made with a steel sword.

Associated Quests

 * From a Bygone Era
 * An Encrypted Manuscript

Observed abilities
Both he and the gargoyles are immune to the swordsman path adrenaline finishing move — attempting to trigger it will simply drain the adrenaline bar and cause Geralt to pause briefly (which could be fatal in this fight). The Operator appears to be highly resistant or even immune to poison and stun attacks, though he can be set on fire.
 * Teleport: Teleports himself around the chamber. Cannot be targeted or hit shortly before and after each teleportation.
 * Personal shield:
 * Absorbs some incoming blows while the Operator is alone.
 * While the gargoyles are present, the shield is impenetrable, and knocks you to the ground if you come too near.
 * Controlling a gargoyle via Axii shows that every time the gargoyle hits the Operator, Geralt will get staggered.
 * Summon a pair of gargoyles: The gargoyles will land on a random spot in the chamber. They have higher HP and damage compared to regular gargoyles. They can attack by doing a strong charge followed by 2 – 3 fast strikes. Capable of killing Geralt in 1 – 2 hits from behind if Position is not upgraded.
 * The summoning seems to occur based on the Operators total hit points - about 75%, 50% and 25%. Even if a high damage attack gets him below one of these thresholds (e.g., he drops below 50% on the first attack), he will regain the health and continue to summon Gargoyles on schedule.
 * Like regular gargoyles, they will explode on death for significant damage — timed properly, this can injure the Operator if he is nearby.
 * They are vulnerable to silver sword — requiring Geralt to switch swords several times in between summonings.
 * Fireball: the Operator's most common means of attack. The fireball has an area of effect and can inflict heavy damage if Geralt has low damage reduction from magic. If the Operator has a clear line of sight to Geralt he will throw them frequently. Casting can be interrupted by successful attacks. A single fireball can fully discharge your Quen sign (even upgraded). The fireballs can be avoided behind the pillars or behind gargoyles; however if you are too close the AoE will still inflict damage.
 * Melee: the Operator will occasionally try to walk up and hit Geralt with his staff for moderate damage, as well as knocking him down if the shield is up. Sometimes observed when fighting gargoyles close to the Operator but just outside his shield knockback range.

Strategy (on Hard)
It is advisable to complete the other quests in the area and obtain the best weapons and armor.


 * Dodging: Probably the most important aspect of this fight.
 * The gargoyles can change directions in the middle of a charge or an attack combination.
 * Take cover from the fireballs by hiding behind pillars.
 * Beware of debris close to the wall that can get you stuck.
 * Casting signs: Note that there is a pause after casting signs before you can move. So do it when you are not in immediate danger of an attack (e.g. not during a gargoyle's attack combo)
 * Quen
 * Even a basic Quen can completely annul the damage from a single gargoyle hit or a fireball.
 * Note that a single fireball can take a level II Quen down.
 * Quen can prevent you from getting incinerated as well as extinguish the flame when you get incinerated.
 * Aard
 * Gargoyles are very susceptible to stun (and damage) effects of Aard. Once they are stunned they can be destroyed in one hit. The finishing move cutscenes do not trigger here.
 * It is possible to use steel sword throughout the fight if you are relying on Aard to stun the gargoyles.
 * The boss can be knocked down with Aard while shielded, in order to prevent him from casting, without any negative effect on Geralt.
 * With some luck, you may be able to use Aard to stun The Operator and have him remain standing. Promptly dodging behind him and backstabing resulted in an instant kill (not sure how).
 * Igni
 * Builds specializing in Signs with high sign damage bonus can spam Igni at the gargoyles and destroy them in a short amount of time.
 * For other builds, this sign is not very useful.
 * Heliotrope: this is very helpful as it slows down the gargoyles and the Operator. Note that if you only have the Magic tree's adrenaline move, you can only generate Adrenaline through hitting enemies with spells, and not through hitting enemies with sword or imbibing potions.
 * The Operator's shield:
 * He is invulnerable against any attacks when the gargoyles are alive, even if the shield animation cannot be seen.
 * Moving close to his shield will knock you down. The Operator may sometimes abuse this by walking or teleporting towards you.
 * Bombs: Aside from spamming them...
 * Dancing star can set a whole area on fire possibly distracting/incinerating the Operator such that he will not be able to cast fireballs. (He may not cast at all for the rest of the fight after being incinerated. Probably a bug, but it is a fairly consistent effect.)
 * An extremely efficient way of dealing with his gargoyles is to throw Red Haze bombs at them. Make sure you brew plenty of them before battle, 10-20 should be enough. The psychoactive effects work on gargoyles, and will cause them to attack each other, and even the operator, while under the effects of the bomb. The Operator will usually switch his attention to the turned gargoyles.
 * Much like Aard, Samum can stun the gargoyles for instant kills.
 * Regenerating health: if you have taken potions like Swallow/Gadwall, that is.
 * In between each wave of gargoyles, you can delay hitting the Operator as long as you want. His fireballs are relatively easy to dodge when there are no gargoyle. You can exploit this to regain vitality before you take on another wave of gargoyles.
 * Equipment:
 * Having equipment with high magic damage reduction can help minimize fireball damage. Notable ones include the Elder Blood set and Armor of Ysgith (50% magic damage reduction).
 * Deithwen has a +25% damage bonus against gargoyles.
 * Saving during battle:
 * While there are no gargoyles present, it is possible to hide behind one of the pillars where the Operator cannot see you. After a short while, he will stop and wait for you, exiting combat mode and allowing you to save your game. Best done when the Operator is in the middle of the chamber Possibly a bug, however the fact that the Operator makes taunting gestures suggests otherwise.

Loot
The Operator drops a Dragon scale, a Magic Wrap, a Vran Armor Enhancement, and the Operator's staff.

Videos
Der Wächter Gardien Operatore