How the hell do you beat the Operator

[Daedalus]

I have read the various strategies and tactics. I don't know if that is prior to a patch or something but they just don't work.

The room is incredibly strong and I hang up on debris all the time tyring to roll.

The damn gargoyles inevitably drop on my head and backstab me before I can even change my sword

The pillars have either shrunk or the corner debris have grown to where you can't really use them as cover.

I sure as heck can't save during the fight as you can't hide behind that pillar as some videos suggest.

I just don't know what do on this fight as it kicks my ass every which way.

[tapgar]

I sympathize with you; it was a nightmare for me. Fortunately I was eventually able to. What worked for me was just a mixture of rolling and using Quen. That and magical fairy dust. I don't remember having a problem hanging up on the debris when I rolled, does it feel like it could be a glitch, or is it definitely just a part of the game? The only advice I can offer you seeing as how you read other sources is just keep trying. I was very mage heavy on the perk tree, and thought that helped a lot. I don't know if you're more fencing or alchemy. Though you can't really change that now... (except by using the Operator haha).

[aimlessgun]

I played it when it came out and then again this week and the room definitely seems harder. Just as you mention caught on debris and columns not good cover.

I had to pre-fill my Adrenaline bar and Heliotrope on the first gargoyle drop, and I'd assembled nearly a best possible gear setup for mage so I could kill the gargoyles fast enough.

For a swords character I'd imagine it's similar, just have to get beef enough stats (though Dark mode monster damage is insane). I don't know if they nerfed it, but back in the day before Dark mode, I one shot the Operator on Hard with a alchemy/swords build, avoiding the gargoyles altogether!

[ultraglorious]

I had to fight the Operator on my dark playthrough since I took Iorveth's path and intended to save Triss; under those circumstances the Operator is the only way to get it. With 0% chance of insta-kill and only the second dark set of armor, the fight was incredibly difficult. I ended up resorting to some pretty cheap tactics to even have a chance. Red Haze and the fire bombs are incredibly useful, but mostly I don't recommend going in without any kind of resistance to magic or insta-kill chance as I did. The gargoyles did so much damage to me in the Oathbreaker outfit that quen was absolutely essential.

[Tirigon]

What fight is this?
I just finished the game (on Iorveth's path saving Triss) and havent seen any fight where someone summons gargoyles.

[Tirigon]

^
Naa I did'nt do it because (for both roleplaying reasons and being fed up by the game) I rushed straight to Triss's rescue.

However, I dont remember ever getting an encrypted manuscript anyways.

[Daedalus]

I set the game down for a bit and have tried coming back to it and I am still consistantly getting my ass kicked. I can usually make it to the 2nd set of gargoyles but I just run out of health trying to keep the gargoyles off my ass and getting incinerated by the mage. I just cant get past this and nothing I have seen or heard has really helped me as there isn't any real new videos showing how it is done after they patched it up to ratchet up the difficulty. This is frustrating as hell and I don't want to proceed without eliminating this guy.

[abexomotron]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=110519187

[Tirigon]

Keep Quen up constantly and stun gargoyles with Aard or Yrden (both work; Aard is less reliable but offers a good chance of insta-kill, so it's a matter of choice). That's how I did it.

The fight sucks ass though and is also quite buggy. One of the game's worst ones without a doubt.

[Daedalus]

Originally posted by abexomotron:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=110519187

Thank you for this. It felt extremely cheesy doing it this way but about 25 of those traps made the fight go much smoother. Now I can move on.

[abexomotron]

Originally posted by Daedalus:

Thank you for this. It felt extremely cheesy doing it this way but about 25 of those traps made the fight go much smoother. Now I can move on.

You are welcome.

[tuna_fan68]

I did the pillar trick and after 2 backstabs and 2 gargoyle spawns he killed himself with his own fireball. Beforehand I tried so many times and got pissed at the fight but this was pure gold

[EolSunder]

yea this was a tough fight one of the toughest in the game. Quen of course to keep from getting slammed by the gargoyles if they hit me in the back, etc. I ran behind the pillars, trying to use them to keep the gargoyles from double teaming me. I kept moving so the mage fireballs wouldn't get me either. So ran behind a pillar, then ran over behind another pillar.

The pillar trick still works, go to one furthest from the mage after you kill the 2 gargoyles and you might hide behind it enough to get a breather, get out of combat mode and regen health back up, then repeat.

I also used strong attacks on the mage's back to get max damage before he went through his shield-2 gargoyle routine, and it only took me 3 rounds to beat him, in-between rounds using the pillar trick to heal back up to full after each fight.

Took quite a while to get lucky enough to have the pillars work, and not get ganked by the 2 gargoyles, but eventually it worked.

[Furiey]

Hardest fight in the game for me. I read somewhere that putting out all the torches stopped the gargoyles being summoned but it doesn't. Hiding behind the pillars does work and will even allow you to save. At one time I managed to save with the gargoyles in the room. Stun the mage with Aard, a couple of strong attacks to trigger the gargolyes then I ended up using a real mixture, Quen, Aard, Yrden, Samun, silver daggers and a few rage traps that I happened to have on me. I died a lot before I finally managed to do enough damage and kill him rather than just trigger the gargoyles again. It appeared that once his health dropped to a certain level at the end if I did not finish him off before he summoned the gargoyles he would regenerate and I was back where I started before the last lot of gargoyles.

The staff is fun to fight with when you finally get it.

[max.strauss]

Originally posted by EolSunder:

The pillar trick still works...

!!!

For me the key was dancing star. I didn't change the sword (only for two final hits in the end of the fight).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76TlqHiV3yA

Rinse and repeat twice.

It's useful to seek for this fight early in Chapter III; the staff is a very strong weapon against human opponents. Combat will be a breeze, even in dark mode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-lPKs-dO0

[Furiey]

Yes, I used the staff in dark mode to blaze through the Nilfgard camp. Great fun.

I did switch swords in the operator fight. Didn't have dancing star, I didn't really prepare for this in terms of bombs/traps, just used what I had.