An evasive frontline commander who uses a drone fleet as a force multiplier. Operator is uniquely powerful in the late game - his drones scale with every on-hit item in his inventory, effectively multiplying the value of proc items by the number of drones he controls. He is weak early, strong late, and rewards investing in gunner drones above all else.
Every skill Operator has is designed around drone interaction. His passive Drone Tech starts him with two personal drones, and every additional drone purchased from shops adds another ADMIN-OVERRIDE or Command Swarm charge. The more drones you control, the more powerful every one of his skills becomes.
Operator is available immediately as a playable survivor when you own the Alloyed Collective DLC. No challenge is required to play him. Three challenges unlock alternate skill loadout options.
Kill 4 different enemy types with a single H3-11 OCR ricochet chain. Easiest to achieve on stages with mixed enemy types. The ricochet bounces automatically on each kill so large groups help.
Kill the Alloy Hunter teleporter boss on Conduit Canyon without touching the ground. Chain Ascent Protocol between drones to stay airborne for the entire fight. More drones make this significantly easier.
Keep an Elder Lemurian airborne for 10 continuous seconds using Ejection Core. Use the knock-up on the same target repeatedly before it lands. Artifact of Swarms can help by spawning more Elder Lemurians.
Operator's item strategy is built around on-hit proc items. Every drone in his fleet procs items independently on each hit, multiplying the value of Ukulele, AtG Missile, and similar items far beyond what a single survivor would get. Spare Drone Parts is his most important item by a wide margin - prioritise it above everything else.
The single most important item for Operator. Spawns Colonel Droneman and equips every drone with a minigun and missile launcher. Transforms your fleet from passive followers into a high-DPS army. Priority pickup every run.
Attack speed increases how fast drones fire. Operator's drones are his primary damage source, so any attack speed benefit is amplified across every drone in the fleet simultaneously.
Operator's fully charged H3-11 shot deals 600% damage at full charge and hits near-full HP enemies constantly. Crowbar amplifies each of those opening shots substantially.
25% chance to chain lightning on hit. With multiple drones firing constantly, Ukulele procs frequently and chains through groups, making Operator's otherwise single-target kit feel like AoE.
10% chance to fire a missile on hit. Drones proc AtG independently, so a fleet of 5 gunner drones effectively triples AtG uptime compared to a single survivor.
Operator has no movement skills beyond Ascent Protocol which requires a drone to be nearby. Movement speed is essential for positioning between drone chains and escaping danger on the ground.
Nano-Bugged from Ejection Core counts as a debuff. Stack three more debuff sources (Bleed from Tri-Tip, Burn from Gasoline, any other) to activate Death Mark's 50% damage bonus.
Critical strike chance that stacks with Lens-Maker's Glasses. Drones inherit crit buffs, so Predatory Instincts attack speed bonus is distributed across all drones firing simultaneously.
5% chance to heal on crit. With multiple drones generating crits constantly, Harvester's Scythe provides substantial passive sustain without requiring Operator to take risks in melee.
Operator is weak in the early game before drones accumulate. The priority in the first few stages is to buy every gunner drone you see. Each gunner drone adds an ADMIN-OVERRIDE or Command Swarm charge and increases the proc frequency of every on-hit item. Do not neglect drones for items - the drones amplify the items.
Secondary: Command Swarm once unlocked for direct damage over ADMIN-OVERRIDE's utility commands. Utility: Ascent Protocol - essential, keep default. Special: Amp Core once unlocked for the higher damage ceiling over Ejection Core's crowd control. Stay with Ejection Core if you need Death Mark setup or crowd control.
Start with two gunner drones: The default loadout gives you CROSSHAIRS (gunner) and DOC (healer). Swap to two CROSSHAIRS for more firepower early. DOC's healing is less valuable than the extra ADMIN-OVERRIDE charge from a second gunner.
Ascent Protocol chaining: Jump immediately before reactivating Ascent Protocol to gain extra height and distance. The reactivation cooldown drops to 3 seconds on a successful chain, letting you stay airborne across multiple drones indefinitely in drone-rich runs.
Amp Core tip: Shoot your own Amp Core drone while it charges. Each hit on the drone increases the explosion radius and final damage, making it dramatically more powerful than letting it charge on its own.
Spare Drone Parts timing: Spare Drone Parts spawns Colonel Droneman and upgrades every drone with a minigun and missile launcher. Picking it up with 8+ drones already collected results in an immediate and dramatic power spike. Prioritise the legendary chest if you spot one.
Operator is available immediately upon purchasing the Alloyed Collective DLC. No challenge unlock is required. Three additional challenges unlock alternate skill options: Command Swarm (Secondary), FIREWALL (Utility), and Amp Core (Special).
Operator is strong in the mid to late game but weak early. His power scales with the number of drones he controls, and each drone independently procs on-hit items. In the late game with Spare Drone Parts and 8+ drones, he becomes one of the highest sustained DPS survivors in the game. Early game before drones accumulate, he requires careful play due to 90 base HP and no armor.
Spare Drone Parts is his most important item and upgrades every drone simultaneously. After that prioritise on-hit proc items: Ukulele, AtG Missile Mk. 1, and Predatory Instincts. Drones multiply the proc frequency of all these items beyond what any other survivor achieves. Paul's Goat Hoof is important since Ascent Protocol is his only movement skill.
Nano-Bugged is a debuff applied by Ejection Core. Affected enemies fall more slowly while airborne, take increased damage from Operator's skills, and are stunned until they land. It also counts as one debuff stack toward Death Mark's 4-debuff threshold, making it part of a powerful damage amplification setup with three additional debuff sources.
Command Swarm is generally stronger for damage output once unlocked - it deals 450% with a guaranteed crit and hits unconditionally. ADMIN-OVERRIDE can be useful if you have a specific drone type you want to trigger (healing drone for sustain, transport drone for repositioning), but for pure DPS Command Swarm wins.