What Happens When You Retire an Operative in Watch Dogs: Legion?

When you retire an operative in Watch Dogs: Legion, they are permanently removed from your team and become unplayable for the rest of your current playthrough. You will no longer be able to access their unique skills, gadgets, or personal backstory, and they will disappear from your operative roster.

The Final Goodbye: What Retirement Means

Retiring an operative in Watch Dogs: Legion is a definitive decision with significant consequences. It’s akin to saying a final goodbye to a character you’ve invested time and resources into. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what transpires when you choose to retire an operative:

• Permanent Removal: Once retired, the operative is gone for good. They are expunged from your active team and your potential recruits list (if they were ever on it).
• Loss of Skills and Gadgets: All skills, perks, gadgets, and weapons specific to that operative are lost. This includes unique abilities like a construction worker’s cargo drone or a spy’s silenced pistol.
• Story Impact: The operative’s personal story arcs, if any, are immediately closed. Any unfinished missions or relationships associated with them will not be progressed further.
• No Second Chances: There is no way to retrieve a retired operative in the same playthrough. This is a hard line drawn in the digital sand.
• New Game Required: If you desperately want to play with that particular operative again, you will have to start a new game and find them again within London.
• Prestige Operatives: Extra Caution Needed: If you retire a Prestige Operative, introduced with the Bloodline DLC or through various updates, the impact is even more significant. Prestige Operatives can only be recruited once per save. Retiring them means they’re gone unless you start a new game. This adds an extra layer of consideration when deciding to retire such a valuable asset.

Why Retire an Operative?

Given the finality of retirement, one might wonder why a player would even consider it. Here are a few possible reasons:

• Streamlining Your Roster: You might have recruited too many operatives with similar skills, leading to redundancy. Retirement allows you to thin the herd and focus on a more diverse and specialized team. Remember, the game allows up to 40 operatives and potential recruits combined in the single-player campaign.
• Roleplaying Choices: Some players might retire operatives for roleplaying purposes, such as a character arc where an operative feels they can no longer contribute or wants to leave DedSec for personal reasons.
• Cleaning up Potential Recruits: You can remove characters from the Potential Recruits list to declutter and streamline your recruitment process, focusing on operatives with more desirable traits.
• Aesthetics and Immersion: You might simply dislike an operative’s appearance or voice and want to remove them from your team to maintain a certain aesthetic or level of immersion.

Alternatives to Retirement

Before making the irreversible decision to retire an operative, consider these alternatives:

• Switching Operatives: If you’re simply tired of playing as a particular operative, switch to another one. You don’t have to retire someone just because you’re not using them at the moment.
• Re-Specialization: While you can’t completely change an operative’s core skills, you can focus their development on specific areas to make them more useful to your playstyle.
• Ignoring Them: If you don’t want to use an operative, you can simply leave them in your team and not actively play as them. They won’t take up valuable resources or negatively impact your gameplay.
• Permadeath Mode Consideration: If you’re playing with permadeath enabled, operatives can die permanently in combat. This provides a natural way to cycle through your roster without making the deliberate choice to retire someone.

FAQs: Deep Diving into Operative Retirement

Can I undo retiring an operative?

No, once you retire an operative in Watch Dogs: Legion, the action is permanent for that playthrough. There is no way to reverse the decision.

Does retiring an operative free up a slot in my team?

Yes, retiring an operative frees up a slot in your team, allowing you to recruit a new operative to take their place.

What happens to the operative’s gear when they are retired?

All gear specific to the retired operative is lost. It does not transfer to another operative or go into your inventory.

Can I retire a Prestige Operative?

Yes, you can retire Prestige Operatives, but be aware that you will not be able to recruit them again in the same playthrough. You’ll need to start a new game. This makes the decision to retire a Prestige Operative even more critical.

Does retiring an operative affect the story?

Retiring an operative might impact the story if they had specific missions or relationships tied to them. These storylines will be cut short.

Can I retire an operative who is in jail or the hospital?

Yes, you can retire an operative who is in jail or the hospital. Their status does not prevent you from retiring them.

Does retiring an operative impact my overall progress?

Retiring an operative does not directly impact your overall progress, such as liberating boroughs or completing main story missions. However, it can indirectly affect your progress if that operative had unique skills crucial for certain tasks.

What is the difference between retiring and dismissing an operative?

In Watch Dogs: Legion, there is no “dismiss” function. The only way to permanently remove an operative is to retire them.

How do I retire an operative?

The process for retiring an operative is usually found within the team management section of the game’s menu. You’ll typically select the operative and then choose the “retire” option.

Can I retire an operative who is currently on a mission?

No, you cannot retire an operative who is currently on a mission. You must first complete or abandon the mission before you can retire them.

If I start a new game, can I recruit the same retired operative again?

Yes, if you start a new game, you can potentially recruit the same operative again, provided they are still available in the game world and meet your recruitment criteria.

Does retiring an operative affect my online progression?

No, retiring an operative in the single-player campaign does not affect your online progression or the operatives you have recruited in the online mode. Online and offline operative rosters are kept separate.

Are there any achievements or trophies related to retiring operatives?

As far as achievements are concerned, none are specifically tied to retiring operatives.

Can I retire an operative that I got from the Ultimate Edition or Season Pass?

Yes, Season Pass or Ultimate Edition operatives are not exempt from retirement. Once you have recruited them, you can retire them like any other operative.

How does permadeath affect operative retirement?

If you are playing with permadeath, operatives can die in combat, which is similar to retirement in that they are permanently removed from your roster. However, permadeath is triggered by in-game events (death), while retirement is a conscious player decision.

Understanding the consequences of retiring an operative in Watch Dogs: Legion is crucial for making informed decisions about your team management. While it can be a useful tool for streamlining your roster or roleplaying, it’s essential to remember that the decision is permanent. Choose wisely, and consider all alternatives before bidding farewell to your DedSec recruits. You can learn more about the impact of games on learning and behavior at GamesLearningSociety.org.