City Watch Officers

"More polished and professional than the average city guard, but just as brutal."

—Dishonored Website

City Watch Officers or the Elite Guard are police and protectors of the Lord Regent, Hiram Burrows, and of other important aristocrats. They act as leaders to the rest of the City Watch, as well as functioning as detective inspectors. They are loyal, disciplined and courageous, never fleeing from battle except to raise the alarm. 

Primarily come from noble or wealthy families, officers are well trained and competent in swordsmanship and marksmanship. They prefer to fight at a distance, but can easily charge Corvo Attano and Daud and use their swords. They are capable of fast attacks that can easily hit an unwary opponent. Even a few Officers are enough to quickly take down an unprepared enemy - being shot by an Officer not only causes damage, but also interrupts attacks and blocking.

Appearance

Officers wear ornate coats over a form of justacorps, with different colors to distinguish their division. Dark blue and red is the standard uniform; sky blue denotes those assigned to protect aristocrats and other important persons; red coats mark high-standing officials in the army, such as General Turnbull; and ocean-blue marks naval officers such as Admiral Farley Havelock. 

Though Officers wear no additional body armor outside their coats, they can take more damage than the lightly armored guards. In addition to their coats, some Officers wear helmets that protect them from most projectiles.

Quotes

Idle Chat

• "People have the worst taste." (when looking at a painting)
• "I'll write to her again, she has to see reason."
• "Should we gather for whiskey and cigars tonight?"
• "Someone's supposed to be on duty over here." (when noticing a companion is missing)
• "Think you'll get your own squad after what happened last night?"
• "I heard you got eaten alive at cards."
• "Things are bad. Could the City get any worse?"
• "Why is no one making rounds over here?" (when noticing a companion is missing)
• "Hey, where are you? Stay at your post." (when noticing a companion is missing)
• "Damn, I can not count on him." (when noticing a companion is missing)
• "None of this would've gotten so bad if that damn fool, Corvo, hadn't killed the Empress."
• "Ha, I shit bigger than you!" (when crushing a rat)
• "Rat, damn you!" (when crushing a rat)
• "Damn, it's off. Once they get the reliability up, these things are gonna be worth the effort." (When a wall of light is deactivated)
• "The tanks in these damn things doesn't last long enough." (When a wall of light is deactivated)
• "Damn... how did I lose that?" (when noticing his pouch is missing)
• "Hey, it's missing. Someone's been going through my things again." (when noticing his pouch is missing)

Idle Answers

• "Indeed. I believe so."
• "Never doubt it."
• "Chances are very good."
• "Yes, of course."
• "Buzz off."

Searching in Group

• "We know you're here."
• "Shout if you see him."
• "Check under everything"
• "We got a prowler on the loose."
• "We'll find him."
• "How did we lose him?"
• "Lets see what happens if I get another crack at this guy."
• "He's slippery. Check everywhere."
• "Eyes sharp, call out to each other if you spot him."
• "Check everywhere."

Searching Alone

• "Where are you?"
• "Present yourself! Don't make me find you."
• "When I find you, it's gonna be bad."
• "Oh, I'll find you."
• "I know you're here somewhere scum."
• "I know you're here."
• "Stop messing around and come out at once."
• "You keep going."
• "I'm going to find you, whoever you are, and then I'll demonstrate your failings."

Returning to Idle

• "If he comes back I'll earn another promotion."
• "Alright, you get off this time."
• "Alright, I give up."
• "Probably rats, into everything."
• "How did I lose him?"

Attacking

• "Flank him!"
• "Clear the line!" (when aiming pistol)
• "I'll feed your heart to the hounds!"
• "Get behind him!"
• "Someone get over here!"
• "Guards! To me!"
• "Got you now!"
• "Here you are!"
• "Watch it!" (when aiming pistol)
• "Firing!" (when aiming pistol)
• "We're not taking this one alive!"
• "Whiskey for a week if you kill him!"
• "Come here, low-life."
• "Come closer worm."
• "Die, idiot!"
• "Take it!"
• "Come on, bleed!"
• "Stand clear!" (when aiming pistol)
• "Ha!"
• "Take out his legs!"
• "Take this!"
• "You're going down!"
• "You're gonna bleed, damn you!"
• "Die!"
• "Die, dammit!"
• "He jumped for it, heading for the river!" (when jumping in the river)
• "The river won't save you!"
• "He's escaping to the river!"

Shouting for Help

• "I need more men."
• "Guards, to me."
• "Assassin! Help!"

Alerted

• "Hmm. That might be worth checking out."
• "Think you're being quiet?" (when hearing a suspicious sound)
• "I heard you there!" (when hearing a suspicious sound)
• "A body! Someone will pay for this!" (when encountering a dead body)
• "Rouse yourself! Wake up!" (when encountering an unconscious body)
• "What now?"
• "Another toad, somewhere he doesn't belong."
• "Huh?"
• "Heard something..."
• "Get up, right now!" (when encountering an unconscious body)

Reaction to Supernatural Abilities

• "Witchcraft!"
• "Impossible!"
• "Curse the Outsider, black magic!"
• "It looked like he just disappeared!" (Blink, Possession, and Bend Time level II)
• "Dammit! Where'd he go?" (Blink, Possession, and Bend Time level II)
• "Hey, you don't look so good." (To a possessed member of the City Watch)

Protagonist's Death

• "This was too easy."
• "Now the rats can fight over your guts."
• "Fish bait."
• "Rot in the void! The man you ended was a friend of mine, jackass!" (after a kill)
• "I'll have a drink tonight for the good man you killed." (after a kill)

Notes

• Officers are equipped with swords and pistols. When using their pistols, Officers will take a short pause to aim before they fire. Corvo can use this brief period of time to attack them and to disrupt their action. However, they may dodge Corvo's strikes, and after two dodges they will kick him away.
• Officers show an understanding of tactics in battle, often going around an embattled opponent and attacking from behind.
• Due to the helmets that protect their heads from all projectiles, a sleep dart to the body is the quickest and most reliable way of disabling them from a great distance.
• Shots fired by Officers will hit other guards if they are in the way, causing them significant damage.

Trivia

• Known ranks for Officers are Lieutenants, Captains, Majors and Generals. It is unknown whether or not they have Colonels.
• Many Officers do not have command over a unit of their own and are simply part of groups made up entirely of Officers.
• The Heart reveals that Officers are often the sons of rich and powerful families. This brings the question of whether they actually obtain their ranks through merit, or simply purchase officer commissions from the government in a fashion similar to the historical British Army.
• According to developer Harvey Smith, there are only a few female "notable officers" in the City Watch.
  • Like their male counterparts, some of the female Watch Officers enjoy whiskey and cigars.
• Officers are much more civil than lower guards and their conversations are moderately polite, showing they are courteous to their fellows. They rarely converse with lower ranking men.
• Despite their neutrality, guards in the Boyle party will kick Corvo away if they have seen him stealing, but will not take further action unless attacked.
• An Officer may try and play a piano if there is one nearby.
• Officers' helmets appear to be based on British police helmets (custodian helmets) and spiked helmets from XIX century Prussia known as pickelhauben.
• Officers are known to leave their posts to urinate while on patrol, including off of Kingsparrow Lighthouse, though they do this less often than their lower-ranking counterparts.
• In the mission Eminent Domain an Officer and a Lower Guard can be heard discussing how they plan to evict a family in the Legal District by going through the back door of their mansion.
• City Watch Officers at the Timsh Estate wear gray waistcoats under blue, instead of the usual deep blue and red, and are marked as "Estate Officers" in the HUD.
• City Watch Officers are one of the only two character classes in Dishonored that use pistols, the other being Warfare Overseers. In the DLCs, however, members of the Hatters Gang make use of pistols.
• Officers can occasionally be seen reading books.
• Officers can be seen occasionally looking at paintings or other works of art, and will sometimes comment on them, often to themselves.
• Some Officers were infected with the Rat Plague and turned into Weepers. All weeper officers are of the regular variant (blue coat with red vest), and have their uniforms in bad condition.
• The only living Officer to appear in Dishonored 2 is Mortimer Ramsey. More are encountered in Death to the Empress, but they have all been killed.

Gallery

City Watch Officer concept art.

City Watch concept art.

City Watch Officer Render.

City Watch Officer render closeup.

Render of a City Watch or military officer in a red jacket.

A painting of a City Watch Officer.

Promotional artwork of a City Watch Officer.

The Officer gives the thumbs up.

An Officer stands guard at Dunwall Tower.

Geoff Curnow, Captain of the guard.

A hostile City Watch Officer.

A City Watch Officer shoots at Corvo.

A City Watch Officer (center) runs after Corvo.

Two City Watch Officers at Galvani's lab discuss the break-in of a dead Bottle Street thug, Crowley.

A City Watch Officer runs from an explosion.

A City Watch Officer of the bodyguard division.

Dunstan, a City Watch Officer, asleep at the Golden Cat.

City Watch Officers without helmets at the Golden Cat.

A noble Officer firing his gun.

An Officer and a courtesan in a steam room.

A City Watch Officer aims his pistol.

An Officer conversing with a Dead Counter on Kaldwin's Bridge.

Weeper Watch Officer.

A City Watch Officer reads Corvo's invitation at the Boyle Mansion.

Tom, a City Watch Officer at the Boyle Mansion.

Tom dutifully guards the upper floor of the Boyle Mansion.

An officer drawing his sword.

A City Watch Officer attempts to play the piano at the Boyle Mansion.

A City Watch Officer trying to play a piano.

A City Watch Officer reading a book at the Boyle Mansion.

General Tobias and an Officer speak to Hiram Burrows.

City Watch Officers having a conversation.

Captain Ren talking to Pendleton.

Corvo fights a City Watch Officer on Kingsparrow Island.

Daud fights a City Watch Officer on the streets.

Daud stabs a City Watch Officer.

A City Watch Officer yells.

A beheaded City Watch Officer.

Daud severing the Officer's head from his shoulders.

Daud fights a City Watch Officer by the water.

Daud slashes at a City Watch Officer.

Daud sneaks up behind a City Watch Officer.

A deceased City Watch Officer who served as Thalia Timsh's bodyguard.

Captain Blossom enjoys a glass of whiskey.

Daud fights a helmeted City Watch Officer in the home of Arnold Timsh.

Daud fights a City Watch Officer wearing the uniform of a noble bodyguard.

Daud fights a City Watch Officer wearing the noble bodyguard uniform.

Daud uses Blood Thirsty on an Officer.

Daud shoots an Officer off a ledge.

Daud uses Pull on a City Watch Officer.

Watch Officer Thorpe about to be executed.

A pre-release image showing an Officer on duty.

The Lord Regent with his Officers.

Promotional screenshot showing Corvo shooting a plague infected City Watch Officer.

Promotional screenshot showing two City Watch Officers in the Boyle Mansion.

Promotional image depicting a City Watch Officer in Pratchett's house.

An Officer's helmet, as seen from the front.

An Officer's helmet, as seen from the back.

An Officer's helmet, as seen from the side.

An Officer's helmet, as seen from the top.

Cottings, a female Watch Officer introduced in Dishonored: The Wyrmwood Deceit.

Alexi, a female lieutenant introduced in The Wyrmwood Deceit.

A City Watch Officer standing guard at the Boyle Mansion.

A City Watch Officer warms his hands by a fireplace.

Mortimer Ramsey, a city watch officer appearing in Dishonored 2.

Mortimer fights Corvo

A dead City Watch Officer in Dishonored 2