How to Get the Iris Sword in The Witcher 3: Save Olgierd and Solve O'Dimm's Riddle

Iris is Olgierd von Everec's sword – a relic steel blade with a cursed edge and one of the most memorable weapons in The Witcher 3. You can't buy it, craft it or loot it from a chest. The only way to get it is to save Olgierd from Gaunter O'Dimm at the very end of the Hearts of Stone expansion, and that option is easy to lock yourself out of if you skip an optional conversation.

This guide covers what the sword does, the step you must not miss, the full route through O'Dimm's riddle world, and what you give up by choosing Iris.

What Iris does

Iris has a charge mechanic that rewards aggressive sword play:

• It charges in combat. Landing three or four fast attacks in quick succession makes the blade flash red. Blocked strikes count toward the charge too.
• The next strong attack unleashes it. A charged heavy attack hits much harder, cuts through an enemy's guard and knocks the target down, a bit like Aard.
• It costs you health. Releasing the charge drains part of Geralt's vitality, so watch your health bar. As long as the blade stays uncharged, it doesn't hurt you.
• Strong attacks hit twice. This happens whether the sword is charged or not.

Iris has no upgrade slots, and its damage depends on the level you receive it at. You can carry it into New Game+, but enemy scaling there means you may outgrow it.

Requirements

Step-by-step: how to get Iris

1. Start the final quest. After the third wish is complete, go to the Alchemy Inn in Oxenfurt and tell one of Olgierd's men. Gaunter O'Dimm intercepts Geralt and tells him to bring Olgierd to the Temple of Lilvani.
2. Visit Shani. Before heading to the temple, take the optional objective to see Shani at her clinic in Oxenfurt. She points you to Professor Shakeslock at the Oxenfurt Academy.
3. Reach Shakeslock. Sneak into the Academy grounds with Shani and get into the professor's house. Expect a fight with mage hunters along the way.
4. Hear him out. Shakeslock explains that O'Dimm is a gambler who can't turn down a wager – that's the loophole that lets you challenge him. Talking to him is what unlocks the option to save Olgierd. Loot his body for his key and journal before you leave.
5. Go to the Temple of Lilvani. The temple is reached through a cave. Inside, give Olgierd either the violet rose or the painting of Iris, depending on what you kept at the end of Scenes From a Marriage.
6. Intervene. When O'Dimm arrives to claim Olgierd's soul, choose to step in and offer a wager. O'Dimm accepts on his own terms and sends Geralt into his riddle world.

Solving O'Dimm's riddle

The answer to the riddle is a mirror – but not one you can smash. A timer runs while you're inside, and if it runs out, Geralt dies. You can't save inside, and the clock drains faster each time you interact with a wrong answer.

1. Head north from the start and turn right at the first fork, where two specters wait.
2. Cross the bridge, then turn left at the next two forks. A specter guards a silver sword stuck in a stone here – the Viper Venomous Silver Sword, which you can only get in this place.
3. Ignore the decoys. Objects like the swing are wrong answers, and interacting with them only costs you time.
4. Go through the graveyard at the next left turn. Two poisonous specters attack, so Golden Oriole is a big help.
5. Enter the manor. At the end of a hallway, a mirror makes the floor collapse and drops you into the garden. Mirrors there shatter as you approach – they aren't the answer.
6. Find the dry fountain. It sits on one side of the garden behind a mirror. Use Witcher Senses to spot the glowing cracked wall behind it.
7. Cast Aard on the wall. Water fills the fountain, and Geralt's reflection in it is the one mirror O'Dimm can't break. Interact with it to give your answer and win.

Back in the real world, O'Dimm is forced to leave, Geralt's brand vanishes and a grateful Olgierd hands over Iris.

What you give up

If you stay out of it instead, O'Dimm takes Olgierd and rewards Geralt with one wish. Options include the Caparison of Lament saddle, the Horn of Plenty, the Bottomless Carafe, a pile of crowns, or advice about Ciri. Siding with Olgierd means no wish, but it gives you Iris, the Viper sword and the more uplifting ending for the expansion.

Tips and common mistakes

• Don't skip Shani. Her objective is marked optional, but without meeting Shakeslock the option to intervene simply doesn't appear.
• Save before the temple. Once you enter, the big decision comes quickly, and you can't save inside the riddle world.
• Grab the Viper sword on the way. It's on the route anyway, and you'll never get another chance at it.
• Don't touch everything. Decoys burn time. Head for the manor garden with purpose.
• Manage your health with Iris. Pair it with healing sources such as Swallow or a good food stack so the charge cost doesn't catch you out.

Is it worth it?

For most players, yes. Iris is a strong, distinctive relic sword with a play style unlike any other blade in the game, and the path to it is also the most satisfying way to end Hearts of Stone. Just remember the one rule: talk to Shakeslock before you face O'Dimm.