Sesa 'Refumee

Looking for The Heretic, the machinima series, or the Halo 2 level, The Heretic?

"The Elites are blind, Arbiter, but I will make them see."

- Sesa 'Refumee

Sesa 'Refumee was leader of the Heretics, referred to in Halo 2 as simply the Heretic Leader, who had taken control of the Gas Mine on Threshold and a small base on Basis, the gas giant's moon which Installation 04 rests between. He is the first main antagonist of Halo 2.

Summary
"I wondered who the Prophets would send to silence me. An Arbiter? I'm flattered."

- The Heretic Leader to The Arbiter.

The Heretic Leader commanded an Artifact Retrieval Group attached to the Covenant fleet at the first Halo ring, Installation 04. 'Refumee was busy investigating a Forerunner mining facility in the upper atmosphere of the Gas-giant, Threshold, and was fortunate enough not to be on the Ringworld, when Master Chief destroyed it. Sesa 'Refumee first encountered Halo's monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, a few days after Halo’s destruction. The Monitor "edified" him about the true nature of Halo, the fate of the Forerunners and the origins of the Flood. This knowledge inspired 'Refumee and his Elites and Grunts to revolt against the Prophets, a decision that led to outright civil war amongst them. He also began to preach the truth to other Elites and Grunts in hopes that others would rally to their cause, which infuriated Truth.

Sesa was branded as a traitor and Heretic by the High Prophet of Truth, and for that reason, sent the Arbiter to execute 'Refumee. First, he tried to hide and therefore protect himself by sending the flood out in specific areas to kill the Arbiter and his strike team in the Gas Station, as a perilous Storm that would kill everyone outside the station raged. The Arbiter cut the cable that prevented the station from falling into the Gas-Giant, to force him out. As he attempted to make his escape in a Seraph Starfighter, the Arbiter found him and engaged him in battle. Despite his clever use of Holo-Drones, the Arbiter successfully dispatched 'Refumee and purged the expendable Heretic uprising. Any Heretics that were not killed by Rtas 'Vadumee's strike team were likely killed by the Flood, or plunged to their deaths when the Arbiter slashed the cables that held up the Gas Mine station. With the Heretic Leader's death at the hands of the Arbiter and 343 Guilty Spark in the hands of Tartarus and the Hierarchs, the Heresy was quelled. However, the Arbiter eventually learned of the rings' true purpose, which lead to the downfall of the Covenant.

Combat
For all intents and purposes, the Heretic Leader, on his own, is just a Ranger Elite (he changed his color of armor as a sign of rebellion, you will also notice that the Elites and Grunts in the Heretic faction have also changed armor as well) with differently-colored armor and shields that can withstand two Energy Sword lunges, making him accurately comparable to an Ultra Elite. He likes to use holodrones to help him fight and also as a disguise to hide in a fight as you see him do when you defeat him on the level, The Oracle.

What makes the fight with him difficult, however, is that he does not fight alone. As seen in the pre-battle cutscene, he creates two holographic clones to fight alongside him. While these doubles are holographic images, their damage is real, and will present as much as a threat as the Heretic leader himself. When you "kill" the holo-drones, the 3-D image of the Heretic leader vanishes and the basic drone falls to the floor.

On Easy and Normal difficulties it is enough just to ignore the holographs flying around and kill him when he takes off from the top of the fighter, but on Heroic and Legendary, you have to pay attention to the holodrones, very carefully, or you could end up dead very quickly.

On Heroic difficulty, the easiest option is to just wipe out each Heretic Leader individually, using the Energy Sword and Active Camo to sneak up on them, taking cover when you need to, mostly if you need to recharge your camo or to recharge your shields which are important when trying to sneak attack him. Note: You can find an Energy Sword off to the right at the side of the hangar if you haven't got one already. An interesting point of note is that the Heretic Leader is invincible when he is escaping from the player using the top ducts located throughout the room: his shield can be taken down, but no amount of blasting with any weapon can kill him.

On Legendary, there is no easy option, as only a few plasma bolts will kill you, sometimes in a second or so. Dual Needlers are very effective at long ranges, and watching the motion sensor and spraying the holos and the Heretic Leader as they spill out of the ducts near the ceiling are the best ways. It only takes a few needles to destroy the holo drones and/or hurt the boss. The Energy Sword can work with only a few holos, but as time goes as many as 4+ holograms can attack you. Active Camouflage and hiding at the bottom of the level are key. Without cover, you are a sitting duck. Even running is not enough to escape the plasma bolts of the Heretic Leader and his holographs.

Another, easier way to kill the Heretic Leader on Legendary is to use the glitch giving you unlimited sword battery life in conjunction with a Fuel Rod Cannon. Simply collect a Fuel Rod Cannon and Energy Sword in the level 'The Arbiter', use up the entire battery of the Sword, and then proceed through the level 'The Oracle' using only the Energy Sword. This feat is possible, even on Legendary. When you come up against the Heretic Leader, you should still have an Energy Sword with unlimited ammo and a Fuel Rod Cannon with (hopefully) 25 shots. Then you simply empty your magazine whenever you see the Heretic Leader emerge from the ducts on the ceiling. You can usually kill him in two shots on lower difficulties.

Quotes

 * "Our Prophets are false! Open your eyes, my brothers! They would use the faith of our Forefathers to bring ruin to us all! The Great Journey is a-"- Sesa 'Refumee's hologram being cut off by the Prophet of Truth.
 * "Deal with him, my brothers! I will defend the Oracle. His truth must not be silenced!"- In the level The Arbiter.
 * "I wondered who the Prophets would send to silence me. An Arbiter?... I'm flattered."- Sesa 'Refumee's hologram in the level The Oracle.
 * "This will save me from the storm, but you will be consumed."- To the Arbiter, behind the shielded door.
 * "Arbiter. I would rather die by your hands than let the Prophets lead me to slaughter."- In a hangar.
 * "Ask the Oracle about Halo. How they would sacrifice us all for nothing!"- To the Arbiter.
 * "The Elites are blind, Arbiter! But I will make them see..."- Activating two holo-drones.
 * "How did the Prophets buy your loyalty, Arbiter? With a new command, a new fleet, ... or was it the promise ... their "Great Journey?"
 * "Look around you, Arbiter. This facility and dozens like it resulted in the study of the Parasite, but where are the weapons, Arbiter?! What was the result?! All that time and effort and the best the Forerunners could do was put these foul creatures on ice."
 * "And now where are these "gods" the Prophets would have us worship! Transcended? Ha ha! Hardly. Come, Arbiter, let me show you where they went."
 * "I see the Prophets have chosen poorly, Arbiter!"- If you missed him with your shot.
 * "I take no pleasure in spilling a brother's blood."- If he kills the Arbiter, or during combat.
 * "That will send a message to the Prophets."- If he kills the Arbiter.
 * "Come Oracle, we have much to do."- If he kills the Arbiter.

Production Notes
Sesa 'Refumee was voiced by Miguel Ferrer in Halo 2.

He appeared in the following Halo 2 levels:
 * Halo 2
 * The Arbiter
 * The Oracle

Joyride Studios released a Heretic Leader Action Figure in series 8 of their Halo 2 8 inch action figure collection, and also released the hologram version of the heretic leader which is rare to find.

WizKids produced a miniature figure of Sesa 'Refumee in their first set of Halo ActionClix products wielding dual Plasma Rifles. 'Refumee is one of the most powerful units in the initial release, being worth 200 points.

Trivia

 * Sesa's armor is very similar to the other Heretic Elite's armor, although a blood red, whereas the other Heretics' were Brown or Gold.
 * Sesa 'Refumee is the first known Elite to to break away from the Covenant, and the first to possibly know the truth of Halo.
 * Even though 'Refumee left the Covenant, he didn't remove the warrior "ee" suffix from his name. Possibly this removal only applied to Covenant Separatists and not Heretics.
 * The Heretic Leader's favored weapons are dual-wielded Plasma Rifles, even though his Heretic warriors wield Covenant Carbines, not Plasma Rifles.
 * He can only use four weapons: Plasma Rifle, Energy Sword, Covenant Carbine, and the Sentinel Beam: However, he is not scripted with any but the first in game, and modding is necessary to see the other animations.
 * Despite the fact that Sesa was only in Halo 2, he was released with the Halo Action Clix which were made to promote Halo 3. The figure is "Super Rare", according to the series key.
 * Sesa 'Refumee seemed to be a Heretic Leader for a very long time, yet he knew of Thel 'Vadamee's trial ("How did the Prophets buy your loyalty, Arbiter? With a new command, a new fleet,...or was it the promise ... their 'Great Journey'?"). This may be either an overlooked mistake by Bungie, or an indication of corruption within the Covenant.
 * There is a glitch in which if you keep lunging at Sesa through the window on The Arbiter, when he escapes on a Banshee you will go through, and then you should throw a plasma grenade at the Banshee so he can't get in it. If you push him off he will die (if you push him off with a Banshee, he won't die, even if you attack him or if he falls out of the map). Also, you can watch the Elites and the Phantom shoot at him, as he is a enemy, but they don't know he's invincible.
 * The Sesa 'Refumee action figure and High Prophet Of Regret are the only action figures to have holographic versions.
 * It is possible that he had previously held the position of Elite Ranger due to his uniform, jet pack and habit of duel-wielding Plasma Rifles.
 * If you see him from behind, you will notice Sesa 'Refumee's jetpacks are still the same color as normal Ranger Elites
 * The Heretic Leader is one of the least used Bipeds in the Halo trilogy.

Related Links

 * Heretic Elite
 * Heretic Grunt
 * Heretic Banshee
 * Heretics
 * Elites