Sesa 'Refumee

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

- Sesa 'Refumee

Sesa 'Refum was the leader of the heretics, who have made camp on the Gas Mine of Threshold and on Basis, the gas giant and its moon of which Installation 04 rests between.

Summary
The Heretic Leader commanded an Artifact Retrieval Group attached to the Covenant fleet at the first Halo ring. Busy investigating a Forerunner mining facility in the upper atmosphere of the gas-giant, Threshold, ‘Refum was fortunate not to be on the ring when the Master Chief blew it up. The Heretic Leader 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 ‘Refum and his Elites to rebel against the Prophets – a decision that led to outright civil war.

The Heretic Leader was branded as a traitor by the High Prophet of Truth, and for that reason, sent the Arbiter to deal with him. As he attempted to make his escape in a Seraph fighter ship, the Arbiter found him and fought him. Despite his clever use of Holo-Drones, the Arbiter successfully killed 'Refum.

With the Heretic Leader’s death at the hands of the Arbiter, the specifics of the Monitor’s revelations may be lost forever.

Combat
For all intents and purposes, the Heretic Leader, on his own, is just a Ranger Elite with differently-colored armor.

However, what makes the fight with him difficult is that he does not fight alone. As seen in the pre-battle cutscene, he creates two holographic doubles to fight alongside him. While these doubles are holographic images, their damage is, strangely enough, all too 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 drones on the floor and kill him when he takes off from the top of the fighter.

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. Note: You can find an Energy Sword off to the right at the side of the hangar if you haven't got one already

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 clones.

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 clip whenever you see the Heretic Leader emerge from the ducts on the ceiling.

Quotes

 * "Deal with them, my brothers. I will defend the Oracle"
 * "How did the prophets buy your loyalty, Arbiter? A new command? A new fleet? Or was it the promise of their Great Journey?"
 * "I'd rather die by your hand than let the Prophets lead me to slaughter."
 * "I see the Prophets have chosen poorly, Arbiter!" to the Arbiter if you fail to hit him on Heroic difficulty.
 * "Come Holy Oracle, we have much work to do." If he kills you on normal.
 * "And where are these "gods" the Prophets would have us worship? Transcended? Haha, hardly! Come Arbiter, let me show you where they went." (During a lull in combat on Legendary)
 * "I wondered who the prophets would send to silence me. An Arbiter? I'm flattered. (He's using a holodrone. He must be close. Come out, so we may kill you!) Ha Ha Ha... Get in Line."

Production Notes
Sesa 'Refum 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.

Related Links

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