Heretic Banshee

''Looking for the Covenant Banshee? Click here.'' Heretic Banshee The Heretic Banshee is a Banshee which was used exclusively by the Heretics, led by Sesa 'Refumee.

Summary
The Heretic Banshee is the backbone of the Heretics' aerial combat force. The Heretic Elites removed the Covenant-manufactured cowlings from their Banshees, revealing the mechanisms beneath. This aerial combat vehicle is clad in the colors of the Sangheili homeworld, Sanghelios. Heretic Banshees were present at the battle of the Threshold Gas Mine and as an easter egg in The Great Journey level.

Appearance
A Heretic Banshee is quite different in appearance to its Covenant counterpart. Although its purple outer covering was not completely stripped, it is now mostly covered in a golden trim, the colours of the 'Heretics'. However, the engineering remains the exact same to its Covenant counterpart.

Features
Despite its odd coloring, the Heretic Banshee is the same as other Banshees as far as its abilities and limits are concerned. It boosts at the same speed and has the Fuel Rod Cannon, as well as the dual Plasma Cannons. In short, nothing more than the outer appearance has changed. This is odd, as because, the cowls are off, it would make more sense that the mechanisms beneath would be more vulnerable to damage. This is likely an oversight in programming on Bungie's part.



List of Appearances
The following is a list of the levels where a Heretic Banshee can be found.


 * The Arbiter - Near the end of the level, the Heretic Leader Sesa 'Refumee will enter a Heretic Banshee, forcing the player-controlled Arbiter to follow in their own Heretic Banshee. Aided by a Phantom, the Arbiter must fight against other Heretic Banshees and small emplacements of Heretic Grunts, some in Shades and others with Fuel Rod Cannons, to find the heretic. The aerial fight concludes when the player defeats the last emplacement, and the level ends.


 * Oracle - After they have cut the cables holding the Heretic Facility in place, the player must again pursue 'Refumee in the air. This time, however, the time spent flying is much shorter, and there is little fighting that takes place.


 * The Great Journey - Appearing as an Easter Egg, it is possible to find a Heretic Banshee near the end of this level. It appears just under the great cliff edge seen from on foot at the beginning of the level. It has also been found beside one of the two towers that the Brute-controlled Wraiths hide behind. The Banshee spawns when the player progresses throughout the bulk of the level without using a Banshee, either by walking to the last Banshee before the cliff or by riding the Scarab controlled by Sergeant Johnson. These Banshees are sometimes found with a dead Elite under it. The Banshee can also be done on Heroic, with the Banshee spawning randomly. How to get there can be seen here.

Related Articles

 * Heretics
 * Sesa 'Refumee
 * Heretic Elites
 * Heretic Grunts

Trivia

 * When a Heretic Banshee is a usable vehicle then it has its normal texture, however, when it is destroyed, it becomes the normal Covenant purple, due to no skins for the destroyed pieces.