Controller Sentinel
Render of the Controller Sentinel.
Overview

Role:

Localized defense[1][2]

Armament:

Armor:

Forward-facing energy shield

 

The Controller Sentinel is a Forerunner Sentinel designed for the defense of valuable technology on Forerunner installations.[1][3]

OverviewEdit

Design detailsEdit

Similar to the roles of the Enforcer Sentinels, the Controllers are deployed to guard key locations and counter escalating threats on a given installation. Where they differ is that the Enforcers are strictly intended for use in fighting outbreaks of the Flood parasite, whereas Controllers are tasked to guard key sites and technologies. They are restricted in their mobility, and are effectively "tethered" within a set radii of their charges.[1][2] Controllers are only awakened in the event that an installation-compromising threat is detected.[3]

ArmamentsEdit

Controllers are equipped with a supercharged wide-area pulse field emitter as its primary weapon and a persistent beam projector as its secondary weapon (to prevent enemies from hiding in its blind spot). For defense, they are equipped with forward-facing energy shielding - an improvement of the ones used by the Enforcers.[1][2][3]

Operational historyEdit

Controllers were developed in 2559 in response to the outbreak of the Second Ark Conflict between the Banished and UNSC Spirit of Fire on Installation 00. Their development was a response to counter the escalating threats encountered in the fighting, used to guard key sites of importance.[1][2] In May of that year, they were first encountered by Spirit of Fire forces during Operation: SPEARBREAKER. During the mission, a task force led by Sunray 1-1 fought against multiple Controllers guarding the region surrounding the construction and launch site for a Despair-class fighter and its design seed, alongside the charging columns supporting it.[4][5]

In-game informationEdit

Halo Wars 2Edit

Controller Sentinels are only encountered in the Halo Wars 2: Operation: SPEARBREAKER campaign. They can be fought as enemies in the levels Gatecrashers and Not on My Watch.

Phoenix LogEdit

Phoenix Log - Controller Sentinel

Forerunner system offensive/defensive drones

The Controller Sentinels’ primary function is to guard valuable Forerunner technologies on the Ark. Developed and deployed to counter the escalating threat from the UNSC and the Banished, these flying Sentinels are loosely 'tethered' within set radii of important sites and will attack anyone that comes close, or attempts to take control of the sector.

An impenetrable energy shield protects the front of each Controller Sentinel, an improvement on the already powerful shields used by the Enforcer Sentinels whose function was to suppress Flood outbreaks. Underneath it fires a continuous Sentinel Beam to prevent enemies from hiding in its blind spot, but its primary weapon is a devastating supercharged Sentinel Pulse.

Production notesEdit

The Controller Sentinel made its debut in the Halo Wars 2 expansion Operation: SPEARBREAKER. The Sentinel's early concept passes were done by Bill Yi, and originally explored the inclusion of the Enforcer Sentinel from Halo 2.[6][7] Over time, these explorations seemed to evolve into the final Controller design done by Theo Stylianides.[8] During some of the later concept pieces, the Sentinel appears to have been given the preliminary name "Forerunner Scourer" before the final Controller name was settled on.

In the later expansion Awakening the Nightmare, a cut variant of the Controller Sentinel can be found unused in the game files. Unlike the versions featured in the Operation: SPEARBREAKER expansion, it has no shields. Artwork for the mission What Could Go Wrong? show three such Sentinels attacking Voridus' Scarab, indicating it may have at one point been intended to appear in this level.

GalleryEdit

Concept art and illustrationsEdit

ScreenshotsEdit

List of appearancesEdit

SourcesEdit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Stay Frosty (Retrieved on Oct 30, 2022) [archive]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Logs: Controller Sentinel
  3. ^ a b c Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 329
  4. ^ Halo Wars 2, campaign level Gatecrashers
  5. ^ Halo Wars 2, campaign level Not on My Watch
  6. ^ ArtStation, Bill Yi: Halo wars2 (Retrieved on Feb 12, 2021) [archive]
  7. ^ Art of Bill Yi, Halo Wars 2 (Retrieved on Feb 12, 2021) [archive]
  8. ^ ArtStation, Halo Banished (Retrieved on Mar 12, 2022) [archive]