The Forlorn Hope (Vorcha Sentinel)

Preface

I was thinking about writing about a Human Soldier in a more fan-fictional way, but I assume that IAmNotASWFanboy made you tired of Human Soldiers for a while.

Also I'm feeling a small burnout of this game right now, and will probably post less frequently for a short bit to prevent a total burnout. That stealth patch, although decreasing load times, now dramatically increases game disconnects and alt-tab crashing.

Introduction

So back during era of early gunpowder warfare in Europe, there was a Dutch phrase called the verloren hoop, meaning lost heap. It was mangled into English as forlorn hope.

Edit- Verloren hoop can also be translated as lost hope as well. The more you know...

The forlorn hope was essentially a vanguard force of units during a battle, such as an assault on a fortress. Because they were a vanguard force and first into battle, they typically faced utter annihilation as they tried to breach a wall so that another force may reinforce and push that breach deeper into the heart of the enemy.

The Vorcha Sentinel can do a great job of breaching enemy positions. This Sentinel is capable of rapidly regenerating health, thus being able to survive for quite some time during the heat of battle. High mobility through dodging also adds to the survivability of the Vorcha Sentinel. Their Cluster Grenades can flush enemies out of cover quite easily, while Flamer can lock enemies down in cover lest they wish to be set ablaze. Then the Harpoon Gun will finish off any enemy that happens to survive the assault. All in all, the Vorcha Sentinel is an ideal breacher and is a true Sentinel.

Survivability

Health regeneration is quite amazing, just ask Wolverine of the X-Men. Considering this trait is quite useful, maxing out a defensive Fitness and Health Regeneration on Bloodlust are top priorities. For the 5th Bloodlust evolutions (Weapon/Power Damage), choose whatever you feel like. Both don't affect the weapon damage too much at 15% max.

Also, don't depend on Bloodlust having three stacks at all times. Still play conservatively like a normal character if you are low on health. Doing so will keep your Vorcha alive and healthy.

Passive Training

Passives aren't too critical, so only putting 4 in to get that weight capacity bonus is necessary. The slightly faster cooldowns are nice, especially considering Bloodlust hits cooldowns pretty hard with a 50% recharge speed penalty.

Flamer

Originally I ran with zero points in Flamer, but I found a use for it after all. While Flamer is sort of an afterthought here (competing with Vorcha Resilience for points), the Flamer should not be neglected. At a range of 15 meters, it allows the Vorcha to create a firewall while advancing on a position. This will either make the enemy stay in cover predictably, or face being burned alive.

Flamer's damage over time function will allow a Vorcha to torch a target for only a second or two while the damage over time will burn the target for 5 or so seconds. This allows the Vorcha to shoot a Harpoon Gun shot with little difficulty, dealing highly concentrated damage over time.

Interesting fact- The Harpoon Gun can be reloaded through Flamer and the Bloodlust scream, assuming the reload animation starts before either event occurs. Easily the best reason why I use the Harpoon Gun on this kit, even off-host.

Cluster Grenades

Easily my favorite part of the Vorcha Sentinel. The evolutions are designed to maximize carpet bombing potential. Cluster Grenades should ideally be used as insurance and should be saved, rather than being blown left and right all the time. If you are in a tight spot, few things are better than carpet bombing them with these KLAUSTERFOKKERS. With a decent radius of 5.4 meters, a force of 1400 newtons, and three shrapnels per grenade, the Cluster Grenade is quite capable of saturating an area with force and damage to halt an enemy attack.

Even better than their ability to stun nearly everything is their ability to detonate ANY power combo in the game. As long as the enemy is primed, Cluster Grenades WILL cause an explosion in addition to their normal damage/force. This synergizes well with any teammate that can prime an enemy for an explosion (read: just about nearly every non-Soldier/Vanguard character in the game).

Weapons

As long as your weaponry is not overly bulky and can deal with both nimble and armored targets, it should be fine on this kit. Just remember Flamer is cooldown based and all should be fine.

I enjoy using a Hurricane to deal with nimble targets, such as Phantoms and Seeker Swarms, but it acts more as a backup weapon when I get a groove with the Harpoon Gun.

The Harpoon Gun is my main weapon on this kit for two reasons. First off, its probably the only projectile weapon I am used to off-host. I can predict the harpoon's movement easily as soon as I "calibrate" it early in the match.

Secondly, the gun is all around versatile. It ignores shield-gating, has high damage per shot, ignores armor damage reduction, goes through Guardian shields, instantly primes a target with a priming ammo, does bleed damage, can be reloaded through Flamer and Bloodlust screams, and can be charged to 175% of its base damage.

Other weapons that work fine from my experience include: the Saber, Crusader, Revenant (with proper usage), Mattock, and Valkyrie. Don't limit your choices to these weapons, but I've had some success with each of those weapons first hand.

Conclusion

In his own special way, the Vorcha Sentinel takes the true meaning of Sentinels (high survivability, mixing Tech and Biotic powers) and runs with it. He will live through the thickest of flames, only to launch more flames into his enemies. His Cluster Grenades work well with both Tech and Biotic teammates, while holding its own in tight situations.

So there's this cool little comment section that I highly suggest checking out. Writing down there makes you smarter, I swear.