Prophet of Regret

The High Prophet of Regret was the youngest of the three High Prophets that lead the Covenant High Council during the Human-Covenant War. He is also one of the main antagonists in Halo 2 as well as in Halo Wars. Rash, ambitious, immature, and naive compared to the other Prophets, Regret originally served as Vice Minister of Tranquility, where he worked frequently with Sangheili and had adopted some of their personal traits, such as a preoccupation with honor and personal arms. However, he also exhibited traits of alcoholism and smoking. Still, Regret was intelligent and fiercely opposed to humanity through the course of the Great War and expected his soldiers to obey him without question.

Regret is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.

Age of Doubt
During the 23rd Age of Doubt, 2524 by the UNSC Military Calendar, Regret held the post of Vice Minister of Tranquility. He was unique among the Prophets for his confrontational demeanor, a trait he gained from working with the Sangheili. He informed the Minister of Fortitude about the existence of Harvest and what they believed to be a vast repository of Forerunner artifacts, which were the Reclaimers on the planet. After conspiring with Fortitude to gain these artifacts for their own use, he helped him by pretending to sympathize with those blacklisted from reproducing due to inbreeding, which included the Prophet of Restraint. After pretending to be the father of two children Restraint had unlawfully fathered, Tranquility blackmailed Restraint into stepping down from his position as High Prophet.

Before their coup, the Prophets visited the Philologist, leader of the Ascetic priests aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought and keeper of the Oracle, which was actually the long-dormant Mendicant Bias, an ancient A.I. that had not spoken to anyone for hundreds of years. When the Luminaries of Harvest were entered into its matrix, the Oracle reactivated and said the symbols had been misinterpreted: the symbol didn't mean Reclamation, but Reclaimer, who it called his makers. Fortitude concluded that the these Reclaimers, the planet's aliens, were living Forerunners who had been left behind when the others transcended. Tranquility refused to believe this and accused the Philologist of tampering with the Oracle. As it attempted to launch the Dreadnought from High Charity the Lekgolo worms inside the Dreadnought short-circuited it and stopped Mendicant Bias. Fortitude, Tranquility, and the Philologist made the decision to disconnect the Oracle from the ship and decided to eradicate humanity before any of the Covenant learned that the most basic premise of their faith was false, and that "living gods" would probably replace the Prophets. As such, their ascension was made, taking the names of Truth, Regret and Mercy.

Human-Covenant War
The Second Battle of Harvest "The Journey requires Sacrifice! Set the charges. Return to us! Our patience is not infinite!"

- Regret, speaking via hologram to Ripa 'Moramee

Obsessed with the Forerunners and the prospect of activating the Halo Array, Regret dispatched Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee on numerous missions throughout Covenant and human space to find the means to do this, choosing him for his ruthlessness and undying loyalty. Eventually, after or during the Second Battle of Harvest, Covenant forces discovered a Forerunner relic buried in the planet's northern polar region. This relic proved to be some sort of Forerunner mapping device. Dispatching a force led by Ripa 'Moramee, valuable information was recovered. With UNSC forces closing in however, Regret ordered that the relic be destroyed to prevent the retrieved information from falling into human hands. Against his instincts, the Arbiter obeyed. However, despite Covenant efforts, the site was not destroyed, allowing the humans to learn of the information Regret planned to use. Later at the Apex, a Forerunner hangar, he discussed with the Arbiter his plans to activate the Forerunner ships located there. When he could not activate the artifact himself, he ordered the Arbiter to capture the human female, Ellen Anders, who they encountered at the Ice Relic and bring her to the Apex. Later when the Arbiter returned with her, Regret was in disbelief, saying "you would hardly think them a threat." When they learned the Humans were closing in on them Regret evacuated to High Charity. However, Regret's plans to use the dormant ships were foiled when the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire overloaded the Shield World's internal sun, destroying all the ships and the planet.

Battle of Charybdis IX
Three years later, Regret was present at the Battle of Charybdis IX, with his personal Assault Carrier, Infinite Sacrifice, where he oversaw Thel 'Vadamee, and the glassing of the planet. He then called upon Thel to find the source of human-modified Covenant weapons, and bring them to the Prophets. Little did Regret know, that he was in fact, interfering with the Prophet of Truth's plans to find the location of all the human colonies and also Earth. However, their plans eventually fell back into tandem.

Battle of Earth
"Dear humanity, we Regret being alien bastards, we Regret coming to Earth, and we most definitely Regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy ass fleet!."

- Sgt. Johnson to Miranda Keyes on Regret's message.

In 2552, Regret served during the destruction of Halo Installation 04 and helped condemn the Sangheili Supreme Commander (later the new Arbiter) who was responsible for the loss of the ring.

Some time before this, Regret managed to discover the location of a Forerunner artifact of great importance: a device which would generate a Portal to the Ark, where the Covenant believed they could begin their "Great Journey" by activating the Halo Array. Unbeknownst to Regret, the world this machine was located on was humanity's home world, Earth. While the Prophet of Truth knew of the human presence on Earth, he had kept it, along with his personal plans for the planet and the Covenant, a closely guarded secret.

Without even informing the other Hierarchs, the Prophet of Regret subsequently led small fleet of two Assault Carriers and thirteen Battlecruisers to Earth. After the Prophet of Truth learned of this, he quickly sent a massive support and excavation fleet to Earth.

When Regret arrived near Earth on October 20, 2552, he quickly found himself greatly outnumbered by UNSC defenses. Instead of retreating however, he sped towards the planet in religious fervor, sending Ranger Elites and Boarding Craft to destroy the Orbital Defense Platforms Malta, Athens, and Cairo so he could push through into the heart of Africa. Despite the Master Chief's actions, his ship made it to the ground and deployed the first full-scale invasion force by the Covenant on Earth.

After landing in New Mombasa, Regret's forces searched the city for the Forerunner artifact, supported by Scarabs and many Phantom dropships. As the UNSC forces approached his Carrier, Regret's ship initiated a slipspace jump in the middle of New Mombasa to escape and regroup. The force generated by the jump heavily damaged the city. The move was so surprising that only the In Amber Clad and a few other UNSC ships were able to follow the Carrier through the slipspace portal.

Battle of Installation 05
"I shall light this holy ring, release its cleansing flame, and burn a path into the divine beyond."

- Regret

Regret's Carrier deployed ground and infantry forces onto the surface of Installation 05, and set up a presence around a temple in the middle of a lake, from which Regret began his religious sermons. He transmitted an apology to the Prophet of Truth, indicating that he couldn't have known that the humans would be there or in such force. Truth responded that only Mercy had spared him from public condemnation. Nevertheless, High Charity and the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity rushed to the new Halo, and a flight of Phantoms was deployed to rescue the Hierarch.

In Amber Clad arrived in the system soon after and deployed ODST forces on Installation 05 along with the Master Chief to locate and kill Regret. The operation was a success, with the Spartan breaking through Covenant defenses, killing Regret and his bodyguards. Soon afterward High Charity made a jump to the ring and ordered one of the nearby ships to use its glassing beam to destroy the temple, nearly killing the SPARTAN and leaving Regret for dead.

Regret's body was later assimilated and apparently reanimated by the newly formed Gravemind when his body was flung into the depths of the large lake surrounding the Temple and later discovered by the Gravemind. However, seeing that he still retained his memories and personality after assimilation, it's possible Regret actually survived his encounter with the MAster Chief on Installation 05. He expressed annoyance with another captive of the Gravemind's, 2401 Penitent Tangent, and reacted to the presence of the Arbiter, warning him to forget any heretical suggestions made by the Monitors and the humans and to pursue the Great Journey. It was thanks to Regret that the Gravemind discovered the location of the gateway to the Ark. What remained of Regret was destroyed with the Gravemind when the replacement for Installation 04 was prematurely fired by the Master Chief and Cortana during the events of Halo 3.

Personality
"Nothing can be done until my sermon is complete!"

- Regret on activating Delta Halo, after being absorbed by Gravemind

Regret has shown his reckless nature more than a few times. Being the youngest of the Hierarchs, he tends to act rashly without thinking. In Halo: The Cole Protocol, it caused a lot of trouble for Thel 'Vadamee and the Prophet of Truth when he ordered his forces to deal with the humans at the Rubble and the Kig-Yar trading with them. In Halo 2, upon learning the location of the Ark, Regret sped to Earth with an insufficient fleet, consisting of the remnants of a large fleet that was decimated with the station Unyielding Hierophant by John-117, Linda-058, Fred-104, Will-043, and Grace-093 in Halo: First Strike. Nonetheless, he persistently headed for what he thought was an easy unlocking of the Ark. This mistake had eventually cost him his life on Delta Halo. Regret adopted his aggressive and brash demeanor during his extensive service alongside the Sangheili in missionary and expeditionary affairs.

Halo 2


"Human filth! You dare to befoul this holy place?"

- Regret, facing John-117 in battle.

The only weapons that Regret had were his gravity throne, seen in the level "Regret", and his Plasma Pistol. Regret is heavily guarded by Grunts and Sangheili Honor Guardsmen of seemingly infinite numbers. The throne is equipped with two gravity cannons that glow bright orange and are a modified version of a Hunter's Assault Cannon.

The gravity throne allows Regret to teleport a short distance away. The most effective way to deal with the Prophet is to jump onto his gravity throne and beat him to death with melee attacks. Energy swords will not kill the Prophet, though they can reduce the number of melee hits required to kill him. This is due to a "heavy-duty" shield. Rockets and fuel rods are surprisingly ineffective against Regret. Although he will shout out and bleed when hit, the player must still board his throne and melee him to death.

Halo Wars


"Burn, heretics!"

- Regret, when using his Cleansing ability.

Regret is armed with a Plasma Cannon attack and the "Cleansing" ability which calls down an energy beam from an orbiting vessel. Although in Halo 2 his throne is always equipped with personal shields and modified fuel rod cannons, in Halo Wars the Prophet starts with weapons similar to plasma rifles, then is upgraded to the fuel rods that are seen until his death. Also, although not present in Halo 2, the Prophets chair eventually gets upgraded to a flight chair, giving him the flying capabilities that the books depict. Note that his voice sounds somewhat different compared to Halo 2's, yet both versions have the same voice actor, this could be because of the twenty year time difference in age. His appearance is also radically different, with a darker tone of skin and less of the typical Prophet physiology, such as certain skin textures.

In non-canon Skirmish and Multiplayer, the Prophet of Regret is not only present on the battlefield, but often leading the charge himself. No canon Prophet would exhibit such behavior due to the well-established text in the Writ of Union. This may be another sign of his extremely reckless nature, as opposed to a mistake by Ensemble. It does reflect his aggressive behavior in the novels.

Abilities

 *  Regret’s Sentence  - Medium cleansing beam which does more damage.
 * Resource: 300
 * Minimum Tech Level: 1


 *  Regret’s Doom  - Large cleansing beam for even more damage.
 * Resource: 500
 * Minimum Tech Level: 2


 *  Regret’s Condemnation  - Increases damage of beam.
 * Resource: 700
 * Minimum Tech Level: 3


 * Additionally, Regret can also train Elite Honor Guards (available at the Command Center).

Upgrades

 * "Blessed Immolation": Upgrades to fuel rod cannons for damage increase.
 * "Ancestral Perversion": Dual protector units hover near Prophet and defend him.
 * "Divine Absolution": Upgrades chair so the Prophet becomes a full-fledged air unit.

Leader Ability - Cleansing
When activated, there is a miniature glassing beam sent down from the sky. When fully upgraded and used for a few seconds, the beam's size is increased substantially.

Trivia

 * Regret's title is, like all Prophet Hierarchs, ironic as he never showed any regret for his actions.
 * If you melee Regret's hologram in any level, you will lunge towards him, much like the Arbiter can lunge through the Heretic Leaders holo-drone. The lunge is more noticeable if you use an energy sword.
 * On holograms of Regret, if you stand on the holo-panel or crouch on it, you can see that Regret has real eyebrows, even though it is a hologram.
 * He appears as a hero unit in Halo Wars.
 * When you kill the Prophet of Regret on the level "Regret", he will drop a plasma pistol. He had held the same weapon in Halo: Contact Harvest, and was rumored to keep it with him at all times in Halo: The Cole Protocol.
 * Regret is voiced in both Halo 2 and Halo Wars by the same voice actor, Robin Atkin Downes.
 * As of the 12th of May 2009, an update was released by Ensemble which made the Prophet of Regret slightly slower in Halo Wars Matchmaking, this was an attempt to stop "Leader Rushing".
 * In the San 'Shyuum section of the Covenant Species part of the Halo 3 Manual, Regret is the Prophet seen in the picture.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol
 * Halo Wars: Genesis

Internal

 * Prophet of Mercy
 * Prophet of Truth