There is an accompanying video, where I discuss the strategy, tactics, and effectiveness of the build, while using it in a game:
Human Sentinel: Biotic Explosion Build
It is the first version, and I may update it. It is meant to supplement the Build Guide discussed below.
Sorry, traditional links aren't working for me, for some reason. Here is the build and a sample loudout:
http://narida.pytalh...mmandoPackage5/
I am hoping to introduce the idea of a Human Sentinel as an excellent choice for making the jump to Gold or Platinum, an alternative to the TGI or the Juggernaut.
Quick Thanks to SilentStep and GrimAoD for looking over the first draft before I posted it, to Ghostknife for the Narida suggestion/link, and to Mobius Y and Suicide Nader for playing the game I recorded for the guide. 
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OK, so, I do well with the Human Sentinel, and it tends to be my highest-scoring kit. Score only means so much, but day in, day out, my Human Sentinel Build is a high-performance kit, for me.
I've played a little with the build since I narrowed in on it, but for the most part, the principles are the same as when I first started using it this way.
I'm doing this is because I haven't noticed this particular build in any guides, but if it has already been covered by someone, my apologies to that person.
I hope to introduce the idea of the Human Sentinel as an excellent gateway kit for players moving to Gold or Platinum. It will allow for excellent survivability. Obviously it is not a tank in the conventional sense, but its combination of Tech Armour and a Roll-Dodge makes it very tough.
I'm not sure if here is a consistent format for build suggestions, but I'll start with the philosphy:
CONCEPT
They way I use the HSent is built around Biotic explosions, and Power-based damage. I've played around with different weapons, and I find that the Hurricane/Acolyte combo has the best damage output and ease of use.
It's a great build for working around your manifest. As with any power-based build, the weapon's role becomes subservient to power damage, which is why the Acolyte's weight, shield-stripping, stagger, and ammo application abilites are perfect for this build (and many others.)
Players with newer manifests that do not have an Acolyte will find that many weapons will function well. My first time playing it was using an Avenger, and I was very successful with it. I used this build to help make the jump to Platinum. It's very easy to use.
RANKS & EVOLUTIONS
Throw: 6
Radius, Detonate, Force & Damage
Warp: 6
Detonate, Expose, Recharge Speed
Tech Armour: 6
Durability, Power Damage, Power Recharge
Alliance Training: 5 (6 is an excellent option, as you develop better survival skills.)
Dmg & Capacity, Power Damage
Fitness: 3 (0 is an excellent option, as you develop better survival skills.)
BUILD AND LOADOUT EXPLANATION
Warp Ammo and Incendiary are both excellent choices.
The build focuses on fast cooldowns, with high power damage. It has tools for dealing with all enemy types (re: Phantoms - players without an Acolyte may have to use more traditional techniques, putting up the Phantom's bubble, then using a weapon. BE's will work on Phantoms, as the bubble does not always cancel the Warp's prime, but watch carefully to make sure you time it right. Causing a BE on a target adjacent to the Phantom works well, too.)
The radius evo on Throw is wonderful, and I feel it serves two purposes: it makes killing ushielded mooks extremely fast and easy (under some circumstances, you can kill three at once, with a really short cooldown,) and it makes setting off Biotic Explosions easier, by allowing you to hit anyone next to your target.
The BE bonuses in Throw and Warp are important for this build, because the "big ticket" damage will come from those explosions against bosses (generally takes out any small targets near the boss) and from crowd control. Successfully detonating a group of mooks can create a Killstreak with the damage and radius of an HSent BE.
You rely on the damage from your powers more than your gun. If you have the following weapons/mods available, here is the loadout that makes this build shine:
Acolyte: Either damage barrel, and any of clip size, melee stunner, or Power Amp. I currently run the melee stunner.
Hurricane: AP mod, ULM
Good alternatives to the Acolyte: Eagle, Phalanx for CD and ammo application, Carnifex/Suppressor for players who can manage headshots, though you will sacrifice cooldown.
Replace the Hurricane with your most comfortable SMG. The sidearm is not strictly necessary, since the Acolyte mixed in with Biotics and BEs will do plenty of damage to armoured bosses, which is really the only purpose of an AP ULM SMG, under the circumstances. But if you have ULM V, you're adding 1-2% to your weapon refresh, approximately, which is nothing, really, in exchange for an insurance policy. Plus, if you need to really amp up damage, you have the option of using a bunch of Thermal Clips to boost weapon damage.
The basic tricks of the trade:
Small Groups of Unshielded Mooks
Acolyte, throw. Or, just throw, depending on what amps you've brought with you. Tougher mooks, like Collector Troopers, will need at least one shot from a weapon for Throw to finish them, but the Acolyte makes that very easy (once you get the hang of using one.)
Alternate: You can use any gun to prime a target with Ammo. If you use Indendiary Ammo, as soon as the target is primed, use Throw, and the Fire Explosion will take care of the rest.
Small Groups of Mooks (Some Shielded.)
This changes if you're not using an Acolyte.
Acolyte users use the same technique as for unshielded mooks, except the Acolyte shot becomes necessary, instead of optional, to clear the shields. This is almost always as fast as killing unshielded mooks, which goes to show just how powerful the Human Sentinel's Throw - and the Acolyte - actually are. Non-Acolyte users can take a slower, but ultimately more devastating approach. If you have excellent aim, a Suppressor or Carnifex head-shot can clear shields, but the process will not usually be as fast or as effective as using the Acolyte, so you're probably better off using the technique for Mixed Groups, below.
Mixed Groups (Non-Boss)
Throwing Pyros, Dragoons/Phantoms, or Ravagers into the mix makes the Biotic Explosion approach the fastest one to take, with this build. And, this is where the build really starts to shine, too. The Acolyte makes this process barely any longer than the refresh time of Warp, and the travel time of Throw.
Other pistols/weapons will require careful priming of your "Target."
Pick a "Target." It is best to choose the toughest enemy, with the most total armour/shields. In a perfect world, convince your teammates not to shoot that target. Good luck with that, I never manage to do that second part...
Prime the target with your weapon. Follow up immediately with Warp. If you miss, it becomes a judgment call. If the group is still fairly close together, it can be worth firing off another Warp to hit the target. You can use Throw to stagger the group temporarily, in the hopes of setting up a second try, as well.
Assuming you hit your target, use your gun to keep the group together, by staggering people, if you can (Warp's cooldown with 200% refresh is pretty quick.) The Acolyte can easily fire off another shot in this cooldown, which is the most effective way to stagger everyone (and is also why I prefer Warp Ammo to Incendiary, since the Tech Prime can overwrite the Biotic Prime.)
Follow up with Throw on any enemy adjacent to the "Target," or the "Target" themselves. The resulting Biotic Explosion will devastate the group.
As far as I know, this build has one of the most powerful BEs in the game
!
A second throw will finish off most enemies, but some situations may call for a second BE against armoured targets. Gold Brutes require 2 HSent BEs with this build to kill. Scions can require more than two. The beauty of the BE is that any targets near the Brute/Scion will be destroyed, or severely damaged, as well.
Bosses, Sub-Bosses (Groups or Otherwise.)
The Biotic Explosion will get the job done, but if you have a decent Hurricane, Hornet, BPP, etc. you can use that to speed the process, considerably. Alternate Warp and your weapon. If even one target is near the Boss, alternate Throw for the BE. If the boss is alone, a good SMG with just Warp is probably fastest, but I don't know the math, so I might be wrong (Indendiary ammo will make Warp/SMG the fastest, that I know for sure.) If you're using the Hurricane, remember to counteract the barrel-climb, since the ULM and AP mods don't leave room for the recoil mod.
Alternating the Acolyte with BEs, while slower, will still take down a Boss in quite a reasonable amount of time.
If you are fighting a Banshee or a Praetorian, and they put up their power-denial bubble, switch to your sidearm (If using the Acolyte, wait until you've stripped the Shields before switching) because you can no longer make effective use of your powers. Kite, or rely on your teammates. As soon as powers can take effect again, unload with them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This build is Gold and Platinum-Viable with a much weaker manifest than most kits. Even an Acolyte at level I will allow you to be very effective, regardless of whether you even have a sidearm. You will need appropriate mods and equipment to make the build really shine, but it still works without them. To test that theory, I used an Eagle I on my PSN account, and leveled my Human Sentinel in Gold using only a clip and Barrel mod (I didn't even have a Power Amp on that manifest.) I found the kit worked almost as well as it does with my XBL manifest.
The build is very easy to use. This is very much a "Crutch" kit for me. I believe a lot of people who skipped over the Vanilla Kits in favour of the more exotic ones will likely find this to be surprisingly true. Even with a fairly basic strategy, the HSent can be devastating, just alternating Warp or Incendiary with a basic 2-power setup.
Warp makes it easy to fight lone armoured units, like Dragoons, and Throw can stagger an Atlas, so the kit has the ability to deal with a wide variety of situations, using only a small handful of tools. I personally love it.
Historically, I've had a lot of my most consistent PuGing success with this build, and I'm not a "top-the-scoreboard-every-Gold-Game" kind of guy.
Edited by Jeremiah12LGeek, 18 October 2014 - 05:52 PM.
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