Christmas has come early for eagle-eyed Apex Legends players because Season 4 brings in a new sniper rifle to play with, named the Sentinel.
Manufactured by Paradinha Arms, the Sentinel is a powerful bolt-action death dealer that splits the air around it with every pull of the trigger. While it lacks some of the raw damage of the Kraber, it has the ability to charge itself with a shield battery; granting it the ability to take out any body shield with a single bullet.
Aesthetically, the Sentinel is one of the nicest looking weapons in the game. It appears to be heavily inspired by the Barrett .50 caliber anti-material rifle. Respawn flexes their animating muscles by giving it the video game gun equivalent of going Super Saiyan. The user plugs a charging cord into the magazine and lets the barrel spool up. As it spins, the barrel becomes increasingly shrouded in an electrifyingly blue effect before aggressively yanking the cord out at max charge.
Uncharged, the Sentinel deals a respectable a 65 damage, with a 2x multiplier for headshots. Depending on shield strength, it will take about 2-4 hits to down a Legend. Unfortunately, its sluggish rate of fire gives the enemy more than enough time to slide to cover, making follow-up shots difficult. However, with its charge mechanic, it serves a purpose rather unique to its fellow long-barreled cousins. If the Kraber is a sledgehammer, smashing the victim’s health bar in one shot, then the Sentinel would be like a meat tenderizer, softening up the enemy to make them easy kills for your teammates.
As such, the Sentinel is actually a support weapon for players who want to make the jobs of their squad easier, as long as they can land their shots. An ideal scenario would be to have the shooter in an elevated position as their teammates hide nearby. The shooter cracks the shields of the enemy squad, forcing them to retreat for cover; this is when your squadmates would rush in and spray them down as they frantically try to heal. Even though the Sentinel cannot reliably take down enemies on its own, a broken shield is more than enough reason to send most players scampering for a rock, or building, to hide behind. With this rifle, a player can watch over his, or her, squad as they cut their way to victory.
