Kovik, Splicer Priest

"What a mess. The High Priest wasn't looking to build a Hive slave army. He was just removing their body parts to be joined with SIVA."

- Ghost

Kovik, Splicer Priest is a Devil Splicer High Priest that led the invasion on a Hive nest deep within Bunker Triglav in the Plaguelands. He serves as the main boss of the Wretched Eye Strike.

Overview
According to rumors, Kovik is among those responsible for the Devil Splicers' SIVA-fueled evolution. His twisted science has led to new horrifying developments for use by the Fallen, changing them from ether-starved pirates to half-machine demigods. However, Kovik's ambitions didn't stop there, as the mad Splicer Priest’s research took a far more sinister turn as he sought to control and weaponize the more aggressive aspects of the Hive’s mysterious biology. His daring assault and torturing of the Hive initiated a full-scale war between the Devil Splicers and the infuriated Hive.

Kovik's efforts would soon lead him to a Hive nesting ground hidden within a old missile silo. Kovik and his forces were able to drive out the Hive and capture an Ogre which Kovik began to experiment on personally. Kovik dissected the beast and was able to remove its Void eye, create a weapon powered by it, called Wretched Gaze, and even command the Ogre to a degree.

However, his efforts to experiment on the Hive were noticed by Shiro-4 and the Guardians who began to disrupt Kovik's operations. The Guardians descended down the missile silo and Kovik encountered them at the center of the nest. Kovik battled the Guardians with his new weapon and the Ogre he enslaved, dubbed Kovik's Monster. Despite his efforts and morbid weapons, Kovik was killed by the Guardians. Meanwhile, Shiro worries if the Splicers will continue Kovik's work.

Gameplay
Kovik is an aggressive foe who constantly pushes on the player's position. He is armed with a Wretched Gaze machine cannon for heavy ranged combat. This weapon fires blindingly fast and can kill from very long ranges due to its high accuracy and damage, allowing Kovik to easily suppress Guardians and melt their shields in an instant. Since it is powered by the Ogre's eye, it becomes even more lethal when Void Burn is an active modifier for the encounter. On top of this, he can teleport vast distances by disappearing for a brief moment and then reappearing a few seconds later, and if faced up close, he will unleash an Ultra Smash that will inflict massive damage and tremendous knockback or cause an outright death. However, despite his formidability, Kovik can momentarily be stunned by high-impact weaponry along with sustained fire, allowing the player an easier time finishing him off.

Trivia

 * Kovik's upper left arm appears to be the only one his four arms to be natural. The others are either mechanical wired or SIVA parts.

List of appearances

 * Destiny
 * Rise of Iron