diff --git a/spartan/releases/README.md b/spartan/releases/README.md
index f283e9ce81bf..dff8d8a75304 100644
--- a/spartan/releases/README.md
+++ b/spartan/releases/README.md
@@ -51,8 +51,9 @@ To spare you a few keystrokes, you can use `./aztec-sequencer [start/stop/logs/u
 The user is prompted to enter some values which will map to corresponding ENV variables. Some are required:
 
 1. A Sepolia execution node RPC (for example on [alchemy](https://dashboard.alchemy.com/))
-2. An Ethereum private key
-3. `COINBASE` which is the Ethereum address associated with the private key
+2. A Sepolia beacon node RPC (for example from [drpc](https://drpc.org))
+3. An Ethereum private key
+4. `COINBASE` which is the Ethereum address associated with the private key
 
 On a first run, the script will generate a p2p private key and store it in `$DATA_DIR/var/lib/aztec/p2p-private-key`. If you wish to change your p2p private key, you can pass it on as a CLI arg using the flag `-pk` or update the `PEER_ID_PRIVATE_KEY` in the env file.
 
diff --git a/spartan/releases/testnet/aztec-sequencer.sh b/spartan/releases/testnet/aztec-sequencer.sh
index 383441bc2525..a120af852dcf 100755
--- a/spartan/releases/testnet/aztec-sequencer.sh
+++ b/spartan/releases/testnet/aztec-sequencer.sh
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ DEFAULT_BIND_MOUNT_DIR="$HOME/aztec-data"
 ETHEREUM_HOSTS=
 IMAGE=
 BOOTNODE_URL=
-DEFAULT_L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL="https://eth-beacon-chain-sepolia.drpc.org/rest"
 LOG_LEVEL=info
 # Parse command line arguments
 parse_args() {
@@ -151,14 +150,19 @@ configure_environment() {
     done
   fi
 
-    if [ -n "$L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL" ]; then
+  if [ -n "$L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL" ]; then
     L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL="$L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL"
   else
-    read -p "L1 Consensus Host URL [$DEFAULT_L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL]: " L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL
-    L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL=${L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL:-$DEFAULT_L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL}
+    while true; do
+      read -p "L1 Consensus Host URL: " L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL
+      if [ -z "$L1_CONSENSUS_HOST_URL" ]; then
+        echo -e "${RED}Error: L1 Consensus Host URL is required${NC}"
+      else
+        break
+      fi
+    done
   fi
 
-
   # # get the node info
   # get_node_info