Melee

Melee: The act of using your weapon as a bludgeon. This action can be executed by default by pressing the B button on the Xbox version or the F key on the PC version (default controls).

Melee attacks enhance the stealth of a player and conserve ammunition. One melee attack from behind (an "assassination") will kill most enemies in both Multiplayer and Campaign, provided you sneak up behind them and melee them in the back. Although this tactic is successful against most enemies in the Halo games, assassinations are not always successful against Halo 2 Brutes on Legendary.

If an enemy is hit from the side or front, it may take two or three hits to kill them, depending on the enemy and weapon being used. AI's, such as Elites, Hunters, Combat Forms and most notable Halo 3's Brutes, will melee if you get too close, but they will seldom attempt the stealth melee. The way a melee works is by breaking bones and damaging organs and tissue. An assassination works by breaking your opponent's neck or spine, resulting in instant death even with an overshield.

A melee is mostly used when an opponent is too close to effectively shoot, to attempt assassinations, or if the prospective melee is wielding a weapon that performs melee attacks only, such as the Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer.

Assassinating an opponent in Halo 3 multiplayer earns the player an Assassin Medal, while simply meleeing from the front and killing your opponent yields a Beat Down Medal.

Character compatibility

 * Spartans
 * Elites
 * Hunters
 * Brutes
 * Drones (only if they board your vehicle)
 * Marines (Halo 2 and 3 only, very close enemies,and they usually kick instead of punching or whacking)
 * Flood Combat forms
 * Flood Pure Forms
 * Flood Tank Forms
 * Flood Stalker Forms
 * Flood Thrasher Form

Halo 3
In Halo 3, the melee ability is much more powerful than it was in the past two games, making it a seemingly integral part of all close range engagements, especially in multiplayer. Due to it's augmented power, a common multiplayer tactic is to charge the enemy with an assault rifle, then melee the enemy once up close. If performed correctly, the enemy should have been slain once meleed, given that the enemy had regular shields. When the energy sword is equipped, the melee ability becomes a quick "slice", which although faster, is significantly weaker than the regular "lunge". Also, it is possible to assassinate another player through thin glass, such as the glass in the Valhalla and Snowbound bases.

Trivia

 * In the Halo 3 Campaign, the Arbiter can melee while dual-wielding Plasma Rifles without dropping them.
 * In the Halo 3 Campaign, you cannot melee while wielding Support Weapons. However, Brute Chieftains who carry plasma turrets can still melee you with it, most likely due to their colossal strength.
 * If you can make the Arbiter hold a support weapon he'll also be unable to melee if they get too close.
 * In Halo 3, even if you set the players to have invincibility (as in the famed Halo 3 playlist Rocket Race), assassinations will still kill them, though nothing else will.
 * In Halo 3 since the melee damage is the same for all weapons the size of the weapon doesn't affect the damage dealt. However, most people would prefer a Brute weapon when they melee because the blades on the weapon deal extra damage
 * A quick way to save ammo in campaign is to go around meleeing enemies. It doesn't take very long to kill, even a Brute with a Brute Shot's slung blade.
 * If you get too close, Hunters will use their shields as melee weapons.
 * Some fans have called using melee attacks "whacking" and "nutting", and in Campaign, when using the method mentioned above (going around in Campaign hitting enemies) "Whack-Attack" or "Ammo-Saver-fest '07".
 * Melees are almost useless against Flood Combat forms, except when you have its arm blown off. However, in Halo 3, the melee is actually more powerful to them. A newly infected Combat form will usually die with one blow while an old combat form should die in 2-3 blows. Assassinating a Flood form does not work.
 * Before the two title updates, there was sometimes a glitch in which the player, killed by a melee, would go flying across the map, as if hit by a Gravity Hammer or Rocket Launcher.
 * Assassinating someone will kill them with one hit even when they have full shields.
 * In Halo 2 multiplayer, it can take up to three melee strikes to the front or side to kill a fully regularly shielded enemy. In Halo 3 multiplayer, if the target has no Overshield, only two strikes to the front or side are needed.
 * Halo 2's melee system was based on three levels of player movement, a stationary melee doing the least damage, a running melee taking down roughly half of the shield, and a jumping melee almost completely removing the shield.
 * In Halo 2 and Halo 3 the melee attack has a small lunge distance compared to that in Halo CE.
 * It seems in Halo 3, melee attacks are moderately more powerful than they were in the previous Halo games. This allows players to combat enemies with ease.
 * In the recent update to Halo 3 the melee attacks are more balanced and if there is any doubt then both players die and get even kills.
 * In Halo 2 on any level, repeatedly press X&B combined and you will melee very fast if pressing nonstop fast, although it does not hurt an enemy, it will only hurt at random times but not all the melees work if you do this. It does not work in Halo:Combat Evolved, but partially works in Halo 3.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved, a melee attack in the back can kill a marine instantly. However, in Halo 2 and Halo 3 a melee attack in the back will not kill an ally at first.
 * Many people in Halo 3 Multiplayer use melee, sometimes first attacking with the Assault Rifle and then when they get close to the enemy, they use melee.
 * In the popular internet video series Arby 'n' the Chief, the Chief is frequently angered by the intricacies and perceived unfairness of the melee system in Halo 3, an attitude mirrored by many real-life gamers.
 * In the pre-beta (Bungie employees and staff only) versions of Halo 3 multiplayer, the melee was less powerful, a single melee failing to significantly deplete a player's shields. Obviously, this feature was changed in the final game.
 * In Halo 2 just one melee from an Elite on campaign can kill the player immediately, whether the attack is in the back or front. However if an Elite is wielding a carbine ,then the melee will not effect the player if at very close distance.
 * In Halo 3, with luck and on a rare occasion, it is possible to get a melee headshot on a grunt. It is easiest to notice this with the Grunt Birthday Party skull on.
 * In Halo Wars the Spartans will often "drop" their weapon to start meleeing an enemy elite.
 * In Halo 2, if you have the Sputnik skull activated and keep meleeing a dead body for a while, the body will fall through the floor.