Assassination

For the medal see Assassin The Assassination is a gameplay feature that allows player to enter a third-person view while elaborately taking an enemy player down with a Combat Knife, an Energy Dagger, or an Energy Sword. Note that assassinations are different from beat downs and pummels. Pummels are kills from a normal melee attack; a beat down occurs when Player A melees Player B by simply tapping the melee button while behind them, resulting in the breaking of the target's spine and thus an instant kill. An assassination occurs when Player A presses and holds the melee button when directly behind Player B, resulting in an elaborate kill and will earn the player a special medal. Assassinations having been first introduced to the Halo series in Halo: Reach, and returned in Halo 4. Assassinations performed in Halo: Reach multiplayer matchmaking also count towards the Rear Admiral commendation; those performed in Halo 4 matchmaking and Spartan Ops advance the Assassin and Backstab commendations respectively.

Mechanics
There are four different basic assassination types that are played according to the species of the players and the current situation: If both players are on the ground, if the assassin is in the air and the victim is on the ground, if both players are in the air, and if the assassin and the victim are both on the ground, but the assassin is higher in elevation than the victim.

The specific assassination animation that is used when both players are on the ground is dependent of where the initial melee lands on the victim's body.

There are also unique assassinations that can be performed when the player is holding an Energy Sword.

Spartan against Spartan
When playing as a Spartan in Halo: Reach matchmaking, you can perform several different assassinations using your combat knife that is located on different parts of your armor, depending on what chest piece you are wearing.

This assassination involves Player A standing on the same surface as Player B. The specific animation that is used varies depending on which part of the back is meleed.
 * Both players are on the ground


 * The initial melee hits the right shoulder of player B: Player B is spun around to face player A. Holding the knife with the blade pointed up in his/her clenched fist, player A "punches" player B in the chest, stabbing him or her.


 * The initial melee hits the right side of player B's back: Player B turns to face player A, who raises his/her combat kife and plunges it down on player B's head.


 * The initial melee hits the center of player B's back: Holding the knife with the blade pointed down in his/her fist, player A forcefully stabs player B in the back, and player B is dragged to the side when the knife is removed.


 * The initial melee hits the left side of player B's back: Player A spins the knife, stab's player B in the back, then tosses the body off to the side.

Player A extends their arm around player B's neck, bending their stomach outward, then stabbing him/her in the gut.
 * Player A is more elevated than player B, but both are on a surface

This assassination involves Player A jumping (or possibly falling) right behind (Close enough proximity to melee) Player B. Player A will initiate the assassination, which involves player A wrapping his/her hands together, and delivers a smash on player B's head.
 * Both players are airborne

Note: if the assassin is wielding an Energy Sword, the animation will be bugged.

Player B is knocked to the ground, face down. Player A steps on his/her back, crouches down, and snaps their neck.
 * The assassin is airborne, but the victim is not

Spartan against Elite
This assassination involves Player A standing on the same surface as Player B. The specific animation that is used varies depending on which part of the back is meleed.
 * Both players are on the ground


 * The initial melee hits the right shoulder of player B: The Spartan pounces on the Elite's chest, pushing them both to the ground. While the Elite struggles, the Spartan stabs the Elite in the eye.


 * The initial melee hits the right side of player B's back: The Spartan hops on the Elite's back, then the Spartan stabs the Elite in the neck.


 * The initial melee hits the center of player B's back: The Spartan slices the Elite's legs, then stabs him in the back on the head, and pulls the Elite to the ground.


 * The initial melee hits the left side of player B's back: The same as if the melee hit the right side of the back, but the Spartan snaps the Elite's neck instead of stabbing him.

The Spartan hops and hang's off of the Elite's back, and stabs them straight down the top of the skull.
 * Player A is more elevated than player B, but both are on a surface

The Spartan goes to the Elite's back, and quickly stabs him in the neck.
 * Both players are airborne

The Elite is pushed to the ground. The Spartan jumps and lands on the Elite's head, then hops off.
 * The assassin is airborne, but the victim is not

Spartan against Grunt

 * The initial melee hits the right shoulder: The player grabs the Grunt and breaks its neck.
 * The initial melee hits the left shoulder: The player grabs the Grunt and stabs it in the head.

Spartan against Brute

 * The player pushes the Brute down, then stabs it in the back. These are done with mixed difficulty.

Spartan against Jackal/Skirmisher

 * The player drags the Jackal/Skirmisher by its feathers and stabs its neck.

Elite against Spartan
This assassination involves Player A standing on the same surface as Player B. The specific animation that is used varies depending on which part of the back is meleed.
 * Both players are on the ground


 * The initial melee hits the right shoulder of player B: The Elite slashes the Spartan across the chest with his energy dagger, then hits the Spartan with a turning side kick.


 * The initial melee hits the right side of player B's back: The Spartan is pushed to the ground, face down. The Elite stabs the Spartan in the lower back, and the Spartan is dragged as the blade is pulled out.


 * The initial melee hits the center of player B's back: The Elite rapidly stabs the Spartan in the lower back with his energy daggers, then does a diagonal slash to the back of the Spartan's knees.


 * The initial melee hits the left side of player B's back: The Elite activates the energy dagger, and proceeds to stab the Spartan directly down on their head.

The Elite activates the dagger on their right hand, impales the right side of the back of the Spartan's neck, then does the same with his left dagger to the left side.
 * Player A is more elevated than player B, but both are on a surface

The Elite knees the Spartan in the back, impales him/her with the energy dagger, then flicks them behind and over his head.
 * Both players are airborne

The Spartan is pushed to the ground. The Elite steps on the Spartan's back, then stabs them in the back of the head.
 * The assassin is airborne, but the victim is not

Elite against Elite
This assassination involves Player A standing on the same surface as Player B. The specific animation that is used varies depending on which part of the back is meleed.
 * Both players are on the ground


 * The initial melee hits the right shoulder of player B: Player 1 flick their wrist, springing the energy dagger out, and stab's the victim in the lower back. As the blade is pulled out, the victim is dragged backward.


 * The initial melee hits the right side of player B's back: The assassin stabs the victim in the back of the head, with the dagger protruding out of the victims open mouth. The assassin pulls the victim backwards, then throws them forward, de-activating the energy dagger.


 * The initial melee hits the center of player B's back; the assassin reaches across the victim's chest, bending him so their unarmored stomach protrudes. The assassin then stabs the victim there with his energy dagger, and pushes the body to the ground.

The assassin grabs the victim by the top of their "jaw", activates his energy dagger, and stabs the victim in the neck. The assassin then drops the body.
 * Player A is more elevated than player B, but both are on a surface

The assassin quickly jabs the victim in the lower back with his energy dagger.
 * Both players are airborne

The victim recoils forward from the initial melee. The assassin activates one of their energy daggers, stabs the victim in the lower back, quickly activates the second dagger, and plunges it into the back of the victim's neck with an overhand motion. With both prongs still inside the victim, the assassin throws the body of the victim behind him.
 * The assassin is airborne, but the victim is not

Energy Sword

 * Spartan against Spartan: Player A hits Player B with an upward diagonal slash, spinning them around. He then stabs them in the gut.
 * Spartan against Elite: The Spartan jumps and stands on the Elite's back, and stabs the Elite with the prongs of the sword in the neck.
 * Elite against Spartan: The Elite grabs the Spartan by the hand, drags them upwards, then stabs them down through the chest.
 * Elite against Elite: Player A grabs Player B's left hand, and pulls it, causing him to trip and fall. Player A then swipes the sword in an underhand motion, causing Player B's body to flip over.

Halo 4
Assassinations have returned in Halo 4. A new medal, Airsassination, is awarded for midair assassinations. Players can now perform assassinations with Flags in Capture the Flag and with the Skull in Oddball. Prometheans can also be assassinated in the Halo 4 campaign and Spartan Ops.

Beat Downs vs. Assassinations
With normal beat downs, one will quickly melee the opponent's back, resulting in an instant kill, but will stay in first person view. This earns them a medal but no credit or commendation increase. With an assassination, the player goes into third person view and performs a special finishing move. In campaign, assassinations are not silent and will alert nearby enemies. During an assassination, the player runs a risk of getting their kill stolen by a teammate, which results in the teammate getting a Yoink medal. The player is also able to be damaged and even killed during the animation, which will cause the victim to be saved and the savior will get a Showstopper medal. This makes assassinations relatively unpopular for fast paced gametypes such as Oddball or Team SWAT. Also, performing assassinations will negate fall damage, unlike beat downs. This allows players to survive fatal falls if an enemy happens to be directly below. This is featured in the achievement If They Came to Hear Me Beg.

Trivia

 * Because assassinations are naturally a one-hit kill, any of them performed with an Energy Sword do not deplete the sword's charge, nor do they count toward the weapon spree medals Sword Spree, Slice 'N Dice or Cutting Crew. Also, if the assassin is holding a depleted Energy Sword, assassinations will still animate with the deactivated sword, that is, the enemy will be impaled by an invisible blade.
 * Early in the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta, players could assassinate their teammates with full assassination animations, resulting in a betrayal.
 * There was an assassination in the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta where an airborne Elite would stab a groundside Elite through the head with an energy dagger, then pull it out with some resistance. This animation was removed in the final game.
 * The Elite-vs-Spartan assassination triggered by hitting the Spartan's right shoulder, if performed along a ledge, has become known among the community as the "This! Is! Sparta!" assassination, as it resembles a scene from the film 300 where the Spartan Leonidas kills a Persian messenger by kicking him down a well. Ironically, this assassination involves the Spartan being killed instead of doing the killing.
 * The Grunt assassination involving breaking the Grunt's neck has also become known on Bungie.net as the "Grunt Buddy" assassination, as it is commonly freeze-framed to make it look as if the Spartan is giving the Grunt a one-armed hug while giving a thumbs up with his other hand.
 * Even though the player is killing an enemy during an assassination, AI allies will still regard the enemies as alive, and will continue to fire at the enemy being assassinated, which may result in the player having their kill stolen, losing health, or even dying from friendly fire.
 * Drones, Hunters, and Engineers cannot be assassinated.
 * Some assassinations require a certain amount of space to perform. If there is not enough space, a different animation than usual will occur, or the animation will be cut short.
 * If an Elite wearing a closed helmet is involved in an Assassination, either killing or being killed, its jaws may clip through its helmet.
 * Occasionally if an online game suffers lag, a player who was assassinated may be revived and continue to fight. Their health may or may not be low. Sometimes the assassin will continue performing the assassination on thin air and the victim will appear to escape, only to die when the assassination is completed.
 * If an assassination is performed on a slope, the two characters involved may end performing the same animations while standing at the wrong distance from each other. This may cause the assassination to look disconnected, and occasionally cause the knife being used to be stabbed in the wrong place rather than where it was intended. However, this does not affect the outcome, and the attacked character will still die.
 * Some assassinations have enough range to kill a second enemy who stands too close to the attacker.
 * Elites may sometimes laugh after performing an assassination.
 * Performing assassinations by unaware or sleeping enemies may sometimes alert them to the player's presence, if they hear the victim's yells. The only one known that doesn't is the Spartan-vs-Elite assassination that is triggered by attacking from midair, since it involves crushing the Elite's head, thus preventing him from yelling.
 * There are 7 assassinations for each type of scenario, excluding in Campaign and using Energy Sword.
 * Grunts are the only enemy AI besides Elites to have more than one animation when being assassinated.
 * The Grunt assassinations seem to be inspired by Cal-141's ways of killing Grunt sentries in The Babysitter.

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