Cease-fire

The act of "ceasing fire" or "standing down" was introduced in the first Halo game. This allowed gamers who were involved in making movies or Machinima able to act as if they were in a holstering position over a combat-ready mode.

Halo: Combat Evolved
Firstly introduced in the game, the concept of ceasing fire was not taken as it were of no use. When Red vs Blue series came online in the Internet, it was widely accepted for gamers who started making videos. Within the game, this can be done by moving the viewpoint downwards. Although the user is facing to the ground, other players will see the user in a normal position.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, using a M6D Pistol or a Plasma Pistol would make a nicer appearance. Using a Needler sometimes bends the left arm inwards along with the MA5B.

Halo 2
Seeing that Red vs Blue helped in the Halo franchise, Bungie added a neat feature where the player could simply cease fire or lower their weapon by just holding down on the D-Pad. It will not be shown on the player’s screen but will be seen by others. Shooting, throwing grenades, meleeing, reloading, entering vehicles, dying, or just pressing “down” again will cause the weapon to pop back up. On Xbox Live, the trick can also be performed by exhausting all grenades and holding L.

In Halo 2, not all weapons can be put into ready position such as dual-wield weapons, Rockets and Energy Swords. The trick will not only work on two-handed rifle type weapons, as when the Brute Shot is lowered, it seems no different. On closer inspection, however, the player's arm is bent slightly and the Brute Shot itself is slightly tilted.

Halo 3

 * Note'': This does not work on Xbox Live due to the possibility of exploits, according to Bungie.

The Cease Fire position in Halo 3 was first performed in public by Red vs Blue members. In Halo 3, the feature is still within the game but rather in a button combination. The player can cease fire by pressing and holding the following in order:


 * 1) LB (Left Bumper)
 * 2) RB (Right Bumper)
 * A
 * 1) Left Thumbstick (Crouch)
 * 2) D-pad "down"

Hold the combination together for three seconds and the weapon on your HUD will disappear. The player would not be able to see his/her weapon but other players would. Most weapons will go down into the cease fire position, but some will have little or no change, like the Energy Sword, Gravity hammer, Brute Shot, Sentinel Beam, Plasma Cannon, Machine gun turret, and Flamethrower. It will work on the Rocket Launcher, Fuel Rod Gun, Spartan Laser, and duel-wielded weapons, but the player will hold them in an unnatural way. The animation of the Rocket Launcher, Fuel Rod Gun, and the Spartan Laser will look similar to the animation of the player holding the pistol in Halo: Combat Evolved. If you are dual-wielding, looking up and down will make your hand go in that direction and together or apart respectively and looking left or right will make the near arm go down and the far arm go up. This time, shooting, throwing grenades, meleeing, reloading, picking up support weapons, going into edit-mode on Forge, entering vehicles, or dying will cause the weapon to pop back up.

Trivia

 * In Halo 3, by executing this trick in Forge Monitor mode, you can create a permanent, lasting effect. This way, the effect will last until you die. Also, if you man a turret or enter a vehicle and then get out, your weapon will appear, but it will be misplaced (this effect is most notable with the Brute Shot).


 * Execute this trick in conjunction with an Energy Sword for a fun effect. See Silhouette Sword.


 * In Halo 3 local Split-Screen, this trick may be a possible method to combat Screen Watching.


 * There is a group of Halo 3 players who are annoyed that weapon lowering does not work on Xbox Live for Machinima purposes. And as such, created a group called Lower the Guns. They are stating that many great Machinima groups died after this feature was taken away. This group has done well over the past year since its creation, getting several Machinima groups onboard with the idea of getting weapon lowering possible over Live, as well as over 4000 players contributing to the group. They state that Bungie CAN actually affect the process of online play by getting weapon lowering possible over Xbox Live, via an update.


 * A tip to Halo 3 Machinima makers: When you want to view someone lowering their weapon, the most commonly known, and probably the easiest way to do this, is to simply reverse the footage of them raising it. However, the button combination can be performed in any order. If you're talented enough, you can "crouch" while running, which negates its effect, and hold down (A) after you have jumped. If you hold these down while puppeteering your character, and complete the combo, your character will lower his/her weapon while neither crouching nor jumping, giving it a smoother look. It is tricky to master though, and some find the reverse-footage method more convenient. It doesn't seem to work with Elites in general though.