Melee

Melee is the act of physically attacking your enemy by hitting them with your weapon. In the Halo series, the majority of melee attacks involve using a ranged weapon as a bludgeon, while there are a few weapons that are melee-only. The melee action can be executed by pressing the B button on the Xbox/Xbox 360 version of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 3: ODST, or by pressing the F key on the PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved or Halo 2.

Melee attacks are stealthy and conserve ammunition. The close-range attack causes damage to the target's bones and tissues, allowing an attacker to injure a target without using ammunition. A melee from behind (an assassination) functions by breaking the target's neck or spine, and is sufficient to kill virtually any enemy in the trilogy, regardless of how much shielding or armor they happen to be wearing.

Melee attacks are commonly used in Multiplayer matches, where only a few blows are needed to kill an opponent; they allow one player to kill another without the sound of gunfire revealing their location or the weapons they are carrying. Melees are usually used to assassinate, when using a melee weapon (such as the Energy Sword or Gravity Hammer), or when an opponent is too close to shoot. Players who are dual-wielding weapons are less likely to melee, as a melee attack causes a player to drop their left-hand weapon.

Lunging
When wielding a melee weapon, it is possible to lunge at a distant enemy. If a target is close enough that aiming at them turns an attacker's reticule red, then the attacker can aim at them and press RT. This will cause the attacker to lunge forward before striking.

A lunge delays a melee. If an attacker is wielding the Gravity Hammer, they may find a target and approach them. If the attacker aims away from the target, they can swing the hammer the moment their target gets within the "blast radius", killing the victim almost instantly. If, however, the attacker aims at the target, then the attacker will lunge before striking, even if the target is already within range when RT is pressed. The lunge delays the swing, giving the target more time to react, and creating extra risk for the attacker.

By contrast, lunging is extremely helpful when using the Energy Sword, as it lacks splash damage.

In Halo 2
Halo 2 's melee system was based on three levels of player movement, with a stationary melee doing the least damage, a running melee taking down roughly half of the target's shields, and a jumping melee almost completely removing the target's shields. With the introduction of dual-wielding, a new feature was added: if a player performs a melee attack while dual-wielding, they will drop their left weapon.

In Halo 2, melee attacks had the added benefit of canceling various animations and delays. This trait was shared by various other actions, and was exploited in the form of special button combination's. A common combination is the Double Melee, a rapid repetition of the button sequence B + X.

The range of the melee attack was decreased in Halo 2, but the distance at which a lunge can be attempted was increased.

In Halo 3
In Halo 3, the attack's power increased, such that two blows to a normally-shielded opponent's body were sufficient to kill them. The attack also became more effective against some Campaign enemies, with fewer hits required to kill a Flood Combat Form. A Halo 3 title update balanced melees; if two unshielded players melee each other, both will die, and both will receive a point.

The increased power of Halo 3's melee attack has led to various new tactics and techniques regarding its usage. A common tactic is to charge an opponent using an Assault Rifle; the attacker drains their opponent's shields with the rifle, and then uses a melee to finish them off. Melees are also used in Noob Combos, with a common combo being the usage of a Mauler to drain an opponent's shields, followed by a melee.

A new feature is the ability to perform a normal melee attack while using melee weapons. Such weapons have both an RT attack and a B attack; the former attack is powerful, whereas the latter is faster. The Energy Sword's B attack is a rapid swipe; when pressing B with the Gravity Hammer, a player's character will jab the butt of the hammer forward. It should be noted that this attack causes much less damage than the gravity shockwave, but costs no energy.

Assassinating an opponent in multiplayer earns the player an Assassin Medal, while a normal melee kill yields a Beat Down Medal.

In Halo 3: ODST
In Halo 3: ODST, the power of the melee attack has been drastically reduced, because the player characters, ODSTs, are ordinary humans, much weaker than the playable SPARTAN-IIs and Elites from previous titles. Although attacking from the rear is still lethal, it can take several hits from other angles to take down even the lowly Jackal, and trying to take on a Brute in hand-to-hand combat is risky, though 3-4 hits on normal difficulty is still lethal. However, it's still possible to board a tank and destroy it with a few melees, possibly for gameplay reasons, or it may simply have been an oversight on Bungie's part.

In Halo: Reach
In Halo: Reach, players will get a new melee attack animation where they punch the enemy in front or back. Instead of using the old assassination (like in the previous games), the player will have the ability to use Combat Knives to kill enemies from behind by holding down the B button.

Character compatibility

 * Spartans
 * Elites
 * ODSTs
 * Hunters
 * Brutes
 * Drones (only when boarding vehicles.)
 * Marines (Halo 2 and 3 only, Halo 2 use their weapon while Halo 3 usually kick.)
 * Flood Combat forms
 * Flood Pure Forms
 * Flood Tank Forms
 * Flood Stalker Forms
 * Flood Thrasher Form

Trivia

 * In Halo 3, it is possible to assassinate a player through thin glass, such as that found in the bases on Valhalla and Snowbound.
 * In Halo 2, assassinations are not always successful against Brutes on Legendary.
 * In the Halo 3 Campaign, the Arbiter can melee while dual-wielding Plasma Rifles without dropping them.
 * In the Halo 3 Campaign, it's impossible to melee while wielding Support Weapons. However, Brute Chieftains who carry Plasma Cannons can still melee you with it, most likely due to their colossal strength.
 * In Halo 3, players can be assassinated even if Custom Game settings have made them invincible.
 * If a player gets too close, Hunters will use their shields as melee weapons. A common tactic in Halo: Combat Evolved was to get close to a hunter, then duck behind them while they swing to get an unobstructed shot at the weak point on their back. In Halo 2, Hunters were given rearward attacks specifically to counter this tactic.
 * Some fans have called using melee attacks "whacking" and "nutting", and in Campaign, "Whack-Attack" or "Ammo-Saver-fest '07".
 * In Halo 2 multiplayer, it can take up to three melee strikes to the front or side to kill a normally-shielded enemy. In Halo 3, only two strikes are needed.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved, a melee attack in the back can kill a Marine instantly. However, in Halo 2 and Halo 3 allies cannot be assassinated by a single hit to the back.
 * 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, with a single melee failing to significantly deplete a player's shields.
 * In Halo 2's Campaign, just one melee from an Elite on Normal can kill a player immediately, whether the attack is to the back or front. If the Elite is wielding a Carbine, however, then the melee will have no effect at very close distances.
 * In Halo Wars, the Spartans will often "drop" their weapon to start meleeing a close enemy.
 * 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.
 * Grunts have a melee animation, but they use it to clear debris. They will never use it on the player.
 * A melee on the right shoulder will grant an Assasination Medal, the left shoulder will not.