Assassination

An assassination is a mechanic in which a player enters a third-person view and performs an elaborate one-hit-kill melee attack from behind. It occurs when a player presses and holds the melee button when behind another player. Assassinations can be performed in both Campaign and multiplayer.
==Halo: Reach Assassinations==
Assassinations done in matchmaking count towards the Rear Admiral commendation or Assassin commendation.
For both Elite and SPARTAN-III players, there are three different basic assassination types and one unique type that are played show a specific animation that varies depending on which part of the back is struck and the players' positions. 
There are also different animations that run if assassinating an enemy of the other species, all depending on the situation during which they are performed. Other than basic assassinations, when one is holding an Energy Sword, they can perform unique assassinations, not able to be done with any other weapons.
===SPARTAN against SPARTAN (Multiplayer only)===
When playing as a Spartan in Halo: Reach matchmaking, you can perform several different assassinations using your Combat Knife, located somewhere on your character's chest, depending on which chest piece you're using.
====Basic Assassination 1: Both players are on the ground====
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.
*Player B turns around to Player A. Player A raises their knife in hands and brings the blade down, stabbing Player B's skull straight down. Player B falls to their knees with the knife in them. As Player A releases the knife from Player B's head, Player B falls backwards dead.
*Player A shoves Player B ahead and stabs their knife into Player B's middle back. Player A rips the knife from Player B's body to the right, causing Player B's dead body to fall to the right.
*Player B turns around to somewhat face Player A. Player A readies their knife and stabs it in the gut of Player B, situating the knife to hit Player B's heart under their rib cage. Player A pulls the knife out of Player B's stomach. Player B falls left, dead.
*Player A tosses the knife up behind their back, catches it, and stabs Player B In the middle/lower back. Player A grabs the back of Player B's neck, pulls the knife out, and throws Player B's lifeless body to the ground.
*Player A reaches their left arm over and to the right of Player B's head. Player A grabs Player B and puts them in a reverse headlock, while having their knife in right hand. With Player B's stomach area unarmored, Player A stabs the knife into the gut of Player B. Player A keeps it there for a brief moment while holding Player B's chest piece. Player A rips the knife from Player B's stomach as Player B falls dead to the right.
====Basic Assassination 2: Assassin is airborne, but victim is not====
This assassination involves Player A jumping or falling right behind (Close enough proximity to melee) Player B.
*Player A lands on Player B's back and slams them to the ground with their left foot. Player A takes his feet to each side of the ground Player B is on. Player A bends over, reaches for Player B's neck and snaps it to the right, killing Player B. Player A gets up off Player B's left side.
====Basic Assassination 3: Both players are airborne/Victim is airborne, but assassin is not====
This assassinations involves Player A and B to be airborne with Player A right behind Player B; alternatively, Player A could be surfaced while Player B is in the air.
*Player A, airborne, slams their fists down on Player B's head, causing Player B's back to break, and falls to the ground.
====Unique Assassination: Both players are on the ground, Player A wields an Energy Sword====
For this assassination to properly take place, both players must be surfaced and Player A must have an Energy Sword as their current weapon.
*Player A somewhat punches Player B's back. Player B turns around and Player A slashes Player B's chest with their Energy Sword. Player B falls to their left side onto the ground, and Player A brings their Sword down to and through Player B's gut. Player A pulls the Sword from Player B's body, and Player B remains dead on the ground.
===SPARTAN against Elite (Campaign and Multiplayer)===
====Basic Assassination 1: Both players are on the ground====
These types of assassinations require a SPARTAN to be the assassin and an Elite to be the victim. While assassinating an Elite, the SPARTAN has two choices of unique assassinations.
*The SPARTAN climbs up the back of the Elite, putting his right foot on the back of the right shin of the Elite and left foot on the left thigh of the Elite. Holding on to the Elite's left shoulder and neck, the SPARTAN raises their knife in right hand and brings it down to the right side of the Elite's shoulder, in between the shoulder blade and neck. The Elite drops to its knees as the SPARTAN releases the knife and steps off of the Elite's back. The Elite falls forward, dead, to the ground.
*The Elite takes a left step forward and the SPARTAN climbs atop it (the same way told above). With their left hand, the SPARTAN holds the back of Elite's head. And, with their right hand, the SPARTAN hold the right jaws of the Elite (chin if the Elite wears Ranger armor). The SPARTAN twists the Elite's head to the right, snapping its neck. The SPARTAN hops off the Elite as it falls forward.
*The SPARTAN, holding their position to the right side of the Elite, tackles and crawls on top of the Elite with knife in right hand while grabbing Player B's helmet/head gear. The SPARTAN raises their knife and stabs it through the eye of the Elite (visor if the Elite wears Ranger armor). The SPARTAN gets up, ripping the knife from the Elite's face.
*The SPARTAN takes out his/her knife and uses it to sweep the Elite's right knee to the right. The stunned Elite turns to face the SPARTAN as they get SPARTAN's knife jabbed in their jaw (visor if the Elite wears Ranger armor). The SPARTAN slams Elite's head backward to the ground with their knife still in the Elite's jaw, breaking its back. When the Elite hits the ground, the SPARTAN pulls the knife from its face.
*The SPARTAN forces the Elite to their knees, and the SPARTAN somewhat climbs atop the Elite, stabbing their knife into the top of the head of the Elite, piercing its brain. With the knife, the SPARTAN pulls the Elite's head back and releases their knife. The Elite falls backward to the right, dead.
*The SPARTAN is in the air and is behind the Elite with knife in hand. The SPARTAN takes their knife and stabs the Elite between the head and shoulder. The Elite falls to the ground.
====Basic Assassination 2: Assassin is airborne, but victim is not====
*The SPARTAN knees Elite's back and the Elite falls to their stomach on the ground. As the Elite staggers to get up, the SPARTAN jumps square on the back of its head, slamming the Elite's face to the ground and breaking its skull. The SPARTAN squats atop the Elite's head for a second, and then performs a 180 jump forward off the Elite's head, facing its dead body.
**Alternatively, the SPARTAN may not perform a 180, but, instead, they may simply jump, forward, off the Elite's head.
====Basic Assassination 3: Both players are airborne/Victim is airborne, but assassin is not====
*While mid-air, the Elite gets the SPARTAN's knife stabbed through the back of their neck while the SPARTAN holds onto the Elite. The Elite falls forward, dead, and the SPARTAN almost stops mid-air and lands straight down to the ground.
====Unique Assassination 1: Both players are on the ground====
*The SPARTAN, Energy Sword in right hand, jumps on top of the Elite's hunchback and stabs it through the back with the energy sword. While the Elite falls, the SPARTAN hops off of the Elite's back and lands on the ground.
====Unique Assassination 2: Both players are airborne/Victim is airborne, but assassin is not, Player A wields an Energy Sword====
*The SPARTAN's left hand grabs hold of the Elite's left shoulder and the SPARTAN swiftly stabs an Energy Sword through the back of the Elite. The Elite falls forward, dead, and the SPARTAN almost stops mid-air and lands straight down to the ground.
===Elite against Elite===
While playing as an Elite, players, instead of using a Combat Knife, like a SPARTAN, use an Energy Dagger attached to the wrists of the Elite.
====Basic Assassination 1: Both players are on the ground====
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.
*Player A activates his energy gauntlet and stabs the back of Player B's head, then thrashes him around before throwing him on the ground.
*Player A quickly swings his arm over Player B's body, bending the other backwards, then stabs B in the chest. Player A then throws Player B to the ground
*Player A pushes Player B and quickly stabs B in the back, then pulls out the blade and throws the body to the side. 
*Player A pushes Player B to his knees. When Player B tries to look behind him/her, Player A grabs the side of Player B's helmet and pulls his/her head back, exposing Player B's unarmored neck. Player A then plunges the Energy Dagger into Player B's throat. Player A then removes the Energy Dagger and throws Player B's corpse behind him.
*(Energy Sword) Player A twists Player B around and slashes the sword across B's body.
====Basic Assassination 2: Assassin is airborne but victim is not====
This assassination involves Player A jumping (or possibly falling) right behind (Close enough proximity to melee) Player B.
*(Beta Only) Player A kicks Player B down and as he tries to get up, Player A activates his energy gauntlet and stabs B in his mouth and throws the body behind him.
*Player A quickly stabs both blades through Player B's body and throat and throws the corpse off behind him/her.
====Basic Assassination 3: Both players are airborne====
This assassination involves Player A and B to be airborne with Player A right behind Player B.
*Player A quickly stabs his energy gauntlet into Player B's spine, killing him.
*(Energy Sword) Player A quickly stabs his sword into Player B's spine, killing him.
===Elite against Spartan===
====Basic Assassination 1: Both players are on the ground====
*The Elite knocks the Spartan to the ground, stabs him/her in the back, and then pushes the Spartan off its blade with its foot
*The Elite pushes the Spartan and stabs the Spartan in the back and follows up with another stab, and to finish the Spartan off, the Elite slashes its blade through the Spartan's neck.
*The Elite slashes the Spartan with one Energy Dagger and spins to kick the Spartan back. This is occasionally called the '300 Assassination' or 'Sparta Kick,' after the scene from the movie 300 in which Leonidas kicks a Persian messenger into a pit while saying "This is Sparta!"
*The Elite pushes the Spartan to his/her knees, then activates its gauntlet and stabs it into the Spartan's head and pulls the blade out.
*The Elite pushes the Spartan to its knees, then activates both of its blades, then stabs both into the Spartan's neck one after the other before pulling them both out.
*(Energy Sword) The Elite grabs a hold of the Spartan's arm and then stabs him with the sword, bringing him up over his head and then slamming the Spartan into the ground.
====Basic Assassination 2: Assassin is airborne but victim is not====
*The Elite knocks the Spartan to the ground, steps on his/her back, and stabs him/her through the head with its Energy Dagger.
====Basic Assassination 3: Both players are airborne====
*The Elite knees the Spartan and then stabs him with the Energy Dagger, then throws the Spartan over his head.
*(Energy Sword) The Elite knees the Spartan and then stabs him with the Energy Sword, then throws the Spartan over his head.
===Assassinations in Campaign/Firefight===
There are a few assassinations you can perform on Covenant troops in the Campaign and/or Firefight:
====Unggoy====
*The player grabs the Grunt and breaks its neck.
*The player grabs the Grunt and stabs its head, piercing its brain.
====Jiralhanae====
Note that all Brute assassinations are only possible if the Brute is unaware that the player is behind him.
*The player pushes the Brute down, and then stabs it in the back.
*The player stabs the Brute between its shoulder blades, and throws it to the side, in a quick motion.
====Kig-Yar====
*The player drags the Kig-Yar by its feathers or quill to the ground, and while the Kig-Yar is helpless, the player stabs it in the throat.
*The player pulls the Kig-Yar's head back, stabs it in the chest, and slams it down on the ground.
==Halo 4 Assassinations==
Many assassinations are changed to be more "breathtaking" and vivid. Now there are assassination animations using the oddball and the flag.
===Spartan against Spartan===
Player A is the Spartan initiating the assassination, Player B is the victim.
====Basic Assassination 1: Both players are on the ground====
*Player A tackles Player B to the ground and stabs the knife into the visor and takes the knife out.
*Player A leans Player B over his knee and pushes Player B's neck back until it snaps, then drops him to the ground.
*Player A grabs Player B's head and pulls it back, revealing their neck. Player A then pulls out their knife and slits Player B's throat.
*Player A grabs Player B by the shoulder and stabs Player B in the neck forcing him to the ground. Player A then simultaneously pulls the knife out of Player B's neck and pushes player B away with his foot.
*Player A grabs Player B by the shoulder and does an underhand stab with the knife into player B's neck and lets him fall to the ground.
*Player A grabs Player B by the visor and does an underhand stab with the knife into Player B's neck, then spins Player B around while throwing him to the side.
*Player A grabs Player B at the back of his neck and pulls him to the ground behind him and stabs him in the neck.
====Basic Assassination 2: One player is on the ground and one player is in the air====
*Player A leaps up into the air after player B and grabs player him by the shoulder. Player A then does a one handed overhand stab into player B's neck. Both players fall to the ground.
*Player A falls down onto player B from above while player B is on the ground. Player A straddles player B with his legs while player B is forced to his knees, then player A grabs player B's head and twists it sharply to the left breaking player B's neck.
====Basic Assassination 3: Both players are airborne====
*Player A meets Player B in midair from behind and quickly stabs Player B in the neck/right shoulder area, killing Player B. (identical to "Basic Assassination 2," the first of the two assassinations listed) 
====Basic Assassination 4: Both players are on the ground, Player A has an energy sword====
*Player A stabs the sword through Player B. Player A lifts Player B into the air and takes a step using the left foot. Player A then quickly pulls the sword out of Player B's body. Note that this assassination is only possible if Player A is sprinting toward the back of Player B, otherwise a default assassination will be performed. 
====Basic Assassination 5: Both players are on the ground, Player A has the flag====
*Player A swings the pole part of the flag to knock Player B to the ground on the right side facing Player A. Player A then takes two steps forward and brings the flag down on Player B's face which vaporizes Player B.
====Basic Assassination 6: Both players are on the ground, Player A has the oddball====
*Player A makes Player B turn around and uses the oddball to perform an underhanded strike, vaporizing Player B in midair.
*Player A comes from above and knocks Player B to the ground. While Player B struggles to get up, Player A uses the oddball to deliver a smashing blow the back of Player B's skull, vaporizing Player B.
===Spartan against Promethean Knight===
Note: if this assassination is performed and a Watcher revives the Knight, there will be a hole in the Knight's helmet, allowing you to kill it again instantly with a headshot.
*The SPARTAN grabs the Knight's right arm, making it turn around. The SPARTAN then stabs the Knight through the left part of the neck. It falls to the ground face first and vaporize.
*The SPARTAN grabs the Knight's blade arm and rips it off, swinging the blade to cut an arm underneath its skull with both hands and up into its torso, vaporizing it.
*The SPARTAN jumps on top of the Knight, bringing it to the ground. The SPARTAN then proceeds to upward slash their knife through something in its back (possibly the power supply or other device that keeps the Knight running), killing and vaporizing the Knight.
===Spartan against Promethean Crawler===
*The SPARTAN will wrestle the Crawler to the ground, grabbing its mandibles. The Crawler collapses, and the SPARTAN rips its jaws out.
*The SPARTAN stab the Crawler in the mouth. The Crawler bites on the SPARTAN's arm as they pull the knife out. The SPARTAN kicks the Crawler back, and it explodes.
*The SPARTAN will tackle the Crawler, stab its chest, and stabs him again overhead, killing it.
===Spartan against Kig-Yar===
*The SPARTAN grabs the Kig-Yar and flips him over his back. The Kig-Yar will attempt to get back up and attack the SPARTAN with hand-to-hand combat, but the SPARTAN will stab the Kig-Yar in the top of the head.
*The SPARTAN swipes the Kig-Yar's legs, then proceeds to stab its neck.
*(Spartan in mid-air) The SPARTAN tackles the Kig-Yar and spins them over his/her shoulder onto their back. The SPARTAN then stabs the Kig-Yar in the throat, killing it.
===Spartan against Elite===
*The SPARTAN jumps on the Elite's back, grabs its head, and twists it to the left then the right, breaking its neck.
*The SPARTAN pushes the Elite to the ground and stabs it in the back of the head with a knife.
*The SPARTAN jumps on the Elite's back, pulls its head back, and stabs it in the face.
*The SPARTAN punches the Elite in the pelvis, stunning it, then pulls out a knife and stabs the Elite in the neck, then slams him to the ground.
===Promethean Knight against Elite===
*The Knight stabs the Elite in the back with the Blade Arm, lifts it into the air and smashes it to the ground.
===Spartan against Grunt===
*The SPARTAN spins the Grunt around, stabs his head, and moves it left to right. The SPARTAN removes the knife, and the Grunt drops dead.
*The SPARTAN grabs the Grunt by the head and shoulder, pulls on them, and snaps its neck.
*The SPARTAN tackles the Grunt, and stabs it in the neck. The SPARTAN stands back up after removing the knife.
===Flood against Spartan===
All SPARTAN-on-Flood assassinations are reused basic animations. For this list, the Infected/Flood player is represented as Player A and Player B is the SPARTAN.
*Player A forces Player B to the ground while turning the latter around and crawl on top of Player B, pinning him/her. Player A will then slash his "sword" left then right through Player B's neck and then throws back both arms while screaming toward the now dead Player B.
*Player A grabs Player B by the head, bends Player B backwards a small bit and will then slash his claw to the right through the latter's neck while letting go of him/her. Player B's body will fall to the ground, dead.
*Player A knocks Player B to the ground and then lunges at him with Player B stabbed through the left shoulder. Player A then performs a lateral slice across the right of Player B's neck that kills Player B.
*If Player B is in the air, Player A will do an upward sweep with their claw and will then bring it down on Player B which sends Player B's now dead body to the ground.
===Spartan against Promethean Watcher===
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Though difficult, it is possible. 
*The SPARTAN will jump on to the "back" of the Watcher and stab its head with a knife. The Watcher will lose a little altitude from its right side and turn around. The SPARTAN then brings his/hers fist up to the "face" of the Watcher. A video showing this assassination can be seen here, it begins around 1:30.
==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. 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 would-be assassin's killer to get the 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.
==Tactics==
*In the campaign, there are a few times that are given to you for assassinations including the first Elite and (if you are quick enough) the Grunts and Jackal in Nightfall, or the Elite Rangers operating the consoles in the communications room of the Ardent Prayer in Long Night of Solace.
*You should probably try not to attempt an assassination if you are in the middle of heavy combat as you are left vulnerable for a short time.
*One way to assassinate a Jackal is to melee their shields until they are depleted. The jackal will turn around to run away, giving you a few seconds to assassinate it.
*One easy way to make an assassination on Elites is to first lower their shields with a melee. Because the Elites in Halo: Reach and Halo 4 will often raise their arms and roar in anger if you lower their shields this gives you a few precious seconds to run behind the Elite and assassinate it.
*The "Bum Bait" tactic, which involves one player standing still near a corner while another waits with an instant kill weapon (shotgun, energy sword, etc.) behind aforementioned corner and kills the first person to attempt an assassination on the presumably AFK player. The shooter will always get a Showstopper medal.
==Trivia==
*The Halo Reach Grunt assassination animations are most likely a homage to Cal-141, as she kills two Grunts in the same way in The Babysitter.
*In order to initiate different assassinations while both players are on the ground, melee from the right, left or directly behind the victim.
*If you perform an assassination on a moving surface, the animation will be cut short.
==Gallery==
Reach 695333 Medium.jpg|An assassination from the Halo: Reach Beta.
BOB_Neck_Snap.jpg|A BOB Sangheili Ranger's head does a 180° after a neck snap.
Reach 6970315 Medium.jpg|A Spartan about to stab an Elite.
Air Assassination.jpg|Mid-air assassination.
halo-reach-20100803092923421_640w.jpg|A Grunt neck is snapped.
cyclonebeereach13.jpg|An Elite doing the "Sparta Kick" assassination.
Assassination Art.jpg|Matchmaking screen where an Elite kills a Spartan.
paintrain.jpg|A Spartan prepares to kill an Elite with a sword.
Reach Beta - Elite Assassination.jpg|An Elite assassination from the Beta.
Head Stomp.jpg|A Spartan crushes an Elite's skull.
reach_16271041_Medium.jpg|A BOB is assassinated.
reach_6101327_Medium.jpg|An Energy Sword assassination.
reach_14193842_Medium.jpg|Et tu Brute.
Elite sword kill.jpg|Fatal Stab.
reach_10404841_Medium.jpg|A Spartan assassination.
reach_21649619_Full.jpg|Glitch using Assault Rifle instead of knife in multi-team.
ElitekillsSpartan.jpg|An Elite about to kill a Spartan with an Energy Dagger.
CP.27.jpg|A red assassinating a crouching blue.
Rotf58.png|John-117 assassinating a Promethean Crawler.
2821766-gallery.jpg|A SPARTAN-IV assassinating another.
2821764-gallery.jpg|John-117 assassinating a Promethean Knight.
H4hd-1.jpg|A flag assassination.
Dg_sworded3.png|An Energy Sword assassination from Halo 4.
Dg_sworded.png|Another Energy Sword assassination from Halo 4.
halo_4_watcher_assassination.jpg|A SPARTAN-IV assassinates a Watcher in SPARTAN Ops.
piggyback_assassination.jpg|A assassination during a War Game match.
H5G-Multiplayer Assassination-Shove It.gif|The Halo 5: Guardians assassination 'Shove It'.
==Sources==
Category:Halo: Reach
Category:Halo 4
Category:Halo 5: Guardians