- For the medal see Assassin Medal
The Assassination is a new gameplay feature in Halo: Reach that allows player to enter a third-person view while elaborately taking an enemy player down with either a Combat Knife, Energy Dagger, or 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. This results in the humiliation of the assassinated player. Assassinations performed in multiplayer matchmaking also count towards the Rear Admiral commendation.
Types of Multiplayer Assassinations
For both Elite and Spartan III players, there are three different basic assassination types that are played according to the situation. 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.
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 your left shoulder (Right when wearing the SECURITY shoulder).
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 brings out his/her knife and stabs Player B in the spine, then pulls out the blade and throws the body to the side.
■Player A crouches behind Player B and stabs his/her knife upward into the spine and then cuts sideways, ripping the knife from the body.
■Player A will pull out their knife while Player B turns around, Player A then stabs B in the gut.
■The first Spartan pushes the second around and stabs him/her right through their head.
■Player A swings his/her arm around Player B's body, bending him/her backwards and stabbing him/her in the heart.
■(Energy Sword) Player A cuts the victim along the chest, knocking him/her down, as he/she tries to get up, Player A stabs Player B again to kill the Spartan.
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. Player A will initiate the assassination,which will involve Player A landing on Player B's back (Player B will be on the ground) and breaking Player B's neck.
Basic Assassination 3: Both players are airborne
This assassinations involves Player A and B to be airborne with Player A right behind Player B. A will initiate the assassination. ■Player A knees Player B in the groin and slams both fists into B's back, breaking his/her back. ■Player A slams both fists down on Player B's head.
Spartan against Elite (Also possible in campaign)
The specific animation that is used varies depending on which part of the back is meleed and the players postions.
- The player jumps on the Elite's back and stabs its neck.
- The player hops on the Elite and breaks its neck.
- The player jumps on the Elite's head, breaking its skull.
- The player slashes the inside of the Elite's knee, then stabs it in the head, and slams the body down with the knife.
- The player stabs the Elite in the head.
- The player tackles the Elite to the ground then stabs it in its face.
■(Energy Sword) The Spartan runs and jump on the Elite's back and stabs him/her through the heart
Elite against 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. ■The Elite activates it's energy gauntlet and stabs the back of the other Elite's head, then thrashes him around before throwing him away.
■The Elite quickly swings his arm over the others body, bending the other backwards, the Elite then stabs the other Elite in the chest.
■The player quickly stabs both blades through the other Elite's body and throat and throws the corpse off behind him/her.
■The player throws his arm over the head of the opposing Elite, and plunges the Energy Dagger into his throat.
■(Energy Sword) The Player knocks the elite to his knees and swings the sword through the Elite's neck.
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. Player A will initiate the assassination, which will cause Player A to kick Player B, thus turning the latter to face the opposite direction, then plunge the energy knife into his/her mouth and subsequently toss the body off Player A's blade.
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 will initiate the assassination, which will cause Player A to quickly stab his/her energy knife into Player B's spine, killing him/her
Elite against Spartan
■The Elite will ignite its Energy Dagger and stab the Spartan in the neck ■The Elite stabs the Spartan in the back and follows up with another slash along the back, to finish the Spartan off, the Elite slashes it's blade through the Spartan's neck. ■The Elite slashes the Spartan with one Energy Dagger and spins to kick the Spartan back ■The Elite activates it's gauntlet and stabs it into the Spartan's head, pushing the Spartan to his/her knees and then pulling the blade out. ■The Elite will activate both of his/her blades, and stab both into the Spartan's neck one after the other before pulling them both out ■(Energy Sword) The Elite grabs ahold of the spartans arm and then gores him with the sword, bringing him up over his head and then slamming the Spartan into the ground,
Assassinations in Campaign
There are a few assassinations you can perform on Covenant warriors in Campaign:
Unggoy
- The player grabs the Grunt and breaks its neck.
- The player grabs the Grunt and stabs its head.
Jiralhanae
- 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/Skirmisher
- The player drags the Jackal/Skirmisher by its feathers and knifes its neck.
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 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 achievment, If They Came to Hear Me Beg.