Player A will initiate the assassination, which involves player A wrapping his/her hands together, and delivers a smash on player B's head. This assassination involves Player A jumping (or possibly falling) right behind (Close enough proximity to melee) Player B. 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 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.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 right side of player B's back: Player B turns to face player A, who raises his/her combat knife and plunges it down on player B's head.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 shoulder of player B: Player B is spun around to face player A.The specific animation that is used varies depending on which part of the back is meleed. This assassination involves Player A standing on the same surface as Player B. 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. There are also unique assassinations that can be performed when the player is holding an Energy Sword, Gravity Hammer, or Ball/Bomb.

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 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. 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.

Assassinations have been featured in Halo: Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 5: Guardians. An assassination occurs when Player A presses and holds the melee button when directly behind Player B, resulting in an elaborate kill that earns the player a special medal. 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 an instant kill. Note that assassinations are different from beat downs and pummels. The Assassination is a gameplay feature that allows player to enter a third-person view while elaborately taking an enemy player down with a close combat weapon, usually a Combat Knife, Energy dagger, Energy Sword, Gravity Hammer, or a Ball/Bomb or their hands, knees, legs and feet. A slow-motion example of one of the many Assassinations in Halo: Reach.

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