For the Terroil gas company tanker truck in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, see Fists (vehicle).
The Fist is a "weapon" available in all Grand Theft Auto games.
Description[]
The fist represents the unarmed state of the protagonist or playable characters; they will not draw attention in weapon-free zones, and merely locking onto pedestrians or police will not cause panic or attract a Wanted Level.
2D Universe[]
In Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto: London and Grand Theft Auto 2, fists are non-lethal, to both the player and NPCs, though using them may still scare away pedestrians and attract police attention. In these games, fists are designed to only knock NPC characters over or be used to interrogate them. They can however be used to kill by pushing NPCs into danger, but the actual fists do no damage and a fistfight can last forever if one lets it.
3D Universe[]
If the player throw punches near someone, there is a chance they might attack them or run away. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, locking into a shop/restaurant staff member, even without any weapons, will instantly cause the clerk to react as if a weapon was aimed at them (in the case of the Ammu-Nation clerk, firing at the player).
Grand Theft Auto IV[]
The fist generally remained the same as in 3D Universe, but this time, fighting was made more advanced, and timing elements were introduced into physical combat to allow dodging and melee counters. Usually, locking on a pedestrian will not cause them to react unless a punch is thrown. Depending of the type of pedestrian, they may either run away or will attempt to fight back (in that case, the reticle will change color).
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
The fist is more elaborated than in previous games and is not only focused into combat, but more interactive for taunting. If the fist is equipped whilst driving a basic vehicle, the player can flip the middle finger and insult pedestrians, which the outcome will vary depending of the pedestrian and the duration of the insult. Pedestrians will likely react to the player's insult pacifically, but the longer they hold insulting, they may react violently, either running away or attempting to take out the player from the car to start a fight. Said feature is also applied to drivers, where they may either drive away recklessly or starting to chase the player.
Performance[]
3D Universe[]
Naturally, punching is a last-resort in the GTA games, lacking the range of firearms and power of melee weapons. Bare-handed attacks have unique properties - for example, they can be chained, causing the protagonist to unleash a series of various punches and kicks, including a stomp or ground-level kick if an enemy is lying prone, the fists can also prove to be almost stealthy in their abilities. In GTA San Andreas, Carl Johnson is able to learn more powerful moves by fighting and defeating gym trainers. The skills obtained in the Below the Belt Gym, which are probably the best, can make the fist attacks very powerful. This is because the combo attack of that gym ends with a "super" punch that can kill any person, no matter the amount of health the person has. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories introduced new abilities while fighting, including breaking opponents' necks.
Fist combos can damage and destroy a car. If the player has a maxed-out muscle in GTA San Andreas, including the Martial Arts combo, a car with a normal durability can be destroyed in less than twenty-five hits. This also works for some lamp posts that can be broken down with a couple of punches. The fist can be chained as a combo with other melee weapons (except the chainsaw) by using Gym Styles and using the melee weapons upon the third strike and vice versa. This technique usually kills a pedestrian after the combo is completed.
In some games, fists can be reinforced with Brass Knuckles to increase damage.
3D Universe Overview[]
| Damage | Fire Rate [?] | Range (m / ft) |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 (GTA Vice City) | 250 (GTA Vice City) | 2.4 / 7.9 (GTA Vice City) | 1000 (GTA Vice City) | N/A | 100 (GTA Vice City) |
| N/A | 3 hits per second | Cannot be determined | N/A | N/A | 0.1 second |
Grand Theft Auto IV[]
In Grand Theft Auto IV, the fist is more practical for usage againsts enemies, and was improved over previous iterations. The character not only can make use of punches, but kicks and even headbutts when chained with combos. The character can also push NPCs if used while moving.
As counter-attacks were implemented in the game, the fist can be used immediately after dodging an enemy attack (if timed correctly), resulting in special combos that can deal greater damage or even finishing moves when the enemy is very weak (i.e. uppercuts, spinning kicks and knee attacks). The player is also able to disarm another person who has a Knife or a Baseball Bat and keep it as their own by dodging their attacks, then quickly pressing the attack or counter-attack button. It is also possible to knock or even kill someone out with a single punch to the head (usually right on the scalp), though this is a rare occurrence and is difficult to execute. The same happens with the bat (although more easily).
Any sort of punch or kick to a car may damage the car and slightly deform their bodywork, although this will take some time to make effect on them. Helicopters are sensitive to impacts, so a few punches on the main body will produce smoke on the vehicle, at the cost of attracting a wanted level for destroying a vehicle intentionally. One of the basic methods with the fist is to "restart" a heavily-damaged vehicle, where a few hits in the engine bay of a vehicle that stopped due to multiple crashes will make the vehicle's ignition system work successfully, able to drive them freely to be repaired. However, in the worst case scenario, multiple hits to the engine bay will make the car set aflame in the front area, leading to an explosion (though this may take awhile until the vehicle's rear wheels are set on fire).
GTA IV Overview[]
| Damage (per shot) |
Fire Rate [?] | Range (m / ft) |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed [?] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | N/A | 1.6 / 5.2 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 0.3-0.5/8 (Primary attack) 0.5-1/8 (Secondary attack) |
N/A | Cannot be determined | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
In Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, the player is able to perform not only punches, kicks and headbutts, but also slaps to the face and sucker punches to knock the opponent out on the first hit if caught by surprise. While sneaking, the player is also able to deliver a karate chop like movement to the neck to immediately knock the opponent unconscious. Unlike in GTA Vice City Stories, the player still cannot break opponents' necks from behind. Fist fighting may help in increasing their character skill, as it will boost the general strength of melee attacks. Vehicle damage is applied as well, though, unlike in GTA IV, it is a bit easier because of the vehicle's general sensivity, especially aircraft.
GTA V and Online Overview[]
| Damage (per shot) [?] |
Fire Rate [?] | Range (m / ft) [?] |
Ammo Specifications/ Capacity |
Reload Mechanism | Reload Speed [?] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 30 / 98 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
 |
Damage | 5% 5% | |||
| Fire Rate/Speed | 20% 20% | ||||
| Accuracy | |||||
| Range | 1% 1% | ||||
| Clip Size | |||||
Image Gallery[]
HUD icon[]
First-Person View[]
Trivia[]
General[]
- Destroying cars with fists does not attract a wanted level, no matter how many cars the player destroys, even if a cop is killed by a car explosion that is caused by damaging the car with the fists.
- However, this is opposite in GTA IV, as smashing a smoking vehicle can cause the said vehicle to catch fire and eventually explode and attract a wanted level.
- Of all the GTA protagonists, Trevor Philips, Niko Bellic, Victor Vance, Huang Lee, and Luis Fernando Lopez are the ones who have a solid hand-to-hand combat background; Niko, Trevor, and Vic as part of their army training, Huang by his martial arts background, and Luis by his underground cage fighting experience. Carl Johnson can acquire skills through the progress of the game by training in gyms and a dojo.
2D Universe[]
- The Game Boy Color version of GTA 2 omits unarmed combat. In this version, police officers will only need to walk into the player to arrest them for committing a crime.
3D Universe[]
- Tommy Vercetti is the only protagonist who can hold back a fist without punching straight away. This feature was removed in the Definitive Edition of GTA Vice City.
- GTA San Andreas has a cheat in which Carl Johnson can send NPCs flying in one punch. However, this cheat also affects pedestrians as they can also send CJ (and other pedestrians) flying in one punch, killing him in the process. However, if the invincibility cheat is activated, CJ can no longer die from getting punched by pedestrians.
- In GTA San Andreas, if the player gets a wanted level in an interior of any accessible buildings and goes out, the police will also use this weapon to fight against them.
- In GTA San Andreas, if someone fires a gun while a pedestrian is striking their fists in the air before punching, the pedestrian will keep their fists in the air while running away.
HD Universe[]
- In The Ballad of Gay Tony and GTA V, there is a cheat that allows the player to have an explosive punch. These explosions are as powerful as the Explosive Shotgun, able to kill someone and destroy vehicles in one to two hits; when playing as Trevor Philips, he can destroy vehicles in one hit at the cost of getting killed unless the invincibility cheat is activated, wherein he will be able to survive explosions.