Melee · —
Claude's default unarmed strike — a quick straight punch with no flair, used the moment you holster every other weapon. The starting point for every brawl in 2001 Liberty City.
The Fist is a "weapon" available in all Grand Theft Auto games.
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.
In , Grand Theft Auto: London and , 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.
If the player throws punches near someone, there is a chance they might attack them or run away. In , locking onto a shop/restaurant staff member, even while empty-handed, will instantly cause the clerk to react as if a weapon was aimed at them (in the case of the Ammu-Nation clerk, he will start firing at the player).
The fist generally remained the same as in , 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).
The fist is more elaborated than in previous games and is not only combat-oriented, also being used for taunting. If the fist is equipped whilst driving a basic vehicle, the player can flip the middle finger and insult pedestrians - 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 keep on insulting, they may react violently, either by running away or by 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 start to chase the player.
