Best Melee Weapons in GTA 5
Every melee weapon in GTA 5 and GTA Online, ranked by damage. Most of them share a figure, so the order within a tie is alphabetical rather than a judgement.
Fire rate, accuracy and range mean little for a bat, and the bars reflect that. The choice in this class is mostly about which one you want to be seen holding.
#1The Stone Hatchet is a hidden, unlockable melee hatchet in Grand Theft Auto Online, added with the After Hours update and made available when its event begins on August 3, 2018. It resembles a traditionally made stone axe: a stone head is fastened to a wooden shaft, while leather and feathers wrap the handle. Its appearance makes it the game's oldest-looking weapon, though it may be a historical reproduction.
#2The Antique Cavalry Dagger is a melee blade added to Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online with The "I'm Not a Hipster" Update. Also called the Retro Dagger, it is a small, old-fashioned dagger with a handguard at the handle. Its design appears to draw from a Civil War cavalry dagger, with details that give it a vintage, possibly European character.
#3The Bottle is a Melee weapon in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, added with the Beach Bum Update. Also called the Broken Bottle, it is modelled on a plain green glass bottle snapped in half, leaving a jagged edge on its lower section. In first-person view in the Enhanced Version, its label identifies it as Stronzo.
#4The Baseball Bat is a Melee weapon, also called the Bat. In Grand Theft Auto V it is an aluminium bat marked with "G.E.S.", "XL", a Ballas "B" and the Western States Baseball League logo. It costs $5. Its listed damage is 20, with a fire rate of 10 and a range of 1. Franklin and Trevor are depicted with wooden bats in promotional artwork, but the in-game weapon is aluminium.
#5The Golf Club is a Melee weapon in the Club type, modelled on a piece of golfing equipment. Its GTA V version keeps the general form used by the earlier 3D Universe games, though the striking edge is squarer. It carries a damage value of 20, a fire rate of 10 and a range value of 1. Despite its sporting origin, it is used as a close combat weapon.
#6The Pool Cue is a Melee weapon classified as a Cue. In Grand Theft Auto Online, it uses the shortened form introduced in The Lost and Damned rather than a full-length cue. Its brighter finish carries "OLD GEN" logos. It remains both a pool-playing tool and a weapon, placing an everyday barroom object in the melee weapon selection.
#7The Knife is a Hawk & Little blade in the Melee class. Its GTA V model closely follows the Knife from Grand Theft Auto IV, with altered serrations along the blade and a grip wrapped in green cord. It carries a $90 price. Its short reach confines it to hand-to-hand encounters, and it offers only a modest damage increase over fighting unarmed.
#8The Switchblade is a Melee blade weapon in Grand Theft Auto Online, added with the Executives and Other Criminals update. It is a compact folding knife whose series design is associated with Massaro and Beltrame Stiletto knives. Its standard model has a grey blade, a black and grey handle, and the markings "STAINLESS STEEL" and "EDINBURGH" at the base of the blade. The character flicks the handle to deploy or retract it when equipping or putting it away.
#9The Battle Axe is a Melee weapon in Grand Theft Auto Online, added with the Bikers update. It is an axe-hammer with the broad blade of a bearded axe and a spiked hammer head on the reverse. Its design is presented as a weapon from the Medieval era. The Battle Axe has damage and fire rate ratings of 15, while its range rating is 0.
#10The Hatchet is a Melee weapon in the enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It has a brown handle, a grey blade and a small red, white and blue stripe near the head. Its shape resembles the Fire Axe.
#11The Machete is a Vom Feuer melee weapon in the Blade category. It uses a long bolo-style blade, taking inspiration from Cold Steel's Bolo machete. Its rounded blade distinguishes it from the squared Meat Cleaver, while its basic use follows that of other bladed weapons.
#12The Candy Cane is a Melee weapon in Grand Theft Auto Online, added with the Los Santos Drug Wars update. Listed as a Candy weapon, it takes the form of a long, oversized version of a traditional candy cane. Its damage is rated at 10, its fire rate at 15, and it has no range beyond close-quarters attacks.
#13The Crowbar is a one-handed Melee tool with a red handle and a grey working end. It swings quickly and is light to carry, placing it close to the Knife in use, though larger melee weapons inflict more damage. Its damage rating is 10, its fire rate is 15 and its range is 1. It is used for close-range attacks, and in First Dose 6 - Off the Rails it is supplied to break open crates.
#14The Vom Feuer Flashlight is a black, cylindrical melee weapon with a rugged grip. Its design resembles a shortened Kel-Lite flashlight, though it has no LED. It functions as both a torch and an improvised striking weapon rather than a dedicated combat tool. The beam spreads more broadly than the flashlight attachment fitted to firearms, making it useful for lighting dark interiors and other poorly lit areas.
#15The Hammer is a Melee weapon classified as a tool in Grand Theft Auto V. It has a wooden handle and a black head, retaining the design of its earlier 3D Universe version apart from those details. The game treats it as a club-type weapon, close in use to the Crowbar, and the character swings it one-handed.
#16The Nightstick is a black, single-handed T-baton in the Melee class. In Grand Theft Auto V, its model has more detail than earlier versions while retaining the weapon's basic baton shape. In the enhanced version, an LSPD officer badge appears above the handle, most clearly when it is viewed in first person. It carries damage rated at 10, a fire rate of 15 and range rated at 1.
#17The Pipe Wrench first appears in Grand Theft Auto V during "By the Book", where it is used as a torture implement. It later becomes available as a melee weapon in Grand Theft Auto Online through the Bikers update. It belongs to the Melee class and is categorised as a tool.
#18The Shocker is a suppressive electrical baton in the Melee class, introduced with Bottom Dollar Bounties. It is a long, futuristic rod whose shaft emits a blue light while charged. Its listed price is $375,000. The weapon has damage of 10, a fire rate of 15 and no range beyond close melee contact.
#19Fist is the Melee weapon that represents an unarmed protagonist or playable character in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It is available whenever no other weapon is being used, keeping the character outwardly unarmed in weapon-free areas. Its low damage and very short reach make it a last-resort option beside firearms and dedicated melee weapons, though attacks can be delivered in quick succession.
#20Knuckle Dusters are a Melee weapon, also known as Brass Knuckles. They are metal knuckles with finger holes, worn over a clenched fist to add force to punches. In Grand Theft Auto V, they arrive with the Ill-Gotten Gains Part 2 update under their new name. The standard version has a smooth brass finish with rose engravings on its upper and lower sections.
