Wasted

Wasted is the term used for when a player is severely injured and collapses in a Grand Theft Auto game by losing all their health. In Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes, the terms Wasted and Busted are not used, but the same effects take place for each.

Causes

 * Drowning (in GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City Stories, and Grand Theft Auto V the player has a breath meter which has to run out for the player to be wasted (except in Grand Theft Auto IV where the player will drown from swimming too long).
 * Damage from explosions (Potential one hit).
 * Getting punched by a pedestrian while the super punch cheat code is enabled, killing the player instantly in one hit, unless the God Mode cheat code is enabled (GTA San Andreas).
 * Damage from being shot.
 * Trapped in an exploding vehicle (One hit).
 * Catching fire (except if the player has finished the firefighter side mission).
 * Standing for too long on an electrified railroad, resulting in the player being shocked. (Grand Theft Auto 1 and Grand Theft Auto 2).
 * Repetitive damage from fists or melee weapons.
 * Knocked out in cage fighting competition (The Ballad of Gay Tony).
 * Damage from falling off a high point into the ground or water (Grand Theft Auto V only), or failing to open parachute (GTA San Andreas, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * If the player has completed the Paramedic side mission in GTA San Andreas, CJ will gain 50% more health, resulting in that he will not be wasted if falling, even from the highest points or planes. It is possible to exploit this glitch without the Paramedic side mission; if the player has their health fully maxed out, they will survive with a minuscule amount of health. However, if the player is in the freefall position before deploying a parachute, he will die if he hits the ground before deploying the chute.
 * Shot down, while in a plane or helicopter. (eg. in GTA San Andreas, if the player flies over Area 69, SAM-rockets will be fired at the plane/helicopter).
 * Getting hungry by not eating for at least 48 hours. (GTA San Andreas).
 * Running too fast on stairs, and therefore falling off, though this deals very little damage. (3D Universe)
 * Being run over by a passing vehicle (GTA IV and GTA V).
 * Damage from headshots (GTA IV and GTA V, sometimes can be a one-hit).
 * Being trapped underneath a heavy vehicle.
 * Stumble down the steps while drunk (Grand Theft Auto IV).
 * Thrown through the windshield at mid-to-high speeds (Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Damage from bailing out of a moving vehicle or falling off a bike (GTA Vice City, GTA Liberty City Stories, GTA Vice City Stories, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Misusing explosives or other weapons with a wide damage radius (shooting too close to vehicles, on the wall, or at the ground)
 * Crashing at high speeds (Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Swimming out too far in the ocean. Although planes and boats are scripted to stop working and sink and a shark will appear to "finish off" the player, this can be avoided by switching to a different character and back to the one in the ocean. If the player continues to swim out far enough in the ocean, the game will kill the player at a certain point (Grand Theft Auto V)
 * Getting squashed by solid objects (HD Universe).
 * Failing to throw a Grenade in time (One hit) (Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Letting go of the ladder while sliding down, thus hitting the ground hard (Grand Theft Auto IV).
 * Trip and then fall to the ground when going on top of a moving vehicle (Grand Theft Auto IV).
 * Falling into the gap between two train cars (or fall off the sides) in the subway (Grand Theft Auto IV).
 * Crashing aircraft towards objects, thus exploding with the player inside (One hit) (GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City Stories (as PS2 Version) and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * In GTA San Andreas, random plane crashes occasionally occur in the vicinity of Carl as he drives or walks around the state. A direct hit can cause major damage to Carl and/or make the vehicle he's driving in catch fire and explode.
 * Sliced then thrown in the air by helicopter blades (One hit) (Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Crashing a helicopter at high speeds (One hit) (Grand Theft Auto IV).
 * Smashing into a propane tank (One hit) (Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Smashing into a gas station pump causing an explosion. (One hit)
 * Repeatedly crashing the car at high speed while driving it. (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Following another protagonist in free roam, the followed protagonist will to tell the player to stop, eventually leading to attack and instantly wasting the controlled protagonist (One hit, inevitable; Michael and Franklin will punch while Trevor will headbutt instead). A short cutscene will play displaying the followed protagonist's angry face to which he will turn around to punch the player-controlled protagonist while saying various things before attacking the player-controlled one. (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Sharks attack Michael, Franklin, or Trevor in the ocean if they swim too close to them (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Cougars attack Michael, Franklin, or Trevor (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Dogs attack Michael, Franklin, or Trevor (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Plummeting to death (all games).
 * Running through a plane's propellor (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Ingesting a pill as a form of suicide (Grand Theft Auto Online; this costs $500 in order to do so).
 * Shooting the player him/herself with a Pistol (Grand Theft Auto Online; this costs $500 to do so).
 * Submersible imploding if going below 550 ft underwater (Grand Theft Auto V). (One hit)
 * Tripping and tumbling down from a steep slope for prolonged periods of time (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Vehicle exploding on impact from a high fall (on the side or the roof in GTA V) (One hit) (Grand Theft Auto 1, Grand Theft Auto 2, and Grand Theft Auto V; vehicles will always explode on impact from a high fall in GTA 1 and GTA 2, even if landed on four wheels).
 * Descending too fast towards the ground while parachuting (Grand Theft Auto V). (Potential one hit)
 * Entering "Commit Suicide" cheat code (One hit, unavoidable).
 * Continuous running after losing stamina (if the stamina level is very low), resulting in a loss of health. The player will fall down the first time from exhaustion, supposedly at 10% or less health remaining, recovering a light bit of stamina. Continued activity past that will result in more falls and eventually wasted (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Diving too far in the ocean (even with diving gear or a Submersible) (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Getting shocked by electric transformers in the power station (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Getting blown up from the exploding oil drums.
 * Damage from being intoxicated on drugs or alcohol.
 * Hitting onto a building while descending down with a parachute, which can result the protagonist fall down after impact (Grand Theft Auto V).
 * Blasted by the P-996 Lazer's jet turbine (Grand Theft Auto V) (Potential one Hit)
 * Shooting at stocked missiles in Fort Zancudo, resulting in an explosion (Grand Theft Auto V) (One hit, if close to the blast radius)
 * Falling into bodies of water from any significant height (Grand Theft Auto V differs from Grand Theft Auto IV in which the character can fall from a helicopter and receive no damage as long as he hits water)
 * Shooting too close at explosive crates, or driving over it in a vehicle (Grand Theft Auto V) (One hit, if in a vehicle)
 * Killed by an explosion even in distance using Body Armor (Grand Theft Auto V; differs from Grand Theft Auto IV in which the character can survive from distance explosion; one hit)
 * Killed in an explosion upon entering the Duke O'Death (Instant death; GTA Online and enhanced version only after update 1.10 as punishment/deterrent for glitching a single player exclusive vehicle into online.)
 * Falling off of big heights (instant death in GTA 1 and 2; damage may vary by game)
 * Consuming too much alcohol which will eventually lead to death (GTA Online)
 * Killed by a heavy bag after being hit with it after pushing it (GTA San Andreas; in Ganton Gym or in Below the Belt Gym)

Knocked Out
Knocked Out is a unique Wasted screen exclusive to the Sumo Adversary Mode, and the Most Wanted VIP challenge, part of Organizations. Once the player is knocked off the area (Sumo), or is killed by the police (Most Wanted), they will die with a "Knocked Out" text instead of "Wasted".

Effects
As a result of being Wasted in the 3D Universe the player will lose all of their weapons and $100 ($1,000 in Grand Theft Auto III), the same as for being Busted. There are some exceptions:
 * In GTA San Andreas, if CJ is dating Katie Zhan (a nurse), he will be able to keep his weapons upon death.
 * In GTA Vice City Stories, the player can bribe the hospital staff by paying $2000 to keep the weapons they'd normally lose.
 * In the mobile versions of GTA 3, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas and GTA Liberty City Stories, the player keeps their weapons upon death without having to do anything.

In Grand Theft Auto IV however, the player is fined 10% of their money ($10,000 max) and gets to keep their weapons. In Grand Theft Auto V, the player loses a maximum of $5000, but keeps their weapons too. In all games except Grand Theft Auto 1, any mission the player was on will be failed. In Grand Theft Auto 1 most of the missions will be failed when the player is Wasted, but some missions will not be failed. Furthermore, in Grand Theft Auto V, getting Wasted during a mission will not teleport the character to a hospital. Instead, the player will simply retry from a checkpoint, with no other penalty but unable to achieve gold medals in missions with time or accuracy objectives. However if the player cancels the mission after they are killed or died outside mission, they will lose a maximum of $5000.

Trivia

 * Wasted is a term most often used for being highly intoxicated from the use of alcohol or drugs.
 * The term is known as "You're brown bread" in GTA London 1969 and 1961, which is Cockney rhyming slang for "you're dead".
 * In the German version it says "Ausser Gefecht" which is translated to "Knocked Out" or "Out of Action".
 * In the Brazilian Portuguese version for Grand Theft Auto V, it says "Se Fodeu", which is grossly translated to "You got fucked up".
 * In the French version it says "Vous êtes mort" which translates to "You are Dead."
 * In the Italian version, it says "Massacrato" which is translated to "Massacred".
 * In the Portuguese version of GTA San Andreas it says "Detonado", translating to "Detonated". It is still the same regardless of how the player died, whether by gunfire, drowning, collisions, by explosives (explaining the "Detonado" message), etc.
 * In the Polish version of GTA V, it says "Zgon", which means "killed".
 * In the Turkish version of GTA V, it says "Öldün", which means "you have died" or "you're dead".
 * In the unofficial Russian version of GTA San Andreas it was translated literally, as "Потрачено", which means "Spent".
 * In the Gameboy Color version of GTA 2, a term "Killed" is used rather than "Wasted" in the PS1, PC and Dreamcast versions.
 * In GTA 2 a special term "toasted" is used to indicate, that the player has died due to catching on fire (particularly by the effects of Flamethrower), or "shocking" to indicate, that the player has died by electricity – by walking too long on electrified rails. Maybe even by being hit by ElectroGun or ElectroFingers, but no NPC will ever use it against the player. The results are, however, perfectly the same as if they were wasted in any other way.
 * In all GTA games, a pool of blood will most likely appear under the player (With a few exceptions like the flames in GTA IV; sometimes does not happen in GTA SA).
 * In GTA IV, the term "Wasted" doesn't appear in the screen. Instead, the screen turns grey, everything moves in slow motion, and the player is transported to the nearest hospital. However, if they die in a certain way, (the player's body is still falling, etc.) the game will continue showing the slow-mo scene until they press the continue button, which skips the scene. Skipping with the button also works when the player simply doesn't want to watch the whole "blackout". This is the only game not to have the words "Busted" and "Wasted".
 * WASTED and BUSTED are returned in GTA:CW. This is the first HD Universe game to have the words appeared.
 * The words "Wasted" and "Busted" have returned in Grand Theft Auto V, albeit darker in tone. The screen flashes and a sound effect reminiscent of a steel rod being struck right as the words appear (albeit with minor visual differences and missing steel rod sound in the enhanced version). This has become a minor internet meme in its own right.
 * In GTA V, when the player dies in a mission, the term Wasted isn't used, but instead it'll show "Trevor died" ("T died" in the Prologue), "Franklin died", or "Michael died" ("M died" in the Prologue) as a failure reason. (Along with the "Mission Failed" message, as if it was the normal mission failure.)
 * In the 3D Universe, if the health cheat is entered as the player dies, the player's health will be restored for a few seconds but they will not get up since he/she is already killed.
 * In GTA San Andreas, if CJ dies while he is on a jetpack and the health cheat is entered before he hits the ground, CJs health will be restored but if the player leaves the jetpack CJ will fall down and die instantly. This is most likely a glitch.
 * Also in GTA:SA, if the player types commit suicide cheat when CJ leaving a yellow marker (Leaving Johnson House, etc.) he will fall down, but he will drop down again when he exited and WASTED appears. However if the player types health cheat before he successfully exits, he won't die.
 * It is possible for the word WASTED appears on the screen when Carl is arrested. If the player types commit suicide cheat before the police officer fully knocks them to the ground (especially on a motorcycle), he will simply die with WASTED; if done this after that, there will simply an arrest animation with BUSTED but the health bar was already depleted out, however the officer and Carl will still insult each other because of a continuity error despite the deceased one cannot talk anyway; if done this correctly at the right time, the WASTED sign will appear on the screen and both the word and the arrest scene will show. This is most likely a glitch, however the player respawns at the nearest hospital instead. (Confirmed on PC)
 * No matter how fatal some injuries seem to be (e.g bitten in half by a shark, shot in the head or even blown up), the main characters always return from the hospital alive and with no signs of these injuries intact, except in GTA V where minor cuts and bruises are shown when exiting the hospital.
 * Trevor Philips' Special Ability will avoid most of the damage, including some lethal forms, like being shot by the Rhino and other explosions.
 * In GTA Online, there are different reasons appear under the "WASTED" sign, including the player committed suicide, flattened/sniped/exploded/mowed down by another player, and so on.
 * However, sometimes the player died in the way they didn't want to, the game occasionally still states that the player committed suicide. This is probably an oversight from the game developers or a glitch.
 * If the Invincibility Cheat is enabled in GTA V, Trevor, Michael and Franklin are immune to damage from explosions, getting run over by vehicles and falling from high altitudes unlike in GTA San Andreas where as Carl Johnson can still lose health and /or subsequently die from explosions and falling from high altitudes.
 * However, this does not work on following another protagonist.
 * Oddly, the controlled protagonist will be in slow motion, while the followed protagonist will move in normal speed.
 * In GTA V, if the player friendly fires another protagonist (e.g., Franklin firing an RPG on Michael) in Free Roam, their bodies will remain intact on the spot. When switching to the character that the player wasted, he will spawn into the hospital, and when switching back to the former, the latter character will text the player and lose $5000, just like the player himself getting killed.
 * This also applies with Michael should he kill any of his family members, and Ron Jakowski (the latter applied to all three protagonists). Interestingly enough, Ron and Franklin never met in the story.
 * If the player (playing as either Trevor or Franklin) kills Michael, or if playing as Michael followed by getting knocked out by either of two characters for staying too close to them for long duration, Amanda will furiously text the player on Michael's behalf.

Wasted Außer Gefecht