Traction

"Friction" redirects here. For aerial friction, see here.

Because Luigi has a very small amount of traction, he slides very noticeably after finishing a dash.

Traction is a measure of how long it takes for a character to stop moving from a sideways force when grounded. Characters with low traction slide farther than others after walking, dashing, wavedashing, being hit by an attack while grounded, and so on.

Having high traction affords greater ground control over a character, so high traction is generally an advantage. Characters with low traction generally require more precise movement across the ground and cannot punish attacks as effectively out of shield since they will get pushed further away from the opponent. However, there are cases where low traction is useful: low traction is necessary for a long wavedash in Super Smash Bros. Melee and a long dash pivot cancel in Brawl, and there are cases where sliding away from a shielded attack can help escape later hits of it. In Super Smash Bros. characters with lower traction get pushed farther away when being attacked when in shield which makes follow-ups and potential Shield breaks harder.

Luigi is well-known for having the least traction of any character in all games except Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; this originates from his low traction in most of the Mario platformers, which balances out his higher jumping.

Traction is significantly lessened by slippery terrain such as ice; all characters have decreased traction on slippery surfaces except the Ice Climbers, who are unaffected.

Traction rankings

Super Smash Bros.

Rank	Character	Value
1-5	Link	2
1-5	Samus	2
1-5	Fox	2
1-5	Pikachu	2
1-5	Ness	2
6	Captain Falcon	1.8
7	Donkey Kong	1.7
8	Yoshi	1.6
9	Mario	1.5
10	Kirby	1.4
11	Jigglypuff	1.1
12	Luigi	0.7

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Rank	Character	Value
1-4	Peach	0.1
1-4	Link	0.1
1-4	Zelda	0.1
1-4	Pichu	0.1
5-6	Pikachu	0.09
5-6	Jigglypuff	0.09
7-13	Donkey Kong	0.08
7-13	Young Link	0.08
7-13	Sheik	0.08
7-13	Kirby	0.08
7-13	Fox	0.08
7-13	Falco	0.08
7-13	Captain Falcon	0.08
14	Ganondorf	0.07
15-23	Mario	0.06
15-23	Dr. Mario	0.06
15-23	Bowser	0.06
15-23	Yoshi	0.06
15-23	Samus	0.06
15-23	Ness	0.06
15-23	Marth	0.06
15-23	Roy	0.06
15-23	Mr. Game & Watch	0.06
24	Mewtwo	0.04
25	Ice Climbers	0.035
26	Luigi	0.025

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Rank	Character	Value
1	Lucario	0.0736
2	Jigglypuff	0.0718
3-6	Wario	0.07
3-6	Zero Suit Samus	0.07
3-6	Wolf	0.07
3-6	Sonic	0.07
7-8	Peach	0.068
7-8	Ganondorf	0.068
9	Falco	0.065
10	Link	0.064
11-16	Mario	0.06
11-16	Sheik	0.06
11-16	Fox	0.06
11-16	Mr. Game & Watch	0.06
11-16	Olimar	0.06
11-16	R.O.B.	0.06
17	Pikachu	0.0596
18	Samus	0.0585
19	Bowser	0.0577
20-22	Meta Knight	0.055
20-22	Charizard	0.055
20-22	Marth	0.055
23	Toon Link	0.0547
24	Ness	0.0546
25	Snake	0.0542
26	Zelda	0.054
27	Ivysaur	0.0532
28	Donkey Kong	0.0529
29	Pit	0.0505
30	Captain Falcon	0.05
31	Kirby	0.0493
32-33	Diddy Kong	0.0484
32-33	King Dedede	0.0484
34	Lucas	0.045
35	Ike	0.044
36	Yoshi	0.0426
37	Squirtle	0.042
38	Ice Climbers	0.035
39	Luigi	0.022

Super Smash Bros. 4

Rank	Character	Value
1	Lucario	0.0736
n/a	Mega Lucario	0.0736
2	Jigglypuff	0.0718
3-5	Wario	0.07
3-5	Zero Suit Samus	0.07
3-5	Little Mac	0.07
n/a	Giga Mac	0.07
6-9	Peach	0.068
6-9	Rosalina	0.068
6-9	Ganondorf	0.068
6-9	Palutena	0.068
n/a	Giga Bowser	0.067
10-11	Falco	0.065
10-11	Corrin	0.065
12-13	Link	0.064
12-13	Mii Swordfighter	0.064
14-24	Sheik	0.06
14-24	Fox	0.06
14-24	Roy	0.06
14-24	Mr. Game & Watch	0.06
14-24	Olimar	0.06
14-24	R.O.B.	0.06
14-24	Villager	0.06
14-24	Wii Fit Trainer	0.06
14-24	Sonic	0.06
14-24	Mega Man	0.06
14-24	Ryu	0.06
n/a	Wario-Man	0.06
25	Pikachu	0.0596
26	Samus	0.0585
27	Bowser	0.0577
28-33	Meta Knight	0.055
28-33	Marth	0.055
28-33	Lucina	0.055
28-33	Robin	0.055
28-33	Cloud	0.055
28-33	Bayonetta	0.055
34	Toon Link	0.0547
35	Ness	0.0546
36	Zelda	0.054
37	Donkey Kong	0.0529
38-39	Pit	0.0505
38-39	Dark Pit	0.0505
40	Captain Falcon	0.05
41	Kirby	0.0493
42-43	Diddy Kong	0.0484
42-43	King Dedede	0.0484
44-52	Mario	0.045
44-52	Dr. Mario	0.045
44-52	Bowser Jr.	0.045
44-52	Greninja	0.045
44-52	Lucas	0.045
44-52	Duck Hunt	0.045
44-52	Pac-Man	0.045
44-52	Mii Brawler	0.045
44-52	Mii Gunner	0.045
53-54	Ike	0.044
53-54	Shulk	0.044
55	Yoshi	0.0426
56-57	Mewtwo	0.04
56-57	Charizard	0.04
58	Luigi	0.024

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

In Ultimate, traction has been significantly increased across the cast, with even the lowest traction values being higher than the highest traction values in Smash 4. This allows for every character to slow down faster on the ground after moving horizontally, and most notably benefits characters with low traction (such as Luigi and Charizard), as shielded attacks now push them back a much shorter distance, and it is therefore easier for them to punish out of shield. Unlike previous games, Luigi no longer has the most slippery shoes of the cast, nor is he even in the bottom tenth; the character with the least traction is now the Mii Gunner.

Rank	Character	Value
1	Sonic	0.138
2-3	Dark Pit	0.135
2-3	Pit	0.135
4	Pikachu	0.132
5-8	Isabelle	0.131
5-8	Mr. Game & Watch	0.131
5-8	Ness	0.131
5-8	Villager	0.131
9	Corrin	0.129
10	Wii Fit Trainer	0.128
11	Falco	0.127
12	Ganondorf	0.125
13	Donkey Kong	0.123
14	Ivysaur	0.121
15	Mii Brawler	0.12
16-24	Kirby	0.116
16-24	Little Mac	0.116
16-24	Lucario	0.116
16-24	Lucas	0.116
16-24	Mewtwo	0.116
16-24	Pac-Man	0.116
16-24	Snake	0.116
16-24	Zelda	0.116
16-24	Zero Suit Samus	0.116
25	Fox	0.115
26-28	Incineroar	0.114
26-28	Lucina	0.114
26-28	Marth	0.114
29	Link	0.113
30	Ike	0.112
31-32	Daisy	0.111
31-32	Peach	0.111
33-39	Bayonetta	0.11
33-39	Charizard	0.11
33-39	Ken	0.11
33-39	Mii Swordfighter	0.11
33-39	Pichu	0.11
33-39	Ryu	0.11
33-39	Wolf	0.11
40-41	Chrom	0.107
40-41	Roy	0.107
42-46	Cloud	0.106
42-46	Dr. Mario	0.106
42-46	Palutena	0.106
42-46	Sheik	0.106
42-46	Wario	0.106
47-51	Captain Falcon	0.105
47-51	King K. Rool	0.105
47-51	R.O.B.	0.105
47-51	Robin	0.105
47-51	Young Link	0.105
52	Bowser	0.104
53-54	Inkling	0.102
53-54	Mario	0.102
55	Rosalina	0.099
56	Meta Knight	0.097
57	Luigi	0.096
58	Yoshi	0.095
59-60	Mega Man	0.094
59-60	Shulk	0.094
61-62	Diddy Kong	0.093
61-62	Olimar	0.093
63	Duck Hunt	0.09
64	Squirtle	0.088
65-66	Greninja	0.087
65-66	Jigglypuff	0.087
67	Toon Link	0.086
68-71	Bowser Jr.	0.085
68-71	King Dedede	0.085
68-71	Richter	0.085
68-71	Simon	0.085
72-73	Dark Samus	0.082
72-73	Samus	0.082
74	Ridley	0.08
75	Ice Climbers	0.077
76	Mii Gunner	0.076