Traction

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. Traction is measured in negative units/frame².
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 multiple hits. In Super Smash Bros., characters with lower traction get pushed further 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 in which his abilities differ from those of Mario, which balances out his higher jumping in such games.
Traction is also affected by terrain. For instance, nearly all characters have decreased traction on slippery surfaces such as ice. However, the Ice Climbers uniquely have their traction completely unaffected by slippery surfaces.
==Traction rankings==
===Super Smash Bros.===
Rank	Character	Value
1-5 	 	2
1-5 	 	2
1-5 	 	2
1-5 	 	2
1-5 	 	2
6 	 	1.8
7 	 	1.7
8 	 	1.6
9 	 	1.5
10 	 	1.4
11 	 	1.1
12 	 	0.7
===Super Smash Bros. Melee===
During certain character states in Melee, the traction applied is doubled if the character's horizontal velocity exceeds their Walk Speed (maximum). For example: Peach has 0.1 traction and 0.85 walk speed. So if her velocity is 1 it becomes 0.8 on the next frame (1 - (0.1*2) = 0.8). This does not apply during Dash or RunBrake, but it does during landing states. This includes "LandingFallSpecial", which means that Wavedash & Waveland can go further the higher Walk Speed you have.
Rank 	Character	Value
1-4 	 	0.1
1-4 	 	0.1
1-4 	 	0.1
1-4 	 	0.1
5-6 	 	0.09
5-6 	 	0.09
7-13 	 	0.08
7-13 	 	0.08
7-13 	 	0.08
7-13 	 	0.08
7-13 	 	0.08
7-13 	 	0.08
7-13 	 	0.08
14 	 	0.07
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
15-23	 	0.06
24 	 	0.04
25 	 	0.035
26 	 	0.025
===Super Smash Bros. Brawl===
Rank 	Character	Value
1 	 	0.0736
2 	 	0.0718
3-6 	 	0.07
3-6 	 	0.07
3-6 	 	0.07
3-6 	 	0.07
7-8 	 	0.068
7-8 	 	0.068
9 	 	0.065
10 	 	0.064
11-16	 	0.06
11-16	 	0.06
11-16	 	0.06
11-16	 	0.06
11-16	 	0.06
11-16	 	0.06
17 	 	0.0596
18 	 	0.0585
19 	 	0.0577
20-22	 	0.055
20-22	 	0.055
20-22	 	0.055
23 	 	0.0547
24 	 	0.0546
25 	 	0.0542
26 	 	0.054
27 	 	0.0532
28 	 	0.0529
29 	 	0.0505
30 	 	0.05
31 	 	0.0493
32-33	 	0.0484
32-33	 	0.0484
34 	 	0.045
35 	 	0.044
36 	 	0.0426
37 	 	0.042
38 	 	0.035
39 	 	0.022
===Super Smash Bros. 4===
Rank 	Character	Value
1 	 	
2 	 	0.0718
3-5 	 	
3-5 	 	0.07
3-5 	 	0.07
6-9 	 	0.068
6-9 	 	0.068
6-9 	 	0.068
6-9 	 	0.068
N/A 	 	0.067
10-11	 	0.065
10-11	 	0.065
12-13	 	0.064
12-13	 	
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
14-24	 	0.06
N/A 	Wario-Man	0.06
25 	 	0.0596
26 	 	0.0585
27 	 	0.0577
28-33	 	
28-33	 	0.055
28-33	 	0.055
28-33	 	0.055
28-33	 	0.055
28-33	 	0.055
34 	 	0.0547
35 	 	0.0546
36 	 	0.054
37 	 	0.0529
38-39	 	0.0505
38-39	 	0.0505
40 	 	0.05
41 	 	
42-43	 	0.0484
42-43	 	0.0484
44-52	 	0.045
44-52	 	0.045
44-52	 	0.045
44-52	 	0.045
44-52	 	0.045
44-52	 	0.045
44-52	 	0.045
44-52	 	
44-52	 	
53-54	 	
53-54	 	
55 	 	0.0426
56-57	 	0.04
56-57	 	0.04
58 	 	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 SSB4. 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 and ), as shielded attacks now push them back a much shorter distance, and it is therefore easier for them to punish out of shield. However, the increased traction also results in slide smashes covering less distance than in SSB4 as well. Unlike in previous games, Luigi no longer has the least traction, nor is he even in the bottom twenty; the characters with the least traction are now the Mii Gunner and Banjo & Kazooie.
Rank 	Character	Value
1 	 	0.138
2-3 	 	0.135
2-3 	 	0.135
4 	 	0.132
5-8 	 	0.131
5-8 	 	0.131
5-8 	 	0.131
5-8 	 	0.131
9-10 	 	0.13
9-10 	 	0.13
11 	 	0.129
12 	 	
13 	 	0.127
14-15	 	0.125
14-15	 	0.125
16 	 	0.123
17-18	 	0.121
17-18	 	0.121
19 	 	0.12
20-28	 	
20-28	 	0.116
20-28	 	0.116
20-28	 	0.116
20-28	 	0.116
20-28	 	0.116
20-28	 	0.116
20-28	 	0.116
20-28	 	0.116
29-30	 	0.115
29-30	 	0.115
31-33	 	0.114
31-33	 	0.114
31-33	 	0.114
34 	 	0.113
35 	 	0.112
36-38	 	0.111
36-38	 	0.111
36-38	 	0.111
39-47	 	0.11
39-47	 	0.11
39-47	 	0.11
39-47	 	0.11
39-47	 	0.11
39-47	 	0.11
39-47	 	0.11
39-47	 	
39-47	 	
48-49	 	0.107
48-49	 	0.107
50-54	 	0.106
50-54	 	0.106
50-54	 	0.106
50-54	 	0.106
50-54	 	
55-59	 	0.105
55-59	 	0.105
55-59	 	0.105
55-59	 	0.105
55-59	 	0.105
60 	 	0.104
61-62	 	0.102
61-62	 	0.102
63 	 	0.099
64 	 	0.097
65 	 	0.096
66-67	 	0.095
66-67	 	0.095
68-69	 	0.094
68-69	 	0.094
70-71	 	0.093
70-71	 	0.093
72 	 	0.09
73-74	 	0.088
73-74	 	0.088
75-76	 	0.087
75-76	 	0.087
77-78	 	0.086
77-78	 	0.086
79-82	 	0.085
79-82	 	0.085
79-82	 	0.085
79-82	 	0.085
83-84	 	0.082
83-84	 	0.082
85-86	 	0.08
85-86	 	0.08
87 	 	0.077
88-89	 	0.076
88-89	 	0.076
Category:Game physics
Category:Character attributes