EQ § Census
The
website that tracks the EverQuest level 60 populace
Past Censuses
February 09, 2002 4pm PST Warriors still #1 for Four Weeks Running!
oday
February 09, 2002 at 3:00 pm PST, I took a poll of all 740 non-anonymous level 60 players on
the following four random EverQuest servers:
- Eci
- Mithaniel Marr
- Saryrn
- Soluske Ro
Here are the results:
- Warrior 17.3 % (up)
- Cleric 12.7 % (up)
- Enchanter 8.6% (up)
- Druid 7.7 % (down)
- Monk 7.3 % (down)
- Wizard 7.0 % (down)
- Rogue 6.6 % (down)
- Shaman 6.0 % (down)
- Ranger 5.4 % (down)
- Paladin 4.6% (down)
- Necromancer 4.6 % (up)
- Bard 4.2% (up)
- Shadowknight 4.0 % (up)
- Magician
4.0% (up)
This Week's Commentary: All Hail the Warrior!
I just want to thank those folks that have sent me emails in support of what I'm try to achieve here on EQ Census. I realize that the numbers I show from my /who all 60 <insert class here> are unscientific, yet in the absence of any honest data from Verant this is all we have.
A few people have complained about the fact that my census does not show anonymous level 60 players and therefore can't be accurate. My feeling is that I believe that Clerics, Wizards and Druids are probably more likely to be anon than any other class because of the constant requests for rezes and ports. I state very clearly that all I do here is sample online un-anon level 60 players.
Today marks my 4th published EQ Census. We have now sampled a total 2457 level 60 EverQuest players in the last 4 weeks over 16 different EQ servers. The most played and most popular class is undoubtedly the warrior class which seems to come in consistently each week at around 16-17% of the total level 60 players online. This class by far has won hands down each poll. The Cleric class seems to come in at 2nd place in consistently and ranges from about 10-13%. The basement of the census seems to be represented by the hybrids followed by pet classes.
Given that EQ Census tracks 14 classes (excluding Beastlords for now) each class would constitute 7.1% of the total level 60 population in a perfectly balanced class world. It is my opinion that if a class comes in around the 6-8% of total population range than that class would appear to be "balanced". When I see that in some censuses there is ratio of (1) Shadowknight for every (4) Warriors then something is rotten in the state of Norrath.
My goal is not to nerf the uber classes like Warriors or Clerics, rather I would like to see the designers at Verant address the problem with the least played classes which are hybrids and pet classes. Action needs to be taken to balance these classes. All classes deserve a place at the table. All classes should be able to contribute some unique function to a group or guild raid.
Why is this concept so hard for Verant to grasp?
One suggestion is to implement the 8 person group. This would help under-played classes get into groups that have already been filled by the warrior, cleric, rogue, enchanter, shaman, and monk paradigm. I submit to you that those 6 classes are core classes that all possess unique abilities essential to groups.
angry Mages riot outside Dallas Fan Faire
On another note, It's sad to see Abashi admit at the last Fan Faire that he wishes Call of the Hero was never created for mages. This is one of the few unique abilities that a mage can offer to a group or raid. Verant's decision to nerf COH is another example of plain stupidity. Why nerf a class that is barely alive at level 60?
If I didn't know better I'd swear there's a monkey with a chainsaw loose at Verant.
The Census Taker
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*Everquest is a trademark owned by Verant and Sony Online Entertainment, Inc.
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