EQ Census: January Census Results

EQ § Census

The website that tracks the EverQuest level 60 populace

Date Article January Censuses

January Results

Jan 19, 2002

Jan 10, 2002

January 30, 2002 5pm PST New Census: guess who's still the #1 Class in EQ?

esterday January 29, 2002 at 8:00 pm PST, I took a poll of all 605 non-anonymous level 60 players on the following four random EverQuest servers:

Bertoxxulous
Drinal
Karana
Terris-Thule

Here are the results:

Warrior 16.1 % (no change)
Cleric 12.3 % (up)
Monk 9.0 % (down)
Druid 8.3 % (up)
Enchanter 8.1% (up)
Rogue 7.1 % (down)
Wizard 7.4 % (up)
Ranger 6.8 % (up)
Shaman 6.3 % (down)
Paladin 5.8% (up)
Necromancer* 3.9 % (no change)
Shadowknight* 3.5 % (down)
Magician* 2.9% (down)
Bard* 2.8% (down)

(You can alter the height and width to whatever you want)(Choose a title for your chart)(This is the diameter of your chart, in pixels. You should choose an odd number.)(This controls the number of wedges.)(These are the percentages for each wedge. They should add up to 100.)(These are the names for each wedge that will appear in the 'key' part of the chart.)(Enter a red, green and blue value between 0 and 255 for each wedge to control the colors used in the pie chart)

* class balance alert: classes in danger of extinction

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January 19, 2002 9pm PST New Census Results!

oday January 19, 2002 at 8:00 pm PST, I took a poll of all 656 non-anonymous level 60 players on the following four random servers:

Ayonae Ro
Tarew Marr
The 7th Hammer
Zebuxoruk

Here are the results:

Warrior 16.1 % (down)
Cleric 11.6 % (up)
Monk 9.6 % (no change)
Rogue 8.2 % (up)
Shaman 7.9 % (down)
Druid 7.6 % (up)
Enchanter 7.3 % (down)
Ranger 5.6 % (down)
Wizard 5.4 % (down)
Paladin 4.9 % (up)
Bard 4.4% (down)
Magician 4.1 % (up)
Necromancer 3.9 % (up)
Shadowknight 3.2 % (down)

(You can alter the height and width to whatever you want)(Choose a title for your chart)(This is the diameter of your chart, in pixels. You should choose an odd number.)(This controls the number of wedges.)(These are the percentages for each wedge. They should add up to 100.)(These are the names for each wedge that will appear in the 'key' part of the chart.)(Enter a red, green and blue value between 0 and 255 for each wedge to control the colors used in the pie chart)

Commentary

For the 2nd week in a row Warriors, Clerics and Monks have placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. The warrior seems to be entrenched as the most played class at lvl 60 by far. Let's examine why this is so.

I remember "a long time ago, in a galaxy far away..." back when Verant actually had free and open official message boards, Warriors were one of the first class to make their grievances known to the Devs. I'll never forget the title of that thread that caught my attention "Verant, hear the cry of the warrior". Now 2 years later and 3 expansions later the warrior is the uber god class of EverQuest. The numbers don't lie:

Warriors are a easy class to play comparatively speaking--just get in there and press auto attack and taunt. No spell strategies to worry about, no hate management to bother with, no crowd control. As long as a warrior has a cleric for a complete heal there is naught to worry about.
Warriors are easy to twink--with the proliferation of new uber weapons, twinked warriors get the benefit of a "trickle down" effect so lesser weapons keep getting sold and passed down. Sadly casters do not have this luxury. Spells can't be unscribed and sold or passed down to lower level casters. Mudflation really affects tanks more than any other group of class.
Warriors have received more uber gear and haste items than any other class. For some reason the Devs at Verant have been doting on warriors with more and more uber gear and haste items with the release of each expansion.
Warriors are the most required class in Norrath because of their ability to deal damage and take damage. Because of this importance guilds go out of their way to equip their warriors with the best gear--"the rich get richer, the poor get poorer..." sums this up nicely.
Warriors know exactly where their gear drops, casters on the other hand have to put up with a lottery system (random spell drops on high level mobs) for their high level spells.

If you exclude the newly added Beastlord as a class, with the 14 original classes in a balanced world each class would comprise 7.7 % of the population of players. As of this latest census there are 5 level 60 warriors for each level 60 shadowknight. What's wrong with this picture? Plenty. I have to ask the following questions:

Does Verant want a world where the classes are balanced?
Does Verant want only a few classes to be "needed" by guilds and groups?
Does Verant even care about class diversity in EverQuest?

The Devs at Verant are the caretakers of the EverQuest universe. We should expect them to:

Treat all classes fairly and equally (sure class balance is hard, but it's your job!(tm))
Ensure that every class should have unique abilities that should make them required and need in groups and guild raids.
Ensure that every class should has equal access to weapons, gear, items and spells that enhance their abilities.
Ensure that every class deserves equal consideration with regard to their place in the spectrum Norrathian life

If you've played EverQuest from it's inception like I have you realize that playing the same character for all those years is a labor of love. It's no longer a game. It's an investment of your heart & soul not to mention your precious time. Your online avatar becomes an extension of your person in an online setting. At level 60, I think that Verant needs to realize that they have a responsibility and a duty to make sure that you are adequately rewarded for you hard work and perseverance--especially if you are a casual player. When we roll up our level 1 characters, we put our faith and trust in Verant. We rightfully expect that our chosen class will be able to be dine at the banquet that is EverQuest. Not as a dog picking up scraps under the table but as a class that has power and respect that a level 60 rightly deserves.

No class should be disposable at level 60. Every class should be needed and required not just warriors, clerics, monks, enchanters and rogues. I see a disturbing trend that bodes ill for EverQuest when certain classes become the favored children of the Verant Devs. For example, Verant made some positive changes to the hybrid experience penalty. For some reason, the numbers of players playing level 60 hybrids are shockingly low. Hybrids were on the verge of extinction up until that point and in my opinion are very much on life support right now despite the changes.

As I mentioned earlier, the median percentage for each class should be 7.7%. Currently there are 4 classes in the latest census that are below 5%: Paladins, Magicians, Necromancers and Shadowknights. If nothing is done to address the utility of these classes at lvl 60 I predict they will be pretty much extinct as relevant classes by the release of the next expansion. These numbers are a wake up call for the Devs at Verant. There's an old saying that "the customer is always right...". Players (customers) are not choosing to play (buy) these level 60 classes so they retire them and roll up more warriors, clerics and monks. The less players that play unpopular classes the less clout these classes have which puts them in a vicious circle.

Verant needs to so some serious soul searching and start addressing the concerns of the under played classes. They need to see the numbers and have the humility to accept the fact that no one knows the game better than the players. That may come as a shock to Verant but it's the truth.

The Census Taker

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January 11, 2002 3pm PST Updated Pie Chart

Updated the pie chart colors into 4 groups: red for tanks, green for healers, yellow for hybrids and blue for casters. Hopefully this should make it easier to see at a glance the visual distribution of the major class types in the census.

The Census Taker

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January 10, 2002 6pm PST Welcome to EQ Census

elcome to the EQ Census webpage. Have you ever wondered how many other players are playing your class? Are players joining or leaving your class? Each week I, the humble Census Taker will endeavor to poll 4 random servers and determine how many level 60 players are playing each of the 14 established classes. The idea for this page came from that well known phrase people vote with their feet. It dawned on me that the best argument for enhancements to a particular class is how many players actually are playing that class at level 60. Numbers don't lie.

The designers of EverQuest need to take heed and watch how people do vote with their feet. All of the spin in the world from the PR division of Sony Online Entertainment won't make a player play a class if that class stinks. When the designers of EverQuest fail to provide the player with lasting enjoyment and a sense of purpose in groups or on raids then those players leave for greener pastures and swell the ranks of oversubscribed "needed" classes. EverQuest was designed to be a group game. When certain classes are irrelevant to a group or guild at level 60 this betrays the spirit of original intent of this game. I ask you, who really knows this game? the players or Verant? The players, to quote George Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life "do all the living and dying around here...", it's they that truly know the game and they gravitate to classes that are rewarding and in demand. Numbers don't lie.

Rather than argue about the pros and cons of one class or another, I think we should let the numbers do the talking and let the viewer decide. I will however put forth my commentary from time to time on the state of class balance in EverQuest. While this poll is unscientific, it is one player's attempt to get at the truth of where all classes stand at their ultimate destination--level 60. Since official information about class distribution is unavailable from SOE, I have no alternative but to do the census myself with the aid of my trusty scribes.

I hope you find this website useful. Thanks for stopping by!

The Census Taker

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January 10, 2002 2pm PST The results are in!

oday at 1:15pm PST, I took a poll of all 456 non-anonymous level 60 players on the following four random servers: