WAR population heading towards equilibrium, poll suggests
Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online
Fish or cut bait? Boxers or briefs? Order or Destruction? It's those difficult choices that make life complicated. When it comes to MMOs, getting the balance of appeal right between player factions is one tricky task. According to Napox, as detailed over on thegreenskin.com, the population balance on Warhammer Online is now evening out, after an initial surge of favor for Destruction. This data comes from a career poll on warhammeralliance.com.Napox's meticulously researched spreadsheets give a current estimate of 47% Order, 53% Destruction; the bad guys are still in front, but at least more people are signing up to play for the white-hats. Goblin Shaman is by far the most popular class, while the Elf White Lion is the least.
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Polls such as this aren't the same as hard server data, of course, but they do give an interesting overview of player trends. The Destruction side in Warhammer Online does have obvious green-is-the-new-black appeal, and as The Greenskin notes, Chaos and Greenskins already have a legacy of tabletop wargaming popularity behind them. It's reassuring to see that some lawful-minded players are signing up to take a stand against such rampant hooliganism.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Leshrac said on 3:49PM 8-29-2008
87% of all statistics are false, subject to +/- 50% and contain erroneous or skewed data based on the sample data.
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danarchy said on 3:58PM 8-29-2008
93% of all statistics are made up on the spot (including this one)
One thing to bear in mind with online polls, surveys etc: The majority of players don't surf forums all day, there too busy actually playing games with their free time. If not for a very sedate job I wouldn't either. And of those numbers a big chunk will be kids (e.g. >16) that will want to be big bad and evil.
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Leshrac said on 4:14PM 8-29-2008
I agree, if any survey can tell what the faction breakdown will be two weeks before launch, and only surveying a small portion of the potential player base and be accurate I'll buy them a Porsche.
Its a given that the folks visiting the forum, registering an account and voting are probably considered hardcore. Therefore those numbers need to include some kind of caveat, and they don't.
I declare this pop estimate just that, a loose estimate.
Case closed.
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ScytheNoire said on 5:42PM 8-29-2008
All this panic about Destruction out-numbering Order is bullcock. It's not going to happen on most servers. Just like WoW had Horde ahead in Beta and later Alliance became more popular, same thing is happening here in WAR. Order will outnumber Destruction on most servers. End of story. I'll be making bets and collecting gold if any one is interested.
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Nadril said on 6:39PM 8-29-2008
This is what I'm guessing too. I remember people saying more would play horde when WoW released as well.
Vrain said on 11:48PM 8-29-2008
The difference between WoW and WAR at release is that WoW had not "pretty" races on horde while WAR has the Dark Elves. If the Blood Elves had been in at release Alliance wouldn't had the huge advantage in numbers.
According to Warcraftrealms.com the ratio now is 1.1:1 Alliance to Horde. If WAR get close to that (either way) I'll be happy.
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Solice said on 10:44AM 8-30-2008
Basically, this poll tells us not what the general gaming population will play upon the game's release, but rather it gives us an idea of what the subset of players, who browse the forum all day and are likely to be beta testers, will play.
We don't know anything about what the more casual player, who buys the game for his girlfriend and himself one month after its release, will choose to play.
That is the flaw in self selected surveys.
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Larry-Steve said on 4:28AM 9-02-2008
Basically meaning, the players who are getting prepared, the ones who care and want to be good at this game. The ones that will make a difference in the end.
Since many of you have WoW experience, let me tell you what WAR RvR is NOT. The person with the biggest stick, isn't the person you follow. In WAR RvR, the person you follow will be the one that thinks and prepares the most. RvR involves strategy, careful planning, and timing. It could be argued as having as much strategy as actual warfare, ironically why a LARGE percentage of the DAoC playerbase are from the US Armed forces. WoW's PvP lacked the complexity that RvR demands and offers.
You're right, numbers mean jack. Depending on your sample size and n number, statistics and numbers will confess to anything. But what this poll COULD show is the breakdown of potential leaders in WAR; the ones you'll want to follow.
And its nice to see there's an even breakdown. :P