So I wrote an EQ Server population parser... here's some data !

[stormlord]

Xious, what you think about these comments:
http://www.project1999.org/forums/sh...7&postcount=48

There's a chart linked there. Here:
http://i52.tinypic.com/2dlll6e.jpg

It's an older chart from (i think) june 2011 that shows project 1999 population stats.

One thing to say is that the linked chart doesn't show the actual population at each level range; it only shows the population share. So it's going to be less accurate than your live readings.

My goal with the chart wasn't just to see the absolute population of each class, but also to see how well each class translates from the lower levels to the higher levels. Surprisingly, classes like the druid and necromancer, according to the chart, have less popularity at max level than at lower levels. The group-based classes, by comparison, actually do much better at max level than at lower levels, even versus the Shaman. What this shows is that classes which focused on something - rather than being diverse - were favored more. And this is even true for the Wizard, even though it has a low popularity in absolute population share. The Wizard translates slightly better to max level than a Shaman, even though the Shaman is more popular.

I was looking at your live readings for the classes, here:
http://p1999pop.dmsimard.com/db/Classes

I compared the average population percentages on the chart to your live readings and got:

(the chart)
druid: 11.1428
necromancer: 11.1428
monk: 9.1428
magician: 9
cleric: 8.8571
shaman: 8.2857
enchanter: 8.1428
warrior: 7.4285
bard: 5.5714
rogue: 5.5714
shadowknight: 4.8571
wizard: 4.7142
paladin: 3.2857
ranger: 2.8571

/ = equal
! = +/- 1
# = +/- 2
<--- = difference is greater than 2

druid /
necromancer /
monk /
shaman #
warrior <---
enchanter !
cleric #
bard !
rogue !
magician <---
shadowknight /
wizard /
ranger !
paladin !

So the major difference is that the warrior population went up with your stats and the magician population went down. I wonder if this says something about changes to those classes?

And btw... for those wanting to pick a class with longevity and is popular overall...

Here're the classes that translate best to max level (from june 2011), ordered by their absolute popularity:
1. Monk
2. Shaman
3. Warrior
4. Enchanter
5. Cleric
6. Rogue
7. Wizard

My opinion:
There's not any doubt that the monk is an all-star class. It has high longevity and high popularity. It's a tie between Cleric and Warrior. Enchanter has to be included because of its longevity. I'm less supportive of the Shaman because its longevity is lowest of all of them, but it's still better than a Necro or Druid.

Take note: A real comparison between classes needs to weight longevity and overall popularity. So if the longevity is lower, a high popularity can compensate and still give a class a decent rating.