Faction populations largely balanced in Warhammer Online
When Warhammer Online launched, one of the pressing concerns players had was population imbalance between Order and Destruction. Some of the measures Mythic Entertainment has taken to remedy this -- like free server transfers -- seem to have worked, according to Mythic's Jess Folsom.
A recent dev blog by Folsom at the Warhammer Herald addresses the concerns WAR players continue to have about faction imbalances, and paints a decidedly bright picture of the current state of play.
Percentages shown for the average of all North American servers shows a near equal balance in active accounts per faction (49% Order vs. 51% Destruction), and an even 50/50 split between factions in terms of average experience and renown point gains.
Monolith is a slightly different story however, with active accounts per faction at 44% Order vs. 56% Destruction. Despite this, experience and renown point gains remain largely balanced between the factions. Folsom writes, "On average, there are slightly more Destruction players, but the rate of progression is equal. And while Destruction does have a sheer character/account numbers advantage on Monolith, in terms of open progression it is also very equal and balanced, and in some cases Order is actually gaining slightly more."
The dev blog also acknowledges that average numbers and percentages don't always match up with player perceptions of the open RvR experience in Warhammer Online. Folsom points to other factors that foster success or lead to failure in open RvR, such as cohesiveness, leadership, player skill, and -- inevitably -- the population shift that corresponds to the time of day or night.
Check out the "Faction Populations" dev blog for more on the state of Warhammer Online as it stands at present, fairly evenly divided between Order and Destruction.
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