Are You a Rare: Reader requests edition
WoW Insider posted recently about rare race-class combinations, and received several reader requests for further data manipulation, so like the Korune Spellweavers of Kun-Lai Summit, we have returned to RealmPop, and recommenced decanting their data into lists for your delectation.
The top request, from several commenters, but also the Editor-in-Chief of WoW Insider, was to lose the monks. He, and several readers, commented that they were skewing the list thanks to their newness, and while the original list was interesting to me, thanks to how it highlighted the dominance of pandaren and human monks, I rather agree. So, first up, the top ten most underplayed class-race combinations, excluding monks, but including pandaren. I've also added male and female character stats, thanks to the requests of commenters.
The run-down is after the break, but first, a few other observations that might pique your interest. Please do note, as before, that this is based on RealmPop's data, which, while good, is never going to be perfect! One thing I noticed on comparing the EU data and US data is the differing overall class numbers. Hunters are the most numerous on both sides of the Atlantic, followed by paladins, then druids. On the NA side, the rest went, in descending order, DK, warrior, mage, priest, rogue, warlock, shaman, monk; while on the EU side we have warrior, mage, DK, priest, rogue, shaman, warlock, monk. Now, the difference is not huge between these classes, so small variations could move the positions around, but both data sets noted a large drop-off for warlock and shaman, while the other classes hovered around similar numbers.
The list proceeds, monk-less, as follows. All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred, and combine RealmPop's US and EU numbers:
Dwarf Mage: 33,700 -- Female 27%
Dwarf Warlock: 44,800 -- Female 26%
Pandaren Rogue: 57,100 -- Female 48%
Troll Warlock: 60,800 -- Female 33%
Orc Mage: 64,800 -- Female 28%
Dwarf Rogue: 65,200 -- Female 21%
Troll DK: 69,000 -- Female 25%
Pandaren Mage: 70,100 -- Female 51%
Pandaren Priest: 70,800 -- Female 58%
Tauren Priest: 70,800 -- Female 30%
Troll Warrior: 80,500 -- Female 26%
Dwarf DK: 89,800 -- Female 12%
Pandaren Warrior: 99,696 -- Female 30%
Dwarf Priest: 117,800 -- Female 25%
Undead Hunter: 121,200 -- Female 29%
One of the most interesting things about these numbers is the female percentages. It's no great surprise that female dwarves are not popular choices, I think everyone knew that, but the dwarf DK female number is incredibly low, even among the other female dwarf percentages. While dwarf warriors were numerous enough to escape this list, their female representation was even lower, at 9.5%. Female dwarf paladins did a little better, at 14%, but as we shift to female dwarf caster characters, the percentage representation increases considerably. I'm not sure why that is, to be honest, because to me a stocky, strong looking dwarf is a great choice for a melee lady, particularly a tank. When my blood DK inevitably faction changes to alliance, she'll be a dwarf.
The other interesting aspect of the female percentages is the pandaren numbers. The overall female percentage of all characters on the EU and US servers combined is around 35%, so while dwarves are rather under-represented compared to the norm, pandaren ladies are way ahead of the pack, even outpacing the pandaren men in some classes, such as the mages and the priests above. Why is this? Is it that players are less keen on the pandaren men? Looked at as a total percentage, the difference is less stark, with pandaren ladies at 39% of all pandaren, so still a little above the average of 35% across all races, but not by as much.
It certainly seems that the troll is the Horde's dwarf. I was surprised to see them so heavily represented in this table, as I didn't think they were that renowned for being unpopular. Perhaps that's just because I'm principally an Alliance player.
The Cataclysm classes
Many commenters highlighted the new class-race combinations introduced in Cataclysm, reasonably asserting that the reason for low representation of these combination was due to their short-lived availability. And many of the classes listed did indeed appear on the Blizzcon 2009 list, as well as a few introduced after the fact, such as troll warlocks and dwarf warlocks. But it's not the be all and end all of this list. For starters, these combination have been available in-game for over two years, and what's more, many of the other combinations don't feature on this list, so while it could be a contributing factor, it's not the whole story.
So, why do you think these combos are so low, and, again, are you a rare?
