[2020] Forum

: You can find the details for this event on the announcement page [url=https://steamcommunity.com/ogg/238960/announcements/detail/2764600278199691049]here[/url].

It's that time again! Today we'll be breaking down which Ascendancy classes players have been gravitating towards in the Harvest leagues on all platforms.

Let's begin by looking at level 70+ characters in both Harvest leagues on PC.

Level 70+, Harvest Standard (PC) Necromancer 23.45% Trickster 9.33% Assassin 8.41% Gladiator 7.58% Saboteur 5.62% Berserker 5.07% Juggernaut 4.67% Elementalist 4.66% Chieftain 4.09% Slayer 3.67% Hierophant 3.51% Occultist 3.20% Guardian 3.03% Deadeye 2.88% Ascendant 2.49% Champion 2.45% Pathfinder 2.31% Raider 1.87% Inquisitor 1.70% Level 70+, Harvest Hardcore (PC) Necromancer 23.34% Trickster 11.68% Juggernaut 11.04% Gladiator 7.22% Chieftain 6.68% Hierophant 4.69% Guardian 4.62% Champion 4.54% Occultist 4.16% Saboteur 3.51% Assassin 3.42% Elementalist 3.25% Ascendant 2.36% Berserker 1.93% Slayer 1.87% Inquisitor 1.76% Pathfinder 1.67% Raider 1.40% Deadeye 0.87%

PC Level 70+, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison Assassin 4.99% Berserker 3.14% Saboteur 2.11% Deadeye 2.01% Slayer 1.81% Elementalist 1.42% Pathfinder 0.64% Raider 0.47% Gladiator 0.36% Ascendant 0.12% Necromancer 0.11% Inquisitor -0.06% Occultist -0.95% Hierophant -1.19% Guardian -1.59% Champion -2.09% Trickster -2.35% Chieftain -2.58% Juggernaut -6.37% As you can see, the most popular choice by far is Necromancer. If we look back at Metamorph's Ascendancy class breakdown[www.pathofexile.com] (which was the last time we published class data), we can see that Necromancer was equally popular in the Level 70+ bracket then as well. Juggernaut is notably more popular in Hardcore league than in standard (as was the case in Metamorph); it remains a reliable choice for players looking for some serious defences.

Comparing the Standard results to the Hardcore results, Assassins, Berserkers and Saboteurs are much more popular on Standard while Juggernauts, Chieftains and Tricksters are much more popular choices on Hardcore.

Next, let's take a look at the same level bracket, but this time, in solo self-found leagues.

Level 70+, Harvest SSF Standard (PC) Necromancer 25.36% Trickster 14.49% Juggernaut 7.29% Gladiator 7.25% Chieftain 5.98% Berserker 5.25% Assassin 4.88% Occultist 4.35% Saboteur 4.18% Elementalist 3.34% Hierophant 3.20% Slayer 2.51% Inquisitor 2.29% Champion 2.02% Guardian 1.81% Pathfinder 1.72% Ascendant 1.57% Raider 1.44% Deadeye 1.09% Level 70+, Harvest SSF Hardcore (PC) Necromancer 22.96% Trickster 16.23% Juggernaut 12.00% Chieftain 8.35% Gladiator 7.24% Hierophant 4.23% Occultist 3.86% Assassin 3.70% Champion 3.22% Guardian 2.57% Berserker 2.37% Saboteur 2.30% Elementalist 2.23% Inquisitor 1.89% Ascendant 1.89% Slayer 1.54% Pathfinder 1.49% Raider 1.20% Deadeye 0.73%
PC Level 70+, Harvest SSF Standard to SSF Hardcore Comparison Berserker 2.88% Necromancer 2.40% Saboteur 1.88% Assassin 1.18% Elementalist 1.11% Slayer 0.97% Occultist 0.48% Inquisitor 0.41% Deadeye 0.37% Raider 0.24% Pathfinder 0.23% Gladiator 0.01% Ascendant -0.32% Guardian -0.76% Hierophant -1.04% Champion -1.21% Trickster -1.74% Chieftain -2.37% Juggernaut -4.71% We can see that Necromancers remain the most popular choice in SSF leagues. Surprisingly, Juggernaut is suddenly much more popular in SSF Standard than it was in non-SSF Standard, coming in in the number three slot. Juggernaut, Chieftain and Trickster remain the biggest defensive leaders when we compare Standard to Hardcore ascendancies.

Next, let's tighten up the level range of characters we're looking at by only looking at characters that are at least level 90.

Level 90+, Harvest Standard (PC) Necromancer 25.45% Assassin 10.75% Trickster 9.74% Gladiator 8.09% Saboteur 6.66% Elementalist 4.90% Berserker 4.07% Juggernaut 3.87% Occultist 3.14% Slayer 3.14% Hierophant 2.95% Chieftain 2.91% Ascendant 2.56% Deadeye 2.50% Champion 2.41% Guardian 2.18% Pathfinder 2.16% Raider 1.51% Inquisitor 1.02% Level 90+, Harvest Hardcore (PC) Necromancer 26.60% Trickster 14.08% Juggernaut 10.63% Gladiator 7.51% Chieftain 5.95% Champion 4.92% Guardian 4.59% Occultist 3.94% Saboteur 3.87% Assassin 3.43% Elementalist 2.79% Hierophant 2.75% Ascendant 2.27% Pathfinder 1.76% Slayer 1.22% Raider 1.14% Inquisitor 1.13% Berserker 0.95% Deadeye 0.48%
PC Level 90+, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison Assassin 7.32% Berserker 3.12% Saboteur 2.79% Elementalist 2.11% Deadeye 2.02% Slayer 1.92% Gladiator 0.58% Pathfinder 0.39% Raider 0.37% Ascendant 0.29% Hierophant 0.20% Inquisitor -0.10% Occultist -0.79% Necromancer -1.15% Guardian -2.40% Champion -2.51% Chieftain -3.04% Trickster -4.34% Juggernaut -6.77% As we look at level 90+ characters, we start to see an even larger gap between Standard and Hardcore ascendancy class choices. Assassin is by far more popular in Standard. Trickster also becomes even more popular when compared to the level 70+ brackets. Necromancer remains by far the most popular choice in both Standard and Hardcore.

As we did with the level 70+ bracket, let's take a look at how ascendancy class choice looks for the level 90+ bracket in solo self-found leagues.

Level 90+, Harvest SSF Standard (PC) Necromancer 29.51% Trickster 17.12% Gladiator 7.38% Juggernaut 7.35% Berserker 5.33% Chieftain 5.18% Assassin 4.92% Saboteur 4.75% Occultist 3.83% Slayer 2.45% Champion 2.23% Hierophant 1.97% Elementalist 1.51% Inquisitor 1.32% Pathfinder 1.26% Guardian 1.23% Ascendant 1.13% Raider 0.97% Deadeye 0.55% Level 90+, Harvest SSF Hardcore (PC) Necromancer 25.80% Trickster 19.65% Juggernaut 11.09% Chieftain 8.83% Gladiator 8.32% Champion 3.96% Assassin 3.78% Occultist 3.14% Saboteur 2.53% Hierophant 2.39% Guardian 1.84% Berserker 1.62% Ascendant 1.33% Slayer 1.17% Elementalist 1.14% Pathfinder 1.14% Raider 0.93% Inquisitor 0.82% Deadeye 0.51%
PC Level 90+, Harvest SSF Standard to SSF Hardcore Comparison Necromancer 3.71% Berserker 3.71% Saboteur 2.22% Slayer 1.28% Assassin 1.15% Occultist 0.69% Inquisitor 0.50% Elementalist 0.36% Pathfinder 0.12% Deadeye 0.05% Raider 0.04% Ascendant -0.20% Hierophant -0.42% Guardian -0.60% Gladiator -0.94% Champion -1.73% Trickster -2.54% Chieftain -3.65% Juggernaut -3.74% As with non-SSF characters, Necromancer continues to reign supreme, making up almost 30% of all characters. Trickster is significantly more popular on SSF (~17%) than on non-SSF (~10%), meanwhile Assassin drops from ~11% down to ~5% on Standard leagues.

When we look at Hardcore, Necromancer and Juggernaut are seeing roughly equal play whether in an SSF league or not. As with Standard, Trickster sees more play in SSF than in non-SSF.

As we're looking at level 90+ characters, we can still see some clear leaders between Standard and Hardcore, with Necromancer and Berserker having the largest gap (favouring Standard play) and Chieftain and Juggernaut favouring Hardcore play.

It's interesting to note that in both level brackets, the difference in class usage between SSF Standard and Hardcore is much smaller than in the trade- and party-enabled equivalents. Given the reduced access to items, you might assume that inherent class traits would create a sharper divide between the two leagues, but we're seeing data that illustrates the opposite.

Moving on to consoles, let's take a look at all characters on Xbox One.

All levels, Harvest Standard (Xbox One) Necromancer 20.00% Trickster 10.15% Gladiator 7.07% Elementalist 6.66% Juggernaut 6.42% Assassin 6.06% Chieftain 5.81% Deadeye 4.34% Slayer 4.27% Berserker 4.11% Hierophant 4.11% Saboteur 3.67% Occultist 3.43% Inquisitor 2.83% Ascendant 2.69% Pathfinder 2.53% Champion 2.38% Guardian 1.81% Raider 1.66% All levels, Harvest Hardcore (Xbox One) Necromancer 20.87% Juggernaut 9.71% Trickster 9.71% Elementalist 7.44% Gladiator 7.23% Chieftain 5.79% Hierophant 5.79% Champion 4.13% Inquisitor 3.93% Ascendant 3.72% Berserker 3.51% Assassin 2.89% Guardian 2.69% Deadeye 2.48% Occultist 2.27% Saboteur 2.27% Slayer 2.07% Pathfinder 1.86% Raider 1.65%
Xbox All Levels, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison Assassin 3.16% Slayer 2.21% Deadeye 1.86% Saboteur 1.40% Occultist 1.16% Pathfinder 0.67% Berserker 0.59% Trickster 0.43% Chieftain 0.03% Raider 0.01% Gladiator -0.16% Elementalist -0.78% Necromancer -0.87% Guardian -0.88% Ascendant -1.03% Inquisitor -1.09% Hierophant -1.68% Champion -1.75% Juggernaut -3.29% Consistent with PC, Necromancer remains the most popular choice, though we do see a bit more variation in ascendancy class choice. It's important to note that this is looking at characters of all levels, rather than a higher level set of characters. One theme remains consistent, with the trio of Necromancers, Juggernauts and Tricksters remaining top choices for Hardcore characters.

Finally, rounding this all off, we'll look at ascendancy classes on PS4.

All levels, Harvest Standard (PS4) Necromancer 19.99% Trickster 10.63% Gladiator 7.33% Elementalist 6.95% Juggernaut 6.21% Assassin 5.86% Chieftain 5.28% Slayer 5.11% Deadeye 4.65% Berserker 3.98% Hierophant 3.67% Saboteur 3.61% Occultist 3.36% Inquisitor 2.77% Champion 2.68% Pathfinder 2.49% Ascendant 2.31% Guardian 1.60% Raider 1.52% All levels, Harvest Hardcore (PS4) Necromancer 17.53% Juggernaut 12.68% Trickster 7.20% Guardian 6.42% Elementalist 6.10% Gladiator 5.79% Hierophant 4.85% Chieftain 4.54% Occultist 4.07% Assassin 4.07% Deadeye 4.07% Slayer 4.07% Champion 3.13% Raider 2.97% Inquisitor 2.82% Ascendant 2.82% Berserker 2.66% Saboteur 2.19% Pathfinder 2.03%
PS4 All Levels, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison Trickster 3.43% Necromancer 2.47% Assassin 1.79% Gladiator 1.54% Saboteur 1.42% Berserker 1.32% Slayer 1.04% Elementalist 0.85% Chieftain 0.74% Deadeye 0.58% Pathfinder 0.46% Inquisitor -0.04% Champion -0.45% Ascendant -0.51% Occultist -0.71% Hierophant -1.18% Raider -1.46% Guardian -4.82% Juggernaut -6.47% One of the main interesting things of note is how much more popular Juggernaut and Guardian are compared to Standard leagues. If we look at Xbox, they're both significantly more popular than their Standard counterparts. Guardian in particular is seeing four times more play on Hardcore than on Standard (on PS4)!

That about wraps up this look at ascendancy class usage. Make sure to keep an eye on the news for the fourth and final statistics post of the Harvest league cycle, coming out in the near future!