Race/Class popularity in the rogueleague.org top 500

[Grond]

I took a look at the top 500 scores on rogueleague. Didn't count losses and tried to avoid counting save-scummed characters multiple times. Here are the results:

Races

 1. Dark Elf  71
 2. Human     66
 3. Dwarf     63
 4. Gnome     48
 5. Mist elf  43
 6. Ratling   37
 7. Hurthling 35
 8. Gray Elf  31
 8. High Elf  31
10. Drakeling 24
11. Troll     18
12. Orc       13

Dark Elf tops the list, most likely due to the allure of the skillset. Drakeling places surprisingly low, given that it was traditionally considered the "best race"; perhaps IQD has reduced their appeal. Orc lands even lower than troll, with Find Weakness evidently not being enough to counteract their mayfly-like lifespan.

Classes

 1. Wizard       73
 2. Monk         44
 3. Paladin      40
 4. Archer       38
 5. Mindcrafter  37
 6. Assassin     27
 7. Duelist      24
 8. Barbarian    23
 8. Beastfighter 23
10. Fighter      22
11. Bard         18
12. Priest       14
13. Thief        13
14. Elementalist 12
14. Healer       12
16. Merchant     11
17. Druid        10
17. Necromancer  10
17. Ranger       10
20. Chaos Knight  9
21. Farmer        7
22. Weaponsmith   3

Wizard at #1 as is to be expected, however the other full casters enjoy little popularity. The complexity of smithing seems to be quite discouraging, which is a shame as Weaponsmith is a nice class even if you don't partake.

Top 20 Combos

 1. Dwarf Paladin         16
 2. Gray Elf Wizard       15
 3. Dark Elf Archer       13
 3. Gnome Wizard          13
 5. Dark Elf Wizard       11
 5. High Elf Archer       11
 5. Human Wizard          11
 8. Human Mindcrafter     10
 8. Human Monk            10
 8. Mist Elf Wizard       10
11. Gnome Monk             9
12. Dark Elf Paladin       8
13. Dark Elf Beastfighter  7
13. Hurthling Archer       7
13. Ratling Assassin       7
14. Dwarf Duelist          6
14. Dwarf Mindcrafter      6
14. Ratling Fighter        6
14. Ratling Monk           6
14. Troll Healer           6

Ridiculous PV dwarf beats out even the classic Gray Elf Wizard. The often-recommended Gnome Elementalist was not even close to making this list. Among the races, only Drakeling and Orc fail to make appearances here. Orc is unpopular in general, but Drakeling seems to be lacking an iconic combo, with an even split in popularity between Archer, Monk, and Paladin.

[koctyxa]

#93, orcish archer, that's me! Archers with big PV and HP are easiest.

With time, Orcs and Trolls will get lower in numbers on top 500, because when going for ultimate ending, short lifespan is real blocker.

Lack of weaponsmiths on the top 500 list may come from the fact, that weaponsmithing takes a lot of turns, thus lowering the score.

I guess it's time for orcish weaponsmith speedrun then

[Grond]

Updated results:
Races

     1. Dark Elf  71
     2. Human     69
     3. Dwarf     56
     4. Gnome     46
     5. Mist Elf  40
(7->)6. Hurthling 35
     6. Ratling   35
     8. Gray Elf  33
(8->)9. High Elf  32
    10. Drakeling 26
    11. Troll     19
    12. Orc       17

Classes

       1. Wizard       71
  (4->)2. Archer       40
       2. Monk         40
  (3->)4. Paladin      38
       5. Mindcrafter  36
       6. Assassin     28
  (8->)7. Beastfighter 25
       8. Barbarian    23
  (7->)9. Duelist      22
      10. Fighter      20
      11. Bard         18
(13->)12. Thief        14
(12->)13. Priest       13
(14->)13. Elementalist 13
(17->)15. Ranger       12
(14->)16. Healer       11
      17. Druid        10
(16->)17. Merchant     10
      17. Necromancer  10
      20. Chaos Knight  9
      21. Farmer        8
(22->)21. Weaponsmith   8

Top 18 Combos

  (3->)1. Dark Elf Archer       15
  (2->)1. Gray Elf Wizard       15
  (1->)3. Dwarf Paladin         14
  (3->)4. Gnome Wizard          13
       5. Dark Elf Wizard       11
  (8->)5. Human Monk            11
       5. Human Wizard          11
  (5->)8. High Elf Archer       10
       8. Human Mindcrafter     10
 (8->)10. Mist Elf Wizard        9
(12->)11. Dark Elf Paladin       8
(13->)12. Dark Elf Beastfighter  7
(11->)12. Gnome Monk             7
(13->)12. Hurthling Archer       7
(13->)12. Ratling Assassin       7
      16. Dark Elf Ranger        6
      16. Drakeling Monk         6
(14->)16. Dwarf Duelist          6

Included a couple fewer combos this month, as there were 6 tied at 5 wins. Dark Elf Ranger and Drakeling Monk are new, and we say goodbye to Dwarf Mindcrafter, Ratling Fighter, Ratling Monk, and Troll Healer. Now only the two least popular races are missing here.

[grobblewobble]

Wow, I had never expected Human to rank anywhere near the top. The plain fighter class is also ranking up surprisingly high.

[Grond]

Races

     1. Dark Elf  71
     2. Human     70
     3. Dwarf     54
     4. Gnome     44
(5->)4. Mist Elf  44
     6. Ratling   34
(6->)7. Hurthling 33
(9->)8. High Elf  32
(8->)9. Gray Elf  31
    10. Drakeling 28
    11. Troll     19
    12. Orc       17

Classes

       1. Wizard       68
       2. Monk         40
  (5->)3. Mindcrafter  39
       4. Paladin      37
  (2->)5. Archer       36
       6. Assassin     30
       7. Beastfighter 26
       8. Barbarian    22
  (9->)8. Duelist      22
      10. Fighter      21
      11. Bard         18
      12. Thief        14
      13. Elementalist 13
      13. Priest       13
(17->)15. Merchant     12
      15. Ranger       12
(20->)17. Chaos Knight 10
      17. Druid        10
      17. Necromancer  10
(16->)20. Healer        9
      21. Farmer        8
(21->)22. Weaponsmith   7

Top 17 Combos

       1. Gray Elf Wizard       14
  (1->)2. Dark Elf Archer       13
  (3->)2. Dwarf Paladin         13
  (5->)4. Dark Elf Wizard       11
       4. Gnome Wizard          11
  (5->)4. Human Monk            11
  (5->)4. Human Wizard          11
       8. High Elf Archer       10
       8. Human Mindcrafter     10
      10. Mist Elf Wizard        9
(12->)11. Dark Elf Beastfighter  8
      11. Dark Elf Paladin       8
(12->)13. Hurthling Archer       7
(12->)13. Ratling Assassin       7
(16->)15. Dark Elf Ranger        6
(12->)15. Gnome Monk             6
      15. Ratling Monk           6

[Jeremiah]

I would not put much stock in such lists, it clearly is not representative of the actual ADOM player population. I didn't even know that site existed.

[Grond]

It's the official high score site, where scores from the Deluxe version are uploaded for those who opt into that. Obviously this doesn't cover every single player, but it is the largest public collection of ADOM scores, which makes the results mildly interesting.

[SirTheta]

I would not put much stock in such lists, it clearly is not representative of the actual ADOM player population. I didn't even know that site existed.

I would consider it quite representative of the actual ADOM player population since it is the list of all publicly accessible high scores from Steam version of ADOM. It represents the most complete sample of high scores for any version of ADOM in terms of player base -- far better than the Brinkster HOF or even Alucard's server.

Now, granted, Grond does skew it a bit because he's really good at ADOM, but that's a separate issue from you not having heard of the website.

[Jeremiah]

I am an actual statistician; that means it is likely I know more about sampling than any other member on these forums (unless they have a similar education). Opt-in options do not provide representative samples and in fact, they will create bias. The sample size does not correct bias; this a common misconception, but if your sampling method is poor, then lots of samples won't fix bias. You cannot assume that the players that choose to participate are the same as those that do not participate. Voluntary sampling methods are among the poorest options out there.

Honesty an opt-in that requires registration, I very much doubt that it is going to do a good job of representing the actual player base. You also have a violation of independence since multiple high scores belong to a single player, which means their playing preference may be over-represented, especially if they play a lot.

The bottom line here is that you should not be treating it as a representative sample, treat it as a quirky thing to look at and maybe fun to chat about, but don’t put too much stock in what you see here, as it is far from a fair sample.

[Grond]

Races

  (2->)1. Human     73
  (1->)2. Dark Elf  71
       3. Dwarf     56
       4. Gnome     44
  (4->)5. Mist Elf  43
  (8->)6. High Elf  33
       6. Ratling   33
  (7->)8. Hurthling 32
       9. Gray Elf  31
      10. Drakeling 29
(12->)11. Orc       19
      11. Troll     19

Human takes the top spot from Dark Elf! Human is definitely one of the better races after the second buff, but it's still a bit surprising to see it win out over the Dark Elf skillset. The majority of the Human wins (43) were even on classes with neither Alertness nor Find Weakness.

Classes

       1. Wizard       72
  (3->)2. Mindcrafter  42
  (2->)3. Monk         40
       4. Paladin      36
       5. Archer       30
       6. Assassin     29
  (7->)6. Beastfighter 29
       8. Barbarian    25
  (8->)9. Duelist      22
      10. Fighter      20
      11. Bard         19
(13->)12. Priest       14
      12. Thief        14
(13->)14. Elementalist 13
(15->)14. Ranger       13
(15->)16. Merchant     11
      17. Chaos Knight 10
      17. Druid        10
      17. Necromancer  10
      20. Healer        9
      21. Farmer        8
      22. Weaponsmith   7

Poor Healer, it doesn't deserve to be this low.

Top 16 Combos

       1. Gray Elf Wizard       14
  (4->)2. Dark Elf Wizard       13
       2. Dwarf Paladin         13
  (4->)2. Human Wizard          13
  (8->)5. Human Mindcrafter     12
  (4->)6. Human Monk            11
  (2->)7. Dark Elf Archer       10
 (10->)7. Mist Elf Wizard       10
 (11->)9. Dark Elf Beastfighter  9
  (4->)9. Gnome Wizard           9
      11. Dark Elf Paladin       8
(15->)11. Gnome Monk             8
 (8->)11. High Elf Archer        8
(13->)14. Ratling Assassin       7
      15. Dark Elf Ranger        6
(13->)15. Hurthling Archer       6