PlayOn Census Data

Imagine if we could take a census of WoW every 15 minutes and build longitudinal profiles of players. The resulting data set would let us answer many interesting questions. Do certain classes level faster than others? How long does it take on average to get to level 60? Do characters in guilds spend more time playing the game than characters not in guilds.

This is the data set that a group at PARC has been gathering and analyzing. We've gathered data from over 70,000 characters and are presenting some of the findings at the PlayOn Blog. If you like numbers, charts, and stats, you'll enjoy going through the findings that have accumulated. Here are some quick highlight pointers to get you started exploring the data:

1) It takes on average 20 full days of playing time for a character to get from level 1 to level 60. That's 60 full work-days or 3 full work months (since we'd get weekends off in a work month).
2) Druids and Paladins are the slowest levelers. Shamans, Rogues, Mages, and Priests are the fastest levelers.
3) Characters in guilds do not spend more time playing each week than characters not in guilds.
4) Characters in guilds do not level faster than characters not in guilds.
5) Warlocks and Hunters are least likely to be grouped. Priests and Druids are most likely to be grouped.