DDO Audit: View population trends, browse live grouping panels, and see what server is best for you!
We've all been curious at one point
"How many players are online right now?" "What server has the highest population?" Maybe you're a new player looking for a good server to call home. Maybe you're transferring from Hardcore League and want to start a new chapter in an active community. Maybe you're itching to part with your current server in search for a new avenue for adventure. But you're stuck wondering, "What server is best for me given my time zone?" Wonder no more.
Whether you're trying to find what server is most active given your personal availability or you're just curious how the servers stack up, we're here to fill you in.
Methodology
Data for the Live LFM panel is gathered from the game client every 15 seconds. The raw data is used to generate objects containing group information such as the quest selection, difficulty, level range, classes needed, and the group's party members with their individual data (name, race, location, classes, levels, etc). The groups are generated and sorted into their respective servers, the member lists are populated, and the information is sent as a JSON file to the website to be displayed to the user on the Grouping page (see the API page for more information).
This method of data collection inherently captures public player data (the data visible in the game's Who panel) which is used to generate the various population and demographic reports on the website. Due to the nature of this method of collection, anonymous players are counted and included in the population reports (approximately 3% of the population for those who are curious) as well as many players that would otherwise not appear in the Who panel. To preserve the rights of anonymous players, their names are replaced with "Anonymous" on the Grouping page and they are not counted towards demographic reports (race, gender, and class) for each server. We do not collect, publish, or store any private information. All the information gathered is already publicly visible to other players in the Social and Who panels in-game.
Extensive testing by many members of the development community has found the data to be sound and comprehensive, but it's not possible to guarantee 100% accuracy given the third-party nature of this data collection. This is the most accurate data we're going to get without direct participation from the developers. Please accept this information with a healthy amount of skepticism.
Who's Playing What?
Class Distribution
The report runs through the last week of data and counts the primary class of each active player. A player is determined to be active based on recent questing activity, level progression, and a number of other factors. After consulting with the development community I've decided that primary class gives the most accurate representation of the population. I've also ran the report for pure-builds only, and for every level of every class. The conclusion? It doesn't really matter; there were negligible differences (~1-2%).
Class and level distribution reports can be filters by the following criteria:
- Active Players: This filters out any players that have not been actively running quests within the last week. This significantly reduces the number of "bank toons" or "mules" included in the reports.
- Inactive Players: It's the exact opposite of "Active Players".
- End-game Players: Only includes characters that are level 29+.
Content Level Distribution
The report runs through the last month of data and counts the number of times a player stepped into a quest. Quests of the same level are consolidated and the data is normalized for population. See also Most Popular Content.
Most Popular Content
The Most Popular Content table on each server page reflects the most commonly-played quests. Quests are organized by their "instance" count. An "instance" is defined as the event of any player entering a quest from an area outside of the quest.
- A player moves from The Marketplace into Proof is in the Poison. The quest Proof is in the Poison increments by one "instance".
- A group of six (6) players moves directly from The Depths of Despair to The Depths of Darkness. The quest The Depths of Darkness increments by six "instances".
The method of data collection cannot account for quest completion; a player entering a quest and leaving before completion will count the same as a player entering and completing the same quest. Data for this report is updated every minute; players dwelling within a quest for less one minute may or may not be counted. The report shows a rolling window of the last month of data. A comprehensive report can be acquired from our API.
Downtimes and updates
This utility requires some amount of time to come back online after a downtime or update. Since these downtimes happen every Wednesday, expect some amount of interruption Wednesday mornings. It may take longer for this utility to return after a game update. If you believe the Grouping panel might have stopped refreshing, you can verify the last update time by checking the timestamp printed in the top bar.
Reporting an issue
This project simply wouldn't be possible without the continuous feedback I've received from the community. To make it more convenient for players to report issues with the website or the data it provides, I've added a Report an Issue button at the top of every page. Please use this feature to provide any relevant information about the issue you're experiencing, be it issues with the webpage, incorrect/inconsistent data, accessibility concerns, or technical reasons. A simple comment explaining your issue is often the only piece of information that can help me solve problems. Requests, major issues, or anything that requires a two-way conversation should be sent to me on Discord or Reddit. I'm always available to chat about the website!
(Information this website automatically collects when you submit a report: Date and time, the page you're currently on, the server you're currently viewing (if applicable), and the browser you're using.)
Time zone
All times are in Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5). This is the preferred time zone because the time changes associated with EDT interfere with the report data. Please note that during daylight saving time, EST is one hour behind EDT, which is observed by the eastern United States. See timeanddate.com/time/zones/est for more information.
Want more information?
Check out all of the data that goes into generating the graphs and reports on this site: Data Repository.
API
This project belongs to the community. We're offering an API for any developer looking to create their own live LFM panel (mobile/desktop application, webpage, push-notifications, raid alerts) or tracking project (friends list, /who list, player location, quest popularity, group dynamics, average fill-time). Find out how to freely access the data on the API page.
A special thanks
A special thanks to the members of Vault of Kundarak for their generous contributions to the Live LFM viewer. Visit their website at https://vaultofkundarak.com or stop by their Discord channel for news and updates on their various projects.
Contact me
You can contact me on Discord as Clemeit#7994, Reddit as Clemeit, or on Twitter @DDOAudit.