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.

PC Level 70+, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison (this is comparing the percentage of a given class in Standard to the percentage of that same class in Hardcore)
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 (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.

PC Level 70+, Harvest SSF Standard to SSF Hardcore Comparison (this is comparing the percentage of a given class in Standard to the percentage of that same class in Hardcore)
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.

PC Level 90+, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison (this is comparing the percentage of a given class in Standard to the percentage of that same class in Hardcore)
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.

PC Level 90+, Harvest SSF Standard to SSF Hardcore Comparison (this is comparing the percentage of a given class in Standard to the percentage of that same class in Hardcore)
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.

Xbox All Levels, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison (this is comparing the percentage of a given class in Standard to the percentage of that same class in Hardcore)
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.

PS4 All Levels, Harvest Standard to Hardcore Comparison (this is comparing the percentage of a given class in Standard to the percentage of that same class in Hardcore)
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!