« Zone Population Map | Main | Dances With Farmers »
August 31, 2005
Change in Leveling Time Over Time
Server Sample: RP (High), PvE (Medium), PvE (High), PvP (High), PvP (High)
Sampling Period: 8/07/2005 12:00 am - 8/14/2005 12:00 am
Sampling Resolution: ~12 minutes
Parsing Method: The sample unit is leveling event. We tabulate the time between a character's level and when we observe them at a new level. Only a player's online time is counted. We exclude the first leveling event from every character because it doesn't constitute the total amount of time to make that level.
Data Filter: None
Sample Size: 149,240 leveling events
We reported before that on average it takes characters about 20 days to get from level 1 to 60. While analyzing newer data for other purposes, we noticed that the average leveling time had decreased. We then double-checked our numbers to make sure we weren't looking at a parsing or collation error. While our double-checking showed that the average leveling-time had indeed decreased, we uncovered an error made early on in estimating our sampling resolution.
The actual sampling resolution for the previous data was actually lower than we had estimated (every 11.82 minutes instead of 13.50 minutes - we have since switched to an algorithm that calculates exact time between samples). So the average leveling time to get to level 60 from our previous data set (early June 2005) should have been 18.0. The average leveling time to get to level 60 from our current August data set is 15.3. That's about a 15% reduction in leveling time. Our hunch is that we're seeing the activity of alt characters lowering the overall leveling time.
Posted at August 31, 2005 11:00 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blogs.parc.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/39
Comments
You know what I found most interesting? The spikes at 30, 40, and 50. I think the 40 one is probably because players are farming for their first horse and maybe enjoying the vistas it opens up with the speed increase. However, 30 and 50 are a bit harder to explain. I decided to try though (linked because it's long).
Posted by: Darniaq at September 3, 2005 11:46 AM
Per the comment above. those aren't spikes. They're drops. It's taking *less* time to get from 30-31 than it did from 29-30. The same is true of the other levels.
If you look closely at the chart, there is a stairstep effect, with time to level on even to odd levels less than odd to even. This is very likely due to the fact that at each even level gain, the character gains additional skills along with stat and talent points. Those skills should make that level easier. The next (odd to even) level, would be harder because stat/talent point are the only gains.
Posted by: Eown at September 20, 2005 11:42 AM
Eown, I think Darniaq is right. The graph is showing minutes to reach the next level. The fact that 30 is higher than 31 means it takes more minutes to go from 30 to 31, than from 31 to 32.
Posted by: Eric Nickell at September 29, 2005 10:27 AM
I thin kthe peaks at 30, 40 and 50 are psycological barriers. Once you've reached 30, its like you've reached a target of a rounded figure and you slow progress slightly. It's more than likely to be people playing on alts and saying "I'll just get this character to 30, or 40 or 50, then give it a break"
Posted by: Kieron at June 7, 2007 03:32 AM
What I think your missing is that the brackets for the main bgs occur at 19 29 39 49 for twinks. you would see a lengthing of lvl time if you account for a player using an alt just for pvp in the battlegrounds. So they lvl the character to that bracket and stop. now that i look at the date im not even sure that bg where in place at that time.
Posted by: Akira at July 24, 2007 06:30 PM