One of our goals with Content Update 3.2.0 was to take a holistic view of the Ascendancy classes and rebalance (in some cases, entirely rework) them. The goal was to bring them to a similar level of power, as well as to create stronger class identities and provide mechanisms for both existing and future content to hook into.

Today we're looking at how these changes affect the Ascendancy choices that you, the players, made.

First, the Standard Bestiary league:

Class Breakdown	Bestiary League (70+)
Juggernaut	13.07%
Hierophant	10.59%
Necromancer	8.84%
Champion	7.10%
Raider	6.88%
Deadeye	6.77%
Slayer	6.74%
Trickster	5.67%
Ascendant	5.06%
Inquisitor	4.40%
Chieftain	4.30%
Assassin	3.37%
Saboteur	3.36%
Gladiator	2.84%
Berserker	2.37%
Pathfinder	2.08%
Occultist	1.96%
Elementalist	1.96%
Guardian	1.71%
Duelist	0.35%
Marauder	0.19%
Witch	0.14%
Ranger	0.12%
Templar	0.06%
Shadow	0.04%
Scion	0.03%

The Juggernaut is the most-played Ascendancy above level 70, though the gap between the Juggernaut and the rest is slimmer than historical top-picks have been. Besides being a safe option, the Juggernaut's ability to generate Endurance charges synergises very well with the new skill, Tectonic Slam, which many players wanted to try out.

Nearly 20% of all characters above level 70 are Marauders, and other than the Scion, whose usage is quite low at around 5%, the remaining classes are all being played at healthily close rates.

Above level 90, things only change slightly, though the Juggernaut does pull further ahead.

Class Breakdown	Bestiary League (90+)
Juggernaut	14.27%
Necromancer	10.05%
Hierophant	9.18%
Deadeye	8.39%
Champion	7.15%
Slayer	6.50%
Raider	6.31%
Ascendant	4.96%
Trickster	4.45%
Saboteur	4.38%
Inquisitor	4.26%
Chieftain	3.62%
Pathfinder	3.43%
Guardian	2.84%
Assassin	2.49%
Occultist	2.46%
Gladiator	2.44%
Elementalist	1.57%
Berserker	1.25%
Duelist	0.01%

Let's take a look at the Hardcore Bestiary league stats.

Class Breakdown	Bestiary Hardcore League (70+)
Juggernaut	22.34%
Hierophant	15.02%
Necromancer	11.28%
Champion	6.13%
Deadeye	5.44%
Trickster	5.35%
Chieftain	5.24%
Ascendant	3.74%
Occultist	3.52%
Gladiator	3.21%
Slayer	3.16%
Guardian	2.72%
Inquisitor	2.43%
Saboteur	2.38%
Raider	2.25%
Elementalist	2.23%
Assassin	1.39%
Berserker	1.08%
Pathfinder	0.91%
Witch	0.06%
Duelist	0.03%
Templar	0.03%
Scion	0.02%
Marauder	0.02%
Ranger	0.01%

Class Breakdown	Bestiary Hardcore League (90+)
Juggernaut	25.17%
Necromancer	15.59%
Hierophant	10.95%
Champion	5.78%
Deadeye	5.56%
Guardian	5.23%
Occultist	4.84%
Trickster	3.99%
Chieftain	3.55%
Gladiator	3.16%
Ascendant	3.14%
Slayer	2.72%
Saboteur	2.67%
Elementalist	1.87%
Raider	1.82%
Inquisitor	1.51%
Pathfinder	1.38%
Assassin	0.77%
Berserker	0.33%

Given what we know about Hardcore players, it comes as no surprise that the Juggernaut is an even more popular pick here.

The Pathfinder received very few changes, and has historically been one of the more consistently popular picks, so it's interesting to note how far down the list it is this league. Much of this can probably be attributed to the other class changes generating a lot of excitement and curiosity.

It's also worth calling out the rise in popularity of the Deadeye and the Champion, classes whose popularity had languished in recent history.

Let's take a look at the Solo Self-Found versions of Bestiary.

Class Breakdown	Bestiary SSF League (70+)
Hierophant	16.08%
Juggernaut	14.23%
Necromancer	11.19%
Trickster	8.29%
Champion	7.24%
Deadeye	6.79%
Raider	4.54%
Chieftain	4.35%
Gladiator	4.27%
Slayer	4.24%
Ascendant	3.98%
Elementalist	3.01%
Saboteur	2.57%
Occultist	2.31%
Berserker	1.94%
Inquisitor	1.81%
Assassin	1.70%
Pathfinder	0.76%
Guardian	0.36%
Witch	0.10%
Marauder	0.08%
Scion	0.05%
Shadow	0.05%
Ranger	0.03%
Templar	0.03%
Duelist	0.02%

Class Breakdown	Bestiary SSF HC League (70+)
Hierophant	19.02%
Juggernaut	18.01%
Necromancer	14.28%
Trickster	7.91%
Champion	5.96%
Chieftain	4.53%
Occultist	4.08%
Deadeye	3.80%
Ascendant	3.34%
Gladiator	3.31%
Elementalist	2.86%
Saboteur	2.61%
Raider	2.44%
Slayer	2.30%
Berserker	1.64%
Inquisitor	1.29%
Assassin	1.18%
Pathfinder	0.70%
Guardian	0.52%
Marauder	0.10%
Witch	0.03%
Shadow	0.03%
Scion	0.03%
Templar	0.03%

The Hierophant's ability to place several totems makes him a strong pick for SSF, as spell totems tend to be less gear-dependent than attack-based characters. Even so, the Juggernaut is close behind in both the Hardcore and Standard SSF Bestiary leagues.

Above level 90 in HC SSF Bestiary, Necromancer manages to take the top spot, showing that the reduction in Offering effectiveness has not diminished its capability to outlive almost anything, though the sample size is quite small.

Class Breakdown	Bestiary SSF HC League (90+)
Necromancer	21.19%
Hierophant	19.21%
Juggernaut	18.87%
Trickster	8.61%
Champion	6.62%
Occultist	4.30%
Raider	3.97%
Gladiator	3.64%
Slayer	2.32%
Saboteur	1.99%
Chieftain	1.99%
Ascendant	1.99%
Deadeye	1.66%
Elementalist	1.32%
Berserker	0.99%
Pathfinder	0.66%
Inquisitor	0.66%

That the top three classes are identical in all versions of Bestiary is worth keeping an eye on, but broadly, we think the rebalance has been a step in the right direction. It will be interesting to see how class choices are impacted by some of the changes we have planned for the next major content update.