As we often do, we have compiled a list of stats from the current Abyss leagues. Today we're looking at which areas and classes were played the most. Stats like these help us smooth the difficulty curve of our storyline content as well as provide a clear snapshot of the metagame.

Let's look at which areas, out of all of the locations in Path of Exile, were run the most:

Top Ten Run areas in Abyss League

• The Twilight Strand
• The Blood Aqueduct
• Arid Lake
• Beach
• Burial Chambers
• Vault
• Strand
• Desert
• Abyssal Depths
• Channel

This is the first time in memory that The Twilight Strand has been the single highest-run area in the game. This is almost certainly due to the introduction of Oni-Goroshi, which requires hundreds of Twilight Strand runs to obtain.

The other interesting appearance on this list is the Abyssal Depths. The appearance of the Abyssal Depths indicates that it is considered a valuable occurrence that players are unlikely to skip, mainly due to the potential for it to contain one of the Lich bosses.

Now let's isolate the list specifically to Maps:

Top Ten Maps

• Arid Lake
• Beach
• Burial Chambers
• Vault
• Strand
• Desert
• Channel
• Iceberg
• Arcade
• Graveyard

It takes time and effort to reach yellow Maps, and even more to reach red, so it makes sense that the majority of Maps run are white. Vault appearing as the 4th most run map is a clear sign of its relative popularity (and therefore value).

Top Five White Maps

• Arid Lake
• Beach
• Burial Chambers
• Strand
• Desert

It comes as no surprise that maps with a fairly simple layout and boss are popular. It's also encouraging to see that, though there is a slight skew in terms of popularity of the northeastern quadrant of the Atlas, it is not entirely dominant. This skew is probably at least in part due to the name recognition of Beach as a solid starter map.

Top Five Yellow Maps

• Vault
• Atoll
• Dunes
• Shore
• Jungle Valley

Vault of course takes the top spot of the yellow-tier maps. Like the white maps, we see a lot of familiar names and layouts that have proven to be popular in past leagues. Divination cards are likely the main driving force behind the popularity of Vaults, while many of the other Map choices are due to layout.

Top Five Red Maps

• Spider Forest
• Waterways
• Racecourse
• Coves
• Torture Chamber

The important takeaway from this extended tier-divided popularity list is the total absence of maps introduced in War for the Atlas. This may be due to the familiarity of the other maps allowing for lower risk.

Class Breakdown	Abyss League (70+)
Slayer	14.98%
Raider	12.99%
Inquisitor	11.87%
Necromancer	10.27%
Berserker	7.27%
Ascendant	6.59%
Gladiator	5.38%
Trickster	4.48%
Pathfinder	4.41%
Juggernaut	4.32%
Saboteur	2.94%
Assassin	2.65%
Guardian	2.07%
Champion	1.57%
Elementalist	1.55%
Chieftain	1.48%
Occultist	1.48%
Deadeye	1.33%
Hierophant	1.19%
Duelist	0.39%
Ranger	0.20%
Marauder	0.18%
Witch	0.15%
Templar	0.14%
Shadow	0.08%
Scion	0.03%

Like in The Fall of Oriath, we see Life Leech playing a dominant factor in player Ascendancy choice, though the division is not as wide as it was in the previous league. The changes made to Vaal Pact has heavily impacted the Berserker's popularity.

Class Breakdown	Hardcore Abyss (70+)
Necromancer	13.36%
Slayer	13.03%
Inquisitor	12.50%
Juggernaut	7.60%
Gladiator	6.95%
Raider	6.63%
Berserker	6.58%
Ascendant	5.95%
Trickster	4.89%
Guardian	3.64%
Chieftain	3.40%
Saboteur	2.90%
Pathfinder	2.66%
Champion	2.59%
Hierophant	1.94%
Occultist	1.83%
Assassin	1.33%
Elementalist	1.21%
Deadeye	0.64%
Templar	0.08%
Witch	0.07%
Marauder	0.06%
Duelist	0.06%
Scion	0.03%
Shadow	0.02%
Ranger	0.01%

The Necromancer's powerful defensive options continue to shine in Hardcore. The Inquisitor has seen a sharp rise in popularity across both Hardcore and Standard Abyss variants -- this is likely in part due to the power of some of the new support gems (in particular Ancestral Call) as well as the strength of Elemental damage on Abyss jewels, and changes made to Reflect mechanics.

We're broadly happy with the closer gap between class choices at high levels, though it is clear there is still plenty of room for improvement.

That's it for this stats round-up!