In this new monthly edition, Llo will look at the major shifters in World Assembly population numbers across the game and the driving factors behind their either rapid rise or demise.
November 2019 has seen NationStates finally commence its seasonal recovery on the back of a long summer lull of activity. This rebound has manifest in a truncated mean growth of 5.9%, however, progress has been varied – Thalassia and The West Pacific have grown at more than double the average, while The East Pacific and Confederation of Corrupt Dictators bucked the trend to move in a negative direction.
Shift 1: Supporters Depart The East Pacific
Fedele’s failed coup of The East Pacific in early October saw a sudden influx of nations supporting Marrabuk, the legitimately-elected Delegate, to ensure that they could rapidly regain their endorsements and take the leadership position after a brief ejection. By October 25, this had seen their World Assembly population exceed 900, well surpassing The South Pacific for second place, only behind The North Pacific, which continues to remain dominant.
Marrabuk seized the Delegacy on November 2, with their endorsements peaking at 573 numerous times between November 4 and 11. This count has fallen to 526 in just two weeks since as foreign supporters departed the region. While this places their total endorsements at a similar level to that of one month ago, the overall World Assembly population has drastically reduced by 14.0%. With The South Pacific rising by 5.0% in this time, which is slightly beneath the average for monthly growth across the game, The East Pacific has once again fallen to third place.
Shift 2: Thalassia Matches Previous Size of Pacifica
President Cormac of Pacifica announced on 18 September that the region would transition to the new region of Thalassia after prolonged inactivity of the founder, Topid, and a need to revitalise the community. In a statement to NationStates Today given when the move was announced, he claimed that “the community will be stronger than it’s ever been,” but this hasn’t yet seemed to eventuate. When Pacifica entered its state of emergency during the move, it sat at approximately 140 World Assembly members, but this was on the back of a sharp decline in the previous four months.
As the community has readjusted to its new home, it has quickly rebound to this previous size, whether through pure retention of its members or the new recruitment of nations to supplement the transitional loss. Regardless of the cause, Thalassia has grown by 29.2% since its October trough, outstripping the average almost five-fold to reach 124 World Assembly nations. However, as this is only matching a low point of Pacifica’s population, the longevity of the Thalassian community rests on it reasserting its popularity from the earlier months of this year.
Shift 3: Z-Day8 Provides Uplift to Sinkers
The refounder sinkers of Balder, Lazarus, and Osiris have noticeably outdone the average, collectively growing by 9.4% in the last month. Undoubtedly, Z-Day8, which was held on October 31, has been a contributing factor, with returning nations immediately residing within the regional triad as they joined the minigame. However, they are each likely to take a hit to their overall totals as nations cease-to-exist after 4 weeks of no login activity, which will commence in the next few days for those who departed directly after Z-Day’s conclusion.
The Rejected Realms, however, fell slightly by 3.0%, being only one of four regions that recorded a negative trend in the past month. This allowed Balder to marginally surpass it, forcing the ‘only ejection-free zone’ in NationStates down to seventh place.
