Multiboxing and PvP - Blizzard Dispells The Unfair Advantages Myths
Quote:
“I will give you a purely anecdotal example that I have experienced personally, (perhaps because I love facing multi-boxers).
I happen to play a rogue – a class that excels at sowing confusion and disrupting opposing teams. I was facing a team in Warsong Gulch, half of which was composed of a multi-boxer controlling five characters. I encountered the Warlocks individually, and proceeded to sap them to break up his formation. This forced him to maneuver around in an effort to retain cohesion – something a normal player would never have to do.
I continually would delay and harass him in this fashion. I would often manage to kill one of his characters by sapping one of his group, cheap shotting one, gouging one, then blinding another. Even if I failed to land a kill, his characters were so scattered and disorganized by my efforts and the occasional fear, sheep or other CC thrown by a teammate, that fully half of their team was disabled for most of the battle. We won that match very swiftly.
I am not exaggerating when I say that this player would leave battlegrounds when they saw my name on the opposing team list, or after our first encounter in the field.
A unique situation? Perhaps, perhaps not. Knowing how to fight a multi-boxer, and having the tools do so, means that one character can effectively cripple 5 or more. After all, one mind is simply not as efficient at running those five characters once cohesion is lost, or if 2 of his group have been slain, leaving him with characters scattered across the field. Of note, this is not much different from learning how to effectively fight a particular character class or spec. Knowledge is power.
All of the above is irrelevant though. Ultimately, this isn’t about what one player can do vs. another (or even 5 others). This is about the number of characters in play. Five characters can defeat 5 characters. 5 player run characters actually have a very substantial advantage over a multi-boxer in most cases. That a single player is controlling them offers limited advantages compared to the disadvantages it can present.
Since battlegrounds are a sealed environment, it is always a question of x players versus x players. How many actual players are behind those characters becomes a non-issue.
Essentially it balances out so well in the end that it functionally isn’t much of an advantage at all, and merely becomes a play style choice. As always, we’ll continue to monitor multi-boxing and other in-game behaviors.
If this practice should ever present a truly exploitative influence you can be sure that we’ll make appropriate policy modifications in response.”
Malkorix, Blizzard Poster
Original Link -
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...=1&pageNo=2#34
Archived Link -
http://wowarchive.yg.com/thread.html...=1&pageNo=2#34
Quote:
“Here’s the thing though. That multiboxer queues, and waits, just as a 5-man arena team would (to use an example). They take up the same queue time, and the same number of slots on the opposing team. There is nothing to differentiate them from one of the very common groups of ‘pre-made’ players, aside from slightly more effective focus fire, and less strategic flexibility in dealing with threats, much greater vulnerability to crowd control and that being ‘split’ by resurrection is devastating.
The less organized battle ground participants you describe will typically have a much harder time facing that arena team or pre-made than they would a multi-boxer.
Aside from which, occasionally running up against more organized opposition is simply a fact of the battlegrounds. Just as is facing more skilled or more well equipped foes. Factually, while we do our best to structure the queuing system such that players will meet equivalent opponents, there are limitations on that system if we still want to keep the queues at a reasonable length. As a result, sometimes a team will run up against a ‘superior’ opponent (please note the quotes), and have a greater challenge, whether in the form of a pre-made group, multi-boxer, or merely highly skilled or knowledgeable opponents.
Simply because an opponent is ‘superior’ does not mean that a ‘pug’ team isn’t able to adapt and overcome. Having a pre-made group or a multi-boxer doesn’t even necessarily mean that a given battleground team truly is superior. There are a great many variables to take into account.”
Malkorix, Blizzard Poster
Original Link -
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...=1&pageNo=3#47
Archived Link -
http://wowarchive.yg.com/thread.html...=1&pageNo=3#47
Quote:
“Players, as individuals matter.
Here is why characters are more important for the purposes of this discussion though.
What happens when 6 players controlling 6 characters join a battleground? 6 character slots are filled. Then 4 others are filled with 4 other players controlling 4 other characters. Why?
Because battlegrounds are filled on a character for character basis. They are a closed system that only recognizes characters, and wherein characters ideally are matched against other characters.
What happens when 5 players and 1 multiboxer join a battleground? 10 character slots are filled. The results are identical to a situation where each character is controlled by a single player. We can run over the relative merits and disadvantages of multiboxing til the bovines return to their abodes, but factually, that’s what we’re dealing with:
10 characters vs. 10 characters. The raw ability of those 10 characters to accomplish their goal (winning the battleground) is identical within reasonable assessment of individual class abilities, gear and skill.”
Malkorix, Blizzard Poster
Original Link -
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...=1&pageNo=3#51
Archived Link -
http://wowarchive.yg.com/thread.html...=1&pageNo=3#51
Quote:
“Instead of World of Warcraft, let’s look at chess to draw a parallel.
What is the factual difference (assuming no time limits on turns) between 5 chess players versus 1 player moving across the boards to play against all 5 of his opponents and 5 players facing across the boards versus another 5? Think of each chess team as a ‘character’.
In both cases, you have 10 ‘characters’. 5 White characters and 5 Black characters, each composed of multiple pieces.
Though, to extend the analogy, the 1 player facing 5 would be forced to make the same move on each board. Not something that 5 individual players would need concern themselves with.
For better or worse, World of Warcraft isn’t quite a chess match, but I think the analogy holds.
That being the case, if player is the ultimate concern, then multi-boxers are at a permanent disadvantage. It would, after all, be ridiculous to assess chess around 5 sets of pieces all attacking 1 set of pieces regardless of how they were controlled, would it not?”
Malkorix, Blizzard Poster
Original Link -
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...=1&pageNo=3#56
Archived Link -
http://wowarchive.yg.com/thread.html...=1&pageNo=3#56
Quote:
“I think I might see your concern, so, please allow me to ask a question.
What is the objective difference between 1 player directing 5 characters to attack a single target, and the leader of a team slapping an assist train on a target and telling his other 4 teammates to attack a target with him?
A slight gain in efficiency for the single player/set of characters at an extreme cost in flexibility to deal with exterior threats compared to the team of players?”
Malkorix, Blizzard Poster
Original Link -
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...=1&pageNo=4#69
Archived Link -
http://wowarchive.yg.com/thread.html...=1&pageNo=4#69
