How effective is 3 boxing? Is it the future?

[Paulthesmall]

Im planning to start afresh in preperation for MoP, and Im doing it as we speak (deleting ALL my old toons etc).
Im just wondering if theres any 3 boxers out there, and how viable you find it in PvP compared to 5 boxing?

I dont usually PvE much, Im mainly PvP, so I find multiboxing just as DPS easier to manage (no need to conquer some quite hard mechanics and work arounds for a spec you dont use often). Furthermore, with Scenarios coming in MoP as a way to get VP etc, I'll rarely do instances except for leveling, initial gear and when Im bored or helping guildies. There will be little need to fully master a dedicated tanking or healing class.

With arenas centered around 3's, and with it having lower expences and a generally easier time in instances when Im bored, whilst still having easy access to content, Im seriously thinking about dropping 2 of my accounts.
How viable is 3 boxing in bg's? Do you feel the extra firepower you bring is mitigated by the fact your multiboxing, or is it still fairly quick kills and hardish to tackle like 5 boxing?

[Scelesti]

Hi!

5 boxing and 3 boxing both have their advantages.

3 boxing advantages:
Always have access to Looking for Group
Collection Quests aren't as much of a pain in the ass
Less characters to gear. That was my big hang up with 5 boxing, is just trying to gear 5 toons is incredibly painful, especially in a RaF situation. What's really the point of having a dungeon group for RaF if you're outleveling the dungeons but undergearing them, making it really hard. Gearing is still difficult with three, but its typically a little easier because you don't have to rely on doing dungeons like you would if you were doing five. Typically with three you're going to roll the same classes, so when you quest, you're going to get the same quest rewards. This makes questing a little more viable since all your toons will be getting gear as you level.
Anyways, you wanted to focus on PvP. The less characters you control, the easier it is to focus on each individual character. Very rarely do I randomly lose characters. But at the same time, losing a character is a much bigger deal. If one is dead, you're pretty screwed because there isn't much advantage in a 2v1 multiboxing scenario. Your inability to effectively use cooldowns(depending on your setup) can make for a possibly quick kill on one of those two.

Advantages to 5 Boxing:
run your own 5s
Typically(there are exceptions) you're going to want to run 4 with another player for 5v5. At least that's how I see the better of the PvPers that multibox accomplish it. So that fifth character kind of becomes an extra wheel. It's a balancing act trying to get them into arenas, which I found to be extremely annoying. If you ever want to do dungeons all your characters need to be geared, or else you might as well just solo queue, which is time consuming and kinda defeats the whole point of multiboxing in the first place, imo.
Your characters are a little more disposable, losing one won't throw off your advantage.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you're really going to only accomplish so much as a triple boxer, a lot less room to carry a group. With five you have a bigger advantage in battlegrounds, but at the same time, if you're a little behind on the gear curve, you're a bigger detriment to your group. People are going to expect you to carry the group with three as they would five. People aren't going to work with you at all, like they do when you have 5, but you're going to have less man power. All it takes is a group of 4 or 5 from the other team to pretty much shut you down throughout the game.

I often struggle with wanting to 5 box. It was a little overwhelming back when I did it, and honestly I'm able to do more content with three... that being said, there's a lot to be said for getting to play with yourself over having to rely on other players.

[JohnGabriel]

If he only PvPs with 3 there will be alot less rage then if you PvP with 5.

[Ualaa]

From a pvp point of view...

Arena PvP vs. Battlegrounds vs. World PvP.



With three in Arena, assuming an optimal configuration...
Your team will likely cap at a higher rating than going with five.
Three, like five, is a full group for a given bracket (3's vs 5's).



Battlegrounds...
You'll have a lot less blow them up, ability compared to a 4-boxer or a 5-boxer (who is often a 4-box + heals).
So, I'd imagine significantly less power in the larger scale BG's, or BG's with only a single objective at a time.
However, being 3 of 10 players (Warsong Gulch or Battle of Gilneas) instead of 5 of 10 players... should be a significantly higher chance of victory.



World PvP...
Your gank resistance while leveling, will be far more than a solo player, but not nearly the deterrent of a five-box.
Your ability to gank solos will be there, either way.
Your ability to hold their auction house or flight master (or whatever) in a opposing city, will be massively reduced.

[Fat Tire]

I dropped 3 accounts from 5 for the longest time and only dual boxed. I added a 3rd a couple months ago and am very happy with it and will continue boxing just 3 in mop.

No problems owning it up in random bgs, and really unlimited 2s/3s whenever you want and scenarios in mop really take away the need for a 5 man team since you dont need a dedicated tank or healer which I am looking forward to boxing with just 3 needed. With that said there are limits to what you can achieve. However, they are no means less than what any 5 man team can achieve pvp wise. I am more effective with 2/3 than I ever was with 5, but I guess that could be attributed to practice. yymv