Another potential multiboxer with many questions (small epic)

[Jheusse]

This whole multi-boxing thing is very seductive, the sirens are singing. Thanks for this separate forum for noobs like me inspired by RAF.

My account has: 70 raiding feral , a 63 mage will farm and raid, and a 59 prot pally will farm/boost/maybe raid. L20s shammy/lock/priest and a twink shammy (don't laugh)
I have a wife and kids so I my time is an interrupted hour or two a night tops, I raid twice a week before tripping domestic aggro.

I dual boxed in DAoC years ago with 2 monitors and a KVM, was fun though clunky, but animist bard worked nicely to farm. Read and watched Team Wizzy, pity I don't have that kinda time or money.

My main box is (rummages in his newegg history)
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
XFX GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB Card
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz S Dual-Core Processor
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel
22" LCD gaming monitor
XP Pro
Belkin's speedpad n52te (not configured I keep promising myself I'll learn to use it)

How many instances should this box be able to handle? I really should do a windows reinstall or registry clean, it's acting a little cluttered and constipated.

My old Wow box in the closet: I think a ~3800+, a BFG nforce4 mobo, 1 GB of something slower, and either a 6000 or 7000 series PCI nvidia card.

I can afford financially and domestic aggro wise to go to a 2nd account, and likely a third. Four extra accounts? Iffy.

My goal would be to produce L60s that could then be made max level relatively easily. Endless flexibility to be or provide any combos needed for the guild also plays in.

I don't pvp much, I don't have the twitch gamer fps shooter WASD ingrained reflexes. Maybe I would if I had 5 shammies with the iwin button (doubt it but who knows).
I don't care about the mount at all, I'm interested in this because of the 3x exp. I only level alts with rested xp, this is rested xp on steroids laced with crystal meth.

So many configurations are possible I don't know which one will work best for me, and so many questions:

1- I get the impression that grouping bonus benefits really become worthwhile once you have 3 in the party and really shine at 5. Is 2 in party worth it (when RAF is not a factor)?

2- Does it make more sense to account transfer my pally off to a new RAF linked account? Even at 59 he should be somewhat viable for some boosting, just not all of SM in one pull right? He's got some decent prot gear now (uther's trinket, blazing rapier, wall of the dead). I'd have to be careful about the configuration of the links, or put him on a separate account unlinked, use him to boost until RAF has expired, then transfer him back and cancel the unlinked account.

3- I'm really struggling with the best linking method, whether the chain A>B>C>D>E or in a case like having 3 accounts where both 2 new accounts are linked to my main. I guess the chain is best no matter how many accounts you're talking if I don't care about the mount?

4- Does receiving gifted levels allow one to gift levels in return? Say 3 accounts linked A>B>C. Toon on C hits 60 and gifts 30 levels to a toon on B, going 30 to 60. Assume the toon on B had 15 levels to give to A because he quested to 30. Does he also get 15 more gift levels for A based on the gifts received?

5- What would be the most efficient use of the 90 day window for my situation, assuming say 3 accounts? Think I would run 3 shammies to 60 and want to set it up so I could then take the 3 20s I have on main account and quest or boost them to 30, then gift them to 60. A transfer or two I can do, it's the 15*X recurring I worry about.

6- I haven't really digested the referral free time/WoW card thing yet, can I get a link to an idiot's guide? I would probably do the referral emails and set up the accounts and then just buy the battlechest(s) from BestBuy since I commute past one. Again I don't care about the mounts, just what would be the most efficient/longest free ride. I don't mind TBC activating all accounts.

7- Has anyone tried taking these multi-box teams into places like karazhan? I'd have to think 5 elemental shammies could do a lot of the work, add in an MT, OT, a priest and 2 whoevers.

8- With the two existing computers I have, what configuration would be best for multi-boxing? Run main toon on the old main box with all the clones on the stronger box? The hardware and software is a tough question with my resources.

9- I'm getting stuck on how many free levels I generate, since on an example A>B>C chain, only the B and C accounts/toons can gift levels, the veteran toon A on main account gets xp but doesn't generate levels?

10- Are gifted levels not only locked to what account they go to and from, but from which toon? I assume you can't generate free levels with a new character on an account and then switch to a L60 on that acct and use those gifted levels from the 60.

Hmm, maybe I can get my wife to pick up any simple hardware upgrades to the computer for my birthday next month. That's the ticket.

Anyone got advice for what I could or should do? A team of 3-5 clones would be neat if I could also generate a near-raid ready lock, shammy(s), shadow priest, etc. I don't see multi becoming a vocation, but you never know.

Apologies for the length of this, and thanks for your patience and advice.

[Oswyn]

1- I get the impression that grouping bonus benefits really become worthwhile once you have 3 in the party and really shine at 5. Is 2 in party worth it (when RAF is not a factor)?


Grouping bonus won't be much with just 2 in party. But, if you're questing, the kill quests can be done at same time with both toons in party.



2- Does it make more sense to account transfer my pally off to a new RAF linked account? Even at 59 he should be somewhat viable for some boosting, just not all of SM in one pull right? He's got some decent prot gear now (uther's trinket, blazing rapier, wall of the dead). I'd have to be careful about the configuration of the links, or put him on a separate account unlinked, use him to boost until RAF has expired, then transfer him back and cancel the unlinked account.


If using the pally to boost, he/she should not be on a linked account. Otherwise, you get no triple bonus and then you’d cry.




3- I'm really struggling with the best linking method, whether the chain A>B>C>D>E or in a case like having 3 accounts where both 2 new accounts are linked to my main. I guess the chain is best no matter how many accounts you're talking if I don't care about the mount?

Also depends on how you will spreading out the gifted levels.
X = Boosting Account
A->B
B->C
C->D

A is an existing account and B,C,D are the new RAF’d accounts. My first team is four mages on A, B, C, D. So I’ll be able to give levels to my lock team on A, B, C.



4- Does receiving gifted levels allow one to gift levels in return? Say 3 accounts linked A>B>C. Toon on C hits 60 and gifts 30 levels to a toon on B, going 30 to 60. Assume the toon on B had 15 levels to give to A because he quested to 30. Does he also get 15 more gift levels for A based on the gifts received?


No. The levels need to be earned in order to be able to grant a free level-up. Any leveling done via gifted levels does not earn you any free levels to grant.



5- What would be the most efficient use of the 90 day window for my situation, assuming say 3 accounts? Think I would run 3 shammies to 60 and want to set it up so I could then take the 3 20s I have on main account and quest or boost them to 30, then gift them to 60. A transfer or two I can do, it's the 15*X recurring I worry about.


I’m giving myself 60 days to get as many characters leveled as possible. Then I’ll be transferring my other mains from old accounts to the three new ones and cancelling the old accounts. For the next two months, I’ll have 10 accounts active. I will whittle that down to 5 in 2 months. Give yourself a time limit to get things done so you don’t get carried away with the recurring monthlies.



6- I haven't really digested the referral free time/WoW card thing yet, can I get a link to an idiot's guide? I would probably do the referral emails and set up the accounts and then just buy the battlechest(s) from BestBuy since I commute past one. Again I don't care about the mounts, just what would be the most efficient/longest free ride. I don't mind TBC activating all accounts.


When the referred accounts pay for their first month, the referrer account gets one month free. Log on to Bliz’s site and into your account. Check the recruit a friend section and it will show the people you referred and your rewards (free month or mount, etc).



7- Has anyone tried taking these multi-box teams into places like karazhan? I'd have to think 5 elemental shammies could do a lot of the work, add in an MT, OT, a priest and 2 whoevers.


Lots of folks have taken teams into Kara. A few have single handedly brought an entire team! Of course it’s good to have a proper mix of classes.



8- With the two existing computers I have, what configuration would be best for multi-boxing? Run main toon on the old main box with all the clones on the stronger box? The hardware and software is a tough question with my resources.


Use the best performing computer to run multiple wows. Play around with the video options performance is lagging. Test them out with trial accounts.




9- I'm getting stuck on how many free levels I generate, since on an example A>B>C chain, only the B and C accounts/toons can gift levels, the veteran toon A on main account gets xp but doesn't generate levels?


Correct. If A was not referred by anyone, then there’s no one to give levels to.




10- Are gifted levels not only locked to what account they go to and from, but from which toon? I assume you can't generate free levels with a new character on an account and then switch to a L60 on that acct and use those gifted levels from the 60.


The gifted levels are not locked into a particular toon. You can gift the levels to any toon on the veteran account providing they are of lower level then the gifter.

I’m not sure I follow the 2nd part of the question.



Hmm, maybe I can get my wife to pick up any simple hardware upgrades to the computer for my birthday next month. That's the ticket.


Yes. Do what it takes to get your present early. Whatever it takes…



Anyone got advice for what I could or should do? A team of 3-5 clones would be neat if I could also generate a near-raid ready lock, shammy(s), shadow priest, etc. I don't see multi becoming a vocation, but you never know.


Just do it! My main team is my pally and 4 shams. But I’m using this opportunity to give me all possible options in filling up my party. I also want to get one of each class with 3 different specs at my disposal to fill any party at any time.

[Jheusse]

Thanks for the response, I was worried the epic length post might not get an answer, forums in general you need to keep it short to get a lot of feedback (I actually edited it down a lot)


If using the pally to boost, he/she should not be on a linked account. Otherwise, you get no triple bonus and then you’d cry. Thought so. So whatever number of accounts I want to end up getting gift levels with I'll need 1 more account than that if I want to try and boost with the pally, either by making all new accounts linked while keeping the main separate or by linking all but one of the new accounts to my main in chain fashion and then having a separate new account to transfer to. The question is is the increase in speed caused by having an unlinked pally boosting 2-4 linked lowbies worth the expense for my situation?


I’m giving myself 60 days to get as many characters leveled as possible. Then I’ll be transferring my other mains from old accounts to the three new ones and cancelling the old accounts. For the next two months, I’ll have 10 accounts active. I will whittle that down to 5 in 2 months. Give yourself a time limit to get things done so you don’t get carried away with the recurring monthlies. See that's what frightens me, going for 2 and then up to 5 accounts doesn't seem that insane, but going to 10 (or as I saw one dedicated individual while browsing, 27 or so) accounts, that adds up to real money. Small difference between 15 bucks a month and 30 or even 45, but 60 or 75 is likely to cross a threshold, know what I mean? And that's based on how many copies my main comp can handle right now.


The gifted levels are not locked into a particular toon. You can gift the levels to any toon on the veteran account providing they are of lower level then the gifter.

I’m not sure I follow the 2nd part of the question. I wasn't being clear I guess. My thought was say you have Main A linked to new B. B gains 30 levels on a toon, 1-30. B also has a 60 on the account via transfer. The gift levels generated by the 30 can't be "bestowed" by the 60. So a 45 on account A couldn't get those free levels generated by the 30 via the 60. As I thought about it it was a ridiculous question, as it would be so open to abuse it wouldn't be funny. So gifts can only be given by the toon that earned them, but any toon on the linked account can receive them, level permitting.

The big concern I have is being able to level fast enough while I can be playing to not waste the 90 day period. I've seen that some guys are making 5 toons into the 40s in like 9 or 12 hours or some ridiculous span. I'd love to churn out some power leveling and I know that the triple is a big help, but how much does skill, knowledge, and having the raw time to power like that effect it? Put another way, how fast can Joe Peon MultiBox Powerleveler (me) reasonably perform compared to the stud guys we have running around these and the EJ forums?

I guess if I did end up squandering the 90 day period I could just make a new trial, activate and transfer to it and cancel the old.

Upgrades I'm thinking 50 bucks to double my memory to 4GB with matching sticks may be worthwhile. My vid card is decent, my processor is dual core, so they at least should be kinda ok.

I do have multiple hard drives and plenty of space, I see varying opinions on multiple wow folders and putting the separate copies on different drives. Is this reasonable or balderdash?

Maybe I start small, get a second account and start powering around, learn the ropes a little bit, then see if I want to and can manage whole hog. Though that potentially gives varying 90 day end dates. The image of "shammy AE by 5 synchronized chain lightnings" does inspire a small evil giggle.

If you see the shammy in the threaded tuxedo pants with a spelldam mining pick running around Silver Hand's Bloodmyst Isle with a priest or lock in tow, that might be me.