Hypothetical question..... What if Blizzard said okay you QQers....

[mlwhitt]

Hypothetical question.....

What if one day Blizzard finally said, we give in to all the QQers and we are going to stop multi-boxing period. Do you think they would allow multiboxers to freely transfer toons for a short period of time to a single account? What do you think they would do?

I know that it isn't going to happen. But I always love the what ifs. So what if they did finally listen to the crybabies that want to tell us how to play the game? Personally I don't see how they could even really ever get ride of multi-boxing. I guess they could make it so only once instance of WoW could run on a single machine but that still would only stop a small portion of the hobby.

I guess the point of this posting is really to say that even if Blizzard said okay we give in, that honestly there is not a lot they could do short of removing the /follow command, /focus and /assist commands and such. Then imagine how much QQ non-boxers would do.

I guess anti-boxers fail to realize that.

[Skrimshaw]

I think with this change to RAF Blizzard has said with a booming voice to the QQers "STFU and try it yourself"

[Aradar]

First off, I'd quit. Boxing is the only reason I still play as I was pretty tired of the game.

Second, it would be extremely easy to get rid of boxing and they wouldn't have to change anything other than say it's not allowed. It's extremely obvious when someone is boxing by watching and probably even easier from Blizzards point of view where they can see the timing of input to multiple characters. All they would have to do is start handing out bans, problem solved.

[mlwhitt]

True points.

I would quit and then go cry about the hundreds and hundreds I had spent.

[Basilikos]

True points.

I would quit and then go cry about the hundreds and hundreds I had spent.

I see where you're coming from, but that's why I'm placing an order for the Vetra multicaster right now. After that, I'm full hardware. If they want to kill software, do it (not really, but you get my point). Unless they outright ban the practice, nothing is going to happen. Also, if they ban multiboxing, I'd likely just go to another game. I've got a setup that doesn't depend specific software right now, so there would be no point in my just stopping. This is too fun.

Besides, we all know that Blizzard never really gives in to QQ. It just seems like people whine right before Blizzard's solution for a problem they were already working on is ready for deployment.

[-silencer-]

First off, I'd quit. Boxing is the only reason I still play as I was pretty tired of the game.
Me too. It'll force me to try out some other games for awhile, and kiss buying WotLK goodbye.

[Mac]

First off, I'd quit. Boxing is the only reason I still play as I was pretty tired of the game.
I wouldn't cry about the money spent, now I have a nice beefy PC and a couple big monitors to use for whatever else. I would just think it was fun while it lasted. There's always something else to do besides play wow.

[Seraphaw]

Yeah I suppose this would be hardest on the people who bought 3+ computers to play with.

[Tonuss]

Hypothetical question.....

What if one day Blizzard finally said, we give in to all the QQers and we are going to stop multi-boxing period. Do you think they would allow multiboxers to freely transfer toons for a short period of time to a single account? What do you think they would do?If Blizzard ever gave in to QQers on an issue it would signal the end of the game anyway, so I'd quit and not spend a second worrying about it.

If Blizzard ever decided to forbid multiboxing, I assume that they would simply say "stop doing it or we will ban you" and that is all. They wouldn't offer discounted transfers or anything like that. We took the risk when we decided to do it.

If they decided that they would outlaw it, I would consolidate my characters onto two accounts and close the other three. I play with friends more often than not, so such a change would have a minor effect on me. If my friends stop playing WoW, chances are that I'll stop playing as well, even if multiboxing is still allowed.

[Stabface]

I'd imagine the lawsuit would drag out for years and come to no real end.

[Souca]

Hypothetical question.....

What if one day Blizzard finally said, we give in to all the QQers and we are going to stop multi-boxing period. I'd do what I do when something is no longer fun or not worth the effort. I'd find something else fun to do. I left once before because raiding got to be a hassle with the guild I was in, and I didn't miss it. If I hadn't heard about the RAF and decided to learn about "that thing that those guys in the BG did", then I wouldn't be playing. It's fun now. I'll deal with it not being fun when it gets there.

- Souca -

[TheBigBB]

They probably would get a huge lawsuit up their butts due to the nature of how this all works, that Blizzard repeatedly tells us that it supports this playstyle, but changing the TOS to make it not allowed basically voids tons of paid-for accounts. Unlike other TOS changes which don't do anything but change the rules affecting one account, a multibox ban would essentially render the other accounts worthless. Since you're not allowed to share accounts, there's no action a boxer could take with the extra accounts other than to stop playing all of them. You couldn't give them to friends or anything like that. Blizzard should be responsible to refund every penny of the money spent on buying the CD-Keys for people who bought extra accounts to play them at the same time.

On top of that, I'd almost definitely move on to another game where this stuff is supported.

[Sam DeathWalker]

I'd play EQ ... lol

They would have to eliminate auto follow to stop boxers, I mean you just say "Ya, I'm two people" (try not to say it the same time on both computers though).

[TheBigBB]

I'd play EQ ... lol

They would have to eliminate auto follow to stop boxers, I mean you just say "Ya, I'm two people" (try not to say it the same time on both computers though).I guess you'd have to claim to be a guy and his son, since the accounts would be under one name. "Oh yeah this is my sons who follow me around. I taught them to use assist on daddy" etc. I don't know that Bliz would be able to be sure that just because someone has a lot of toons on follow means he's boxing. And with the lag, it wouldn't show up with identical casting moments on the server side. You can replicate it with multiple keyboards. I used to dualbox with two keyboards by pushing the buttons in unison. No one know how I was doing it or if I was even boxing.

[HPAVC]

They probably would get a huge lawsuit up their butts due to the nature of how this all works, that Blizzard repeatedly tells us that it supports this playstyle, but changing the TOS to make it not allowed basically voids tons of paid-for accounts. Unlike other TOS changes which don't do anything but change the rules affecting one account, a multibox ban would essentially render the other accounts worthless. Since you're not allowed to share accounts, there's no action a boxer could take with the extra accounts other than to stop playing all of them. You couldn't give them to friends or anything like that. Blizzard should be responsible to refund every penny of the money spent on buying the CD-Keys for people who bought extra accounts to play them at the same time.

On top of that, I'd almost definitely move on to another game where this stuff is supported.I would be billing for my /played. Since damages can be established to have a basis in your timed /played from the guy that tracked down the dude that hacked his account (private investigator/it forensics lab ftw) and deleted all his stuff and texas awarded him damages based on /played.

And you don't get a death charger, zg cats, a set of circle of flame's (eh, i like the effect) and all the other shit for heroics on no /played. That guy had a year of played on his toon. In addition to addon coding.

That said, it would be a good move for my health most likely. Though I wouldn't pick up another game, lack of UI modification being the big loss for any game I have tried to get into.

[Aradar]

First off, I'd quit. Boxing is the only reason I still play as I was pretty tired of the game.
I wouldn't cry about the money spent, now I have a nice beefy PC and a couple big monitors to use for whatever else. I would just think it was fun while it lasted. There's always something else to do besides play wow.I think you quoted the wrong guy... :P

[Kopitar]

You guys mentoining lawsuits really crack me up.....

[kllrwlf]

I would just quit WoW... well, quit WoW permanently. I've already canceled all my accounts a couple of months ago.

If they gave in to the QQ (which is very unlikely to happen)... it is a signal of the end.

[Tasty]

KOTOR is where its at :D but in the mean time I'd go back to single boxing

[JoeWunsch]

I would go back to EQ / wait for warhammer.

I personally can't go back to single playing, bleh.

[Bradster]

Perhaps I'd try FFXI 5 box it. Maybe go back to boxing EVE. EQ2 is pretty cool but the PVP system is horrid. But the PVE rocks. Really hard to say. Have to look at the big picture and see where everyone is going, which point Id most likely follow just for the company in a new world.

I'd be lost for a while, also sad.

[mmcookies]

It'd be a horrible move on blizzard's part.

1. I'd quit the game because I start to fall asleep whenever I play only one char.

2. The lawsuit thing wouldn't be out of the question. I imagine multi-boxers typically have more resources and initiative than your average gamer. Despite the likely outcome of being defeated in court, I'm sure one of us would be smart enough to make the point of it be a publicity nightmare.

[heyaz]

I think with this change to RAF Blizzard has said with a booming voice to the QQers "STFU and try it yourself"To be honest I think RAF has absolutely nothing to do with multiboxing. Nor even slightly influenced by it. I know the community seems big when we're in the middle of it, but I think we still account for very little on the scale of 10 million players - I think their main (or only) goal with RAF is to encourage you to.... recruit a friend... and get to a respectable level before the cap is raised to 80.

I know it seems like a multiboxing QQ post in a sea of 1000 posts on the general forums means we're causing quite a ruckus, but when you look at it, 99% posts aren't about multiboxing. In two months I've run into 2 other boxers, and only in AV. INnthat time I've run into probably 10000 solo players.

I'd be willing to bet there are more QQ posts about a single class ability (like cloak of shadows) than all multiboxing QQ combined. I just don't feel we're impacting the game that significantly... and that's a good thing.

Even though people have shown that all shaman teams can do very well in Arena, and even dominate a bracket, the barrier to entry is still so high that it's not likely that a significant number of multiboxing arena teams will emerge. For reasons beyond my comprehension, most people in wow think $60 is a ton of money. Like a ridiculous amount of money. I didn't even think that was a lot when I was 14. But oh well. Not to mention what you have to spend on a PC (or 4 of them), and the time investment for something with such a huge learning curve.

[OzPhoenix]

I would:

1) Attempt to sell all my characters.

2) Having achieved 1), then close all my accounts.

3) Do something else to till D3 comes out.

[Ken]

First off, I'd quit. Boxing is the only reason I still play as I was pretty tired of the game.
Same here.


Second, it would be extremely easy to get rid of boxing and they wouldn't have to change anything other than say it's not allowed. It's extremely obvious when someone is boxing by watching and probably even easier from Blizzards point of view where they can see the timing of input to multiple characters. All they would have to do is start handing out bans, problem solved.
If they'd be smart, they wouldn't even bother to give out bans. They would just have to cut the /follow feature. This way they:
- remove effective multiboxing from the game
- don't have to state anything like 'you can't multiboxing anymore, even though we allowed it in the past!'

[blast3r]

I'd play EQ ... lol

They would have to eliminate auto follow to stop boxers, I mean you just say "Ya, I'm two people" (try not to say it the same time on both computers though).I guess you'd have to claim to be a guy and his son, since the accounts would be under one name. "Oh yeah this is my sons who follow me around. I taught them to use assist on daddy" etc. I don't know that Bliz would be able to be sure that just because someone has a lot of toons on follow means he's boxing. And with the lag, it wouldn't show up with identical casting moments on the server side. You can replicate it with multiple keyboards. I used to dualbox with two keyboards by pushing the buttons in unison. No one know how I was doing it or if I was even boxing.

Yea, Hi Blizz..these are my 4 sons. LOL. if they ever did ban it (which i know they won't) I would stop boxing and not try to get around it. The haters would be reporting all the time and besides, we don't do things against the TOS, right? will never happen, though!

[TheBigBB]

You guys mentoining lawsuits really crack me up.....I absolutely think that a class-action lawsuit would succeed for anyone who played with multiple accounts at once. I don't think anyone would get rich off of it, but it'd be enough of a headache to make Blizzard never take this action. Removing /follow would be killer, but boxing would still be possible, just more annoying to do.

[Sarduci]

wait for warhammer.
*looks at his CE beta preview weekend invite*
To bad it's an AV weekend, I really wanted to get some honor......./forum/images/smilies/thumbsup.png

[TheBigBB]

most people in wow think $60 is a ton of money. Like a ridiculous amount of money.
Seriously. Most people in WoW think the fee for one account is barely enough to continue playing the game. It's crazy. I can pay for almost two months of WoW in one hour of work on an average salary. I don't get it. Not to derail the thread or anything...

[Tonuss]

I absolutely think that a class-action lawsuit would succeed for anyone who played with multiple accounts at once. I don't think anyone would get rich off of it, but it'd be enough of a headache to make Blizzard never take this action.I'm not sure that you'd have enough people and enough of a claim to be granted class action status. I doubt that any lawyer or group of lawyers would seek that status unless there were some pretty big gains to be realized, and it's unlikely that you'll be able to prove monetary damages in a civil court. I think that in a best-case scenario, you'd be able to get your subscription dollars refunded. But if that was the case, no lawyer's going to take that case on contingency (no money to be made), and you'd be crazy to hire him under any other circumstances, since his fees would dwarf anything you'd get from a victorious case.

[TheBigBB]

I absolutely think that a class-action lawsuit would succeed for anyone who played with multiple accounts at once. I don't think anyone would get rich off of it, but it'd be enough of a headache to make Blizzard never take this action.I'm not sure that you'd have enough people and enough of a claim to be granted class action status. I doubt that any lawyer or group of lawyers would seek that status unless there were some pretty big gains to be realized, and it's unlikely that you'll be able to prove monetary damages in a civil court. I think that in a best-case scenario, you'd be able to get your subscription dollars refunded. But if that was the case, no lawyer's going to take that case on contingency (no money to be made), and you'd be crazy to hire him under any other circumstances, since his fees would dwarf anything you'd get from a victorious case.Maybe you're right, though I figure a lot of people casually own more than one account, which seems like the only real thing you need to show to a court. Blizzard repeatedly supports and defends play using multiple accounts, then turns around and blocks all those accounts from playing again if they are caught online at the same time being used by the account holder. I mean, that would have to be actionable. I just spent a couple hundred bucks buying copies of the game simply because Blizzard told me it was okay.

[Kopitar]

You guys mentoining lawsuits really crack me up.....I absolutely think that a class-action lawsuit would succeed for anyone who played with multiple accounts at once. I don't think anyone would get rich off of it, but it'd be enough of a headache to make Blizzard never take this action. Removing /follow would be killer, but boxing would still be possible, just more annoying to do.

That would be some epic QQ...

[wrs]

I would go outside, breath the fresh air, open my mail, drop 40 pounds, file my taxes, go mtn biking......

....I would be free!

[Skuggomann]

Id jsut Mb in the dark @ 2 in the morning wen no one sees, jsut like i do wiht the kids.

[Feardis]

I think with this change to RAF Blizzard has said with a booming voice to the QQers "STFU and try it yourself"
word

[Otlecs]

I guess the point of this posting is really to say that even if Blizzard said okay we give in, that honestly there is not a lot they could do short of removing the /follow command, /focus and /assist commands and such. Then imagine how much QQ non-boxers would do.
There's actually an awful lot they could do to stop multiboxers.

Just saying it's no longer allowed would be enough to stop many of us (me included), and they've said numerous times that it's dead easy to identify a multi-boxer as opposed to just multiple players from the same IP address (I imagine event timing, logged server-side, would be a bit of a give-away).

Me? I'd cancel all bar one of my accounts and go back to single player raiding until I got bored, then I'd quit.

But as you said, it's not going to happen, so that's a real stretch of a "what if" :)

[Yamio]

I don't think RAF was created for multiboxers per se'. Blizz is gearing up for WOTLK. RAF was created to get as many characters to endgame content as humanly possible. It just really suits multiboxers well.

If they did decide to give in to the QQ's, I believe there would be a huge outcry within their own ranks since there seems to be a number of Blizzard employees who multibox.

I was done with WoW back in 2006 and didn't play at all in 2007. I only came back because of multiboxing. Take it away and I'd be done with WoW for good.