Boosting nerf?

[Morx]

A while back I've heard that with the new RAF, they didn't intend for it to be used as a tool to quickly boost toons through instances at record speeds. I haven't heard anything since, but was wondering if they still intend to nerf it and when?

I'm 65 on my new pally, and I'm kind of curious how much time I have to gear up before they nerf it and my boosting dreams get shattered!! ;(

[badashh]

not nerfed yet.

[Toned]

It's nerfed in the sense that if you use a lvl 70 linked to a low lvl they won't get exp. But if you use a lvl 70 to power lvl 2 or more lowbies that are linked together it works fine.

[Caspian]

I'm 65 on my new pally, and I'm kind of curious how much time I have to gear up before they nerf it and my boosting dreams get shattered!! ;(I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It will be nerfed any day now. maybe on Tuesday maintenance. I would hurry if I was you.

15 min full SM cath clears (with looting) at 1 level per clear for most of 20-40 is very nice.

[bsdll]

I watched the thread on the WoW forums where it was analysed, turned into a problem, and then said it was going to be changed. Someone complained a lot, all through, then they locked the thread.

Three weeks ago.

I have a feeling that Blizzard don't like it, have told everyone they don't like it and are working on the problem, but are going to leave it like that, at least in the short term.

My reasoning is that it's a change to something they did fully state was accepted, and that just annoyed people who bought new copies specifically because it was stated as accepted. So if they let that cycle of people go through, then kill it, no one ends up getting hurt. The complainers that it works see it's on the "we'll look into it list", the people who want it keep using it and don't make a fuss. Win/win.

Note that a high level on the linked account has never worked. The RAF is friend-level based.

** You watch, now that I've said all that they'll kill it tonight. :S

[Quix]

It works for now but is soon to be nerfed. Enjoy it while you can.

I agree with the poster above. They have waited a bit longer than I would expect it to take to fix, so the guys that bought extra accounts for boosting have less to whine about

Going forward they can fall back on the statement that it's not intended & will be fixed.

I strongly disagree with people in other threads here who indicated on these forums that this is "iffy" with respect to exploits or bans. Blue posters said it wasn't Intended & will be fixed.
If they didn't want it done they would say Don't do it.

Bottom line, enjoy it while it works but don't expect it to last.

[Toned]

You have 30days to get a refund so they can nerf all they want :)

[Vyndree]

I strongly disagree with people in other threads here who indicated on these forums that this is "iffy" with respect to exploits or bans.

The only time it was "iffy" was between blizz announcing "This is an unintended bug. It will be fixed" and "We will not ban those who use it before we fix it".

Before then, and after then, there was nothing "iffy" about it.

Caution regarding bans is nothing to mock at. Caution in regards to OTHER people's accounts, again, is nothing to mock either.

[Void]

even if they nerf it to hell the exp gain on the instance quests are insane. I wont mind one bit cause even tho 1 level per instance run from 10-40 is nice its def not needed. Kinda screwed myself cause when my locks hit 50 they were still wearing helm and neck from cathedral and gloves from ZF thats it heh. Next time around i geared the mages. smart idea lol

[twobztwop]

I don't know, I think it's a complicated fix. It really has only becomes an issue due to the crazy xp you get under raf accounts -- otherwise it's always been fine. Looking forward, say in wrath you're running a ramparts equivalent entry level, level 70-72 instance and a level 80 joins your party -- should your group now get minimal or zero xp because the mobs are gray to the single level 80? They probably don't want this to be the case and therefore just don't want to eliminate it across the board.

Boosting is pretty sick though. I was running my 2+2 RAF accounts through zf last night -- I can't pull large packs because I only have shaman to boost with, but even still, 500xp per mob. That's crazy even if I have to kill them one pack at a time.

[Morx]

Did the patch nerf it?

[Dor]

not that Ive noticed (least not in instances)

[bsdll]

Looking forward, say in wrath you're running a ramparts equivalent entry level, level 70-72 instance and a level 80 joins your party -- should your group now get minimal or zero xp because the mobs are gray to the single level 80? They probably don't want this to be the case and therefore just don't want to eliminate it across the board.
What they are fixing is the RAF bonus of boosting on a non linked higher account, not the total nerfing of xp all together with a higher character.

[Kekkis]

So is the 70 boosting nerf fix out then after maintenance, still at the office so can't test it.. And btw it seems that i still don't have Zhevra to claim, several posts send to Bliz without reply (no surprises here) am I only one with this problem? ;(

[Talamarr]

am I only one with this problem?

No, it's common in males over the age of 40 and can happen to men much younger (although rare). I would consult a doctor, contact your past lovers and go buy some steel wool. With some soap and some elbow geese, it should clear right up.

[Kekkis]

am I only one with this problem?

No, it's common in males over the age of 40 and can happen to men much younger (although rare). I would consult a doctor, contact your past lovers and go buy some steel wool. With some soap and some elbow geese, it should clear right up. http://media.g4tv.com/images/blog/2007/11/27/633317514784490542.jpg

[Oswyn]

I still get raf bonus when grouped with an unlinked 70.

[Caspian]

Yup bonus is still in effect.

My guess is that the issue is technically more difficult to fix then expected.

[Hachoo]

So does boosting work with a LINKED 70?

I'm leveling 5 shamans right now, but my primary account where my first shaman is also has a 70 druid, and 70 warlock, so I was thinking about boosting the 4 locks using the 70 warlock, but all the level 1 warlocks would be "linked" to the 70 - will that still work? (for now)

[Rudi89]

I still get raf bonus when grouped with an unlinked 70.Yep, ran ZF for a few hours last night, 4 RaF's with an unlinked lvl 70 mage. Got 5 levels.

Does anyone else skip bosses when boosting? ;)

[Morx]

So does boosting work with a LINKED 70?

I'm leveling 5 shamans right now, but my primary account where my first shaman is also has a 70 druid, and 70 warlock, so I was thinking about boosting the 4 locks using the 70 warlock, but all the level 1 warlocks would be "linked" to the 70 - will that still work? (for now)

Nope, the 70 has to be unlinked, or that falls under the rules that there is a grey mob, to one of the linked characters in the group, and therefore, not giving triple exp.

You could still boost, but none of them would get triple exp. I'm running into the same issues because I made the mistake of leveling my paladin, with another account linked to it. So now, if I intend to boost that 2nd account, I'm going to have to transfer my paladin off to do it. No big deal, just more money spent on a transfer, that could be spent on another WoW box. :p

[Aethon]

So does boosting work with a LINKED 70?

I'm leveling 5 shamans right now, but my primary account where my first shaman is also has a 70 druid, and 70 warlock, so I was thinking about boosting the 4 locks using the 70 warlock, but all the level 1 warlocks would be "linked" to the 70 - will that still work? (for now)


Sadly, no, it doesn't work with a linked account. I'm trying to get a linked set with a paladin leveled up as fast as I can to help my other 3 accounts.




I still get raf bonus when grouped with an unlinked 70.Yep, ran ZF for a few hours last night, 4 RaF's with an unlinked lvl 70 mage. Got 5 levels.

Does anyone else skip bosses when boosting? ;)

What spec is your mage? I'm still arcane/fire (41/whatever's left) from raiding and I don't have that great a gear (some pvp gear, some kara and a gruuls) nor great spell damage (~600) All I do is round them up and AE them down sometimes with a PoM flamestrike or a CoC thrown in. Any recommendation to improve, because it seems like I have to do about 5 pulls just in SM Library?

And, I'm going to start skipping bosses because I think it'll be faster compared to the little extra time they take to get down.

[Rudi89]

What spec is your mage? I'm still arcane/fire (41/whatever's left) from raiding and I don't have that great a gear (some pvp gear, some kara and a gruuls) nor great spell damage (~600) All I do is round them up and AE them down sometimes with a PoM flamestrike or a CoC thrown in. Any recommendation to improve, because it seems like I have to do about 5 pulls just in SM Library?

And, I'm going to start skipping bosses because I think it'll be faster compared to the little extra time they take to get down.I went with a kind of odd Arcane/Frost spec, 40/0/21 ('http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/mage/talents.html?tal=250005030023015033012500000000000 0000000000000535020000005010000000'), like the raiding Arc/Frost spec but into Shatter. My Arcane Explosion (full rank, I gather with rank 1 AE) macro is /castrandom Arcane Explosion, Frost Nova so when spamming the key I use Nova when it's off cooldown for the added Crit chance and I have my other mage in group Frost Nova when it's up for more Crit-ing. Gear is somewhat strange as well (linky ('http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Baelgun&n=Rudi') ) since spell hit and spell haste don't count for much when you're just spamming Arc Explosion 95% of the time. I'm assuming Crit is not affected by various AoE nerfs so I have been stacking that when possible, though as you can see the gear is quite a mix (went with a green stam belt since neither spellfire belt nor belt of blasting are heavy on stats).

It takes a little while to figure the pulls out. I specced all my girls into healing so their job is to keep Rudi alive through the run. He's still squishy though, but I find that half-pulling a room, pausing to heal and AoE down some mobs, then moving on and finishing the room/area, really speeds it up without, uh, killing him. Then I loot with the spare mage while Rudi and the girls drink. I wasn't looting on lower level instances but the silk/mageweave cloth in SM and ZF is really useful for turn-ins and as fodder for crafting tailor items to DE for mats for raising enchanting.

[Sinnocence]

Just wondering if I can get some clarification on the grouped-with-a-70 xp situation...

If I have a lvl 70 account and from it I recruit 4 friend accounts, if I attempt to boost none of them will get 3x XP due to the mobs being grey... correct?
70 -> friend1
70 -> friend2
70 -> friend3
70 -> friend4

If I have a lvl 70 account, from which I invite 1 friend, who invites another friend, who invites another friend, and so on - what happens then?
70 -> friend1 -> friend2 -> friend3 ->friend4

Thanks for any/all info.

[Sinnocence]

One final *bump* - Anyone Know? :)

[mezzerin]

The rule is that the "main" account and the friend(s) are all in the same group and are within level range (i think 4 levels). A level 70 inviting 4 friends and then running instances will therefor NOT get the 3x bonus because of level difference.

[Sinnocence]

The rule is that the "main" account and the friend(s) are all in the same group and are within level range (i think 4 levels). A level 70 inviting 4 friends and then running instances will therefor NOT get the 3x bonus because of level difference.

Doh, thanks. I was hoping that because the 1st friend account had invited the others in a chain that those accounts being linked would afford the others the bonus.

[myoungii]

I still get raf bonus when grouped with an unlinked 70.Yep, ran ZF for a few hours last night, 4 RaF's with an unlinked lvl 70 mage. Got 5 levels.

Does anyone else skip bosses when boosting? ;)



I don't skip bosses I like the 700-1k xp im getting from the bosses in Catherdral

[puppychow]

Just wondering if I can get some clarification on the grouped-with-a-70 xp situation...

If I have a lvl 70 account and from it I recruit 4 friend accounts, if I attempt to boost none of them will get 3x XP due to the mobs being grey... correct?
70 -> friend1
70 -> friend2
70 -> friend3
70 -> friend4

If I have a lvl 70 account, from which I invite 1 friend, who invites another friend, who invites another friend, and so on - what happens then?
70 -> friend1 -> friend2 -> friend3 ->friend4

Thanks for any/all info.

If you leave the 70 unlinked to any of the new accounts you can boost and get triple XP. That may get nerfed at some point in the future, nobody knows.

So if you have

70 (unlinked)

new account1 -> new account2 -> new3 -> new4

(ie new1 RAF's new2 who RAF's new3 who RAF's new4) you can group all of them up, get triple XP for quests/boosting, and new1, new2, and new3 will get the zhevra mount after 60 days gametime is paid for.

[Solmaran]

I'm not home yet so I can't test it, but did they nerf raf boosting during maintenance?

[Mercurio]

Nope, still working just fine.

[Heenan]

Yah, tested at lunch... still working (or broken, however you want to look at it :D ).

[Caspian]

Yah, tested at lunch... still working (or broken, however you want to look at it :D ).yessss

[roddo]

Awesome, my buddy has a 70 pally and runs me through shit on my 3 man team, so boosting still working on raf is a win for me. Biggest problem is leveling faster than I can make money or keep my gathering skills up.

[Alienenduro]

No, it's common in males over the age of 40 and can happen to men much younger (although rare). I would consult a doctor, contact your past lovers and go buy some steel wool. With some soap and some elbow geese, it should clear right up.

O.....M.....G this made me burst out laughing in the office! everyone turned round and looked at me. im still laughing

[Helmer]

i still do bosses, but its not always necessary. no nerf yet. im boosting all classes to 40+ or 50+ while i can before it changes. :) RAF is just fantastic

[Hor]

I just finished my 2nd team I levelled 3 Mages and 1 Priest together. Then blew my load on the gifted levels I've been saving from the two teams. I now have a total of 17 60+ characters and at least one of each class. I plan on making a pair of DKs to tank for my 3 Mage Team and my 3 Lock Team. But I'm still kinda on the fence about the DKs for use as boxing tanks, time will tell. Worse comes to worse, I have a warrior and druid I can use, or I could just level another Paladin. But, to get back to the topic. As of Oct 3rd, it's still in perfect working order. I just burned a few levels on a Hunter set so I could gift one to 60.99.

[Catamer]

70 + level 30 linked by RAF will not get the bonus when killing a level 30 because one of the two is out of range for the kill
you don't get the RAF bonus on quest turn in unless both are in the range of the quest which is something like 4 levels max, so if the quest is a 30 and both of your toons are 34.9 and one turns in the quest for a huge bonus and is now level 35, the other toon gets a normal non-RAF quest reward because the linked toon is out of range. This happens more often than you think at the low levels because you are leveling so fast.

[Marious]

For them to "FIX" it would make no sense, why you might ask? Well its simple the faster you can get the 4 toons to 70 then that just means you are getting WotLK much sooner and well its simple that means more money for them.

So how long do you all think will it take for them to have a battle chest including WotLK? Just wondering if I should wait and get one of those versus getting one now to complete my 5 man team, it will probably take a while before they do this.

Well you all enjoy RAF while it last un"nerfed"

[kura]

I have a single account with a 70 mage and 70 paladin on it.
I have a bank account, an alt account (pre-boxing), and an account for my gf (which I linked to my alt account)
I bought 4 battle chests and linked 1-2, 3-4.
I make my 4 characters, grind to 10 in a party. Port to UC with the mage, summon a table, grab 4 stacks on the paly and 4 stacks each alt, run to SFK. Boost 10-25 in SFK, port to UC, run to SM.
In SM library, the mobs all reset at about 100 meters, so it's pretty useless. I do SM armory and cath 25-40ish.
ZF 40-50ish. Strat 50-60 + easy bulwark quests.
Then I make a pair (just two..) on accounts 1 and 3. Boost them to 30, and RAF grant them to 60.
My first set was 60 in just under 1 day played, my second set in 20 hours. Though they were both sets of healing alts specced for it.
I started boosting using my mage years ago, before I multiboxed and way before RAF.. the paladin is by FAR superior. No questions asked.

The moral, I now have more 60's than I'll ever know what to do with.. Nerf away blizz. Why did I stop at 60? 60-80 is less work than 1-80. So I'm doing as many as I can during my 3 months, that way if I decide I wanna box a different combo. Bam I start at 60. :)
I guarantee you they will fix boosting before they "fix" RAF. They're making good money off of RAF, not to mention guys like me, who will be purchasing 11 WotLK's on top of my monthly.
Get to boosting as soon as you can, blizz is unpredictable, it may get fixed before you know it. Then I'll have to go do quests! =O