RAF Dual-Boxing for an Altoholic

[Marava]

Hi,

I have done a lot of reading today about the Recruit-a-Friend system, multi-boxing, and addons/software. It's all swimming in my head right now and I'd like to make sure I understand things correctly.

First - I'm an altoholic (Horde!). I have a 70 hunter (my first toon, though I don't play her anymore), 80 spriest (my main), 70 druid, 50something pally, 40something mage, 20something rogue that I never play, 18 warlock, a bank alt, and a guild bank alt. The main reason I'm considering getting a second account and dual-boxing is because I have run out of spaces for alts on my server. Another reason is that I've always wanted to try and level a Shaman, but I've tried twice and by the mid-20s I get fed up with the totems, and how often they die (and how little damage they do). So I figured that I could use the triple XP to get her through the rough spots, and also grant her a chunk of levels.

So, I am imagining my process will be this:

1. Get the second account. I have a laptop I can use as a second machine. It already has WoW installed on it, so I am assuming I can just go to Blizzard's website, use the RAF form to send myself an email with the invite, and then use that code to create/purchase the second account. I need to make sure it's under my name (so I have read). I will also have to make sure I upgrade it right away from the trial account.

2. "Link" the two accounts.

3. Create my shammy on either the veteran or recruit account.

I read somewhere that levels can only be granted FROM the recruit account TO to veteran account, and only if the veteran character is of lower level than the recruit. Seems silly to me. I was planning on levelling my shammy and a second toon together. But it seems like I can't grant levels to my shammy this way. Unless I stop playing my shammy at 40 or so, pick up another veteran character and play until 59, then use my 59 recruit to grand levels to the 40 shaman to bring them back up again. Is this right? Is this how you all did it?

4. Download addons and software. I read that Twobox Toolkit, HotkeyNet or CloneKeys (since I am a Mac user), and Jamba were good. Can I use all of these at once? Are there any better ones, specifically ones that are for noobs to scripting?

5. Figure out how to use the software/addons. I don't plan on anything complicated. I expect my shammy will be heals. I heard that it's best to start with two characters at level 1. I'm not sure what to pair her with, since I have pretty much every class already. I believe I will just need something that will make the slave heal the master when needed, and dps otherwise, all the while following the master around.

6. Create the new toons - Shammy and something else I haven't decided yet. Originally I was thinking of doing a warrior + healer, but then I read that the fastest would be a dps + healer. Maybe a .. fury warrior and a resto shammy? But - then I read that it's hard to have a ranged and melee together. Gah.

7. Play play play. Oh, I have heard that it is difficult to keep up with professions this way. Is that true? I was thinking of getting skinning/herbs on the master, since that seems to be the easiest thing. For the slave - I don't know. I could try just selling the mats - or I could give my slave a profession that uses the mats. Or I could just not worry about it and level up professions later.

8. More alts! Yay.

Is this all right? Is there anything I am missing? Sorry if it sounds so basic. Any advice would be appreciated - and if there are answers that I missed somewhere else - sorry! Thanks :)

[Marava]

So, yesterday I was made some progress.

However, I ran into some issues with multiplexors and Mac compatibility.

I started out using CloneKeys, but I found out that it only works on one machine. Originally I wanted to use two machines - my MacbookPro and my old Powerbook. So, I began looking around at the other software mentioned on this forum. Unfortunately none of them seemed to work (there really aren't that many that are made to support Macs). I then started googling.. and googling and googling. Lots of links - mostly dead, or outdated information from 2004. I found Synergy, but it was NOT userfriendly at all (it was command line). I tried QuickSynergy - that didn't work. I finally found SynergyKM which actually has a GUI, but I couldn't get that working, either. My boyfriend was even helping and he's a programmer, and he couldn't get it to work. Finally after hours of frustration I gave up, and decided to just try dual-boxing on one machine. I went back to CloneKeys. Researched how to run two copies of WoW at the same time. Installed the Jamba addon. Installed the levelling guide I found here. Unmapped the movements keys and the slash(/) key on the slave. Finally, after like 4 hours of work I got the two instances of WoW running and copying keys to each window.

Whew.

I upgraded the trial account, but after waiting for it to be fully activated for an hour I just went to bed.

If I weren't so stubborn I would surely have given up on this whole dual-boxing experiment by now.

Tonight when I get home from work, the new account should be fully upgraded, and then I will try summoning my new shammy to my dps slave. I picked a mage, just to be her level buddy until about 18 when my warlock can take over. Then I plan on levelling each alt until the alt reaches the new alt's level bracket (.e.g. The 18 warlock will be her buddy until she catches up with the 27 rogue, and so on).

My next duties will be figuring out what sort of macros I will need.

I am still not sure who should be master - the shammy or dpser. I was planning of have the shammy be slave and heal - but I am thinking it might be easiest to have the shammy as master so I can more easily control the healing.

I'm also not sure how much Jamba controls things, exactly. Will it handle the parts that make the slave target the master's target, and whatnot? And follow the master? Or do I need to make a keybound macro for that and just always hit /follow, or /assist. There are lots of videos and lots of guides, but they are very personalized, customized, old, or not noob-friendly. Oy!

[d0z3rr]

Jamba doesn't handle targetting, assisting, or following. You'll have to make all your movement/targetting/spell casting macros. Jamba helps share quests and keeps track of the other members in your party.

It is hard to keep up with professions during RAF. I always felt rushed when I used RAF, I always had to level as fast as possible. This really burned me out. RAF is a great way to make those quick experimental teams that you want to test. But I couldn't stand going through 1-60 over and over again.

If I came back to WoW I would not use RAF.

If you thought setting up 2 characters was a headache, try five!

[Marava]

Thanks for your response, d0z3rr.

I saw something in Jamba about following - but I THINK it just sets it to automatically re-follow the master after combat ends.
I have some work to do with those macros. It shouldn't be too hard since I already use a few of them when I normally play (e.g. when binding a trinket to a spell). It will probably get more complicated as each character gets more spells.

Yeah - I think I may just try skinning/herb on the main characters and then not sweat it if I don't keep up with it. It would just be for money anyway - and I can always go back later to finish it up. I actually enjoy going back when I'm higher level, and I don't have to worry about being interrupted all the time.

I don't think I could ever do five! Now that's dedication. :)

[Marava]

Last night I got my shammy and mage to level 12. It took about 3 hours. It seems like it took longer than it should have, probably because I was dying a lot!

I've been using the macros that I found here ('http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=18695'). I like being able to press one button, without having to always press /assist before each spell, though it seems like it will be a pain to keep creating macros every time I learn a new spell.

I have found that with this extra toon following around, I aggro stuff much more easily. It has also been hard to get positioning right! My slave always seems to be facing the opposite direction she needs to, at the worst times. For example, the master is a mage and naturally when the mob starts closing in on me, I strafe away and run around to keep him at a distance. Unfortunately this means that my slave ends up in front of me, facing away from the mob, and thus cannot cast any harmful spells on them.

As they got more levels I realised that spell casting times are changing, so I have more fiddling around to do with their macros and what needs to be activated when. For example, I had both Fireball and Lightningt Bolt bound to key 1. In the beginning they took the same amount of time to cast. Now however, Fireball takes about a second longer than Lightning Bolt and so my shammy just kind of stands there doing nothing while the mage is still casting. Tonight I will try adding Earth Shock to the end of the Lightning Bolt to even things out. But then this raises another question - aggro management. If my shammy gets of a LB and a ES before the mage hits with her fireball, the mob will just go running for the slave and not the main.

Oh, another pain is accepting/turning in quests. Boo. From what I've read though it seems like it's just something I have to live with. I kept forgetting to accept a quest here and there with my slave, so my master is ahead a little bit - hopefully I can make it more of a habit to make sure to check them both.
Overall, I am pleased with my progress, but there is so much more to learn, and only so much I can read while I'm at work :P

[ioho]

I'm finding the [target=focustarget] macro to be the better solution for my 3 shaman. However, because of the tiny bit of lag, when i target something to attack and then see something walking towards me, i change target and quickly start to cast, I find that my slaves are briefly stuck on the first target I have, which means they both cast at the first target, while my main casts at the one I want to attack. Can lead to some interesting fights. But I'm sure it's something I'll get used to as time goes by.

I am also finding that for most fights, they are over either before the mob gets to me, or within a couple of hits, so moving around isn't that important. Frost Shock/Frost Bolt will also help with that later on, slowing the mob down to create more time to kill it before it reaches you.

Best of luck with working out what works best for you.

[Fat Tire]

Hey Marava,

That avatar has gotta be one of the best I have ever seen. It brought back memories of Booty Bay instantly. Did you make it yourself?

[Marava]

I'm finding the [target=focustarget] macro to be the better solution for my 3 shaman. However, because of the tiny bit of lag, when i target something to attack and then see something walking towards me, i change target and quickly start to cast, I find that my slaves are briefly stuck on the first target I have, which means they both cast at the first target, while my main casts at the one I want to attack. Can lead to some interesting fights. But I'm sure it's something I'll get used to as time goes by.

I am also finding that for most fights, they are over either before the mob gets to me, or within a couple of hits, so moving around isn't that important. Frost Shock/Frost Bolt will also help with that later on, slowing the mob down to create more time to kill it before it reaches you.

Best of luck with working out what works best for you.I have thought of that, but I felt like I would make too many mistakes with always having to press it when I target something. We'll see. I might switch over to that if I get fed up with having to replace each spell with a new macro.

[Marava]

Hey Marava,

That avatar has gotta be one of the best I have ever seen. It brought back memories of Booty Bay instantly. Did you make it yourself?Thanks! I did make it - it's just a screenshot I took of my Shadow Priest when she was in her 40s at Booty Bay.

[Fat Tire]

Hey Marava,

That avatar has gotta be one of the best I have ever seen. It brought back memories of Booty Bay instantly. Did you make it yourself?Thanks! I did make it - it's just a screenshot I took of my Shadow Priest when she was in her 40s at Booty Bay.Its amazing. My wife plays and she loves it. We have leveled up alot of characters and everyone( before RAF) has gone thru Booty Bay.

You should submit to WoW for screenshot of the day.

[Marathon]

Yeah that is a pretty kewl avatar :thumbup:

[Marava]

Thanks! :)

[Trixster]

Last night I got my shammy and mage to level 12. It took about 3 hours. It seems like it took longer than it should have, probably because I was dying a lot!

I've been using the macros that I found here ('http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=18695'). I like being able to press one button, without having to always press /assist before each spell, though it seems like it will be a pain to keep creating macros every time I learn a new spell.

I have found that with this extra toon following around, I aggro stuff much more easily. It has also been hard to get positioning right! My slave always seems to be facing the opposite direction she needs to, at the worst times. For example, the master is a mage and naturally when the mob starts closing in on me, I strafe away and run around to keep him at a distance. Unfortunately this means that my slave ends up in front of me, facing away from the mob, and thus cannot cast any harmful spells on them.

As they got more levels I realised that spell casting times are changing, so I have more fiddling around to do with their macros and what needs to be activated when. For example, I had both Fireball and Lightningt Bolt bound to key 1. In the beginning they took the same amount of time to cast. Now however, Fireball takes about a second longer than Lightning Bolt and so my shammy just kind of stands there doing nothing while the mage is still casting. Tonight I will try adding Earth Shock to the end of the Lightning Bolt to even things out. But then this raises another question - aggro management. If my shammy gets of a LB and a ES before the mage hits with her fireball, the mob will just go running for the slave and not the main.

Oh, another pain is accepting/turning in quests. Boo. From what I've read though it seems like it's just something I have to live with. I kept forgetting to accept a quest here and there with my slave, so my master is ahead a little bit - hopefully I can make it more of a habit to make sure to check them both.
Overall, I am pleased with my progress, but there is so much more to learn, and only so much I can read while I'm at work :PThis is just what has been working for me for the past few months, does not mean its the only way nor the best.

I use standard keyboard numbers 1 - = for my main and if i have a second of the same class as my main.
I use the number pad for my secondary toons, this lets me control the DPS better between the charters.

As far as the questing jamba is a god send. one thing i have started doning recently that has made it even better has been the interact with target key.
make sure you have click to move enabled. also bind a key to interact with target.
how it works is have an assist macro for your main on you secondary. target a quest giver hit the assist macro then the interact with target key.
The toons should run at the target and interact with it.
It also works for mele and making characters face the right way.

I use carbonite and it lets me see the quests on all of my toons i am playing and i can see how many they are missing and if they have finished.


hope this helps you out.

[Marava]

Trixter - I was playing around with the new assist keybinding and it works like a charm! I use it for looting and questing, though I didn't know it could also be used to make them face the right away. My slave always seems to get herself turned around the wrong way. I'll have to try it for that, too!

[Marava]

Over the weekend I got my Shammy and Lock to 30, yay! I was the most excited about finally having mounts. Ahhhhh...

So far things are going good. I still have positioning issues sometimes, but to move my slave I just use the arrow keys. Initially I was shocked how easy it was levelling a warlock vs. a mage. With my mage, I had to sit and drink after every 2-3 battles and get healed. It would take all my cooldowns. With my warlock, I just send the Voidwalker in, cast a couple of dots (doesn't matter which, really) and then I can just wand them down, ending with 80% of my mana left. It's great dualboxing with a healer because she can just lifetap to get more mana while the shammy heals her.

For my Shammy, I have learned NO totems and have done NONE of the class quests. It's so liberating! Bwahaha! I don't really believe I need them in levelling - I haven't so far! Glee!

Yesterday I ran into a problem - my slave is unguilded at the moment since my master's already in our guild, so she gets a lot of guild requests. Yesterday, after some guy whispered her about joining his guild, every time I would type the letter "r" on my master, it would send a replying whisper back to that dude. It was embarrasing because I didn't notice for a while. I finally unbound the "R" key on my slave, so it shouldn't happen again. Oops.

[Gurblash]

I believe you can disable guild invites. That should fix the annoyance :)

Grats on the 3x ding :)

[Jheusse]

Jamba has the functionality to auto-refuse duels, guild invites and the like.

You can also set jamba to forward whispers from the slaves to the master as well as tell you who the whisperer is (does a /who whisperername and forwards it)

[Marava]

Oh yes, I know, and it does it already quite well. I love the duel declines. Makes for much less aggravation. I noticed that it does a /who, too, when it forwards whispers. Pretty cool! What was happening before though was that I was getting guild invites through whispers, and that's what got me in trouble. For some reason the guy didn't say anything until like 5-6 whispers in.

[Drew]

For my Shammy, I have learned NO totems and have done NONE of the class quests. It's so liberating! Bwahaha! I don't really believe I need them in levelling - I haven't so far! Glee!
Go without them for as long as you can. They'll give a ridiculous amount of XP when you finally do them, especially if you're on RaF. I think my 59 shaman got over 26,000 xp for finally picking up the Wind Totem. :)