Following char always disconnects

[Lance]

Hi,

Just started playing wow again and decided to try playing 2 chars at once for a change. I came across this site and have found it very helpful. I only have one comp so am trying to run 2 instances of wow on it.

Someone on here posted about how they have ahk set up so when they click boxes on their main it controls the 2nd char. I liked the sound of that so I am using that method. Got my warlock following me about killing stuff fine. The main prob I am having is he disconnects from the server every couple of minutes. Any one else having this problem or know how to sort it?

[MrLonghair]

Yep, Blizzard have found the problem and have fixed it, but it's not known when it's going to be implemented. I have found that if the followers WoW client is minimized it will not disconnect, but with a minimized client I can't broadcast keys and actions to it so it's useless.

Some people have reported that enabling v-sync fixes it, and some have mentioned that Checksum Offload disabling/enabling takes care of it as well, nothing has worked out in my case :)


If anyone has a real WoW client and you get hit by this (sold my previous, back on a couple of trial accounts), can you enter the PTR server and /follow someone to see if it's still in?

[Lance]

Ah thanks for the reply.

Looks like I'm screwed then till next patch?

Bummer is I just gave away my second computer to my dad :(

[Los]

Have the same problem with 2 boxes on 1 pc, its completly lag and failure of the pc to keep up with both boxes if you ask me (still dual core power still fps drops like hell, it lags and discs the other box).

[Lance]

Have the same problem with 2 boxes on 1 pc, its completly lag and failure of the pc to keep up with both boxes if you ask me (still dual core power still fps drops like hell, it lags and discs the other box).

Nah that's def not what's happening with me. Both rarely drop below 40fps (at least in the areas I've been in). I did a bit of testing after mrlonghair posted and I've def got the follow disconnect problem. I can play fine if I don't use follow.
Sorry for making a new post about a known issue. I prob should have realized this was the problem.

[Jayk]

I don't have any lag, my FPS is 75 and above all the time.

I do though, get random disconnects on my second character.

[Mannyman]

Enabling v-sync on all my toons solved the problem, both the followers and the followed. Also, get Fubar and PerformanceFu. You can force a garbage collection when your memory increase rate gets too high, as is the case with this follow bug.

It worked for me so far.

[MrLonghair]

Garbage collection had no effect, as did v-sync. I recorded this with a digital camera, thinking about youtubing it.

When not following, outgoing data was around 100-120 kbit, as it should be at all times. When following it grew fast, even more when the one who is followed stopped, and elevators made it a lot worse. For every successive reconnect after being disconnected, it would grow even faster.

[Mannyman]

Yes, I had the same issue. When my priest was on follow and I stopped moving, his memory rate usage would skyrocket and he would disconnect. I enabled V-sync and that stopped all the disconnects. His memory rate still goes up here and there though.

Blizzard knows about this and supposedly will fix it. Here is a blue response from them:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=112592231&sid=1&pageNo=1

[MrLonghair]

I am dumb. Enabled V-Sync, I did, but not via my graphics card control panel! Duh, of course it would not work!

Over 1000 B/s outgoing bandwidth and no elevator in Azeroth or Outlands will disconnect my follower now. Time to play :)

(edit: Still disconnects when around 1200+ B/s outgoing, so garbage cleanup has to be done from time to time. Let's see if it can be macroed as well!)

[Mannyman]

Glad it worked out:)

[MrLonghair]

Still got those disconnects though after the outgoing bandwidth was large enough, and trying to run your alts up stairs is a nightmare.

Just got the melee classes (and druid) left to try out. Time to blog! Hope my findings will help people out, will present them in a suitable "what class(es) to dualbox?" thread.

[Lance]

I can't see any option to enable/disable vsync in my nvidia control panel or in display properties.
I have a script to move both chars at once using wasd but its a pita. Unless I could start from the exact same spot and heading it is tricky. Anyone else use keys to move both chars and how do you get round the problems?

[Lance]

No-one got any ideas about this? How you do all you multi-boxers move your chars about or have you got follow to work ok? I'm stuck with this not sure what to do.

[Mannyman]

I map the F key for autorun on my main character. Then I just use /follow macros for the other characters.

Vsync is in video properties in WoW.

[Lance]

I still can't get round disconnecting on following atm so I can't use that for now. :(

[Killmour]

I have the same problem, pretty lame :/

Copying my test realm stuff over, hopefully its fixed there.

[clesven]

Ugh... This is so annoying. It was working for like half an hour and them bam. It disconnects every like 30 seconds after logging in and following.

[MrLonghair]

I still have to run the follower manually on elevators and transports, it sucks. It's fun to ask pubbies to /follow you and watch as they suddenly pop offline though ;>

[Lance]

I'm playing 3x wow on 3 different comps atm. Just pottering about till my other 2 pcs arrive. Since I made the switch from using one comp I haven't had any disconnects yet. Hope it stays that way. :)

[clesven]

I havent dced once in like 6 hours since I turned on vsync :). I even run into stormwind and lag like a bitch with my slow ram and still don't DC.

[MrLonghair]

If you can ride a boat/tram/zeppelin and use elevators while remaining on /follow without being disconnected, congratulations to you.

[unit187]

hm with my 5-box I've got 3/5 chars disconnected y-day while getting elevator to Thunder Bluff :/

[Xzin]

I have never had a DC problem, on any of my 10 boxes. So, hopeful they can figure out what it is - it is either software or hardware specific (not very narrow heh) but it clearly is not impacting everybody.

[Mannyman]

Turn on Vertical sync in WoW and/or your video display properties. I used to have the same problem, not anymore.

[unit187]

Turn on Vertical sync in WoW and/or your video display properties. I used to have the same problem, not anymore.
always on since without it I am experiencing "tearing" problem

[Lance]

I'm not very tech minded but I agree with xzin it either a software or hardware problem :)

[Steph]

I got this problem all of a sudden now.

The funny thing is that I can play for hours in the drenai starter zone, but once I enter the non-instanced part of the deadmines or the actual deadmines my four notebooks with the /following characters do keep disconnecting randomly. Sometimes one, sometimes two. It is really doing my head in.

I removed all add-ons, the only recent addition was automaton, but that did not make any difference.

On the bright side, the problem is fairly consistent, so I have a chance of troubleshooting it.

[Steph]

Allright, I think I discovered something useful:

The increase in the upstream data sent when standing still and on /follow is about twice as high for drenai (female in my tests) as it is for humans.

When my human female warlocks had worked themselves up to 350 B/s, the drenai female mage was at 750 B/s.

That is the explanation why with my first team I had occasional disconnects with my mage - the only drenai in the team - and had massive problems with my 5x female drenai shammy team.

The character selected for posting on the WoW-US forum thread that is linked to in this thread here was also a female drenai.

Who else has this problem and can you confirm the drenai effect? =]

[Fog]

Allright, I think I discovered something useful:

The increase in the upstream data sent when standing still and on /follow is about twice as high for drenai (female in my tests) as it is for humans.

When my human female warlocks had worked themselves up to 350 B/s, the drenai female mage was at 750 B/s.

That is the explanation why with my first team I had occasional disconnects with my mage - the only drenai in the team - and had massive problems with my 5x female drenai shammy team.

The character selected for posting on the WoW-US forum thread that is linked to in this thread here was also a female drenai.

Who else has this problem and can you confirm the drenai effect? =]

I think I can recall reading/hearing about something like that. That the blood elves and draenei's are more complex in several different aspects.

[MrLonghair]

I experience(d) more disconnects with my tauren duo than my undead duo. Weird.