Apps (actually Mosg2’s) 2 Man and 3 Man SWTOR setup

[Apps]

PROLOGUE
Please note the characters I use below, can obviously be swapped for whatever you are using, nor is anyone required to use the same keys, I will illustrate, in the below posts. I will list my keys exactly, so that it can be duplicated and learn from it, and apply yourselves.

OBJECTIVE
Set up a dual-box group using a Sith Warrior, and a Sith Sorcerer

THE KEYS + Pics IN GAME

Warrior
Movement:
Follow Target = `
Targeting:
Target Party Member 1 = F9
Target Party Member 2 = F7*
Target Self = F10
Acquire Targets Target = F8
Quickslots:
Bottom Center Quickslot 1 = End
Bottom Center Quickslot 2 = Delete

Sorcerer
Movement:
Follow Target = `
Targeting:
Target Party Member 1 = F9
Target Party Member 2 = F7*
Target Self = F10
Acquire Targets Target = F8
Quickslots:
Bottom Center Quickslot 1 = End
Bottom Center Quickslot 2 = Delete

*Note here – I use F7 for my (3) man setup. This can be omitted for (2) man. Either way, it wont matter.

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Screenshot_2012-02-03_01_07_11_078424.jpg

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Screenshot_2012-02-03_01_07_07_089196.jpg

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Screenshot_2012-02-03_01_06_55_886555.jpg


Done with this part. :)

[Apps]

ISBoxer SETUP

DEFINITIONS:

CONTROLS = Basic functions which are normally in game for other MMOs, but Not easily accessible in SWTOR; Swap Window; Activate specific set of keys for (X) character, Mouse Repeat etc.

CHARACTER SETS = The top of the design tree of the program. Think of this as the name of our team. If we make (2) warriors we may call it “Sith Warriors 2 man”. Everything under this heading is what defines how the software operates, and what you will be sending to the game.

KEYMAP SETS = A specific set of keys, which you can activate, deactivate, or not use at all. Keymap Sets are specific to a character slot. *Remember Point* (Character slots are unique to a single character. Each character needs its OWN set for every group it may be in. This is where the Follow Me, Assist Me, and Target Me, plus all the DPS keys come into place.

MAPPED KEYS = These are the keys we will define for ISBoxer to use to send to game windows. Once we pick a key, we can tell it to send it once, twice, in a row, only to one window, to all windows, for only specific character slots, watch for the key press or release of the key, keep track of the key press if we want it ON or OFF.. and a lot more.

KEYBINDS (In Game) = These are the keys we configure in SWTOR that align with the keys we are pressing for use with ISBoxer.

OTHER WINDOW vs MAIN WINDOW = For the sake of keeping it simple. (2) man boxing only has two windows… your main, and the other one. ISBoxer does care which one you are in, but it doesn’t care which one you use. Regardless of whichever toon we are operating at that moment, THAT window is our MAIN window… and the other one, is well… the other one.*Remember Point*
(The “Party Member” position is a relative position based upon the view of the character being used. For example, if there are two different people, sitting on opposite sides of a table, no matter which side of the table you are at, the other person is sitting across the table from you… go on, let that soak in.)

(2) man is pretty simple, compared so (3) or (4). The objective is to always tell the other window what to do, via the keyboard, while only watching from the main window.
So, lets get started………

[Apps]

Key Maps



http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2manvs3man3.jpg

These are already here, but I started out by, doing the following:
Right click on Key Maps, and choose New Key Map
For the 2 man setup I made three of them. Label them as Apps Control 2 Man, Sith Warrior 2 Man, and Sith Sorcerer 2 Man.

APPS CONTROL


Now, We need a set of controls.

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2manvs3man4.jpg

These Controls guide the other keysets for later use. They may or may not have keybinds, depending on use, because some of them we aren’t actually key pressing them, we are using them as the foundation. I have the following:
+Activate Warrior = this is the key I use to swap windows and activate all my warrior keys at the same time.
+Activate Sorcerer Appstoo = you guessed it… does the same thing as the warrior key but just for the Sorcerer.
+All Off = this is useful when you are trouble shooting, or if you get into a weird situation and just need to turn everything off so you can do something or fix a keybind that’s not right. This will turn off all keysets from ISBoxer
+Mouse Repeater = Turns on the mouse synchronization for all windows.
+Heal Appology Big and Light = are separate spells I use when in combat. I don’t always want to spam my low fast heal, because it uses more force power than the big one… and I’ll run out.
+Heal Appstoo, Big and Light = same as the other one, just directed at another toon.
+CC Whirlwind = this is the Mapped Key that the click bar refers to, in order to use the Whirlwind ability and CC a target from any window.

I’m just going to show a couple of these, because this section is covered in more detail in another thread…

Linked here: http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46358-Getting-started-with-2-boxing-SWTOR/page3 (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46358-Getting-started-with-2-boxing-SWTOR/page3)


http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2manvs3man5.jpg

As you can see from the picture, for “Activate Warrior” I am using the Hotkey F1, and the actions are to turn on all the key states for Sith Warrior 2 man and the Apps Control 2 man, and turn off the Sith Sorcerer 2 man. When it does this, there is also a pop-up text that says something like “Warrior is now Active!” or something like that. We can do this for the sorcerer too. Just change the map key state to OFF for warrior, and ON for sorcerer.

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2manvs3man6.jpg

Easy right?

The All Off is the same way, except we just turn everything to OFF.

[Apps]

SITH WARRIOR 2 MAN KEYMAP SET

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2man1.jpg

This parts probably overkill now with all the information on the forums, but, ill throw it in anyway.
Target Me = Directs the other window who to target
Assist Me = Enables the other window to select your target
Follow Me = Makes the other window toon to /follow your main window toon

To setup Target Me, Create a new key map key, and name it “Target Me” (again, no matter which of the two toons you are playing, the other guy is always “party member 1”) For the warrior, we will make a new Do new key action, and send the key to target “Character slot 2 (Appstoo)”, and the key to press is “F9”.
5th grade version – we are telling the game that when we use the Target Me function from the warrior screen, it sends “F9” to the sorcerer. When the sorcerer presses F9 (because we set that up as the keybind in game), it will target the warrior… hence “Target Me”

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2man2.jpg

To setup Assist Me, Create a new key map key, and name it “Assist Me”. For the Warrior, we will make a new Do new key action, and send the key to target “Character slot 2 (Appstoo)”, and the key to press is “F9”. Then we will copy that by right clicking on it, then right click on the word “Actions” choose “paste”. Click on the newly pasted key, and change it from “F9” to “F8”.
5th grade version – we just told the game, that when we are playing the warrior, and we want to the sorcerer to help us, to first target us by using F9, and then immediately use F8 which we already set up the keybind in game… the sorcerer will now attack what the warrior is attacking…. Hence “Assist Me”

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2man4.jpg

To setup Follow Me, Create a new key map key, and name it “Follow Me”. For the warrior, we will make a new Do new MAPPED KEY action. We want to tell the current window, to use the “Target Me” function, from the “Sith Warrior 2 man” keymap set, and specifically the key called “Target Me”. Then Right click on the word “Action” and make a new Do new key action, and send the “`” (tilde), to “Character slot 2 (Appstoo)”.
5th grade version – we just told the game to use the new function of “Target Me” and then to press the key to follow the warrior. We sent that to the sorcerer, so now the sorcerer will follow the warrior…. Hence “Follow Me”

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App2man5.jpg

[Apps]

DPS KEYS


This is an open book. But within the warrior, we made only a few of them. Again, it’s a new mapped key, then just pick the key to send, and tell it which window you want it to go to. DPS keys usually go to “Window>All”. My warrior spam dps key is called… eh, whoops! Heh, I forgot to change that before I took all the screenshots. Oh well.

Sorry buddy.

… Its called “Mosgs bullshit test (Hotkey: 1)” This key I just spam. The warrior likes to use Sundering Assault, then Slam, then Shout, then Assault. But you cant do them all at once. It is possible to set them up with a timing rotation, and then set the keys to auto reset after so many seconds, but that is a lot of hassle for a quirky setup. Instead we take advantage of the fact that the games Global Cooldown for each attack / skill is different. We just put them in order in our mapped key from longest to shortest and instant skills dead last. This forces the game (while pressing all the keys at once), to essentially only activate the key that’s ready. I.e. when I press the hotkey, the sundering assault gets pressed. When I press the key again, sundering assault is on GCD, so Slam gets pressed. When both of those are on GCD… well, you get the picture.
Each of those Do new mapped key goes to character slot 1 (which is the warrior). It’s the same action… just stack them up in order. And also put in the dps of the sorcerer… sending it to character slot 2.

(inserting picture later)


The result is, we just stand there, and spam the shit out of the “1” key. While watching the warrior rotate through all the skills, at the same time the sorcerer does. Mobs die super fast.

So now we can do all of this again for the Sorcerer… OR we can just copy the Sith Warrior 2 man, and paste it in the key maps and rename it to “Sith Sorcerer 2 man”
*Reminder Point*
(Just make sure you go back through all the keys, like Follow, Assist, Target, DPS, etc, and ensure that all the settings are swapped. I.e. Change warrior stuff to sorcerer, and change sorcerer stuff to warrior. We want the sorcerer to send the follow command to the warrior window, and not just send the follow to the sorcerer one, to follow itself.)




So that’s it basically. The rest is customization. If anyone is interested in the (3) man setup, I am posting those pics below as well. *Note: the white and black list… Ensure the white list is used for 2 man setup for 2 man keys, and 3 man setup for 3 man keys.
(especially the Controls).

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App3man1.jpg
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App3man2.jpg
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/App3man3.jpg


Many Thanks Mosg2 for helping me to get this far.

[Lyonheart]

good stuff! After playing 4 toons for a day, I can say that I will only be able to hadle it in chunks. Two is so much easier ( only doing class quests twice for example ) But the killing power of four is so fun! I wish companions were stonger though. I like their stories! I would just keep with two boxing.

Thanks for this Apps! ( and mosg ) it will help a lot!

[OldRod_KS]

Great guide, Apps! Thanks for posting it!

[Gorthu]

I noticed in your pictures, you show a SPACE keypress being passed, but I don't see it in the written steps. I'm one of those older people that reads first, then looks at pictures. So it took me a while to figure out why it didn't work for me.

I'm started thinking the reason for doing this, is IS sends the commands faster than SWTOR will process them, (that built in delay that drives us all nuts), so you send SPACE. Well, I tested this, I deselcted SPACE as my jump command and guess what it works. I like to use 0 (oh), instead of SPACE, since SPACE is used to skip movie screens (i may not have my alt in a conversation, and don't want it just jumping all the time).

Some day, though, I hope to be able to play them as well as you do. I find all your guides very illuminating. You have been a great help getting my characters running.

[Apps]

I noticed in your pictures, you show a SPACE keypress being passed, but I don't see it in the written steps. I'm one of those older people that reads first, then looks at pictures. So it took me a while to figure out why it didn't work for me.

I'm started thinking the reason for doing this, is IS sends the commands faster than SWTOR will process them, (that built in delay that drives us all nuts), so you send SPACE. Well, I tested this, I deselcted SPACE as my jump command and guess what it works. I like to use 0 (oh), instead of SPACE, since SPACE is used to skip movie screens (i may not have my alt in a conversation, and don't want it just jumping all the time).

Some day, though, I hope to be able to play them as well as you do. I find all your guides very illuminating. You have been a great help getting my characters running.

Hey, you're welcome. :)

The SPACE I put in was the temporary fix for the /follow not working properly. I believe the picture you are referring to, is the one describing the "Follow Me" command. (Fourth Picture in post number four) Its not needed anymore.

I do have a SPACE being broadcast for the voice acting conversations. I didnt talk about it in this write up, but it is visible in every picture in post four. I use "[", same as you are using your "o". Its a major time saver, when pressing for 3 accounts, and doesnt interfere with my actual spacebar so my chat isnt affected.

[OldRod_KS]

Could you go through how you set up your click bars for healing? I am having trouble following some of the other guides in this forum and I see you have them set up in your screenshots. I (and I'm sure others too) would really appreciate it :)

[Apps]

Could you go through how you set up your click bars for healing? I am having trouble following some of the other guides in this forum and I see you have them set up in your screenshots. I (and I'm sure others too) would really appreciate it :)

Sure.

Apps 2 man Healing Setup


Ok, so I’m feeling under the weather, so this will be short and rely a lot on the pictures.

To set up healing, I used a total of (2) clickbars, changed my in-game keybinds, used the in-game targeting, and used the left side action bar to put my healing skills.. two of them; the small or light heal, and the big heal, and bound the slot in an in-game keybind.

Since doing this, I have added (2) more clickbars to heal the companions. And two more targeting features, one called “Target My Comp” and the other called “Target Other Comp”. The pictures will reflect the setup before I added the extra two…sorry about that.

First, Just like when setting up the Target Me. Alter the in-game keybind so that it is the key that points to the companions.

Next we need to make the actual heal keymaps. Go to the Control section, and create 4 new keymaps. Label them appropriately so that there is no way to get confused. I called mine… “Heal Appology (my warrior) Light”, “Heal Appology Big”, “Heal Appstoo Light”, and “Heal Appstoo Big” *Reminder* don’t forget to make (4) more for your toons companions. Label them as Heal (toon name) Companion, and Heal (toon name) Companion… I .e “Heal Appology Companion Light”, and “Heal Appology Companion Big”.. etc.
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal7.jpg

The picture below, I show that we are pressing the ESC key to clear any channeled skill or action. Then pressing the appropriate Target in game key bind… (for example my in-game target character for Appstoo is F10), Then pressing the specific location of the heal skill I placed on the left side action bar, and in-game keybind for where that key is. (In this case I used F6 for the light heal)
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal8.jpg
5th Grade explanation – When I activate the Heal Appstoo Light, the software will send ‘ESC’ to stop casting, then F10, (Targeting my toon Appstoo), then F6 which is the light
heal.

Reference the healing question setup in this thread also... http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46481-Needing-help-with-a-healing-setup

[Apps]

Make (4) new Clickbars. Label them Heal (name specific or Self and Other).. I choose the toon name so its less confusing.
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal1.jpg

Later you can do like I did, and put them in the different character sets. Granted this takes out the aspect of the toons name, and still functions fine. These identifiers are necessary because when you place them in the game window, you need to identify which one is which.
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal2.jpg


Now click on the “Buttons” and change the size. I went with 100 and 32. Later I changed this to 50 and 30. I did that because when you make (4) buttons, I put mine side by side the left one for the toon, and the right one for the toons companion.
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal3.jpg

Next, you want to left click on the green bar itself. Notice the information in the bottom Right fills out. (mine is already completed, but Ill show how to do it again, as it starts out blank.

http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal4.jpg

Click on the “<” to open the mapped key director or action for this bar. NOTE: we can set up a Left click and a Right click for the bar. My Left click is the light heal we made. Choose the Mapped key we made, from the location we made it in, (in this case its my App Control 2 Man and the key itself is called Heal Appology Light)
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/Appheal4.jpg

Do the same thing for the Right click by clicking with the right mouse button, and instead this time, choose the Big heal.

You can also change the color from the small window at the top area of the bottom right. I advise changing the color, so that it’s a fast quick visual reference to know who we are healing. I use Green for the toons, and light blue for the companions.

Set up the other three keys the same way, and use different sources.

[Apps]

Now Save and export all to Inner Space. In game, press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+G to bring up the control panel for ISBoxer.
From the clickbar tab, select your click bar, or select “Show all” and just remove the ones you don’t want. Move the clickbars to what makes sense… DO NOT SYNC! Save to “Auto” and close the window with CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+G again. Now go to the other window, and do the same thing.

*Note: the reason why we don’t SYNC is because when you are on Toon A, Toon B is on the left side. When you swap windows Toon A is on the side and Toon B is down in front. Unless we specifically want to keep heal toon A in the same spot, and Toon B in the same spot… I didn’t. I want to heal the toon next to the portrait of that toon.





Heres a picture of the finished product.
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Screenshot_2012-01-26_02_06_58_517710.jpg

[OldRod_KS]

Reference the healing question setup in this thread also... http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46481-Needing-help-with-a-healing-setup

Yeah, I read that and I just can't seem to get clickbars to work. I tried Chazz's guide and there's something I'm just not getting.

For one thing, his guide shows going into the game and dragging/resizing the click bar. My clickbar ingame is fixed in location and size, so I'm guessing I've missed a setting somewhere

[Apps]

Yeah, I read that and I just can't seem to get clickbars to work. I tried Chazz's guide and there's something I'm just not getting.

For one thing, his guide shows going into the game and dragging/resizing the click bar. My clickbar ingame is fixed in location and size, so I'm guessing I've missed a setting somewhere

That specific point was brought up when I did it as well. I was also unable to resize mine. so I had to do it manually. I could move them. Just not resize them. Its probably user error tho. :)

[chazz]

You can't resize the Click Bar ingame, but you can move it by grabbing the blue "handle" above it (where the name of the Click Bar is).
But as far as the size goes you have to type that in, in ISBoxer using the "cell values" (1 cell = 1 pixel). For me, using 60% width and 100% height of the Party Frame ingame, I have mine set to about 164x326 I believe. I did this by eye, but one method could also be to take a screenshot of your Party Frames ingame and open it in Photoshop or similar software, where you can simply draw a box to cover it perfectly and then see the size in pixel values.

[Apps]

You can't resize the Click Bar ingame, but you can move it by grabbing the blue "handle" above it (where the name of the Click Bar is).

ok, thats good to know. At least I wasnt doing something wrong there and just "struggle bus'd" it

[Gylon]

WTB a copy of your ISboxer saved xlm file :D

[Apps]

WTB a copy of your ISboxer saved xlm file :D

Lax, Are we allowed to sell em? I was thinking like $10?


Just kidding. Actually I believe Mosg2 posted his in another thread.

this one in fact... http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46398-Mosg-s-Multiboxing-TOR-Manifesto/page2 Post #19.

My setup is very very similar to his... and his has more bells n whistles.

[Mosg2]

I'm perfecting my setup for both a caster team that can heal and a melee team. I'll put up the xml and make two new videos once they're good to go--Unfortunately I'm working 12 hour shifts for the foreseeable future.

[OldRod_KS]

Unfortunately I'm working 12 hour shifts for the foreseeable future.

Sounds like me... if I work 60 hours in a week, it is a slow week these days. It's really cutting into my SWTOR time :)

[Apps]

--Unfortunately I'm working 12 hour shifts for the foreseeable future.


Bless him.

He logged in last night for all of about 14 minutes, then crashed... off to sleep.

[OldRod_KS]

I am getting really, really close to having this working. I have 4 clickbars ingame, one each for character heal, 2nd char heal, companion heal and 2nd companion heal. I can right click/left click to small/big heal them and everything works fine... *except*

I still have the problem when my healer tries to target himself to heal, if he is already selected it toggles the selection to his companion. If I send an ESC key first, it clears the target, but if there is no target, it pops up the menu asking if you want to quit. Even if I bind the "target myself" key to something else, it still works as a toggle between me and my companion. Only the "heal myself" clickbar is affected, all the other 3 work perfectly.

Is there another way to clear your target without popping up that menu?

[Apps]

Nope.

which is why I double click when healing.

errrr. well, actually, now that I think about it.. perhaps the in game keybind for the game menu popup is there (ive never looked), and you can just unbind that ESC key for that function for your healer only... instead use something else like ALT+ESC.

or just double click.

[OldRod_KS]

You double-click your clickbar? How does that help?

I looked all through the key bindings and there doesn't seem to be any way to change "clear target" or the popping up of the game menu. For now I have it sending an ESC first on my healer character. I sometimes pop up the game menu, but at least the targeting works. It turns out to not be too much of a problem as I am usually in combat when needing to heal, so I have something targeted which gets cleared.

Thanks to all your help, I have everything working now - just need a few tweaks here and there. :)

[Apps]

Ya I double click. I figure the double ESC cant hurt, and ensures the heal goes off. I have clicked stuff before in big PVE fights, and the heal not go off. I assume this is game lag. Ive been double clicking ever since. Never missed a heal.

Glad you got everything working. :)

[Pyro_box]

16-gig DDR3 arriving on Saturday; time to start branching out?

I cannot decide if I want to keep running my various (2)'s, add a third, or take the deep plunge into quad-boxing. Leveling up in WoW was more of a grind; with my companions I find SWTOR having more immersion than grinding quests and dungeons, and while granted, running with (2) more accounts will make all the heroics a breeze, I am not convienced that SWTOR flashpoints are box-friendly enough to run within the level range.

Currently my Marauder/Sorcerer are blasting through stuff, and able to run flashpoints by joining groups; decision point incoming.

[Mercbeast]

16-gig DDR3 arriving on Saturday; time to start branching out?

I cannot decide if I want to keep running my various (2)'s, add a third, or take the deep plunge into quad-boxing. Leveling up in WoW was more of a grind; with my companions I find SWTOR having more immersion than grinding quests and dungeons, and while granted, running with (2) more accounts will make all the heroics a breeze, I am not convienced that SWTOR flashpoints are box-friendly enough to run within the level range.

Currently my Marauder/Sorcerer are blasting through stuff, and able to run flashpoints by joining groups; decision point incoming.

Flashpoints, most of them anyways, will be boxable. Few things to consider. In fact, if you run tank+healer with 2, you should be able to box pretty much everything. Just make sure you bind passive/attack so you can quickly move your companions out of AoE or stop them from attacking when appropriate.

First, SWTOR HEAVILY favors ranged DPS for PvE encounters. Many bosses will have AoE that punish melee and this will simply increase the heal load on your group.

Second, if you are not planning to drive with your tank, Powertech and or Vanguard are absolutely the best tank to use.

Third, Sorcerors and Sages are the best PvE healer right now for one reason, they have the best AoE heal (this is more important for operations than flashpoints)

With those points in mind there are a few groups I would recommend for Flashpoint success.

Group 1 - The Melee Group

Juggernaught/Marauder/Maurauder/Sorc

This should be a pretty easy group to run. It isn't ideal due to it being all melee but honestly that shouldn't matter too much. You will most likely drive with the Jugg and switch to the Sorc at need for movement sensitive encounters. The Marauders in annihilation, or watchman for the Sentinels out there, are going to put out a truckload of DPS put out some group healing and just burn whatever the Juggernaught is on. With the Marauders following the Jugg, movement isn't going to be a huge issue and there is enough similarity between the two classes that DPS rotations will be pretty close. There is also some nice synergy with the Jugg armor debuff.

Group 2 - The Ranged Group.

Powertech/Sorcx3 (2 DPS 1 Healer)

Now, let me just say, you could EASILY go with Mercenaries over Sorcerers. You could also EASILY take a Mercenary or an Operative to be your healer. However, this is absolutely the best all around PvE group and there is one simple reason for this. DPS Sorcerors do not have to worry about managing their resources the way Mercenaries or Snipers do. Additionally, even though your DPS is a Sorceror, their off spec healing is very respectable and you have plenty of interrupts (This is what trumps Mercs). Your healing strain will be much less with no melee DPS. You don't have to keep your PT on top of the boss at all times. You have both a pull and a charge on your tank to quickly move around the fight.

Snipers COULD fill the DPS role, and they will do slightly more DPS than Sorcerors, however they lack the overall utility and flexibility of the Sorcerors. Mercenaries will have a higher overall sustained DPS I would imagine, but their rotation isn't as easy to run and they have no interrupts. While you can interrupt with the PT, sometimes one interrupt isn't enough and many boss encounters require multiple interrupts on a rotation to minimize incoming damage to manageable levels.

[Pyro_box]

Thank you very much for your input Merc; you make a very compelling argument, and quite honestly I had not considered the Juggs/Marauder/Marauder/Sorc team. I completely agree on the synergy of the Watchman spec combined with the Sorcerer madness utility 0/18/28 spec.

The team I currently run although only 26 atm just tear the holy poop out of things; thus far I have managed every 2+ & 4+ although the 4+ were nearly grey before I left each planet. I do have a PT sitting at 22; was the first character I created the day I bought the game. My concern with that class when considering boxing has always been the heat management. My Juggs, Marauder, and Sorcerer are all one key smash ((1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0)) without need to worry about resource management. I basically use (2) dps spam keys; one for both and a second that allows the main toon to keep pounding while my sorcerer tosses out heals.

In WoW I was always kinda of envious of the folks that ran Prot pally 4(x) shaman since I opted for the more difficult route of DK tank, Shadow Priest, Balance Druid, Resto Shaman, & BM Hunter. SWTOR I can see the Juggs with 3(x) Sorcerers being very close to the Pally/Shaman combo, and was leaning toward that should I opt for the (2) additional accounts. – change that to when… perhaps next paycheck.

[Targ]

So I am at the same decision point, 24G DDR3 Memory arrives today but I run Republic.

I have a Commando / Sage pair at level 38 any recomendation on what DPS to put with them.
I am going Ranged DPS so I was thinking a couple of Gunslingers but is there a better choice?

What about a Sage's on Telekinetics tree or Commandoe's on the Gunnery Tree.

Any suggestions plz.

[Lyonheart]

So I am at the same decision point, 24G DDR3 Memory arrives today but I run Republic.

I have a Commando / Sage pair at level 38 any recomendation on what DPS to put with them.
I am going Ranged DPS so I was thinking a couple of Gunslingers but is there a better choice?

What about a Sage's on Telekinetics tree or Commandoe's on the Gunnery Tree.

Any suggestions plz.


two more sages hands down! I have a Jug+4sorcs now and i love them..lots of heals.. lots of cc..lots of stuns..they just flat out own and are very simple to play.

[Targ]

two more sages hands down! I have a Jug+4sorcs now and i love them..lots of heals.. lots of cc..lots of stuns..they just flat out own and are very simple to play.

Thank Lyonheart, after thinking some more about it I had come to the same conclusion. Now I just have to get them all leveled up.

[talonness]

Could you expand more on the spam dps..how does that work and how do you have in configured on both isboxer and swtor. I am very new to this but am not new to programming and am slowly struggling thru.

Sure.

Apps 2 man Healing Setup


Ok, so I’m feeling under the weather, so this will be short and rely a lot on the pictures.

To set up healing, I used a total of (2) clickbars, changed my in-game keybinds, used the in-game targeting, and used the left side action bar to put my healing skills.. two of them; the small or light heal, and the big heal, and bound the slot in an in-game keybind.

Since doing this, I have added (2) more clickbars to heal the companions. And two more targeting features, one called “Target My Comp” and the other called “Target Other Comp”. The pictures will reflect the setup before I added the extra two…sorry about that.

First, Just like when setting up the Target Me. Alter the in-game keybind so that it is the key that points to the companions.

Next we need to make the actual heal keymaps. Go to the Control section, and create 4 new keymaps. Label them appropriately so that there is no way to get confused. I called mine… “Heal Appology (my warrior) Light”, “Heal Appology Big”, “Heal Appstoo Light”, and “Heal Appstoo Big” *Reminder* don’t forget to make (4) more for your toons companions. Label them as Heal (toon name) Companion, and Heal (toon name) Companion… I .e “Heal Appology Companion Light”, and “Heal Appology Companion Big”.. etc.
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal7.jpg

The picture below, I show that we are pressing the ESC key to clear any channeled skill or action. Then pressing the appropriate Target in game key bind… (for example my in-game target character for Appstoo is F10), Then pressing the specific location of the heal skill I placed on the left side action bar, and in-game keybind for where that key is. (In this case I used F6 for the light heal)
http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq40/Shifthapens/SWTOR Stuff/Appheal8.jpg
5th Grade explanation – When I activate the Heal Appstoo Light, the software will send ‘ESC’ to stop casting, then F10, (Targeting my toon Appstoo), then F6 which is the light
heal.

Reference the healing question setup in this thread also... http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46481-Needing-help-with-a-healing-setup

[Apatheist]

I find healing in SWTOR really, really boring. It's basically just whack-a-mole. Sage/Sorc is definitely the best PvE (and PvP) healer. The shield alone trumps anything any other healer has, since it's extremely cheap and you can buff your whole group to preemptively absorb a lot of damage.

Click healing is still really awkward, though. The clunky interface, spell delay and lack of macros/addons is very noticeable. I find I enjoy the game much more simply running my 3 Guardians with a companion healer. Doc is a boss, it's a shame you get him so late in the game.

[Apps]

Could you expand more on the spam dps..how does that work and how do you have in configured on both isboxer and swtor. I am very new to this but am not new to programming and am slowly struggling thru.


Ok, so, you quoted my post about healing setups, but are asking about spam dps, and how it works.

so, I'll just answer the "how it works".

A thread was posted here, that is probably a good way of putting it.
http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46385-Is-the-quot-popsicle-stick-quot-trick-legal-in-SWTOR

Basically the setup is like this.
Skill 1 has a 10 sec GCD
Skill 2 has a 15 sec GCD
Skill 3 has an instant GCD
Skill 4 has a 30 sec GCD
Skill 5 has a 2 sec channel


There are only two "good" methods to setup DPS Spam keys. One uses timers for each action step and the other uses the "popsicle" method.
I use Popsicle method.

We setup the key to press all the skills at once. So its like pressing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 at the same time. Problem is, if we set that up like that in ISBoxer, then SWTOR reads it in that order too. So 1 would go off (because its first), then 2 (because 1 is on GCD) and then 1 would fire again, because its first on the list and its GCD is ready. So the key when spammed would just do skill 1 and 2.. maybe occasionally fire a 3... maybe.

But knowing this, we can arrange them in order, and let the software do what it does.

Rearrange them like this
Key one
Skill 4 has a 30 sec GCD
Skill 2 has a 15 sec GCD
Skill 1 has a 10 sec GCD
Skill 3 has an instant GCD

Key two
Skill 5 has a 2 sec channel

Since Skill 5 is a channel skill, we dont want to clip it too much with all the other skills. So we should put it on another key, with fewer keys and maybe something with a similar GCD timer.

Key one will cast in that order, because the one before it will be on GCD. So spamming they key, fires 4, then 2, then 1, then 3 a few times, till 1 or 2 are ready... remember its always going to fire the one above it, so long as the games timer is ready.

I prefer this method (although it may be believed to be a little sloppy), because its simple, and fast. The timer method requires getting all the different (Do not go to next Step until XX seconds) timers done exactly right.

[Pyro_box]

UPS guy arrived promptly at 10:00 am Saturday morning; 16-gig RAM upgrades open and shut case.

Prior to installation with (2) accounts running my resource load was commonly between 75-80%; post installation of the 16-gigs of DDR3 my 2-box runs at 50%. Settings maxed out on my main screen 24”, and my second monitor running med settings. G
uessing my net resource load will be back to 75-80% once I add the additional (2) accounts having all the setting on low save my main screen.

Next step will be to add the (2) new accounts; I have a question or two.

Should I set up my other monitor to have my healer visible at all times with my (2) dps stacked underneath; the reason I ask would be for general view ability, using my primary screen facing my character group and my healer on the second screen.


Should I set up my other monitor to show all my toons in little boxes; this is how I ran my 5-wow accounts on 2-monitors. I have concerns doing this with SWTOR as the camera is whacky as we all know and I am not sure how much information viewing 2 screens looking at the sky with a third staring at the ground will help.

Independent movement question – My current setup has my primary character utilizing the WASD keys set to do not pass, the UP,DOWN arrows are passed only to my second character. How have 4-boxers managed independent movement beyond that? I can think of one flashpoint where independent movement is very critical as one character gets targeted and the boss chases you much like the “Big Bad Wolf” event from WoW. I can also see a need for independent movement to help facilitate getting the group into class/group quest instances.

Will be doing some experimenting this week with my Powertech/Sorcerer since I really like the setup that Merc tossed out; PT, Sorc,Sorc,Sorc and driving with my healer. Initial pull would be through the PT using DFA, and then quickly switching screens, so I can run my sorcerers through my healer with the PT on a separate set of threat key rotations. My fall back ATM is the Juggs, Sorc,Sorc,Sorc as I am comfortable running through my tank screen.

[laguy442]

Apps, great explanation of a DPS keymap and how GCD can be handled. As an add-on to that conversation, what about placing follow and assist me within that DPS key? I have tried several versions of having it do follow,assist,1,2,... or an assist,1,2,.... I have also played with setting the in-game preference for auto targeting closest enemy. The problem is getting your melee team to follow you around and pick up the target you just selected when you are fighting a large group that is spread out. I can of course just hit my follow key but in a busy battle and watching healing, targets, CC etc anything I can do to eliminate the follow/assist problem just makes the battle that much more manageable. I hope this made sense.

Any suggestions from anyone on their approach to this issue?

Thanks

[Apps]

Apps, great explanation of a DPS keymap and how GCD can be handled. As an add-on to that conversation, what about placing follow and assist me within that DPS key? I have tried several versions of having it do follow,assist,1,2,... or an assist,1,2,.... I have also played with setting the in-game preference for auto targeting closest enemy. The problem is getting your melee team to follow you around and pick up the target you just selected when you are fighting a large group that is spread out. I can of course just hit my follow key but in a busy battle and watching healing, targets, CC etc anything I can do to eliminate the follow/assist problem just makes the battle that much more manageable. I hope this made sense.

Any suggestions from anyone on their approach to this issue?

Thanks

Easy.

If you have a "Target Me" "Follow Me" and "Assist Me" setup in a control keymap like I illustrated in post #4 of this thread, you can add a "Do new mapped key action" within your DPS spam key.

When you do those, the information its looking for is.. what keymap set, who should you send it to, and whats the mapped key.

So your dps key might look like this. (if you are playing Toon A
DPS of the "1" key
Actions
____Do Assist Me in Control> Toon A
_____Skill 4
_____Skill 2
_____Skill 1
_____Skill 3

you can just replace Assist with Follow, if you want. But normally you dont want to follow and assist while dpsing. hmmm, actually I can see a benefit of doing that in a PVP environment if you were running all melee teams... hmmmm I may have to try that out.

[talonness]

Sorry about the wrong posting...and thank you for the help...much appreciated


Ok, so, you quoted my post about healing setups, but are asking about spam dps, and how it works.

so, I'll just answer the "how it works".

A thread was posted here, that is probably a good way of putting it.
http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/46385-Is-the-quot-popsicle-stick-quot-trick-legal-in-SWTOR

Basically the setup is like this.
Skill 1 has a 10 sec GCD
Skill 2 has a 15 sec GCD
Skill 3 has an instant GCD
Skill 4 has a 30 sec GCD
Skill 5 has a 2 sec channel


There are only two "good" methods to setup DPS Spam keys. One uses timers for each action step and the other uses the "popsicle" method.
I use Popsicle method.

We setup the key to press all the skills at once. So its like pressing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 at the same time. Problem is, if we set that up like that in ISBoxer, then SWTOR reads it in that order too. So 1 would go off (because its first), then 2 (because 1 is on GCD) and then 1 would fire again, because its first on the list and its GCD is ready. So the key when spammed would just do skill 1 and 2.. maybe occasionally fire a 3... maybe.

But knowing this, we can arrange them in order, and let the software do what it does.

Rearrange them like this
Key one
Skill 4 has a 30 sec GCD
Skill 2 has a 15 sec GCD
Skill 1 has a 10 sec GCD
Skill 3 has an instant GCD

Key two
Skill 5 has a 2 sec channel

Since Skill 5 is a channel skill, we dont want to clip it too much with all the other skills. So we should put it on another key, with fewer keys and maybe something with a similar GCD timer.

Key one will cast in that order, because the one before it will be on GCD. So spamming they key, fires 4, then 2, then 1, then 3 a few times, till 1 or 2 are ready... remember its always going to fire the one above it, so long as the games timer is ready.

I prefer this method (although it may be believed to be a little sloppy), because its simple, and fast. The timer method requires getting all the different (Do not go to next Step until XX seconds) timers done exactly right.

[dizzy123]

Thanks for the great guide Apps. The screen shot are particularly valuable for a noob boxer like myself.

Could you please expand on the companion targeting feature -


Since doing this, I have added (2) more clickbars to heal the companions. And two more targeting features, one called “Target My Comp” and the other called “Target Other Comp”. The pictures will reflect the setup before I added the extra two…sorry about that.

I have had numerous attempt at implementing this myself and have not got it to work with a do action group.

In the end I just did in all in line -

Heal Kelm Light
Steps
Actions
ESC ->2
F6 -> 2
6 -> 2

2 - Character Slot 2 (my sorcerer)
F6 has been rebound to Target my companion on both accounts
6 is Dark Heal on my quick slots

The mapped key setup I tried was -

TargetMyComp
Steps
Actions
Shift+F1 -> self