Away for 2 years.. what have I missed?

[Kalyse]

Come January, I was thinking about starting up my 5 box again. Been getting a bit of a craving now that I heard that the new expansion is out.

I quit playing about the time that Pandaria was coming out. The enjoyment that I get out of boxing was economics.. I used to love making money and using multiple profs to just pile in the cash.

When I stopped playing, I let about 80k worth of ores go to rot, which I guess is now worthless...

So some of my questions I guess..

- How has multi boxing being made more difficult? When I was quiting, they removed several target and timing macros which made creating macros for boxing much more difficult.
- Has /follow been removed entirely from the game?!
- Would you say boxing is harder or easier than it was in Cata?
- Is running instances/heroics still a case by case matter? (Some instances are impossible... others are steam rollers if you get the tactics right?)
- Anything else which is a point of interest for boxers? (I barely ever PVP'ed because I didn't know how).
- Is the "gem" shuffle still around? Ore, prospect, gem, craft/blacksmith, dischenchant, sell? (Used to make a daily killing on that).
- If I was to start again, how would I do it? (Is there a RAF system still? How can I get the most benefit from my 5 accounts) Also I would have to buy 5 upgrades for Pandaria, so I guess that's going to be expensive, especially when the new expansion is due soon.

This is a real general post. Tell a story in your response :)

[JohnGabriel]

If you just PvE then you'll be able to jump back into the game and be back to having fun quickly. For making gold you'll need to diversify alot as they (blizzard?) are getting better at controlling the economy. No more can you only gem shuffle, you'll need your fingers in all the pies.

As for whats new, people don't seem to like multiboxers as much anymore, alot more hate.

[Ualaa]

The battleground (and rated battleground) pvp is a lot more difficult.
The Panda expansion brought in a lot of AoE CC effects.

And you need to use a multi-person mount or a druid in travel form (with the stag minor glyph) for travel.
You can still use CTM + IWT, for melee in battlegrounds, but regular follow doesn't work.

[Syferr]

Im not sure about your server but if you are talking about Cata Ore i payed a shit-ton for Obsidium the other day from the AH to lvl engineering so it still may be worth a bit.

[Khatovar]

- How has multi boxing being made more difficult? When I was quiting, they removed several target and timing macros which made creating macros for boxing much more difficult.

From a PvE aspect, I didn't really find anything all that difficult. I had already switched to a priority macro system before MoP hit so I had very little to change with my macros.

Mechanics were, IMO, easier to deal with, but did require some getting used to in certain places - for example, Riagonn (http://www.wowhead.com/npc=56877) in GotSS and the battle on the wall in Niuzao Temple (http://www.wowhead.com/npc=61634#encounter). Fights like that required some practice in order to know how to manage the encounter while still managing the team, but they were still easier than say, dealing with the levers on Temple Guardian Anhuur in Heroic HoO or Zanzil in ZG. The mechanics are a lot more forgiving IMO.

The hands down biggest PITA is the return of phasing. I can't decide if it's as bad as it was in Wrath, but it's EVERYWHERE. Every zone line throws you into phasing hell, which is further compounded by the loss of group-wide speed buffs being removed {Crusader Aura, etc is self only so everyone ends up moving at different speeds} and passengers getting ejected from multiperson mounts when crossing phases. I spent a lot more money on taxis this expansion that I have in a long time, just to avoid dealing with traveling through the phases.


- Has /follow been removed entirely from the game?!

No, only in Battlegrounds. Arena and rated battlegrounds still allow follow, I think. they didn't touch /follow outside of BGs.


- Would you say boxing is harder or easier than it was in Cata?

Much, much easier. Cata required a long, slow gearing up process to "beat" a lot of the mechanics for my team {melee}. There's a lot of things I still couldn't do even with really good gear in Cata, places where even if I beat the boss, there'd be no question that I'd be sharding the gear because it was so far under my current iLevel.

MoP, on the other hand was a cakewalk in comparison. That's not to say it was faceroll easy, there was a lot of practice involved in some places and a lot of "keeping cool" when things got chaotic, but it was never like banging my head against a brick wall. Sha (http://www.wowhead.com/npc=56719) in Shado-Pan is one I spent a lot of time on and one of the last ones I was able to down reliably but I knew it was something I could manage eventually. Cata, on the other hand, had more than a few bosses I just stopped bothering with because I knew I'd never get it down without another expansion's worth of iLevels under my belt.



- Is running instances/heroics still a case by case matter? (Some instances are impossible... others are steam rollers if you get the tactics right?)

It wasn't for me. I actually liked all of the instances. The only time I'd groan when something popped in the dungeon finder is when it was something really easy, as opposed to Cata and getting something tedious or "impossible."


- Anything else which is a point of interest for boxers? (I barely ever PVP'ed because I didn't know how).

Scenarios were pretty popular. Challenge mode dungeons were also meant to provide better challenges but they didn't really click for multiboxing. Timeless Isle (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/50044-Isle-Epics) would be good for you once you hit max level for quick gearing.


- Is the "gem" shuffle still around? Ore, prospect, gem, craft/blacksmith, dischenchant, sell? (Used to make a daily killing on that).

It's still around, but it wasn't nearly as profitable as it used to be. I'd be surprised if you could make anything off it this late in the game's expansion. MoP made it so that you can convert enchanting mats (http://www.wowhead.com/skill=333) anywhichway you please. You can convert something like dusts all the way up to Epic crystals, and all the way back down again, so there's not as much variance in prices. Cloth dropped like candy compared to Embersilk in Cata. And any type of mat you could need can be either "grown" on the farm (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/48315-The-Tillers-Farming-Daily-any-tips-on-speeding-the-process) or bought with Spirits of Harmony (http://www.wowhead.com/npc=66685) {which can also be grown}. Which means everyone has the ability to gather their own mats instead of buying them...assuming they are patient. It also means people who don't need it can literally farm it to sell.



- If I was to start again, how would I do it? (Is there a RAF system still? How can I get the most benefit from my 5 accounts) Also I would have to buy 5 upgrades for Pandaria, so I guess that's going to be expensive, especially when the new expansion is due soon.

RAF is still around. You can also have your accounts Rez'd (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/47477-Need-A-Scroll-of-Resurrection-Post-Here) if you haven't played them yet. Having them rez'd with a SoR gives you a nice jumpstart on the expansion since you can get an instant 80 {with suitable gear and bags}, a free mount {remember, mounts and pets are account-wide now, so once one toon claims it, your others should get it too} and free game time. You can request an SOR from someone on the boards and rez your main account, then send yourself SoRs for your slaves so you get the benefits of both rewards.

https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/scroll-of-resurrection-faq

[Kalyse]

It's still around, but it wasn't nearly as profitable as it used to be. I'd be surprised if you could make anything off it this late in the game's expansion. MoP made it so that you can convert enchanting mats (http://www.wowhead.com/skill=333) anywhichway you please. You can convert something like dusts all the way up to Epic crystals, and all the way back down again, so there's not as much variance in prices. Cloth dropped like candy compared to Embersilk in Cata. And any type of mat you could need can be either "grown" on the farm (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/48315-The-Tillers-Farming-Daily-any-tips-on-speeding-the-process) or bought with Spirits of Harmony (http://www.wowhead.com/npc=66685) {which can also be grown}. Which means everyone has the ability to gather their own mats instead of buying them...assuming they are patient. It also means people who don't need it can literally farm it to sell.


RAF is still around. You can also have your accounts Rez'd (http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/47477-Need-A-Scroll-of-Resurrection-Post-Here) if you haven't played them yet. Having them rez'd with a SoR gives you a nice jumpstart on the expansion since you can get an instant 80 {with suitable gear and bags}, a free mount {remember, mounts and pets are account-wide now, so once one toon claims it, your others should get it too} and free game time. You can request an SOR from someone on the boards and rez your main account, then send yourself SoRs for your slaves so you get the benefits of both rewards.

https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/scroll-of-resurrection-faq


Shame that the gem shuffle was removed. I used to love that. At the beginning of expansion it was easy gold.

So for SoR, what I could do is ressurect my main account, gift one of my idle level 60 characters to 80, then play a little bit to familiar myself and get 85-90. Then I could rez my other 4 accounts, and boost them all through the content with my main tank once RAF is released?

[zenga]

The shuffle is still around and more flexible than ever. This is my ore purchasing data (http://i.imgur.com/vH4bzzW.jpg) for the last month, mind you I reset my history like 17 days ago iirc. And I do it on 4 toons.

You want a jc (4 if you want to box it)
You want an alchemist
You want an enchanter (4 ideally if you want to box it)

- Prospect ore
- Craft gems from the rare uncuts (there are no epic gems this time around) and sell them
-You will get a lot of green quality uncuts as well (common)
- depending on your server
*you just bulk craft them into gems and vendor the gems
* or you craft rings/necks, either try to sell the rare procs on the AH, and either vendor or disenchant the green rings/necks for enchanting mats
* craft enchanting scrolls and sell those
on my realm its worth it to transmute 3 of the 6 common color gems into rare quality gems, since they have a good proc rate to yield extra
depending on the day I transmute them into primal diamonds, which can result once more into extra procs
then I either sell the primal diamonds on the AH (there is a legendary meta gem after completing a whole questline, and if you have to change that gem for a gear upgrade, you need to turn in 5 primal diamonds, so they are in demand) or I craft meta gems and sell those.

For me on my server, I make anywhere between 30 and 40% profit on the ore that I buy. It takes time of course.

[Ualaa]

No, only in Battlegrounds. Arena and rated battlegrounds still allow follow, I think. they didn't touch /follow outside of BGs.

Follow is gone from all battlegrounds, rated or not.

It is in game for Arena, world stuff (including world pvp) and everything PvE.



LFR = Looking For Raid, is good for PvE stuff.
Easy raids to join, cross server I believe.
Pick up raids, at any rate... easier to do, and great gearing here.

Dungeon Finder = Allows you to 'port' to any dungeon from anywhere.
And return to your 'anywhere', once the dungeon is finished (well actually when you click on the icon, and choose to leave).
You need a Tank spec capable toon, and a different toon who is a Healer capable spec.
You don't actually have to spec those roles.
If your team is 5x DPS, and none of them can spec Tank, you can still run to a dungeon to use it.

Not sure if LFR and LFD were in the game two years ago.