5 man multibox team team vs 2 separate smaller teams

[Mmrwowboxer]

I know this may be a stupid question, but I never really played vanilla so I have no idea about anything.

Will it be more efficient leveling 2 separate teams of 2 or 3, then to level a single team of 5 at once? It probably isn't, but how much more tedious do you think this plan would be?

An example would be to level say a Paladin and Warrior to level 20, maybe 30, and then level 3 mages to level 20-30, only to join them up later to make a 5 man dungeon team.

My personal reasoning would be that I find it easier and more fun running small teams of 2 or 3, so I can quest easily and not worry about lugging a whole team around in the lower levels, and then 5 box when the content gets harder.

We are starting from scratch, so I will have to set up add ons, keybinds, macros etc. The early level zones population is probably gonna be insane, so gather quests would be much easier this way too.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Will it be more efficient leveling 2 separate teams of 2 or 3, then to level a single team of 5 at once? It probably isn't, but how much more tedious do you think this plan would be?
I don't see how doing two separate teams would make anything go faster over the long run. Your kill rate w/5 will be faster and you have less risk of deaths due to higher-level stuff or tripping on adds, so you are quicker on the move through mobs, instances, etc. The only slowdown would be those gathering quests, which (if you're leveling through quests) will be the same speed as you are gated by things like number of people gathering/killing in the area, number of gathering nodes, whether you have run speed, quest item drop rate, etc.

As an example, I was soloing down in the south barrens for the Lok/Kuz/Nak skull quest and those mobs (by the time I got the quest) were about +4 to +6 to me. If I'd have been a full group, I'd just have mowed through there and finished the quest while it was still red to me. Good xp, loot appropriate or even a little ahead of me, etc.

So, I personally prefer 5 in all cases except perhaps one: when you have a mix of classes that cannot start in the same area or that you would prefer to start in another area for better quest progression.

[Mmrwowboxer]

Doing those gathering quest on launch day with 5 toons is gonna be a nightmare... I dunno I'm just hyped for the release and I'm running scenario's through my head. Like I said I personally find it more fun to run a small team of 2, 3 tops but multiboxing is like Jello, there is always room for more.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

Doing those gathering quest on launch day with 5 toons is gonna be a nightmare...
By way of example, I remember a thing that used to happen when I was leveling as a 5-boxer back then. Something like this:

Run out to quest mob area or gathering node area (e.g. mushrooms in barrens).
Start blowing stuff up in job lots.
Soloer(s) come in to kill/gather.
I kill my way through a pack or clear out a node and start looting.
Soloer(s) get annoyed and try to kill faster.
Soloer(s) get ganked by two+ mobs.
Two mobs run back to pathing spot and reset.
I kill those two mobs, loot their quest drops, and continue.
Soloer(s) corpse-run back and /rude @me.
Soloer(s) grab aggro and try to train extra mobs onto me while I'm killing.
/me /whispers @soloer(s) "Thanks for the extra loot!"
Soloer(s) grab even more aggro to try to train onto you but die before they get to you.
Soloer(s) /whisper lots of angry insults because they died and you didn't and corpse runs are long in vanilla. /theymadbro

Sure, the starter and early areas will be pretty packed early on but I would hope Blizzard is getting that feedback in the stress tests and will take steps to attenuate that a bit through increased respawn rates, etc.

[nodoze]

Doing those gathering quest on launch day with 5 toons is gonna be a nightmare... I dunno I'm just hyped for the release and I'm running scenario's through my head. Like I said I personally find it more fun to run a small team of 2, 3 tops but multiboxing is like Jello, there is always room for more.You may find this post from another thread helpful with your concerns:
Well half the work is done for you already! A guy on the wowclassic subreddit has a fedex/exploration route that gets you to level 10. His profile is (u/awesometographer) Would probably be faster for those gnomes then questing them together. I will be leveling them separately and meeting them up in Mulgore at around level 8 so my kill questing path is starting there. Then around 12 or 13 pushing RFC. I am doing only a single collection quest for a decent ring. Hopefully wed can determine if it slows me down to much. I would recommend looking for odd items (rings or weapons) from quests that outshine others to get before doing dungeons should help with speed. Also if you want to try aoe farming look at wowclassicaoe . com better then guides because you make the choice on what is a really good spot or not.Based on Christaphonz's recommendation I looked into u/awesometographer's posts in reddit and while I found the sporadic posts in various threads confusing at best I do think there may be a method to his madness...

After doing some hunting/digging I found these URLs that seem to have key aspects of his work/recommendations:

Key Spreadsheet for 'FedEx' leveling: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1w_n2be6WJYnGxQUioBGd7JGYY7FtlU0ThwGcO8Mh69M/edit?usp=sharing

A questing planning site he recommends: https://www.vanilla-questing.me/

A JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) that he recommends plugging into the questing site: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O1mLSM1jQw0jJxmS3Bm5jzpuDeltXg4T/view

I did all that and it looks really nice for at least my 5box party to hopefully avoid the congestion. Unfortunately for other races the JSON is optimized for Humans but once loaded it could be a start for others. The data in the JSON came from the spreadsheet and the essential info is there for most other races...

[Moorea]

A questing planning site he recommends: https://www.vanilla-questing.me/

A JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) that he recommends plugging into the questing site: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O1mLSM1jQw0jJxmS3Bm5jzpuDeltXg4T/view

I did all that and it looks really nice for at least my 5box party to hopefully avoid the congestion. Unfortunately for other races the JSON is optimized for Humans but once loaded it could be a start for others. The data in the JSON came from the spreadsheet and the essential info is there for most other races...

wow this is a nice site ! (https://www.vanilla-questing.me/) and that json has indeed what I was considering doing (got some training doing the Pacifist wow challenge) - thanks for gathering this !

[Lewsifur]

Id say run the five, perhaps some bottlenecks but you can move bag stuff around and keep your gear together as a group. Also as a five, just mow through mobs for cloth etc and come back later for quest bottlenecks.

[nodoze]

Id say run the five, perhaps some bottlenecks but you can move bag stuff around and keep your gear together as a group. Also as a five, just mow through mobs for cloth etc and come back later for quest bottlenecks.I agree and if Alliance I would use the FedEx spreadsheet to break away from the pack and avoid the bottlenecks (let us know if someone makes/finds a Horde FedEx equivalent):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1w_n2be6WJYnGxQUioBGd7JGYY7FtlU0ThwGcO8Mh69M/edit?usp=sharing

There is a JSON for humans that is essentially the same info as the human tab on the spreadsheet but Gnomes/Dwarves and Elves currently don't have their own JSON (they do have their own spreadsheet tabs with similar info though)...

The trick will be if you are running multiple races. I am thinking of switching from 5 Humans to 4 Humans and 1 Night Elf so I will need to figure out the best way to meet them up. If I followed the JSON route correctly with the 4 Humans I end up in the Night Elf area for Exploration XP so worst case the Elf could join the group then. If I follow the JSON from there and let the Humans Hearth per the guide then I will need to let the Humans sit in the Inn while I figure out how to get the Elf to their Hearth spot. Once the 5 are rejoined I can give the Elf the same Hearth and then they will all be in sync.

TLDR: The 5box team is likely more efficient BUT if you run with 2+ Races you may need to run separate until you get the full band together and then get their Hearth Stones recall locations in sync.

[Baltyre]

As night elf, you could take a look at this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpJK-4fLFE&t=14s
It takes 40min for a night elf to get level 4 and be at the human starting zone.

[nodoze]

As night elf, you could take a look at this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpJK-4fLFE&t=14s
It takes 40min for a night elf to get level 4 and be at the human starting zone.Thanks I will study that as well.

So far my plan has been to just do the 4 Humans FedEx style and then pickup the Elf as the FedEx route heads pretty quickly from the human starting zone to the Elf zone (and I could streamline it further to get there faster to minimize the XP gap). From there the Humans are supposed to finish the elf stuff in Darkshore and Hearth back near Ironforge. At that point I planned on the Elf taking the DarkShore boat to Menethil Harbor and use the following shortcut to get to the graveyard near Ironforge which is close to the Human's hearth point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVjjLozBC2g

This shortcut is essentially the reverse of the one the humans should be talking to get to the elf area:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5sjX0tdHHY

From there I was thinking I would go retrace the human fedex via tram from Ironforge to stormwind and do any quick quests I could for the elf and then hearth back to the humans and they should be pretty much in sync XP and hearth locationwise. Then the party of 5 would continue on the Human Fedex plan... That is the best I have come up with so far.

Edit: I watched the video in 2x speed and it is pretty much the reverse of the human route so that is a great find and very appreciated. I am not sure which I will start first. My understanding is that the human starting area is the most congested so I am thinking maybe I should still start with them and then pickup/meet up with the Elf but I will think further on that.

Thanks again !


(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5sjX0tdHHY)

[Mmrwowboxer]

I guess a full 5 man team of 3 mages, warrior and pally of all human would be what I'm going with. I can practice the human starter zone on the stress test, so I can wrap up the quests there. On launch I'm going to complete Northshire, grind a few murlocs after, and then enter deadmines when I'm about 15 or so. Hopefully I don't have to quest in Westfall for too long, as I feel it would really bog me down.

[MiRai]

On launch I'm going to complete Northshire, grind a few murlocs after, and then enter deadmines when I'm about 15 or so.
Going from grinding murlocs in Elwynn, at level 5, to Deadmines at 15 is quite a jump. ;)


Hopefully I don't have to quest in Westfall for too long, as I feel it would really bog me down.
There are additional murlocs along the coast of Westfall, and an almost endless supply of gnolls to grind, as well.

[Christaphonz]

Thanks for referencing my prior post Nodoze. I have read all of u/awesometographer posts so his reasoning for why Fedex doesn't really work for horde is the huge lack of fedex (I tend to agree with his notion). The alliance side has a few in Stormwind that the horde doesn't have and that helps him achieve levels to acquire more quests purely on Exploration and Fedex that have a level cap he isn't at yet. Horde basically need to do some kill quests to level out of that slump.

My plan (which I intend to test more tonight) I have been tagging mobs out of starting zones and killing them. (if you turn hard left out of the crypts couple bats hiding way up in the hills no one usually sees them) Getting Fedex quest to Brill then to undercity. I head to durator get Orc Fedex, from starting zone, back to orgimmar then get org flight path. Run across bridge die in barrens get Crossroads flight path run into mulgore do tauren starting zone at level 3ish and skip (i think quilbores?) kill quest then get to blood hoof village at 4-5 with all 5 characters and kill quest out of zone round 8-9. Mulgore starting zone has the most Fedex with a water well run and easy fast spawning loot quest. (acorn and rocks I believe) Should be fastest for me to leave 1-10 zones to farm in Barrens with some nice flight paths.

I hope my ramblings are understood. I have the same problem most have. My Tauren will be level 1 when he meets my Undead so not sure how to fix that issue besides ignoring it...

[nodoze]

Thanks for referencing my prior post Nodoze. ...
I hope my ramblings are understood. I have the same problem most have. My Tauren will be level 1 when he meets my Undead so not sure how to fix that issue besides ignoring it...No problem as I like giving credit where it is due. I think my Night Elf level will actually work out to be roughly even if, after my NE has the same hearth point as the humans (and closed flight path to hearth location) if I then quickly retrace the humans quests to that point on the NE and hearth back (or fly back if it is more efficient to hearth a few times at other stops while retracing the early human fedex points. Let me know if that doesn't make sense and I can try show it pictorially.
I guess a full 5 man team of 3 mages, warrior and pally of all human would be what I'm going with. I can practice the human starter zone on the stress test, so I can wrap up the quests there. On launch I'm going to complete Northshire, grind a few murlocs after, and then enter deadmines when I'm about 15 or so. Hopefully I don't have to quest in Westfall for too long, as I feel it would really bog me down.I think Gnomes are considered the best Alliance mages "due to Expansive Mind (directly increases your mana pool and chance to critically hit), & Escape Artist [which] provides a quite useful PvP tool as almost every class has a way to slow/ensnare you. Arcane Resistance its just a minor benefit, and Engineering Specialization gives gnome characters a leg up on what is considered the best utility (and fun) profession in the game. There is another factor to consider on gnomes: size. While mounted you're as easily spotted as anyone else, however while on the ground it is much easier to hide using the environment than any other race, bushes that may barely reach the chest of a human or night elf will completely cover you including your name over your head, and although you can still be targeted by other means other than directly clicking on you, that doesn't mean the enemy will be facing the right direction to attack you, this fact however it's just icing on the cake."

I know it is somewhat a pain to have the party start in separate zones but after mapping out getting my Elf into my otherwise all Human group I found it wasn't as bad as I thought and gnomes/dwarves are much easier to join up with Humans (compared to Elves) due to the tram connecting them...

Anyway it is obviously up to you and you may have already known all that but I figured it would be best to make sure you were aware of the pros/cons and mitigation of the initial pain...

If you have doubts around joining them up I can try to show you what I mean pictorially...

[nodoze]

... I have the same problem most have. My Tauren will be level 1 when he meets my Undead so not sure how to fix that issue besides ignoring it...I ran my humans to the Elf main city per the guide (lots of loops and quick quests on the way) and then had my elf join and work her way back with the team's Hearth point. The problem is/was that then the Elf was way behind XPwise so I then had to do all the quests the humans had already done to catch up...

I then did another Night Elf and avoided all quests that I could and went as fast as I could directly the human starting zone and essentially started with the Humans from the beginning (just had the humans waiting)... Doing it that way the Elf was only level 2 and the Humans were level 1 so they are real close level wise. Now if I follow the FedEx route with the full party the Humans should catch up when I get to the Elven area and they make the same Discoveries that the Elf already made... This seems the simplest approach for me with the smallest amount of repetition and waste so likely what I will do when things go live.

[Compton]

Very high quality post, and exactly what I was looking for to get a NE into my group. Thank you!

[nodoze]

Very high quality post, and exactly what I was looking for to get a NE into my group. Thank you!Great and I am glad the posts are helping others! Thanks to Christaphonz making us aware of the FedEx info. Now any Alliance group with Humans in it has a really well documented path to follow to avoid the chaos. After testing multiple options for any race joining a Human group the simplest option will be for that(those) race(s) to first go straight to the Human starting area (avoiding all quests if possible on the way if you care about the non-humans being higher level for awhile). Night Elves are pretty easy with that shortcut and both Gnomes and Dwarves are trivial due to the Tram between IronForge and StormWind. Doing it that way minimizes any level differences, prevents any repetition, and keeps their Hearth Stones from ever getting out of sync...

[Moorea]

As night elf, you could take a look at this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpJK-4fLFE&t=14s
It takes 40min for a night elf to get level 4 and be at the human starting zone.

Nice, thanks ! the interesting part/part I didn't know is after you take the boat from darkshore to menethil:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpJK-4fLFE&feature=youtu.be&t=412

[Compton]

Great and I am glad the posts are helping others! Thanks to Christaphonz making us aware of the FedEx info. Now any Alliance group with Humans in it has a really well documented path to follow to avoid the chaos. After testing multiple options for any race joining a Human group the simplest option will be for that(those) race(s) to first go straight to the Human starting area (avoiding all quests if possible on the way if you care about the non-humans being higher level for awhile). Night Elves are pretty easy with that shortcut and both Gnomes and Dwarves are trivial due to the Tram between IronForge and StormWind. Doing it that way minimizes any level differences, prevents any repetition, and keeps their Hearth Stones from ever getting out of sync...

Trying this run out again on the stress test today, and getting hammered by coastal frenzies (fish) on the Darkshore swim. Either I'm doing it incorrectly this time, or they added these mobs to stop this approach. Thoughts welcome.

[Compton]

Trying this run out again on the stress test today, and getting hammered by coastal frenzies (fish) on the Darkshore swim. Either I'm doing it incorrectly this time, or they added these mobs to stop this approach. Thoughts welcome.

Well, ignore what I said. In the mad rush, I forgot to actually boat to Menethil before attempting the swim. I just did it the right way and it works fine. You rez in Kharanos using this method. If anyone ever wants to take a swim down the western side of Darkshore for no reason at all, I highly recommend against it. Sorry for the false alarm.