Dual boxing questions

Hi,

I am looking to get back into boxing and am thinking of doing a dual-box. (Shadow) priest/warlock maybe.
If you have other suggestions please let me know. I would prefer two different classes for some variety. Although hunter/hunter seems interesting. I don't want an overly complex setup. Mashing a few buttons would satisfy my needs. :)

1. Is there much benefit over having one extremely well played toon versus having two toons which are not as well played? I would like to dual box or maybe tri-box but because of time and financial costs don't want to explore four or five boxing. If I can play almost as well with one guy instead of two then I may just stick with that.

2. I don't care about PvE dungeons. I will do some "solo" PvE like daily quests, grinding mobs, etc but don't care about the LFD tool. I would like to do battlegrounds and suffer through 10 arena wins a week. I would like to stick with double dps or healer/dps.

3. What is the best way to deal with deaths in battlegrounds? You continue fighting on your main toon? Go back to rescue your lost friend?

I did box before. 3 shamans. Only got to around level 20 though. I found PvP battlegrounds to be somewhat annoying as one toon would die and it was a pain to get everything flowing again. So I hope maybe two toons will give me some variety but still be manageable. Plus I wouldn't take up 25-30% of the battleground team.

Mercurio's two-step macros (software agnostic) and/or Mosg2's pseudo-priority system (if you use IS Boxer) will get your DPS efficiency close to that achieved by a solo boxer.
Either approach is effectively one-button spam, but you may need to tweak your spam speed or the macro.

Just about anything will work in Battlegrounds.
Two of the same will complement each other better.
And you can micromanage your spells a little more strongly, by going more manual control and clicking something at the appropriate time rather than at every cooldown.
Toons with dual-spec Healer/Off-Spec can be fun and a change of pace in BG's/TB/World_PvP, but generally the same class is easier for healing.

For Arena...
This will be a lot more challenging, but with the 4.1 changes you're much more likely to match up against an equally competent team.
I would probably go double DPS, either win or lose a lot faster... and play the next game.



Rezzing classes are strong for when one dies in BG's.
If you're split, you can run towards the graveyard or have them run towards you.

Fear and dying/split are the banes of boxing in PvP.
But its not the end of the world, especially with Click to Move + Interact With Target.

If your goal is PvP...
I know you said you're not looking at four accounts, but four accounts has been very successful at PvP.
If you were interested in both PvP and PvE, I'd say go five if at all possible.

Let's say I'm boxing 3 characters in a bg. One dies and rezzes at the GY. Are you saying I could use my IWT button to get that toon to run back to the general area of the other 2? Without me having to manage it? That really is my biggest issue since I like to bg.

I would like a class that I can hit a few buttons and quickly down another class including healer. Maybe 3 hunters would be best for this. I understand your point about running 4 toons but to me that is a weird number because I either have to find someone for arena and do 5's or run 2 2v2's or 3v3 and 2v2 or whatever, just doesn't fit nicely. Arena like I said isn't my main focus. I just want to have some fun with solo questing and battlegrounds.

Edit: Is it a good idea to not have any healing capabilities? Seems in battlegrounds you can easy be whittled down to nothing. Although Aimed shot + multishot + arcane shot x 3 seems amusing.

If one dies, but the other two do not.
You'd want to rez the dead toon.
So toons who can rez, are a major asset to any BG composition.
Even pvp jumper cables or a self rez via Ankh or Soulstone can work.

Let's say you have no rezzers.
Or the opposition looted their Insignia, so they cannot be rez'd.

Your options are to run the survivors to the graveyard where the dead will be spawning.
Or to run from the graveyard to where the survivors are.
Or run them both, and meet in the middle somewhere.
In a BG like AV, you can have them equip their Insignia's and hearth to Dun_Baldar/Frostwolf_Keep.

If my rezzer is dead...
I will frequently not release until all my toons are dead, if at all possible.
You're not often reported AFK, when you don't release.
But you are very frequently reported AFK when you release and stand around in the graveyard still fighting with the survivor elsewhere...
I will generally suicide the survivors if possible... run deep into the enemy line and try to take out a healer or two.
If possible, they all die and rez in the same place.




The IWT/CTM can be used if you're fighting on the flag of a graveyard.
And release your toons when they die.
IWT will occasionally bring them back into the fight once they rez... most often you'll need to be fighting near the flag but not on it, and definitely towards the rez/spawn point rather than further out, for this to work.

The IWT/CTM is more in response to a Fear Bomb.
Your toons are spread out.
You IWT someone in a central position, and your toons run towards them to melee them.
Which brings them all together again.
IWT has roughly 3x the range as /Follow.




Four is popular for PvP because...

It is not five, so at worst you are controlling four of the ten players, which still allows for team flexibility.
This is especially important in the smaller battlegrounds.

Four toons is still enough to essentially blow up solo players in a GCD or two.
Fast enough that they cannot react, most of the time.

Most of those who have done very well in arena have done so playing four toons.
And finding a dedicated healer who is played by someone else for the fifth slot.
Even looking at a team like 4x DK's + 1x Healer...
If someone else plays the healer, the team almost invariably does far better.




Healers are a mixed option.

If you have a healer class who is actively healing, your team is going to love you.
If your team loses and you're not a healer, you are to blame even if you're not.

But there is a proliferation of addons like "Healer's Have to Die".
Where if you actively heal, you get a big red-cross style mark above your character.
And you are actively hunted, more so than prior to the addons... although healers have always been prime targets in BG's.

Still, healers can make or break a game, much more so then DPS can.
And healer toons have the option to rez your other toons, which is a bonus.

Running something like...
2, 3 or 4x Shaman/Paladin/Druid/Priest...
Gets you a Healing option, for when you want a change of pace.
It gets you (except Pallies) the option for ranged DPS.
It gets you (except Priests) the option for melee DPS.
The Druid/Paladin can go TANK, if you want to run an instance.
Having healers on your team is a bonus for PvE content too.

Questing, you can do whatever you want and rock as a boxer.

Battlegrounds will work with anything.
But rezzing is a huge bonus.
As is fear breaks/immunities like Lichborne, Berserk (Warrior thing) or Tremor Totems.