Newbie questions regarding WoW multiboxing

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04-30-2014, 06:04 AM
Dessor

Newbie questions regarding WoW multiboxing

Hey everyone, I've been lurking these forums for a while now but decided to register. I've always been interested in multiboxing WoW but never really got around to do it.

Anyway, I noticed that there seems to be a 50% discount on WoW(25% on complete edition) and thought this would be a good time to start.

But I have a few questions:

A lot of people here seem to use ISBoxer. I suppose this is a good choice for a beginner?

I'm mainly interested in PvP. I haven't been very active during MoP but I've done some research and /follow was removed in battlegrounds in 5.2. Since multiboxing relies on follow, is it still possible to PvP? I know some people use Ethereal Soul-Trader and/or multiseat mounts but how viable are these? Can you still multibox in battlegrounds and arena 'properly'? I'm not interested in multiboxing PvE and world PvP is lame.

Also, which classes are good for PvP from multiboxing point of view? Some people here say that only melee classes are viable now. Why is that? Ranged classes seem much easier to multibox in PvP to me. But then again, I don't have any experience.

I'd also love to get some advice on team size. Currently I'm thinking of going either 3- or 5-man. 3-man would be good for instances, I could fill all the DPS slots myself but my 'firepower' would suffer a bit(compared to a team of five). 5-man sounds awesome in battlegrounds but I wouldn't be able to do instances. I plan on leveling in battlegrounds mostly if it's possible. Currently I'm leaning towards 5-character team but if multiboxing battlegrounds is difficult/impossible, it'd be a waste of money.

Since I'm a beginner, I'll probably make a team with only one class/spec. For melee class I'd probably go warriors. I bet their movement would be very handy and I love the class. My main is a rogue but multiboxing rogues sounds really difficult. For ranged(DPS or healer) priest or elemental shaman. What do you think about my choices, what would you recommend?

How would you recommend me to RAF my other accounts? Should I refer them all on my main account or should I 'chain refer'?. Also, do I get a month of gametime on my main account when I upgrade my other accounts(since upgrading also gives you one month of gametime)? Should I have all my multiboxing accounts on the same battle-net? Or rather, is there ANY benefit on having them on separate battle-net accounts?

Thank you!

P.S I apologize for my bad English.
05-01-2014, 12:53 AM
Khatovar

Well, you have a ton of pretty non-specific/involved questions, so I'm not totally surprised there's no answers yet. I guess I'll try and answer what I can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

A lot of people here seem to use ISBoxer. I suppose this is a good choice for a beginner?

ISBoxer is as easy or complicated as you make it. You should be pretty much good to go just running the Wizard. Once you have the hang of things, you can look at some of the more advanced features, but the wizard is fine for most newb usage.

Quote:

I'm mainly interested in PvP. I haven't been very active during MoP but I've done some research and /follow was removed in battlegrounds in 5.2. Since multiboxing relies on follow, is it still possible to PvP? I know some people use Ethereal Soul-Trader and/or multiseat mounts but how viable are these? Can you still multibox in battlegrounds and arena 'properly'? I'm not interested in multiboxing PvE and world PvP is lame.

I can't speak from experience on PVP since I'm strickly PvE, but you can still multibox BGs and I believe arena using the multi-person mounts. I'm not sure on the Soul Trader or other interactive pets.

Quote:

Also, which classes are good for PvP from multiboxing point of view? Some people here say that only melee classes are viable now. Why is that? Ranged classes seem much easier to multibox in PvP to me. But then again, I don't have any experience.

"Good" is a subjective term. Some people love melee, some love ranged. Some people love to use both. No one is going to be able to tell you what you will do well with. Especially since you only have limited experience with the latest expansion and no experience with multiboxing. Review the threads in the PvP forum and the Group Composition forum. Decide what sounds fun to you and give it a try, you can always make changes later once you have a feel for what you do and do not personally enjoy.

Quote:

I'd also love to get some advice on team size. Currently I'm thinking of going either 3- or 5-man. 3-man would be good for instances, I could fill all the DPS slots myself but my 'firepower' would suffer a bit(compared to a team of five). 5-man sounds awesome in battlegrounds but I wouldn't be able to do instances. I plan on leveling in battlegrounds mostly if it's possible. Currently I'm leaning towards 5-character team but if multiboxing battlegrounds is difficult/impossible, it'd be a waste of money.

Why wouldn't you be able to do instances with 5? I do it all the time, as do many other multiboxers. I'd think you'd have more of a hassle with 5 in PvP as you are far more noticeable and, especially as a newbie, detrimental in small-scale BGs. Plus with no /follow, it means more toons to watch to make sure they aren't trapped or otherwise useless to the team.

My personal opinion, given you haven't played this expansion or done any multiboxing, is start with 3. You can PuG extras for dungeons if you need to, you can do scenarios in MoP and it's less to worry about as you're learning. You can add more later if you want to.

Quote:

Since I'm a beginner, I'll probably make a team with only one class/spec. For melee class I'd probably go warriors. I bet their movement would be very handy and I love the class. My main is a rogue but multiboxing rogues sounds really difficult. For ranged(DPS or healer) priest or elemental shaman. What do you think about my choices, what would you recommend?

Last I checked, Enhancement Shamans, Ret Pallies and DKs were all more popular in PvP than Warriors for multiboxing. Pallies and Shamans also give you the ability to change specs for healing/tanking {pallies} and healing/ranged {shaman} so you can mix up the team composition depending on what you want to do at any given time while still being a single-class team. Ditto with druids.

Rogues can be done, there's been a few people who managed rogues {and feral druids} despite the combo point management by mapping out a standard rotation to use. I really can't speak to their effectiveness in any way, though. I haven't touched a rogue since BC and the only reason I had one was for opening boxes.

For the ranged, I don't really know about multiple priests. I know they are popular in PvE, but I think people tend to prefer Hunters, Warlocks or Mages in multiples for PvP.

But like I said, read the forums, play what you like then come back with more specific questions once you get a feel for it. You may find a lot of things would be useful that you haven't considered like rezzing {in and out of combat}, unmounted movement, CC, anti-cc, mitigation, etc.

Quote:

How would you recommend me to RAF my other accounts? Should I refer them all on my main account or should I 'chain refer'?. Also, do I get a month of gametime on my main account when I upgrade my other accounts(since upgrading also gives you one month of gametime)? Should I have all my multiboxing accounts on the same battle-net? Or rather, is there ANY benefit on having them on separate battle-net accounts?

http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/4...ling-RAF-Setup
https://us.battle.net/support/en/art...ruiter-rewards
http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/4...ounts-Worth-It
05-01-2014, 03:37 AM
Dessor

Thanks for the reply!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khatovar

I can't speak from experience on PVP since I'm strickly PvE, but you can still multibox BGs and I believe arena using the multi-person mounts. I'm not sure on the Soul Trader or other interactive pets.

Doesn't this only work with teams with 3 characters since the mounts can only hold 3 people total?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khatovar

My personal opinion, given you haven't played this expansion or done any multiboxing, is start with 3. You can PuG extras for dungeons if you need to, you can do scenarios in MoP and it's less to worry about as you're learning. You can add more later if you want to.

Thanks, I'll start with 3 or 4.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khatovar

Why wouldn't you be able to do instances with 5? I do it all the time, as do many other multiboxers. I'd think you'd have more of a hassle with 5 in PvP as you are far more noticeable and, especially as a newbie, detrimental in small-scale BGs. Plus with no /follow, it means more toons to watch to make sure they aren't trapped or otherwise useless to the team.

I should've been more specific here. I'll start with a single class team and will not play druid/paladin/monk(monk sounds incredibly difficult to multibox) so I won't be able to fill all roles.
05-01-2014, 05:05 AM
Khatovar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

Doesn't this only work with teams with 3 characters since the mounts can only hold 3 people total?

From my understanding, you're not meant to let the slaves mount the multiperson mount, they're meant to chase it.

http://www.dual-boxing.com/threads/5...-isboxer-setup
05-07-2014, 01:03 PM
Dessor

I've been leveling my warriors a bit, they're level 85 now. I have some problems, though.

Is questing the most efficient way to level when multiboxing? Everything else is so very low xp 85-90. And multibox questing has been slightly slow because gathering quests take too much time and looting is awkward. Are there alternative ways to level your characters? Some people farm those larvae on Timeless Isle but since their respawn rate is fairly slow, I don't think it would work with a team of 4. Do you know if killing other monsters on TI would be good xp?

IWT seems very weird to me. When I'm close to a target but not in melee range, using IWT does nothing. I also can't use it to turn towards targets that are close. Is this normal? Also, sometimes in combat, my characters start running in random directions. Based on what I've read, using IWT might cause this. Are there any ways to prevent it?

Another problem I've had with IWT is that I constantly have to activate/deactivate broadcasting or some of my characters simply won't do anything when I press the IWT button.

How does looting with IWT work? I have auto loot active on all my characters but I still have to manually click to loot the quests items, otherwise only the leader gets loot. Spamming IWT doesn't work either.

I use round robin on some abilities(mass spell reflect, indimidating shout) but it doesn't seem to work very well. The abilities don't seem activate very often, even though I press the mapped key and I have the abilities bound to same keys on all of my characters. As if my keyboard was broken(it isn't). I was thinking the setting "Activate when the Hotkey is -"(in mapped key wizard) could cause this. Is there a recommended setting?

Is there a way to activate mouse broadcast for certain abilities? This would be really good for abilities that require clicking on the ground(heroic leap, black ox statue, mass dispel etc). Using heroic leap is really awkward when you have to use the ability, activate mouse broadcast and then click on the ground.

By the way, I've done some battlegrounds and using Traveler's Tundra Mammoth and it works surprisingly well - I can keep my group together fairly well with charge and the mount.
05-07-2014, 01:16 PM
MiRai

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

I've been leveling my warriors a bit, they're level 85 now. I have some problems, though.

Is questing the most efficient way to level when multiboxing? Everything else is so very low xp 85-90. Are there alternative ways to level your characters? Some people farm those larvae on Timeless Isle but since their respawn rate is fairly slow, I don't think it would work with a team of 4. Do you know if killing other monsters on TI would be good xp?

The most efficient way to level is going to be what you can handle doing for long periods of time. Can you endlessly grind enemies without falling asleep at your keyboard or constantly getting distracted by other things because grinding is boring? Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't.

I'd say that doing dungeons is usually the fastest way to level w/o becoming too bored -- Unless, of course, you just cannot stand PvE (which I would kind of find odd in a game that heavily revolves around it :)) However, more often than not, you do need a team that can fill the roles that a dungeon requires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

IWT seems very weird to me. When I'm close to a target but not in melee range, using IWT does nothing. Is this normal? Also, sometimes in combat, my characters start running in random directions. Based on what I've read, using IWT might cause this. Are there any ways to prevent it?

How does looting with IWT work? I have auto loot active on all my characters but I still have to manually click to loot the quests items, otherwise only the leader gets loot. Spamming IWT doesn't work either.

Did you follow the videos on this page?
http://isboxer.com/wiki/WoW:Interact_with_Target

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

I use round robin on some abilities(mass spell reflect, indimidating shout) but it doesn't seem to work very well. The abilities don't seem activate very often, even though I press the mapped key and I have the abilities bound to same keys on all of my characters. As if my keyboard was broken(it isn't).

You can share your profile and explain what you're pressing and what you're expecting to happen (and what isn't).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

Is there a way to activate mouse broadcast for certain abilities? This would be really good for abilities that require clicking on the ground(heroic leap, black ox statue, mass dispel etc). Using heroic leap is really awkward when you have to use the ability, activate mouse broadcast and then click on the ground.

Yes.
http://isboxer.com/wiki/Mapped_Key_W...ast_Plus_Click
05-07-2014, 01:23 PM
Lax

Quote:

IWT seems very weird to me. When I'm close to a target but not in melee range, using IWT does nothing. Is this normal?

If Click to Move is not enabled, IWT will not move your characters. If you're playing a wand class and are using a wand, then it will also not move your characters.

You didn't specifically mention if you started using ISBoxer or not, but I'm going to assume you are because you mentioned "mapped key" in your post. The IWT Mapped Key turns on CTM for you. If you added IWT directly to your combat buttons (e.g. the 1 button) by using a keystroke to just send the IWT key binding, then CTM is not being automatically turned on by this. Instead, use a Do Mapped Key Action to perform "Interact with Target - Keep CTM" in the Non-combat Key Map. This will enable and leave CTM on for you.

Quote:

Also, sometimes in combat, my characters start running in random directions. Based on what I've read, using IWT might cause this. Are there any ways to prevent it?

No, it is not preventable unless you don't use IWT. This is by design of IWT+CTM -- your character will run straight at where the target is when you hit IWT. If the target moves and your character is unable to interact because of it, then your character will continue moving in that direction until you stop him. Think of it like autorun turning on and then it will automatically turn off when you IWT -- autorun won't turn you, and it wont turn off if there's no IWT. Discussion, videos, etc at http://isboxer.com/wiki/WoW:Interact_with_Target

Quote:

How does looting with IWT work? I have auto loot active on all my characters but I still have to manually click to loot the quests items, otherwise only the leader gets loot. Spamming IWT doesn't work either.

Spamming IWT is how I've always looted quest items

Quote:

I use round robin on some abilities(mass spell reflect, indimidating shout) but it doesn't seem to work very well. The abilities don't seem activate very often, even though I press the mapped key and I have the abilities bound to same keys on all of my characters.

If you used the Mapped Key Wizard to set up new Round-robin Mapped Keys on any of 1 through =, then the key may be double-bound. If you're using the Standard Menu, then you can modify the appropriate button in the Button Set "Standard Assist+Broadcast" by checking the round-robin box on the Keystroke Action (e.g. 1 -> all, as opposed to Assist Me -> self), and drop your round-robin Mapped Key. (Select Standard under Menus in the top left pane, then the button set in the bottom left pane in order to configure the button behavior)

Quote:

Is there a way to activate mouse broadcast for certain abilities? This would be really good for abilities that require clicking on the ground(heroic leap, black ox statue, mass dispel etc). Using heroic leap is really awkward when you have to use the ability, activate mouse broadcast and then click on the ground.

Using the Mapped Key Wizard, select the "Straight Key Broadcast Plus Click" type of Mapped Key. This will send a key and also temporarily enable broadcasting until you click on the ground. Use the Hotkey you activate the spell with, then go into the Key Map you put it in and adjust the new Mapped Key to use a different Hotkey (e.g. include a modifier like Alt or Shift or Ctrl). You don't HAVE to change the Hotkey, but as with above if you are using the Standard Menu and your AOE spell is on one of 1through =, then this will end up double-binding that Hotkey.
05-07-2014, 02:01 PM
Dessor

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lax

If Click to Move is not enabled, IWT will not move your characters. If you're playing a wand class and are using a wand, then it will also not move your characters.

I've tried activating CTM in the game settings but it gets reset almost instantly on all except the leader. Also, my slaves do move and turn towards the target, just not very often.

[

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lax

You didn't specifically mention if you started using ISBoxer or not, but I'm going to assume you are because you mentioned "mapped key" in your post. The IWT Mapped Key turns on CTM for you. If you added IWT directly to your combat buttons (e.g. the 1 button) by using a keystroke to just send the IWT key binding, then CTM is not being automatically turned on by this. Instead, use a Do Mapped Key Action to perform "Interact with Target - Keep CTM" in the Non-combat Key Map. This will enable and leave CTM on for you.

Sorry for not mentioning ISBoxer.

I don't really understand what you meant but during the Quick Setup Wizard, I set IWT to mouse button 5. I haven't changed it after that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lax

Spamming IWT is how I've always looted quest items

Does it matter if the looting is set to FFA, group loot etc.? Spamming IWT doesn't work for me at the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lax

Using the Mapped Key Wizard, select the "Straight Key Broadcast Plus Click" type of Mapped Key. This will send a key and also temporarily enable broadcasting until you click on the ground. Use the Hotkey you activate the spell with, then go into the Key Map you put it in and adjust the new Mapped Key to use a different Hotkey (e.g. include a modifier like Alt or Shift or Ctrl). You don't HAVE to change the Hotkey, but as with above if you are using the Standard Menu and your AOE spell is on one of 1through =, then this will end up double-binding that Hotkey.

Thanks! Is there a way to "sync" the clicks, though? Since your slaves follow you, they won't be in the same place as you and thus their mouse clicks will not hit the same place as the leader's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiRai

The most efficient way to level is going to be what you can handle doing for long periods of time. Can you endlessly grind enemies without falling asleep at your keyboard or constantly getting distracted by other things because grinding is boring? Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't.

I'd say that doing dungeons is usually the fastest way to level w/o becoming too bored -- Unless, of course, you just cannot stand PvE (which I would kind of find odd in a game that heavily revolves around it :)) However, more often than not, you do need a team that can fill the roles that a dungeon requires.

I like dungeons, yes .. UNTIL PANDARIA. Seriously, doing the same two instances over, aaaand over again is not fun. Plus the XP is very, very bad.

By the way, is there a way to not stop targeting after the target dies?
05-07-2014, 08:00 PM
MiRai

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

By the way, is there a way to not stop targeting after the target dies?

I don't understand the question. Are you saying that your slaves won't target anything that's dead? If so, that limitation is not part of the game or ISBoxer -- Both /target and /assist will target dead enemies unless specifically told not to through a conditional.
05-08-2014, 01:09 AM
Khatovar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

I've tried activating CTM in the game settings but it gets reset almost instantly on all except the leader. Also, my slaves do move and turn towards the target, just not very often.

If you're using ISBoxer, that should, I believe, be managed by ISBoxer. You shouldn't have to go in and make the changes within the game. I'd suggest sharing your config file if you're having issues with stuff like this so people can see that you are set up properly.

Quote:

Does it matter if the looting is set to FFA, group loot etc.? Spamming IWT doesn't work for me at the moment.

If you expect slaves to loot, they'll need to be allowed to loot. This means that Loot is FFA or Round Robin. You'll also need to make sure your slaves are assisting before you try and have them IWT so they have a target to loot.

Quote:

Thanks! Is there a way to "sync" the clicks, though? Since your slaves follow you, they won't be in the same place as you and thus their mouse clicks will not hit the same place as the leader's.

No, anything that would automatically adjust the clicks to reflect only where the master clicks would fall under automation and require a program to read the client. Neither of those are allowed. The best you can do is set up a SetView macro and be happy with "close." Once you know how to work within the limitations, close enough is usually fine for any ground target abilities.

Quote:

IWT seems very weird to me. When I'm close to a target but not in melee range, using IWT does nothing. I also can't use it to turn towards targets that are close. Is this normal?

This can be due to a couple of things.

1. You have disabled click to move.
2. Your slaves have not assisted and thus don't have a target to interact with
3. There's no room to IWT. This sometimes happens with large mobs that block your character's view, but is usually due to other environmental obstacles {awnings, trees, boxes in the way}. Try moving the toon in question - I usually do this by sending the follow command or my move all keys {strafe or back} just to try and nudge everyone into a better position.

Quote:

Also, sometimes in combat, my characters start running in random directions. Based on what I've read, using IWT might cause this. Are there any ways to prevent it?

Don't spam IWT. I know everyone loves to set ISBoxer to handle it so it goes with every keypress so they don't have to do it manually, but the more you send it, the more chances it has to cause runaways. It's great for PvP so you aren't a sitting duck, but not so much for PvE. I've run off more than enough ledges and into more than enough unengaged groups mid-combat to attest to that.

If you can't set ISBoxer to limit the amount of IWTs its sending, then keep your follow key or "everyone step back" key handy to call back the runaways.

Also, reduce the distance your slaves need to travel. The further they need to run, especially while trying to spam abilities, the more likely they are to miss the target and keep running. I leave my slaves passive {on follow, not attacking at all} while I pull a mob. Once I have the mob attacking the tank, THEN I send IWT so my slaves only need to move a few steps to engage because the mob is right in front of them.
05-08-2014, 11:07 AM
Dessor

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khatovar

If you expect slaves to loot, they'll need to be allowed to loot. This means that Loot is FFA or Round Robin. You'll also need to make sure your slaves are assisting before you try and have them IWT so they have a target to loot.

Okay, thanks. Some quests don't just seem to have shared loot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khatovar

1. You have disabled click to move.
2. Your slaves have not assisted and thus don't have a target to interact with
3. There's no room to IWT. This sometimes happens with large mobs that block your character's view, but is usually due to other environmental obstacles {awnings, trees, boxes in the way}. Try moving the toon in question - I usually do this by sending the follow command or my move all keys {strafe or back} just to try and nudge everyone into a better position.

I have IWT set to mouse button 5 in ISBoxer. I do forget to assist sometimes, though. Would it work if I bind both assist and IWT to the same key?
05-08-2014, 11:58 PM
Khatovar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dessor

Okay, thanks. Some quests don't just seem to have shared loot.

Yes, shared loot for quest items is fairly new and I'm sure there's still quests that didn't get the memo this time around.

Quote:

I have IWT set to mouse button 5 in ISBoxer. I do forget to assist sometimes, though. Would it work if I bind both assist and IWT to the same key?

It would, but I'd still suggest having an additional, separate assist key because sometimes you will want them to assist but not interact. There's quests where you need to use an item on a mob while it's at a certain health level, before engaging or on its corpse. If your slaves automatically interact, they could end up ruining your chance to get a quest update.