pseudo-psycho-socio-anthropomorphical philosophy on "dual" boxing

[mike6934]

I have been reading the forums of "dual" boxing for a while now and have even leveled my pally, priest, loc and mage up to lvl 60 (granted they were all 53+, so no big deal there, I just leveled them over the 3 day labor day weekend).

At this point, I am in a quandry as to wether "dual" boxing is not worth it as opposed to "multi" boxing.

Currently, I use a level 70 feral druid to "Power Level" my alt (singular). I have 2 accounts.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that as of the posting of this message, the 3.02 patch is out. Why is that significant? I am glad you asked. The druid has had some massive changes which help gain threat and maintain aggro, swipe being a nice change as it hits ALL targets in an approximate 180 degrees in front of you, and demoralizing roar has threat (probably alwasy did, just didnt know it myself). This basically means I can do a non-stop flight from the beginning of the SM armory all the way to Herod, and then rape, pillage plunder the entire instance. This makes looting much easier as it's all in one room, assuming of course I choose to waste time looting.

So, here I am, I have my bartender setup with my macros on them, keyclone passing/not passing key strokes, Jamba doing some nice stuff and my two monitors connected to my one computer.

Whats that you ask? why am I only using one computer...Well, because some of you had whine with your cheese when I posted that I was using 2 computers. I see no difference.....if you dont count the overheating problem I now have on my video card O_o, but I'm the noob here so I give my Zeik Hail and march on.

I assume (and this is a big assumption with very little verification), that to get to level 10 or maybe even 20 takes less than a few hours or so. Unless you count the time going to fights. then maybe slightly more. Of course dragging your level 10 to westfall, you know the spot, the little shack with the windmill on the coast...The one with all the defias that insta spawn when you kill them (always 3 up, no matter what). If I remember correctly, 50 xp per alt per kill.

So basically, I run into stockades (min lvl 15 on your alt to get in), park the alt at the entrance, run into each room in bear form, going into all three corridors (including boss rooms), run back to the main corridor and then kill. 15-23 mins, maybe. X 5 for instance reset and you are good. again...to loot or not to loot that is the question. Wether tis' nobler in the mind to waste time getting loot, and selling crap and DE'ing crap and auctioning crap...or take up arms against a sea of mobs and KICK THEIR ASSES NON-STOP.

Then you may wander over to deadmines and charge through the Van Cleef. again...time dragging the alt around....only if you had a mage on another account you could port them to other areas with like instances (BFD)...hhmmmm...

Hopefully you can be lvl 25 (minimum level for getting into SM), run through all 4 sections...again...run the feral teddy bear down the entire length of the instance (demoralizing shout all the way and a few swipes (nice to be able to hit on the run)), and bingo insta dead mobs.

Your probably dead on your ass now, so you go to sleep, get up, go to your dead end job (unless you still live with mom, and no, I don't). then come home and you may have to rinse and repeat, only this time the reset is SM. By this time...(drum roll)...you are ready (at minimum lvl 35) for the ZF runs...these take more time as you cant haul ass through sheriff beauford T. Justice's ZF you have to take it in sections...boss to boss. you can waste time opening the graves if you want, but I have learned that for some strange reason the guy who Didn't open the grave is the guy who gets aggro....go figure.

Pausing to Note: "Leets" give more xp than normals...you know this, but killing 50 leet 30 somethings in 15 mins or less is IMNSHO (in my not so humble opinon) way more than killing time on equivalent xp normals...beuhler? beuhler?...anyone? anyone?

So where was I, oh yeah..ZF...so bandit 1 and, uh, bandit 2 run the reset through ZF a few days (maybe 4 days if you want bosses, 3 days for one hour to run again with no bosses, just mobs...xp is xp). Then comes (drum roll)....ST (min lvl 45 to get in)..sleep damn it!! Sleep!!!

You clear half the circle in one run, the other half the next run...then you hit and run the circle again on the bosses...and the illegral immigrant, suitcase stealing, airport worker jamaican announces (yes I had my suitcase with my cell phone, computer, usb drive all stolen by a &**$#^ who called the domincan republic on my cell phone....but I digress)...he announces "The shield be down....you hop over the edge and rape the dragons, one wing (several dragon wings, but one corridor wing) at a time....go kill jamal (another illegal immigrant) , kill the green, vomit spewing dragons and then kill erakinus (or whatever). You can go to the bottom and kill the boss in the water, but ehhh..your tired and tomorrow is another day, and besides people are starting to making side conversations about your not taking care of personal hygiene..so you give your self oh, say about 20 mins to SH, SH and SH...........................you figure it out.

So now you have done ST enough that you have personal pet names for each and every dragon whelpling. you made 50 and now its time for (xylophone roll please)..STRATH AND SCHOLO. Now the fun starts..this is where your PMP (Project Management Professional) certification really pays off. You have to decide if you now want your alt to start actively passively participating..

What? You mean he's been doing nothing the whole time?? What a lazy bastard...well, not quite true....he has been buffing us (if he's capable), and when/if we did loot, he has been buying only the highest quality +stam gear available. stam, stam, stam, stam enchant, stamzini, stamoroni, staminzsky and all the other stam he can buy/steal...( I guess I should mention that since I am in a guild..I still raid 3 nights a week, hence the gold to pay for repairs, reagents, skills, gear). why stam you ask? another wonderful question..* hands you a double stuffed oreo*...becauuuuuuuuuuuuse...he is on follow and I want him to be able to take some hits from AoE effects...I may even pour some trolls blood down his throat or pop on some + HP5 gear and maybe even throw him a sympathy heal every now and again. If "it" starts hitting the fan, slide the mouse over and move his butt.... (jamba auto follow after combat)

patch 3.02 note: Druids not only have a combat rezz, they now can rezz like priests and pallys out of combat....'ain't it cool" - John Travolta...oh, and since I don't have threat reduction from casting heals, guess what..more aggro for me...whoopity doo (meaning less for my alt)..

Ok..so now I'm 50 something (thank god I'm still 8+ years away from that in RL)...I can work on my AD rep (scourgestones FTW), or do WPL/EPL/WS/Silithus quests...again..time moving the toon (oh..hopefully you've been getting FPs during all this....no....sucks to be you).

So at 58 I pimp daddy roll into HH and thus begin the true consumation of my relationship between my druid and my alt...Do you, druid, promise not to take on more mobs than you can manage and to keep in mind the logisics of the quests for your alt..I Do...And do you, alt, promise to not break follow for completely unknown reasons and to use your skills/talents to help the druid...I Do...I now pronounce you dual boxed...you may now level your alt by questing...cause there's no damn way you can "dual" box an instance.

The above expoundment gives you the idea of what I have been faced with, and I put it "tongue-in-cheek" to make it fun to read. So now at level 58+, I am doing the quests as I get them...they take the normal time that they take the druid to do them (minus his improved stats at 70).

So basically, I put forth the following questions for philisophical discussion...I will take no solutions away from this as the opinions will be like belly buttons..every one will have one. Rather the conclusion that I am holding onto at the moment is this:

Unless you are leveling more than one character/leveling equivalent level toons (hence "multi" boxing), then I think just having 2 accounts without all the keyclone, jamba etc...is just not "that much" more effective in terms of pure time to 70 than knowing your way around and soloing OR, /f your alt to your main....at least until lvl 67 perhaps...(note..I do know the druid who power leveled his alt from 1-70 in 45 hours...I think that is an exception...a "well planned out" exception.)

Questions:
1. Do you think it is viable to have a lvl 70 level an alt from 1-70 or better to do it at equivalent levels?

2. Do you think the time you spend purchasing, configuring, programming your "boxing" setup should only be spent on "multi" boxing and just use /f on "dual" boxing?

3. I have 2 accounts for ease of use, extra cargo space, and flexibility in classes on the same realm/faction. Do you think there is another reason besides hobby enthusiasm to have multiple accounts?

4. can you say the time you spend (short/mid term) setting up your boxing configuration from scratch is overtaken by your decreased level time to 70?

5. If there was one thing you could fix about "dual"/"multi" boxing, what would it be: (auto loot for alt, auto spacing during combat, maybe a gui for multi boxing setup, etc.)

Thanks,

Kenosis - SP Bronzebeard (US) alliance
Galadreial - Feral

[Xzin]

Errrr..

[voidrunner]

If I read correctly, I think your question can be summed up as "should I make a 5 man team?" If you already have a serviceable dual boxing set up, expanding to 5 won't be a big deal. Your combat macros won't change, you'll just have more characters using them at once. If you want more challenge, and can justify the extra $45 a month, go for it.

I recommend using the recruit-a-friend system to level your new team members at blazingly fast speeds. Specifically, I would use RAF for the 2 accounts you already have, for 4 total. Then buy a 5th account and transfer your 70 to that 5th account. That way, your 4 veteran/recruit accounts can be boosted by a highly. It's tremendously faster. I mean, if you're willing to boost one character with a 70, why not 4 more? And if you're going to be boosting 4 characters, why not have triple experience?

The real problem is you computer setup. You need a beefy rig to run 5 at once. This can be solved with money. New computers, or upgrades, or extra monitors. The other conundrum that will plague you is your class choices. What goes well together? How much complexity are you willing deal with? And when does that stop becoming fun and start becoming work?

Cheers!

[Multibocks]

Good god that's the most rambling I have read since the WOW forums.

1. Boosting(level 70 killing elites in an instance) is faster than leveling, you need to plan it out though and know where you are going next.

2. Dual boxing works fine with keyclone, if that's what you are asking. Healer/DPS combos are great.

3. I have multiple accounts because I like NOT looking for a group and I also enjoy being OP when it comes to world PvP.

4. Yes, set it up once and profit multiple times with multiple teams. The first time you set it up will take a LONG time, however you now know how to do it and the next groups will be much much easier.

5. GUI would be nice, but I think that would require Blizzard to actually provide support for Multiboxing. Alt looting can already be done, check macros section.

[Skuggomann]

Errrr..

ditto.

[Tidomann]

Errrr..

ditto.

[wizofid]

Wow.

Um.

Ok.

That was a little strange, but amusing. Before I answer your questions I will say I am 43, so we are of comparable age. (not really relevent, but interesting)



1. Do you think it is viable to have a lvl 70 level an alt from 1-70 or better to do it at equivalent levels?
If you don't care about the content, have alerady done all there is to do and perhaps even already know the class you are boosting then I think it is a viable. Obviously things like rest exp and RAF bonus make it a non-brainer but for sheer speed it is faster to boost. Some quests are so easy and give so much exp that it is crimiman not to do them, but it is viable to boost in instances. You won't be able to do this after 60 though since almost no one can solo those dungeons even with a 70.


2. Do you think the time you spend purchasing, configuring, programming your "boxing" setup should only be spent on "multi" boxing and just use /f on "dual" boxing?
Just multi boxing. "Dual boxing" where a low level is following a high level is not synergistic. It is just boosting. You don't need complex macros because one is doing all the work.

3. I have 2 accounts for ease of use, extra cargo space, and flexibility in classes on the same realm/faction. Do you think there is another reason besides hobby enthusiasm to have multiple accounts?
Well it is all hobby enthusiasm right? 1 account or 6. I originally added a second account for boosting and being able to enchant gear on another account. But eventually I filled up one account with 70's and actually needed the second account for characters. I added a third account so I could play with my daughter and we leveled up a druid/shammy up to 70. Added 2 more accounts to create a 5 box team.


4. can you say the time you spend (short/mid term) setting up your boxing configuration from scratch is overtaken by your decreased level time to 70?
Once again are we talking multiboxing (characters of equal level playing together) or boosting (70 + lowbies)? There is nothing inherently faster about leveling when multiboxing unless you have the RAF bonus on all your accounts. It is infact, much slower to level 5 characters without RAF and withotu boosting. Remember if you are boosting, you don't need anything complex in terms of macros. frankly you dont even need keyclone. If you are not boosting, and you are instead multiboxing, then the overhead of running 5 accaounts never recovered (unless you are RAFing). No one multiboxes 5 chars as a way to do it quickly, but as a way to take on challenges (dungeons) you could never do with less than a full group.


5. If there was one thing you could fix about "dual"/"multi" boxing, what would it be: (auto loot for alt, auto spacing during combat, maybe a gui for multi boxing setup, etc.)
You named a few good ones already, but my biggest ones would be auto alt looting, a better way to move characters around than /follow. I would like "summon friend" on my group forever . I wish I could reduce the impact of havnig 4 extra screens up. Even more I wish it was possible in Wow to have the client control 5 character accounts directly, as if this was a D&d session. Make it more of a "multi-character" setup than "multi-box". You just pay plizzard for the 5 accounts and one client handles them all. It is comeptely doable, but doubt it will ever happen.

[Ughmahedhurtz]

TL, DR.

IMO, 2-boxing just isn't worth it. 4+ is the sweet spot. Though my buddy has been 2-boxing locks lately and he can't stop laughing. So I guess a lot of it depends on what you're doing.

[Motgib]

Is Dual-boxing worth it?:

I Dual Box and I really enjoy it. I've done a 2 warlock team, and a 2 pally team to lvl 60. I am currently leveling one pally (prot) and one priest (Holy) from 60-70, and I am having a blast. I am running instances as the tank and healer, so I spend very little time LFG (granted you 5 boxers spend no time LFG, lol). I also have a buddy who 5 Boxes and he fills the other 3 spots for me when I do have trouble finding a competent group.

Honestly in my opinion though, if you feel the need to come to the forums to find out if dual boxing is worth it or not, you already know the answer. You didn't come asking this question because you are really enjoying yourself. If you don't like doing it and you aren't having fun, don't do it. After all that is the point: to enjoy yourself, relax, and have a good time playing a video game. :thumbsup:

[Sam DeathWalker]

Well you should automatically move to 5 minimum for the group exp bonus ....