Multiboxing Wiki - My 5 (Now 10!) Boxing WoW Writeup
I have decided to put together a huge distillment of my boxing experiences to help newcomers with multiboxing as I keep seeing the same questions come up time and time again. Below are the bulk of my methods of how I go about hardware boxing and what worked for me back around 2004, when I started boxing. Back then, there were no software programs out there and computers simply did not have the power to run multiple copies (even all 5) of WoW. Methods keep evolving and what works for me may not work for you as our end goals may be different.
For more information on how to software box 3, 4 or even 5 accounts on a fairly modern single CPU, take a look at this thread:
http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=1767
There are drawbacks of course but it is by far a cheaper option (around $1500 for everything). I would still suggest reading this thread to learn the basics of boxing.
I can't speak to dual boxing as much as 5 boxing but I did put together a VERY detailed writeup on exactly how I used to 5 box. I now 10 box - using the same basic hardware and setup but with more computers and a more complex setup.
I am releasing this text under the creative commons some rights reserved license. You are free to copy it to a wiki (Wikipedia may be a good bet) and add and modify it as you see fit - but no commercial exploitation of my work, please. If you do post this, please acknowledge me as the author. I have put A LOT of time and money into building my setup and I do not make any money doing this. I did almost all of the work from scratch - deciding on the best way to plan and implement my setup. I built this for ME and my specifications, which may differ from yours. If you don't like something, think it costs too much, or want to modify it - please do so. It is your setup. I just lay the foundation; just make sure you understand how everything connects and functions as part of this system - changing things can sometimes, but not always be expensive or difficult. While I have given this a great deal of thought, it is possible I have missed things or passed over an easier solution. If so - please feel free to post about it.
The writeup is below. If somebody wants to take it and add their information on how to dual box or use software programs, that would be most helpful to people new to multiboxing.
Sections need to be added that deal with: Synergy Setup, Macro Layout, Tips and Tricks, Key Placement, Movement, Common PvP Tactics, Common PvP Problems, Cloth Tanking, PvE Boss Fight Arrangements and High End Raid Multiboxing.
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High End World of Warcraft Multiboxing - Five (or More) Characters at Once
By Xzin - Magtheridon (Xzin, Azin, Bzin, Czin, Dzin - Xyzin, Ayzin, Byzin, Cyzin, Dyzin)
My name is Xzin and I am (to the best of my knowledge) the only serious 5 boxer who was able to achieve Warlord on five characters at the same time before the first WoW expansion came out. The reason for this is simple. I designed my setup from the beginning to support ultra low latency, maximum spell synergy and high burst damage dealing. Everything I did was carefully chosen to maximize my DPS and reaction times - even if there were other, slower or less reliable methods available. I took great pains to design a system that would work for me from the ground up and I had the resources to make it happen. Building bits and pieces will work but nothing is as good as doing it all at the same time with the exact same hardware.
While I am not the first person ever to box (people were doing it in Dark Age of Camelot http://www.teamwizzy.com and other prior MMORPGs such as EverQuest and the like), I achieved rank 13 on all five characters at the same time and am well known on my server and battlegroup as a player who knows how to play and was nothing to sneeze at in PvP. At times, I have singlehandedly changed the course of AVs and was able to "solo" every 5 man dungeon - with only cloth characters and a single healer.
Below, I present my views on multiboxing and lay out a guide to what I did and where I obtained my hardware. My focus was PvP from the beginning and I never started with two or three characters and expanded to five. I started with one, decided the game was too boring that way and moved straight to five. Not to sound egotistical but if there was a better way to do this, I certainly would love to know. Seriously. There may be cheaper ways but not as solid or as reliable or flexible. If you do have suggestions, please let us know. I would like to add it to my setup and I am sure others would as well. Lastly, my setup is expensive. There are somewhat cheaper ways to do what I have done but not too many corners can be cut. Be prepared to lay out at least $5,000 or more to do this seriously. The setup I have listed below should be considered the bare minimum needed to do this and PvP successfully. If you have decided that this is what you want to do - great. Read on. If not then well.... go back to playing normally or dual boxing. There is to the best of my knowledge no way to do this (well) for under two or three thousand US dollars. There ARE methods of 5 boxing on newer, modern hardware that simply did not exist ~ 3 years ago. There are some tricks you have to use and software utilities that make this possible. If your system crashes, all 5 of your accounts will go down and even with this method, you still need to set all of your settings to the minimum and still need a ~ $1500+ machine. So, it is possible to 5 box on a budget. Just don't expect to 5 box in mid 2007 for under $1000. Eventually, you will be able to run 10 or perhaps more accounts on a single box, with maximum resolution and settings, on multiple monitors. For the time being, I still suggest dedicated systems.
Interviews:
WoW Insider http://www.wowinsider.com/2006/12/15...with-ten-arms/
Buffed.de Magazine
Movies:
Farming SM Cath - 5 Boxing
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...65098130473147
TBC Beta Arena 5v5 5 Boxing
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...02298396612214
Xzin - WoW - Multiboxing 2.2 PTR AV - 8 Mages 1 Priest
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...29826198866919
Xzin - 10 Box Movement Tests
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...69164425274386
Xzin 2.2 PTR AV Drak Defense - Multiboxing World of Warcraft - 8 Mages 2 Priests
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...53299568326708
So you want to four box (or more?) WoW? This is a serious decision and needs to be thought about BEFORE purchasing hardware or setting things up. To be done successfully, first identify your target goals. Do you want to PvE, requiring a more balanced group and a less time critical interface, or PvP, which requires maximum flexibility with somewhat more limited class selections, minimal latency and the full gamut of specialized hardware?
Hopefully you are coming across this guide as a Wiki. If so, please feel free to modify it and improve upon it. I am sure there is more that I could add here but I eventually tired of spelling this all out. I spent literally months figuring all of this out and quite a bit of money deciding on what works and what does not. I hope that the community will add on to this and potentially come up with something better. If nothing else, I hope this guide helps you out and makes your five boxing that much easier to do. Make sure you understand why you are doing things the way you are doing though - I set this up for myself and I know how it all fits together. Your success will depend greatly upon your ability to thoroughly understand your setup and improve upon it.
Before you begin, please be aware that increasing capabilities of graphics cards, processors, software drivers and software utilities are making it possible to multibox two (or potentially more) copies of WoW on a single machine with the same feature sets as my hardware method, described below. I am still a bit new to those options so I will not speak to them just yet, but I have tested a "low" high end processor (around $180) dual core system with a 8600 GT graphics card and 2 gigs of ram - running around the bank gives 55+ fps on both screens (minimum settings, except terrain distance, which is set to max) at a resolution of 1600 x 1280 per account. So, the hardware is able to make it happen without making huge FPS sacrifices (yes, I know you can play at 20 fps with huge graphics lag spikes but that is not acceptable for PvP). The hard part is how to send two mice to two copies of WoW on the same computer as well as broadcasting keyboard entry. If I am able to figure out how to do this, I would be able to theoretically use 6 computers to control 10 accounts.... meaning I can shave off $2000 of computer costs as well as remove the need for as many (possibly any) Vetras or KVMs. The only downside is this DOES require the use of "third party" programs. I cannot make any statement as to if Blizzard would consider banning somebody for using these programs but the fact that it has to hook into mouse and keyboard functions does put it in the "somewhat gray area' category. That said though, many other drivers, common network admin utilities and other simple things like the G15 keyboard do the exact same thing..... and none of the programs are bots or in anyway automate gameplay in a way to allow unattended gaming. I suppose Autohotkey could be scripted but then again I am not sure exactly how that would help you.... it is not like you could walk away and smash face in the BGs or have your character leveled for you. You still need to send input to the keyboard and move the mouse around.
If you are going to four box, you might as well five box. You get the ability to run your own group, can enter 5v5 Arenas, fill out an entire group yourself and the hardware costs are not too much greater to buy five over four. I personally suggest going for all five instead of four but you can work with four. However, if you are going to do four (about $850 more), you might consider only doing three. You get the benefits of being able to do a 3v3 arena team and three is much less complex than four.
PvE or PvP?
In general, PvE is far more forgiving than PvP. Each event is scripted, it starts when you start it and you can try the same boss dozens of times. While I still strongly suggest the hardware only route, if you ONLY want to PvE then software solutions may work for you and save you a few hundred dollars. PvP is dynamic. You never know what you will be up against and you will need to respond appropriately to everything you can imagine. PvP is intolerant of latency (even from keyboard only KVM switching) and many software options will not work well enough to PvP with. You will need more advanced macros and will need to think about and plan for contingencies that PvE will never throw at you.
Server Selection
Scout out the server and see what kind of ratio it has. Is it an old server or a new one? Old servers tend to have established PvP and knowledgeable players. It can be harder to find groups (not an issue if you are five boxing) and they tend to have a more vibrant auction system and economy. All told, go with an established server over a new one. Server choice of PvE or PvP is up to you but I prefer to PvP so the choice for me was clear. Remember, you can always move to a PvE server from a PvP but not the other way around - so if in doubt, go PvP.
I personally play on Magtheridon-US with perhaps 4 - 5 other serious 5+ boxers. The alliance ratio is great (constant games) and the battlegroup is mostly older servers - so the PvP is decent. If you are going to box and don't have a server in mind - roll on Magtheridon!
Class Selection
I am a bit biased and I mainly built my setup to PvP so my class selection was based around the ability to dish out burst damage and stay alive. Hence my choice of 1 priest (aoe healing, stam buffs, flash heals, trinkets break poly/fear, shields, fear and dot heals) and 4 mages (AoEs, PoM/Pyros, instant cast DDs, portals, poly + counterspell x 4, water, range damage, etc). Other viable PvP builds are 1 priest and 4 warlocks, 5 shamans and possibly 5 priests. PvE builds are varied. It would be possible to run a holy trinity group (tank, healer, dps dps dps) without too much difficulty. Warrior, Priest, Warlock x3 or Warrior, Priest, Mage x3 would be a good choice as would 4x shamans and 1x warrior but in general the more classes the harder and more complex everything gets. Due to the game mechanics, picking two classes is easier to deal with than five separate ones, even if five separate ones would in theory be the better choice. In essence, I two box a priest and mages. I simply send spell commands to all four mages and setup the priest macros to ignore the mage ones and visa versa. This works great - but adding another class would make things unbearably complex for a beginner and would make things quite challenging for me.
Race Selection
In my opinion there is only one race to pick. Undead. They have Will of the Forsaken. WOTF breaks fear. Fear is really bad when you are grouped up. Dwarfs might be a good bet but who wants to cast fear ward all the time? In my personal opinion the only real choice is male or female characters and what they look like. If you pick Tauren, you can chain Warstomps and if you pick Blood Elf, you can chain 2 second stuns (although both have diminishing returns). Of course, doing so you will lose WOTF and limit your class selection. If you want to get really fanatical about your characters, make them all look the same like I did with the Zins. It makes them blend in a bit better when they are all standing on one spot. If you are going with 4 or 5 shamans, you obviously cannot be undead. In that case, staggered tremor totems and 2 minute trinkets work well enough to compensate.
Will of The Forsaken
Will of the Forsaken (Racial)
Instant 2 min cooldown
Provides immunity to Charm, Fear and Sleep while active. May also be used while already afflicted by Charm, Fear or Sleep. Lasts 5 sec.
Naming
Believe it or not, the names you pick for your characters make a difference. By picking logical names you will be quicker to react and it will be easier to tell your characters apart. I personally choose Azin, Bzin, Czin and Dzin for my mages names because they are easy to tell which is which. Xzin is my priest - nobody is going to confuse X with the first few letters. Some people choose A,B,D,E as their secondary characters and C as their main, or A,B,C,D as their secondaries and E as their main. The choice is up to you, as long as you are able to differentiate which is which then go for it. I don't personally see why E,F,G,H and Z could not work - but it just seems to make sense to make this as easy as possible. You will have enough going on as it is and fast and accurate recognition of who needs healing when is critical. Also, by picking X as a main, you reduce the chances you will randomly target somewhere else when / if you ever /follow x. Not very many characters names start with X.
The TRULY devious will pick names that sound nearly the same over Vent/TS to better obfuscate target "training" and subsequent burst damage as well as generally foul up target selection against you in BGs and arenas. This can take the shape of either names that are very similar in pronunciation like wilboor wilbour etc or nonsensical names like lillilili and liililil etc.
Also keep in mind there is now a name change service.
Ziran pointed out that the order your characters will appear in a group is determined by when you create the characters.
WoW orders the party in the reverse order of the absolute character creation time. In other words, you want to make your "main" last, and your others in reverse order.
If you want:
Xzin
Azin
Bzin
Czin
Dzin
you need to make them in this order:
Dzin
Czin
Bzin
Azin
Xzin
Also of note: you can reserve names by creating level 1s with whatever name you want. Upon deletion, that name is freed up for (presumably) you to take. This is helpful to ensure all 5 names are available.
Physical Layout
Once again, this small detail makes a difference. If you run 5 or 6 monitors, I strongly suggest some logical order to how your characters are arranged and which computer runs which character. Your "main" is generally in the middle and the secondaries flank your main to either side. My personal choice is A in the lower left, B upper left, C upper right and D lower right. The upper middle is for browsing the internet, looking up quests, vent, etc. My key arrangement mirrors this and the X-Keys Desktop and Pro are perfect for this kind of setup as they have 4 keys wide and 5 vertical. Making your physical interface as intuitive as possible will speed the learning process and make far more logical sense when playing.
Getting Started
Ok, so you have the idea and the names and you know how many characters you want to box and a basic idea of if you want to PvE or PvP. Now comes the hard part. Paying for it all. You will need four identical machines. Literally, identical machines, down to the revision numbers on the components. I build my own machines but buying them is certainly an option. This project, done at its most basic hardware level, will cost $4280, not counting tax and shipping. Done right, it will push $5k, plus monthly fees. Depending on your perspective, this may be a lot of money. Nobody ever said multiboxing at this level was cheap but I can certainly think of far more expensive hobbies.
Computers
Before you get started on computers - consider laptops. 5 computers will require a great deal more power and needs extra cooling. They will also be impossible to upgrade the cpu/gpu, tend to have lower memory, no native PS/2 support (this can be added through USB), awful integrated graphics cards and poor cooling. You also will likely be paying twice for monitors and will most likely be using 5400 rpm hard drives instead of 7200 - making responsiveness a *tad* bit slower. Plus, gaming laptops tend to be 2 - 3x as expensive than a comparable desktop. I went with desktops but I also needed to purchase $2000+ worth of electrical and HVAC upgrades. You may be able to get around it with cooling fans, extension cords and the like but I would suggest that you at least give gaming laptops some thought - especially if you only want to 2 or 3 box. Just make sure you have a decent GPU - the mobile versions tend to be pretty bad - check your benchmarks!
If you decide to build, I suggest a MicroATX motherboard (that supports ELECTRICAL x16 PCI-E - a lot ONLY support 1x electrical but 16x physical - a big problem!), a single or dual core AMD (cheaper but still beefy) processor, at least 1 gig of memory, an 80 gig hard drive, cases, power supplies, an nVidia 6600 GT or better (avoid 6200, 7200s, etc and avoid all built in video cards).
You will need four of these machines, assuming you already have a box that is at least as beefy as these. I ran Xzin on some pretty fast hardware and the Zins on slightly slower hardware. If money is not an issue then buy five identical machines and defragment regularly and you should see them load at nearly the exact same time. Put solid state hard drives in there and short of latency, everything should match up perfectly. You can take this as far as you want to go (and spend as much as you can possibly spend) but MicroATX boards with a solid video card and processor will run WoW at optimum framerates with decent quality and max sight distance. Period. ATX mobos or top of the line systems are just icing. I may be willing to spend a lot more than the average person on WoW (as will you if but not for monthly subscription costs alone) but I am also practical. Each "bare bones" system will run approximately $500 or $2000 for four systems. You can skimp a lot and get a system for about $100 less, but I don't suggest skimping too much.
Total Cost - $2000
Running total cost - $2000.
Monitors
LCD Monitors are dirt cheap these days. Do not go CRT. Any 15 - 17" monitor will work perfectly. If you want a larger monitor for the center screen that is perfectly fine but WoW can be played fine on 17" monitors and anything bigger will make it very hard to monitor your "secondary" characters as they will be out of your peripheral vision. So when one gets rooted, sapped, feared etc - you will likely not even know it. You can get a solid 17" monitor for $150. I highly suggest getting ones with as small a bezel as possible to enable them to be placed as close as possible to each other. Response time is a personal preference but nearly any 17" LCD these days is more than sufficient for your purposes.
Total Cost - $600
Running Total - $2600
Monitor Mounts
You have four (possibly more) options here. The best option (and most expensive) is to purchase an Ergotron DS100 triple monitor arm. If you want to mount six monitors (one for websites, email, vent, etc) then buy their 24" pole, triple monitor mount and either a desk stand or desk clamp mount. Then just mount your bottom monitors using their existing stands and save some money. They have newer options that articulate and you can certainly get two triple arms if you wish but each triple arm runs about $200. These are on ebay all the time and are rock solid - I highly suggest buying used and saving a hundred bucks or so. You may (probably will) need to buy a 24" pole to go along with the triple arm. These are fairly cheap. If you cannot find one (the DS100 line has been discontinued but parts abound still) then go to http://www.onlinemetals.com and buy a 24" 1.5" aluminum TUBE (not pipe). With as thick a wall as you feel comfortable with. I suggest at least 1/8". Pipe does not have a 1.5" OD (outer diameter). The ergotrons all use
1.5" OD circular tubing.
Triple Ergotron DS 100 with Freestanding Mount
The second option is to build your own array. See (http://www.plastk.net/highres/24mon/) for an idea. Most monitors are 75 or 100mm VESA mounts. The 100 mm ones (and I think the 75 ones too) use 4x M4 x 10 mm screws to connect the mounts to the monitor. You can build your own array our of some cheap MDF board and some screws at your local home improvement store if you have the tools to do so. This is simple, cheap and easy to reconfigure. If you want plans, go make them yourself. I bought Ergotrons.
The next to last option is the Ellay option.
He simply put his top monitors on boxes. They are recessed back a bit but hey - it works.
The last option is to install against a wall and mount a single horizontal shelf between the top and bottom rows. This will leave a small gap between the rows but is a solid, cheap and dirty solution to mounting your monitors on an ergotron array.
I DO NOT suggest a setup like these:
The monitors and keyboards are so spread out that watching them all is impossible. Reaction time will be seriously slow due to needing to physically move around to each machine. The only positive I see about this setup is the U shaped desk. Something I highly suggest.
Sorry Noc, but your setup right now does not have the ability to quickly see your secondary characters and you are unable to monitor their status with your peripheral vision.
Jay - I have no idea how you managed to PvP with this setup. I sense this desk is a common theme for some of you guys but it is a horrible desk to multibox with! If you have to swivel in your seat to monitor another character, you will not be able to react fast enough in PvP.
Total Cost - $250
Running Total - $2850
Controls
Vetra Keyboard Multicaster
In my experience there are a few hardware choices you need to make to actually control your characters. To 5 box, you will need two Vetra keyboard broadcasters. These will allow you to take the output of a single machine and send it to multiple computers. Make sure you match this with a PS/2 keyboard. USB is too difficult to multicast and is not a good option here. This rules out the use of the Nostromo N52, Ergodex DX1, the Logitech G15 and other USB only keyboards. Each Vetra Keyboard Broadcaster (VIP-844-BC) costs $200. To control four total boxes, you need one. To control five, you will need two. They will make you a custom model if you ask and delivery is usually within two weeks but I do not have a quote. They are usually pretty reasonable though. You will also need the PS/2 cables. I highly suggest http://www.monoprice.com. Their cables are solid, CHEAP and just work. Make sure you pick up a single short male to male PS/2 cable to link the two Vetras together as well as the five male to male PS/2 cables to connect from the Vetra's outputs to the computers.
Something else worth mentioning. It IS possible to make a "jury rigged" version of the Vetras with wireless keyboards all set to receive on the same frequency. This could potentially save you up to $400 or so. Depending on the vicinity to the receivers, this should be a fairly reliable option - and far cheaper than the Vetras. Due to the nature of wireless though, you have batteries to replace and the potential for a single machine to miss a keystroke due to random RF noise, which could be a problem in some circumstances. The Vetras are rock solid - they are hardwired and never miss a keystroke. With wireless, you lose some flexibility though, as you really are not cascading so much as just broadcasting one to many - which makes it a little harder to KVM, but still possible with some Y-mice or USB to PS/2 converters. You do lose the option to use the Happy Hacking keyboards, as they are not available wirelessly - but that certainly does not mean that one could not hack together a wireless PS/2 version. I have not tested the latency of the wireless keyboards - obviously the RF waves travel at the speed of light but I do not know if they are faster or slower to decode than the Vetras and Y-mice in a cascaded configuration. (4 Vetras and 4 Y-Mice all cascaded serially impart roughly 50 ms of input delay).
There is now an 8 port Vetra available, which saves a slight amount of latency (in theory) and costs less than 2 units.
http://vetra.com/848text.html
Total Cost - $400
Running Total - $3250
KEYBOARD
|
|
|
INPUT - Vetra KM SWITCH (8 Port) VIP-708-KM
1 2 3 4 5 78 (Output Port 1-8)
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |-----Port 8 (Unused)
| | | | | | |-----Port 7 (Unused)
| | | | | |----To PC X (Port 6)
| | | | |----To PC D (Port 5)
| | | |----To PC C (Port 4)
| | |----To PC B (Port 3)
| |-----To PC A (Port 2)
|
Input---| Keyboard Multiplier (8 Port) 2 4 Ports Can Be Daisychained
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (Output Port 1-8)
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
A B C D X (Computer A-D,X (5x total Y-Mouse or USB to PS/2 input to add a second PS/2 port on CPU A-D,X)) Ports 7 and 8 Unused.
KVM Output 1 will send to all, Output 2 will send to only PC A, 3 to only B and 4 to only C, etc. Use Scrl Lock + 1-8 to nearly instantly select a PC. (I personally use an X-keys Stick for this). Multiple 8 Port VIP-708-KMs can be chained together. The 2 and 4 ports cannot. I believe the limit is 64 units, if you want to pay for that many.
You can use a single 2 port KVM if you wish, to save money. This will NOT let you select individual PCs but it will let you select to chat OR play all 5 at once. Simply setup your keybinds to make it so only your main can run with arrow keys, different classes respond to key presses differently, etc (or just have a common template and drag and drop different spells if you want to cast on all at the same time). 2 Port only is less flexible - 8 port obviously more so. You can skimp with USB keyboards - but you NEED *SOME* method of individual key input - software (synergy) or hardware (dedicated USB keyboard).
Keyboard / Mouse KVM
I highly suggest SOME form of a KVM (KM is a KVM without video switching and is thus MUCH faster - I do not suggest USB KVM switching), if only to switch from sending keystrokes to every machine to your main computer. Vetras are top notch, enterprise level units. The VIP-802-KM is what you need to send input to all or one machine. If you want to go further, and be able to send keystrokes to any single machine, you will need Y-Mice (or a USB to PS/2 adapter) for each machine to add a second PS/2 port. You only need the KM option, saving some money over a full KVM - which also sends video. You just need to send the keyboard data (and perhaps mouse). KVMs switch far too slow. You need a dedicated monitor for EACH box you wish to play.
2 Port Vetra KM (KVM without Video)
Total Cost - $120 (2 port version)
Running Total - $3370
Y-Mouse
If you want to use a KVM, you will need a Y-Mouse. I assume you will only want one - to control your main box OR all 5. If you want to individually control them without buying a keyboard for each (or using Synergy) then you will need a Y-Mouse for each. The Y-Mouse gives you two PS/2 ports instead of one. They offer mice and keyboard versions and they can be cascaded to give you more ports if needed. They are simply plug and play - no drivers required. Vetra makes something similar but costs more - go with the Y-Mouse. They are sold by the same company that sells the X-Keys. Think of them as a little 1 port Vetra Keyboard Multicaster made by a different company.
Another option is to purchase USB to PS/2 adapters. They only run around $5 per port, vs around $50 for the Y-mouse. Being USB, they are harder to extend (requiring about $10 per 16 feet of active extenders, and can only be extended up to around 50 feet without converting to ethernet or fiber, which can be extended for hundreds of feet. Also, the connection is then no longer native PS/2 and is not something I have tested, but in theory should work. I opted to go native PS/2 the whole way, and just paid for the Y-mice, over priced as they are compared to cheap monoprice USB to PS/2 connectors.
http://xkeys.com/ymouse/whym04.php
Total Cost - $60 (each)
Running Total - $3430
X-Keys
I HIGHLY suggest picking up at least an X-keys Desktop. That will give you 20 physical keys and a total of 40 virtual keys (with an ALT key modifier). More if you setup a second alt/control key and modify your WoW macros accordingly. Make sure to purchase a PS/2 version. All of the X-keys have keyboard pass throughs - so you just attach your regular keyboard to it and plug it into the computer - nothing else is required. You can cascade several of them together. I also highly suggest printing out the keycaps in the right size (.58" square - but you will need to slightly cut the two bottom corners) in color. That way you will have an on screen version of your input system and a simple glance will tell you what key you are pressing. WoW Icons are available from http://www.wowwiki.com/List_of_WoW_icons. You WILL need to resize them to .58" before you print them. The ghetto method of doing that is simply opening a Word document, dragging and dropping the icons (you can drag and drop all of them at once) then right clicking on each one and setting the size manually. Another (better) option is to do it the right way and use an automated Photoshop script to change the size and then place them with your favorite desktop program. Word will work though, but the quality will be lower. Good enough though if you lack the graphical talent to photoshop like a pro. For those who truly want the best setup they can get, go with an X-keys Professional. It costs $170 (vs $120) but it expands you from 20 to 58 physical keys. If you are running PvP or a complex PvE setup, you will definitely want a Pro. I suggest starting with the center 20 keys and expanding out from there. For non-combat uses, I personally use a Stick. They cost $100 but give you 16 keys to summon water, cast buffs, etc. They can also have a modifier key and I reserve two keys to switch between the KVM computers. (The Vetras switch with a special keyboard combination as well as with a physical button). Any of the X-Keys can be programmed to repeat when held down and of course they can store macros and not just a single keypress or combination of key presses. Whatever you wind up getting, make sure they are PS/2 and NOT USB.
X-Keys Desktop
X-Keys Professional
X-Keys Stick
Some of My Custom Printed Key Caps
Programming the X-keys:
http://xkeys.com/techdocs/manuals/manxkps2.pdf
You can program the X-keys to repeat characters (spell casts, etc) - this greatly helps alleviate repetitive strain injury as you can just hold it down instead of mashing keys over and over. See the manual, linked above, for more details.
Layout:
This is a work in progress but here is a picture of my initial Xkeys Pro setup for my locks. I plan on filling in the blanks and refining as I go.
Total Cost - $120 (Desktop - $170 - Professional - $100 Stick)
Running Total - $3550
Keyboard
My personal keyboard of choice is the Happy Hacking Lite II. It has a VERY small footprint and has the directional pads, unlike the Pro version. They run about $80 each and come in USB or PS/2. For my main input keyboard, I went with a PS/2 model and for the other 4, I went with USB. If you plug a USB and a PS/2 keyboard into a computer, windows will simply treat them as an either or setup. So if you type on one, it displays that text. If you type on the other, it displays the other. If you type both at the same time, it intertwines them. Perfect for multiboxing. Mouse control works in the same way.
A Gray Happy Hacking Shown Below Normal Keyboard
Another option are these:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...sonic&doy=13m6
Keysonic Micro Keyboards
About the same size and price as Happy Hackings. I have not evaluated them personally but they should work ok - IF you can find them in PS/2. Not sure you can.
Total Cost - $400
Running total cost - $3950
Mice (Wireless)
Mice input is tough. You will likely want to setup mouse input for all 4 "secondary" computers and one for your main. A wireless mouse is cheap. Get a RF mouse, not an IR. Go optical. I use logitechs but any brand should work as long as they are the same brand. Buy four. Set three of the mice aside and plug in all 4 receivers. USB mice work fine. To set them all to the same frequency, click the sync button on the mouse and then click the receivers. They should all sync right up. Every so often the mice will desync slightly (a few pixels at most). To "resync" run the WoWs fullscreen and just move the mice to any corner then to your destination. It makes turning in quests, etc MUCH easier.
A side note: when you setup the receivers, place them as close to the master mouse as possible. Do not obstruct them. Placing them too far away or putting things in between will desync them instantly. Put them as close together as possible and then close to your mouse and it will track it nearly perfectly.
Total Cost - $80
Running total cost - $4030
Mice (Wired)
You will want either a dedicated mouse per machine or use the KVM to send mice input to each individual machine. The KVM has a SMALL but noticeable latency - switching is NOT literally instant. I personally use dedicated mice but the KVM option would work if you purchase PS/2 mice and a 6 port KVM (technically you only need a 5 port KM but Vetra only sellf 6 port models). Obviously with USB mice this will not work. Go optical and wired (although wireless SHOULD work too). Mice input works the same way as keyboard input. You can have multiple ones connected without any problems. Don't forget a mouse for your main (fifth) box.
Total Cost - $50
Running total cost - $4080
WoW Game Copies
You need to buy four more copies of WoW. You can get a copy of WoW for $20 each but TBC is still $40 each at the time of this writing. Here's a tip. Either "invite a friend" for your main account or give a good friend 4 months of free game time. Make sure to do this BEFORE you activate your accounts.
Total Cost - $200
Running total cost - $4280
Monthly WoW Subscription Cost
WoW has a monthly cost that is currently $14.95 per month. You will have to pay this five times. $74.75 per month - less if you prepay.
Electrical Costs
Your electrical costs will increase as each box takes up about 250 watts of power. (MicroATX power supplies usually run only 70 or 80% efficient). Assuming a kilowatt hour cost of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, and you will be using around 1000 watts (1 kilowatt-hour) per hour, it will cost you ten cents per hour to run four more boxes. Running 24/7, this will mean an extra $75 per month.
Other Hardware
As far as I am concerned, this is all you need. As for the Nostromo N52s, Ergopads, etc - you don't need them. This setup allowed me to reach Rank 13 in the first PvP system and I consistently took top rankings in AV and the like. I could solo most any 5 man instance and even run 30 minute baron runs with a little practice - at level 60. I don't mean to sound egotistical but I have put a LOT of thought into my setup and have found what works best for me. Not to say you should not feel free to experiment (and possibly even supplant my methods) but I strongly suggest using this as a solid base with which to work. It's been tested and it just works.
Other Software
Key Clone
The developer of Key Clone has made some incredible strides here towards bringing about a useful boxing tool for single computer (or even 5 physical computers) boxers.
http://solidice.com/keyclone/
Originally developed for Shadowbane, Key Clone lets you share keyboard commands across multiple WoW clients - "broadcasting" them.
From the author:
He posts regularly to these boards and while the software isn't free, $50 for 5 boxes is considerably cheaper than any hardware options. If you are looking to save costs, consider using Key Clone.essentially, keyclone is a p2p, unicasting keyboard emulator.
keyclone links applications together...enabling you to hit 'F1' within one application, and having that key simultaneously sent to each of the other applications keyclone is managing. it will also send those same keys to any other keyclones you may have linked in, which in turn will distribute the keys to the applications they are managing.
Synergy
Synergy is a great tool to use to turn multiple machines into a "single" display. It just works (most of the time) and is open source, free and cross platform. To use it with WoW, you need to turn on relative mouse movement or you will spin like a top when you try and look with the mouse. Some people have adapted the code (isn't open source wonderful) to allow for broadcasting keystrokes. This eliminates the need for the 2 Vetras but you lose flexibility in your setup and if your server machine goes down or glitches - you are dead in the water.
http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/
WoW Maximizer
Maximizer is a great open source utility that has fallen by the wayside since WoW introduced it natively. However, the WoW built in version is not as good as Maximizer. Maximizer allows you to run WoW full screen without the border. WoW now lets you do that by clicking the use fullscreen option. However, the WoW version does not allow you to set it to use a portion of the screen or a few other little tricks such as dictating what monitor to display on in a multiple monitor setup. Many people will have no use for this program but I find it useful still. I upgraded from 17" 1280 x 1024 monitors and I now run 30" 2560 x 1600 monitors and this allows me to run 2 copies of WoW on a single monitor, at 1280 x 1600, seamlessly, if I so choose. It even supports screen rotation with nVidia cards without any complaints.
http://wow-en.curse-gaming.com/downloads/details/146/
Multibox
Originally based on Synergy, but now completely rewritten and geared specifically towards gamers. It also supports mouse broadcasting, and hot keys to instantly jump to other screens, unlike Synergy.
From "shockbeta" - the current maintainer of Multibox -
"Micah started with a modified version of synergy to work better with games, but then he decided to write his own program as it was easier then modifying synergy. Thus Multibox arrived. I have not personally used Synergy so the differences I'm not sure on. I will say Multibox is made for gamers, and synergy seems to be more of a multi-computer use program not targeted towards gamers. With multibox you can bind keys to toggle mouse or/and keyboard broadcasting(Sending said input to all or some of the computers). I've added support to remove sending input to specific computers while broadcasting is on by checkboxes. Also added options to only broadcast specific keys to computers. Also added hot key switching. You're able to bind a key to hop to that display and control it, as opposed to mousing over to it. You're able to tick a checkbox to enable "Never Broadcast" so when broadcasting that display will never receive input."
Learn more about it by going here:
http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=402
Electrical Considerations
You will be adding about an extra kilowatt of power use to your already in use power lines. Most houses only dedicate a single breaker per room, and most all houses only have 15 amp lines. Some have older aluminum or worse wiring and may not even be rated for 15 amps. Each amp can carry 120 watts of power (but for practical purposes, it can only carry 80% of that continually). So rule of thumb is 100 watts per amp. If you are adding 1000 watts, you need 10 amps of power. If you are using more than 5 amps already (500 watts TOTAL) then you need to plug these into a separate breaker or you will trip the breaker once the lines heat up enough. Not a good thing to have happen without battery backup supplies or in the middle of a fight. A quick and dirty solution is to run an extension cord to another room that is on a separate breaker. The better (but more expensive) option is to run or hire an electrician to run) a dedicated 20 amp line to your computer space.
Cooling Considerations
Computers give off heat. A lot of heat. Consider that new 1000 watt 4 box array you just installed to be a 1000 watt heater. 1000 watts is a lot of power and in a small room without any air circulation, your room is going to get hot. Probably too hot for you to bear - over 100 degrees is not out of the question if you have other equipment running in the same room and it is a hot day out. Consider adding an air conditioner or setting up some ventilation system to counteract or remove the heat being produced.
Wiring
It is VERY important to label every wire. You will have A LOT of wires. No, really. I hate to do it but you have to. Otherwise you will have a nightmare on your hands when you move this, need to fix it or troubleshoot it. And eventually, you will have to. If you really want to be professional, use corrugated wire wraps to bundle sub sets of wires together - perhaps all wires going to a single box or all wires of one type.
Leveling
Powerleveling does not really work in WoW, so leveling up is tricky if you already have a level 60 or 70 and want to add more characters. Short of paying a farmer to level up new characters for you, the best way to level is to level them all at the same time. You can do so with questing alone, questing and instances or just instances. Questing is a good bet as the experience is great, the mobs are easy and you get faction. However, you will want to avoid every single collection quest as you will need to do them five times. Not fun. I personally suggest instance grinding. Elites give great experience and about the time you get tired of an instance, you level out of it. The only downside is the time wasted learning the instance and at the lower levels, learning just how to multibox.
UI Mods
In Combat
Out of Combat
Button Mods
There are button mods out there that allow you to physically represent the buttons you have on your X-keys on your UI. There are even some out there that will change the buttons when you hold down your alt modifier key. I use and highly suggest Bongos2 and SuperMacro for extra buttons and macros - which you WILL need with an X-keys Pro.
Anchor Mods
You will likely want to set it so that you cannot move the windows on your "secondary" machines. If you move one, they get desynched and clicking on them with your wireless mouse will not activate all of them.
Macros
Quest Accepting
There are quest accepting macros out there. They work pretty well for accepting quests on the "secondary" characters. Right click, hit the quest accept macro and you are done. Sharing quests is another way to do this but not every quest can be shared.
What Do I Do When My Main Dies?
You need to setup your macros to allow for transitioning to another "main". This will mean physically moving to another mouse and changing your /assists or /focus to another character. This is doable with custom LUA scripts or simply a dedicated keyboard (or X-Key). I will leave that up to you - usually when my priest dies, I am out of mana and going down anyway. Often times it is faster to do this in battlegrounds as you rez with nearly full mana and health - but there are times when you will need to continue fighting and not just stand there. It took me quite a while to figure this one out - and I will leave this to you. I highly suggest looking at the /focus features implemented in WoW 2.0.
Advanced Vetra Cascading
99.99999% of you will never care about this. But, when you cascade multiple Vetras together, you begin to impart latency into the mix. The net effect never gets THAT bad but when you are PvPing, every bit makes a difference. As a test, I hooked up 4 Vetras together, in series. Meaning the output of one fed into the first port of the other and cascaded down the line. Five Vetras refused to work. I suspect if I were to add 5v to the line then it would function but I did not test that. 4 Vetras works perfectly but due to the rather low frequency of the PS/2 protocol, each unit adds a small amount of latency to the mix. The Vetras buffer the data for a small period of time and in the end it adds up - but not by much. I tested 4 units and 4 Y-mice all attached in series and came up with a rough estimate of about 100ms of added latency. This is of course on top of any ping latency you have. So you may wind up doubling or tripling your latency if you cascade that many Vetras together. Not that I suspect many of you ever would - you only need 2 Vetras to power 5 boxes and even adding as much as 100 ms will not be something game breaking. 2 Vetras imparts about a 50 ms or less latency. Probably not enough to ever be noticeable but worth mentioning. A solution to this "problem" is to cascade the Vetras in a different manner. Instead of the output of one going to the input of the next, set the first level to output all 4 to the inputs of the next 4. This will support a maximum of 16 downstream connections and only impart a total of two levels of depth for all of the Vetras. This will ONLY be needed if you are cascading to more than 7 boxes at once - something I suspect VERY few people will ever be interested in doing.
I did further testing (eliminating human reaction time) and was better able to narrow down the exact latency. Cascading through 4 Vetras, 4 Y-Mice and about 30 feet of PS/2 cable added only about 40 - 50 ms (on average) of latency. In practice, this is something you will never ever really notice. 100+ ms starts to get noticeable but for all practical purposes, 50 ms is something you can live with. Of course, this is worst case situation too - most likely you will NOT be cascading 4 vetras and 4 Y-mice.
Of note, X-keys cascading has been tested and found with a Happy Hacking Lite II that 5 X-keys, 2 Y-keys and 4 Vetras can be cascaded. 5 Vetras is too much though :) I might be able to overcome that though but for now that works fine.
Programming X-keys
Use a "regular" (non Happy Hacking) PS/2 keyboard, F1-F12, Numpad keys and shift, control, alt. If you need more and don't want to use alpha characters, buy a foreign KB or a programmable PS/2 keyboard to program special characters - ½¿³óíþ - stuff you would never type with to avoid any accidental casts. Avoid the really obscure codes - ???? - or WoW might not see them. X-keys also sells a device to program / copy a PS/2 X-keys for $100 although I am not sure this will actually work for Boxing purposes. Tip: KB scan codes num + 0161 to 0255 are the best. 94 keys, plus F1-F12 and num pad is 121 keys that do not even appear on the Happy Hackings and thus are impossible to accidentally activate. See the Windows XP Character Map for these. I thought that it be possible to use a PS/2 laser barcode scanner but almost ALL barcodes are 0-9 and aA-zZ (to avoid errors). So no luck there. There ARE some unique barcodes that can encode extended sets of information but I think the best bet here is a programmable PS/2 or foreign keyboard. Note: I have NOT personally tested this extended X-Keys programming. I have intentions to do so when a need arises for extra keys but you can now use different left or right control, alt and shift modifiers - so you should have plenty of keys to use now. Until then, please regard it as untested. I also have no idea how to make this work with the USB version - I only have PS/2 X-Keys.
Other Resources:
Dual Boxing Forums: http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums2/
WoW Insider Interview: http://www.wowinsider.com/2006/12/15...with-ten-arms/
Sirlin Game Design Theory: http://www.sirlin.net/archive/the-ma...a-40-man-raid/
GM Conversations: http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?p...id=19&warned=y
Quickly Thrown Together Videos: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...65098130473147
Quickly Thrown Together Videos: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...02298396612214[/img]
4+ Multiboxing Blogs
Æbox - 5 Shamans - http://home.comcast.net/~xbx/xbox.htm
Captns Log - WoW http://captn-log.blogspot.com/
Saber Squadron - http://sabersquadron.blogspot.com/
Twenty Totems - http://www.twentytotems.com
Q Cyber Shop - WoW http://qcybershop.blogspot.com/
Micah - http://5boxwow.blogspot.com/
Team Wizzy - DAoC http://www.teamwizzy.com
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