That could be a long answer, but I'll try my best to cram it into a length that doesn't derail the thread!Originally Posted by Peri Helion
Basic Controls. The general principle is that I use my keyboard for one character, and an MMO mouse (specifically this one) to control the other. I primarily use ESDF as movement keys to guide the left-hand character, and I have the righthand window generally focused so that I can use the side buttons on the mouse to move while using right click and drag to steer.
In this setup, I have the two clients in two windows split-screen with a vertical divide on one monitor, rather than giving one character a single monitor. I do this because I find it easier to watch both characters at the same time when their windows are closer together.
This takes getting used to, but over time I've gradually become comfortable moving two characters around simultaneously. If I have to do precise movement (like a platforming section or dodging through traps) I'll usually do it one character at a time.
Character Selection. Choice of character build is important in any multiboxed MMO, but particularly important here, as you want to make your life as simple as possible. Generally, we are looking for characters that do not have many buttons to press and are very forgiving in terms of targeting. In addition, whilst DDO does generally not need a party to have a tank character, it can be very helpful here to have one of your characters be a very durable self-healer that is capable of maintaining aggro, as it means that your other character will not have to dodge and weave so much.
So, I'm looking for a "Tank" and a ranged auto-attacker. My current combo is to use a Enlightened Spirit Warlock as the tank like this (tanks using his crazy refreshing temporary hitpoints, the temp HP also keeps healer hirelings alive, plus almost all his damage is AoE auras and blasts so it doesn't matter which way he points) and a Rogue Mechanic like this (Can handle traps, almost all damage is done through pure auto-attacks and has access to almost all skills as he's INT-based).
If you don't have access to Warlocks (they are a premium class), then the Warlock could be replaced with any two-handed weapon fighting melee character. With the new THF strikethrough rules, THF is effectively an AoE attack so its not so important where you are aiming as long as you get the general area right. A barbarian would work well, a paladin would also be great, a warchanter bard would also be interesting as an option to replicate the ES Warlocks temp HP.
Another strong option in a different paradigm would be to go for two palemaster wizards. Double Death Auras mean double healing ticks to add tankiness, you get two pets for pulling levers and standing on pads, you can give one of them a couple of levels of rogue to do traps, having double necrotic blast removes some of the frustration from fighting undead as one necrotic blast will apply unholy avatar, and the second necrotic blast will obliterate the pack. There are more buttons to press, but you can duplicate those button presses to both characters. The team is also a bit more able to act independently of one another in rare situations where that's necessary (e.g. House C challenges, VoN6, Xorian Cipher).
Targeting. With our choice of characters in mind, allowing us some leeway here, we have a couple of ways of dealing with targeting.
Generally speaking, I have a master DPS rotation button that acts as my team's "heartbeat" using a custom ISBoxer keybind. This heartbeat alternates between mashing relevant damage abilities and targeting enemies. I generally bind it to mouse wheel, so I'm rolling the mouse wheel the entire time I'm fighting.
For the targeting aspect of the hotkey, one approach is to simply mash the "target nearest enemy" hotkey in the heartbeat and be done with it. This is particularly fine for THF melee characters, as attacking something within melee range is about as specific as they need to be.
You can also do an assist on your unselected character. There actually is an "Assist" function buried in DDO's keybinds somewhere. In this case, your ISBoxer heartbeat would do the following in order:
- First Press: Target the character in the presently selected window.
- Second Press: Hit the assist key.
- Third Press: Hit any dps buttons. Do not advance past this step for a second or so.
Note if anyone reading is unaware: In your "Basic Feats" section of your character sheet, there is a toggle-able auto attack ability. When this is toggled on, your character will automatically attack your current target without having to hold down the left mouse button, meaning you only have to worry about abilities.
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There's probably a lot more advice to give, but we should probably get our own thread if I'm going to go on much more than that. If it would be helpful to anybody, I'd be perfectly happy to put together a video to show how to stitch this all together and show how it works in game.
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