Breakfast Topic: Multitasking highs
by David Bowers 
Sep 24th 2007 at 8:01AM
My favorite class of the day is the Hunter, mainly because I get to control both my main character and my pet at the same time. I love the dynamic of how these two entities fit together and do damage together so nicely. I have also played a warlock up to 30, but so far the dynamic of doing multiple things at once with demon master doesn't seem as interactive to me, though I suspect it may get better later on. I love the multitasking involved with controlling two game entities with cooperative abilities at the same time, but some people hate it. One friend of mine wishes that hunters didn't have pets at all -- it feels too much to him.
One thing that I can't see myself getting into though, is multiboxing: running multiple WoW accounts on different computers and linking them up so you can control them at the same time. The prohibitive cost is the main reason I'm not interested, but also I like the sense behind the hunter class that the hunter and the pet were designed to work together as a single entity. I feel like multiboxing would only leave me doing less than would be possible if we actually had one real person playing each character.
What's your opinion on doing multiple things at once? Do you love such complexity, or do you prefer a simpler playstyle? Which class do you think has the most things going on at the same time?
Filed under: Hunter, Warlock, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ungru Sep 24th 2007 8:12AM
A resto shaman can be pretty complicated cuz of keeping the totems up and in range and still keeping the raid/group alive
Kyr Sep 24th 2007 8:35AM
Hah, I know what you mean... I spend about 20% of my mana and over 40% of my time in raids just keeping up totems and in range - people NEVER notice and NEVER thank you for a job well done.
I do get scoffed for being low on mana often though...
Shevva Sep 24th 2007 8:49AM
Try mis-directing onto the off tank while trapping 2 mobs in kara because the shackle wasn't working??? so wanted to misdirect onto the priest.
or
chain trapping one mob while kiteing another in SH because we didn't have enough cc.
Then again i was in RFK with my shammy and the group was using no cc and all attacking diffrent mobs and i had to keep them alive, always love the no mana break tanks, could of saved him but if he charges while i'm drinking he can have the repair costs.
Multi tasking is dealing with several targets at one in any situation and not having two accounts with one on follow.
dpak Sep 24th 2007 9:09AM
Any time you are playing in a group where you are doing more than one thing, you are multitasking a lot.
I cant imagine multi-boxing - and would have to agree that it would seem almost impossible to play the respective characters to their most effectiveness.
Who wouldn't want to do it thought...I mean, imagine being able to run yourself through an instance...or do those group quests when ever you want.
dpak
Jhestor Sep 24th 2007 9:39AM
I don't usually have to multitask as much as a Warlock, and @1 & 2 I agree, your totem upkeep is very difficult and I love the job a good Shaman player does.
But, there have been a few times when I had to triple CC, using my Succy to seduce, fearing another mob, and banishing a third, and having to keep tabs on all three. I've never had so much fun as that! :D
Jess Sep 24th 2007 10:04AM
I like quest multitasking when you can do two-three quests at once. An example of this would be this weekend I did a quest to collect mushroom samples off of Angorosh Ogers in Zangarmarsh while looking for their diabolical plans to attack zabrajin. And I also collected a few adjacent glowcaps while I was at it. I find multi-questng allievates some of the frustartion of a collection quest where the droprate stinks.
woeye Sep 24th 2007 10:29AM
I love to do multiple things at once. Because of this I prefer to play my hunter in groups. Chain trapping, grabbing mobs from the healer with my pet, kitting and so on. Playing a paladin _can_ be fun, too. Keeping seals alive, protecting players from melee damage by casting a shield on them and much more.
In large scale groups most classes are reduced to 1-3 button spamming. This is why I hated to play my paladin in raids: pressing FoL for hours was no fun at all for me.
Paw Sep 24th 2007 11:45AM
I like taking on multiple mobs with my warlock. But taking on multiple players is even more fun. Especially when they are a level or two higher. I couldn't imagine multiboxing, though. That just sounds like work, and not a lot of fun. I watched a guy try to lead 4 toons from the AH to the gryphonmaster in IF, obvious multiboxer given the "nameA" "nameB" etc. He has a hell of a time just getting them through the corridor without losing one or two to tracking issues. That isn't fun. That would make me want to throw my pc out a window.
Zakk Sep 24th 2007 11:48AM
I hate multi-tasking. That's why I prefer playing my Hunter to my Paladin. I'm just afraid that if I want to do ANYTHING end-game with my paladin, I'm gonna have to heal and tank at the same time. Maybe my conception of the class is off, but it still gets me paranoid when I play him.
Hollywood Ron Sep 24th 2007 12:25PM
Zakk, if they make you heal and tank at the same time, abandon that group. It's not worth it.
franz Sep 24th 2007 1:37PM
I want to control more than one pet at a time. 10 would be a nice round number.
Baluki Sep 24th 2007 2:14PM
I've been multi-tasking a lot on my Prot Pally lately. I go find a mob 3-4 levels above me, then judge Light on them, seal Crusader, then go surf the net in another window. When I see the "in combat" icon go away, I switch back to the game, my pally is at 90% health, and I do it all again.
Needless to say, I'm not on a PvP server. Thank god.
Byron Sep 24th 2007 2:56PM
I play a warlock and hunter specifically b/c when I first started wow, the added complexity of having a pet appealed to me.
However, hunter pets are purely used for dps, unless you spec Intimidation which gives them some minimal cc. Hunter pets come with various abilities, but they're always dps oriented.
However, warlock pets are more varied, ranging from dps (imp & felguard) to cc (succubus) to utility (felhunter) to defensive (voidwalker, tank + bubble). B/c of that, and the warlock's better mana self-sufficiency, my warlock is my main, my hunter my 59 twink.
However, having said that, hunters have talents and abilities that actually make them better cc and utility in instances and raids, they're just not pet-dependent. Warlocks are mainly pure dps, except against demons and elementals, or humanoids you can risk a Seduce on.
Byron Sep 24th 2007 2:59PM
@Zakk: You won't be expected to both tank and heal with your pally. You'll be expected to do only one of those really well, meaning you'll have to both gear and spec for it.
Amagoi Sep 25th 2007 1:46PM
The one of the big pulls for me when I first started thinking on what my main would be was downtime. I chose a Warlock as my lock simply because I would be doing more at one single moment than say, a warrior. Instead of watching my rage bar and CDs I'm keeping track of health, mana, my minion's health and mana, the dots I have going, etc.
With a lock and hunter each since you're playing both your own character and a pet/minion you have more to do, and I like being busy when playing a game.