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The latest patch 5.4 newsTurpsterVision: Multiboxing, Recruit a Friend Style
by Mark Turpin 
Jul 15th 2009 at 11:00AM
We can't believe it either – Turpster has been let loose on WoW.com to bring you videos from in and around the World of Warcraft! You've heard him on the WoW Insider Show, and now see him on TurpsterVision right here on WoW.com.
Multiboxing has long been at the center of a heated debate within the WoW community. Some say that it is cheating; others say that it is just against the spirit of the game, all I know is, I absolutely love it!
I started my journey nearly 90 days ago where I added three new accounts with Blizzard's 'Recruit a Friend' scheme. I set myself the goal of being able to have a level 60(+) of every class in the game. For some of you out there I am sure that you've already achieved this feat during the past 4 and a half years of Warcraft – I know of one person who has gone FAR further than just one of each class. I've always focused all of my attention on my main, gathering achievements, pets, mounts, mats, gold, gear, well you get the picture – and I ended up forgetting the joys of alts. So with too much time on my hands, a few extra copies of WoW and some cool bits of software (more on this below) I jumped into Azeroth with a new mission; to destroy everything!
My set up is as follows:
2 x 20" Monitors
1 x Mac Pro
1 x Windows 7 Release Candidate
1 x Octopus (The multiboxing software not the new expansion's Hero Class)
1 x Logitech G9 Mouse & G15 Keyboard
WoW isn't the most intensive game on your graphics card and system resources when you don't want it to be, you don't need a super computer to take on more than one WoW client running at once.
If you have more than one processor core available to you then you can set up different 'processor affinity masks' which is basically a posh way of telling your PC to which of the WoW clients will use which processor core. There will be more in-depth info on how to set this up on next week's video and post.
Managing the keystrokes between your accounts is the most important task for any multiboxing setup, without it you wont even come close to reaching the potential power that comes with a well coordinated team of <insert class name here>. As I have said before, I use a program called Octopus, but there are many different types of solutions out there depending on your setup.
If you want to play on a PC, there is, of course, Octopus, but an alternative option is the very popular Keyclone that has a very friendly GUI and built in maximizer, which will help keep all of your windows nice and organized.
If you've got more than one PC at your disposal then you'll need to pick up a KMV switch or a program like HotkeyNet. This is obviously more expensive but it is how the old school multiboxers did it.
For Mac, there is CloneKeys which is a slightly more basic than Keyclone (but just as functional for anyone who is starting out) but with no built in maximizer you'll have to take care of your own windows placement.
The second most important tool in the multiboxer's arsenal is the awesome WoW add-on suite Jamba. Jamba assists you in some of the more menial elements of the game, such as all of your characters getting on the right flight path and picking up and handing in the correct quests. I find it invaluable in preserving my sanity; a one button group invite, automatic /follow after combat, sending warnings to the master account whenever someone breaks follow or is attacked. Just one of these features would make it a great add-on to have, but having all makes it a must in my opinion.
Lastly the use of in-game macros makes one shotting mobs possible from level 1 onwards. For my characters I choose one account to act as the 'Master' account and the others act as 'Slaves' to the 'Master' account. For each of the slaves I have the same button layout as the master but with /assist MASTER'S NAME before each of the spells in a /cast macro. These allow me to just target the mob on the master's account and then press the key binding causing all of the characters to jump into action hitting the mob's weak spot for massive damage.
So this video should serve as a little taste into the world of multiboxing. If it is something you think you would be interested in, then tune in next week and take a look at the full guide. And if you aren't interested in multiboxing, or even go as far as to say that you hate the idea of multiboxing, then tune in too since I'll be pointing out all the weak points and how to take them down!
Filed under: Features, Guides, TurpsterVision
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
Mark Turpin Jul 15th 2009 11:38AM
Depends on the value you put on your time. Multiboxing with Recruit a Friend allows you to achieve far more in a much shorter amount of time. I've played WoW for over 4 years, but never have really been motivated to level up an alt (Only had a level 70 Horde Priest from my Dingstravaganza, before that I never even got close to having a higher level option other than my main)
Totally if you don't have the funds available then it isn't something you'll be able to jump right in and do, if you shop around and get battle chests then I don't think you'd spend too much, but depends how much you wanna get involved with, start smaller with just one extra or go full blast and get another 4. It is a different game to solo WoW, a new challenge.
xvkarbear Jul 15th 2009 11:43AM
Thanks for your reply! I thought perhaps there was some sort of cost-reduction-factor I was missing.
Nick S Jul 15th 2009 11:44AM
That $100 is worth the time it saves you, in my experience.
Hendrata Jul 15th 2009 12:38PM
Be careful in how you do your math.
First, when you buy your vanilla Wow, you get a free month with it. So on your second account, you only need to pay 2 months, that's $30.
But on the first account, you get a month free, that's -$15.
Wait a minute, but you still pay for the first account right? Right. But see, you would pay the first account whether or not you're multiboxing anyway. As in, everyone who plays Wow pays $15 a month anyway, so don't count this into your multiboxing expenses.
So the cost of dual-boxing for 90 days with RaF is: $20 + $30 - $15 = $35. Yes this is nowhere near break-even, but it's not $100 as you mentioned above. For a lot of people, $35 is worth the time saved.
Joe Smith Jul 15th 2009 1:28PM
When Wrath came out, i didn't get the Collecter's Edition like i had wanted, so instead i took the extra money and bought a vanilla copy of wow (They had them on sale for $10) and an extra time card. Did RAF and levelled a paladin and mage using multiboxing. I never had more fun playing lower level content than i did with that. Plus i got me a kickass Zervha mount for my main, and used the Grant a Level on ANOTHER alt to bring him to 60. All in all i got 3 60s and a Zervha mount in about 3 months of work. I'm relatively casual, so that was a big accomplishment for me.
All in all my costs came to $10 for the game, $35 for the extra 2 months, and $25 for the character transfer to move the Paladin to my main account. Extremely worth it.
I used Keyclone for my keybindings, and Multiboxer for in-game automation like letting my secondary character autojoin my party and forwarding whispers.
Rob Jul 15th 2009 3:14PM
Not to be a nay-sayer, but don't you need to then transfer those 60s onto another account, for $25 each? I can see (somewhat insanely), doing 2 or 3 sets duos, ie if you want a lock and a priest on your main acct you first level lock/whatever on RAF acct, then you level a priest/whatever. You just end up throwing the 2 RAF level 60s away (or sell em?).
I do know from seeing my guildies RAF can be insanely fast; a pair of guildies did 1-60 in a month playing 20 or 30 hrs a week. I don't think they were all that skilled, first timers for both of em.
But yeah i like the idea of $35 for a few more level 60 toons without an insane amt of work.
Colleen Jul 15th 2009 4:31PM
I spent $17 on a Vanilla WoW account. It received one month free, and I plan to only use that one month, most likely. My main account received one month free as well for recruiting myself. So I've only spent that much so far and I have been using two instances of WoW on one computer running a warlock on the RAF account, and a druid on my main account. They are level 47 now, and as soon as they get to 60 I'll be granting levels to my alt shaman which is the biggest pain ever to level. I think I will probably start another pair of RAF toons because there are still other classes I'd like to play. I'm thinking a mage and a hunter or something like that.
Hoggersbud Jul 15th 2009 11:42AM
Anywhere except BG's I have little to no problem with multi-boxers. Inside of a BG it's too dark to read...wait, no, that's not right. But yeah, in a BG, it can be a bit hard to deal with a couple of folks working together. Not impossible, but a challenge.
Guyledouche Jul 15th 2009 11:47AM
I have 17 chartacters level 60+ thanks to RAF and multiboxing. It was really fun but still a grind. As an alt a holic, i have just about every character I would want at 60 or higher in both Horde and Alliance. I only have 3 accounts as my laptop wouldn't run more than 3 instances of WOW very cleanly.
Thanks for the post Mark. It's nice to see others enjoying this style of play once in a while.
Jon Do Jul 15th 2009 11:56AM
How does that work?
I don't have much interest in multiboxing right now.
On the other hand, quickly leveling alts of certain classes is appealing.
So with RAF one would buy the game (vanilla), RAF the account, powerlevel to 60, and transfer to main account?
Brian Jul 15th 2009 12:17PM
@jon do
exactly. As long as both accounts have the same name on them you can pay $25 per character and move the character between accounts. So I'll level up 2 characters and at the end if I decide to keep the one on the referred account I pony up the dough to transfer it.
I've put several blizzard employees kids through college with all the transfers I've paid for over the years.....
Guyledouche Jul 15th 2009 1:00PM
Jon Do,
First, I had my master account refer my 2nd account, which I activated with a battle chest. Then I had the 2nd account refer the 3rd account and activated it with another battle chest. In this scenario I can have a couple options of play style.
A: start 3 new characters and run them around together for bonus XP
B: start 2 new characters on the referred accounts and instance grind them with my main account.
Option A works well with 3 of the same ranged caster class (i.e. Mage, Shaman, Lock, etc)
Option B allows me to choose any class because my main account is doing the work and the 2 lowbies are on follow.
Essentially you could do what you said and powerlevel the toons and xfer them to the master account so you don't have to pay the monthly fees after you are done.
Guyledouche Jul 15th 2009 1:03PM
Jon Do,
First, I had my master account refer my 2nd account, which I activated with a battle chest. Then I had the 2nd account refer the 3rd account and activated it with another battle chest. In this scenario I can have a couple options of play style.
A: start 3 new characters and run them around together for bonus XP
B: start 2 new characters on the referred accounts and instance grind them with my main account.
Option A works well with 3 of the same ranged caster class (i.e. Mage, Shaman, Lock, etc)
Option B allows me to choose any class because my main account is doing the work and the 2 lowbies are on follow.
Essentially you could do what you said and powerlevel the toons and xfer them to the master account so you don't have to pay the monthly fees after you are done.
Jon Do Jul 15th 2009 11:48AM
So what is the endgame for multiboxing?
Miri Jul 15th 2009 12:06PM
There have been discussions on Dual Boxing.com about people who are taking 5 man teams into Naxx with other individuals to round out a 10-man raid group. The Dual Boxing website is a great resource for multiboxers--there is a good collection of videos of people who have cleared all the Heroics with their teams. Right now the only 2 instances I haven't been able to clear with my team (I usually 2 box 2 different classes, and my husband runs another pair when we instance) was UP and Oc--only reason we haven't managed Oculus was server stability--every time we went in there to do the run our Battlegroup crashed...repeatedly... UP was a struggle on the gauntlet--but I was winging the run, and haven't watched to see what the Dual Boxing website put up for a video.
Another site to check out is Wemultibox.com - it's a blog group that Vyndree started for multiboxers. I maintain a page there (though incredibly out of date at this moment), that chronicles my multiboxing. The one write-up I put the most time into is probably the most informative collection of information for a new team. The hunters referenced in the blog are still level 6 (bad me), but I do have a 3-boxing team that hit lvl 9 last week. My husband is running 3 elemental shaman right now and has gotten his team to lvl 22.
Most of my multiboxing right now is centered around my alts in Northrend--which I just don't feel the need to blog about since it's fairly easy to run 2 toons around.
The most fun was dual-boxing Kara about a month ago (1 Prot Pally played by me, 1 Surv Hunter, also played by me, and then a DK and a Shaman played by my husband). There's a screenshot on one of our PCs from that, but it's not currently uploaded.
If you're interested in my PC build and some of the macro explanation, here's a link to my blog post on Wemultibox.com: http://www.wemultibox.com/blogs/mirina/meet-mirs
Fu Leng Jul 15th 2009 12:14PM
Depends how nuts you are. Most multiboxers have no end game expectations and will switch to solo'ing once they get their toons to 80, but I think every 5-man instance has been successfully run by a 5-boxer.
Past that, as far as true end-game is concerned, some MB'ers take multiple toons on raids if their guild is okay with that. Some MB'ers will team up for a 10 or 25, for example two five-boxers will run a 10 man.
And then there are the people that are truly insane. Most of Naxx10 has been run by 10-boxers, and portions of Uld10 as well. Yes, including Flame Leviathan.
PeeWee Jul 15th 2009 11:50AM
I run two characters at once just fine from launching the same installation of WOW twice, there's no need to have double copies of the game installed, just launch the game twice from the same .exe.
nbcaffeine Jul 15th 2009 2:46PM
Most people would have 2 installs so that you can have 2 sets of graphics configuration, eg: high on the "main" and minimum on the others.
Kar On E Jul 15th 2009 11:50AM
Curious T (and I've no sound at work, so sorry if I missed this in the audio), but what are you going to do with the other accounts once the 90 days is done? Are you going to keep the accounts and characters up or are you planning to sell off all of their things and just keep the 1 60 of each? Also, what's your plan for all of the Zhevras? I imagine your main will get one...are you just picking your favorite alts for the other two?
Bael Jul 15th 2009 11:52AM
Just love the adds for gold sellers that are popping up on the video. That's classy.