Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
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 4 of 4)
Naix Jul 15th 2009 3:19PM
Turp I know a ship boat captain that is willing to give you a ride to the states whenever you need it.
Just thought I would throw that out there.
splodesondeath Jul 15th 2009 3:32PM
Okay, this pretty much sold me to multiboxing. I'm going to need to delete some alts though XD. Probably try dual shammies. A few questions though...
So from what I understand, I:
1. Send myself an RaF.
2. Buy a copy of vanilla WoW (20$ + free month)
3. Make the new account have the SAME account name as my original/master account. Upgrade to Battle.net
4. Get the necessary software online to multibox the two. Create necessary macros, change keybindings on the "slave" shaman.
5. Powerlevel up to whatever.
My question is:
Assuming I don't care if I hit 60 or get the Zhevra mount, can I get only one month of playtime (I buy a month on the new one), and just reactivate payment whenever I want to do some more RaF?
Biff Jul 15th 2009 3:44PM
I may have missed something in the video, but I don't think it's possible to have a second account with the same name. Any account name should do.
As far as your question: Your two accounts are linked for 90 days. If you deactivate the account, I think the time still counts down, so you have to level within those 90 days.
You may as well do 2 months of leveling though. With the new, recruited account, you get 1 month of play time free. If you pay for another month, the recruiter account gets 1 free month of play (for your next billing cycle, I think), so you're still only spending 20 bucks for 2 months of linked account time.
Necrosniper Jul 15th 2009 9:12PM
I made the addon Keepfollowing for the soul purpose of making my alt mutiboxes keep following
Biff Jul 15th 2009 3:37PM
Mine ran out in the middle of a BRD run, maybe about 8pm server time. I noticed one of my characters was getting a small amount of XP, so we hearthed to town to grant some levels to our characters. I wasn't able to do it for my brother, but he was able to do it for me since he'd done the recruit a friend thing a day after me. Bummer. I don't know why the GMs couldn't help us out. We earned the levels legitimately.
Biff Jul 15th 2009 3:38PM
Gah, silly commenting system. This is a reply to my post above.
Mike Jul 15th 2009 4:35PM
The thing is, when RaF runs out, you can't grant any more levels, so the best thing to is grant them as you go.
xaospro Jul 15th 2009 4:58PM
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSER! You have to be kidding me. Stop abusing the game and just play one toon at a time like every1 else.
I know in my heart that blizz will find a way to block this scumbaggyness from happening.
You honestly suck and should stop.
turin- Jul 15th 2009 5:23PM
there's the m/b hate we all know and love...
Jason Roskam Jul 15th 2009 6:11PM
Ah, there's the morons I've grown to love, and HATE!
The Bean Jul 15th 2009 4:38PM
Quote from Biff
"I may have missed something in the video, but I don't think it's possible to have a second account with the same name. Any account name should do."
It certainly is possible, in fact it's required if you plan on moving your toon from the referred account back to the original account after the RAF expires. You can have as many counts as you can imagine all with the same name, address, cc details etc...Blizz does not care.
AlmtyBob Jul 15th 2009 5:13PM
Bit of a wording problem here. Your account must be UNDER the same REAL NAME and details but must have DIFFERENT ACCOUNT NAMES. For example Bob Smith would sign up for two accounts under his name and personal information but the account names need to be different, like "bsmithpwns1" and "bsmithpwns2".
You can merge these with battle.net just fine. When you login into with the wow client for the first time after the merge with your email address and password it'll prompt you with what account name you want to play. After that initial login there'll be a drop down box on the login screen for you to choose the account you wish to play.
Tyler Ransom Jul 15th 2009 6:10PM
I run a similar setup:
22" & 17" LCD's
custom setup
core2 2.53 e7200 i believe
4gb ram
gtx260
64gb ssd
windows 7 latest build 7264
logitec g15 and g9 mouse
Keyclone
I run 2 disc priests. 2x pennance 2x mana burn 2x power infusion 2x Pain Suppression 2x bubble. Nuff said. My target, be it one of my priests or someone else won't go down easily.
rekkless Jul 15th 2009 7:55PM
I run a feral druid, 3x arcane mages, and a dualspecced resto/elemental shaman and really enjoy it. Having different classes really isn't that hard with the right setup. I use the left side of the keyboard for the mages, the right side for the shaman and the mouse for my tank. I would recommend seperate monitors for every character personally and I use 5 identical comps to make sure loadtime and lag is identical.
BWJ Jul 15th 2009 8:21PM
"I have kept to the same class for simplicity. Ranged classes are far, far easier than melee due to the fact that all of the characters roll around on /follow and would be outside melee range for the most part etc. So ranged just means it is far less problematic for this style of multiboxing.
~T"
Turp, look into your key bindings, there is now an ability called "interact with target". Among many other cool abilities, like looting from your main on your followers, this ability lets you have your melee get into the fight:
First, set your preferences for mouse(Settings/interface/mouse) to "Click-to-move" on all of your followers. This will not work without this set.
Go into keybindings and set "Interact with target" to a key that's easy for you to use while playing (think "follow" key). I use F1.
Set up your team, so your team uses your main's target as theirs.
Target mob, hit your key (f1 for me), melee followers run up and start beating on the mob - use your usual macros and rotations.
Mob dies. Hit your follow key, the melee run back to you.
I'm using this right now with a priest main, and a rogue and pally, and they are doing massive damage and dps while the priest stands back and heals. All with one key! I also use it with my druid for feral combat. Your druids will rock if you level 4 feral and one boomkin/resto, using this.
Interact with target - all the cool kids are doing it!
Come on over to dual-boxing.com when you get a chance, and say hi sometime! (I suspect you read there anyway)
Nick Jul 15th 2009 8:27PM
Okay
i use TWObox Toolkit ingame any one know how Jamba is compared to it?.. Jamba seem to mirror the masters quest log, can Jamba Loot aswell or am i getting this part wrong? it also looks to me as Jamba can hand in quests on the alts aswell? any words on this?
BWJ Jul 15th 2009 8:35PM
You can't really compare Jamba to Toolkit - Jamba does everything Toolkit does - and a lot more.
Not the easiest thing to set up, but the author hangs over at dual-boxing.com, and can help you out if you get stuck.
Once you get Jamba set up, you'll never run without it. And to be specific, yes, it handles quests acceptance and turn-in. As for looting, use the new "interact with target" to do that remotely on your main.
xaospro Jul 16th 2009 3:06PM
People arent morons just because they know that multiboxing is wrong and an abuse. Its just another way players abuse the game itself.
Players who run lower levels through instances, or send money to lower level alts or when mages port lower level toons to shatt or dalaran or just rush through all the level quests without reading them - you make me sick. Its not a race. Alll you do is rush to get ur toons to the high level and then the skilled players have to deal with players that suck horribly, yet have good gear.
Go away. Go play warhammer or conan and abuse thier crappy game mechanics. Play the game right or just dont play.
Naraxi Jul 16th 2009 3:20AM
One small warring from me, don't forget to use the free lvls before RaF runs out.. I did forget that (was busy playing with main after WotLK release) and all my free lvls that I had saved up was lost :(
Second, I really miss the RaF bonus, the summoning, and the felling that the account was linked, should be possible to pay for that even after RaF have ended if you ask me.
Theoric Jul 22nd 2009 11:50PM
Check out this guide. Builds on what Turpster was talking about.
http://fliiby.com/file/272018/wuxedmv1fa.html
Make sure you disable the movement keys on all of the slave characters, bind them to the arrow keys if you are using WASD, otherwise your characters will be going all over the place.
I bind the follow macro to a key that's easy to reach. The slave character seems to loose the follow all the time, especially when looting.