In my previous article we shared a fairly common player type: the Alt-o-holic.  At times the pull of this addiction becomes so strong that simply playing one alt is not enough.  The altoholic finds themselves wishing to play multiple toons at once.  Well we, at Dominate, are here to help!

I want to introduce you all to an extreme form of Altoholism called Multi-boxing.  In the past this was typically called Dual-Boxing, but has in general changed to Multi-Boxing.  Seriously, once you have 2 toons running, why stop there! ?

Some of you that have been playing the game for a while have probably had exposure to Multi-boxing already.  Those that have experienced it on a pvp server arena, or battlegrounds most likely shudder just at the mention of Multi boxing.  This is because you are one of the thousands of victims of this cruel form of Darwinism, a true “Peace thru superior firepower” solution to pve and pvp.  For those unfamiliar with it let me paint you a picture before we go any farther.

Imagine being on a pvp server and innocently running out of Booty bay to go kill some Pirates.  You look around to make sure nobody is close to gank you, all is clear so you begin casting on a mob but suddenly about the time your spell hit it’s target POOF you are dead.  Wait, what just happened?  You spin the camera around a there stands 5 shamys all waving at you simultaneously.  You rub your eyes thinking your seeing things, they all move in one motion, maybe it’s a glitch because your pc is overheating…  While you sit there wondering what happened you whatch them all mount up and run off.

No you were not imagining it, You just got Multi Boxed!  Don’t despair, even the best player can’t overcome the sheer firepower that can be thrown out by a master Dual boxer.

Basic Set-up

There are various ways to set-up your computer(s) for what is called Multi-boxing.  That is, running 2 or more sessions of WOW at the same time. These will typically fall into one of four basic formats.

1. running multiple computers manualy
2. running multiple computers using keystroke clone software
3. running wow multiple times on one PC manually
4. running wow multiple times on one PC using keystroke clone software

Multi-boxing is a subject that can and does fill entire websites.  The set-up, macroing and software variations are far beyond what can be covered here.  For real detailed information, help and up-to-date set-ups I highly recommend visiting http://www.dual-boxing.com and http://www.multiboxing.com they have everything you need to know about how to get set-up to dual box like a pro.

• I have always in the past  used the 1st option listed.  It can be cumbersome to control and may not maximize output like the story example above, but it offers the benefits of tackling quests that require more than one character without having to look for someone to party with.
• For the last month I used option 3 with two WOW windows and I click back and forth.  Not very efficient and tedious to use, but I was up and running within seconds of logging on both toons.  There really is no “set-up” other than tiling your wow sessions like shown.
  
• Just this week I have begun the trial of using keyclone software, and while it has taken time to get going, now that I am figuring it out, it is the best way to go by far and worth a few days of research and set-up.  Having all your toons locked together and casting/healing/targeting with one keypress is jus thte best way to go.

Character pairings

The combinations and ways of pairing your Dual boxing toons are about limitless, and vary greatly based on the player’s desires and playstyle.  Usually dual boxers fall into one of two styles.

• Pure firepower
  This is a group like the one I mentioned earlier. Typically they are caster classes and rely on sheer dps to knock down anything in their way in one cast cycle, or 2 if the target is much bigger or elite.  Some people will mix caster classes like mages, priests, shaman, and warlocks, others will stick to one class.
• Balanced group
  These players will stick with two maybe 3 classes in their little party.  The group will typically have a melee toon and play more like a classic group meleeing mobs down, healing etc.  Shaman are a very common toon in these as they offer offensive casting, totems and healing in one class while still retaining some armor for defense, druids and paladins are also a great choice.  My preference is to run a Retribution Paladin lead with shaman in tow.  Plate armor and solid dps backed up by heals and caster dps plus totems..

Since I was a manual Multi-boxer in the past, I typically ran a Balanced group format.  My favorite pair by far has been pali lead and shamy follow.  The pali as we all know is a very strong solo class, add to that the shammy with totems, heal and offensive spells make a nice strong team.  Once they get up in levels they get reallt strong.  Consecrate, Chain lightning and Magma totem make a Brutal AOE grinding package from an early level.  I have run a shamy & Priest pair lately, and while strong, it does not compare to the Pali/Shamy

Now that I have a keyclone package working, I am experementing with the multi caster format and have a mage/priest pair up to lvl 6.  I know it is not much, but I have never leveled a mage past 20 so it is a start!  Talk about power though, it is something that cannot be appreciated until you try it!!  Now I am debating on making another pair of toons to try 4boxing for the 1st time.  However that requires additional accounts, and I will be covered in another article!

Alts are cool, chicks dig scars, DOMINATING is eternal.

Wicked of Dominate
<Fenris>