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One Player, Many Characters. Multi Boxing in Warcraft.
By Paul Clarke | January 27, 2010
I need to get something off my chest. I play several characters in Warcraft at once.
Ah, that\’s better. I have five accounts and play either three or five characters at the same time. Like anyone doing this, I get my fair share of grief for it.
\”You\’re botting\&
I understand that, if you are out levelling up or grinding for gold or whatever, it can seem a little harsh to be suddenly set upon by either.
5 gankers at once, giving you no chance to react or
Seeing the area you are farming stripped of nodes like wheat fields during a locust storm.
If you feel upset if this happens then you need to understand the by which Blizzard control the game. They do it on an account by account basis. Now that\’s an important distinction. They don\’t do it \”character by character\” or even \”player by player\”. Each account. Even if it\’s the twentieth account you own, is equal in importance. So my fifth account is treated just the same as someone who only has one account. And why not? I pay 5x as much
To put this into context, it is quite possible for teams of five separate players to get together and go on \”ganking\” or farming patrols. It happens. What is more, with 5 people to control them, the will be more efficient at it. Controlling 5 characters on your own is not easy.
It may not seem terribly nice at the time, but it\’s a competitive game.
So A multi boxer kills you, but Blizzard do not differentiate between them and individual characters. They are both legitimate parts of gameplay. On PvP servers this can be an issue with single players.
Then, there is of course the common accusation of \”botting\”. And this needs to be cleared up. Multi boxing is not botting. Every action that all 5 characters perform is initiated by a key press or other in game action by the controlling player.
It is botting only when the game can play without the players direct interaction.
Macros are used, and again some feel this is unfair. Let me assure you, especially newer players. Macros are in integral and supported feature of the game. Blizzard publishes their own macro guide, which if you read it will explain them to you. The tone of the guide leads me to believe that Blizzard are a little surprised that more people don\’t use them. They are certainly legal and an integral part of the play structure.
If you have reported a multiboxer to Blizzard you will probably have been told they have no issue with it. That is the official line. They get asked quite a bit. Often by people who have just been pwned in PvP by multi boxers. The estimates say that the 11 million Warcraft accounts currently live, are owned by 9.8 million players. Multi account owning and multi boxing is more common than many think.
So multi boxers make up close to 10 per cent of the total subscription, and this figure is growing.
Personally, the reason I moved to this play style was to increase my in-game challenge. Controlling one player was no longer occupying me and involving me very much. I would be watching a film, listening to music, playing poker, and still finishing my Heroics without breaking a sweat. The game is a lot easier now than it was 5 years ago. If I had to play one character at a time, then I would probably quit and find something more involving to do.
Your best bet to get multiboxing reduced? Ask Blizzard to increase the depth of the game for single player.
Blizzard have a choice. The more they simplify the game, the less involving it will be for many players. Will they return to the \”tough\” days of 2004/5?
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