Hey all, well. I noticed a bunch of people are double boxing. (two eq windows up.) I dont mind it except for when I'm in a group everything seems slower. I was wondering if this is allowed wich i kinda think it is. If it is allowed then how do you guys double box, what are the best ways?
Double Boxing?
- Thread starter Mastabrad
- Start date
Cyzaine
Staff Emeritus
Two boxing, on two separate accounts is totally fine. More than that, or using two on the same account, and you'll get in varying levels of trouble (3 boxing is more or less instant ban, same account is less severe, and I personally let you off with a warning on first offense).
Personally speaking I have 2 monitors on one machine and just alt tab.
Personally speaking I have 2 monitors on one machine and just alt tab.
Boehm
Dalayan Elder
User Name
1) You can box two characters at the same time, but no more.
2) Make another account, copy your eq dir, make another desktop link and start it up. I would hot key alt tab to a single letter, but you don't have to. It will save you some bug headaches though.
3. You will want to keep eqw in windowed mode and probably want to run eqplaynice. The later is not a necessity.
1) You can box two characters at the same time, but no more.
2) Make another account, copy your eq dir, make another desktop link and start it up. I would hot key alt tab to a single letter, but you don't have to. It will save you some bug headaches though.
3. You will want to keep eqw in windowed mode and probably want to run eqplaynice. The later is not a necessity.
the-chest2
Dalayan Beginner
are you aloud to have 2 toons in game and a 3rd waiting at character select to replace the other toon in game asap when he camps out?
Yes.
I personally don't leave three window up except for buffing as it reduces performance.
The only advantage to boxing over two guys playing one toon each is that you always have a partner on when boxing. The "guy" must have played a ton of hours, really knew the best places to EXP, twinked the hell out of his toons, or all three.
It really depends on the system. My XP box does a pretty good job. The Vista box I cannot really box well as one of the toons will be very laggy.
Boehm
Dalayan Elder
User Name
I think the GMs would prefer you only have two clients authenticated at one time. Though I shouldn't presume to put wordss in their mouth.
I think the GMs would prefer you only have two clients authenticated at one time. Though I shouldn't presume to put wordss in their mouth.
(Note: I play with all models on, all spell graphics off.)
My Pentium 4 3.2ghz, 4 GB of ram (3 usable due to XP Home 32 bit), with an "ancient" Radeon x600 AGP video card 2 boxes very well. (I run both instances in EQW windowed mode, alt + tab between them.) I "actively" 2 box very rarely though. (Meaning, I don't play them both in same group. One is busy tradeskilling or thieving, while the other "actually groups."
My friend's computer (nearly identical stats, but Vista and a newer video card) cannot 2 box without crashing.
My mate's newer XP Pro, Core 2 Duo, GeForce 8600 GTS SLI system 2 boxes without EQW. (Hard locking the resolution of the game into a window.) It cannot use EQW without crashing.
So far, I find it very hit and miss on the 2 boxing issue.
My Pentium 4 3.2ghz, 4 GB of ram (3 usable due to XP Home 32 bit), with an "ancient" Radeon x600 AGP video card 2 boxes very well. (I run both instances in EQW windowed mode, alt + tab between them.) I "actively" 2 box very rarely though. (Meaning, I don't play them both in same group. One is busy tradeskilling or thieving, while the other "actually groups."
My friend's computer (nearly identical stats, but Vista and a newer video card) cannot 2 box without crashing.
My mate's newer XP Pro, Core 2 Duo, GeForce 8600 GTS SLI system 2 boxes without EQW. (Hard locking the resolution of the game into a window.) It cannot use EQW without crashing.
So far, I find it very hit and miss on the 2 boxing issue.
NinjaPanda
Dalayan Beginner
Thats honestly not that hard of a goal to accomplish boxed or unboxed. Long as you know where to level you level quickly.
iaeolan
Dalayan Elder
Don't use alt-tab if you can help it, use the EQW hotkey for switching windows. This can be customized in the EQW ini file.
I have double directories, but I don't use them any more. I think the performance problems associated with using 2 boxes on a single dir have been resolved or I just have been lucky. I know it used to cause crashes when 2 chars were zoning at the same time.
If there is something against it, it's news to a lot of people
I have double directories, but I don't use them any more. I think the performance problems associated with using 2 boxes on a single dir have been resolved or I just have been lucky. I know it used to cause crashes when 2 chars were zoning at the same time.
It's used a lot, and I know first hand of staff using it a lot. I used it just today.
If there is something against it, it's news to a lot of people
Last edited:
robopirateninja
Staff Emeritus
It should be noted that its pretty impolite to do it to an account you don't own, since they will be unable to log in if you are idling at charselect
Boehm
Dalayan Elder
The line as to whether "logged in" constitutes the account login screen or post character selection was a little hazy. Thanks
Right now I 2 box with all high res characters selected, and spell effects on. I'm running a P4 1.8 with 768 ram XP Pro, and a 128 ATI card. runs fine, I zone a little slower than people with faster PC's
Although I am worried about 2 boxing once my new PC comes... i7 920, 6gb ram, 512 ATI card, Vista 64 premium... it looks like there are some problems 2 boxing with vista... hopefully I will not have any problems... a friend of mine still can't 2 box with vista... both clients run super slow when he tries.
Although I am worried about 2 boxing once my new PC comes... i7 920, 6gb ram, 512 ATI card, Vista 64 premium... it looks like there are some problems 2 boxing with vista... hopefully I will not have any problems... a friend of mine still can't 2 box with vista... both clients run super slow when he tries.
You dont need a second install... but remember that if you do use a single install, all changes on one box are applied to the other box the next time you launch the game.
As for 55 in 4 weeks... hell I could do 55 in a single week on a mage/necro in the PoP era live... and SoD seems to level WAAAAAY faster than live in my experience... leveling to 55 in a few days is just a matter of having a plan of where to exp, when, and sticking to it... not bothering to have fun during that time.
As for 55 in 4 weeks... hell I could do 55 in a single week on a mage/necro in the PoP era live... and SoD seems to level WAAAAAY faster than live in my experience... leveling to 55 in a few days is just a matter of having a plan of where to exp, when, and sticking to it... not bothering to have fun during that time.
j0kie_smurf
Dalayan Beginner
2 boxing is allowed. 3 boxing is a no no. My personal opinion about 2 boxing is that it should be avoided. I like to focus on 1 character at a time and not have to bother alt+tab or keeping track of the bot. Some people do however enjoy 2 characters. It does have the benefit of always having a "friend" to group with. The downside of too many people 2 boxing is the lag to the server. Performed properly on a good pc or 2 good pc's is less stress on the connection, but most people only have 1 pc and so 2 box on the same pc. This is perfectly ok, but please keep in mind that even a smidgeon of lag can contribute to a tidal wave of it.
Which is why I never 2 box. I don't want to contribute to any kind of lag. Even though per computer/connection, it might be a very insignificant amount contributed to a zone's lag, concider 300 people 2 boxing in the same zone then....now it's not a tiny amount anymore.
If you really want to 2 box and try to do it on the same pc, maybe try having 2 hard drives and a 2 cpu mother board. 2 or more gigs of ram and a 256 graphics card. Also having 2 monitors would be a huge plus. I have a pc with 2 NIC cards plus wifi (no dial up modem). Each eqw could be on its own drive with its own resources, own monitor and possibly no lag at all. Assuming you have the money to buy and/or build a monster game pc like I did. And also assuming you have a good bandwidth(internet connection speed). My bandwidth is 54mb, so I zone fast and I get very little to no lag.
You might want to concider upping the virtual ram/pagefile also for effective 2 boxing. The post about having 2 directories, that's a good idea. Technically, you dont have to install EQ twice, just copy/paste the **** folder somewhere else on the drive, or in my case, to other hard drive. If I was to 2 box, I would have 1 directory on each drive, each with its own dedicated resources. 4 or more gb of ram should be plenty for 2 boxing. Technically you can do it with 512 mb ram. I've seen it done on a dinosaur laptop.
I guess personal preferences are going to determine if you 2 box and how you do it. But just bear in mind that to do it right and not lag a zone to poo, try to do it on a decent pc. a little bit of planning and system resource management will go a long way. On lower end pc's, just go to control panel, system and up your pagefile. If you have the Hd space, make it 2 gb or so. It will make a difference when you 2 box.
Which is why I never 2 box. I don't want to contribute to any kind of lag. Even though per computer/connection, it might be a very insignificant amount contributed to a zone's lag, concider 300 people 2 boxing in the same zone then....now it's not a tiny amount anymore.
If you really want to 2 box and try to do it on the same pc, maybe try having 2 hard drives and a 2 cpu mother board. 2 or more gigs of ram and a 256 graphics card. Also having 2 monitors would be a huge plus. I have a pc with 2 NIC cards plus wifi (no dial up modem). Each eqw could be on its own drive with its own resources, own monitor and possibly no lag at all. Assuming you have the money to buy and/or build a monster game pc like I did. And also assuming you have a good bandwidth(internet connection speed). My bandwidth is 54mb, so I zone fast and I get very little to no lag.
You might want to concider upping the virtual ram/pagefile also for effective 2 boxing. The post about having 2 directories, that's a good idea. Technically, you dont have to install EQ twice, just copy/paste the **** folder somewhere else on the drive, or in my case, to other hard drive. If I was to 2 box, I would have 1 directory on each drive, each with its own dedicated resources. 4 or more gb of ram should be plenty for 2 boxing. Technically you can do it with 512 mb ram. I've seen it done on a dinosaur laptop.
I guess personal preferences are going to determine if you 2 box and how you do it. But just bear in mind that to do it right and not lag a zone to poo, try to do it on a decent pc. a little bit of planning and system resource management will go a long way. On lower end pc's, just go to control panel, system and up your pagefile. If you have the Hd space, make it 2 gb or so. It will make a difference when you 2 box.