Hello again...
I am pretty new to this game again, but i have a brand new computer and have tons of DDR3 ram so i want to try to run 2 toons at one time , i was wondering how this is done ...i think that the game has to be run in window mode. is this right?
other than this i dont't know how to do it , i read in other peoples posts that they duo 2 toons and it sounds fun so as a guy that has never done this ,just looking for some one to shed some light on the subject please ...thanks again
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- How do you Duo 2 toons at one time ?
How do you Duo 2 toons at one time ?Follow
You need to have 2 separate EQ accounts to 2 box. If you're going to do it on the same pc then windowed mode is the best choice because it makes alt-tabbing more efficient. It's really simple once you have 2 accounts. Just run the patcher and load the game on the first account then when the server select comes up you can run the patcher again for the second account then just continue as usual into the game. Just alt tab between screens depending on what character you need to run at that time.
On the other hand with mercs you dont have to have 2 accounts. One of the toons you "run" however will not be very smart. Maybe that toon will be the non merc? <WEG>
When it comes to two boxing or "botting" (i.e two games on one machine)there have been lots of discussions so do a forum search if can, on the subject.
I personally have two accounts one machine. I find it hard for me to box two casters at the same time, even if one of the casters has a pet. (Except if one of the casters is druid then I'm usually root rotting or hitting succor. )
There are lots of great duo combinations see the above forum search, and lots of ways to play them.
For use of MErcs I refer you to the forums about them. Seek and you shall find.
When it comes to two boxing or "botting" (i.e two games on one machine)there have been lots of discussions so do a forum search if can, on the subject.
I personally have two accounts one machine. I find it hard for me to box two casters at the same time, even if one of the casters has a pet. (Except if one of the casters is druid then I'm usually root rotting or hitting succor. )
There are lots of great duo combinations see the above forum search, and lots of ways to play them.
For use of MErcs I refer you to the forums about them. Seek and you shall find.
Scholar
22 posts
Hey something I actually know something about.
Ok first things first. Run it in windows mode. Run it on EQplaynice. Look it up on google. Get a 24" monitor. Learn how to make hot keys for casting.
IMPORTANT - Ram is nice! and essential for boxing! BUT! The video card for texture may be the most important piece of equipment. I would suggest having a 1 gig video card if you want to box on the same computer. Really to be honest this only applies if you are going to box more than two. (I might not be completely correct on this, but I have been reading about texture and from what I have read it's the video cards memory that allows you to have more texture)
I have run on multiple computers and find it allot easier to run one computer with multiple accounts going.
I currently three box on one computer and am able to kill in Korafax. Nothing special but should let you know you can do it. I am not in a raid guild, my tank is an 85 paladin with 4550 ac and 34k hitpoints buffed up. I box Paladin, wizard, and monk with three merc healers.
Normal scenario = Pull the mob with the monk close to camp, feign death. Kick in whatever defensive discs that I want to use or any spells and engage with the paladin. Switch back to monk to stand him up and have him start attacking. Switch to wizard and click his assist key which is set up to cast a couple spells as well. Switch back to Paladin to get more aggro.... rinse repeat.
Note 1: My setup for my mercs is one healer on reactive and two healers on balanced. Have heard of different setups, but this one works for me.
Note 2: If you know how to set up a hot key, this is how mine is setup for the wizard.
Line 1= Assist <tank>
Line 2= Pause 30
Line 3= Cast 2 (this will cast whatever spell is on your second spell gem)
Line 4= Pause 30 (will vary on how long your spell refresh time is from your first cast spell
Line 5= Cast 3 (or whatever other spell you want to cast)
In a regular fight I click this hot button twice, allowing my wizard to cast 4 spells during combat with very little time for me being on that screen.
Note 3: The main problems I run into while boxing with three screens open on the same monitor are these;
1. When you switch screens you accidentally switch targets... with the wizard that can be really bad.
2. Accidentally hitting the edge of one of the windows and resizing it! This one can be really bad because while it is resizing the window it can cause lag and you can't do anything!
3. Unless I am using EQplaynice, my auto follow on the second and third windows stinks! With Eqplaynice, it works great.
Enjoy!
Team Foustes:
Foustes 85 Paladin Xegony
Sebeena 85 Monk Xegony
Napy 85 Wizard Xegony
Ok first things first. Run it in windows mode. Run it on EQplaynice. Look it up on google. Get a 24" monitor. Learn how to make hot keys for casting.
IMPORTANT - Ram is nice! and essential for boxing! BUT! The video card for texture may be the most important piece of equipment. I would suggest having a 1 gig video card if you want to box on the same computer. Really to be honest this only applies if you are going to box more than two. (I might not be completely correct on this, but I have been reading about texture and from what I have read it's the video cards memory that allows you to have more texture)
I have run on multiple computers and find it allot easier to run one computer with multiple accounts going.
I currently three box on one computer and am able to kill in Korafax. Nothing special but should let you know you can do it. I am not in a raid guild, my tank is an 85 paladin with 4550 ac and 34k hitpoints buffed up. I box Paladin, wizard, and monk with three merc healers.
Normal scenario = Pull the mob with the monk close to camp, feign death. Kick in whatever defensive discs that I want to use or any spells and engage with the paladin. Switch back to monk to stand him up and have him start attacking. Switch to wizard and click his assist key which is set up to cast a couple spells as well. Switch back to Paladin to get more aggro.... rinse repeat.
Note 1: My setup for my mercs is one healer on reactive and two healers on balanced. Have heard of different setups, but this one works for me.
Note 2: If you know how to set up a hot key, this is how mine is setup for the wizard.
Line 1= Assist <tank>
Line 2= Pause 30
Line 3= Cast 2 (this will cast whatever spell is on your second spell gem)
Line 4= Pause 30 (will vary on how long your spell refresh time is from your first cast spell
Line 5= Cast 3 (or whatever other spell you want to cast)
In a regular fight I click this hot button twice, allowing my wizard to cast 4 spells during combat with very little time for me being on that screen.
Note 3: The main problems I run into while boxing with three screens open on the same monitor are these;
1. When you switch screens you accidentally switch targets... with the wizard that can be really bad.
2. Accidentally hitting the edge of one of the windows and resizing it! This one can be really bad because while it is resizing the window it can cause lag and you can't do anything!
3. Unless I am using EQplaynice, my auto follow on the second and third windows stinks! With Eqplaynice, it works great.
Enjoy!
Team Foustes:
Foustes 85 Paladin Xegony
Sebeena 85 Monk Xegony
Napy 85 Wizard Xegony
Good tips. Keep in mind that you can DISABLE window resizing:
EQ button > Options > Display tab > Allow window resizing *OFF* (white text)
You can change window sizes from this same settings window by clicking the "Video Modes" button and selecting a desired size, and then clicking Accept. You may be limited to specific dimensions (sizes) based on your monitor or video card using this method, however.
You can also hand-edit the "eqclient.ini" file from your main EQ install directory (usually C:\Program Files\Sony\EverQuest). Open this file with NOTEPAD and search for "allowresize". This should highlight "AllowResize=1" where you can change the 1 to a 0 to disable resizing.
Additionally, if you want a custom window size you can hand-edit the same file and look for this section:
[VideoMode]
Width=1024
Height=768
FullscreenRefreshRate=0
FullscreenBitsPerPixel=32
WindowedWidth=1024
WindowedHeight=768
Here you can change the WindowedWidth & Height values to suit your needs. I *think* this can be done with AllowResize off but have not tested it recently.
There are variables for the window position, but this can only be set for one window and you will have to move any additional EQ client windows around the screen as they launch and open on top of one another. Also, EQ will re-save the offset position of one client window when you shut down, potentially changing your favorite starting spot. At the moment I cannot recall what launch/close order determines this, but it is not that big a deal.
WindowedModeXOffset=252
WindowedModeYOffset=86
I have only ever run 2 EQ clients simultaneously on the same computer. I have not used any 3rd party software because I rarely do this. I *do* keep a shortcut in my Quicklaunch bar to the eqclient.ini file so I can quickly edit key functions, such as if I want to start in windowed mode or full screen.
Downsides of multiple clients using just the basic EQ software are auto-following (the background client cannot handle sudden turns or lag such as when you approach a new area with players or lots of monsters moving around) and sometimes when you switch between windows, if you were running you may continue to do so. Also the accidental re-targeting mentioned by the last poster.
You can set the background FPS to minimum and clamp down graphics settings, particles, clip plane, etc. to reduce the strain on your system. Another thing I do having an Intel Core2Duo, is when I launch the 2nd client, BEFORE going to server select, I open Task Manager and assign the "LaunchPad.exe" process to use the 2nd processor (usually "1"). EQ automatically selects the first processor (usually "0") once it engages the main client and thus 3D.
Hope that helps.
EQ button > Options > Display tab > Allow window resizing *OFF* (white text)
You can change window sizes from this same settings window by clicking the "Video Modes" button and selecting a desired size, and then clicking Accept. You may be limited to specific dimensions (sizes) based on your monitor or video card using this method, however.
You can also hand-edit the "eqclient.ini" file from your main EQ install directory (usually C:\Program Files\Sony\EverQuest). Open this file with NOTEPAD and search for "allowresize". This should highlight "AllowResize=1" where you can change the 1 to a 0 to disable resizing.
Additionally, if you want a custom window size you can hand-edit the same file and look for this section:
[VideoMode]
Width=1024
Height=768
FullscreenRefreshRate=0
FullscreenBitsPerPixel=32
WindowedWidth=1024
WindowedHeight=768
Here you can change the WindowedWidth & Height values to suit your needs. I *think* this can be done with AllowResize off but have not tested it recently.
There are variables for the window position, but this can only be set for one window and you will have to move any additional EQ client windows around the screen as they launch and open on top of one another. Also, EQ will re-save the offset position of one client window when you shut down, potentially changing your favorite starting spot. At the moment I cannot recall what launch/close order determines this, but it is not that big a deal.
WindowedModeXOffset=252
WindowedModeYOffset=86
I have only ever run 2 EQ clients simultaneously on the same computer. I have not used any 3rd party software because I rarely do this. I *do* keep a shortcut in my Quicklaunch bar to the eqclient.ini file so I can quickly edit key functions, such as if I want to start in windowed mode or full screen.
Downsides of multiple clients using just the basic EQ software are auto-following (the background client cannot handle sudden turns or lag such as when you approach a new area with players or lots of monsters moving around) and sometimes when you switch between windows, if you were running you may continue to do so. Also the accidental re-targeting mentioned by the last poster.
You can set the background FPS to minimum and clamp down graphics settings, particles, clip plane, etc. to reduce the strain on your system. Another thing I do having an Intel Core2Duo, is when I launch the 2nd client, BEFORE going to server select, I open Task Manager and assign the "LaunchPad.exe" process to use the 2nd processor (usually "1"). EQ automatically selects the first processor (usually "0") once it engages the main client and thus 3D.
Hope that helps.
Good advice!
I typically can run up to 6 accounts on one computer. I don't necessarily agree with all of Foustes's computer spec info though. Some things I'd add:
- Turn off sound. EQ's sound is a notorious resource hog (and for what???).
- Only turn on the Luclin models of your own characters. For me, the vast majority of my characters are female (with the exception of one SK and rogue) so I keep the elf (high, wood, dark, half), human, gnome, and barbarian models on. If that SK or rogue are being played, I'll turn on DE and dwarf male, otherwise I don't.
- If you're having trouble, the first thing you should look to turn down is your screen resolution. Don't make an ugly game even uglier by turning off texture options first.
- Consider using the default UI (I don't but it's something to consider).
- Make sure you have a 64-bit operating system so you can take full advantage of large amounts of RAM. With a 32-bit OS, if you have 4 gigs of RAM, you don't have 4 gigs of RAM (because the OS only acknowledges about 2.5 gigs). In my computer, I have Vista Home Premium 64 with 8 gigs of RAM. I can run 6 instances of EQ and two of City of Heroes/Villains at the same time, without sacrificing much in the way of performance.
- Try choosing a combo with at least one inactive member. By this I mean, you don't want to play a duo that requires micromanagement. Back in the day, I used to play warrior/cleric because all the cleric did was heal the warrior (and that wasn't something that needed to be done every few seconds). Now, I don't use mercs at all (put too much time & effort into my clerics to dump them for a robot) but even with a full, high dps group (say, WAR CLR SHM ROG BER WIZ), I can go inactive on the cleric (after mark is cast and before heals are needed) and shaman (after slow is cast) and concentrate on the rogue and berserker while the wiz uses macros (like the one Foustes pointed out) to cast whenever their gems refresh.
- Don't just use EQPlaynice. Get the full suite of tools (WinEQ2) which offers many many options to assist with multiboxing (like picture-in-picture and window tiling). At any given time, if I'm running 5 characters, I can have ALL of them visible onscreen so I see everything they do and can switch with a click of the mouse. That's HUGE IMO since I don't do the alt-tab thing (for the reason Foustes gave).
It takes some getting used to. If you use mercs, I guess it would be easier since you wouldn't have to worry about one role. I'm just stuck because I have 4 clerics (65-85) and don't want to ditch them. They still have room to develop also so I don't want to leave them on the sideline while their xp is largely wasted.
I typically can run up to 6 accounts on one computer. I don't necessarily agree with all of Foustes's computer spec info though. Some things I'd add:
- Turn off sound. EQ's sound is a notorious resource hog (and for what???).
- Only turn on the Luclin models of your own characters. For me, the vast majority of my characters are female (with the exception of one SK and rogue) so I keep the elf (high, wood, dark, half), human, gnome, and barbarian models on. If that SK or rogue are being played, I'll turn on DE and dwarf male, otherwise I don't.
- If you're having trouble, the first thing you should look to turn down is your screen resolution. Don't make an ugly game even uglier by turning off texture options first.
- Consider using the default UI (I don't but it's something to consider).
- Make sure you have a 64-bit operating system so you can take full advantage of large amounts of RAM. With a 32-bit OS, if you have 4 gigs of RAM, you don't have 4 gigs of RAM (because the OS only acknowledges about 2.5 gigs). In my computer, I have Vista Home Premium 64 with 8 gigs of RAM. I can run 6 instances of EQ and two of City of Heroes/Villains at the same time, without sacrificing much in the way of performance.
- Try choosing a combo with at least one inactive member. By this I mean, you don't want to play a duo that requires micromanagement. Back in the day, I used to play warrior/cleric because all the cleric did was heal the warrior (and that wasn't something that needed to be done every few seconds). Now, I don't use mercs at all (put too much time & effort into my clerics to dump them for a robot) but even with a full, high dps group (say, WAR CLR SHM ROG BER WIZ), I can go inactive on the cleric (after mark is cast and before heals are needed) and shaman (after slow is cast) and concentrate on the rogue and berserker while the wiz uses macros (like the one Foustes pointed out) to cast whenever their gems refresh.
- Don't just use EQPlaynice. Get the full suite of tools (WinEQ2) which offers many many options to assist with multiboxing (like picture-in-picture and window tiling). At any given time, if I'm running 5 characters, I can have ALL of them visible onscreen so I see everything they do and can switch with a click of the mouse. That's HUGE IMO since I don't do the alt-tab thing (for the reason Foustes gave).
It takes some getting used to. If you use mercs, I guess it would be easier since you wouldn't have to worry about one role. I'm just stuck because I have 4 clerics (65-85) and don't want to ditch them. They still have room to develop also so I don't want to leave them on the sideline while their xp is largely wasted.
Rendition
Cazic Thule
Maxim
Firiona Vie
Collusion
Test
Cazic Thule
Maxim
Firiona Vie
Collusion
Test
More excellent advice! :)
A note about turning off Luclin models: Be sure to leave them *ON* for any race/gender you wish to use a horse or mount with. Any attempt will be met with an error about needing to use the Luclin model.
For some reason SOE has not coded a way to use this ability with the old block head models. I think it could be done fairly simply by just adding the mount even if the player model appears to be standing in it. I have actually SEEN this happen sometimes and it would not be game breaking in any way. Players who use the old models know what to expect and are not doing so because the want to see all the lovely graphics. They are trying to improve their framerate.
OK, rant over. :)
A note about turning off Luclin models: Be sure to leave them *ON* for any race/gender you wish to use a horse or mount with. Any attempt will be met with an error about needing to use the Luclin model.
For some reason SOE has not coded a way to use this ability with the old block head models. I think it could be done fairly simply by just adding the mount even if the player model appears to be standing in it. I have actually SEEN this happen sometimes and it would not be game breaking in any way. Players who use the old models know what to expect and are not doing so because the want to see all the lovely graphics. They are trying to improve their framerate.
OK, rant over. :)
I noticed someone mentioned the problem of the target changing "on its own" when you switch windows. I run into that annoyance myself. But it's not every time. I'm wondering if anyone has a fix for this?
For example, I have my enchanter and magician on the same PC. During a fight, after the enchanter has tashed and slowed, and the mage has malo'd, basically I'm just alt-tabbing between the two windows and spamming their top nukes onto whatever mob my group is fighting. Sometimes when, for example, I alt-tab out of the magician's window, cast as the enchanter, and then alt-tab back to the mage, the mage's target will no longer be the desired mob. Sometimes it's blank, sometime's it's his pet or another PC. Tends to run in streaks too. Will work fine for a half-hour (meaning target stays fixed on both windows as desired) and then suddenly the target will start shifting.
I run both windows below max so I can "watch it happen" sometimes and I will see as I alt-tab the unfocused window's target will change. Since the change seems to follow no discernible pattern I suspect possibly it's reverting to a previous target but no idea why.
For example, I have my enchanter and magician on the same PC. During a fight, after the enchanter has tashed and slowed, and the mage has malo'd, basically I'm just alt-tabbing between the two windows and spamming their top nukes onto whatever mob my group is fighting. Sometimes when, for example, I alt-tab out of the magician's window, cast as the enchanter, and then alt-tab back to the mage, the mage's target will no longer be the desired mob. Sometimes it's blank, sometime's it's his pet or another PC. Tends to run in streaks too. Will work fine for a half-hour (meaning target stays fixed on both windows as desired) and then suddenly the target will start shifting.
I run both windows below max so I can "watch it happen" sometimes and I will see as I alt-tab the unfocused window's target will change. Since the change seems to follow no discernible pattern I suspect possibly it's reverting to a previous target but no idea why.
Sippin 115 DRU **** Firiona Vie ****Agnarr
FV: 115 WAR ENC CLE MAG WIZ SHD SHM Master Alchemist ROG Master Tinkerer & Poison-Maker
Master Artisan (300+) * Baker * Brewer * Fletcher * Jeweler * Potter * Researcher * Smith * Tailor
Agnarr: 65 DRU ENC SHD MAG CLE ROG WIZ BRD WAR
FV: 115 WAR ENC CLE MAG WIZ SHD SHM Master Alchemist ROG Master Tinkerer & Poison-Maker
Master Artisan (300+) * Baker * Brewer * Fletcher * Jeweler * Potter * Researcher * Smith * Tailor
Agnarr: 65 DRU ENC SHD MAG CLE ROG WIZ BRD WAR
Hmm, just a thought but is your TAB keymapped to toggle last 2 targets or anything? I use F9 to rotate targets, etc. and have TAB cleared of any keymaps related to targeting or UI.
If you have trouble finding TAB on the list, try adding TAB to any other keymap on the list and see if it turns *red* (indicating there is a conflict somewhere else). Just open Options > Keys > Select category: All. If the TAB keymap turns red, just scroll down until you find where it is, click on it and then press ESC to clear it. Then be sure to clear the first TAB entry you just made as well.
Worth checking anyway.
Edited, Mar 4th 2009 10:58am by Kuponya
If you have trouble finding TAB on the list, try adding TAB to any other keymap on the list and see if it turns *red* (indicating there is a conflict somewhere else). Just open Options > Keys > Select category: All. If the TAB keymap turns red, just scroll down until you find where it is, click on it and then press ESC to clear it. Then be sure to clear the first TAB entry you just made as well.
Worth checking anyway.
Edited, Mar 4th 2009 10:58am by Kuponya
10 posts
I like a little sound so i can use audio triggers, I run a enchant, wiz, cleric and pally combo and i like to hear if one of my spells fiz especially on one of my mezzes since you have to switch so fast that and heals. And windows mode rocks.
Quote:
I noticed someone mentioned the problem of the target changing "on its own" when you switch windows. I run into that annoyance myself. But it's not every time. I'm wondering if anyone has a fix for this?
For example, I have my enchanter and magician on the same PC. During a fight, after the enchanter has tashed and slowed, and the mage has malo'd, basically I'm just alt-tabbing between the two windows and spamming their top nukes onto whatever mob my group is fighting. Sometimes when, for example, I alt-tab out of the magician's window, cast as the enchanter, and then alt-tab back to the mage, the mage's target will no longer be the desired mob. Sometimes it's blank, sometime's it's his pet or another PC. Tends to run in streaks too. Will work fine for a half-hour (meaning target stays fixed on both windows as desired) and then suddenly the target will start shifting.
I run both windows below max so I can "watch it happen" sometimes and I will see as I alt-tab the unfocused window's target will change. Since the change seems to follow no discernible pattern I suspect possibly it's reverting to a previous target but no idea why.
For example, I have my enchanter and magician on the same PC. During a fight, after the enchanter has tashed and slowed, and the mage has malo'd, basically I'm just alt-tabbing between the two windows and spamming their top nukes onto whatever mob my group is fighting. Sometimes when, for example, I alt-tab out of the magician's window, cast as the enchanter, and then alt-tab back to the mage, the mage's target will no longer be the desired mob. Sometimes it's blank, sometime's it's his pet or another PC. Tends to run in streaks too. Will work fine for a half-hour (meaning target stays fixed on both windows as desired) and then suddenly the target will start shifting.
I run both windows below max so I can "watch it happen" sometimes and I will see as I alt-tab the unfocused window's target will change. Since the change seems to follow no discernible pattern I suspect possibly it's reverting to a previous target but no idea why.
A patch a while ago was supposed to help this issue. I track it down to being where is your mouse pointer located when you hit Alt-Tab. If the pointer was on the group box, you may select the group member under the mouse pointer. For me, since the patch a couple of months ago, I haven't had the issue any more.
As Pinzarn mentioned, I also have not had any issues for quite some time, although it would sporadically happen before.
Also, I box a mage and enchanter, with the enchanter's tash, slow and cripple on one hot key and nukes on another, so for any given mob I only have to alt tab over to her twice. Typically the mob is dead before her last nuke even has a chance to land.
To the OP, practice makes perfect. It took me a very long time to perfect the art of boxing but it was well worth it. I feel naked if I don't have my enchanter with me now.
Also, I box a mage and enchanter, with the enchanter's tash, slow and cripple on one hot key and nukes on another, so for any given mob I only have to alt tab over to her twice. Typically the mob is dead before her last nuke even has a chance to land.
To the OP, practice makes perfect. It took me a very long time to perfect the art of boxing but it was well worth it. I feel naked if I don't have my enchanter with me now.
Scholar
22 posts
Taking buffs with you everwhere you go is so nice. One of my favorite reasons to box. Andy everyone should have a wizard :)
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