Feldon It Started with /Follow
Since the first time someone discovered the /follow command in EverQuest II, ingenuous players have been fascinated with the possibilities of building a force of players all under their control. Naturally, it started with having a healer tag along to spot heal mobs that were too challenging to solo. Then players realized they could handle 3 or even 4 toons on separate accounts playing simultaneously with multiple keyboards and strategically arranged hotbars.
Over the past few years, players have become more successful with building entire teams controlled by 1 person. The amount of content possible to defeat by 1 person has grown by leaps and bounds, and nudged into the territory of what is normally considered heroic content. As groups have gotten sparse, it has been viewed as an acceptable means of playing content that could not be completed solo.
So it’s only natural that the use of technology such as Keyboard/Video/Mouse software, as well as Input mapping/redirection/mirroring software has become popular amongst those who wish to push the edge of just what is possible. By using software designed to broadcast keystrokes from 1 keyboard to multiple computers, 1 keypress can trigger hotbars on up to 6 different characters at the same time.
The Dark Side
The dark side of dual and multi-boxing usually starts and ends with the plat farmer. Ever since there have been MMORPGs, there have been people whose job it is to learn the most efficient means of earning in-game currency and then selling it for real-world dollars, no matter how disruptive these playstyles (and private message spam) are to other players.
Good Intentions
I do believe that most people who are out there multi-boxing are doing so with the intention only of tackling challenging content, rather than farming plat to sell, and rather than being disruptive to other players. I think we’ve all be regaled with stories of the most difficult content which players have been able to defeat through multi-boxing.
Players have invested substantial sums in building multiple computers and paying multiple subscriptions to build and maintain these setups. For many players, it is now their preferred means of gameplay.
Petitions and Answers
This article was written at the suggestion of 2 players who have recently received warnings and infractions advising them that their use of software to “multiply” their keystrokes and inputs to multiple characters/accounts is now considered verboten. Some of these players went out of their way to contact GMs and inquire about whether the use of this software was acceptable. I was asked to investigate through my limited sources.
I was asked to read specific Petitions which received responses from EQ2 GMs indicating that the use of this software was acceptable.
A Contested Result
As we’ve seen in the Rise of Kunark and especially The Shadow Odyssey, the trend has been that Contested content has become a smaller and smaller part of each expansion. But while the Contested Raid picture remains fuzzy for the future, we know that Sentinel’s Fate will bring Contested Group content back to the forefront.
Perhaps in advance of that, the multiboxing policies have been clarified on the EQ2 Forums:
Going forward, while multiboxing is permitted, the use of software to issue simultaneous commands on multiple computers/characters/accounts is not.
Multi-boxing with the use of hardware OR software which allows you to control 6 characters with 1 command is not ok and considered in violation of the spirit of the game as it gives the player(s) an advantage over other players.
It will not surprise me if some players do cancel some or all of their accounts. And no doubt some players will feel stung that they have invested money in computer equipment for a playstyle which has been tolerated in the past.
Do I think we will see wholesale bannings? Probably not. SOE is not in the habit of mass banning players. We’ve seen out-and-out exploits in the past with plat and item duplication, etc. without the type of dire consequences we’ve seen from Microsoft like lifetime bans from XBox Live.
If anything, this clarification will help SOE enforce this rule against the most egregious examples like plat farmers. So if anything, I’d use caution and common sense on this issue.
Survey
If you would like to be heard on this issue:
I’ve got a question – does using software to bind different keys on the keyboard to different instances of the game break this. I have in the past used a 2 box setup where I controlled 1 character normally (mouse for attacks and keyboard for movemovent) and had a healer on follow with f1 to f6 set to the healer for various heal spells. (f1 – f6 were not doing anything in the other game instance). I used software to catch the f1-f6 pushes and pass them to the other eq2 window. So each action of mine only affected 1 or the other instance but I am worried its not allowed due to the software setup to pass certain keys to another window.
Does that count as controlled singally or not. I’ll happilly move my healer back to my main account if that is in violation. I could see both screens at once using 2 monitors and I have no intention of moving a second computer here just to have a second keyboard to be able to 2 box would rather cut back to 1 account.
>I’ve got a question – does using software to bind different keys on the keyboard to different instances of the game break this.
Yes. You can expect quite a few cancellations of additional accounts for this.
“Over the past few years, players have become more successful with building entire teams controlled by 1 person.”
From a design perspective, I don’t see that as bad; I see that as awesome, as emergent design. Basically, what happens is that players transform the game from a first/third-person adventure to what is effectively a top-down RTS MMOG.
“Multi-boxing with the use of hardware OR software which allows you to control 6 characters with 1 command is not ok and considered in violation of the spirit of the game as it gives the player(s) an advantage over other players.”
And that’s a stupid, close-minded policy reminiscent of the school teacher’s “but it wouldn’t be fair to other students” excuse. SOE should be encouraging the former gameplay, not simply by allowing third-party software but instead by implementing functionality that enables single-player-controlled teams.