PDA

View Full Version : On Dual-Boxing, for purposes on <Favored> Guild Farming



Fravas
06-04-2010, 04:55 PM
Windows XP Tested, probably works on Vista and 7.

Legality: I have inquired to Turbine directly about the legality of Dual-Boxing, and was promtly rewarded with this:


Greetings XXXXX XXXXXXXXX,
Thank you for your inquiry. Multiboxing is not a violation of the Terms of Service. However what would be is if you were playing one account and allowing a 3rd party program to monitor or control the other account. You must be in control of both accounts at all times.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please respond to this email, and we will be happy to assist you.
Thank you,
The Turbine Customer Service Team"

If you are still unsure, you may send your own inquiry here: http://www.ddo.com/component/content/article/670 and expect a response in 2-3 days (depending on stuff that's out of your control).

The guild Favored strongly recommends its farmers be able to Dual Box, meaning to run two clients of DDO at one time to ensure efficient TP/Minute runs (Details on runs below).

To start, begin downloading the DDO client from its main website: http://www.ddo.com/ddosupport/download-ddo

Avoid installing the Turbine Download Manager, as it may drastically complicate the ability to Dual Box. Once you have downloaded DDO (this may take several minutes or a couple of hours) to your hard drive, go to the location you have it installed and right click on the entire folder and select "Copy". On the same drive, or separate of your choice, "Paste" the file so you have two identical copies of the DDO client, but be aware this may take some time since you're dealing with nearly 4GB of data. Both of my copies are on my E: drive, labeled "DDO1" and "DDO2" respectively.

Each copy of DDO has an executable program in it named, "TurbineLauncher" (sans quotations) and if double clicked will launch a client of DDO. Don't do anything with the files yet, instead create a notepad document by right clicking on your desktop and selecting 'New', then clicking 'Text Document'. This is so you can create a .bat file to simultaneously activate both "TurbineLauncher" executables. In the Text Document you should type in the following:

@echo off
cd (((directory for DDO1)))
start TurbineLauncher
cd (((directory for DDO2)))
start TurbineLauncher
exit

In place of the parentheses you should type in the file directory of your two DDO folders. For example, my .bat file looks precisely like this:

@echo off
cd "E:\DDO1"
start TurbineLauncher
cd "E:\DDO2"
start TurbineLauncher
exit

Once you have your directories in, you need to go to "File", then "Save As", and type in "DDO.bat" in the saved name field. This should create a .bat file that can be double clicked to start both Turbine Launchers in both of your clients. You may or may not need to double click the .bat file two or three times, I get a small error message every now and then but it should work perfectly fine. Once activated, you will see a loading screen, but a second identical loading screen should be active obscured by the first. You may have to move one around before being able to see the second.

Needless to say you need two accounts as you cannot play two accounts at once. After you type your account names and passwords to enter the game, you're done!

Some suggestions while Dual Boxing; keep your graphic settings on "Low" or "Very Low" and activate "Windowed Mode" to increase the speed at which you switch screens. Since there is no /follow in DDO you will have to manually use Autorun if you want to move two characters at once. There are some times where one DDO client stalls at a loading screen, and I have had to exit out of both clients and restart the programs to correct it. This game can be run relatively well on any PC, but I would advice some hardware upgrades to any business laptop.

The rest of this post will deal with the business of the guild, <Favored>.

We are interested in the most timely accumulation of Turbine Points possible, and after hours (perhaps weeks) of theorizing, a system has been achieved that has been deemed extremely successful. You shall focus on gaining 0-100 favor within 20 to 60 minutes depending on your efficiency and assistance, by running through the 11 predetermined dungeons listed below. Your main account character will be called Sponge, Leech, or Mule, and should be a DISPOSABLE CHARACTER no higher than level 1. Your secondary account be called your Runner, and must be level 8 or higher. Your Runner must be able to solo all of the 11 dungeons on Elite difficulty within 3-5 minutes without the use of hirelings or shrines.

A typical group of three players will have three Runners and three Sponges, thereby filling the group. The three Runners will begin to complete their stages of quests SIMULTANEOUSLY and halt before completion. The players then move their Sponges to the quest most near completion and the Runner in that quest will finish it, thereby earning the Sponges full Elite Favor. The Sponges then move to the next dungeon where the next Runner is waiting for them, and gains Favor from it as well, and so on. As each Runner finishes his/her quest, he should rush to the next quest on the list and stop before completion again.

EXAMPLE:
Jerry's runner nearly finishes Heyton's Rest, up until the point that he has to smash the final alter. At the same time, George is completing The Storehouse Secret up until the point where he has to grab the scroll. Both Jerry and George have their Sponges run to Heyton's Rest where Jerry smashes the final alter and earns the Favor for he and George's Sponge. At this point, their Sponges enter The Storehouse Secret, and Jerry starts running The Collaborator. When George finishes The Storehouse Secret for their Sponges, they run to The Collaborator while he begins Information is Key. This pattern continues until Sunken Sewer is completed, and the Sponges for both Jerry and George see they have been mailed a congratulatory message of achieving their first 100 Favor. Jerry and George then delete their Sponges, create new ones, and start again from Heyton's Rest.

The List:

----Stage 1----
Heyton's Rest
The Storehouse Secret
The Collaborator

----Stage 2----
Information is Key
Bringing The Light
Haverdasher

----Stage 3-----
Durk's got a Secret
Garrison's Missing Pack

----Stage 4-----
The Kobold's new Ringleader
Stealthy Repossession
Sunken Sewer


Each of these quests should be completed within 3-5 minutes by each Runner, and the group of Sponges should head to the next quest nearest to completion. The stages are for organizational purposes when more than three players want to participate. Again, total time should be 25 minutes, but experience shows that 30-40 minute runs are more common due to human error.

Some tips:

NO SPONGE NEEDS TO GET ANY QUEST ON THE LIST! All Favor will be earned upon completion of the quest they are in, regardless if they have the quest or not. Finding the quest givers and picking rewards tends to slow down the group and should be avoided. Quest rewards may give you some gold, but gold farming is not the goal here.

YOU CAN ENTER THE COLLABORATOR WITHOUT PREVIOUS KORTHOS QUESTS! Enter through the cellar door rather than talking to the innkeeper.

RUNNING PAST ENEMIES IS VERY GOOD! Do not waste time fighting each group of monsters you run into. Instead run through everything, and stop only at a point where fear the Dungeon Alert Yellow or Orange. If there are optional bosses to

IGNORE OPTIONAL QUESTS, BOSSES AND CHESTS! This should go without saying.

DON'T DO CANNITH CRYSTAL! Yes it's right there on Korthos, but it doesn't earn you enough favor to justify running it. It can be easily replaced with Haverdasher considering both quests give the same amount of favor but Crystal is just so much slower.

QUESTS THAT TAKE ONE OR LESS MINUTES TO FINISH! Storehouse Secret, Bringing the Light, Kobold's new Ringleader (2 mins max), Stealthy Repossession (2 mins max), and Sunken Sewer.

MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES FOR RUNNERS! You must need lots of damage, moderate survivability, and lots of run speed. Barbarians seem idea, a Bard or Cleric multi-class may be helpful. Truth be told, not enough testing has been done in this area to point to a single optimal build. Just be sure to do some research to know what you're doing.

SUNKEN SEWER! You don't need to lower the bridges, just have a high Jump skill or Jump item to leap out of the water and onto the second platform.

ABOVE ALL: SPEED SPEED SPEED! Jump while casting to remain at normal speed. Know each dungeon by heart and the best places to stop and fight. Use Expeditious Retreat items at the right time (NOT just before you have to hit several levers).

KOBOLDS! You will fight lots of them, it may be nice to know they are considered Lawful Evil (Think Axiomatic + Pure Good weapons). They are also Reptiles.

OOZES! No one likes oozes. One Muckbane should be plenty so don't invest in 2WF unless going Ranger. Don't forget to repair.

GEAR! A large 2HW is preferable to 2WF because your Runner is only going up to level 8 or 10. Poison Immunity could help in some quests, but don't worry about Blindness, or Featherfall. Some Balance or Reflex Saves should be had due to Information is Key, and anything with Striding is definitely recommended.

$19.50 GOES A LONG WAY. Two extra character slots, and 1500 points could really get you off on the right foot.

That's all, friends. Good luck out there.

tihocan
06-04-2010, 05:02 PM
$19.50 GOES A LONG WAY
Kinda funny to suggest buying TPs when the whole point of such a scheme is to get them for free :D

Sorry, couldn't resist. Have fun farming!

Doganpc
06-04-2010, 05:15 PM
I dual client for extra storage. 2 Characters = 2 Bank Slots + 3 Inventory Spots (5 if you favor run coin lord quests) which is another 100 - 140 inventory slots.

From my experiences: You can start the two clients at the same time, leave them both at login. Then, you can login and play on one until the other is needed. Then when you're ready to do some inventory maintenance you login with the second client. I find Lordsmarch is a great place to handle inventory functions. You must "watch" the logins, I found that if I tried to alt-tab and do something else while the client was loading Direct3D would error (could not initialize). This would force me to quit all clients and start over, logging in with one till the character screen then the other until it got to character screen as well.

Dogan
Best place to load the second client, after selecting character.

rdasca
06-04-2010, 05:16 PM
ummm I'm sure there is something in the OP's post that is in violation of the TOS, I just can't put my finger on it .......

protokon
06-04-2010, 05:31 PM
for those interested in multi-boxing, I have been exploring keyboard multiplexers that allow you to manipulate both clients at the same time (NOT macroing, just duplicating the keystrokes.) and found one particular application designed for this (to multibox easier without breaking ToS)

ISboxer works wonderfully. allows you to launch multiple clients at the same time (must have physically separate copies of the clients in different folders). and has a nice customizing option for which keys you want to pass, which you dont want to pass, setting a hotkey to turn it on and off. also allows you to customize a window layout option (one main window w/ multiple smaller windows) that allow you to hot-swap between clients on-the-fly. if interested, i can post a video of it being used.

it can be tedious any way you do it, but this tool certainly has made it easier for me. oh, and there is a small fee to use inner space (i believe it was like 3 months for 5 bucks or something.)

Fravas
06-04-2010, 06:01 PM
From my experiences: You can start the two clients at the same time, leave them both at login. Then, you can login and play on one until the other is needed. Then when you're ready to do some inventory maintenance you login with the second client.
This is very true.


Kinda funny to suggest buying TPs when the whole point of such a scheme is to get them for free :D
I completely agree, lol. I didn't want Turbine to get mad and try to make it more difficult to Farm like this. Hopefully there's such a small number of people who do that Turbine won't even care, and I've spent $30 for some of the account upgrades I really wanted, and thought they were really helpful. Like hair dye.


ummm I'm sure there is something in the OP's post that is in violation of the TOS, I just can't put my finger on it .......

Many MMO developers don't mind Dual Boxing because it means more revenue from the multiple accounts, and possibly even the few people who actually do it. As for DDO's ToS, there's nothing in it that would suggest that Dual Boxing is a violation, provided you don't use any third party tools to play the game for you (afk bots).

DeaconUraz
06-04-2010, 10:39 PM
All-in-all you have a very informative and thorough post here. Great work!

However, this:


DON'T DO HAVERDASHER! Yes it's fast, but it doesn't earn you enough favor to justify running it, unless you couple it with some solo quests - in which case you're wasting time.

is not particularly true. Substituting Haverdasher for Cannith Crystal (which doesn't need to be done) is completely viable (they both give up to 6 fp) and, more importantly, faster.

KillEveryone
06-05-2010, 02:03 AM
I'm going to get a new rig in about 2 weeks(need that next paycheck,) but plan to do this with both my old and the new computers.

Do I have to have a second account to do this? I had just planned on loading in to my normal account on both machines and grabbing my wiz and the mule that I want to pike through.

Matuse
06-05-2010, 05:55 AM
You can't log in the same account twice at the same time.

Irinis
06-05-2010, 06:45 AM
Protokon - very cool, thanks for the tip, will definitely check it out. The most frustrating part of dualboxing has been waiting to run one character up to be useful and then waiting to run the other one up to be useful.

Nanny - yes you need two accounts. The runner is going to be on your alt account and the favormule on your main.

Krag
06-05-2010, 06:51 AM
is Not Particularly True. Substituting Haverdasher For Cannith Crystal (which Doesn't need To Be Done) Is Completely Viable (they Both Give Up To 6 Fp) And, More Importantly, Faster.

Qft

KillEveryone
06-05-2010, 06:59 AM
Nanny - yes you need two accounts. The runner is going to be on your alt account and the favormule on your main.

I'll probably set up a free, maybe buy a small point bundle to open up the 2 other slots then make that account my bank mules. Any points I get I'll get another slot or 2, maybe get the bank slot when it is on sale.

I'll still have to have a mule on my main account to hold any BTA stuff but most of the stuff I have just has effects that I banked to level with since this stuff tends to be pricey. Rapiers and Kopeshes are kind of expensive so I squirreled away that stuff.

Other items such as rings with a +6 stat tend to be expensive also so I banked that stuff. Same with tomes and a few other items but for the most part I can put that junk on to my mule account.

I don't want to have to make a runner just to pike up my mules for bank space. My wiz will banshee and finger everything so qickly and have all my mules bank space piked by the time I made a runner.

I'm not too worried about grinding TP. If I want something, I'll just buy it. This game is grindy enough that I can't add another grind to it and still have fun.

vVAnjilaVv
06-05-2010, 07:03 AM
While this does look interesting, I would have to say Turbine will do something to make this un-doable in the near future......why would they want grinding for TP's to be easier?

Fravas
06-05-2010, 07:10 AM
You can't log in the same account twice at the same time.

Yes... I should probably clarify that you need two accounts somewhere.


Substituting Haverdasher for Cannith Crystal (which doesn't need to be done) is completely viable (they both give up to 6 fp) and, more importantly, faster.

Sir, you just blew my mind and I will have to change the order of things now.



While this does look interesting, I would have to say Turbine will do something to make this un-doable in the near future......why would they want grinding for TP's to be easier?

I also think this may be true, but when/if they do you can be sure someone somewhere is going to try to make the next best system to grind. Dual Boxing itself shouldn't be against the ToS and I hope they don't change that. The people who enjoy the grind are relatively few (thankfully), and most people would prefer to just pay Turbine for TP anyways to avoid the hours needed to get a significant number of points. Ultimately the game *can* be free, but only if you invest many hours devoted to getting what you want.

vVAnjilaVv
06-05-2010, 07:59 AM
I also think this may be true, but when/if they do you can be sure someone somewhere is going to try to make the next best system to grind. Dual Boxing itself shouldn't be against the ToS and I hope they don't change that. The people who enjoy the grind are relatively few (thankfully), and most people would prefer to just pay Turbine for TP anyways to avoid the hours needed to get a significant number of points. Ultimately the game *can* be free, but only if you invest many hours devoted to getting what you want.

Personally I have never understood the 100 point favor grind....sounds zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz to me....just make new characters and even if you are f2p or limited as to how many points you can buy with RL money and use the free points you earn along the way to get what you want as your leveling.

Just my opinion on it....I think doing the same handful of quests over and over would be maddening personally...for me anyways.

I was actually more interested in it so when I need to solo stuff like Xorian or Burning Heart I wouldn't have to dump any points on Gold Seals.

DeaconUraz
06-07-2010, 02:52 PM
Personally I have never understood the 100 point favor grind...

It's more about whatever floats your boat. During one week a few months ago when there was a fire sale at the Turbine store, I was able to purchase the Demonsands, VoT, and Nec4 adventure packs simply by favor grinding. I found additional enjoyment in converting a round of quests into a race and looking for ways to reduce the amount of time spent completing said round.

And, let's face it, there are plenty of quests in DDO that people run over and over again for a chance to win a reward. When you favor grind, it's guaranteed that you'll get exactly what you want within an estimable (i.e. not random) amount of time.

In the end, have fun in whichever way suits you best!

vVAnjilaVv
06-07-2010, 04:51 PM
It's more about whatever floats your boat. During one week a few months ago when there was a fire sale at the Turbine store, I was able to purchase the Demonsands, VoT, and Nec4 adventure packs simply by favor grinding. I found additional enjoyment in converting a round of quests into a race and looking for ways to reduce the amount of time spent completing said round.

And, let's face it, there are plenty of quests in DDO that people run over and over again for a chance to win a reward. When you favor grind, it's guaranteed that you'll get exactly what you want within an estimable (i.e. not random) amount of time.

In the end, have fun in whichever way suits you best!

Of course...I agree 100%....I just can't bring MYSELF to do it :p

Irinis
06-27-2010, 01:11 AM
Yeah this is a good list.

lethargos
06-27-2010, 01:42 AM
i know this aint constructive, but gotta say, man yer bananas...

pacify
11-27-2010, 04:51 PM
Is it just me, or does Dual boxing no longer work. When i try to connect to the 2nd client, comes with with socket error :(

KillEveryone
11-27-2010, 05:02 PM
Is it just me, or does Dual boxing no longer work. When i try to connect to the 2nd client, comes with with socket error :(

Been multi boxing during mote farming.

Spellsinger songs are quite handy when you are playing an arcane. Lets you stay out their longer between SP refills.

pacify
11-27-2010, 07:31 PM
Been multi boxing during mote farming.

Spellsinger songs are quite handy when you are playing an arcane. Lets you stay out their longer between SP refills.

mmn strange, wonder why it doesnt work for me

Comes up with:
Connection Failed:
Can't bind local socket. Is there another client running.

bah, unless i can get it working, not much point giving my Runner enouf motes for the 4 and 8 cloak of night >_>

KillEveryone
11-27-2010, 10:18 PM
mmn strange, wonder why it doesnt work for me

Comes up with:
Connection Failed:
Can't bind local socket. Is there another client running.

bah, unless i can get it working, not much point giving my Runner enouf motes for the 4 and 8 cloak of night >_>

Well...

I am running a second PC. I could play this game before on it but I really needed a new PC to play some other games and my old PC is ancient(came with Windows 2000) and I couldn't tweek it anymore so I bought a new PC. It cleared up most of my lag problems with this game...not all but I know that the lag problem isn't on my end anymore.

I basically multi-box with a class...rogue...that I couldn't get a hireling for and when I didn't feel like being social. I've also set up my bank characters on my other account, same with my haggle bard because it makes it easier to transfer gear instead of loading stuff into the shared bank, log out and onto another character, move gear, repeat.

Now...they have bigger shared bank and are going to add rogue hirelings. I'll still roll with my personally created "hirelings" though because I know they are set up correctly, have gear, can kill properly because I control them instead of relying on poorly programmed AI and gear transfer is still easier because I can just load my bard, that account's shared bank and my bard's bank spaces instead of having to switch to another character to get the gear out of my bank then relog.

Dakotahorn
11-27-2010, 10:46 PM
MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES FOR RUNNERS! You must need lots of damage, moderate survivability, and lots of run speed. Barbarians seem idea, a Bard or Cleric multi-class may be helpful. Truth be told, not enough testing has been done in this area to point to a single optimal build. Just be sure to do some research to know what you're doing.

ABOVE ALL: SPEED SPEED SPEED! Jump while casting to remain at normal speed. Know each dungeon by heart and the best places to stop and fight. Use Expeditious Retreat items at the right time (NOT just before you have to hit several levers).



Here is my build. I am.... well in honesty I think its pretty much perfect. Some of you may disagree, but try this build first.


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.7.0 BETA
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Level 4 Neutral Good Dwarf Male
(1 Barbarian \ 3 Cleric)
Hit Points: 98
Spell Points: 227
BAB: 3\3
Fortitude: 9
Reflex: 1
Will: 4

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Abilities Base Stats Modified Stats
(32 Point) (Level 1) (Level 4)
Strength 18 18
Dexterity 10 10
Constitution 18 19
Intelligence 8 8
Wisdom 12 12
Charisma 6 6

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 4)
Balance 2 6
Bluff -2 -2
Concentration 4 7
Diplomacy -2 -2
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle -2 -2
Heal 1 1
Hide 0 0
Intimidate -2 -2
Jump 8 8
Listen 1 1
Move Silently 0 0
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform n/a n/a
Repair -1 -1
Search -1 1
Spot 1 1
Swim 8 8
Tumble n/a n/a
Use Magic Device n/a n/a

Level 1 (Barbarian)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack


Level 2 (Cleric)


Level 3 (Cleric)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness


Level 4 (Cleric)
Enhancement: Barbarian Damage Reduction Boost I
Enhancement: Barbarian Sprint Boost I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage I
Enhancement: Dwarven Faith I
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Barbarian Resist Poison I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot I
Enhancement: Barbarian Toughness I




End with 22 Str and 20 Con after gear/buffs

Barbarian: Sprint boost is a must, Anger's Set gives you Ex retreat clickies as well.
Cleric: Self heals and buffs are a must, Aid, Bull's, Divine are really all you need.

Quick Gear run down:
Helm: 3x Ex retreat clicky
Armor: +3 Adamantine Full Plate (DR 3)
Belt: Starter +5 health
Cloak: Starter Mossweave - gives you +1 Con so with level up you will have 20
Boots: Starter Anger's - Clickies
Gloves: Starter - irrelevant unless you want clickies here as well
Ring: Gravnoks Band
Ring: Ring of Rage
Wrist: Barbarian's Spirit - 2nd Rage Clicky / Whatever you want really
Trinket: Runic Trinket - More SP / clicky to empower heals
Weapon 1: Your choice - Currently deciding between +4 RR AXE with Icy added or +1 Keen G Sword of right with Icy (17-20)x2
Weapon 2: Muck with +3 shield

And that's it. Fast Fast Fast / Kill Kill Kill / Run past things

*Tip* You can run past 2nd door in Info is Key before it drops. Stand on the rock at the beginning of 2nd door hall. Retreat Clicky and Barb Haste Boost. Jump as far as you can, and right before you hit the water that slows you down Jump at the bottom of the steps. Immediately Jump again on to next patch of land... rinse repeat for last steps/stairs on right side. Run past door and skip the Grease spewing morons.

Robi3.0
11-27-2010, 11:17 PM
mmn strange, wonder why it doesnt work for me

Comes up with:
Connection Failed:
Can't bind local socket. Is there another client running.

bah, unless i can get it working, not much point giving my Runner enouf motes for the 4 and 8 cloak of night >_>

It is not working because when running to clients on one computer you need to go into your user preference file and change a setting.

BindInterface=
ComputeUniquePort=True <--this value right here need to be changed to false
ConnectionSpeed=0.00
UserSpecifiedPort=0

pacify
11-27-2010, 11:47 PM
Woah thanks Robi! Your just completely awesome :)

I'm trying that Halfling Fighter build you posted before, interesting see how it goes.

oberon131313
11-27-2010, 11:54 PM
loving the idea for the .bat file, thanks!

Hercanic
12-09-2010, 01:22 AM
It is not working because when running to clients on one computer you need to go into your user preference file and change a setting.

BindInterface=
ComputeUniquePort=True <--this value right here need to be changed to false
ConnectionSpeed=0.00
UserSpecifiedPort=0
This is essential advice, but it's missing a few key details:

1. Is this a DDO file or Windows file?
Answer: It is a DDO file.

2. Where is it located?
Answer: The same folder where screenshots are placed. On Windows XP, it will be uder ...\My Documents\Dungeons and Dragons Online\

3. What is the actual filename?
Answer: UserPreferences.ini

4. What should be used to edit it with? Such as, is it safe to edit with Notepad, or is Wordpad recommended -- some filetypes can be corrupted by Notepad, for instance.
Answer: INI files can be safely edited with Notepad.

5. Do you need to edit the file for both copies of DDO?
Answer: No, the file is shared between all copies of DDO. This also means Graphics and Audio setting will be shared, so you cannot reduce the video or mute the audio in just one of the applications without affecting both.