Leveling Speed Multiboxing

[Holybob]

Hey all.
In Classic I want to play two classes very fast to 60.
So, what do you think is faster? Dual-Boxing with sharing the XP or playing alternately with using rest bonus?
Thanks for answer.
Holybob

[FuriousFromage]

In terms of RL playtime I think dualboxing will be faster than alternating characters. It's takes quite a long time to accumulate rested exp so unless you stretch out leveling most of your grinding will be without rested exp anyways. It takes about 6.5 days to accumulate a full level of rested exp. So let's say you plan on leveling to 60 over the course of 1 month you'll be rested for a total of ~5 levels if you always log off inside an in. That means you will level roughly 8.3% faster per character.

Compared to dualboxing, you gain 1/2 the exp from grinding but should be killing mobs 2x as fast and recovering 2x as fast (because you'll take 1/2 dmg because everything dies faster). The upper limit of dualboxing is probably leveling both characters at the same pace as solo leveling. So your total time leveling both characters could be as low as 1/2 the time. This is probably true for slow leveling classes that benefit from group dynamics like warriors but probably doesn't hold for faster classes (Hunter).

Personally, I'm dualboxing warrior-mage because I want to main warrior and thought mage would be a good complement during leveling and at 60 for farming. I've done some experiments grinding at various levels and found the rates to be reasonable and faster than I would be able to achieve solo as a warrior. For example, while grouped, I can hit 30k exp/hr per character at lv35 and 25-30k at lv30. These rates are better than I was able to achieve with a solo warrior. I haven't tested solo mage. It's only a few data points but I wouldn't be surprised is dualboxing warrior mage to 60 is faster than solo leveling the warrior.

[Holybob]

Thanks for answer. I want do the same. Just with warrior and warlock cause the free mount. I thout maybe it's faster to play first the warlock for some levels and then dual but not in group and the warrior get the first hits for full XP till the warrior is on the same level and quests.
Ah, I don't know

[FuriousFromage]

I've contemplated a similar strategy. I don't think it ever makes sense to just play one character. If you are going to boost the warlock then play both characters and have the warlock tag mobs and then the warrior should be there to help kill mobs. Although many of the early quests are kill X mobs and you'll probably get better efficiency when grouped.

One dynamic I've been playing around with is dualbox grinding while the characters are not in a group. One character tags mobs and levels 2x as fast. Once the first character is +1 level then the other character is the one to tag mobs. The result is that 50% of the time one character is +1 level higher without any experience penalty. Theoretically it should result in slightly faster kill speeds because it's like having an extra level over content half the time. Practically though there may be issues because it makes questing and looting more complex and pulls become harder if you want one character to tag all of the mobs.

[stubbadub3000]

Also FuriousFromage, what you describe sounds like it would become a major pita rather than just mindlessly grind for periods of time while you watch a movie or whatever

[FuriousFromage]

Ya this is my suspicion as well. When I dualbox most of my pulls look the same. Mage frostbolts then warrior charges. Having to switch the rotations might not be worth it. I'll try it out and let y'all know how it goes. I think the technique might be more feasible with 2x caster classes.

[Moorea]

How about 5 boxing ? I forgot if vanilla has group xp bonus ? what is the exact formula for xp ? when grouping in the world (not in instance) are you getting 1/5th of the xp per character per kill ? you don't really go 5x faster (specially if you have a tank and a healer) so curious if it'll be a lot slower (also the aggravation of some collect drop rng quests)

[FuriousFromage]

I don't have a source but I'm pretty sure vanilla has an exp bonus for groups of 5. If you are grinding single targets your leveling time will be split up into 3 categories:
1) Kill time will be ~1/5
2) Recovery time will be ~1/5 (because kill time will be faster you'll spend less mana/hp)
3) Transit time between mobs will be roughly the same
So with single Target grinding I think it would really tough to achieve comparable rates to solo or duo grinding. You might be able to make something work if you could aoe grind efficiently? Or if you use some instant cast grinding method like warlock CoE, CoA and your group never stops running and continues to pop instant dots. I believe kargoz mentioned this technique on his stream the other day for duo leveling. Could work in 5 box combo maybe?

Duo grinding I do on average 4 kills/min. To hit similar rates you would need 8-10 mobs/min with 5ppl. So that would be very tough if you were killing things 1 at a time

[Purpleflavor]

I don't have a source but I'm pretty sure vanilla has an exp bonus for groups of 5. If you are grinding single targets your leveling time will be split up into 3 categories:
1) Kill time will be ~1/5
2) Recovery time will be ~1/5 (because kill time will be faster you'll spend less mana/hp)
3) Transit time between mobs will be roughly the same
So with single Target grinding I think it would really tough to achieve comparable rates to solo or duo grinding. You might be able to make something work if you could aoe grind efficiently? Or if you use some instant cast grinding method like warlock CoE, CoA and your group never stops running and continues to pop instant dots. I believe kargoz mentioned this technique on his stream the other day for duo leveling. Could work in 5 box combo maybe?

Duo grinding I do on average 4 kills/min. To hit similar rates you would need 8-10 mobs/min with 5ppl. So that would be very tough if you were killing things 1 at a time

i found this, it looks legit as to what i remember
http://www.wowwiki.com/Formulas:Mob_XP#Group_Experience

[Apatheist]

If you're 2boxing it will be faster just to quest and grind a few mobs in between. Even collection quests won't be too bad with only two characters.

Your lives would be made a lot easier by adding a healer though. Warrior/mage and warrior/warlock are kind of awkward pairings that don't compliment each other very well. Both the mage and the warlock would level faster solo and warriors are slow to level without a healer.

In fact, it'd be much faster to level the mage solo and then use it to dungeon boost the warrior once you're 60.