Are multi-box players delaying server merges?

[detlef]

Multi-boxing also makes things possible that would otherwise not happen at all. 2-3 people can tackle a lot more content when you have a pocket healer/support.

[Diavolo]

Multi-boxing also makes things possible that would otherwise not happen at all. 2-3 people can tackle a lot more content when you have a pocket healer/support.

Why wouldn't those things happen at all? Why not bring an actual person to play support/healer instead of a dual-boxed account?

[detlef]

Why wouldn't those things happen at all? Why not bring an actual person to play support/healer instead of a dual-boxed account?

Are you always able to find a player on the right job at the right time who is interested in the event you want to do?

[Diavolo]

Are you always able to find a player on the right job at the right time who is interested in the event you want to do?

It's easy enough on a server like Asura. It would be even easier if people stopped playing into that "less is more" mentality, giving the dev team the impression that peak server sizes of 250 to 800 accounts aren't just acceptable, but preferred.

[Vae]

It's easy enough on a server like Asura. It would be even easier if people stopped playing into that "less is more" mentality, giving the dev team the impression that peak server sizes of 250 to 800 accounts aren't just acceptable, but preferred.

If the game had standards, that'd work. You can't count on randoms sometimes, they're just plan bad. The game needs a way to verify you're at least capable of performing at a tolerable level.

Yes, that's unfair, but if every event I ever did took an extra 5 minutes cause one player was bad, I'd have lost an EXTRA year of my life on this.

[kylani]

Multi-boxing also makes things possible that would otherwise not happen at all. 2-3 people can tackle a lot more content when you have a pocket healer/support.

It actually helps with quite a bit. I never really understood the allure of multi-boxing till we had a fellow in our linkshell with a pocket WHM. He was a fun and helpful guy, always willing to join in and help others. He pulled out his other account when needed, and it was very helpful with farming items for our ls members. Nowadays, it may be easy to farm umbral marrows, but back when we farmed them for members who needed them, it took a bit of effort. We had 8 with his pocket whm, and it was pretty helpful to put his WHM in the alliance as an extra healer. I'd change groups after singing songs to join his WHM, so while he helped heal, I balladed him to keep his mana up and helped with what I could. Even for events that were popular when we shouted for members like Delve and Voidwatch, his whm would help when there was room in one of the groups. I can think of many events he made better by being so flexible.

I wouldn't want to go thru the hassle, but I can understand folks who do. It certainly was very nice having him in our ls.

[Nyarlko]

Multi-boxing also makes things possible that would otherwise not happen at all. 2-3 people can tackle a lot more content when you have a pocket healer/support.

^ I agree.

The addition of a dualboxed BLM cuts my old soloing times as BST by more than 1/2, and they weren't overly long to begin with. For stuff that is magic resistant, I switch the alt to GEO and cut my times by more than 1/2 by neutering the mob and switching to a physical damage trust team. My soloing go-to/default strategy is Patrick-Fusion > Fire MB from trusts. Replacing a trust w/ a real BLM or GEO allows me to safely/reliably/quickly run other players thru Escha-Zitah T1s on a single radialens. Downside where?
I've done this many times for newer ls members to get them a starting foundation for vorseals and hopefully pick up at least a couple of useful drops for them along the way. Just because I like to help newbies. Dual-boxing has made it even easier to help. Again, downside where?

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The impression I got from the AMA was not that server merges are not happening because of account numbers, but because there hasn't been a widespread enough crying out from the player base in favor of them. If what the devs are hearing is not "Server merge my server please!" from a large chunk of that server's population, then they probably aren't likely to do one, citing the "If it Ain't Broke..." concept.

[Diavolo]

The addition of a dualboxed BLM cuts my old soloing times as BST by more than 1/2, and they weren't overly long to begin with. For stuff that is magic resistant, I switch the alt to GEO and cut my times by more than 1/2 by neutering the mob and switching to a physical damage trust team. My soloing go-to/default strategy is Patrick-Fusion > Fire MB from trusts. Replacing a trust w/ a real BLM or GEO allows me to safely/reliably/quickly run other players thru Escha-Zitah T1s on a single radialens. Downside where?

The downside is that you have to settle for a dual boxed account at all and couldn't find an actual person to help you make your job even easier than the second account did, not to mention the $13+/month and inability to play both accounts to their full potential. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find logging into an MMORPG and interacting with other people far more interesting than interacting with my second account.

Let's be real here, multiboxing offers a number of advantages, especially to those of us who would rather avoid contact with other human beings, are stuck on servers where help is hard to find or because you want a bigger piece of the proverbial pie. Those second, third and however many accounts will not, however, ever play better than your friend/linkshell mate/elite a-hole you might be scared to talk to and if they do, well, this is where I would say communication helps bridge the gap. MMORPGs are social in nature, at least those that pre-date WoW. If you want to go it alone or with as few human players as possible you're free to pay for as many accounts as you want, just make sure to offer more than a quick win to those players you're guiding through Zitah or they may wind up becoming the incompetent players some of you in here will replace by a second account down the line.

[Nyarlko]

The downside is that you have to settle for a dual boxed account at all and couldn't find an actual person to help you make your job even easier than the second account did, not to mention the $13+/month and inability to play both accounts to their full potential. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find logging into an MMORPG and interacting with other people far more interesting than interacting with my second account.

Let's be real here, multiboxing offers a number of advantages, especially to those of us who would rather avoid contact with other human beings, are stuck on servers where help is hard to find or because you want a bigger piece of the proverbial pie. Those second, third and however many accounts will not, however, ever play better than your friend/linkshell mate/elite a-hole you might be scared to talk to and if they do, well, this is where I would say communication helps bridge the gap. MMORPGs are social in nature, at least those that pre-date WoW. If you want to go it alone or with as few human players as possible you're free to pay for as many accounts as you want, just make sure to offer more than a quick win to those players you're guiding through Zitah or they may wind up becoming the incompetent players some of you in here will replace by a second account down the line.

I'm having quite enough fun playing both, both are well-geared (though not many BIS) and has nothing to do w/ "couldn't find an actual person" and more w/ "double rewards/drops and their ALL MINE BWAHAHA" XD (Basically means I really just don't buy upgrade items for the most part. Only thing I farm for gil is Legion.)

I also have no issues playing w/ others, and having 2x BLM w/ Death, a well-tuned self-SC+MB duo, and/or an extra GEO on tap help my linkshells as well. ^^

When I run people thru zitah t1s, its meant to be a fast n cheap way to give them a leg up to be able to join in on LS events, but I also always advise them to pay attention to what the mobs are doing so they have a clue next time they do the fight w/ someone other than me's. (Also, they are always LS members, so not exactly like I'm going to abandon them like a merc would after getting them some gear.)

The only downside that I can agree to is the extra subscription fee. The enjoyment and benefits I get from running a 2nd account on my backup laptop tho is most definitely worth it to me. ^^

[Diavolo]

I'm having quite enough fun playing both, both are well-geared (though not many BIS) and has nothing to do w/ "couldn't find an actual person" and more w/ "double rewards/drops and their ALL MINE BWAHAHA" XD (Basically means I really just don't buy upgrade items for the most part. Only thing I farm for gil is Legion.)

Right, that's been my point all along - the choice to play multiple characters instead of having people fill those roles often comes down to greed, the fact that we can collect more gear/items for only slightly more effort is very appealing and if more people could do it they most likely would, too. It's unfortunate and another reason I look back to the early days with fondness, despite how unforgiving the game was back then.

When I run people thru zitah t1s, its meant to be a fast n cheap way to give them a leg up to be able to join in on LS events, but I also always advise them to pay attention to what the mobs are doing so they have a clue next time they do the fight w/ someone other than me's. (Also, they are always LS members, so not exactly like I'm going to abandon them like a merc would after getting them some gear.)

Well, credit where credit is due, it's good to know that you're doing more than just dropping gear/vorseals in their laps.

]The only downside that I can agree to is the extra subscription fee. The enjoyment and benefits I get from running a 2nd account on my backup laptop tho is most definitely worth it to me. ^^

Out of curiosity, if given the choice, would you consider sticking to one account if you could fill its role in your parties with a new/existing LS member at all times or are the benefits too great to give up the second account?