May 19, 2020

Dual-Boxing in Pirate101

Ahoy and welcome once again, Pirates! I hope you’re all doing well and safe in these rough times. A quarantine is quite boring, but reading an article related to your favourite game should help. As this article is quite a bit… different, as you can see.

Back nearly 2 years ago or so, our one and only Cody RavenTamer made an article discussing quad-boxing in Wizard101. This is a great guide for those of you who like to play with more than just one account. But have you ever wondered what it’s like to dual-box in Pirate101? Let’s find out!

Dual Boxing?

If you don’t know what dual boxing is, it’s basically playing on two different Pirate101 accounts simultaneously. The purpose behind this is to make farming quicker, make otherwise difficult solo battles trivial, and just generally speed up the questing process. Outside of questing, it also lets you do team PvP by yourself! Furthermore, it’s a completely legal activity, according to Kingsisle’s ToS.

Is Dual-Boxing for Me?

Before you start the process of building up a second account, you should keep the following in mind:

The process will definitely be time consuming. You’ll be starting the second account entirely from scratch, meaning you’ll have to repeat all the quests, re-obtain all the gear, and remake your pets on your second account. It’ll take time and may be frustrating at points, but it’s worth it.

Furthermore, there are some things you need to know about the technological aspects of dual-boxing. For instance, you need to log in on each account one at a time. Otherwise, you’ll see an error message like the one below. Waiting for your both game windows can be annoying, but getting there is half the fun!

Also, ensure your computer has the capability of handling more than one window of the game at once. I would never recommend running dual windows of a game like this on your grandma’s 20 year old potato PC, as you’ll experience some major frame drops and lag. However, any semi-respectable, healthy PC will do just fine. Finally, if you’re a fan of playing Pirate101 on a wide screen with max resolution, whether windowed or full screen, you should lower your resolution to better toggle between your accounts. I set both game windows on 800×600 resolution and sometimes 1440×900. (It depends on how big your screen is as well.)

Which Classes Should I Pick?

Usually for PvE you’d think that any combination of classes work, But actually that’s false. In fact, class choice in PvE matters, in that some options are more efficient than others, especially in late game farming scenarios:

You can run a Swashbuckler or Buccaneer with a Privateer. Privateer can help your other character by providing heals, protections and buffs, while the buck/buckler can play offensively and deal fatal blows to enemies.
Another fun combination can be double buckler. Ah the double black fog and Espirit de Corps of El Toro. So much fun and dodginess!
If you’re a fan of ranged classes and spooky damage, Musketeer and Witchdoctor combined together can be a breeze with 2 Old Scratches when questing and farming. Same goes to 2 Witchdoctors and 2 Privateers/Muskets etc. It’s quite handy almost all the time with scratch dependent classes!
Overall, it’s advisable to have at least one Scratch-centric class (Musket, Privy, or Witch), since he’s just such a powerful unit.

Movement Tips and Tricks

You can press CTRL + R to go on AFK mode without getting disconnected on both accounts.
Using ALT + Up/W will let you run forward automatically, making it so that you only have to control the direction you’re moving in.
Also, you don’t have to walk/fly everywhere with both characters. Instead, have one character do all of the walking, and teleport the other character over when necessary. Or, in the case of ship travel, have the other character sit on the ship’s deck.
When you’re about to deal with a quest that requires you to fight a creature in the skyways, use only one of your account’s ships to do so and just port in your second account. More enemies, Faster defeating and better chances at collecting the item required for your quest, Same goes to ship battles!

Benefits vs Downfalls

Benefits

There are lots of reasons to try dual boxing in Pirate101! One of the main benefits is definitely the enhanced planning time. In Wizard101 you get 30 seconds to plan and act regardless of how many windows or players are with you in combat. In Pirate101, however, you get 60 seconds to plan and act. This is helpful since you have companions to control in addition to your pirate.

You can also multitask very effectively. For example, you can view the bazaar with one account while training pets on the other. Or, one account can be in the morphing tent, while the other makes his or her way over to a farming hotspot.

It also makes farming so much easier. Having 2 characters means twice the buffs. This will allow you to make your team super powerful, eviscerating everything in sight. No need to worry about having “that one player” on your team that rushes in blindly, ultimately not contributing much to the team. Furthermore, if you have Blood Flames and Frozen Tide, PvE becomes completely trivial. There’s nothing in game that can’t be easily conquered by two sets of these amazing items!

Most importantly, the loot you get is the same across both accounts. No need to rage at getting a rare drop on the wrong account. This is because everyone in the battle gets the same loot drops. Bless Pirate101’s loot table mechanics. <3

Downfalls

However, The main downfall is definitely making a new pet. As you know, your chances to get the perfect pet combo with a decent line of talents and power grants is minuscule. Doing it once is hard enough, doing it twice may be unbearable. Furthermore, pets also take almost a month to just get one pet from baby to super. Which is incredibly painful, but sadly, it must be done if you’re interested in PvP.

Another downfall is the member cost, If you can’t keep up with memberships for both accounts, it might be a problem in the long run. For someone like me who is a crown player more than a membership player, I recommend buying all the premium areas on your main account (Your first one). Then, just buy a renewable monthly subscription for your second account. It’ll save you a lot of money in the long run. However, If you’re having problems with keeping up your subscription, Just try to buy the most important farming hotspots on your second account, after you max it.

Also, another big downfall is the lack of multiplayer mounts, unlike in Wizard101. If you want to go to a certain place, you’ll have to walk with one character, then teleport the other in. This can be pretty tedious while you’re questing.

PvP

And now to talk about PvP! One of the most important benefits is the ability to control 2 accounts in a team pvp match, (2v2s and 3v3s), if you’re a fan of team PvP that is. You don’t have to rely on other players that may not understand your strategic or tactical goals. Another important benefit is being able to try different setups on the same classes. For instance, you can run hybrid or other off-meta setups on one account, while having a “stock” setup of that same class on your other account.

One downfall is definitely the planning timer if you’re dual boxing in group PvP. You have to think quickly and count your movements and steps very well, since a couple of mistakes could cost you the match. So, if you’re doing 2v2s while dual windowed, manage your time wisely. Trust me, you’ll find 60 seconds isn’t nearly as much time as it sounds when you have to move upwards of 8 units per round.

Summary

Dual boxing in Pirate101 is quite the different experience compared to Wizard101. Obtaining your loot is very easy, due to every player getting the same loot. This means that you don’t have to deal with the wrong account getting the gear you desire.

There are lots of fun combinations of characters for you to try out, giving a lot of replay-ability. Furthermore, farming is a breeze with two accounts, especially with Blood Flames, Frozen Tide, and Old Scratch. It also improves quick marking. For instance, you can mark scrimshaw docks near the obsidian door on one account, and you can mark the Tower of Moo Manchu on the other (or maybe Kane on one account). You can just teleport like a pro between them, avoiding any walking.

In combat, you get 60 seconds to chose your moves. This is more than enough in PvE. However, the PvP planning time isn’t ideal if you like to spend lots of time thinking and calculating. It’s definitely a fun experience if you’re a quick thinker and able to predict and create scenarios while choosing your movements wisely. Don’t be fooled by the 60 seconds timer, it’s not what it seems!

Although it might be costly and time consuming, you can budget effectively using the plans I’ve discussed above. This is a nice middle ground for both high and low budget players.