How big is the advantage of 2-boxing with an alt?

Buttdart · December 2013

I'm thinking about picking up a 21-day trial and maybe jumping into some FW. I admit, even though I want to PvP in FW, I'll probably do this cheeseball farming WCS/Cloak stuff I'm reading about.

I've been playing MMO's for a long time on the fairly hardcore level, and while I'm trying to go into EVE with the mindset of "ok, this game is old as hell and you'll never catch up to half of these guys in SP, just do what's fun", which for me is PvP, I can't help but feel from what I read that most people who play this game a lot (read at least a few hours a day) have at least 2 accounts.

Can someone tell me specifically what options open up that make having more than one account so enticing? I literally was just on a guys twitch stream and he made it a note of pride "I only have one account and I've never had an alt". heh...

I don't mind paying for a second char, and I have multiple monitors, I'm just not too sure what exactly the advantages, or should I say where the massive return on time/effort comes in.

At the end of the day, my goals are going to be to PvP a lot with some people in a corp. I like ECM, I want to fly a cheap blackbird fit, and my second choice for PvP would be a gallente drone boat (looks pretty fun) if I was doing something not ECM, but like I said I'm probably just going to skill toward this cookie cutter O-Plex FW stuff everyone talks about to get some quick ISK until I have enough. From what I hear a ton of people do it, and if it's that good...

uplink4242 · December 2013

You don't need 2 accounts to enjoy the game. The biggest reason to have 2 accounts is so you spend less time training for things you want to do, or have an alt sitting there purely for gathering income. An alt account is like having a disabled friend that lets you keep his loots. That, and some cyno alts or neutral spies to check certain jumps, but it's definetly not necessary to play the game. They are handy but they don't replace other people. Main reason so many use alts in this game is because you don't necessarily have to pay 15$ every month for them due to PLEX.

Also, skillpoints are nothing that prevent you from catching up others. More SP simply means more things you can do. The sooner you understand this, the better.

Training for ecm right off the bat is not something I would advise, and it's rather pointless unless you have a group of folks that consistently play toguether. Even then, training for support roles does not leave you with a lot of choices to make a living in isk. Also, remember that people will hate you and avoid you in pvp if you are known for using falcons.

Passive fw farming gives some ok income (not nearly as high as before), but it's probably the most boring activity in the game (barring mining). Unlike mining you can't reliably afk it either. It is good to get your feet wet, but the main purpose of fw is to PVP. fw farming is done with no skills at all, there really isn't anything to skill for that makes it faster.

Buttdart · December 2013

Thanks for the reply. I'll avoid the ECM blackbird for my first few months

Maybe I'll just go for the straight up FW PvP. The whole passive FW did look boring from everything I've seen, I agree, but I figured it must've been pretty disruptive to say the least since there's so much whining about stab/cloak farmers in FW.

Are there any specific types of fits that should be avoided for FW (in comparison to missions, etc?). I remember when I was going to play a long while back people said avoid missiles.

Drone boats look the most fun to me from everything I've seen. They're pretty viable in FW PvP?

uplink4242 · December 2013

People whine about it because it used to give insane levels of ISK when it came out. It's definetly a good money maker for a beginner, but it's better for your mental health that you try to PVP (or at least learn about it), then take the time to farm the complexes in case noone is around.

ECm is one of those things that everyone despises, but everyone uses it one time or another.

And yes the Tristan is a very pimp drone frigate if you're into FW. It is not very hot for low SP pilots (due to needing some good drones skills to be effective), but it's definetly something you can be good at after a couple weeks of training.

PVP and PVE have completly different fit styles. PVE tends to tank for longevity, consistent damage and specific resists while PVP is mostly about range control and ability to actually apply damage and quickly negate it with active or buffer tanks. This is the rule of thumb, there are exceptions. Missiles are the easymode PVE weapon of the game, but they do have their uses in PVP as well (particulary in the form of torpedos and bomb launchers).

Btw, shameless plug: if you need a 21 day trial and I can offer one and do the usual reward split if you upgrade.

Phry · December 2013

if you are serious about jumping into PVP then frigs are definitely the way forward, train up assault frigs as soon as you can, although you don't 'have' to have them to be successful, they do increase your options. as for numerous accounts, about the only use i've found for having even a second account is either a cyno alt, or as a 'hauler' alt for mining ops, for PVP im not sure i would recommend it

Buttdart · December 2013

Thanks for the replies.

I checked out some recent Tristan PvP vids on youtube and found some FW tristan fits, looks like I'll go that way and try to get in a FW corp asap.

I won't be able to completely support my PvP this way, will I? Should I be going toward bigger drone boats PvE-fitted missioning, and then FW with the pvp-fit Tristan when I am sitting on more isk, and moving up in ship sizes in FW / Missions?

I see some people say you can support yourself fully through FW and some saying you'll need to mission.

uplink4242 · December 2013

Security missions are steady, easy isk and can be done in badly skilled cruisers and above. Most combat skills are shared between pve and pvp so you're not wasting any training, so why not?

free2play · December 2013

With the Ore bays on barges, dual boxing isn't as 'essential' as it once was. Pointed out, it's good for training more passive skills like market and industry refinement.

There is also a break point on PI if you skill all the characters in it. 3 per account, get all skills PI to 3 and you can drop 4 planets per. If you are vigilant in keeping them up and running and moving to market they can put a big dent in the price of a Sub on an annual scale.

Quazal.A · December 2013

In terms of alts I would consider myself (historically) in the top 1% of active accounts per owner.

At one point i was running 11 accounts - Each account had its own role..

But in terms of what you have planned fro yourself then i would see NO reason for you needing an alt, join a small active FW Corp if you want to earn isk and pvp, if you just want cheap PvP then i would suggest considering RvB - They have strict rules of engagements and their fleets are sometimes EPIC

Usually when players start a 2nd/3rd ... 11th account its because they see a missing point in their supply chain for isk.

In terms of getting upto the levels of the other players like myself its easy done, if you have money you can buy toons for isk on the forum (perfectly legal) or just do what i do for my isk which is buy toons then sell them month or 2 later for tidy profit

Buttdart · December 2013

Originally posted by Quazal.A
In terms of alts I would consider myself (historically) in the top 1% of active accounts per owner.

At one point i was running 11 accounts - Each account had its own role..

But in terms of what you have planned fro yourself then i would see NO reason for you needing an alt, join a small active FW Corp if you want to earn isk and pvp, if you just want cheap PvP then i would suggest considering RvB - They have strict rules of engagements and their fleets are sometimes EPIC

Usually when players start a 2nd/3rd ... 11th account its because they see a missing point in their supply chain for isk.

In terms of getting upto the levels of the other players like myself its easy done, if you have money you can buy toons for isk on the forum (perfectly legal) or just do what i do for my isk which is buy toons then sell them month or 2 later for tidy profit

Thanks for the replies everyone. I actually ended up subscribing for the 5-month deal they ran for $50. I've always liked this game every time I've tried it, and now I actually have time to get into it.

I read a ton about what there is to do, and ended up deciding on exploration being more fun than missions, for me anyways, since steady isk running security missions seemed more boring than the treasure-hunting exploration is made out to be; not sure how that will pan out with being worthwhile, I'm only a few days in running around high-sec in an Imicus, but it's already skilled to fit the low-sec cheap exploration frigate loadouts on battleclinic, and watching the low-sec exploration vids on youtube makes it look pretty fun.

FW PvP is still in the plans, at least on the small-scale frigate level when I can get the skills up for a Tristan. I'm thinking right now 1.) high-sec exploration (done) 2.) solo low-sec exploration (next), 3.) I want to join a corp and play with other players, just not totally sure where to go with that in regards to exploration. I heard joining a wormhole corp was a good idea (and skilling in the direction to meet their requirements), so I'll probably go that way.

For now though, I'm pretty comfortable - and slightly bored by the safety - with the cakewalk that is high-sec exploration, and I'm reading and watching as many vids as I can to minimize getting wrecked when I venture into low-sec exploration.

CactusJack · December 2013

Damn I miss this game. Be careful OP, EvE can overtake your life. I don't think I've ever had as much fun in an MMO than EvE, though.

SP's are only keys to more activities. You can only train each skill to V. If I have Gall Frigs to V, it doesn't matter if I have been playing for 8 years or 8 weeks, it's the same bonus. This specific info was mentioned earlier in this thread. It was also mentioned that PvE and PvP are completely different animals. Please remember that. If you are undocking, you are submitting yourself to PvP. Never travel in a ship that isn't fitted for traveling.

There's a lot of information, way too much to mention here. You can read it somewhere, but your best source of info is from corp mates. The trouble lies in finding people that have a clue to what they are talking about. Even if you have no interest in PvP, you should learn how it works. Understanding the basic tenets of PvP will make your time in New Eden a much more enjoyable experience.

Good luck. I only ever had two accounts my entire time and one was a pure PvP alt and my main was sort of a jack of all trades guy. Remember, YOUR reputation as a PLAYER is what people will remember, not your characters.

uplink4242 · December 2013

Originally posted by Buttdart
Originally posted by Quazal.A
In terms of alts I would consider myself (historically) in the top 1% of active accounts per owner.

At one point i was running 11 accounts - Each account had its own role..

But in terms of what you have planned fro yourself then i would see NO reason for you needing an alt, join a small active FW Corp if you want to earn isk and pvp, if you just want cheap PvP then i would suggest considering RvB - They have strict rules of engagements and their fleets are sometimes EPIC

Usually when players start a 2nd/3rd ... 11th account its because they see a missing point in their supply chain for isk.

In terms of getting upto the levels of the other players like myself its easy done, if you have money you can buy toons for isk on the forum (perfectly legal) or just do what i do for my isk which is buy toons then sell them month or 2 later for tidy profit

Thanks for the replies everyone. I actually ended up subscribing for the 5-month deal they ran for $50. I've always liked this game every time I've tried it, and now I actually have time to get into it.

I read a ton about what there is to do, and ended up deciding on exploration being more fun than missions, for me anyways, since steady isk running security missions seemed more boring than the treasure-hunting exploration is made out to be; not sure how that will pan out with being worthwhile, I'm only a few days in running around high-sec in an Imicus, but it's already skilled to fit the low-sec cheap exploration frigate loadouts on battleclinic, and watching the low-sec exploration vids on youtube makes it look pretty fun.

FW PvP is still in the plans, at least on the small-scale frigate level when I can get the skills up for a Tristan. I'm thinking right now 1.) high-sec exploration (done) 2.) solo low-sec exploration (next), 3.) I want to join a corp and play with other players, just not totally sure where to go with that in regards to exploration. I heard joining a wormhole corp was a good idea (and skilling in the direction to meet their requirements), so I'll probably go that way.

For now though, I'm pretty comfortable - and slightly bored by the safety - with the cakewalk that is high-sec exploration, and I'm reading and watching as many vids as I can to minimize getting wrecked when I venture into low-sec exploration.

That's cool. A lot of people end up doing different things than they expected to after they start playing. You should try all possibilities to see what fits you best in terms of training in the long run. Also, if you need some help with eithr exploring, fits or pvp you can drop me a pm ingame. Fly safe.

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How big is the advantage of 2-boxing with an alt?

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How big is the advantage of 2-boxing with an alt?

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