Please Clarify New Multiboxing Rules

I was thinking about re-subbing, but the new Multi-boxing rules are extremely vague… I used to dual box a tank and healer (2x healers for raid), and I have been trying to understand how Bliz NOW defines “use of input broadcasting software.” https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/11704

Basically, I want to know, if I press #1 on my keyboard, and have that key interact with WoW1, and then press #2 on my keyboard, and have that key interact with WoW2-- with no interaction between 1 and 2, but at the same time always keeping WoW1 as the active window-- will that violate the rules?

I ask because I read threads like this-- Falsely Banned for Multiboxing – And it does not inspire confidence.

I would like to hear from a CM/GM on this as there is a LOT of misinformation out there… The majority of the player base seems to think multiboxing itself is against the rules.

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If you use software that broadcasts to multiple clients, you violate the rules. You cannot use ANY software that broadcasts to the client/s if you wish to retain your accounts. Multiboxing is fine, as long as you don’t use any software to broadcast to the clients.

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Welcome to Customer Support, not to be confused with Customer Service. This forum is a forum for players to assist other players. It is not a point of contact for GMs, Devs, QA or anyone else of the sort. While our Blues are pretty nifty folks, they’re here to offer insight, advice and to moderate this forum. You aren’t guaranteed their attention, so while that is something you may wish, it’s not something that you will necessarily get.

Generally speaking, one key press = one action is the rule of thumb to follow. If you’re using software to juggle your multi-boxing, that’s where the issues generally arise. If for some reason your account does get flagged, you can of course appeal, because no system is perfect. But very rarely will staff pop in to say yes, this is permissible. It gives room for armchair lawyering. Multiboxing is allowed, but not supported. So it’s a go at your own risk within the boundaries given.

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This is a good example of what I mean; given my example, you two are saying two VERY different things.

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That has never been my experience, there are some who confuse multi-boxing with botting, others still who believe that any form of multi-boxing is akin to botting/exploiting and others who are aware that we do not prohibit multi-boxing but believe it should be against policy.

I’m sorry, Twivil, but we’re not going to be able to provide more specifics than what has already been stated at this point. That is rather the point of having those policies written the way they are, much like the EULA, so that it is the specific wording of those policies that are looked at and not a random interpretation of them.

I can’t provide any insight into any specific case, but generally speaking the penalty isn’t usually for the activity claimed but other activities that might also have been taking place.

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I am aware you are not required to reply, so thank you for taking the time to do so. I take it that your reply means you cannot tell me if “one key press = one action is the rule of thumb” when that one key press and one action are being sent (alone) to an inactive window?

The idea is to have 2 different and independent sets of hotkeys for WoW1 and WoW2.

Assuming you are not using Input Broadcasting, one key press = one action is the general rule of thumb.

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So as long as the key press is not being mirrored on both instances of WoW, then it is safe… Thank you for that confirmation Vrakthris.

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If the software used to facilitate that utility is also capable of of input broadcasting, even if you aren’t actively using that functionality, you should probably expect Warden to detect it and flag your account for review.

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Well, my understanding of Warden, is that it searches your active RAM for clear instances applications-- which is why botting programs are so easy for it to spot (they will always have the same name)-- a script, on the other hand, that never writes to ram should never trigger Warden

… Then again, I haven’t played in a fair while, so maybe that has changed too.

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The bottom line is that whatever you do, you do so at your own risk.

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If by that you mean, Blizzard reserves the right to ban you for anything they want without notice-- Well, that’s why I took the extra step of asking on the forums using a throw away account :wink:

That’s not really going to help you the way you think it might :wink:

There is much more than just Warden that Blizzard can use to detect things.

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You make it sound like they’re out to get people for no reason at all. If you follow the rules and guidelines provided, you will be fine. People are just trying to offer you advice from what has been seen time and time again from other players who come here after they’ve been sanctioned.

It is not necessary to multibox, but people enjoy it for whatever the reason. Blizzard has said what is allowable, but they drive home that while multiboxing isn’t explicitly against the rules, it is 100% unsupported, so you do it at your own risk. That is the best hard and fast way of going about it.

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Well, I figure its kind of a taboo subject in general, and by posting on a completely separate account I avoid some possibly unwanted attention.

What I mean is that Blizzard isn’t going to preemptively approve or disapprove any particular third-party software. If you are using software that Blizzard is aware is capable of violating policy, even if you aren’t using it to violate policy, it will inevitably trip Warden

Blizzard’s language is guarded and intentionally vague for the purpose of covering a large swath of subjects/things, in general (not just multi boxing). I don’t doubt that others are trying to offer well meaning advice; all I mean is that to say “they can ban you for w/e they want” is the simplest and bluntest way to state Blizzard’s policy.

The reason it is like that, is the same reason the CM here neither confirmed nor denied my specific scenario; if he did, he could be interpreted to be speaking for Blizzard as a whole, and it would be taken as the company’s official stance, which would make things awkward should a GM act “otherwise.” In such a scenario, someone might be held accountable.

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To be frank, you agree to that from the get-go though. In the ToS they make us agree to every so often, it pretty much reminds folks that this is their playground and we’re just paying for the rights to access it. Rules can change without warning and they’re ever fluid, much like the decision to suddenly start banning the input software last fall.

It’s just on us as players to be aware of these changes and know that if we step over a line and get caught, we open ourselves to sanction whether a warning, suspension or outright ban. It’s nice that there is the ability to appeal, but even that is a grace of sorts when they could just say “too bad, so sad” and slam down the ban hammer.

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I don’t disagree about the intentions of their ToS, and I am genuinely thankful that Vrakthis took the time to reply.

However, I also do not believe asking for clarification-- or expressing confusion about a policy that is intentionally vague-- is a sin.

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Which is both fine, the worst anyone can tell you is no, or that you wouldn’t have gotten anything from Vrak. Us folks who hang out here though just pop in to clarify sometimes when people come in here thinking (or even demanding - this does happen) that they’re guaranteed a Blue response rather than just us players. I’m glad Vrak could pop in and you found some sense of clarity and understanding from all of this, but there are times when that doesn’t necessarily happen. We regs just try and keep that clear for when someone comes along in a year, necros this thread because they’re in the same boat, and they can see what discussion has taken place.

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