Gamer juggles over 30 Warcraft characters

[The Overlord]

I had expected to see this eventually. I've been in Everquest since 2002 and I've seen plenty of box armies, multiple accounts is one of the reasons that game is still alive, but to my knowledge nobody there has boxed a major raid. Technically over six characters in EQ is a raid, albeit a small raid, and the most veteran gamers in my guild are two brothers that have as many as 10 accounts on several machines that they share, but this beats the heck out of that.

Still, I needed to see it...

Meet the mad king of Azeroth


http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/gamer-juggles-over-30-warcraft-characters/1255554

Think you play too much World of Warcraft?

Compared to "Prepared," you don't.

In a case of game addiction gone officially bananas, gaming blog Joystiq reports on what is surely the biggest Warcraft fan of them all. Known only under the moniker "Prepared," the gamer plays a stunning 36 World of Warcraft accounts on 11 different computers...simultaneously.

Stemming from a desire to manage raids -- large-scale gameplay sessions that typically require the teamwork of multiple players -- all by himself, the die-hard gamer seems undaunted by both the financial and lifestyle commitments to such a geeky endeavor.


"It costs me exactly $5711 in subscription costs per year with 36 accounts on the 6 month pay schedule," he writes. "Not bad considering I'm looking at it like it's a hobby and there are more expensive hobbies out there than World of Warcraft."

Like yachting, perhaps. And despite the downturn in the economy, Prepared can't wait to get his hands on the upcoming Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.

"I plan to be at the store when it opens and will purchase 36 copies of it. With tax, it should be about $1500 for all of them."

Word of Prepared's over-the-top addiction comes on the heels of the annual Blizzcon Convention, a fan-oriented celebration of the games created by Warcraft publisher Blizzard.

I wouldn't exactly say just yachting....coming out to about $19 a day I'm not surprised at all if there's smokers out there that beat this, but there's no denying this is hardcore, the skillset to successfully box a raid is something in itself. This however reinforces what I've heard; EQ's outstanding community is a big part of its success over the years, by comparison the much larger WoW population can seem cold.

[Inkidu]

Lets not talk about the cost of the eleven or so computers. I'm sorry, but that's addiction and sad to read about. I like my games but I can't imagine paying that per year for any game. Let alone for the same game. Maybe I just don't see it. I've never been an MMORPG fan but that's not hardcore gaming, that's hardcore need. The guys got some issues.

I think this is the truly dangerous side of video games.

[HairyHeretic]

How does he run multiple characters at once? I can see you being able to handle 2, maybe 3, switching between them, but if things get hectic you're going to have all bar the one you're running getting killed.

[Rhapsody]

How does he run multiple characters at once? I can see you being able to handle 2, maybe 3, switching between them, but if things get hectic you're going to have all bar the one you're running getting killed.

Multiboxing

[Demoness]

Lets not talk about the cost of the eleven or so computers. I'm sorry, but that's addiction and sad to read about. I like my games but I can't imagine paying that per year for any game....

Addiction is deterimed by the compulsion or dependance one feels towards a particular thing, not by how much money it costs. If he's starving himself to pay for it, then you could make a case for addiction, but in the absence of any such evidence I don't see it. For all we know it's peanuts to him.

And when you consider that he doesn't have to wait around for groups in order to tackle instances and raid dungeons, he may well spend less time ingame than a lot of "normal" players!

I don't see anything wrong with having unusual hobbies. Multiboxing sounds a lot more interesting to me than what some people spend their time on.

[Avi]

This doesn't surprise me either.  Especially when there is a whole industry in Korea devoted to WoW.

[The Overlord]

Especially when there is a whole industry in Korea devoted to WoW.

You're referring the PL and plat for cash thing?

[Rhapsody]

Addiction is deterimed by the compulsion or dependance one feels towards a particular thing, not by how much money it costs. If he's starving himself to pay for it, then you could make a case for addiction, but in the absence of any such evidence I don't see it. For all we know it's peanuts to him.

And when you consider that he doesn't have to wait around for groups in order to tackle instances and raid dungeons, he may well spend less time ingame than a lot of "normal" players!

I don't see anything wrong with having unusual hobbies. Multiboxing sounds a lot more interesting to me than what some people spend their time on.

I agree with this.  Wholeheartedly. 

I personally don't see the point of taxidermy or fly fishing, but I don't condemn people who spend hours upon hours learning to stuff and mount once-living things or tying feathers and thread together in intricate knots.  If I could afford it, I'd probably multibox in WoW.  I can't, so I don't.   Some people have the money to do it; to automatically say "he's addicted because of how much money he spends on a hobby" is condescending.

ETA: Multiboxing is not as easy as it sounds; in fact, it's quite difficult to co-ordinate one or two extra characters, let alone five and up.  Some people manage 5 with varying degrees of difficulty, but to be able to do it on 11 computers at once speaks very, very highly of the player's intelligence, creativity and dedication.

[The Overlord]

I'd like to see his computer room (and maybe his power bill) if he's got 11 set up at once.

Hobbies are unusual only to the ones that don't practice them, and unless those hobbies are illegal, who are we to decide what is an appropriate hobby or not? Hopefully he can afford this and eat, but whatever the case it's his deal not ours. In agreement with Rhapsody, to box an entire raid on your own is about as hardcore and fanatic as gaming gets, but not everyone could or would do it. I tried boxing two with a friend's account in EQ to PL his toons.... doable but not really my style. I'm character driven and I'd rather run one good developed toon than a canned army.

I'll be among the first members here to laud MMO's, I am active in three of them but I don't run more than one account in any...there's plenty to do in them without running more than one toon at a time.

With this guy's setup, surely he can have the best of just about everything Azeroth has to offer, but to be there, this is his lifestyle. No judgements here but I'm sure he has little in the way of rl relationships etc., and to each his own.

I've said a hundred time that EverQuest isn't about the destination, it's about the journey...something that I find rings true with MMO's in general. You get all kinds on the servers, just as in real life...and then I'm compelled to challenge the notion when people call online life not as real.

[Inkidu]

Addiction is deterimed by the compulsion or dependance one feels towards a particular thing, not by how much money it costs. If he's starving himself to pay for it, then you could make a case for addiction, but in the absence of any such evidence I don't see it. For all we know it's peanuts to him.

And when you consider that he doesn't have to wait around for groups in order to tackle instances and raid dungeons, he may well spend less time ingame than a lot of "normal" players!

I don't see anything wrong with having unusual hobbies. Multiboxing sounds a lot more interesting to me than what some people spend their time on.

If you want to determine addiction all you have to do is take away a non-necessary item in his life. I bet ten to one he'd have some form of withdrawal. 

[Inkidu]

I'd like to see his computer room (and maybe his power bill) if he's got 11 set up at once.

Hobbies are unusual only to the ones that don't practice them, and unless those hobbies are illegal, who are we to decide what is an appropriate hobby or not? Hopefully he can afford this and eat, but whatever the case it's his deal not ours. In agreement with Rhapsody, to box an entire raid on your own is about as hardcore and fanatic as gaming gets, but not everyone could or would do it. I tried boxing two with a friend's account in EQ to PL his toons.... doable but not really my style. I'm character driven and I'd rather run one good developed toon than a canned army.

I'll be among the first members here to laud MMO's, I am active in three of them but I don't run more than one account in any...there's plenty to do in them without running more than one toon at a time.

With this guy's setup, surely he can have the best of just about everything Azeroth has to offer, but to be there, this is his lifestyle. No judgements here but I'm sure he has little in the way of rl relationships etc., and to each his own.

I've said a hundred time that EverQuest isn't about the destination, it's about the journey...something that I find rings true with MMO's in general. You get all kinds on the servers, just as in real life...and then I'm compelled to challenge the notion when people call online life not as real.

I'm pointing out he has put thousands of dollars into a game so he can what? Run massive parties so he can save himself time getting a party together. Yes it can be tough but I find that highly irrational that he's willing to pay thousands of dollars to support a hobby. I could spend a thousand dollars on Jack and I'd be called an alcoholic up front. Even if I only liked collecting bottles. I'm not saying he's addicted but he's showing some pretty classic signs of it. I can't be certain.

[Oniya]

ETA: Multiboxing is not as easy as it sounds; in fact, it's quite difficult to co-ordinate one or two extra characters, let alone five and up.  Some people manage 5 with varying degrees of difficulty, but to be able to do it on 11 computers at once speaks very, very highly of the player's intelligence, creativity and dedication.

I've juggled upwards of 5 simultaneous RPs, but that's a completely different story from something that involves real-time call-and-response.  Even with IM's, you have a lag when one person is typing.

That being said, I wish I had $5000 laying around each year to blow on a hobby. 

[Rhapsody]

I'm pointing out he has put thousands of dollars into a game so he can what? Run massive parties so he can save himself time getting a party together. Yes it can be tough but I find that highly irrational that he's willing to pay thousands of dollars to support a hobby.

People spend hundreds of dollars a month on paintball.  All so they can what?  Run around in the woods and get splattered by Prismacolors all weekend?

People spend hundreds and thousands of dollars a year on fish tanks and exotic imported specimens.  All so they can what? Have some nice multicolored waterdwellers to look at every day?

People spend absurd amounts of money on photography equipment, darkrooms, developing solutions and film.  All so they can what? Play photojournalist in their spare time?

Everyone has hobbies they like to spend money on.  Some can afford to spend a whole lot of money, some can't or don't need to because their preferred hobby doesn't take a lot of money - like leaf collecting.  Who the hell are you to judge him on what he chooses to do with his free time and spare money?

[Inkidu]

People spend hundreds of dollars a month on paintball.  All so they can what?  Run around in the woods and get splattered by Prismacolors all weekend?

People spend hundreds and thousands of dollars a year on fish tanks and exotic imported specimens.  All so they can what? Have some nice multicolored waterdwellers to look at every day?

People spend absurd amounts of money on photography equipment, darkrooms, developing solutions and film.  All so they can what? Play photojournalist in their spare time?

Everyone has hobbies they like to spend money on.  Some can afford to spend a whole lot of money, some can't or don't need to because their preferred hobby doesn't take a lot of money - like leaf collecting.  Who the hell are you to judge him on what he chooses to do with his free time and spare money?

I wasn't judging anybody for anything. Okay maybe I find it a little sad, but I find people who have twenty cats sad too. I'm not saying he's said but it doesn't seem like he does much more than play W.O.W.  Anything can be addictive. I was just pointing out what seemed like the most obvious thing. Besides you can still function and be obsessed even addicted.

[Sherona]

Finding something "sad" is judging it.


That being said, many people would consider "wasting" money donating to Elliquiy all so we can do what? Sit around and write? Sheesh surely we have something better to do with our money...*smiles*

That said, addiction is not how much time you spend, or how much money you spend. Its sacrificing necessities, its sacrificing paying bills, its sacrificing IMPORTANT things to do that which one is addicted to.  There is no evidence of that here.


I play an MMORPG game called Dofus, I pay for two accoutns a year, and I play my friends (he is Ture here) and my sisters so I am running four instances. But if I don't get to play Dofus for a few weeks I am not heartbroken over it. Its just a hobby, just something to kill time.

[Inkidu]

So I judged I'm not going to act all self-righteous and say I don't. Everyone judges someone at least once a day. I guarantee it. I will direct your attention to House. Because he's a wonderful, wonderful example of this. He is addicted to opiates. Yet, he still functions. So maybe addiction is the wrong word, but I would definitely call it an obsession. That's not much better.   

[The Overlord]

I'm pointing out he has put thousands of dollars into a game so he can what? Run massive parties so he can save himself time getting a party together. Yes it can be tough but I find that highly irrational that he's willing to pay thousands of dollars to support a hobby. I could spend a thousand dollars on Jack and I'd be called an alcoholic up front. Even if I only liked collecting bottles. I'm not saying he's addicted but he's showing some pretty classic signs of it. I can't be certain.

Might well be an addiction, but it's certainly not an illegal addiction.

The way I see it, it's his money to blow. At least he's not killing himself with drugs...if he can't afford it then he's killing his income and needs to back off. If he can afford it then at worst he's killing his social life, but not everyone feels the need to connect or be involved in tons of friendships or relationships.

[Inkidu]

Wasn't saying it was legal or illegal was condemning him for anything. At most he's obsessed or addicted. At least he's got a lot of money he could probably use a little better.

[ShrowdedPoet]

Ink, this is the news forum.  We are not here to debate addiction or obsession.  The point of this was some interesting news.  You are being judgemental and when called on it you pull other stuff out of the air to pick at.  Just because you don't like or approve of what this man is doing (or whatever your issue is) doesn't give you the right to go off flinging stuff about. 

Personally there is nothing wrong with an obsession unless it's harmful.  There is no addiction here.  I don't even see an obsession.  I see someone with a hobby.  Nothing wrong with that.  My boss who is a judge and lawyer and has ungodly amounts of money to speed byes tons and tons of railroad memorabilia. . .just so he can see it, have it, touch it.  He likes railroad stuff and railroad stuff is his hobby.  Has been since he was a little boy. . .and believe me. . .he's an old man now. 

The problem people are seeing in your statements is the continued use of things like, I think it's sad. . .he could use his money a little better. . .that's not much better. . .and you're making assumptions about a person you don't know. 

[Inkidu]

Ink, this is the news forum.  We are not here to debate addiction or obsession.  The point of this was some interesting news.  You are being judgemental and when called on it you pull other stuff out of the air to pick at.  Just because you don't like or approve of what this man is doing (or whatever your issue is) doesn't give you the right to go off flinging stuff about. 

Personally there is nothing wrong with an obsession unless it's harmful.  There is no addiction here.  I don't even see an obsession.  I see someone with a hobby.  Nothing wrong with that.  My boss who is a judge and lawyer and has ungodly amounts of money to speed byes tons and tons of railroad memorabilia. . .just so he can see it, have it, touch it.  He likes railroad stuff and railroad stuff is his hobby.  Has been since he was a little boy. . .and believe me. . .he's an old man now. 

The problem people are seeing in your statements is the continued use of things like, I think it's sad. . .he could use his money a little better. . .that's not much better. . .and you're making assumptions about a person you don't know. 

You're right, sorry. I need sleep but I can't and I refuse to take sleeping pills. I've been there I don't like it.

[ShrowdedPoet]

You're right, sorry. I need sleep but I can't and I refuse to take sleeping pills. I've been there I don't like it.

. . .Nyquil. . .it works wonders. . .

[Oniya]

. . .Nyquil. . .it works wonders. . .

*cues up Dennis Leary*

"You look at the label.  It says 'May cause drowsiness.'  What it really means is 'Don't make any ****ing plans'!"

[ShrowdedPoet]

*cues up Dennis Leary*

"You look at the label.  It says 'May cause drowsiness.'  What it really means is 'Don't make any ****ing plans'!"

Got that right!

[Kurzyk]

I had expected to see this eventually. I've been in Everquest since 2002 and I've seen plenty of box armies, multiple accounts is one of the reasons that game is still alive, but to my knowledge nobody there has boxed a major raid. Technically over six characters in EQ is a raid, albeit a small raid, and the most veteran gamers in my guild are two brothers that have as many as 10 accounts on several machines that they share, but this beats the heck out of that.

Still, I needed to see it...

Meet the mad king of Azeroth


http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/gamer-juggles-over-30-warcraft-characters/1255554



I wouldn't exactly say just yachting....coming out to about $19 a day I'm not surprised at all if there's smokers out there that beat this, but there's no denying this is hardcore, the skillset to successfully box a raid is something in itself. This however reinforces what I've heard; EQ's outstanding community is a big part of its success over the years, by comparison the much larger WoW population can seem cold.

Ive seen 5-man shaman bots in the battlegrounds with names like Nahuj, Najhu, Nuaja, Njahu and Nhjau that are virtually unkillable. But 30? Thats insane.

[ShrowdedPoet]

Ive seen 5-man shaman bots in the battlegrounds with names like Nahuj, Najhu, Nuaja, Njahu and Nhjau that are virtually unkillable. But 30? Thats insane.

Bots?  I thought this was a real man.  Bots are computers right?