What's the beef with boxing?

[kildone]

*Edit Thank you for the thoughtful posts and insightful information. I will add these to the post*

I have seen comments in other threads but wanted to hear opinions in a thread specific to the issue. I honestly don't get it and think the arguments against do not hold water.

It very likely I am just ignorant on the issue. These opinions against are likely based on experience. Did P99 ever try it?

On live EQ I knew a number of folks who two boxed and one guy who would play up to 5. These guys always preferred grouping to boxing. Always glad to drop down to one character to allow folks into a group.

On blue 99 when the server was new I could understand a ban, but when I was leveling 1-35 two years ago the server was so top heavy that I had a real hard time finding anyone to group with. So much that I stopped playing my cleric to play a Druid so I could solo effectively. Part of this is likely due to mostly being able to play during non peak times?

I would suck at boxing myself but at least I could play any character like maybe a warrior if I had a cleric on the side to buff and heal. I don't want to get banned though so...

On red99, 6 months ago and now recently on a new character I can rarely find a group even in CB or Unrest?

Thoughts on boxing MMOs in general? Advice on finding groups on P99 servers < lvl 40?

******* Edit
There are reasons that boxing was rare that I did not think of (certainly discouraged me from trying boxing, I remembered now that it was mentioned:
Internet connection issues and hardware constraints
On live you had to pay for your accounts, which inherently limited boxing. Accounts are free on an Emu server

Bad things that can happen if boxing is allowed:Locking down camps (I guess I can imagine some people would be able to lock down multiple camps and refuse to give any up)
Using tools to enable small groups of people to lock down raid targets

Good things that can happen if boxing is allowed:
Regardless of what some people say, it can often be hard to find groups on an top heavy server, boxing enables one to play a class they like and still be able to do content and travel

Why trying to enforce boxing can be difficult / impossible
Quote from apio - the argument for P99, since there is limited content for way too many people, but there are a lot of people boxing on P99, to hold down separate camps, which makes it hard to identify, so the limitations here really only serve to keep the "good people" in check !
It is easy to have multiple IP's if people in the house have mobile phones

Thanks to all who have posted, I love a good discussion.

[loramin]

If a server allows boxing then it basically forces everyone on that server to box. I boxed on live, and I wouldn't mind boxing occasionally here, but I would never want to feel like I have to box to "keep up with the Jones" (which is what would happen if P99 allowed boxing).

[Laugher]

I like the 1 box limit here because most other emu servers I've played almost always involved at least 2 boxing to get around; having played a lot of Irreverent server before here I boxed almost always for a few years. Its kind of nice to be on a server where you can play the class you actually like playing without having to box x amount of support classes to level or gear the toon you actually like/would want to focus on.

[kildone]

Can you explain just a bit more why everyone would feel the need to box? I never did on live even when I knew some people who did.

[kildone]

Originally Posted by Laugher [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I like the 1 box limit here because most other emu servers I've played almost always involved at least 2 boxing to get around; having played a lot of Irreverent server before here I boxed almost always for a few years. Its kind of nice to be on a server where you can play the class you actually like playing without having to box x amount of support classes to level or gear the toon you actually like.

Again I am missing something. I only feel the need to box when I cant get a group. If I could get that support from other members, why would I need to box?

[Swish]

You can box on any other emulated non-P99 server as far as I know.

Remember that the idea of playing online is to interact with other people, right? To be part of a community?

Ever go into "The Hidden Forest" server? Please do, because you'll find people 10-12 boxing and if you say hello in a public channel you'll be met with silence... everyone is in their own little world which just happens to be online. It's as good as Skyrim there in terms of interacting with other "real" people.

If you enjoy having to alt tab every few seconds to cast a spell in other windows, reposition someone, hit backstab...whatever... there's places to enjoy it. Most of us here though don't see how that adds to the game.

LFG? Make a group yourself. Interact with others.
Need a port? /who all dial
Need an item? Sit in EC and watch the fat cats spamming.

Remember mercs on the live servers? Yeaaaahhh... that worked well didn't it? ;p

[Norathorr]

No boxing is one of the things that makes this server great. I remember during this part of the timeline on live hardly any people boxed due to internet connection issues and hardware constraints. I certainly enjoyed EQ before boxing was a generally done thing. I know lots are happy to drop boxes, but others prefer to box and hold down content. Here on P1999 you are forced to make friends which in a MMO setting is the best thing possible for a long lasting community.

[Nuggie]

I boxed on live. At some point I stopped wanting to group and just wanted to see what the highest/hardest mob/encounter was that I could kill while boxing with myself.

It was very lonely. I'm glad people are forced to group here.

[loramin]

Originally Posted by kildone [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Can you explain just a bit more why everyone would feel the need to box? I never did on live even when I knew some people who did.

On live you had to pay for your accounts, which inherently limited boxing. Sure a few people did it, but it wasn't like everyone was doing it.

Here though accounts are free, which means the only limit to boxing would be the server's (if any). It's easy to say "oh that won't affect me" ... until you can't get groups because everyone is 6-boxing (or, if there's a limit, 2- or 3-boxing in 3/2 real person groups). Or until you try to go do a non-solo camp with some friends and find that they've all become locked down like the fungi camp, because it only takes one person to do so. Or when your guild starts yelling at you to stop being lazy and play more accounts during raids.

Like others said, if you go on to servers that do allow boxing you can see the effect it has first-hand.

[kildone]

Found a couple good points here
http://www.project1999.com/forums/sh...=184197&page=2
Seemed every point had a counter point. Mostly people just say they hate it without giving a reason or saying there would be no groups which as I stated I have never seen to be the case. Maybe people have seen that happen on other eq emu's?

The only real valid point I seen regarded using tools like mq2 but those are banned here right? And from what I read on the forums it is easy to find folks who use those tools.