Multiboxing

Blizzard’s Multiboxing Policy Change (05.05.21)

/ Gra1980 / Leave a comment

Yesterday (05.05.21), Blizzard made another policy change regarding multiboxing within World of Warcraft. It is now prohibited to use software or hardware mechanisms to mirror commands (input broadcasting keystrokes) to multiple World of Warcraft accounts.

Players found to breach these new conditions will receive warnings, account suspensions, and, if necessary, permanent closure of the player’s World of Warcraft account(s).

Policy Change:

I have added below a screenshot of the updated policy change from Kaivax – Community Manager at the World of Warcraft forums.

Policy Update for Input Broadcasting – May 2021

Blizzard's Multiboxing Policy Change

These new policy changes will affect many players, myself included. So this morning, I approached Blizzard’s Support and opened a ticket to clarify whether the use of Joe Multiboxer (JMB) was safe to use. If you read my review on JMB here, you can see that JMB doesn’t input broadcast keystrokes to multiple accounts. Thanks to Blizzard’s term “streamlining” I found this vague and felt it was essential to get some clarity.

My Conversation with Blizzard’s Support:

Please find below a copy of the support tickets from today’s conversation with Blizzard Support. The last response is vital as the GameMaster expresses that as long as the program used (JMB) meets the criteria set out in the policy change, then it’s okay to use.

Original support ticket:

I also attached a screenshot from JoeMultiboxer’s website outlining the inability to broadcast keystrokes to multiple World of Warcraft accounts with their program.

Blizzard's Support Ticket (1)

JoeMultiboxer Screenshot:

JoeMultiboxer's Website

First GameMaster Response:

Blizzard's Support Ticket (2)

I felt the response was very vague, pretty much a copy and paste job (from the policy itself), so I carefully worded my response in the hope of getting a definitive answer.

My Response for further clarity:

Blizzard's Support Ticket (3)

Second Response from a GameMaster:

As mentioned above, this final response from a GameMaster clarifies that as long as JMB doesn’t breach the criteria set out in the policy change, then it’s okay to use.

Blizzard's Support Ticket (4)

Conclusion:

As I only use JMB for their window layout manager and the program doesn’t have input broadcasting to multiple accounts, I will continue to use JMB. The only players banned so far are those that have participated in Group Farming or World PvP. A result of other players reporting them.

Since the original policy change in November last year, I haven’t done any Group Farming, Dungeons, or PvP. My sole purpose for using JMB is to reduce my posting times; when I post my auctions. This is possible with their window layout manager and using multiple accounts.

Blizzard Support:

Blizzard’s Support is extremely helpful and approachable, and I understand the guidelines they must adhere to when responding to players. However, I hope this blog post today offers a little reassurance to you if you use JMB.

Thank you to the GameMasters for their time and continued efforts.

WoW Open Box (Free)

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WoW Open Box (WOB):

I wasn’t aware of this software until one of my readers, Moorea WoW was kind enough to share it within the comment section to one of my multiboxing articles. Moorea informed me that WoW Open Box is a “safer and free alternative to Joe Multiboxer (JMB) with a better UI and opensource options.” 

For an explanation of how WoW Open Box is safer, click here.

WoW Open Box is an open-source multiboxing software released on November 22nd, 2020, available to players in time for World of Warcraft’s Shadowlands release.

Main Features:

Window Layout Wizard

  • Get your game windows exactly how you want them.

Instant window swapping

  • Hotkeys designed to help switch between any specific window

Additional Options

  • Focus follow mouse
  • Focus specific windows with hotkeys
  • Optional Round Robin 

For a comprehensive list of all Features and installation explained

Introduction Video:

Helpful Resources:

WoWOpenBox Website

Software

GitHub

FAQ

Help

Discord

Conclusion:

When my JMB subscription ends, I will be using WoW Open Box. What’s appealing it’s free, and it offers the same features that I use from JMB – meaning I lose nothing when I make that transition. If you’re looking for a free alternative option to JMB, consider using WoW Open Box for your multiboxing needs.

Joe Multiboxer (P2P)

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Blizzard Policy changes to Multiboxing:

There have been some big developments on the multiboxing front due to Blizzard’s change in stance on multiboxing. A month shy of World of Warcraft’s release of Shadowlands, Blizzard changed their policy on players using third-party software to input broadcast keystrokes between accounts, meaning IsBoxer was illegal to use within World of Warcraft.

Many felt that these changes were necessary for the game going forward due to the number of players botting. By eliminating input broadcasting from third-party software/programs, it made it easier to highlight botters. Sadly, even to this day, botters are ever-present. It appears the only people that took the brunt of the new policy changes were the players that abided by Blizzard’s ToS.

Introduction of Joe Multiboxer (JMB)!

Thankfully, the team at IsBoxer worked tirelessly to introduce a new program, which was released a couple of days before Shadowlands, called Joe Multiboxer (JMB). The program had some of the original benefits of IsBoxer, but without the ability to broadcast keystrokes. This decision and improvement meant Joe Multiboxer was within Blizzard’s new policy and terms of service.

Since the changes, I have used Joe Multiboxer, purely to post auctions on different characters/accounts at the same time. The program gives you the ability to launch multiple WoW clients simultaneously and apply a window layout depending on the number of clients used. I normally use three clients at a time, but occasionally I’ll use four clients, and they fit very nicely on one screen.

The addition of new agents into Joe Multiboxer will help develop the program further as time goes on.

Hardware Broadcasting:

I know there are people successfully multiboxing, PreparedWoW has adapted to Blizzard’s policy changes by moving from software broadcasting of keystrokes to multiple clients to hardware broadcasting instead. His setup looks very complicated and costs a lot of money to set up. It’s worth checking him out if you want to incorporate his build into yours!

According to Blizzard, the use of hardware to broadcast keystrokes between different clients appears to be okay. The fact PreparedWoW openly streams his multiboxing content on Twitch and, on many occasions, has publicly informed Blizzard of his hardware setup via emails – to prevent other players from maliciously false reporting his players/accounts.

WoW Community Happy with Blizzard’s Policy Changes!

Many people in the World of Warcraft community were happy with these changes; hell, I even admitted in my original article that “multiboxing was a contentious subject within the WoW community,” but none were as happy as Asmongold when Blizzard released their policy change. He’d fought tirelessly to bring multiboxing to an end, as he believed it gave players an unfair advantage.

How to Get Joe Multiboxer:

If you’re interested in using Joe Multiboxer, be aware that this is a subscription-based program (P2P). For details of the plans available, please check Lavish Software. They have a free 30-day trial if you’re unsure whether the program is for you. You must have a subscription to access Joe Multiboxer.

Referral Code:

Also, I have a referral code that can benefit us. I believe that this is still valid, I will amend it if not.

Referral Code

  • ​​If your friend purchases a subscription, you get at least 30 days for free, and your friend gets at least 15 days for free!
  • ​If your friend purchases at least one year of subscription, you get a total of 45 days for free, and your friend gets a total of 30 days for free!

Useful Information & Websites:

Forum Post regarding Joe Multiboxer

Joe Multiboxer Website

Lavish Software