Two boxing

[Moonlilly]

Mage > * when it comes to farming. My 2nd box is dedicated to 1. Porting my mage where I need to go. 2. Putting exp on my chanter while farming Acrylia in AC. 3. Foraging. or 4. Merchant Mule.
So the only time that 2nd character is useful to farming is in #2 above or using the box to go sell because I don't want to move from the camp spot.

[NammyTheShammy]

My wife and I would do Shammy/Rogue, what a blast!

Would probably work with Druid/Rouge just as well.

First, the Rogue stands back.

Shammy roots the critter, and can optionally slap a low mana, Slow/DoT on it. Move in the shammy to get its attantion, the critter will stay on the Shammy.

Let the rogue move in and go to town backstabbing, backing off on ocassion as needed to get the attention back on the Shammy.

-Nammy

[Quesci]

Think about a wireless mouse and keyboard for the second computer.

That way you can move the keyboard around when you need it or just set it aside when you are using the mouse to control the bot. I have all the hotkeys set up so that I rarely need to use the keyboard on the second machine. I keep that keyboard under the desk sitting on the CPU. If I need to type it is easy to just pull the keyboard up into my lap and go.

[Hethral]

Speaking as a cleric, I wouldn't recommend a warrior for the second box. I tried it out, and at level 55 have retired the warrior. Warriors are far too gear dependant in my opinion, he's being replaced with a mage right now.

[Jianna]

Legenial, thanks for the target tip, I'll be changing my 4 pages of hotkeys tonight. =)

I don't want to start an argument, but if a druid has specialized in alteration, they heal quite well. I was in PoN the other day. My group was Enchanter, Druid, Beastlord, Monk & Warrior. I was sole healer for the group and no one died. I even manage to snare everything and slap an epic dot on the mobs now and then. This is while on my main computer, my enchanter is slowing, mezzing, etc. It will be even better when my druid gets her ghetto CH.

But honestly, play the classes you enjoy. There's nothing worse than creating a character to make your guild or friend happy and not have the heart to stop playing it because they "need" that class.

[kiztent]

I don't want to start an argument, but if a druid has specialized in alteration, they heal quite well.

40s are pretty painful. Sup heal is ok. Chloroblast is pretty nice too.

[Reflan]

I agree that the best class for someone to play is the one that make them want to keep playing -- that keeps them happy. It makes no difference how uber you are or others think you are or thank you for being if you just don't feel the urge to log on because your character doesn't interest you. And feeling obligated to play can actually turn a character you even like playing into one you resent playing. Let your partner pick what she wants, and if it takes a whole bunch of characters before she settles on one, well, you'll both be happier for having given her the freedom to find what she likes.

As to ideal combos --

Nothing is going to beat AE on certain mobs, but there are many kinds of ways to camp, kill greenies, and get loot. And vendor mining can make a lot of cash for you, or find stuff you want to keep. Getting a druid or wizard to the level where he can do a lot of ports isn't that hard, though, once you get a character or two reasonably high. Then you can use one toon to level another pretty quickly.

Shaman with an FD puller (SK or monk) is very very nice. If in trouble, shaman gates and melee FD's. That can lead to some very profitable farming and the ability to do really fun and interesting things that you just can't do without FD.

SK's aren't particularly fast killers, but they have other assets, like being plate wearers, so they will generally (and pretty easily) get higher hitpoints and better AC than your average monk. For instance, my warrior when he was in his 40's had hitpoints comparable to my level 60 monk, both wearing very good droppable gear(fierce heraldic, cowl of mortality, etc.). They will be more useful tanks when you get to the stage of doing POP mobs or the higher hitting old world mobs, where monks tend to lose a lot of value as tanks unless equipped with very good no-drop level gear. Then again, SK can get the good gear too, and the gap begins widening again.

SK's also have snare, another of the very best and most useful spells in the game. If a druid casts it, it just might get him killed sometimes, but on an SK, you want the aggro anyway if you are duo'ing, so it's actually an asset. SK also has fear, so shaman/shaman pet and SK can sometimes find situations where experience is pretty easy and safe.

As to monks, they hit very quickly and tend to be fast killers, which complements shamans very well, as shamans are about the slowest killers out there. Even casting our spells takes forever to do. Their fast killing also makes them excellent killers of greenies. And their FD can't be interrupted, unlike an SK's, because it is not a spell.

Also, as an aside, BOTH shaman and monk can work well powerleveling in their own ways, though a druid powerleveler up to about 40 is very hard to beat. However, after 40, shaman slow/buff is great and monk can beat a mob to within an inch of its life, FD before it starts to flee, and your powerlevelee can then polish the mob off when it's almost gone and gain full experience. I've PL'd a number of characters using different combos of shaman/druid/monk, and it's kind of fun sometimes. If you want to try another character out to see if you like it, you can get past the dull patches quickly if you want to when you can powerlevel. Some people make a lot of money at it too, though I don't like doing it for strangers.

[Ausversucht]

Maybe I'm just wierd, but my 2-box combo is Druid(main)/Cleric(bot)... This works very well in higher levels (60/52) since the majority of my playing involves charming. Nothing like that 7500 hp heal to save a lot of downtime on a pet with 15khps+. Also the extra AC from the cleric as well as the extra hps from thier symbol line help keep me alive as well. One other ability to note (besides rez) is thier ability to stun lock my pet when I either decide to break em or they break during a fight (quite useful in situations where pet has 300+ dps).

Just my 2cps

[Talisker]

Nothing power levels in the early stages like a class with a DS. I have a fondness for druids and she forages in Lesser Fay while my cleric is raiding. The advantage to a porting class is that I can bind her in an out of the way spot and still get her around easily. Lesser Fay atm but was OOT when she was levelling my rogue. And let's not forget LoY which is much faster to get to through Stonebrunt. Porting isn't a lost art.

For farming droppable items I still use my necro.

I used to have the other computer beside me but moved it and I sometimes do transfers with EQ in a windowed format rather than run the stairs. I haven't tried fighting with 2 accounts on the same machine yet but I've noticed the lag isn't bad at all.

[Karosi]

Farming duo

Bard/Druid combo

Area effect with the bard for those lower level farming areas.

Druid for getting around easier, even with PoK.(CS, WL, SFG, SF, and EJ)

Both get track and forage too.

[Reflan]

I wouldn't recommend bard for most people. Too tiring for the hands.

Was just powerleveling a chanter and druid friend the other day with my shaman/monk combo, outside Karnors. Would pull 4 to 6 mobs with the monk, beat them down and then FD. Shaman rooted them so they couldn't escape, and chanter/druid hubby and wife blasted away the last shreds of their lives. They had a hoot and it was very easy for me. PL'ing casters is not all that easy without FD after a while; but FD makes it a snap.

[Nasumi]

I have access to quite a few accounts (friends and the like) and I must say my favorite duo is cleric - mage. They're great fun. They're also awesome at PLing. Mage on DS duty and Cleric on heals and buffs. Makes leveling go FAST. Just take a level 4 to paludal caverns and you've got it made.

Not to mention mages make farming go rather swiftly.

[Mitsune Foxfire]

I play rogue/cleric just beause I like to

One thing to make 2boxing easier: Use all the hotKEYS the game gives you + your own. And I mean keys, not fumbling around the UI with your mouse when the going gets tough. To play EQ there is actually no mouse needed at all, especially with your bot character. I play my cleric with my left hand not even looking at the 2nd screen. Some of the best keys some people never seem to use:
1, 2, 3 .. the user definded hotkeys from your current page.
shift-1, 2, 3 .. switches to the appropriate hotkey page
alt-1, 2, 3 .. casts the appropriate spell
F1, F2, F3 .. targets group members, toggling with their pets on 2nd press, F1 is yourself
F7 .. nearst PC
F8 .. nearest NPC
+ many more. look in the config/keys settings for more or config your own favorits (like "s" for sit and so on).

Mitsune Foxfire

[Sylphan]

Monitors tend to be best side-by-side. They don't need to be the same size or height. One monitor above the other is possible, but not as good.

The average mouse pad is big enough for two mice, and I really like having the mice next to eachother rather than next to each keyboard.

Keyboards can stack various ways: side by side, one behind the other, one above the other, one on your lap. An infrared connection allows even more flexibility. As long as you can easily reach both you're fine (don't stick one keyboard way off to the side out of reach). Ergonomic keyboards don't work as well as normal $20 keyboards since they take up more space and they depend on your hands being in a specific position; if you keep switching keyboards then you won't be in the perfect position for either one.

But... using a laptop for one of the computers can solve all the issues of space savings and where to put the monitor, keyboard, and mouse(pad).

[gpofcore]

For tradeskills just having a two box is a help, making transfers, runners, mules. For some tradeskills it almost a must, smithing.

I have a 50+ druid, chanter, shaman and pally.

For tadeskills:
1) AOE big plus. druid/chanter for Twighlight Sea for AOE nukes and stuns. Hollowshade druid/pally as mobs dumb and will stay on pally as druid nukes, no stuns required.
2) Tracking necessary sometimes.
3) Lvl 49 chanter pet is good for farming. Hit mob with low level nuke, mob hit chanter, pet whack mob, loot mob without moving. Having a low level ranger follow chanter gives good tracking-farming combo when needed.
4) High lvl chanter handy for many tradeskills. Chant metals and mana spells.
5) Druids move fast and can go get tradeskill supplies. Wizards too but no SOW/Wolf form.

For fighting:
1) Healing.
2) Slows important at higher levels. Debuffs too.
3) If u just a two box breaking spawns important, FD, harmony or calm series required. Two box in a group is less efficient than having two real people in a group.
4) Rez always a plus, clerics, pally.
5) Clarity a plus.
6) Bard's and magicians don't work too well. Hard to twist songs with two characters and mage pet is like having three players to control.

My most effective combo is shaman/pally. Druid/chanter great fun and very effective but have trouble with casters as chanter pet can't attack.

Two box great for pl'ing yourself. Druid best up to lvl 30, heals, buffs and damage shield (DS). Shamen after that as toons can create own damage and shaman slows-debuffs overcome DS.