Two accounts and getting around

Since I recently figured out how to get two accounts open on one computer I’ve been working with two wizards at a time much more than when I had to do it using two computers at once.  And experimenting a bit with getting around and how I want to use the two account advantage.

In many cases, I’ve been moving two wizards, one on each of two accounts, along at a similar pace so they can do the hard dungeons together.  Sometimes, though I have a wizard who’s all alone at some stage — like Heather on the third account, who’s only on membership, with the ability to go everywhere, on the occasional month when I join to get double gardening benefits — and I just send in a higher level wizard to second on tough dungeons.  Increasingly, though, since getting dual mounts, I have some of my same-quests pairs joining forces and doing all their quests together.  At the moment I have a wizard on each account just starting Celestia, so I’m thinking about seeing what it’s like to open all three accounts at once.

I have one dual mount on each account so I can just move it through the Shared Bank to whichever wizard needs a companion.  Sometimes, though, I just keep both wizards on their own mounts and have them porting to one another.  I haven’t quite decided which is better though I’m starting to conclude sometimes one serves and sometimes the other.  [Click here and scroll down for instructions on how to use a dual mount]

For some running around quests I find it’s much handier to have them together on one mount if they’re both on the same quest*.  But sometimes it works out quite well to just keep having one port to the other.  When I have a high level wizard along just to help, I find it works well to use separate mounts.  I can leave the one who’s not on a quest sitting at the perpetual return point and the other can keep running off on the various find and click and talk-to jaunts and keep porting back to her pal who’s hanging out with the quest-giving NPC.

Using a dual mount at a dungeon sigil has been a problem for me.  On the one hand, you can just click “X” for the wizard whose dual mount you’re using and they both jump on the sigil without having to click the second time.  But quite a few times the second wizard didn’t get credit for it and I had to do it over to clear the quest.  Now, even if I’m using the dual mount, I click “X” first for the wizard sitting in back, which takes her off the mount, and then click “X” for the wizard in front.  Every time I do that they both get credit for the quest that took them into the dungeon.  [As an aside, I’ve also had multiple issues with not getting credit for dungeons for which I’ve used Team Up.]

Dual mounts make fighting mobs a little easier generally.  You can plunge them both into the mob at once — although occasionally the mob somehow separates them and opens two separate dueling circles with each of your wizards in a different battle.  I generally have one of them flee, fill up and port back to the other.  As long as they both get pulled into the circle, it’s easier to time getting them both in at once if they’re both on the same mount.

One thing I don’t like about the dual mounts (at least the three I have), is that they’re unnecessarily huge, feel unwieldy to get around on and, because they’re sticking out all over the place, it’s really hard sometimes to get a good look at whatever you’re seeking in a given area.  I have to do a lot more turning the mount from side to side in order to see where a collect item is or where the mob creatures are, etc.  On that score, it can be easier to run one of them along on a broom — much greater visibility, smoother ride and easier to negotiate around the many obstacles — and just keep porting the other to the goal, whether it’s a collect item, a mob, an NPC or a dungeon.

In the few dungeons where you’re allowed to stay on your mount, the dual mount can make it a bit easier to get them both around (Shirataki for instance, in Mooshu).  Most dungeons, of course, strip you of the mount when you enter and you just have to run both wizards around.  For reasons I can’t fathom, the dungeons you’re not allowed to port into from outside you also can’t port around WITHIN, which is a big pain in the neck when you’re running two wizards.

Dungeons like The Great Spyre that let you port within the dungeon make it so much easier — I just have one wizard run to the crystal, for instance, and then port back to the other without having to get back through the mobs in Dragon’s Maw.  (You can also mark location in there, which also helps).  But in many dungeons I have to negotiate one through and then turn to the other account and negotiate the other through exactly the same stuff…

In spite of all the advantages sometimes I just open one account and quest with one wizard, enjoying the relative simplicity of keeping up with only one wizard and her quests.  But I’m enjoying being able to advance two wizards at once or to send a higher level wizard in with a lower level to make a long tough dungeon go quickly and easily.  And for right now, I enjoy switching it up between using the dual mount or using separate mounts and porting.

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*You also have to make sure you remember you have to click all the quest steps for both wizards (which includes having to run through all the NPC’s chat boxes twice in a row…) if you want to keep their progress synced.

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Dual Mounts rock for two accounts

I always keep an eye on the sales at Wizard101 so when they had the one day sale on bundles last week — including bringing back a few bundles that are not generally around any more — I looked over them pretty carefully, especially studying the dual mount option.

I don’t consider the bundles to be worth it at their normal prices– it’s even questionable when they’re on 50% off–but there’s just enough value when they’re on sale that I’ve been enticed to buy a few.  If you’re playing on a budget, bundle sales can be a good way to get one of those great houses, a good mount, a good pet, a full set of crown gear, a game like Potion Motion or Pagoda and some spare crowns.

In this case, the two bundles I chose, Super and Epic, I picked in part for the pets and houses.  The Super bundle also grabbed me because of the Great Hornocerous, a dual mount.

I’ve been running two accounts for about six months now and more and more I’m getting on both at once (one on each of two computers) and working on tough bosses and quests with two wizards.  Until now I’ve coped by using “go to location” a lot.  The wizard in my lap moves to the next location and the other ports.

I play with one computer on my lap logged in to the account with the wizard whose quests I’m working on and the other is to my side — I can use the mouse, do a little bit with the arrows and manage to click “x” when I need to but can’t really navigate well enough to move the character around mobs or long winding sections with the arrows.  If you have to, it’s a perfectly do-able way of playing two accounts at once.

But oh boy, the dual mount makes it a dream!  So much easier to keep them together.

There are a few things you need to know about using a dual mount.

1. The two characters have to be friends.
2. You have to “add to group” and keep them in the group the whole time you want to move them around together.
3. The one who’s going to jump on the back has to unequip their mount first
4. If you’re connected in a group and the second wizard is without a mount, any time that character moves close to the mount, a box with a clickable “x” will open up and, when you click, the character magically appears on the back of the mount
5. Every time you exit a dungeon, the second wizard is no longer on the mount and you have to click again to get back on

As long as you follow those few rules, the process is a snap and it makes it SO much easier to quest with two characters on two accounts.  I might even watch the sales for a dual mount deal and get one for the other account.