Comprehensive Guide on How to Multi-Attack

Hi community, I’m Raff. Today I would like to share some of my methods on how to utilize your second or even third character for multi-attacks.

Table of content:

1. What is multi-attacks?
2. Am I eligible?
3. Solutions for set up.
4. Hardware Advice.
5. Equipment Advice.

What is multi-attacks?
It is similar to multi-clients, but you would be able to control all of your character at the same time. For example, you can solo any boss with two or more of your characters.

Spoiler: Demonstration

Spoiler: Horntail solo

Spoiler: CWKPQ solo

Spoiler: Auf Haven solo

Spoiler: Scarlion 10mins solo run

Just imagine your SE/CR/SED mule that occupied your party slots, can also contributes extra DPS to your Horntail run!
Don't let your Lv200 charactor collect dust, time to make them great again!

In the later guide, I will explain my set up and some of the other possible methods to achieve this!



Am I eligible?
Here is a check List:

1. Second (attacker class) character with extra gears (mandatory)
2. Second pair of keyboard & mouse (mandatory)
   - Note: You may need a 3rd keyboard if you are using VMware or Aster (Desktop PC) method
3. Another Laptop/Computer & Monitor (Recommended)
4. Prepared to spend money for paid softwares, such as VMware and Aster.

If you do not have a second attacker, and you would like to make one, I am strongly encouraging you to make a Bowmaster over the other classes. (*Assuming you are using another PC or VMware to place the Bowmaster)

Spoiler: Here is the reason why:

1. Bowmaster carries the best party buff (Sharp Eyes), this character will always be useful in any runs.
2. (Most importantly) Bowmaster’s hurricane does not have a breath timer!! Meaning to say, you can press hurricane for 1 hour and your BM will not stop attack. It is way more convenient than other classes, which you must move your character every 1 minute or so to reset the breath timer. It’s very frustrating when you have 2 or more attackers’ set up. (Slow overall performance by distracting you)
3. Bowmaster buffs quick, all you need to do is press SE and soul arrow that’s all (hamstring & concentrate does not get dispelled!). Unlike classes like Nightlord and Warriors, they need to cast a series of buffs to draw your attention. (Slow overall performance by distracting you)
4. Bowmaster has a good single target DPS, and thanks to the recent buff to red arrows, bowmaster’s DPS is 82%* of a same equivalent gear nightlord.
5. The skill Hamstring is an OP quality of life change for solo play. It is only on Bowmaster. It slows down boss monsters to help you better control all your characters. Super useful for doing Auf Haven, Shaolin, Dunas and Scarlion.
6. Bowmaster’s end game weapon (Nisrock) is fairly cheap.

There are also downsides where

1. Bowmaster needs more fund for HP Washing. Sadly, it is unavoidable in Mapleroyals. The costs of washing Bowmaster is more expensive than a Warrior/Bucc. However, if you are factoring about the cheap end weapon for Bowmaster, the extra fund from perfect weapon can be spent on HP Washing.
2. Bowmaster gets knockback all the time. If you have a BM friend who runs Horntail, you can ask him how disgusting the rope climbing experience is.
3. Takes more effort to stay in position. For example of a HT run, BM needs to constantly move back&forth to mainting its position on the platform to prevent falling. It takes forever to come back once you fall to the bottom. Compared to Bucc/Warriors/Thief, they are just chilling with their stance/shifter.

Nevertheless, I still strongly encourage you to make Bowmaster as the optimal 2nd attacker in Mapleroyals.

*82% is derived from the DPS Calculator.

If you are only willing to use 1 PC, Buccaneer is possibly the best choice due to its long iframe time.



How to control multiplie clients at the same time

No matter what solution I provided below, the general idea is that to assign each keyboard & mouse to each individual client.

To achive that, you will need extra keyboards in order to work.

Place the extra keyboard underneth your table or any position that you comfortable with. Bind your primary attacking skill to spacebar, and all you need to do is use your foot to step on it.

For example, I use my left foot to press&hold spacebar, my right foot to press left & right arrow key for repositioning.

Whenever you need to control your character or rebuff, use the 2nd keyboard on desktop (or the keyboards in your laptop) to control.

It would be very easy and simple once you are familiar with it.

Solutions for set up

Solution 1 Aster:
(Recommended)

This is my most optimal solution for multi-attacks. It only requires 1 PC (laptop) + extra Monitors + extra Keyboard & Mouse.

ASTER is a multi-seating program which allows to create stand-alone workplace base on one PC.
Each workplace can be used with a dedicated monitor, keyboard and mouse.

In short, you can assign unique Keyboard & Mouse dedicate to each monitor (client).

It requires additional physical monitor to work.
Any virtual or USB based monitor (iPad) will not work.

This is better than VMware as it shares your GPU and runs Mapleroyals natively. There is also no Disconnection/Crash (Please use .img setup), it's just like running the game on a different computer.

​

You can find more information about this software on their website.
https://www.ibik.ru/
(This is a paid software, I do not recommend purchasing it before you are satisfied with the feature)
(There is a 14-days free trial, otherwise its pretty expensive. I am subscribing their 1yr service atm).




Solution 2 Dedicate PC:
Use different computers to run Mapleroyals seperately.

Spoiler: Example of my previous setup

I was using 3 computers to control 3 different main attackers for soloing boss.​

I don't like wireless Keyboard because switching battery in a middle of boss run is toxic.
Happened to me multiple times. ​

A laptop would be much preferred over a desktop PC because:

• laptop takes less space compared to a [PC + monitor + another set of Keyboard].
• Laptop is mobile, so you can always adjust your working space anytime as you like.
• Simple to set up, no other software needed.
• Cheaper than buying PC+Monitor

There is no guide on this because it is straight forward. Just play different attackers on different PC, and control them with hand/foot.

Solution 3 VMware:

This will only get things to work, but you may find it awful to play.
Only use this method if you can't get another physical device.

How to install VM?

First you will need to install VMware and a copy of Windows operating system on your virtual machine.
From my prior experiences with Windows, Windows XP is the best performing OS for playing Mapleroyals in VMs.


You can follow this concise tutorial provided by Tim, it is very well written and easy to follow.

Spoiler: Credits to Tim

Credits to Tim:
https://royals.ms/forum/threads/how...graphical-glitches-closing-your-client.16643/

Configuration
I give only 1 Core for the VM (Windows XP).
You can give 1024mb for ram, its more than enough.

After it's done, you can connect your 2nd and 3rd keyboard to your Computer.

Make Keyboard dedicated to VM
Open your VM and run the Windows XP operating system.


Once the OS is booted, click VM → Removable Devices → "Your USB device name" → Connect (Disconnect from Host)

Now, you will be able to use your 2nd and 3rd Keyboard only for this Virtual Machine. Any actions or inputs will only be reflect in the VM (Just like a seperate computer).

Then, you are able to use dedicate Keyboard & Mouse to control your characters at the same time.

Problems with VM:

• Frame rate drops very low for certain bosses, such as zakum when it summons lots of mobs. But it won't crash or disconnect you, just that you have to bare with the poor FPS (like 5~10 FPS and freezes).
• You cannot press ctrl + alt at the same time.
• Input lags for switching back and forth with one mouse.
• You will need get another extra keyboard, apart from the undernearth keyboard.

Solution 4 Click back&forth (Tedious):

No extra hardware & software needed. Just 1 PC, 1 Keyboard & 1 Mouse.

Pretty straight forward:

• Open two clients on the same computer.
• Bind your attacking skill, put them on a same key. For example, I put them on "B" key.
• Press and hold it, then use your mouse to click back & forth on the two clients.
• Both charactors should be casting skills at the same time.

Tip: You can bind the same skills 3 times via skill macro, so you won't lose DPS for switching clients. (Your character will still attack when you are on the other client.) To stop the marco, just press jump and you will stop casting next skill.

Spoiler: Key binding

Problems:

• You cannot control them at the same time. For example, you cannot control your Character A and Character B to reposition, climb rope, move at the same time, rebuff and etc. It will slowdown your DPS by alot.
• Does not work for Hurricane as it must be pressed and hold.
• Imagine you gonna click back and forth for an hour for certain boss, very Tedious.
• Sometimes you missclick and close/minimize/fullscreen the client

Hardware Advice
Purchasing an used laptop can be a good chioce. Mapleroyals does not need triple A gaming rigs to run, all you need to do its to find a laptop that comes with a i3 or i5 (non low voltage version). You don't have to buy a gaming laptop, the integrated graphics is good enough.

As for my personal set up, I was using an i7 4710hq CPU laptop that I bought for around $300 dollars on flea market. It is already overkill for just running 1 client. So I'm thinking that any used laptops that are ranged from $100-$200 can simply do their jobs well.

As for the keyboards, I got my wireless keyboard and mouse pair for $20 ish.

Spoiler: Example of a wireless kb & mouse set

Found a similar one on amazon. Any cheap one will work.

Another good thing to consider is purchasing a foot pedal to replace a keyboard. It could make your experience better. However, it can be quite expensive as well, so you might as well just to get a cheap keyboard instead.

Spoiler: USB foot pedal

You can also consider of buying a number pad or 1 hand keyboard to save space, but these can be more expensive than buying a full range keyboard.

Spoiler: One hand keyboard

For the Aster method, you may consider buying a portable HDMI based Screen to save space and money.
Or just pick up some used monitor at your locals.

Spoiler: Portable Monitor

Equipment Advice.
This varies for people and funding, these were my personal goals

I think you should provide a ~37 wa Cape/Shoe/Glove at least, as they are quite value for the money.

This 37 wa set up is pretty much enough to fulfill its job as a 2nd attacker.
--------------------------------
37 wa Cape/Shoe/Glove
Cape - 12 wa (3.5b)
Shoes - 9 wa (3.5b)
Gloves - 16 wa (1.5b)
--------------------------------
total for about ~ 8.5b

If you have extra fund, you should aim for perfect end game weapon after.
For example,
140 wa Nisrock - 18b

Spoiler: Test Stats

A lv200 Bm with 140wa Nisrock, 37 wa csg and average gear can be around 9k range

Which already has decent DPS with concentrade/energizer.

Spoiler: DPS with energizer

Ultimate Goal: 50wa Cape/Shoe/Glove
(Which I believed is the most optimal target to spend)
--------------------------------
50 wa Cape/Shoe/Glove
Cape - 16 wa (14b)
Shoes - 14 wa (14b)
Gloves - 20 wa (15b)
--------------------------------
total for about ~ 43b

Potions
The only potion that worth consuming is Energizer. It is 500K each, +25 Weapon Attacks, last 30 minutes. What else can you ask for?
And the best thing is, you don't have to be distracted to repotion for 30minutes.

If you are somewhat wealthy, you can use peppermint, +35 Weapon Attacks for 20 minutes. ~2mil each.
The extra 10 Weapon Attacks honestly doesn't make any sensable difference, but your damage number looks better.

I do not recommend Heart Stopper because it keep distracting you every minute. And you are just burning meso for that overall 1~2minutes boost.

Apples? i assumed you used it on main characters already. I don't recommend using on 2nd character, unless you are aiming for speed run.

Warrior Elixir... hmmm, just ask your teamate to drop you some energizer, easy carry them .

 

nice
buckle up for more turbulence in the market (and maybe final & fatal crash)

Spoiler: here some ideas

( https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Personalized-Customizable-One-Handed-Programmable/dp/B08CSJHDMZ )

this one is nice to map arrows keys + buff,att key for bossing

Spoiler: 1h key

bonus for extreme farming (full lower extremities workout)
https://octopup.org/computer/foot-control

i guess is time to take break let them mass farm-exploit this then come back and get things from market for dirt cheap ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

yea haha the foot key is actually same as what i wanted to introduce in the thread, really QoL change

 

Looking for someone to do x2 skeles leech

 

Nice guide, onekeystory! You are truly a pro.

I watched your cwk solo and was so confused how you are doing certain things, but with the foot keyboards everything makes more sense now. You have done an amazing accomplishment.

I have a suggestion here. I duo attack in bosses often, but I do not use a second pair of keyboard & mouse. I simply use macros and switch back and forth between different clients. It helps to have a large screen or multiple screens, so I can click back and forth between the clients instead of alt-tabbing.

Before the alt-tabbing hurricane/rapid fire glitch got fixed, I would agree. Now that it has been patched, for people like me who are more casual and don't want to invest in multiple computers, I would suggest buccaneers are the premier 2nd attacker because of the long duration of their barrage+demolition macro. In fact, if you are working with a single computer, and don't want to bother with VMware, I would argue that BM are now one of the worst at multi-attacking, because hurricane cannot be macro'd. Out of the attacking characters I have, I would rank the ease of multiattacking as: Bucc > NL > Hero > BM. Obviously BM are still a great class (SE, above avg single target DPS), but I have to hold down hurricane for it to be attacking and every time I click away I lose DPS, unlike the other 3 classes.

Just wanted to give my ten cents from my experience

 

Yes, I did not think about that, you raised a very good point. Bucc is definately a good 2nd attacker for single computer. I forgot to put an assumption where the 2nd attacker has to been on another computer or VM.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

I'm not used to clicking back and forth for duo attacking, but this happens to me quite often when I'm casting TT macro and switch to BS client and do something. It may because that the key is still under "Pressed down status" when you switched to another client, so it may cause delays/overwrite (IDK, just my assumptions). So the solution is don't press too much/too fast when you are switching back and forth.

 

Hey Zancks, I have never encountered this issue before. Are you using the same key for TTx3 macro and Barrage+demolition macro?

 

interesting thread! i always joked about bowmaster being a dead class after the alt tab change, but never thought about just using a laptop or vmware. appreciate all the tips, especially about budgeting attack gear.

is there a link to this? i would stalk onekeystory's profile but it's private.

 

What the flying fuck raff, god tier set up

 

This is pro. My only question is.. what classes are best. Hero, NL? I would think Bucc maybe needs some combos to be effective but idk

 

Mulestor... feetstory ! When this dude says maplestory is such an easy game that he can play it with his feet, you now know he means it literally

 

If in terms of pure DPS, Nightlord is the best class (not considering sair because very hard to multi attack with dismounting, but I have met someone can do it, very pro).

If you are talking about the ease of pressing one key to attack, it can be complex to rank the classes.

Some bosses need player to reposition, for example (HT), which is just climbing stimulator for BM / Bucc. Hero/Paladin may be the best choice, then follow by Shadower and Nightlord.

But for other bosses that does not require much movement or just simple move left/right (most of the bosses), then I would say BM > all. The reason I have stated in the thread.

Yes, Bucc has different combos for different situations, it needs to be played on your main PC.

 

Question, why not just use a keyboard broadcasting software?
Or is that against the rules?

 

Hmm, I did not know such software exists until you mentioned it XD, i did abit research and it seems to be a brilliant and efficient solution. I will try it out and see if it works for multi-attacking set up in 1 PC.

Regarding to the rule, I believe anything that is 1:1 for key pressing, is prefectly fine to use here.
For example, for these multiboxing softwares that offers duplication inputs, that is not allowed. But just for mapping the key into specific client, i think that is allowed.