Hell has already opened its gates twice this year, and it’s going to let the demons loose once more. In the lead-up to the launch of Diablo IV, Blizzard announced a surprise third and final beta weekend, slated to take place from 12 to 14 May.
Dubbed the “Server Slam”, the open beta invites as many players to log in as possible to test server durability in preparation for the game’s launch on 6 June. Do note, though, that the data from the first two sessions have been deleted, so players will need to start over again. Likewise, any progress made in this final beta won’t carry over to the final game.
The Diablo IV final beta weekend covers the same content from before, but there’ll be some differences in store. While all classes are available for trial, the level cap has been lowered from 25 to 20, which serves as an extra challenge in the fight against the world boss Ashava. Defeat her, and an exclusive horse mount awaits in the full game.
Players can also expect a host of other updates, including dungeon reworks and balancing tweaks for character classes based on feedback from the first two betas. The necromancer, for instance, has been nerfed, with their minions dying more easily and corpse explosions dealing less damage. In contrast, the barbarian is tankier, as they now receive 10 percent less damage from all sources.
The server slam is open to all players on all platforms, and will include two-player couch co-op on consoles. The first two sessions marked an enjoyable, nostalgic return to the world of Sanctuary, but were both bogged down by network issues and a handful of other niggling flaws. Hopefully, the crusade against the daughter of hatred will run smoother this time with even more players embarking on the quest — though the participation rate may be affected by the highly-anticipated release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which has taken over the Internet with preview images and footage of an attractive, muscular Ganondorf.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Edwin Teo
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