Diablo IV's Early Access Open Beta has started today, bringing players back into the hell-torn world of Diablo to get a glimpse of what the full release will show in June. The beta though has not been without struggles, though, as long queue times and crashes have plagued the test.
Fans were able to secure access to this Early Access Open Beta by pre-ordering the ARPG on their chosen platform, meaning it's more a paid test than anything else right now. But it seems a ton of people have been eager to charge into the world of Sanctuary to see how Diablo IV improves on Diablo III.
The beta, which runs this weekend with a fully open beta starting next weekend, gives players a chance to level up three of the five classes coming at launch, the Barbarian, Sorceror, and Rogue, up to at least level 25, as well as play through the prologue content and first Act of the ARPG.
However, just getting into Sanctuary has been a struggle for some, with long queue times and crashes happening. It is a beta afterall, so there are going to be these kinks as Blizzard tests things at scale. However, Blizzard has noted publicly it's aware of the issues facing players as they attempt to log in today.
We are aware of the issues impacting Open Beta Early Access, leading to long queue times and server disconnections.The team is managing the rate of players entering the game until we have a full fix for the connection issues.For more updates visit: https://t.co/FmJb8FaIjC
— Diablo (@Diablo) March 17, 2023
Very kind of the Diablo IV beta to make sure I get work done today pic.twitter.com/VgZ1SBcebS
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) March 17, 2023
We had the chance to check out the beta earlier today after it launched, and while the hour-and-a-half queue was no joke, the first moments of traversing Sanctuary, as well as diving into its first dungeon felt great, especially on a controller. We'll have our full thoughts on the beta over the weekend and into next week as we spend some more time romping around Sanctuary. For those holding out for the open beta, that will start on March 24th and run until March 26th.
In the meantime, check out our writer Emily's recent trek to get her first Ink, thanks to Diablo's Hell's Ink event.
