Image: Blizzard Entertainment
A new Blizzard livestream has revealed more information on Diablo 4’s March open beta, including its content and PC specs.
Diablo 4 is finally upon us - or at least, its open beta is. Blizzard’s upcoming betas for the game kick off in two weeks, with an early access and open beta period taking place over two weekends. These betas will let players get their hands on the game’s five character classes and the opening zone, as well as the entirety of Act 1. Blizzard recently hosted a livestream to fully unveil these betas, and here’s everything you need to know:
Start times
Anyone who has pre-ordered Diablo 4 will get to play the Open Beta in Early Access from March 17 at 9.00 am PT to March 20 at 12 pm PT. During this beta, players will only get to try three character classes: Rogue, Barbarian and Sorcerer. The rest of the beta’s content will be the same, however.
The second open beta will be playable for everyone, regardless of whether or not they’ve pre-ordered the game. This open beta kicks off on March 24 at 9.00 am PT and ends on March 27 at 12.00 pm PT. During the beta, you’ll get to play as all five character classes from the game, which means that the Barbarian, Rogue and Sorcerer will return alongside the Necromancer and the Druid. That gives Early Access players a reason to return the following weekend for the open beta.
The Content
Diablo 4’s betas will let you try out five of the game’s character classes and explore the first zone: Fractured Peaks. The entirety of Act 1 and the Prologue are playable as a first taste of the campaign, but your characters will only be able to level up to Level 25. They can continue to be used once they hit that cap. There’s plenty to do, from clearing out hordes of enemies from dungeons to collecting loot and completing quests.
Blizzard warns that this is not the final build of the game launching on June 6, so you might encounter some issues along the way. A maximum of 10 characters can be made per Battle.net account for anyone looking to make the most out of these weekends, but keep in mind that all these characters will be permanently deleted once the betas end.
The open betas will also be available to play via couch co-op multiplayer, with only one user needing Early Access to the first weekend for another user to join them. You can even add two more players to your ranks for 4-player online co-op, but everyone will need Early Access to the first weekend if they want to play together before the open beta. Playing with others gives you a small XP bonus, so group up or lose out.
The open beta will also include a massive world boss stomping around at specific times during both beta weekends, and you might want to team up with other players to take it down. A big loot drop awaits for those who emerge from battle victorious, so do your best and don’t die.
PC requirements
Diablo 4 will not have ray tracing at launch or in the open beta, so these PC requirements aren’t too bad. Your laptop or PC of choice should be able to handle the sequel well enough. Here are the specs:
Minimum Requirements for PC
Settings to run the Diablo IV Open Beta at 1080p native resolution / 720p render resolution, low graphics settings, 30 fps.
- Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-8100
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R9 280
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: SSD with 45 GB available space
- Internet: Broadband Connection
Recommended Specifications for PC
- Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K or AMD R3-1300X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 470
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: SSD with 45 GB available space
- Internet: Broadband Connection
Open beta rewards
If you play Diablo 4 during these beta weekends, you can earn three different rewards that will be carried forward to the main game. You’ll need to fulfill different conditions to unlock them, but we have our sights set on that cute little wolf:
- Initial Casualty Title: earned by reaching Kyovashad with one character.
- Early Voyager Title: earned by reaching Level 20 on one character.
- Beta Wolf Pack Cosmetic Item: earned by reaching Level 20 on one character.
