[[File:Beta-d3-box.jpg|left|frame|Diablo III Beta box art.]]
There will be[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-on-skills-party-help-and-beta-confirmation/] a The Diablo III Beta Testtest began in early September, 2011, which Mike Morhaime stated and is currently in limited "Friends & Family" testing, with the full beta test expected to begin any day now. Blizzard has not said how long the test will run, but they are still aiming to occur release Diablo III in 2011, which means the third quarter of 2011[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-betatest needs to conclude by early-details-announced/]November, at the absolute latest.
The Beta will not begin until SeptemberDiablo III beta test consists of the first half of Act One, with some story elements and game features removed. The beta test is largely a tech demo, but with little game content open to fan feedback; it is on track not intended to start in that monthbe a full game balance playtest, according to information from Gamescom 2011like many MMORPGs.
This article covers every common question about * Follow the news updates on [http://diablo.incgamers.com Diablo 3 and Blizzard beta tests, with numerous quotes from Blizzard employees inserted where relevant.IncGamers.com] for multiple daily updates on the progress of the Beta test.
* All news items [http://diablo.incgamers.com/categories/category/diablo-3-beta related to the Diablo III Beta Test].
*The Official ==Diablo 3 Beta Test History== It was universally-expected that there would be a public beta test for Diablo III , and while Blizzard regularly hinted at it, the test was not actually confirmed[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-on-skills-party-help-and-beta-confirmation/], with a release window of "third quarter 2011," until [[Mike Morhaime]] did so during an Activision/Blizzard conference call in May 2011.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-details-announced/] The beta test got underway in early September 2011. It's unclear exactly when the test started; the Battle.net beta forums went online[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/official-diablo-iii-beta-forums-but-still-no-beta] on September 2nd, and visuals leaked around that time[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-character-creation-movie][http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/the-first-diablo-3-beta-interface-shots][http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/the-first-diablo-3-beta-screenshots][http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-leaks-explained], and the Beta FAQwas posted on September 3rd[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/official-diablo-iii-beta-faq]. The first posts showed up in the Beta Support forum on September 4th[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/the-first-post-in-the-beta-feedback-forum-got-deleted], and got deleted while the Blizzard CMs continued to insist[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/battle-net-diablo-3-beta-avatar-revealed] that the Friends and Family beta had not yet begun.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/no-beta-invites-this-weekend] The Beta download client was available during this time, enabling anyone who had it to post screenshots of the client install[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-install-client-screenshots] and the options menus[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-options-menus], but those people could not play the game without Diablo 3 Beta access on their Battle.net account. Blizzard finally confirmed that the F&F test underway and the full test would begin soon, on September 6th.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzard-confirms-ff-beta-underway-closed-public-beta-soon][http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blue-beta-comments-and-replies]
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==Beta to Begin Third Quarter 2011==
During the May 9, 2011 Activision-Blizzard conference call [[Mike Morhaime]] stated that the Diablo III beta would commence during the third quarter of 2011, and that internal testing had already been underway for a week[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-details-announced/]. [[Bashiok]] further clarified the timeframe[http://forums.battle.net/thread.html?topicId=27808130648&pageNo=1&sid=3000#9]:
<blue>The 3rd quarter reference in the earning's call today was a calendar quarter, meaning that we're aiming to launch the Diablo III beta between July 1st and September 30th. Keep in mind that it's our current goal, and of course that can change as development continues.</blue>
Previously, an announcement about the start time for the beta test was expected in the Q1/2011 Activision/Blizzard conference call, scheduled to take place in early May, 2011. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/activision-blizzard-q4-2010-investor-conference-call/]
<blue><b>Thomas Tippl:</b>D3 development continues to go well, and we’re very excited about the game... I’m looking forward to sharing more news about the game, and our upcoming beta, during the next conference call.”</blue>
==All Game Systems To Be Revealed Before the Beta Begins==
In April 2011 [[Bashiok]] replied to a question about upcoming game systems reveals with an enlightening piece of information. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/the-diablo-iii-beta-only-be-a-small-part-of-the-whole-game/]
<blue>We will be announcing all of the game systems though before beta, so there are a few things left as far as reveals go.</blue>
This seems logical; after all, if the game systems are going to be present in the Beta, the developers surely want to reveal them officially and properly before the test starts, and incomplete and possibly erroneous reports start to leak from the testers.
===Battle.net Feature Reveal set for August 2011===
In mid-June 2011, word was leaked[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/d3-fansite-invite-event-in-july-august-beta-start/] that Blizzard was going to host a "fansite summit" at Blizzard Irvine from July 26-27th. At that summit the invited fansites were going to be given play test time, interviews with the developers, and a presentation of Diablo III's Battle.net interface and functionality.
This is valuable information for the beta timeline, since it was previously said (by [[Bashiok]]) that all the game systems would be revealed pre-beta. Thus the Beta can not start until after August 2nd, when this system is revealed. This doesn't mean the Beta will begin on August 3rd, but fans can always hope.
==Will there be a closed Diablo III beta test?==
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==What will be is in the Diablo III Beta?==
A The Diablo III beta test needs to include enough is roughly the first half of Act One, taking a brand new character from the start of the game to keep people testing and giving feedback on software/hardware issuesup though the battle with [[King Leoric]]. All five character [[classes]], all of their [[skills]], and the developers want to make sure that (especially) the opening sections almost all of the game features are as good as they can be included. [[Followers]], [[Artisans]], and will suck in new players. The whole game the full [[item]] system is very seldom included in a the beta test , though, especially not for a non-MMORPG like Diablo IIIonly the [[Templar]] and [[Blacksmith]] are encountered that early in the game.
On the 19th of April, 2011, [[Bashiok]] made a post '''Not in the beta:''' Some [[battle.netstory]] forums[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/the-diablo-iii-beta-only-be-a-small-part-of-the-whole-game/] giving insight into the design team's intentions of keeping the game close-elements were removed to-the-chest so players can be surprised when they have it in their handspreserve surprises, and also reveals some of what the testers can expect from the beta itself. <blue>While beta will obviously be a lot of fun, should you get the chance to get in and help test, <u>it’ll only be a small part of the whole game</u>. Some people want to know everything, but we’re really trying to preserve the surprise and wonderment (that we hope will come with exploring Diablo III) as much as possible.</blue> In July of 2011, Blizzard released a there are no [[Beta Overviewcinematics]] and a . [[Beta FAQRunestones]] listing what would (and would are not be) in the Diablo III beta.<br>===Content=== When the beta does finally roll outincluded as they're undergoing further development, players can pick between any of the five [[classes]] and play from the beginning of the game, until the death of [[LeoricArena]]. This is roughly the first third of Act One, and will take most players 1-2 hours to complete, per character. The beta will feature one [[artisan]] and the [[templar]] [[follower]] [[Kormac]]. The [[Rune]] system will not be available for play, due to runes now dropping starting in Act IIeither. The [[Auction House]] will be present, the [[gold]] version, was not available at the [[RMT]] version. Friends list and other expected battle.net functionality will also be in start of the beta. The [[Arena]] is not included in , though the developers plan to enable it at some point during the betatest.
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The D2 beta took place in early 2000, and like all Blizzard betas in those days, there were only about 1000 testers, all of whom had a beta CD mailed to them. Modern betas start small and ramp up with more testers added over time, until far more than 1000 people are enabled to test.
The D2 beta was all of Act One, in exactly the same form it had in the final game. All of the same [[quests]], [[NPCs]], [[levels]], [[waypoints]], mnercenaries[[mercenaries]], [[monsters]], [[items]], etc. [[PvP ]] worked just as it did in the final game as well. All five characters were available, and while they could be leveled up as high as you liked, only the first three tiers of skills were available; at Clvl 1, 6, and 12.
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==How long will the beta Diablo III Beta test run?==
The initial plans for the beta were quite extensive, with Jay Wilson claiming the game would be released about six months after the beta began.
::'''Jay Wilson: '''Probably about six months before we release.
That was modified over time and the current plan is for a much shorter beta, that functions largely as a tech demo. It should only last for 2-3 months at the longest, and Blizzard will need to complete it by early-November, in order to make their 2011 release date goal.
No. Jay Wilson confirmed from Gamescom 2011 that the beta will only be a closed one; all players will need a beta key and an invitation to participate.
==How many Diablo III Beta testers will there be?==
Early Blizzard beta tests were limited to just the 1000 beta CDs they pressed and mailed out. More recent tests with downloadable clients have grown far larger, and there will likely tens of thousands of testers for Diablo III. Not everyone starts on the first day, of course. Beta tests start small and scale up, with more testers added over time as the server stability improves.
The Starcraft 2 beta test generally had more than 20,000 concurrent users, and many, many additional beta keys were distributed over the course of the test to keep the testing numbers up. It's widely expected that the Diablo III beta will follow a similar course, though the test itself should last much less time than the 4.5 months that the SC2 beta ran for.
==Are Previous Blizzard Testers invited to Diablo III Beta Test?==
Only if you are already on the Blizzard's friends list. They do keep a list of good testers from past games, and add people to it when they reliably report numerous bugs, but the names on this list are kept private.
==How are Beta Testers Selected?==
Blizzard passes out beta keys to their friends and family, to media, and to others in the industry. They also give out beta slots to various fansites, media sites, business partners, and often conduct "invite a friend" events during beta tests. There are generally numerous ways to gain access, including with game pre-orders, and more promotions appear during the course of each beta test.
Blizzard sometimes includes a slot for upcoming beta tests in the goodie bags they give out at Blizzcon or at World Wide Invitational events. (Though beta keys were not included in the Blizzcon 2009 or 2010 goodie bags, 1000 attendees from Blizzcon 2010 were randomly-selected to enter the beta test.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/1000-beta-key-winners-selected-from-blizzcon-2010-ticket-buyers/]
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=General Beta Test Information=
The remainder of this page covers basic alpha and beta test questions, and is applicable to all types of video games.
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Beta tests are large scale tests of a near-finished video game. To date, all Blizzard beta tests have been semi-public, with website signups drawing in thousands of public testers, who join Blizzard employees, their friends and family, fansite invitees, members of the media, employees at other gaming companies, and others. Beta tests generally scale up in size as they progress; starting with a few dozen testers, then gradually expanding to hundreds and then thousands of testers. In the old days this meant physically mailing out beta CDs; these days with the beta clients being shared via bit torrent, it means passing out more valid beta CD keys.
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==What's the purpose of a Beta Test?==
[[Image:Bnet-beta-cd.jpg|thumb]]
RPGs sometimes include the entire game client, but are usually more limited. Diablo II's beta only included Act One, and only the character skills up to level 18. The D2 team knew they'd need to make changes and tweaks and balances to items and character skills and monsters post-release, but they knew players would need longer than they wanted the beta test to run to get deeply enough into the game to offer valuable input on overall game/item/spell balance. The D2 beta was chiefly used to test out the new Battle.net features, and to test the early aspects of D2 itself. They wanted to perfect the fun factor, leveling speed, early items, skills, monsters and quests. Larger game balance changes were made in post-release patches and were based on the input and play choices of hundreds of thousands of players, rather than just a few hundred beta testers.
==How are Beta Testers Selected?==Blizzard passes out beta keys to their friends and family, to media, and to others in the industry. They also give out beta slots to various fansites, who may redistribute them as they see fit. Blizzard has also taken to including a slot in an upcoming Blizzard beta in the goodie bags they give out at Blizzcon or at WWI events. There were no beta keys in the goodie bags at Blizzcon 2009 and 2010, though [[Paul Sams]] announced, during the closing ceremonies, that 1000 beta testers would be selected at random from the Blizzcon attendees. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/1000-beta-key-winners-selected-from-blizzcon-2010-ticket-buyers/]<br>
==What makes a good beta tester?==
Beta tests, especially those that do not include the entire game (like D2's) are largely about optimizing the early game experience. Seeing what players find helpful or confusing about character creation, early game quests, NPC interactions, using the interface, etc. And for that, total noobs are as or more useful than experienced players. In fact, since Blizzard usually distributes hundreds of beta slots through their fansites, slots that will go chiefly to rabid fans, getting lots of casual fans from Blizzcon attendees, other gaming promotions, and people selected via their B.net beta opt in service is essential.
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==What countries are included in the Beta Test?==
This isn't known in advance. Past Blizzard beta tests have initially been US or North America onlyare generally done internationally, since though they usually often start with just some hosting North America for their test servers in and most of the US. As greater server stability is achieved, more first testers, from more locations, are allowed in. Blizzard has also been known to run beta servers in other countries where they expect a lot of players. It's quite likely they'll run a Korean They had extensive Battle.net servers in Korea for the Stacraft 2 beta, for instance. ==Is there an age limit for beta testers?==Yes, in accordance with the game's age limit ratings, or expected ratings.
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==Are there age limits for beta testers?==
Yes, in accordance with each game's age limit rating, or expected ratings. These are generally enforced via drop down, "select your age" boxes, with all the ''unbreakable'' security protection those provide.
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==Can I sign up multiple times?==
Each Battle.net account entered in the Beta Opt-In is eligible to be selectedfor a given beta test. So if you have multiple accounts, yes. You can't submit the same account more than once, though.
This can differ for expansion pack beta tests, since an account must have valid access to the current game in order to test the expansion. The D3 beta did not require any other games on the Blizzard account, but it's likely the Diablo 3 Beta expansion beta will require a valid copy of Diablo III.
<br>==Are there minimum system specs for the Beta TestTests?==Usually there is There has to be some level of minimum cut off pointmachine to run a beta test, but since the whole point of such a test is developers try to see how include as wide a variety of systems tester equipment as possible. See the game will run [[system requirements]] article for more details on, Blizzard tries to keep it fairly generousDiablo III's requirements.
The absolute minimum required to run the Diablo III beta was revealed to be:[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/beta-minimum-specs-graphics-card-support]
==How many testers will there be?==::1GB System MemoryEarly Blizzard beta tests were limited to just the 1000 beta CDs they pressed and mailed out::Pentium D 2. More recent tests with downloadable clients have grown far larger, and there will likely be many thousands 8GHz or even tens of thousands of testers for Diablo III. Not everyone starts on the first day, of course. Tests start small and scale up, with more testers added over time as the server stability improves.AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
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==Are Previous Blizzard How are Selected Testers invited to Diablo III Beta TestNotified?==Only if you Blizzard beta tests are already on conducted digitally, all through Battle.net. Most of the testers are semi-randomly selected by Blizzard's friends list, by their Battle.net accounts. They Selected accounts are given beta access, and players can do keep a list of good testers from past games, so by logging on and downloading the beta client. Notification emails[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/friends-and add people -family-beta-invite-email] are sent to it when they reliably report numerous bugs, but the names on this list are kept privateemail address associated with each account.
In addition to those selected testers, Blizzard generally gives out thousands of additional beta invites via contest winners, with pre-orders, via "invite a friend"
==How to get in to the Closed Beta?==
Aside from marrying a Blizzard employee or becoming one yourself, you could try attending BlizzCon or other such conventions, since they've been giving out cards good for future beta test slots at such events. Admins of popular fansites and employees of major gaming info sites usually get beta slots as well; sometimes they even have extras to give out to site regulars. There's no way to increase your odds of being chosen from the public sign up period though, since the criteria Blizzard uses to pick such people varies, and is largely random.
==Will I have to pay for the beta test?==
Blizzard does not charge for beta test slots, though you might need an active subscription to another game in order to play. For instance, you can't beta test a World of Warcraft expansion without an active WoW account.
==When and how Will the Selected be Notified?==Blizzard notifies a tester by sending an email with a valid CD-key and a link to download the client. Since they start their tests small and ramp them up over time, you might be in from the first day, or have to wait several weeks or months. [http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=26886] ::In the event you are selected to participate in a beta test, you will receive an e-mail informing you and directing you to Battle.net Account Management, where you will be able to download the beta client and obtain a beta key. ==Will I have to pay for the Beta?==Blizzard does not charge for beta test slots. They are sometimes sold, but not officially, and eBay and other online auction services do not generally permit thisthe sale of beta slots.
==What's a Beta Test like?==
Generally, just like playing the game, albeit online only and with more bugs and server downtimes. There's no special procedure to follow, once you've got the client downloaded and your beta key working. You just start it up and play, but only through Battle. ==How do I report bugs?==Beta tests always have bug reporting mechanisms built innet. There is usually an ingame command to send a message about a bug, and log files are compiled as you no offline play, recording the game state and hardware/software issues. There are usually private beta testing forums on the official site, where testers can discuss the test and post technical issuessupport.
==Will I be able to talk about the beta test?==
Most Beta While previous Blizzard betas tests come with NDAs (all had a Non-Disclosure AgreementsAgreement ([[NDA]]) and many previous Blizzard , their more recent betas did. They have not included an NDA on the last few World of Warcraft betas, or . [[Bashiok]] spoke on the Starcraft II beta, and this seems to be a policy changein January 2011.[http://diablo.incgamers. There is com/blog/comments/no reason to expect Diablo III -nda-for-the-diablo-iii-beta testers to be bound by a confidentiality agreement./]
[[<blue>Bashiok]] spoke : I don’t believe we’re planning to impose NDA’s on this in January 2011.[http://diablofuture beta tests for any of our franchises.incgamersThat’s of course subject to change.com/blog/comments/no-nda-for-the-diablo-iii-beta</]blue>
<blue>BashiokThe Diablo III Beta Test launched in early September 2011 without an NDA[http: I don’t believe we’re planning //diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzard-confirms-ff-beta-underway-closed-public-beta-soon], and players were free to impose NDA’s on future beta tests for any of our franchises. That’s of course subject talk about the test, to change post videos and screenshots, etc.</blue>
==Do I get keep my beta character in the final release?==
No, characters in all Blizzard beta characters tests are always wiped from the servers before the final game. The clients (There are incompatiblefrequent character wipes during tests as well, as patches are implemented.) Carrying characters over from the beta to the final game would give beta testers an unfair advantage, items and skills changebesides, it's there are numerous technical issues as the beta client is not fair to give some players a head start, etcthe same as the final game version.
