Reaper of Souls is due for release sometime in 2014 and although nothing more specific has been stated by Blizzard the popular speculation is that with the Auction House closing in March 2014 Blizzard will not leave the game in its current state for too long before updating with the Paragon 2.0 and Loot 2.0 patch followed closely by the release of Reaper of Souls.
Although no set date for the beta has been confirmed by Blizzard, Game Director Josh Mosqueira has said in an interview in August 2013 that it would start this year.[1]
Question: “I hope that Blizzard can put up the first beta test of Reaper of Souls within this year.”
Josh, “Yes.”
In the run up to Blizzcon 2013 the beta profile page on Battle.Net changed. The image for the opt-in section for Diablo 3 was changed from a Diablo 3 classic graphic to the Reaper of Souls image of Malthael, possibly indicating that part of the information due to be revealed at BlizzCon is the date for the beta beginning. [2]
Beta Sign Up on Battle.Net
How do I register for the Reaper of Souls Beta Test?
You already are, if you have a Battle.net account and have completed a Beta profile. Blizzard maintains a support page with detailed instructions on accomplishing this.
In order to be eligible to participate in future beta tests, you must create a beta profile. A beta profile is a snapshot of your current system specifications. It includes such information as how much RAM you have, available hard drive space, your graphics card and driver, and other information about your system. We gather this information to ensure that we are able to test our games on a wide range and distribution of systems.
You can see more information about this in Blizzard's Beta Opt-in FAQ.
Are Previous Blizzard Testers invited to the Reaper of Souls 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.[3]
What will be in the Reaper of Souls Beta?
The new class, the Crusader will more than likely be in it as well as a portion of Act V which is the new act to be added with Reaper of Souls. Blizzard have made no announcements as to its content to date.
How long will the Reaper of Souls Beta test run?
Unknown. The Diablo 3 beta ran for eight months but that was a full game.
Can I keep my character when the Beta has ended?
No. Blizzard never allow beta characters to be carried over in to the full release of their games.
How many Reaper of souls 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 be tens of thousands of testers for Reaper of Souls as there was for Diablo 3 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.
References
- ↑ Beta Test to begin in 2013 - Josh Mosqueira, Reaper of Souls Game Director, Players Cut interview, 23/08/13
- ↑ Beta Profile changes to RoS - IncGamers, 01/11/13
- ↑ Beta Keys for some Blizzcon Attendees - diablo.incgamers.com, 24/10/10