Last month’s Diablo 4 open beta from Blizzard Entertainment gave everyone a bite-sized taste of what to expect from the full game. With everyone getting to try the five classes of the game, the entirety of the starting map area, and numerous dungeons, everyone wanted more. Thankfully, Blizzard heard the pleas of existing fans and newer Diablo fans, announcing a surprise ‘Server Slam’ beta for next month.
When Can You Play Diablo 4 ‘Server Slam’ Beta?
The upcoming open beta, called Server Slam, will be done in one complete phase instead of dividing it into two sessions. Earlier, the betas were divided into two sections; one for the pre-order customers, and the other was open to everyone. This time, Blizzard is dedicating two days to the beta. The server slam starts from May 12 to May 14, at 12 pm PDT for both days.
Blizzard Entertainment will officially allow pre-loading of the title from May 10, 12 pm PDT, for all the platforms. Furthermore, users on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S will be able to couch co-op the game with friends. It doesn’t end there, as the beta allows cross-play and cross-progression when things start.
What to Expect From the Upcoming Diablo 4 Beta?
As usual, Blizzard plans to include many things for the upcoming beta in terms of content. During Server Slam, players can experience the following in the game:
- Act 1 of the game and explore the first zone of the game, called Fractured Peaks.
- Try out the five classes of the game – Barbarian, Necromancer, Druid, Sorcerer, and Rogue. Players can level them up to level 20.
- Bug fixes and updates to the characters.
- Main quests for Act 1, Dungeons, and side-quests.
The focus this time is on the world boss. The previous Diablo 4 open beta had the same regions and storyline in the game. However, they appeared in the world at random times, infrequently. This time, for the Server Slam, Blizzard has fixed times for the world boss appearing in this beta.
Ashava, the world boss, will appear on the game map every three hours, starting at the beginning of the beta. So, players can band together with others in the world and take the boss down. The final spawn for the boss will take place on 14th May at 9 am PDT.
Furthermore, Blizzard has substantially balanced the characters after the first beta and the same will reflect in the Server Slam open beta for Diablo 4. Read through the changes here. Furthermore, no progression from this beta will carry forward to the official launch of Diablo 4 on June 6th.
Rewards for Playing Diablo 4 Final Beta Before Launch
To incentivize players for trying out the beta, Blizzard will provide everyone with the following rewards:
- Initial Casualty title: Players will be rewarded this after reaching the Kyovashad with any of their characters.
- Early Voyager title: Players will be rewarded this when they reach level 20 with any of their characters.
- Beta Wolf Pack Cosmetic item: The cute sleeping wolf is back from the original open beta. Players reaching level 20 in the game will get a cosmetic, where they’ll have a cute, sleeping wolf on their back. Eligible people will receive this when the game launches.
- Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy: An ornament that they can put on their mount. This is awarded to those that take down the world boss of Diablo 4 with a level 20 character.
Previous beta players that are already eligible for the first three rewards don’t have to unlock them again in the game. They can comfortably level up their characters to level 20 and anticipate one of the few world boss fights in the game.
How to Download the Diablo 4 Open Beta
As usual, since the beta will be available for everyone to take part in, players have to download the game from their respective storefronts. Players on the PC will require the Battle.net client on PC to download Diablo 4. Follow the steps in our previous beta download article, as it follows similar steps to download it on a PC.
For PlayStation and Xbox owners, simply search “Diablo 4 Server Slam” on the store, and download it. The option will appear for everyone on May 10, 12 pm PDT, as pre-load officially begins on that day.
Diablo 4 launches for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 6. Pre-ordering the Ultimate Edition will allow players to experience the fight against Lilith four days earlier.
