Before tomorrow DiabloIV Open Beta warns Blizzard that – like last weekend – players will likely suffer long waits and other server issues as even more people than last weekend queue up to try and play the super-hyped sequel.
In case you missed it, yes, the upcoming dungeon crawling action RPG DiabloIV had a closed beta last week, and it was really, really good, offering exactly the kind of loot-driven action I crave. But to gain access to last weekend’s test, players needed a code, which could only be obtained by pre-ordering the game or by purchasing a KFC chicken sandwich. (We live in a weird world…) But things were rocky due to the long queues many players faced right outside the gate and delayed gameplay once they got in. Worse, some reported queuing after a lengthy wait of time that they were kicked out after just a few minutes of play. Eventually the experience improved. But with even more people expected for this weekend’s full open beta, Blizzard is warning people to expect more problems.
What can you expect this weekend in the DiabloIV beta
On the official Diablo forums, Blizzard Community Manager Adam Fletcher posted “expectations” players should have going into the second beta weekend. And first, Blizzard wants people to be prepared for “long queue times,” especially on Friday when servers first come online. Expecting a lot of people this weekend as the beta is open to all, the company reminded people that while these issues can be “frustrating,” they’re all part of the process.
“This past weekend has helped us forecast the capacity we expect to see this weekend,” Fletcher explained, “and we will be using that capacity to intentionally stress our systems in preparation for launch. In summary, while we know it can be frustrating, we need queues to properly stress test our services and we design to make sure we have them sometimes.”
Fletcher also explained that there may be times when the company is “temporarily taking the game offline” to fix issues as Blizzard monitors the number of people playing the beta and any in-game issues they may be encountering bump.
In general, Blizzard would like to clarify that this is a beta version and that means that various aspects will probably not work properly or at all. The game will break, servers will melt. This is all part of the process, and while it may be annoying, Blizzard says these betas are “incredibly useful” to the team working on the game.
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“They allow us to test things at a scale that we can’t test ourselves, like server capacity, class balance, usability, accessibility, etc.,” Fletcher said. “This information is invaluable in ensuring your experience at launch is as smooth as possible.”
You can download the DiabloIV Open Beta now before the servers go live tomorrow, March 24th. Meanwhile, the full game is still a few months away. It won’t start until June 6th.
