Miguel Salonga Tech 04.21.2023 08:Apr AM EDT

Blizzard's Diablo IV to Get Another Open Beta Before June 6 Release

Blizzard will give another gameplay teaser of Diablo IV to the fans. Fans of the Diablo video game franchise will experience the new installment once again before its launch on June 6th through the game's Server Slam open beta server. According to Blizzard's update, the open beta will give players 48 hours to experience the Diablo IV prologue and Act 1.

Diablo IV Next Open Beta Happening This May

As reported by Engadget, Blizzard made a surprise reveal of another open beta test ahead of the Diablo IV launch in June. The game developer announced Thursday that the Server Slam will happen from May 12th at 12 p.m. PDT to May 14th at 12 p.m. PDT.

This will be the third open beta test period for the latest installment in the Diablo franchise. Players using Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S and Xbox One can join the Sever Slam event next month. The open beta is expected to feature couch co-op, cross-play and cross-progression, which will all be included in the final game version. Furthermore, open beta participants will experience all five character classes of Diablo IV, namely Barbarian, Sorcerer, Druid, Rogue and Necromancer.

The beta rewards offered during the previous open beta test will be available to players in the Sever Slam event as well, including the wolf puppy backpack. As per Polygon, the player level will only be up to 20. After that, players will no longer get Ability Points, although they can still obtain more gears throughout the open beta period.

Open beta players should also take note that the Legendary drop rate has been adjusted to match the drop rate of the final version of Diablo IV.

What to Expect from Diablo IV Sever Slam

Those who already participated in the first two open beta tests should notice positive changes in the next open beta since the players' comments and balance changes from the previous open beta will be applied. However, the progress made by players from the previous open beta will not carry over to the Server Slam event. Whatever progress made by the players in the upcoming open beta will not be transferred to the actual game in June either.

The previous open beta of Diablo IV was a huge success, proven by the long queue times that players had to endure patiently before they could enter the beta servers. The same scenario can be expected when the Server Slam event arrives.

One of the possible highlights of the upcoming Diablo IV open beta is the boss fight with the game's villain, Ashava. Blizzard describes the villain as "one of the Burning Hells' most fowl machinations," with "two razor-sharp arm blades, scales stronger than plate mail, and hell-bent on ripping through all who interrupt her quest to bathe Sanctuary in poisonous bile."

Players can only imagine how the villain will use these traits to give a challenging boss fight. It appears that Ashava is a villain that players can take on as they reach Level 20, although it would still be a difficult attempt. Those players who can beat Ashava should obtain the Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy, which will carry over to the final game version.