Changes

This page covers every common question about [[File:Beta-d3-box.jpg|left|frame|Diablo 3 Beta box art.]]The Diablo 3 Beta test began in early September, 2011, and Blizzard was initially limited to "Friends & Family" testing. The closed beta tests, with numerous quotes from Blizzard employees inserted where relevantbegan mid September and contains the same content as the Friends and Family testers were testing.

==Will there be a Diablo III beta <blue>The test?==It has not been confirmedis mainly for the downloader, but Blizzard has run large scale public beta tests patcher, launcher, various behind-the-scenes services, and server hardware, there are specific updates or milestones for every one of their games thus far. It's hard to imagine that Diablo III wonthese we't follow that successful pathre tracking and they will likely determine more invites.</blue>

It was universally-expected that there would be a public beta test for Diablo 3, and while Blizzard regularly hinted at it, the test was not actually confirmed<ref>[http::'''AG: //diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-on-skills-party-help-and-beta-confirmation Non-Confirmation of Beta] - Bashiok, Blizzard has always been great at showing games to people at 24/9/10</ref>, with a release window of "third quarter 2011," until [[Mike Morhaime]] did so during an early stage and I'm interested Activision/Blizzard conference call in that ideaMay 2011.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers. Do you think there are risks com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-details-announced/ Confirmation of showing games to people early? What's your philosophy behind that?'''''Beta ] - Mike Morhaime, Blizzard, Activision Blizzard First Quarter Calendar 2011, 9/05/11</ref>

::''The beta test got underway in early September 2011. It's unclear exactly when the test started; the Battle.net beta forums went online on September 2nd<ref>[[Jay]]http:''' There's only a risk – this is going to sound snarky – but there's only a risk to your ego//diablo. If your game is good then people will recognise that it's goodincgamers. If it's not goodcom/blog/comments/official-diablo-iii-beta-forums-but-still-no-beta Official Beta Forums Open] - Bashiok, Blizzard 2/9/11</ref>, then you need to learn from and visuals leaked around that and make it bettertime<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-character-creation-movie Character Creation Movie] - diablo.incgamers.com 2/9/11</ref> <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers. A lot of com/blog/comments/the times I think people don't want to show their game early-first-diablo-3-beta-interface-shots Interface Screenshots] - diablo.incgamers.com 2/9/11</ref> <ref>[http://diablo. It's something that some clutch close to their chests – they don't want something that misrepresents themincgamers. I can understand thatcom/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-leaks-explained Leaks Explained] - Various, Blizzard 2/9/11</ref>, but and the thing is – players only remember the last thing you showed themBeta FAQ was posted on September 3rd<ref>[http://diablo. So if you show them something and they're like "oh my god that was horrible" then you go "oh geez, then let's go back and make it better"incgamers. But at least now you know why, at least now you have some informationcom/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-leaks-explained Official Beta FAQ] - Blizzard 3/9/11</ref>.''

The first posts showed up in the Beta Support forum on September 4th<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/the-first-post-in-the-beta-feedback-forum-got-deleted Feedback Forum Post Deletion] - Blizzard 4/9/11</ref>, and got deleted while the Blizzard CMs continued to insist <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/battle-net-diablo-3-beta-avatar-revealed Official Beta Forum Avatar] - Blizzard 5/9/11</ref> that the Friends and Family beta had not yet begun. The Beta download client was available during this time, enabling anyone who had it to post screenshots of the client install<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-install-client-screenshots Beta Install Screenshot] - diablo.incgamers.com 6/9/11</ref> and the options menus<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-options-menus Beta Options Menu Screenshot] - diablo.incgamers.com 6/9/11</ref>, 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 was under way and the full test would begin soon, on September 6th. <ref name=ffbeta>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzard-confirms-ff-beta-underway-closed-public-beta-soon Friends & Family Test Under Way] - Bashiok, Blizzard 7/9/11</ref>.  ===What changes have been made to Diablo 3 during the Beta?=== The vast majority of changes in the patches have been bug fixes and skill and item balances however there have been some significant changes and additions which are noted below. Visit the patch links for the full patch details. * [[Beta Patch 2]] – v0.3.73108 - 8 September* [[Beta Patch 3]] - v.0.3.0.7338 - 15 September ** Gold [[Auction House]] activated.* [[Beta Patch 4]] - v.0.3.0.7447 - 27 September* [[Beta Patch 5]] – v.0.3.1. 7728 - 4 November (Large patch with many changes)** Experience rewarded from quests after level 4 is now based on the number of mobs you’d have to kill to earn the same amount of experience, rather than being a strict percentage of a level ** New passive skills have been added for all classes. See individual class notes below for more information.** All skills are now based off weapon damage. ** Switching out class skills will now require the use of a new feature known as the Nephalem Altar. ** Items sold from vendors will now be at least one item level lower than those that are currently available to a player via drops from monsters** Quivers, Orbs, and Mojos will now always come with +Min/Max damage.** A new Mortar affix has been added to the game. Mortar monsters will lob grenades at enemies outside melee range. * [[Beta Patch 6]] - v.0.4.0.7841 - 18 November** Player profiles have been added! These profiles will display important statistics for each of your characters, as well as 3D models featuring their current gear.** Achievements are now available for testing. Please note that for the beta launch of this system, only a limited number of achievements have been included. * [[Beta Patch 7]] – v.0.4.1.7391 - 2 December** A trial version of the Diablo 3 Currency-Based Auction House is now available for testing. * [[Beta Patch 8]] - v.0.5.0.8059 - 16 December (Large patch with many changes)** Battle.net BattleTags are now live! ** A new skill has been added for Monk:Cyclone Strike * [[Beta Patch 9]] - V.0.5.1.8101 - 21 December* [[Beta Patch 10]] - v.0.6.0.8296 - 23 January** Attack, Defense, and Precision have been removed.** Dexterity, Intellect, Strength, and Vitality have been added.** Nephalem Altars, Nephalem Cube and Cauldron of Jordan have been removed.** Achievements have been re-enabled.** Leveling artisans in Normal difficulty now only requires gold.** Common (white) items can no longer be salvaged.* [[Beta Patch 11]] - v.0.6.1.8350 - 30 January** Fixed a number of game and service crashes.* [[Beta Patch 12]] - v.0.6.2.8392 - 3 February** Fixed a number of game and service crashes.* [[Beta Patch 13]] - v.0.7.0.8610 - 18 February 2012** Public chat and Real ID enabled.** Skill runes activated.** Elective mode enabled.** Many skills altered for all classes** The cooldown on swapping skills has been decreased from 30 seconds to 15 seconds ** New Templar item affixes added* [[Beta Patch 14]] - v. 0.8.0.8815 - 8 March 2012** Hardcore mode is now available, and can be unlocked by reaching level 10 with at least one character** Player created games now default to Invite Only. Check "Allow Quick Join" in the Social tab of the Options menu to allow your friends to join** Magic Find and Gold Find are now shared amongst party members. The average combined value of the entire party's Magic and Gold Find applies to all players regardless of location in the game world.** Many changes to game economy, including rings and amulets level requirements being raised to no longer drop in the beta* [[Beta Patch 15]] - v.0.9.0.8896 - 16 March 2012** The gold auction house for Hardcore characters is now available for testing** A new quest selection feature has been added ** The levels at which character skills and skill runes unlock have been adjusted for most classes* [[Beta Patch 16]] - v.0.10.0.9183 - 9 April 2012** The cooldown on swapping skills while in Normal difficulty has been decreased from 15 seconds to 5 seconds** Demon Hunter one-handed Crossbows have received a damage buff** Spirit regeneration on Monk items has been increased* [[Beta Patch 17]] – v.0.11.0.9327 - 17 April 2012**Cross-game chat is available!* [[Beta Patch 18]] – v.0.11.0.9359 - 19 April 2012** Minor bug fix =Is there a closed Diablo 3 beta test?= Yes. This was officially confirmed to be happening in various interviews from Blizzcon 2010. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/diablo-3-beta-confirmed Beta Confirmed] - Christian Lichtner, Blizzard, VG247 Interview, 28/10/10</ref> <blue>Christian Lichtner: There will be a closed beta. I can say that. We definitely will have that. It’s incredibly important for us to get feedback from people. You know, we only want to put a game out there when it’s done. For example, when ''World of Warcraft'' had its really long beta, everyone thought it was madness. It was like “Who’s gonna buy this game? People have been playing it for free for months!” And all it did was make the game better. We need it. We need people playing the game and giving feedback, so we can make the game better.</blue>  Prior to this, [[Jay Wilson]] spoke about the benefits of beta testing. <ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/?p=3549 Benefits of Beta Testing] - Ausgamers Interview, 2/10/08</ref> <blue><font color="#FFFFFF"><i><b>AG:</b> Blizzard has always been great at showing games to people at an early stage and I'm interested in that idea. Do you think there are risks of showing games to people early? What's your philosophy behind that?</b></i></font> <b>Jay Wilson: </b>There's only a risk – this is going to sound snarky – but there's only a risk to your ego. If your game is good then people will recognise that it's good. If it's not good, then you need to learn from that and make it better. A lot of the times I think people don't want to show their game early. It's something that some clutch close to their chests – they don't want something that misrepresents them. I can understand that, but the thing is – players only remember the last thing you showed them. So if you show them something and they're like "oh my god that was horrible" then you go "oh geez, then let's go back and make it better". But at least now you know why, at least now you have some information.''<br>One of the reasons why we actually prefer a really long window before we release a game is because we want a lot of feedback; we want to hear what people like and don't like about it; we want to give them several opportunities to play it before release. We play our games constantly before we release them; we give them to the other development teams and we get feedback. We do very long betas and alphas that we include a lot of people – not just from the fanbase, but from the game industry as a whole. We get a lot of other game developers playing our games – months and months before we release – and I would say, look at the success of Blizzard games. If other companies think it's a risk, a bad idea... obviously it's not, because we've done very well on that front.</blue> <br>=How do I register for the Diablo 3 Beta Test?= You already are, if you have a Battle.net account and have completed a Beta profile. [http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=27087 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 [http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=26886 Blizzard's Beta Opt-in FAQ]. <br>=What is in the Diablo 3 Beta?= The Diablo 3 beta test is roughly the first half of Act One, taking a brand new character from the start of the game up though the battle with [[King Leoric]]. All five character [[classes]], all of their [[skills]], and almost all of the game features are included. [[Followers]], [[Artisans]], and the full [[item]] system is in the beta, though only the [[Templar]] and [[Blacksmith]] are encountered that early in the game. '''Not in the beta:'''Some [[story]] elements were removed to preserve surprises, and there are no [[cinematics]]. [[Runestones]] are not included as they're undergoing further development, and the [[Arena]] is not available either. The [[Auction House]] was not available at the start of the beta, though the developers enabled the Gold Auction House in Patch 3 on 15th September<ref>[http://www.diablowiki.net/Beta_Patch_3 Gold Auction House Enabled] - Beta Patch 3, 15/9/11</ref> and introduced the Real Money Auction House in Patch 7 on 2 December 2011<ref>[http://www.diablowiki.net/Beta_Patch_7 Real Money Auction House Enabled] - Beta Patch 7, 2/12/11</ref>. Blizzard credited all testers' accounts with 50 credits in order to test. <br>=What was in the Diablo II Beta?= The Diablo 2 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 Diablo 2 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]], [[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. <br>=How long will the Diablo 3 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]] spoke on this during a video interview from Blizzcon 2010.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-video-interview-jay-wilson-direct-tv/ Jay Wilson @ BlizzCon 2010] - IncGamers 25/10/10</ref> ::'''Geoffkeighley''' (via Twitter): someone has to ask this: When is the Diablo 3 beta gonna be?::'''Jay Wilson: '''Probably about six months before we release. At the end of September 2011 Blizzard announced that Diablo 3 would not release in 2011 but rather "early 2012" which meant the beta would run longer than expected but with more testers than originally planned.<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzard-leaks-d3s-release-as-early-2012 Diablo 3 Release Slip] - Mike Morhaime, 23/9/2011 </ref>  <blue>Blizzard will use the additional time to extend the Diablo 3 closed beta test, which began September 20, potentially adding more testers than initially projected. The beta test is going very well, and we look forward to making the most of the extra time we're taking to deliver an experience that lives up to our vision for the game and the expectations of our players. Next year is going to be an incredibly busy one for Blizzard, and we hope an incredibly fun one for Blizzard gamers.</blue> =Will there be an open beta test?= 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.

==What's an Alpha Test?==An Alpha test is run before Early Blizzard beta tests were limited to just the 1000 beta test, CDs they pressed and is usually much smallermailed out. The Alpha client is less finalized than the beta clientMore recent tests with downloadable clients have grown far larger, and is usually there will likely be tens of thousands of testers for Diablo 3. Not everyone starts on the first game build that's semi-complete and playableday, of course. Alpha Beta tests are almost always private, start small and limited to employeesscale up, friends, and familywith more testers added over time as the server stability improves.

The original =Are Previous Blizzard Testers invited to Diablo beta test was called the "Battle.net 3 Beta Test" since it was largely made to test Blizzard's new online gaming service. That the software contained the beta client of Diablo I was almost beside the point, since the game was small enough to be tested internally. The hard part was getting the online matchmaking of Battle.net functional.?=

All computer game beta tests Only if you are chiefly used to fix technical problems. Public beta testers have an enormously wide variety of computer systems, and ironing out all of already on the hardware and software issues keeps Blizzard's technical crew very busyfriends list. Numerous game They do keep a list of good testers from past games, and add people to it when they reliably report numerous bugs are fixed as well, as but the influx of new players invariably find ways to break the game that the company's QA department didn't discovernames on this list are kept private.

=How much actual game testing goes on in a beta test varies from title to title. RTS games like Starcraft 2 generally feature the entire game, but only the multiplayer portion. They can run for many months, as countless tweaks and changes are made to the unit stats as players find new ways to exploit units, and one race or another seems too powerful, or grows too weak as new techniques are developed.Beta Testers Selected?=

RPGs sometimes include the entire game client, but are usually more limited. Diablo II's Blizzard passes out beta only included Act One, and only the character skills up keys to level 18. The D2 team knew they'd need to make changes their friends and tweaks and balances to items and character skills and monsters post-releasefamily, 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 featuresmedia, and to test others in the early aspects of D2 itselfindustry. They wanted also give out beta slots to perfect the fun factorvarious fansites, leveling speedmedia sites, early itemsbusiness partners, skills, monsters and questsoften conduct "invite a friend" events during beta tests. Larger There are generally numerous ways to gain access, including with game balance changes were made in postpre-release patches orders, and were based on more promotions appear during the input and play choices of hundreds of thousands course of players, rather than just a few hundred each beta testerstest.

==When will they announce the beta test?==No dates have been given yet, nor will they until much closer to the game's release. Blizzard typically announces their upcoming The remainder of this page covers basic alpha and beta tests some months in advance. They also give at least a month's notice on the date they'll start allowing interested parties to sign up for the test. Their sign up periods usually run about a weekquestions, and there's no preference given is applicable to people who sign up first, though you'd never know this from the massive crush all types of fans who flood the site the instant the sign up forms go livevideo games.

===When will An Alpha test is run before the Diablo 3 Beta Start?===beta test, and is usually much smaller. The Alpha client is less finalized than the beta client, and is usually the first game build that's semi-complete and playable. Alpha tests are almost always private, and limited to employees, friends, and family.

::===What'''''Diii.net: '''Speaking of the beta test, what’s the date on that? Can you give us any loose estimate?::'''Kevin: '''We’re still working on content and doing s a lot of iterating. It’s hard to know when the game is ready for testing, since just because something is in the game doesn’t mean it’s good enough to ship. The Blizzard secret is endless iteration. Go over and over until something is perfect. How any given feature works with other features, classes, and all the content. We never know exactly where we are in the process since we’re working on everything at once. Julian, how do you describe when we’re doneBeta Test?::'''Julian: '''We know we’re ready when everyone is spending their time playing instead of working. That means it’s time to ship.===

::'''''DiiiBeta tests are large scale tests of a near-finished video game.net: '''And how long will that be?::'''Kevin: '''(Losing patienceTo 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.) It’s indeterminateBeta 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.

Open betas are often referred to as "stress tests," since the goal is not to test the game, but to test the game hosting software and hardware. The game client is usually about ===What's the size purpose of a demo, but it can only be played online. Open betas are almost always freely available to anyone who wants to download them. Beta keys may or may not be required, but if they are they're made very widely available, in numbers that scale up as the test continues. Test?===

Diablo II ran such a stress test for several weeks after the closed beta test, since they needed to see how the Battle.net servers would hold up with tens of thousands of simultaneous connections. There's no telling if Diablo III will run such a test. World of Warcraft had both a stress test and an open [[Image:Bnet-beta to test its servers. Diablo III's Battle-cd.net set up is going to be similar to Diablo II's, with just a few realms worldwidejpg|thumb]]Beta tests serve multiple purposes, and millions of players depending on each. Blizzard may therefore feel it's necessary to run such a stress test for D3, though they've said nothing about that publicly. They might also run an open beta because it's good publicity for their titlethe game.

==How All computer game beta tests are Beta Testers Selected?==Blizzard passes out chiefly used to fix technical problems. Public beta keys to their friends and family, to media, to fansitestesters have an enormously wide variety of computer systems, and to others in ironing out all of the industry. Theyhardware and software issues keeps Blizzard've also taken to including a redeemable beta code on a card in the gift packs they give out at BlizzCon and other conventionss technical crew very busy. Everyone who attended Numerous game bugs are fixed as well, as the 2008 WWI in Paris got a code influx of new players invariably find ways to enter break the game that the WoW Lich King beta, for instancecompany's QA department didn't discover.

==Will there be How much actual game testing goes on in a public Diablo III beta sign up?==Possibly, but nothing is definite until Blizzard announces ittest varies from title to title. All previous Blizzard beta tests had public signupsRTS games like Starcraft 2 generally feature the entire game, but that changed with only the World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich Kingmultiplayer portion. There was no public beta signup They can run for that game; a beta code was given many months, as countless tweaks and changes are made to all of the 6000+ attendees at the 2008 Paris WWI showunit stats as players find new ways to exploit units, and the hundreds more added through fansites and Blizzard's friends listone race or another seems too powerful, or grows too weak as new techniques are developed.

It's expected that RPGs sometimes include the 15,000 fans attending the 2008 BlizzCon convention will get a beta code for an upcoming Blizzard betaentire game client, but thatare usually more limited. Diablo II's not for surebeta only included Act One, and only the character skills up to level 18. Those codes could be for Starcraft 2 rather than Diablo III. If The D2 team knew they do'd need to make changes and tweaks and balances to items and character skills and monsters post-release, that might be all Blizzard thinks 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 Diablo IIIthe early aspects of D2 itself. They wanted to perfect the fun factor, leveling speed, early items, skills, once they add monsters and quests. Larger game balance changes were made in friends post-release patches and family were based on the input and play choices of hundreds more gathered from fansite contestsof thousands of players, rather than just a few hundred beta testers.

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 to through their fansites, and they know those slots that will be distributed predominately 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.  ===What countries are included in the Beta Test?=== Blizzard beta tests are generally done internationally, though they might actually favor more newbie often start with just North America for their test servers and most of the first testers amongst those who sign up from their public website form. Blizzard has also been known to run beta servers in other countries where they expect a lot of players. They had extensive Battle.net servers in Korea for the Stacraft 2 beta, for instance. 

==What countries Yes, in accordance with each game's age limit rating, or expected ratings. These are included in generally enforced via drop down, "select your age" boxes, with all the Beta Test?==''unbreakable'' security protection those provide.

==Is there an age limit Each Battle.net account entered in the Beta Opt-In is eligible to be selected for a given beta testers?==Yestest. So if you have multiple accounts, in accordance with yes. You can't submit the game's age limit ratingssame account more than once, or expected ratingsthough.

==Are there minimum system specs for the Beta Test?==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 3's requirements.

==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+

===How to get in to the Closed Betaare Selected Testers Notified?=== Aside from marrying a Blizzard employee or becoming one yourselfbeta tests are conducted digitally, all through Battle.net. Most of the testers are semi-randomly selected by Blizzard, you could try attending BlizzCon or other such conventionsby their Battle.net accounts. Selected accounts are given beta access, since they've been giving out cards good for future and players can do so by logging on and downloading the beta test slots at such eventsclient. Notification emails<ref>[http://diablo.incgamers. Admins of popular fansites com/blog/comments/friends-and employees of major gaming info sites usually get -family-beta slots as well; sometimes they even have extras -invite-email Invite Email] - 7/9/10</ref> are sent to give out to site regularsthe email address associated with each account. There's no way  In addition to increase your odds those selected testers, Blizzard generally gives out thousands of being chosen from the public sign up period thoughadditional beta invites via contest winners, with pre-orders, since via "invite a friend"   ===Will I have to pay for the criteria Blizzard uses to pick such people varies, and is largely random.beta test?===

==When will Selected be Notified?==This varies greatlyBlizzard does not charge for beta test slots. There's usually at least a month or two between sign up Beta test slots are sometimes sold, but not officially, and eBay and other online auction services do not permit the start sale of the test, and selected testers only find out when they get their beta key emails. Since these notifications are sent out in waves, some testers will necessarily find out long before othersslots.

===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.=

==How much <blue>Bashiok: I don’t believe we’re planning to impose NDA’s on future beta tests for any of the whole game will be in the beta?==Unknownour franchises. The D2 beta included Act One, and all 5 characters, but only half That’s of their skillscourse subject to change.</blue>

==How long will =Will beta testers be given notice before the Beta Test lasttesting ends?==Unknown. It depends on how much of the game Blizzard is testing, how well Battle.net 2.0 is running with Starcraft 2 before the D3 beta begins, etc. At least two or three months is a conservative estimate. Some betas run for half a year or longer.=

===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 headstart, etcthe same as the final game version.  =References= <font size="-3"><references/></font>