Recently, Blizzard surprised us with brand new character trailers and a final upcoming Diablo 4 beta weekend. The so-called ‘Server Slam’ starts in May and brings many improvements. All the latest news about D4 at a glance.
With just a little over a month to go, Diablo 4 finally celebrates its release date. Six days ago, Blizzard proudly announced that the Hack ‘n’ Slay RPG officially went gold, which means it is now finished and ready for physical distribution.
But before the official launch, there will be one last beta event, which the developers have named ‘Server Slam.’ You’ll find out what you can expect in the final beta, what will be different, and what the release will look like in our news update on Diablo 4. But first, let’s start with the brand-new Diablo IV Class Trailers.
Diablo 4 Class Trailers
To celebrate the upcoming release, Blizzard has illustrated all playable Diablo IV characters in trailers: the latest in the series is the Necromancer. This class uses dark magic and the undead to fight by your side. A short time before, the developers had already introduced the Druid, Sorceress, the Rogue, and the Barbarian. Check out the official Necromancer class trailer below:
The staging of the Necromancer was just one of the recently released showcases of the available classes. If you haven’t seen the others yet, you can find them all in the below video series. Here you’ll get great insight into your future class choices.
But it doesn’t stop at the simple choice of class. In Diablo IV, you’ll enjoy character customization like you’ve never experienced before. Make your Necromancer or Sorcerer your own – according to Blizzard, up to 8 trillion combinations are possible via the in-game character creator.
D4 Server Slam will be the ultimate stress test for Blizzard
Blizzard revealed the third and final beta during their recent Diablo IV Developer Update Live Stream in April. The ‘Server Slam’ will start on May 12 at 12 pm PDT and ends on May 14 at 12 pm PDT. This event allows Blizzard to check the server load for Diablo IV one last time to ensure no more performance problems are left at release. However, when playing the new beta, you must be prepared for quite some changes:
Player progress
Have you already leveled up a character in the previous beta? Unfortunately, this progress will not carry over into the Server Slam, nor will you keep the new character in the final version. So you must start from scratch and make a new path through Sanctuary.
Leveling in Beta 3
During the Server Slam, you can only level up your character to level 20. Once this level is reached, you will not receive any more XP. However, you can still pick up interesting loot and take out more of the many demonic creatures.
Drop Rate
The drop rate for legendary items has also changed. It now corresponds to the drop rate you will experience in the release of Diablo 4. While in the previous beta, we were still being overwhelmed with Legendaries for testing purposes; the ‘Legendary item drop’ will now be much more moderate, increasing the anticipation and excitement.
Improvements based on the Diablo IV Open Beta Feedback
In Beta 3 of Diablo IV, you can look forward to numerous fixed bugs and updates addressed through community feedback. For example, the Druid has been buffed in almost all areas, so this class should be much more comfortable playing in Server Slam than in the other beta events. In contrast, the Necromancer’s skeletons are now noticeably weaker than before.
Improving the dungeon layouts is also noteworthy, as they were one of the most significant points of criticism in the previous betas. The annoying backtracking is now history. In the future, crucial objectives will be located along the main path, making your way to the end boss much more pleasant.
Also, the world boss Ashava the Pestilent (Fandom-Wiki), should now be more challenging to defeat. While your character won’t get past level 20 in Beta 3, you’ll have to fight an Ashava level 25. But this ultimate challenge is also lucrative because a new reward is waiting if you defeat the world boss at the highest level: the brand new ‘Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy,’ a precious cut horn of the beast you can attach to your mount.
While the Diablo 4 Beta runs from May 12-14, the world boss is not always to be found. On May 13 at 9 am PDT, you will have the first opportunity to face it. After that, the boss will be available every 3 hours until the last spawn, which will be at 9 am PDT on May 14. For a detailed overview of all the changes Blizzard has made, visit news.blizzard.com.
Blizzard revealed new details about the Diablo 4 Endgame
The Server Slam was not the only topic of Blizzard’s latest revelations. The developers also talked about the endgame, which is supposed to increase the replay value mainly through two new game mechanics.
Capstone Dungeons
When you reach level 50 on World Tier 2, you can’t immediately switch to World Tier 3 but must complete a Capstone Dungeon first. These dungeons are more challenging and complex. But it will pay off in the end since lucrative loot is waiting for you from World Tier 3: there, you will also get ‘Sacred Items’ containing real masterpieces. Subsequently, even bigger challenges await you.
Helltide events
From World Tier 3 on, you can also participate in the Helltide events. These are dynamic events that appear randomly on the map. Suddenly it rains blood, and you can expect a mass of opponents. The enemies drop so-called ‘Cinders,’ with which you can open Helltide chests in the corresponding region. But be on your guard!
If you die during these events, you will lose all Cinders and have to collect them again at the place of your death. Also, the Helltides are time-based and must be completed within one hour. Below you can check out the developers’ official Diablo 4 Helltide Gameplay Overview.
The Paragon Board
Character customization is especially effective with Diablo 4’s skill system. Once you have completed your skill tree and reached level 50, you can go incredibly deep with the Paragon Board and create mega-complex character builds. Good planning is necessary here to get to the appropriate nodes.
Spend your Paragon Points and move step by step across the board to improve your skills, modify them, or unleash legendary powers. The board contains four types of nodes:
Normal nodes (grey)
Grant you a few more stats and serve primarily as connection nodes.
Magic nodes (blue)
They are more powerful than the normal nodes, granting you even more diverse advantages.
Rare nodes (yellow)
They have different effects and can upgrade or modify your existing skills. For the unlocking, you also need specific minimum values.
Legendary nodes (orange)
are located in the center of each paragon board and give your character a legendary effect. So think carefully about which nodes to move to.
In a brand new presentation video, Diablo Franchise General Manager Rod Fergusson, Game Director Joe Shely, Lead Game Producer Melissa Corning, and Lead Class Designer Adam Jackson talked about the almost limitless character customization.
More hack and slash at your disposal
In two weeks, we will enter the third and final test round. Until then, you can challenge the world bosses of other RPG games. For top-notch titles, check out our ranking for the Best Free RPG Games. You can also look forward to new info on Path of Exile 2 this summer. We recommend Last Epoch if you want to discover another great Diablo-like.
Will you participate in the ultimate server slam? With which class will you face Ashava? Let us know in the comments below.
Do you like our content? Help us improve:
COMMENTS