Blizzard Entertainment is looking to release their mobile action-RPG Diablo: Immortal in the first half of 2022. But before the game gets there, it needs to go through some closed beta testing. This closed beta is now available in Canada and Australia for Android devices, and should soon be launching in South Korea, Japan, and China.
This beta introduces the Necromancer class, new group PvE content, and an assortment of new and overhauled systems. Below you’ll find an overview of the new stuff, along with a quick beta FAQ. But first, here’s a new trailer:
Adventurers, prepare. Diablo Immortal is entering its Beta testing phase, bringing us one step closer to worldwide launch. Select participants will experience a host of exciting new features and updates. Starting October 28 select participants in Canada and Australia will journey back to Sanctuary.
Additionally, we’ll be expanding Closed Beta access to users in South Korea, Japan, and China at a later time. We’re thrilled to introduce the Necromancer class, new challenging PvE encounters, epic battles to become the Immortal, controller support, and more!
Back in August, our team shared a Development Update on Diablo Immortal, highlighting key areas of focus we were going to revisit and level up following the Closed Alpha test. After diving into feedback from across channels like Reddit, social media, in-game surveys, and even collaborating with players in our community, we saw many opportunities to iterate on key gameplay systems as we progressed on the road to Beta. Today we kick off our Closed Beta and we can’t wait to share the exciting changes we have in place. Let’s dive in!
NEW CLASS
Haunt your foes with the dead, so even the demons of the Burning Hells will feel dread.
Reanimate corpses to protect the living. Curse the damned with baneful skills. Inflict pestilence on the enemy. Alienated and shunned by society, those who underestimate your power are ignorant of their grave mistake. Only your commands echo in eternity.
Raise the dead. Raise the stakes. The Necromancer is here (one of six classes that will be available at worldwide launch).
CYCLE OF STRIFE UPDATE
The journey vying for the Eternal Crown is arduous and gripping. Requiring Shadow players to rally under a single banner to form a Dark House, fight other Shadows in competing Dark Houses in the Rite of Exile, and ultimately qualify as the top Dark House to challenge the Immortals. The Shadows who win the Rite of Exile will progress to a new endgame PvP confrontation. In a desperate struggle, the Immortal will harness ancient powers to defend their reign as a raid boss. The Challenge of the Immortal pits 30 players (Shadows) against 1 (Immortal), a decisive moment in the larger Cycle of Strife. The outcome will ripple across the realm.
PVP UPDATES
In addition to the exciting feature coming to the Cycle of Strife, other PvP systems that have undergone iteration will be making their debut.
Those with the ambition to become the best PvPers in the game will be able to stake their claim. The Battleground Ladder is coming, enabling players to measure their prowess against others in their realm.
There is no better time to jump in the fray, as we’ve also made changes to class balance, time to kill, and other impactful elements of Battleground PvP in Diablo Immortal.
SET ITEMS
On top of the above changes, a new end-game gear system has been implemented. In Closed Beta, Set Items will become available for secondary gear slots. Once a player wears a sufficient number of items from the same Set, that player will be bestowed an additional bonus.
To elaborate on this new system, each “Set” is for the same six slots, including Hands, Feet, Rings (2), Neck, and Waist. Each Set has two unique bonuses: one for wearing three pieces, and one for wearing six pieces. So, ultimately, you can wear a full Set for its two bonuses, or alternatively, mix three pieces of two different sets for two different three-piece bonuses.
Sets contain attributes around primary attacks, survival/health, fast movement, damage over time, summoning pets, or crowd-controlling enemies, allowing players to mix and match to their desired playstyle.
ENHANCED ITEM DROPS
Active players who progress in Paragon level or seek challenges by adventuring in higher-difficulty content will reap greater rewards. Both paths unlock the potential for the game to drop more powerful items. More powerful items will enable players to battle the minions of Hell on greater difficulties with even greater rewards.
THE HELLIQUARY UPDATE
Muster your courage and rally your friends. More mayhem is coming to the Helliquary. Helliquary bosses are now designed for raids of eight players. This is one of many changes we’re making to PvE, to make it more challenging and rewarding to players who complete these objectives as they cycle weekly.
PVE UPDATES
Beyond the Helliquary, we’re making changes to the various PvE activities. We want to provide players with choices about whether they prefer doing Bounties, Elder Rifts, or Dungeons to progress their character. You get to choose which activities you want to engage in and no matter what you choose, you’ll earn progress on the Battle Pass. The rewards from Bounties have been moved to the Battle Pass so players have the flexibility to earn the rewards in any way they want.
Dungeon crawling is a hallmark of the Diablo experience—the pursuit of loot and earning new gear is a critical ingredient to the formula of fun in our games. We’ve made Challenge Rifts a core part of your gear progression, especially higher Challenge Rifts. For players who want the highest level gear, seek out new upgrade materials in Challenge Rifts that can’t be acquired any other way.
CONTROLLER SUPPORT
We’ve heard players loud and clear and our long-term goal is to provide full controller support for Diablo Immortal. We’re not there yet, and there is more work to do. The Closed Beta will give players an early preview of this functionality. This early look at controller support will allow the use of a controller to navigate around the world and engage in combat with monsters. This early controller support comes with some major caveats:
- The Closed Beta does not include controller support for UI menus such as inventory, skills, Codex, Paragon, or vendors. You will still need to use the touchscreen to navigate UI screens.
- Not all controllers are supported. Device compatibility is part of our testing goals during Closed Beta.
- You may experience some technical difficulties such as controller disconnection.
We look forward your feedback as we work to make the game more accessible to all.
MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES
Beyond these exciting PvP and PvE changes, more tuning and polish is happening behind the scenes affecting the Codex, Paragon, and XP systems. Many of these tweaks and changes are aimed at smoothing the leveling and progression experience. For example, the Codex Power Progression UI has been improved to provide players a clearer path of progression through tutorials and goals.
OPTIONAL IN-GAME PURCHASES
The Closed Beta will, for the first time, enable in-game purchasing on Android devices. This marks an important development milestone as we progress forward. We want all Diablo Immortal players to feel good about their investment in the game, and that any purchases they choose to make deliver the value they expect. Validating the appeal of the game in this way is an important component of ensuring a smooth launch, while also enabling us to support the game for years to come. Players will be able to purchase the Empowered Battle Pass, Eternal Orbs (which may be used to purchase consumable items such as Crests in-game), and promotional bundles. For more information on the team’s approach to monetization in Diablo Immortal please see our Free to Play Approach and Values.
LET THE BETA COMMENCE
The Closed Beta is here and we’d love to hear from our participants! We welcome you to share your impressions and feedback on the r/DiabloImmortal subreddit or across our other channels. As we progress through the Closed Beta, we’ll be listening to your feedback as we aim to craft an awesome Diablo experience.
If you want to learn more about Diablo Immortal, check out our website here, or for real-time updates, follow our official Twitter @DiabloImmortal!
Heroes of Sanctuary, thank you—and have fun raising some Hell this Halloween season!
FAQ
Q. Why is the Closed Beta only available on Android devices?
A: For the Closed Beta we have chosen to only test on Android in order to access and study the optional in-game purchase experience.
Q. How do I take part in the Closed Beta?
A: Currently, the Closed Beta is primarily limited to Android users in Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and China. Please reference the dates and times above for when those tests begin.
Q. How many players will take part in the Closed Beta?
A: We anticipate tens of thousands will be able to take part in the Closed Beta. Mobile game development can often benefit from multiple rounds of public testing. By holding this Closed Beta in limited regions, we’ll be able to take in valuable server stability and client performance data, as well as critical gameplay feedback, to ensure that Diablo Immortal feels like a wonderful experience before going wider in the future.
Q. How long will the Closed Beta last?
A: We are aiming to keep the Closed Beta running under three months. We’ll be testing more late-game systems and controller support this time around, so we’re keeping it up longer to make sure players have enough time to play through all of them.
Q. What devices does Diablo Immortal support?
A: We are aiming to bring epic Diablo gameplay to as many devices and players as possible. The Diablo Immortal Closed Beta will be playable on Android devices and have the following minimum requirements:
Android Minimum Requirements
CPU – Snapdragon 670 / Exynos 8895 and higher
GPU – Adreno 615 / Mali-G71 MP20 and higher
RAM – 2GB of RAM and higher
Version – Android OS 5.0 (Lollipop) and higher
Q. When will Diablo Immortal be released?
A: We are planning to release Diablo Immortal in the first half of 2022.
