During today's Diablo 4 Developer Update live stream, Blizzard confirmed that there will be one more chance to try Diablo 4 before it launches on June 6 (June 1 if you pre-order).

The Beta Returns

Like the previous two beta weekends, we will be able to play all the classes, explore the first zone, complete the prologue alongside Act 1, and battle the world boss, Ashava. The "Beta Wolf Pack" reward (and previous titles) will also be making a return again for the last possible time to earn this unique cosmetic. In addition, to the old, comes some new.

Diablo 4 Server Slam Details

Schedule

  • Start: May 12, 12 p.m.
  • End: May 14, 12 p.m. PDT

Available Platforms

  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Xbox One
  • PlayStation 5
  • PlayStation 4

Consoles get access to couch co-op, but every platform has cross-play and cross-progression. There will be no mouse & keyboard available on console.

Character Progression

  • You will need to create new characters - old beta characters have been wiped.
  • You can only level up to 20.
  • All progression earned will be wiped before Diablo 4 launches on June 6.

New Stuff Coming in the Diablo 4 Beta

The big thing that everyone wants to be aware of is a new limited-time cosmetic that can be earned by defeating the world boss, Ashava, at level 20. The Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy lets you equip one of Ashava's horns on the side of your mount, giving you a nice bit of flair and a record of your beta world boss kill.

You will be able to kill Ashava starting on Saturday, May 14 at 9 AM PDT, with spawns happening every 3 hours after. Ashava will only be available for 24 hours in total, so it is critical you get your character up to 20 as soon as possible!

We will also see drop rates get nerfed to the ground, to their "normal" rates that should be expected when the game launches. The previous two weekends bumped the drops up so that more testing could be done in a short amount of time. This is certainly a welcome chance since it will be easier to get a feel for the real game with one of the most important aspects, loot, having their correct drop rates.

We will however see a reduced level cap, only getting to level 20 this time around instead of 25 that we saw during the first couple of weekends. That's not a big deal, it does mean that we'll have access to fewer points to plugin to that skill tree, but we won't need to grind mobs in the world to get those final few levels after we finished up the first act.

You can also expect to see the following changes, based off open beta feedback:

  • Several dungeons have had layouts optimized to reduce backtracking.
  • Dungeon events are going to be more common spawning 60% of the time (up from 10%).
  • Stun & Freeze effects apply to Elite Monsters twice as long now.
  • Legendary Powers have had updates to increase their effectiveness.
  • Barbarians now get 10% passive damage reduction and some talents no longer have as high damage reduction to compensate.
  • Druid ultimate skills have all had their cooldowns reduced.
  • Necromancers will see their minions die more often.
  • Rogues have seen nerfs to their Imbuement skill cooldowns.
  • Sorcerers won't be as effective with Chain Lightning, seeing decreased damage and reduced boss effectiveness.
  • The dungeon reset button has been disabled. You can now reset dungeons by leaving them for a short time.

If you're looking for a more comprehensive set of changes that were made between open beta and server slam, check out Blizzard's official blog post.

Diablo 4 Server Slam Rewards

  • Initial Casualty Title: earned by reaching Kyovashad with one character.
  • Early Voyager Title: earned by reaching Level 20 on one character.
  • Beta Wolf Pack Cosmetic Item: earned by reaching Level 20 on one character.
  • Cry of Ashava Mount Trophy: earned by defeating Ashava with one Level 20 character.

Diablo 4 Goes Gold

Ultimately, the version of the game we are playing during the Server Slam weekend is going to be the version of the game that goes live. As they said on Twitter earlier in the week, Diablo 4 has "gone gold", an industry term indicating that they are happy with the product and it is the final copy before they make post-launch updates. This is typically the version of the game that ends up on game media discs and cards to serve as the base install for consoles, and back in the day.

Are you going to be participating during the Server Slam weekend? What classes are you looking forward to playing the most in Diablo 4? Let us know in the comments below!