Following a limited-scale Closed Alpha Test to seek community feedback, Blizzard Entertainment has this week commenced open beta testing for Diablo Immortal. For those out of the loop, Diablo Immortal is the upcoming smart-device exclusive free-to-play action RPG which was met when rather negative community response when first unveiled during BlizzCon 2018.
The Closed Beta at launch will only be available on Android, and in only select regions where a limited number of players will be able to participate. This week saw the launch in Canada and Australia, where lucky adventurers will have received a notification via Google Play about how they can log in and begin their adventures. In the coming weeks, servers are also expected to open in Korea, Japan and China.
Promoted (new) features of the Closed Beta compared to the earlier Alpha Beta include:
A new playable class – The Necromancer:
Reanimate corpses to create an army of the dead while inflicting curses and pestilence upon the enemies of Sanctuary.
PvP and PvE updates
The game’s popular faction based PvP & PvE system, The Cycle of Strife, is now enhanced with a 30×1 battle called Challenge of the Immortal; Ladders are being added to the 8v8 Battleground PvP system; A new end-game gear system, Set items, is introduced; Players will now be able to challenge the Helliquary raid bosses with up to 8 total players; and more!
Controller Support
Players will be able to experience a preview of controller support for Diablo Immortal.
Optional In-Game Purchases:
In-Game Purchases for a Closed Beta? It certainly raised an eyebrow on my end, and this is what Blizzard had to say about it:
In Closed Beta, we will be enabling optional in-game purchases to gain valuable feedback from our community and test the functionality. All player progress will be wiped at the end of the Closed Beta, and any purchases will be converted to equivalent in-game credits and available in Diablo Immortal at launch.
