Diablo III begins public beta testing

By Ryan Fleming Published September 20, 2011

We knew that beta testing was going on, and there wasn’t a thing we could do about it. It has been 11 years since the last Diablo game, and the scrutiny on the upcoming sequel has been fierce. So when rumors began that Blizzard was planning a beta test, fans rejoiced. When it was announced that the beta was officially on the way, and would debut sometime between June and September, fans rejoiced harder. Then when a private beta for employees and their friends/families was announced, the rejoicing became a bit more subdued. “Meh” seems like a good word for it.

But that is all in the past, and Blizzard has begun sending out invites the beta. It is still a closed beta, and only those that have actively signed up have a shot at an invite. If you are one of the lucky ones, the key will be sent through Battle.net to your email.

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But even if you don’t receive an invite, it is good news for fans of the game. There is still no official release date, or month, or quarter, or release year for that matter, but this is a good step towards the retail release of the game.

Many rumors have suggested that Diablo III would be out in time for Christmas, but there has been no confirmation of that. With BlizzCon scheduled for later next month, it would make sense to announce it then–assuming that the beta runs smoothly. In other words, the stars may be aligning for a December 2011 Diablo III release.

One potential snag is that Blizzard seems to have plans to bring the game to consoles as well. If so, that could delay the release further. Of course, that is always assuming that the PC and console versions will release simultaneously, and there really is no reason the think they will.

So for now, here’s hoping that the beta runs well. If not, the game could be pushed back until next year. Or the year after. Or the year after that….

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PC Gaming

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

The best weapons in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

A soldier standing in an armory.

To the layman, every gun in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 probably seems the same. They all shoot bullets, right? In reality, that couldn't be further from the truth. Even when you take player skill out of the equation, each gun has vastly different stats and applications that make some, even within their own category, just plain better choices for everyone. Each gun is broken down into various stats, including recoil, ADS speed, damage, and much more, which makes it hard to easily compare them. When you factor in just how many guns are available as you level up and keep unlocking more, the prospect of picking the best ones becomes overwhelming. If you're trying to build the ideal loadout to dominate the current meta, these are the best weapons in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for each weapon type.

We will detail the top picks per each class, and then list the rest in terms of how they rank.
Best assault rifles in MW3

Gaming

The best field upgrades for Modern Warfare 3 Zombies

A man holding a mysterious glowing vial.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Zombies mode puts a slight twist on the mechanics you are already familiar with. It now plays much more like a souped-up DMZ mode rather than its old round-based format. And Field Upgrades have been modified in terms of both their effects and how you get them just for this game type. There are six different Field Upgrades you can bring into the map and use on a cooldown timer to help improve your chances of survival, but you can only pick one at a time. You will begin the game with only one option, but steadily unlock the rest as you level up. Once you have them all, the question then becomes which is the best Field Upgrade? We've managed to exfiltrate with the answer.

Healing Aura
Regardless of whether or not you're playing with a team or running solo, Healing Aura is no doubt the best Field Upgrade to bring on any Zombie run. When activated, you and any teammates in the area will not only gain immediate healing, but it will also instantly revive any downed teammates. The downside to all this power is that this upgrade has the slowest recharge time and is unlocked at level 19.
Aether Shroud
This is another upgrade that you will be glad to have. Aether Shroud makes you you temporary invisibile to all Zombies. This won't make you invincible, mind you, and PMCs can still take shots, but if you're getting swarmed and have no way to escape, becoming instantly invisible to a bloodthirsty pack of zombies can save your skin more often than you think. This upgrade has a medium recharge rate and is unlocked when you hit level 39.
Frenzied Guard
Just past the halfway mark, Frenzied Guard has a massive upside, but not without some risk. When you pop this Field Upgrade, you instantly repair all your armor, but also draw all the aggression of any enemy nearby for 10 seconds. However, another perk is that anything you kill during this time also repairs your armor, so situationally, it can be great or detrimental. This one recharges slowly, unlocking at level 9.
Frost Blast
Frost Blast does exactly what you expect: it fires a freezing blast that will slow down any enemy you hit with it and deal a bit of damage. It's decent in a pinch, but not a game-changer. You can get it when you hit level 29.
Tesla Storm
An odd ability on paper, Tesla Storm is only good if you have a team working together. Activating it will create a lightning chain between you and your team that will damage and stun enemies that get close to any one of you. It lasts for 10 seconds and can be great in the final moments while holding out for an extraction, but not in other situations. It recharges slowly and is the last upgrade you unlock at level 50.
Energy Mine
This is your default Field Upgrade, so it makes sense that it's the "worst" on the list. Energy Mine isn't exactly bad; you simply lay down a mine that does what a mine does -- explodes. It's just that setting up traps like this in Zombies isn't all that applicable except when kiting a boss around or waiting for the helicopter. It has a medium recharge speed.

Gaming

Warcraft and Diablo devs reveal the focus of Phil Spencer’s Blizzard visit

Phil Spencer at BlizzCon 2023. He's presenting on a stage in a black jacket.

Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October, and shortly thereafter, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed on the Official Xbox Podcast that he was going to visit Activision Blizzard studios in the coming weeks. Spencer did so prior to BlizzCon 2023, where he also ended up making an appearance during the Opening Ceremony to reaffirm Xbox's commitment to support all of Blizzard's major franchises. To get a better idea of what Spencer's studio visit and BlizzCon appearance felt like for Blizzard developers, we asked John Hight, Warcraft franchise general manager, and Rod Fergusson, Diablo general manager, about the experience.

"They actually came out a couple of weeks ago, Phil and a lot of his leadership team. What was nice about it was we had prepared all of these PowerPoints and stuff, but they just wanted to meet the teams," Hight told Digital Trends. "They had lunch out in our patio, the cafe. We had hundreds of employees and Phil made himself available just to talk to people. He just wanted to see some of the games and meet some of the people, so we gave him a demo of one of the areas in The War Within for a while, and then we had [game designer] Tom [Chilton] demo Warcraft Rumble. It was fun because we started to go through introductions and I said ‘Clearly you’re having fun playing the game, you can tune out and just play that.' They’ve been very supportive. I think they’re excited by the fact that, especially with Warcraft, we have a diversity of games and platforms that we’re building for.”