Chris InglisOvernight the servers for Diablo IV opened the flood gates to players that have pre-ordered the game. Aaannnnnnnd, enter the queue to login. At midnight AWST, the queue was only a minute or two and then you were in the game. However, after creating my Barbarian, watching the intro cinematic and then running around the starting area, I lost connection to the server after around 15 minutes of play time. It was late so I went to bed, but the graphics so far were very promising, and character customisation had plenty of good features.
Waking up this morning I thought I would check the queue times and it was sitting at 127 minutes, so I won’t bother trying again until later this afternoon Perth time. Server queues for online connected games like these and MMORPGs are par for the course since the early 00s. You would think with knowing pre-order numbers and the fact that it’s a 20+ year issue that maybe a solution would be found. Alas, all we can do is wait and try later. I am definitely keen to try out the other classes.
[Editor’s note: The server queue times improved greatly as Saturday progressed, to the point at the same time on Sunday morning there were no queues at all. Kudos to the dev team for this as it improved the experience greatly.]
During this Early Access weekend, only the Rogue, Sorcerer, and Barbarian classes are available to choose from. We can see the models for the Necromancer and Druid classes but they are getting added to the Open Beta weekend next weekend (March 25-27). Players can create up to 10 characters during this time, providing ample opportunity to try multiple hero styles and paths.
During these beta weekends we will enter the snow-laden Fractured Peaks where you will find Kyovashad, a safe zone in the mountains, and many side quests you can find along your journeys in addition to the main questline. Do make sure to check out the Woodsman of Nevesk side quest if you find yourself near the town of Nevesk. Dungeons and events are spread across the land for those looking for a challenge. World Events are small instances that will arise at random within zones and range from escorting a lost soul to satiating blood thirsty obelisks. Legion Events are longer instances that will challenge you with hordes of demons. Look for them after conquering Strongholds.
Finally Ashava, a World Boss for the Early Access and Open Beta weekends will emerge at specific times in Fractured Peaks to spread plague and rend flesh. You will find it spawning on Sunday’s of each weekend – March 19 and 26 at 4 am, 6 am, 4 pm and 6 pm AEDT. For more information about Diablo IV, head over to the official website.
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