Diablo 4 PTR start date, what to expect, and more

The long-awaited Diablo 4 PTR start date has finally been unveiled by Blizzard ahead of the release of Season 4. Although it is a staple for MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, a separate Public Test Realm is a first for Diablo 4. The PTR is coming at an important precipice: an itemization overhaul in Season 4 aimed at fundamentally improving the gear progression.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a PTR (Public Test Realm) presents a separate Diablo 4 'demo' client of sorts where you get to test out upcoming features ahead of time. Another way to look at it is as a beta-test for new live-service features.

This article will go over the upcoming Diablo 4 PTR start date, as well as other important details you may need to know.

Diablo 4 PTR start date and end date for PC

As confirmed on the latest Campfire Chat, the Diablo 4 PTR start date is April 2, 2024. The PTR test phase will go on for exactly one week, concluding on April 9, 2024. Note that only PC users will get to access the Diablo 4 PTR via Battle.net. Console users will likely have to sit this one out.

How to join Diablo 4 PTR?

A manual on how to join the Diablo 4 PTR will be shared by the developers in the near future. Currently, it is uncertain whether you need to create a separate PTR account like with World of Warcraft.

What we do know is that the PTR will be available strictly for PC users with a Battle.net account. This Battle.net prerequisite might change later to include instructions for Diablo 4 Steam users, but the developers have not specifically said anything about it yet.

What to expect from the Diablo 4 PTR in April

PTR characters can be instantly boosted to lvl 100 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

As mentioned earlier, the upcoming Season 4 in May will include a bevy of changes adjusting things from itemization and leveling to boss ladders. The focal point of this overhaul is on crafting and gear-grinding, bringing changes to:

Total number of affixes and affix simplifcation
Greater Affixes
Tempering
Masterworking
Codex of Power

You can experience most of these changes in the week-long PTR, save for the full extent of the Codex of Power introductions.

PTR characters will be fresh ones starting at Level 0, but you have the option to boost it to Level 100 in Diablo 4 immediately to try out the endgame changes. Additionally, PTR users get the following power-ramps tied to their PTR accounts:

100,000,000 gold and 1000 Obols (for each boosted character)
Campaign auto-completion, a mount, and a random set of rare gear
All Skill and Paragon Points from levelling are unlocked
Renown rewards, including Skill Points, matching your account’s Renown progress are unlocked
All Paragon Glyphs unlocked and maxed out
Altar of Lilith progress carries over
Fog of War on the world map is cleared
Class System Mechanics are auto-completed and available
Legendary Drop Rates are double

Check out our other Diablo 4 guides:

Diablo 4 build tier list || Diablo 4 Barbarian leveling build || Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred Details

About the author

Sambit Pal is an esports Journalist on Gaming and MMO at Sportskeeda. He has Master's degree in English Literature. In his spare time, he is an amateur sleuth trying to trace the Riven Mafia in Warframe, and a recovering Bethesda modding addict. He also secretly enjoys action Roguelites, a severe lack of gitting gud notwithstanding.

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Edited by Abu Amjad Khan