Would a PTR help Diablo 4 or hinder it in the long term?

Could a PTR (Public Test Realm) help fix Diablo 4's issues in the future? After all, both Seasons 1 and 2 have had disastrous starts. I think there’s an argument to be made on both sides. Perhaps if more players received access to the game to test things, we could have avoided the unfortunate issues that plagued the first season and the current one, Season of Blood.

However, I’m not 100% sold on the idea though. If a huge group of players - or even a small group of content creators - gain access to the game, it could inflict unwanted changes on the game, or other potentially frustrating things could occur. Should Diablo 4 have a PTR to test well in advance of major patches and updates? Let’s talk about it.

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Why a PTR could ultimately help Diablo 4?

The most important way this could help the game is that each season wouldn’t have as great a chance to launch in such an unfortunate state. This could also be fixed by pushing back dates if problems arise, but that doesn’t seem likely. A prime example is the unfortunate launch of Diablo 4’s season 2.

The first season had more than its share of problems, many of which could have been caught with testing and player feedback. The latter in games like this is incredibly important. If we don’t think it’s fun, we aren’t going to play in many situations. A PTR could help with that.

Season 2 of Diablo 4 has a pair of really unfortunate issues at launch. Progress isn’t happening for players in their Season 2 Battle Pass. With even a handful of players taking the game for a spin, this could have easily been fixed earlier. Barring that, the update could have been delayed.

The issue with cross-platform play (PC to Console) is something that I’m not sure about. Perhaps that could have been corrected as well. It could also help prevent issues with the Battle Pass, as many felt they have only been predatory.

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What problems could a PTR cause Diablo 4?

While one problem could be that players would have more ability to influence the game's balance, I don’t think that would happen - or at least, it’s not as likely. That’s not where my worry comes from.

The problem with Diablo 4 having a PTR is that players - in particular, content creators - would have unfettered access to the game and all its workings.

They would immediately start creating content around the game, spoiling major story beats, showing off builds, and getting a jump on everyone not taking part in the PTR. This means some players would focus less on finding problems and more on making money and increasing their viewer counts.

As a result, I think many issues would either get overlooked by the playerbase or blown out of proportion and used to fuel whatever agenda the content creator had. Perhaps an NDA that had to be signed to take part would alleviate the issue.

They could also just edit out the cutscenes and major fights so that players don’t know what will happen. This isn't highlighting any particular content creator, though. It is just a problem that might occur naturally.

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With this in mind, would a PTR help or hinder Diablo 4? Genuinely, it’s hard to say. I think it would cause more problems than it would fix. Nevertheless, something needs to be done to prevent these disastrous launches.

If Blizzard could find a way to hide the important content or prevent it from being published ahead of the season/expansion/update’s launch, it could be a great thing for the game. After all, it works for World of Warcraft.