When Blizzard Entertainment devs own up to the fact that this weekend’s Diablo IV open beta queues will be hellish, you know it will be worse than expected. In a new “blue post” on the official D4 forums, Community Manager PezRadar informed the community that, to paraphrase, “everyone and their brother will be playing this weekend.” What that means, of course, is extended queue times. Given that last weekend’s early access beta had waits of upwards of 200 minutes with a much more limited number of players, this weekend could go beyond that.
PezRadar said, “Queue Times: When we open the gates again this Friday to absolutely everyone, we are expecting a lot of people. There will be lengthy queue times, particularly on Friday when we first launch and during peak regional windows. This past weekend helped us to forecast the capacity we expect this weekend, and we will be using that capacity to intentionally stress our systems in preparation for launch. In summary, while we know it can be frustrating, we need queues to properly stress test our services and we are designing to ensure we have them some of the time.”
The post also warned players that as the team monitors traffic and stability of D4 servers, it may need to close the game periodically for maintenance. Lastly, players are urged to make bug reports and provide feedback about their experiences in the game. The team is particularly keen to know what players think of the Necromancer and Druid classes being added to the mix for the first time.
Check out the full post on the Diablo 4 official forum.
About Diablo IV
Eons after her exile, Lilith’s summoning ushers in an age of darkness and hatred. Inarius, former archangel of the High Heavens, has also returned to the world he and Lilith created together. The two will once again cross paths, and what was built is now at risk of destruction. On June 6, 2023, players will be able to take on the role of Barbarian, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue, or Sorceress and traverse an expansive Sanctuary to combat the unremitting darkness enhanced by Lilith’s return.
