Diablo III beta is live

Break out the Red Bull and Doritos and start flexing that clicking finger. After years of development and months of teasing, Blizzard has finally begun allowing lucky gamers to participate in the Diablo III beta, opening up a small section to the loot-fest hack-and-slash to select gamers who opted in to beta tests via their Battle.net accounts. If you haven't yet opted in it's not too late, and you can still do so on their website for this and future tests. Not everyone who clicked the “I’d like to participate in beta” button has gotten an invite yet, though, as some of us have found out the hard way, but the number of people who have gotten invites is fairly significant, so it’s worth checking your email to see if you’re one of the lucky few. And then you can check your email again. And again. And again. All the clicking will get you good and ready for the game.

The beta is more akin to an extended demo than a full-blown beta as MMORPG fans might be used to. While all of the game’s classes are accessible and there’s plenty of gear to loot and monsters to bash, the section available is only two-hours long, and that’s if you take your time. Granted, we have a feeling most Diablo fans are going to be able to milk at least 8-10 hours out of the beta, trying out each of the game’s classes to decide which they’ll want to play once the game is finally released.

“This beta test is not confidential,” Blizzard said in a post on its website, “You are free to show, share, or talk about any portion of the beta content to which you have access.” This is good news for those eager to share their opinion on the game, and even better news for those anxious to learn more about Diablo III (which you can also do by reading our preview). For those of us still refreshing our inboxes and checking for an invite? Well, it just makes the wait all that more excruciating. *click* *click* *click*

Sep 21, 2011