Blizzard Quote [source]

We are working on some behind-the-scenes updates. Since some of these involve a fair amount of risk, we need your help testing them before we deploy them to the live servers!

Join us starting today, January 16, for a special PTR that includes these updates. Along with this, we are looking for reports of issues that occur when players attempt to start or join a multiplayer game, or communicate with other players through in-game chat.

We encourage players of all types to participate, so what are you waiting for? Download that PTR and hop right in!

A few important notes:

• There is no new content included on this PTR.
• While you will be able to copy your existing characters, we will also be activating the 2000% Legendary Find buff to encourage participation.
• As a reminder, any progress made on the PTR does not transfer over to your live account.
• Since this PTR is exclusively focused on identifying and fixing bugs related to the issues noted above, we will only be opening the Bug Report forum during the testing period.
• Over the course of the PTR, server performance may vary.
• This PTR will only be available for a limited time, and we’d greatly appreciate all the help we can get in testing it quickly and with as many participants as possible!

We hope you have some time to help us out. If you need more information on how to participate on the PTR, visit our FAQ or see below for details.

• How to Participate
• PTR Character Copy

Thank you, nephalem, and we’ll see you in Sanctuary!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

To participate in the public test, you must have a Diablo III game license attached your Battle.net account in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been suspended or banned). In addition, you will also need to download and install the Battle.net desktop app if you have not already done so.

Step 1: Create a PTR account. To create a PTR account, log in to Battle.net Account Management and double-click on your Diablo III game license; this will bring you to the game management page. On this page, click "Create a PTR account." 

If you've participated in any previous Diablo III PTR (including the Reaper of Souls beta), the "Create PTR account" button may not appear. This is because you've already created a PTR account and can therefore skip this step.

Step 2: Once you have created a PTR account, installed the Battle.net desktop, and logged in with your Battle.net credentials, select "Diablo III" from the main menu on the left-hand side of the application.

Step 3: On the Diablo III screen, there is a drop-down menu right above the "Play" button (note that this may say "Install" if you do not have Diablo III currently installed). Select "PTR: Diablo III" from this drop-down menu before proceeding.

Step 4: You should now have the option to install and play the PTR.

ThePTR is available in all supported languages, and accounts from all regions are eligible to participate.

PTR CHARACTER COPY:

The option to copy your existing Diablo III characters from your live account to the PTR will be available and can be done directly through the PTR client. However, only one region per account can be copied at a time. So, if you choose to copy characters from your account in a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost.

Step 1: Log into the live game and then log out.

Step 2: Log into PTR client and create a level 1 character. After you're done, return to the main character screen.

Step 3: Click on the "PTR Copy" button located in the upper right-hand corner. (The PTR Copy button will not appear in-game until you have created a new level 1 character.)

Step 4: Select your region.

Step 5: Click "Copy." This will copy all characters on your account from the selected region.

Step 6: You will be disconnected from the PTR client.

Step 7: Log back in. Your copied characters will be available for play.

Please note that you can only copy characters from one gameplay region at a time. If you choose to copy characters from a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost. In addition, you can only copy characters over to your PTR account once every 24 hours. Attempting to copy characters before this cooldown is up will result in an error.

Blizzard Quote [source]

Diablo's anniversary is right around the corner, along with the Darkening of Tristram event! Whether you're a series veteran craving nostalgia, or a newcomer hungry for your first taste of the franchise's past, this loving homage to the earliest days of Diablo is for you.

Read on for more, including a closer look at the anniversary dungeon and its unique rewards.

Stop the Cultists

Your journey begins on the trail of a group of mysterious cultists causing trouble in Sanctuary. As you hunt them down in Adventure Mode, you'll uncover clues leading to a portal into Tristram's past, and the terrifying darkness that took hold of the town so many years ago. . . .

Explore the Cathedral

Follow the clues and you'll soon find yourself in a realm of glorious RetroVision™, where an all-too-familiar cathedral looms. Explore the depths and you'll discover familiar enemies and iconic items, all brought to life in the Diablo III engine. Meanwhile, deep beneath the catacombs, the Dark Lord himself awaits any intrepid adventurer who dares to challenge him. . . .

Discover Precious Loot

What is a Diablo game without shiny new loot to call your own? Completing activities in the anniversary event yields unique transmogrification effects, achievements, portraits, pets, and more.

While some rewards are easy to find, others may have you scouring every nook or unlocking every achievement before you can get your hands on them. Can you earn them all? There's only one way to find out!

Your Journey Begins…

Exclusive rewards and challenging enemies await you, but they won't last forever! The cultists will appear starting December 31 at 4 p.m. PST, and the portal opens January 3 at the same hour. Both parts of the event end January 30 at the same time.

Enter the dungeon, reap your rewards, and survive the evils within—or die in the process, never to be heard from again. . . .

Blizzard Quote [source]

Edit: Our apologies—the original dates published for the PlayStation 4 sale were incorrect. These have been updated.

There’s something in the air this time of year, and we think we know what it is: fire and brimstone! Give your dearest friends the gift of demon-slaying with savings of up to 50% on Diablo III on select platforms.

PC/Mac

Sale begins December 20 and ends January 2:

• Diablo III ($9.99)
• Diablo III: Reaper of Souls ($9.99)
• Diablo III: Battle Chest ($19.99)
• Rise of the Necromancer ($9.99)

PlayStation 4

PlayStation 4 sale begins January 2 and ends January 9:

• Diablo III: Eternal Collection ($35.99)
• Rise of the Necromancer ($11.49)

Xbox One

Xbox One sale begins January 2 and ends January 8:

• Diablo III: Eternal Collection ($29.99 w/ Xbox Gold Subscription)
• Rise of the Necromancer ($9.74 w/ Xbox Gold Subscription)

Xbox 360

Xbox 360 sale begins January 2 and ends January 8:

• Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ($15.99 w/ Xbox Gold Subscription)

These deals are only available for a limited time, so head on over to the Blizzard store or your preferred digital sales front for more information. Happy Hellidays!

Blizzard Quote [source]

Challenge Rifts give players the opportunity to try out challenges with a class and build they might not have ever used. Never played one? Read on to learn about what they are, how to play them, and the rewards you can earn!

What’s a Challenge Rift?

Challenge Rifts are exact copies of a Greater Rift that has been previously completed by another player. To create the weekly Challenge Rift, we pull a “snapshot” of a Greater Rift directly from a given player’s account. We recreate that player’s exact character for the Challenge Rift, including their equipment, paragon levels, and skill loadout.

When you play through a Challenge Rift, you’re effectively going through an exact copy of the Greater Rift the player completed with that very same character. The enemies, pylons, and the level layouts you encounter will all be exactly the same. The first time you beat the original runner’s time each week, you’ll get a satchel full of rewards, including crafting materials and Blood Shards.

Challenge Rifts rotate every Monday afternoon, in the following class order: Demon Hunter, Necromancer, Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Witch Doctor, and Crusader.

How Do I Play a Challenge Rift?

Challenge Rifts are a separate, self-contained game mode. You can select it on the same screen where you choose to enter Story or Adventure mode. Don’t worry about picking a character before you enter a Challenge Rift—everyone has access to the same one, down to the gear, gems, and paragon points. Once you load in to the Challenge Hub, you can check out the tools at your disposal by visiting the Soul Mirror.

There are a few other tools available to help you get familiar with the build you’ve been given. On the left side of the Challenge Hub, you’ll find a single, beefy, constantly-respawning Punisher who’s more than willing to take the worst punishment you can dish out—so feel free to test your single-target damage capabilities. To the right, you’ll find a group of Revenant Soldiers waiting to endure your most powerful area-of-effect attacks.

When you’re ready to give the Challenge Rift a shot, just click on the Challenge Obelisk in the center of the Hub to get started.

Once inside the Rift, you’ll find it’s very similar to a typical Greater Rift, only this time, you’re racing the clock to beat the original runner’s completion time. Can you complete the Rift before they did? There’s only one way to find out!

What Else Should I Know About Challenge Rifts?

Challenge Rifts are a unique experience in Diablo III—they’re an opportunity to compete against your friends and the rest of the community in a totally static, completely level playing field. All players have the same gear and skill loadouts and paragon points, and they’re all running through identical Greater Rift layouts, right down to the monsters. Completing the Challenge Rift as fast as possible is a testament to your knowledge of the game, your skill with that class, and your ability to analyze situations and make the best of them.

It may be worth taking time to mark down elite packs, pylons, or other important layout information.

Still, not everyone is down for competition, and it’s totally fine if that includes you. Most Challenge Rifts are easily completable within the first few tries, and beating the original time will get you a tidy bag of crafting materials. You can earn this reward once per week, and it resets each Monday afternoon, when the newest Challenge Rift is made available.

If you want to get in, get your rewards, and go back to your seasonal character, but feel that this week’s Monk build just isn’t your cup of tea, consider gathering a group of friends to tackle the Rift with you. You’ll find it’s a quick process when you divide and conquer, and it can be a lot of fun racing each other to the next juicy pack of minions.

Finally, don’t be surprised if you see some strange builds and gear loadouts pop up in Challenge Rifts from time to time. Maybe the original player hastily swapped characters and was missing a Legendary Gem or two when we captured their snapshot. Or perhaps that week’s challenge is a freshly-leveled seasonal character, with the sort of hodgepodge gear loadout you’d expect. Just go with it. It’s okay to try something a little wacky and “off the meta.” Diablo III is, after all, a game of progression and we’ve all been there. Now, go forth and conquer those challenges!

Blizzard Quote [source]

Diablo III Season 12 is now live in all gameplay regions! To create a Seasonal hero, choose your class, gender, and name as usual, then select the "Seasonal Hero" option.�

Alternatively, you can use the Season Rebirth feature to continue your adventures on an existing character by starting over this Season. You can select a character for Rebirth on the Hero Selection screen. Simply choose the "Rebirth" option to begin your next adventure!�

Any of the gear or items equipped on your character or in your inventory will be automatically stripped from the hero and mailed to your non-Seasonal characters, similar to the rollover process that occurs with your stash when a Season ends. In addition, your character will be set to level 1, ready to start the process as though they were freshly created!

For more details on the Season Rebirth feature, be sure to check out our original blog� here.

What Are Seasons?

Seasons are an optional, recurring game mode that offers players the opportunity to periodically start fresh, leveling new Normal or Hardcore heroes from level 1 without any currency, resources, items, or previously earned Paragon experience. Similar to the separation between Normal and Hardcore game modes, Seasonal heroes will also have their own shared stash and Artisan progression. Any currency, materials, recipes, items, Paragon experience, and Artisan progression earned during a Season will be rolled over to a player's non-Seasonal profile once the Season concludes.

Season 12 will offer unique rewards and new challenges for players, including new cosmetic items, pieces of an exclusive transmogrification set only available to those who participate in Seasons, and Season-only achievements or challenges called Conquests. Progress within a given Season will also be tracked on the Leaderboard system, and in the Seasons Journey interface.

To learn more about Season 12, check out our Season 12 preview.

Good luck, nephalem! May Kadala be generous and your deeds of valor always be remembered.�