Diablo Immortal Technical Alpha started on December 17, 2020. On day one, Blizzard Entertainment published several complementary blogs to understand everything to know about Diablo Immortal.

The first thing you need to know is that Diablo Immortal Technical Alpha will last for about two weeks; and it is limited to about 2000 players who pre-registered the earliest in Australia and who meet the minimum mobile device hardware requirements:

  • Android Minimum Requirements
    • CPU – Snapdragon 710 / Hisilicon Kirin 810 and higher
    • GPU – Adreno 616 / ARM Mali-G52 and higher
    • RAM – 2GB of RAM and higher
    • Version: Android OS 5.0 (Lollipop) and higher
  • Apple Minimum Requirements
    • iPhone 8 and higher
      • Version: iOS 12 and higher

Some other way to play this technical alpha outside of Australia is if you are member of a Fansite, Press, or a YouTube/Twitch content creator — but not guaranteed, as there are a limited number of slots available.

Technical Alpha is available to Android in Australia, but those from the press who have an iPad or iPhone can play via invitation only. There is a limited slots available in iOS — as per Apple’s Developer Rules.

The purpose of this Diablo Immortal technical alpha is to obtain valuable server stability and client performance data; as well as player feedback. This data will help the developers fine tune the game for a larger external Beta testing at a later time; plus expect a broader minimum requirements to support older devices.

Technical Alpha only allows progression up to level 45. However, when the game is released at launch day the cap will be level 60.

Only the Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk and Wizard are available in this specific Technical Alpha. The Crusader and Necromancer are still in development and will be available later as free classes.

New Classes will be available post-launch for free.

There is no release date or Beta testing date at the moment.

Things available to test in this Technical Alpha:

  • Gear progression
  • Dungeon runs
  • Elder Rifts
  • Gem-crafting
  • Ranking up items

Diablo Immortal Technical Alpha Roundup

  1. Diablo Immortal is a Free-to-Play mobile game — including the entire storyline.

2. Diablo Immortal will be supported with a constant cadence of free content, including: gear, features, classes, stories and areas to explore.

3. Purchases should never circumvent core gameplay.

4. There will be pathways to earn free what others might pay for in the in-app purchase store. (This is very important. I acquired all my Heroes of the Storm heroes with gold — except two (for website coverage purposes).

5. It seems there will be some sort of group-benefit buffs from the in-app store based on the language around this quote: “we want to provide purchase options that feel worthwhile and deepen your engagement and enjoyment of the game, and where possible the enjoyment of other players as well.”

6. There won’t be a limit of how long you can play daily — whether free or paid.

WHAT YOU CAN BUY

These are just examples given in the free to play approach and values blog.

1. Crests: These are used to enhance Elder Rifts difficulty and rewards, but you can earn them free as well through gameplay.

  • Crests add random modifiers that enhance gameplay.
  • Crests guarantee non-gear rewards such as Runes and Legendary Gems.
  • Provide Rift points to the entire team if at least one person has a crest.
  • All players in the team will be rewarded Rift points even if they don’t own a crest, but one player in the party does.
  • Accumulated Rift points are used to acquire Legendary Gems and other items.
  • Crests are used in Reforging item properties along with consumable materials earned through free gameplay or the in-app store.
  • Reforge Stones can be used to earn extra re-rolls on an item property.
  • Specialized Reforge Stones (purchase only) are used to focus on item properties you want most.

2. Battle Pass progression system allows players to earn rewards by completing Season Quests and other in-game activities.

3. The Battle Pass has free and paid tracks — and reward Reforge Stones and Crests through the free track. The paid Battle Pass offers exclusive cosmetics and other rewards.

THE MARKET

1. The market is not the Diablo III real-money Auction House. But the market allows you to exchange a limited range of items such as materials, supplementary items, and Legendary Gems.

2. You can’t buy gear through the Market. Gear is only acquired through free gameplay content.

3. You can exchange items in the Market for in-game currency.

CURRENCIES

There are three primary currency types that may be obtained free through gameplay or paid:

  • Gold: drops from enemies, chests and other lootables. Gold can’t be purchased nor traded.
  • Platinum: earned through daily gameplay activities, or purchased with real money. You can earn it by selling items in the Market, too. Platinum can be used to craft Charms.
  • Eternal Orbs: Only available for real money. Used to buy Platinum, and to pay the Battle Pass, Specialized Reforged Stones, Crests and cosmetics.

RIFTS

There are two types: Rifts and Challenge Rifts. Rifts have a time limit and are random generated where you can earn a variety of loot. Challenge Rifts on the other hand give you a reward based on your placement in the weekly leaderboard.

ELDER RIFTS

Elder Rifts can be modified for increased variety and rewards with Crests: a stackable, Rift-specific item new to Diablo Immortal. Using Crests, random modifiers will be added to your Rift that can add positive or negative effects to your next run. Moreover, the increased effort yields greater rewards for the entire party—using a rare Crest will guarantee a Rune drop, and a Legendary Crest will guarantee that everyone receives a Legendary Gem.

WESTMARCH CITY

Here you can encounter other players, access your stash, trade in the market, visit vendors like the jewelcrafters and the blacksmith, adjust the difficulty of your game, step into Elder Rifts, and the Bounty Boards that lists new quests.

GEAR

Gear is looted from mobs or purchased from NPC vendors with gold. Rare and legendary gear can be ranked up with salvaged materials.

Legendary Gems, Runes and Charms

Gems can be added to a socketed piece of gear to increase its base stats. Normal gems provide increased stats such as strength or agility, while Legendary Gems also provide new capabilities, changing up your build and the way you play. Legendary Gems can be upgraded at the Jewelcrafter.

There is a total of 15 Runes to choose from, and those only drop in Elder Rifts. You can craft Legendary Items with those runes.

Charms occupy their own gear slot and carry between 1-5 bonuses that increase the rank of your skills. A Charm craftsman can salvage, upgrade, extract or imbue your Charms.

Overall, Diablo Immortal feels like a big contender in the mobile market adding a less aggressive monetization model, better gaming experience, and it borrows from Diablo III systems like Paragons with a spin.

Feels like this game will provide countless hours of fun without forcing you into paying. Battle Passes are available with free tracks allowing you to play the game entirely for free if you so desire.

Hope you enjoyed this article. Please, support Blizzplanet on Patreon (monthly) or PayPal (once), and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch for daily Blizzard games news updates.
BlizzCon 2019 Panel Transcripts