Diablo 2 Resurrected has been exceedingly popular since it launched late last year. ANd as the company continues to deploy fixes to the game, sometimes things can go wrong. Recently, patches have been fairly minor in terms of impact, but that could change. The process of testing things prior to release is where the Public Test Realm (PTR) comes in.
Since the Diablo 2 Resurrected PTR went live, players have wanted to get their hands on the newest patches early. The use of public testing is a great way to gather data for QA purposes, and Blizzard uses this a lot. The Diablo 2 Resurrected PTR follows the trend set by other games from the company. Players who want to get their hands on the newest patches prior to deployment just need to join the PTR to do so.
How to Access Diablo 2 Resurrected PTR
Accessing the PTR is done on the PC only, so the console players don’t get access to this content ahead of time. The reason for this is that there are console certifications that have to be done before patches can be deployed. But setting that aside, here’s what to do.
- Launch the Battle.net launcher on your computer
- Navigate to Diablo 2 Resurrected from your installed games tab
- Tap on the dropdown menu under Game Version
- Select the Public Test Realm selection
- Install the Public Test Realm and wait for the install to finish
- Tap on Play to launch the game
The install process for the Diablo 2 Resurrected PTR is a bit slow, as it’s basically grabbing a full 30 GB install. Just follow the steps above and make sure to check the Public Test Realm. Then, the launcher will grab the files you need. Once the install is finished you can log in and play the game on the server.
As the PTR is meant to help you test the entire game, it works very differently from the main game. Players all have access to a full roster of max-level characters with unlocked skills and builds. You also get starter gear that’s on par with this in terms of power. The idea is that the playerbase will be able to access and test pretty much everything in the game given these tools. And in case it wasn’t clear, there is no connection to the main game, no progress on the PTR is saved between patches.
Keep in mind that cheating and other practices are still frowned upon on the PTR. Blizzard will ban you if you are abusive to other players or try to mess with the game, be that the server itself or via hacking files.
