There are two playtest weekends where you can try out Diablo 4, the Early Access and Open Beta.
The first one is Early Access starting this Friday, March 17th, at 9 am PDT and ending on Monday, March 20th, at 12 pm PDT.
The second one is the Open Beta. However, this one drops a week later, beginning on March 24th and concluding on March 27th at the exact same hours. This is open to everybody and does not require pre-ordering the game, so you can take part in it immediately.
How to Get the Beta Code
If you are a PC player who pre-purchases Diablo 4 digitally, you don't have to do anything, as your accounts will automatically get flagged for Early Access immediately.
Meanwhile, console users will be emailed a platform-specific code that they can use to download the Open Beta closer to the start of the Early Access.
However, you don't need to buy the whole game to get Early Access on March 17th, as various campaigns run with codes right now. For example, you can buy a Double Down sandwich from any KFC inside the US for just a few dollars and get a Beta code with it. Funny enough, that can be done from outside of the US too. You can use a VPN, as confirmed by Conorodin on Reddit, who did it from Australia using a free VPN and Google Chrome with his credit card details attached.
What Are the Contents of Beta
You get to play through the prologue and the entirety of Act 1. This will let you play through the first Zone, only the Fractured Peaks, but that's a sizable enough and reasonably filled map. This also includes several towns that act as main hubs, with the biggest being Kyovashad, where you'll likely spend a lot of time here as it leads to all the vendors and gear upgrades. And you will need the Blacksmith to upgrade gear, and you can sell and buy gear with clear storage and much more.
The max level cap will be level 25, but the game lets you continue playing even after reaching it to finish all the open-world events, dungeons, side missions, and other online co-op events until the Open Beta ends.
What Is The Difference Between Them
The difference between Early Access and Open Beta is that during the first Early Access weekend, we only get to play with three of the five classes – Barbarian, Rogue, and Sorcerer. But once the Open Beta drops in the second weekend, we'll also get the Druid and Necromancer to test out as well. You will have ten character slots to test out and play with each of these classes, which should provide some solid impressions about what Diablo 4 is.
Those wandering progress will transfer from the Early Access first weekend to the second Open Beta weekend. But as with the previous Betas, this diablo 4's Beta will be reset, and you will have to start from scratch on launch day. However, the rewards you get in Early Access and Open Beta when you reach level 20 or Kyovashad with one character will be transferred to the Diablo IV launch version.