Cain smelled something foul like rotten meat. Another room loomed through an archway before him, pitch black inside. He heard movement and a low, guttural snarl accompanied by the scraping of rock. Feeling exposed in the candlelight, he flattened himself against the wall and moved as quietly as a ghost to a corner between two bookcases.

The thing that emerged from the archway was so huge and incomprehensible that at first Cain had trouble processing the sight of it. It appeared to be made of human limbs and torsos all rolled together, along with a forest of jutting spikes of what looked like rock and timber. Two long arms ended in clubs rather than hands and sprouted the same shards of wood and stone. At least three separate heads grew from putrid, swollen flesh, white-filmed eyes rolling blindly in their sockets.

The monstrosity moved slowly and laboriously, and it had to duck to clear the arch, over ten feet off the floor. Its dripping shoulders nearly touched both sides of the opening as it leaned into the library, grunting with the effort. It seemed to have one main head in the center of its chest, and as it swung in Cain’s direction, those eyes fixed on his face.

The creature paused as if studying him. Then it opened its primary mouth and roared, the stench of its breath washing over Cain as the mouths of the other heads screeched in unison.

The candle flickered and nearly went out. Fresh panic rose up in Cain as the creature took a lumbering step toward him and threatened to knock over the table and send them into darkness. He slipped away from his hiding place and went for the door, but the monster moved with him and reached out a long clubbed limb as if to smash him into the floor.

Doubtwalker

The war began at sunrise, as it always did.

Benu and ten other witch doctors from the Clan of the Seven Stones stalked into the heart of the Teganze as swift and silent as panthers. Only the faint rattle of bone and iron charms dangling from their tribal masks warned of their presence. Striped in white, yellow, and red paint and decorated in bright bokai feathers, their bodies blended with the vibrant jungle around them.

Soon the emerald canopy grew thick, leaving the undergrowth in perpetual gloom. Benu pricked up his ears at every sound, listening for any hint of movement... any hint of his human prey.

The Igani Bawe, the Harvest of Souls, had come.

It was Benu's first ritual war, and his heart thundered like a drum in anticipation. Elsewhere in the wilds, perhaps close by, rival witch doctors from the Five Hills and Clouded Valley tribes were hunting as well, called to action by their high priests just as Benu and his kin had been.

The Seven Stones war party stopped to rest within the borders of the Five Hills. Two witch doctors slipped through the trees ahead to scout for signs of their enemies.

"Do you tremble at the battle to come?" Benu's elder, Ungate, whispered at his side. A single ivory horn, crowned by violet plumage, extended from the top of his fearsome wooden mask.

"I do not," Benu replied.

"Show me your hand."

Benu breathed to calm his nerves before obeying. He was pleased to see that his hand was motionless.

"Do you fear the battle to come?" Ungate edged closer, lowering his voice.

"All men fear. Such is the way of this world of shadow. My hand is still because I know this truth. If I hide from it, that emotion will control me," the young witch doctor responded.

Ungate lightly gripped Benu's shoulder in approval. The latter sighed in relief. He was not afraid, but he was anxious. He had longed for this day throughout the years of his training. There was no greater honor than to battle in the Igani. It was this ancient ceremony that had allowed his people and their faith to endure for generations. By sundown, when the hunt drew to a close, Benu would either return home in triumph or die at the hands of a rival tribe.

Each outcome was honorable in its own way. If he captured tributes, he would earn the praise and admiration of his kin. If he himself was taken, his spirit would be freed from this shadow world and ushered into the true reality of Mbwiru Eikura, the Unformed Land.

Such was his destiny as a witch doctor, a guardian of umbaru heritage and a living bridge between this world and the other. So it had always been for those of his station. So it would always be.

"To live is to sacrifice." He raised his head as his chest swelled with pride.

Ungate completed the old umbaru words. "To sacrifice is to live."

A scout glided out of the surrounding jungle, using hand signals to relay what he had seen: a Five Hills witch doctor. Alone.

Continued here...

Our own Rob Simpson talks Diablo III item, quest, and sound design with Senior Designer Jason Bender, Senior Sound Designer Kris Giampa, and Lead Content Designer Kevin Martens. What are the best ways to capture the sound of bones breaking? Find out in this BlizzCast 17 video exclusive.

The open beta has begun and we've been extremely successful in that we've already managed to break a few things. We've capped the open beta concurrency until we can resolve some stability and service issues, and until it's resolved you will likely see an Error 37 when attempting to log in.

• Error 12 - This is an error we're still investigating but you can workaround it by simply changing your Battle.net account password to force your account information to refresh. Once changed you can change it back.
• Error 37 - The server is full. This is likely due to us lower the concurrency cap to address an issue or error. The only solution is to keep trying to log in.
• Error 3003 - Click Options, under Account change your region to The Americas. The open beta is only being held on US hardware.
• Error 3004, 3006, 3007, or 300008 - These are all related to timeouts or creation errors for characters or games. These are server-side issues, and need to be resolved on the game side. There are no workarounds for these errors except to try again.
• Error 315300 - If you're sure you're typing your correct account information, check to ensure no additional spaces were added before or after your email address. If that doesn't work try a completely wrong account name and wrong password, error, and then again try your correct Battle.net account email and password.
• Error 24000 - Once logged in you may run into this error when attempting to start a game. We're aware and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.
• Gray login button - You need to use your Battle.net email address as your account name. Your BattleTag is a nickname, not your account name.
• Updating Setup Files - If you're stuck on "Updating Setup Files" try these troubleshooting steps.
• Crashes - For any crashes please visit the Technical Support forum

Diablo® III Open Beta Weekend

We're pleased to announce the Diablo III open beta weekend, which offers open access to all players with a valid Battle.net account! Beginning this Friday everyone is invited to log in and help us put the game and servers through their paces in this three day stress test as we march toward the game’s release on May 15. You can begin downloading the Diablo III client right now.

From Friday, April 20 at 12:01 p.m. PDT (noon), until Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT you'll be able to log in, team up with friends, and play each of the five heroic classes to level 13 as you fight to save the world from the impending demonic invasion.

FAQ

What steps to I need to take?

• Log in or create a Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net
• Create your BattleTag™, which is required to play Diablo III (What is BattleTag?)
• Download the game client, install, and play between 12:01 p.m. PDT April 20 and 10:00 a.m. PDT April 23

I don't have a Battle.net account -- can I still play?
Absolutely! Just visit http://www.battle.net to create a free Battle.net account. Next, download the client from https://us.battle.net/account/download/index.xml and install it. Create your BattleTag, and then log in to the game using your Battle.net account name (email address) and password to begin slaughtering the demonic hellspawn that dare stand in your way.

Are there any differences for stress test participants versus invited closed beta testers?
Stress test participants will only be able to access the beta between Friday, April 20 at 12:01 p.m. PDT (noon), and Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. In addition, stress test participants will not have access to post in the beta forums and will not be provided Beta Bucks for use in testing the currency-based auction house.

Can all regions/countries participate?
Due to regional differences and features of the stress test client, Korean players will not be able to partake in the stress test weekend. However, beginning the week of April 23, we will be conducting a separate, invitation-only closed beta test that will give players in Korea a chance to try out the game, along with players in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

What if the service is down/laggy/disconnecting me?
It's very possible that players connecting to the stress test could experience issues with the service. While not ideal, this is exactly why we're having a stress test. We want to catch and analyze as many bugs as possible during this stress test period, so that we can try to ensure a smooth launch on May 15.

I'm having an issue, how can I get help?
Due to the limited window of the stress test we encourage you to visit the Technical Support or Mac Technical Support forums if you're having any issues running the game, and checking the Known Issues list if you're running into a bug. As a stress test participant you will not be able to post in the beta forums.

What platforms and languages do you support?
For the stress test we're offering the client in English, French, and German for both Windows and Mac. At release the game will be fully localized into English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Italian, Polish, Korean, and Traditional Chinese for Windows, and English, French and German for Mac.

I'm an invited closed beta tester, what happens after the stress test weekend ends?
As an invited closed beta tester you'll continue to have access until the beta ends on May 1.

@Bashiok: If you are seeing Error 3003 click on Options and change your region to 'The Americas'. The open beta is on US servers only.

@Bashiok: We're investigating why some people are seeing a 'no license' Error 12 for the #D3 open beta. Hang tough.

@Bashiok: We've temporarily capped #D3 open beta concurrency until we can address some stability issues. Expect Error 37 and login failure.

@Bashiok: Error 12 is fixed by changing your password. If you're seeing Error 37 it just means the servers are full right now. Keep trying!

As we all anxiously await the release of Diablo III on May 15, we invite you to come enjoy one last hurrah in Diablo II as we reset the ladder the morning of Wednesday, May 2. We anticipate the realms could be down for up to six hours during the reset, and during that time all existing ladder characters will be converted to non-ladder. All characters and items being converted to non-ladder will remain intact, but once converted these characters will no longer have access to ladder content such as creating ladder-only rune words.

This ladder reset, like all those before it, creates a clean slate where all ladder characters begin at level 1 with no previous items to help them. To participate, simply wait until the Diablo II realms return to service on May 2, log in to Battle.net, and tick the "Ladder Character" checkbox when creating a new character. You can track ladder character leveling progress by clicking on the Ladder button from the main Diablo II in-game Battle.net interface.

Of course if you haven't yet tried Diablo II, you can find the Battle Chest at any fine PC game retail store, as well as our online Blizzard Store. You can alternatively purchase digital copies of Diablo II and the Lord of Destruction expansion, which you can begin downloading and playing immediately.

For more information on ladder characters please visit the Arreat Summit.

Diablo III Beta Patch 18 – v.0.11.0.9359
Released 4/19/12

Bug Fixes

• Friends lists from other Blizzard games should now appear properly in the Diablo III beta client

For a full list of documented game and service bugs, please review the Known Issues sticky located in the Beta Bug Report forum.

The Diablo III beta is currently unavailable while we work to resolve an issue. We do not have a current ETA for when the beta will be available, but will provide further updates in approximately 2 hours.

7:30 a.m. PDT: The Diablo III beta is currently unavailable until further notice while we work to resolve an issue. We will provide an update at approximately 11 a.m. PDT. Thank you for your patience.

11:15 a.m. PDT: The Diablo III beta is currently unavailable until further notice while we continue to work to resolve an issue affecting the beta accessibility. We will provide an update at approximately 3 p.m. PDT. Thank you for your patience.

3:30 p.m. PDT: We're continuing to work to resolve issues affecting the Diablo III beta. We've made considerable progress and currently estimate that the beta will again be available at approximately 5:00 p.m. PDT. We'll provide another update after 4:30 p.m. PDT.

4:30 p.m. PDT: We're currently troubleshooting connection issues affecting the Diablo III beta. Unfortunately, we don't have an ETA at this time for when these issues will be resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience, and will provide another update by 7:00 p.m. PDT.

Thank you for your ongoing patience and feedback.

5:15 p.m. PDT:Beta is live! Please let us know if you experience any additional issues in this thread. :)