An awful lot of us here at PC Gamer entered the world of Sanctuary for Diablo 4's closed beta last weekend. Most of us really enjoyed what Blizzard's ARPG had to offer, though others weren't so keen. One thing we all agreed on is that there are numerous little tips and tricks that make the whole experience much more enjoyable, many of which we didn't realise until far into our time with the game.
With Diablo 4's open beta set to kick off and introduce more players to five classes, 25 levels and a whole lotta exploring the Fractured Peaks, here are some tips we picked up that we think you should know about too. We hope they improve your time with the game as much as they did ours!
You can hit 'E' to exit dungeons
This one I didn't even realise until I came across this Reddit post, and it was one a lot of my colleagues didn't know about either. It's sort of Blizzard's fault—the first tutorial dungeon in Diablo 4 gives you a very handily-placed exit shortcut, but then no other instance has this method of leaving.
It left me (and many others) searching for some sort of exit shortcut in subsequent dungeons, and in the end I was opening the map, scrolling to the entrance and then teleporting out. But there's actually a much easier way—just hit 'E' to bring up the emote wheel and an option to 'Leave dungeon' will appear on the left. It's the quickest and easiest method of zipping out once you're done.
You can also do my aforementioned map method, or even use a portal to teleport to the last town you visited. Just don't waste your time walking all the way back to the dungeon entrance to leave. This also leads into the next two tips…
Hit 'T' for easy town portals
Normally I have intense hotbar tunnel vision, and yet somehow I managed to miss the giant 'T' shortcut staring at me for a good chunk of my playthrough. You can teleport to any waypoint by opening the map and selecting it, or you can quickly nip back to the last town you were in by hitting 'T'. Again, it's a far more efficient way of heading back to the town to salvage gear or sell loot.
You can portal mid-dungeon, but don't stray from the town
Yep, I didn't even know this until I was told by a couple of my colleagues. I'm a total Diablo newbie myself, so while this fact may come as common knowledge to veterans it was totally unknown to me.
If you want to quickly head back to the town to mess around with gear, dump some of your inventory so you can carry on grabbing new items or complete quick tasks, you can do so by using that handy 'T' teleport shortcut. Whenever you're ready, just hop back through the portal you've left near the waypoint and you'll be plonked right where you left off in the dungeon.
Be careful, though, because that portal's only good for as long as you remain in the town. Wander out to the perilous lands beyond the hub and your portal will disappear. Not only will you lose your quick access back to the dungeon, but you'll have to do the damn thing from scratch. So if you do portal out halfway through for whatever reason, make sure you don't stray too far.
Remember to actually interact with waypoints
If you're anything like myself and Lauren Morton, you may have taken a slightly Guild Wars-y approach to traversing the Fractured Peaks. Usually, that would mean finding a waypoint and unlocking it just by being in its vicinity, but in Diablo 4 you need to actually interact with them to unlock them.
There are seven waypoints to be found in the beta, and it's worth checking your map or our handy guide to make sure you haven't accidentally missed any. It makes jumping around the map far easier, especially before you get your mount.
Aspects unlock for all characters, so do those dungeons!
Aspects are fantastic passives that you can pop onto weapons and armour to enhance your build and make your demon slaying an easier time. A lot of them are also class-locked, which may make doing the optional dungeons that unlock them feel pointless. But they're definitely worth doing no matter what, since completing any dungeon that awards a Codex of Power aspect will unlock that for every character on your account.
That means if you go dungeoneering as a Barbarian and unlock an aspect for a Druid, you can create a character with that class and have instant access to it as soon as you clear the prologue and reach Kyovashad.
Right-click on the minimap to set guide routes
As it stands, Diablo 4 bizarrely lacks some form of map overlay that has usually been present in the game's previous iterations. It can make navigating around a bit of a nightmare if you're having to hit the tab key on a regular basis to get your bearings, but there's an easier way to reach your destination.
Right-clicking a point on the map will set a pin, with a handy guide route showing up on the minimap to lead you to your destination. This is especially useful early on when you've only unlocked a small number of waypoints and don't have your mount to get from A to B as quickly as possible. As someone who is notoriously directionally challenged, both in games and in real life, this tip is going to be a lifesaver when I jump into this weekend's open beta.
Don't lose your cool gear effects, just transfer them
We've all been there: You find an awesome piece of legendary gear with special skills that perfectly complement your build. You feel like you've hit the jackpot, and then you either blink and it becomes underpowered or you've already got gear with better stats. Fear not, for the Occultist is here to help.
Reaching level 25 or unlocking one of those aforementioned Codex of Power aspects grants access to this supernatural NPC. They'll let you rip an affix from a chosen piece of legendary-tier gear. You'll lose the gear it was attached to, but you can then pop it onto something else. So don't say goodbye to that ultra-cool skill just yet—give it to a new, stronger home.
Your progress is gone after this beta, so don't get too attached
This one is mostly a reminder for myself and my penchant for getting stupidly attached to my silly little videogame characters. Once this beta is over, Blizzard is going to straight-up murder my wonderful Barbarian lady and any other characters I end up making over the weekend. The same goes for every character created over both the closed and open beta—you won't be able to carry over any progress except for Diablo 4's beta rewards.
So while the grind might be tempting, remember that you won't see any of your awesome gear or have any quests completed once the full game launches on June 6. Rather frustratingly, there's also no way to save the characters you've created. If you really love the character you make, I recommend taking screenshots of the options you selected before you begin playing the game. I've done it for my own characters so I can easily recreate them for the full game.
But still, have fun. Though having no progress carry over is kinda sad, this is also a great time to experiment with builds and gear. So go wild, enjoy playing around with different abilities, aspects and gear statistics while you can. While Blizzard will undoubtedly make changes based on all the beta feedback, the knowledge you unlock now should still prove to be helpful when the real thing arrives.
