GamingDiablo

How to access Diablo 3 PTR & play Season 26 early

Lauren Bergin
Diablo 3 young girl with brown hair writes in a book with candlelightBlizzard Entertainment
Diablo 3’s seasons have evolved since Diablo 4 arrived.

Wondering how to access Diablo 3’s PTR and get a feel for Season 26? Here’s everything you need to know about the game’s Public Test Realm and transferring characters.

With every new Diablo 3 season comes the Public Test Realm (PTR), which allows players to try out the upcoming changes before they go live and, in turn, leave Blizzard their feedback.

Coming into Season 26, players are getting Diablo 3’s first ever limited time game mode: Echoing Nightmare. Designed in the style of Call of Duty: Zombies, players will have to tear through the hordes until the can fight no more, earning a swathe of awesome rewards in the process.

Excited yet? Here’s how to dive headfirst into the fray via Diablo 3’s PTR, as well as how to transfer your existing characters.

Contents

Diablo 3 female warrior with red hair glares into the camera with a large axBlizzard Entertainment
Fancy taking to the plains of Diablo 3’s Sanctuary a little earlier? Here’s how to access the PTR.

How to access Diablo 3 PTR

If you’re looking to get ahead of the curve and stomp out some demons in the process, there’s a couple of important things you’ll need to ensure you have in place first.

You must own Diablo 3 and have it installed via the Battle.net desktop launcher. Additionally, your account has to have a clean record, so clear of any suspensions and bans.

From here, all you need to do to access the Diablo 3 PTR is:

  1. Restart your Battle.net.
  2. Reopen it, then go to the Diablo 3 tab on the left-hand dropdown menu.
  3. Above the ‘Play’ button (or ‘Install/Update’ if you don’t have the game downloaded) there is another dropdown menu. Click it.
  4. Select ‘PTR Diablo 3.’ (See below)
  5. Choose ‘Install‘ to begin installing.

From here, you’ll automatically be assigned a PTR account.

battle.net diablo 3 screenBlizzard Entertainment
The PTR is relatively easy to access – providing you know where to look!

Can you access Diablo 3’s PTR on console?

Unfortunately, no, you cannot access Diablo 3’s PTR on console. This is because the Battle.net desktop app is required, and cannot be used on console.

How to transfer Diablo 3 characters to PTR

Diving into the PTR on a new Nephalem can still be pretty fun, but a lot of players would probably rather see a familiar face.

Luckily, you can transfer your current character across to the PTR. However, you can only do this with one region per account, so if you decide to switch regions your copied characters will be lost. This can also only be done once every 24 hours.

In order to copy your Diablo 3 character into the PTR:

  1. Log into the live game, then log out.
  2. Log into the PTR and create a new character.
  3. Return to the character select screen.
  4. Click on the ‘PTR copy‘ button in the top right-hand corner.
  5. Select your region,
  6. Then click ‘Copy.’
  7. You will get disconnected from the PTR, so log back in.
  8. All of your account’s characters will be available to play!

So that’s it for Diablo 3’s PTR! If you’re looking to get a head start on the competition, though, be sure to check out our other devilishly delightful guides:

How to find & defeat Izual | Where to find Kanai’s Cube in Diablo 3 | Diablo 3 Dawn bow: How to get Demon Hunter crossbow | Best Barbarian Builds | Best Crusader Builds | Best Demon Hunter Builds | Best Monk Builds | Best Necromancer Builds | Best Witch Doctor Builds | Best Wizard Builds

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