Public Test Realm

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Blizzard has announced a Diablo III Public Test Realm. This allows the community to preview and help test upcoming patches.

Full article here: Patch 1.0.5 Now Available on PTR

PTRs are a very valuable tool for our development teams -- when you participate, share your feedback, and submit reports, we can squash more bugs and ensure that the patch we release is of the highest quality possible. Patch 1.0.5 will mark the first time we've performed a public test for Diablo III, but we're planning to conduct public tests for most (if not all) future patches.

How to Participate:
To participate in the public test, you must have a Diablo III game license attached your Battle.net account that's in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been suspended or banned). While the 1.0.5 PTR is only available in English, French, German, and Korean languages, accounts from all regions are eligible to participate.

Step 1: Create a PTR account by logging in to your Battle.net Account Management page. Select your Diablo III game license, and then click "Create a PTR account."

Step 2: Download the client from the Diablo III landing page, or from your Games Download page in Account Management.

Step 3: To play on the PTR, simply launch the PTR client and log in normally. You will be connected to the PTR server automatically.

Character Copy:
The option to copy your existing Diablo III characters from your live account to the PTR will be available and can be done directly through the PTR client. However, only one region per account can be copied at a time. So, if you choose to copy characters from your account in a different region, any previously copied PTR characters will be lost.
 

Further details on how to access the PTR and use the Character Copy system can be found in the FAQ.  Once you've had the chance to try things out, be sure to visit the Public Test forums to discuss the patch.

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