The Vaultbreakers Alpha Test
The Alpha Test runs October 15 to 21, 2026 and adds PvPvE, Vault 3 and Vault 4, the Elemental Artifact, new regions and the Necronus boss. Demo progress carries over.
The Vaultbreakers Alpha Test is the PvPvE event that closes out the demo's first month. It runs October 15 to 21, 2026, and it is the first time since the February PvP fest that players can fight each other while raiding - with the full new content stack on top.
Dates and access
The test runs from October 15, 10:00 CEST to October 21, 23:59 CEST. Progress from the demo carries over, which means anything you earn now - including Legacy Points - gives you a head start. Access details go through the Steam announcement and Discord, the same channels every previous test used.
What the Alpha adds
The October patch notes list the Alpha additions separately from the demo content:
- Two new Vaults. Vault 3 brings new enemy waves and rewards; Vault 4 adds encounters, rewards and the Elemental Artifact.
- Artifact depth. New progression paths for Darkness, Elemental, Arcane, Holy and Void powers, with mechanics like corruption, holy orbs and wards.
- New regions. Questlines across Bahra, Shanty Town, Windshear Crag and the Fume Pits.
- Necronus. A new boss in the Ancient Tower - plus an updated Wreckytitan with new attacks and rewards.
- Travel upgrades. Balloon Teleporters connect supported locations around the map.
- New enemies. Pirate Scrat, Rusthook Sniper, Fixer, Shoota and Captain, Junk Chopper Trike Scrat, Mayor Nibbit and a Trained Stoneback Bear.
PvPvE rules to remember
Breaker difficulty is where player-versus-player happens. Hostile players read red like monsters once they engage, and the 45-second hostility timer keeps that information honest. Dying on Breaker loses everything you carried except survival bonuses - the difficulty page has the full breakdown.
Known issues going in
Necronus' monologue can trigger after death, the inventory can open on its own, and the infinite-loading-screen bug (fixed by retrying) has appeared on some launches. Exclusive fullscreen mode carries crash risk with it - use windowed fullscreen. These are all from BetaDwarf's own known-issues list, not community guesses.
After the Alpha
The next stop is launch itself, whenever BetaDwarf locks a date - the release date page tracks that status. Between now and then, every official change lands in the patch notes timeline.
