In reply to Venator:
It seems rather ridiculous that we can’t at least download the beta before the launch. They are basically saying “we want everyone trampling each other at a single door the moment that one door opens, and then expect them to still have a positive experience cause it is new”… Which is patently ridiculous.
I think it is more akin to the developers saying that the client isn’t ready for download yet. They likely will make several changes to the client prior to going into the Beta phase, so instead of having people repeatedly patch (which will likely still be a thing once it starts) they are waiting until it is closer to the beta launch to release a “final” beta build.
For what it is worth, I don’t believe it is a full unique install, so the download should be minimal.