Flashing Dev rom is not an issue
Global Stable > Global Dev [Easy process]
Global Stable > Chinese Dev , You have to do these
1. Flash Chinese Stable via EDL mode [Tricky process, you might get your device bricked]
2. Then Flash Chinese Dev recovery rom via updater app
or you can also try flashing chinese dev fastboot rom via EDL directly
And regarding unlock process, you can unlock even with global stable rom [I unlocked mine on global stable itself, Redmi note 3 -MFG May 2016, purchased on May 19,2016]
The whole thing of unlock works only with Chinese dev rom is a myth. Even i had problem with unlock [Stuck at 50%]
Then i had contacted MIUI device team member nasir on MIUI forum and he rectified the issue with my account [The problem i had is i replaced my redmi note 3 so my account got registered with two devices and Xiaomi server didnt refresh my device details automatically]
And rooting doesnt void warranty, there are multiple threads on quora and miui forum saying so