The Butcher makes a comeback in Diablo 4. This time, instead of being a boss you defeat like in Diablo 3, The Butcher will invade random dungeons and attack you out of nowhere. Often leading to your very quick demise.
This article will focus on how to find The Butcher, The Butcher’s drops, and how to beat The Butcher.
Where is The Butcher in Diablo 4?
In Diablo 4, you don’t find The Butcher; The Butcher finds you.
While going through the dungeons in the starter area, The Butcher has a chance to appear randomly, apparently at any level. He doesn’t seem to have a minimum level, as I’ve seen him appear at level 5 before.
On top of this, The Butcher can appear even during fights with other enemies. So you could quickly fight several dungeon elites and The Butcher at once. That said, I don’t think he can spawn during boss fights.
Once The Butcher appears, you have only one chance to beat him. If he kills you and you respawn, he will disappear, and you will have to wait until he shows up in another dungeon before you can try again.
You’ll know he’s near when “Fresh Meat” pops up on your screen.
The Butcher’s Drops Diablo 4
Most notable of all the gear The Butcher drops is his unique drop, The Butcher’s Cleaver. The special effect is that you have a high chance of fearing enemies if you critically hit them.
Also, it appears that The Butcher always drops at least one legendary when defeated, although this isn’t always his unique drop.
In my case, he ended up dropping a pair of legendary boots.
How to Beat the Butcher in Diablo 4
Admittedly, the Butcher is likely the hardest enemy other than the world bosses you fight. Even as a Necromancer, what I’d say is the most broken class in Diablo 4, I died the first time I fought him.
However, you can at least fight back once you learn the Butcher’s attack pattern.
There seem to be several attacks that are very dangerous. One is his hook, which will drag you to him, and another is his charge, which will stun you. Both of these you should avoid at all costs as they do lots of damage, and his follow-up attacks will kill squishy classes.
Unlike most enemies, including other bosses, The Butcher doesn’t seem to get distracted by your minions. Instead, The Butcher will sprint directly at you and continuously pummel you until you’re dead. The only way I countered this was to run in circles while my skeletons hit The Butcher.
My skeletons could block most of his attacks, including his hook, which allowed me to spam spells while I ran for my life. Not as cheesy as this, but it certainly wasn’t a fair fight.
I would say this fight is borderline impossible for melee classes until you get fully geared and max level.
Barbarian beating The Butcher:
Sorcerer beating The Butcher:
I’ll add more once I’ve beat The Butcher on every character. For now, enjoy videos of others.
