How the Diablo 4 Butcher Works

Everything You Should Know About the Diablo 4 Butcher

Originally debuting in the first Diablo, the Diablo 4 Butcher makes his return in an often horrifying way.

Now, he can randomly spawn in dungeons to blindside your hardcore character at a moment’s notice.

In this guide, we’ll be covering how the Butcher works, tips and tricks for how to beat him, and more.

Ah, fresh meat!

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What is The Butcher?

The Butcher is a secret boss that can randomly spawn in any dungeon or cellar. There are no level restrictions or requirements in order to seek him out. Anyone can encounter him, whether they want to or not! There is no rhyme or rhythm to finding The Butcher. Simply run dungeons and there’s a chance he will cross your path. However, the odds are very rare.

The Butcher can show up anywhere within the dungeon you’re exploring (except the boss room). This is a bonus encounter and doesn’t replace the regular boss. What’s great about this is it essentially adds a second boss worth of loot and experience to gain, provided you can defeat it. However, there’s a catch.. You only have one shot at taking out The Butcher during the encounter. If you die or happen to escape from the fight, The Butcher will despawn and you’ll miss out on the rewards.

If you fail the encounter, don’t feel too bad. You’ll get another chance when you least expect it!

Boss Mechanics

Due to the rarity of this encounter, it helps to have a game plan in case this monstrosity appears in sight. In order to help you prepare, let’s break down some of attack patterns you can expect.

While at a far enough distance away, there are two main attacks that will come your way. Either he’ll launch a hook to drag you in, or he’ll come charging straight at you! Whatever happens, it’ll be quick and devastating! Both attacks can be tricky to dodge, and getting hit will leave you stunned and at mercy of even more damage.

On the flip side, if you decide to challenge The Butcher head-on, be prepared to take a headbutt! Once again, stunning you. With that, it’s often best to keep a moderate distance. Not too far, but not too close. It isn’t easy, because despite his size, The Butcher runs REALLY FAST!

Maintaining a moderate distance is worth the effort, as it helps avoid The Butcher’s most devastating attacks. While you’ll still be hit here and there, it’s a lot better than being stun-locked to death.

Tips & Strategies

Beyond keeping an appropriate distance, here’s a few tips that will help increase your odds of survival.

1. Adapt to Your Environment: It’s important to remember that The Butcher is not an ordinary boss encounter. Unlike a regular dungeon boss, players are not confined within a particular room. You can move around freely, run into other enemies, and experience the dungeon as normal. Except well, the being chased around by a crazy axe murderer part. How can you use the environment to your advantage?
2. Hunt For Potions: Players are usually restricted to obtaining more healing potions at specific intervals during a boss fight. Deal enough damage, reach the next threshold, potions drop. While this remains true for The Butcher, who’s to stop you from finding additional potions elsewhere? This is a perfect example of adapting to your environment. If you encounter The Butcher, feel free to run down the hall and slay some weaker enemies part way through. Open a chest, or break interactive parts of the map to find more potions. Unless your character is well geared, it’s going to be a real challenge taking on The Butcher at face value. So get crafty, and create your own solutions!
3.  Abuse Pillars: One of the best strategies to take on The Butcher is to kite him in circles. If you can find a pillar-like structure, you can run around it constantly to deny The Butcher of its most threatening attacks. Again, unless you’re properly equipped, you’re going to need to be smart. It’s worth spending a bit of time to find a good spot, then from there, you can really cheese the fight. What you find in the dungeon will obviously vary. While a pillar is ideal, it’s perfectly doable with just about any obstruction of sorts. Just set yourself in a position where you can run around in circles with an obstacle in between.
4. Be Unstoppable: It definitely helps to have a skill on your hotbar that makes you Unstoppable. With the amount of stuns The Butcher has, having a “get out of jail free” card is a valuable asset. Mind you, given that The Butcher encounter is entirely random, you aren’t going to be able to simply swap skills in the moment. So if you’re wanting to be on the safe side, see if you can find room in your build.
5. Multiplayer Merits: If you happen to be playing as a duo or a group, make it your mission to keep at least one person alive. If one player runs low on health potions, it may even be smart to let them die intentionally while the other player(s) still has some supply. That way you can resurrect them and reset your potion stock. Just be careful you don’t die during this time!

Rewards

Defeating The Butcher will offer players a chunk of rewards just like any other boss, along with the chance at a few exclusive items. There’s a unique axe named The Butcher’s Cleaver, a mount trophy, and mount armor. While it’s nothing substantial, the cosmetics are a nice way to show off your achievement!

Are you the hunter, or the hunted? Good luck!