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How to beat the Butcher - Diablo 4

The Butcher in Diablo 4 is one of the toughest bosses in the game.

Josh Broadwell

June 29, 2023 6:00 PM

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How to beat the Butcher in Diablo 4 is a bit of a complicated task. Unlike most bosses, randomness governs your encounters with the violent creature, including what level he’ll be at. The Butcher’s moveset doesn’t change, though, so you can at least come up with a loose plan of attack and hope he’s not 50 levels stronger than you.

How to find the Butcher in Diablo 4

The thing about finding the Butcher in Diablo 4 is that you can’t actually do anything to find him, other than run a bunch of dungeons. The Butcher only shows up in dungeons, but when he appears and which dungeon are decided at random. There’s no way to determine which dungeon he’ll show up in or even where in a dungeon he might spawn.

You’ll know immediately when you find the Butcher, since he’s gigantic and rushes you as soon as you enter his room.

The other random element associated with Butcher encounters is his level. The Butcher could spawn at level 10, he might show up at level 50, or he could even drop in at level 100. His level doesn’t scale to yours. The worst-case scenario is finding the Butcher and being underleveled. Unlike with some enemies, you can’t really power your way through. Defeating the Butcher is tough enough at the best of times, but a gap of more than five levels makes it almost impossible.

How to beat the Butcher in Diablo 4

The ideal strategy will, naturally, look different depending on which class you pick, though characters with long-range abilities – the Sorcerer and Necromancer, mainly – will have an easier time. Most of the Butcher’s attacks are close-range, so Barbarians and Druids have to be a bit more careful with their timing and attack patterns to stay alive.

That said, the Butcher does have a few attacks he uses when you’re far away to

It’s also a good idea to upgrade your health potions as you level up, so you can stay alive longer.

If you’re in a dungeon or area with elevations, climb up to a higher level and launch ranged attacks at the Butcher. He can’t follow you, and sure, it might be cheesing the fight – but at least you’ll win. Assuming you aren’t a Barbarian or Druid, that is. Your ranged attacks are a bit lacking in those classes.

Diablo 4 Butcher attacks

• Weapon Swing: The Butcher swings his cleaver or sickle and deals heavy damage. This seems to be his most common attack, though whether he uses the sickle or cleaver seems random.
• Ram: Rushes you, usually when you’re at a fair distance away. If it connects, it deals heavy damage and stuns your character
• Headbutt: What it says on the box. This attack also deals heavy damage and will stun you.
• Roar: The Butcher lets out a roar that inflicts slow. It might seem trivial, but being slow is the last thing you want with this boss
• Hook: Launches a hook in a straight line towards you character and pulls you into attack range. It stuns your character if it connects.

It might help to take on dungeons and The Butcher with friends, so consider playing in multiplayer when you go Butcher hunting. Don't forget to salvage old weapons so you can upgrade new ones as well.

Josh Broadwell

Contributing Editor

Josh is a freelance writer and reporter who specializes in guides, reviews, and whatever else he can convince someone to commission. You may have seen him on NPR, IGN, Polygon, or VG 24/7 or on Twitter, shouting about Trails. When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find him outside with his Belgian Malinois and Australian Shepherd or curled up with an RPG of some description.