How to beat The Butcher in Diablo 4 – The Butcher boss guide

If you’ve had the displeasure of stumbling into him, you’ve probably been wondering how to beat The Butcher in Diablo 4. As far as boss encounters go, this one’s name is more than fitting. He cleaves and charges, likely leaving your geared-up and carefully specced character in a gory mound on those cold stone slabs. He’s returning character from the original Diablo so may be familiar to series fans. So what does it take to beat The Butcher in Diablo 4 and grab a high-quality loot drop?

Quite a lot, it turns out. In this guide, we’ll touch on where The Butcher spawns, dive into his move set, and offer some tips and tricks to help you best one of Diablo 4’s most challenging early-game bosses. We also have a guide for the Diablo 4 Den Mother boss and a list of all Diablo 4 bosses.

The Butcher location – how to find The Butcher in Diablo 4

The Butcher spawns randomly in any side dungeon in the Fractured Peaks, so be sure to have a Diablo 4 Fractured Peaks dungeon list on hand if you’re not familiar with them all. My colleague and I both had him spawn in at the Defiled Catacomb dungeon in the Desolate Highlands, but we put that down more to luck than any solid, coded pattern.

Ideally, you’ll want to go through all the dungeons, cross your fingers, and hope he spawns. We had him spawn as a replacement for a mini-boss that, when defeated, opened the door to the dungeon’s main boss. From what we’ve heard, he’s been known to show up as a random spawn in corridors, halls, and rooms throughout dungeons. Again, there’s no clear pattern. Make offerings to the RNG gods and hope for the best.

All things considered, you’ll invariably bump into The Butcher as you make your way through the Diablo 4, so we wouldn’t recommend actively searching for him. Enjoy what’s on offer, and he’ll appear at some point.

The Butcher move set

Here’s a breakdown of every attack The Butcher unleashes in Diablo 4:

• Basic Cleaver Attacks – The Butcher’s cleaver swings once or twice in the player’s direction.
• Stomp Cleave Attack – The Butcher raises his foot, stomps the ground, and unleashes a single cleave swipe.
• Stomp Headbutt Attack – Stomps the ground directly in front of him and headbutts forward.
• Hook Attack – The Butcher throws his chained meat hook, grabbing and pulling any character caught in its trajectory towards him.
• Charge Attack – The Butcher charges and bashes into the player at speed.
• AoE Roar Attack – The Butcher roars, releasing a red ring that travels outwards, damaging everything within its radius.

How to Beat The Butcher in Diablo 4

Strength in numbers

Going at it alone is a tough ask. While learning how to get Murmuring Obols and racking up some Whispering keys to open Silent Chests with might earn you some stronger gear for facing down this foe, even the best build-crafting is no guarantee for success. If possible, we recommend taking on The Butcher with some buddies. There’s strength in numbers, and that’s never been more true than when squaring up to The Butcher. Having a friend or three to draw The Butcher’s attention away from you while you heal or deal with mobs makes all the difference. 

Conversely, you can get The Butcher to focus your character, run around and avoid his attacks, while your mates, especially ranged rogues and sorcerers, pummel him with everything they’ve got to chip away at that hulking health bar. If you’re playing with a Barbarian, have them tank most of the attacks, while ranged classes pick away at The Butcher’s health with focused attacks.

Keep your distance

Easier said than done, especially for melee classes and builds, but having some distance between you and The Butcher significantly ups your chance of success. He predominantly uses close-range range melee attacks that don’t have all that much reach. Play far and safe, using ranged attacks to deal damage and remembering to dodge using evade where possible. Make sure to refamiliarise yourself with the Diablo 4 classes if you need a refresher on what your class’ ranged capabilities might be.

Avoid The Butcher’s Charge and Hook attacks

Being the recipient of The Butcher’s charge and hook attacks tears through your health like there’s no tomorrow. Avoid these at all costs to have a fighting chance. They are both reasonably well-telegraphed. He’ll pause for a second before the charge attack, and you’ll see him wind up the hook attack briefly before unleashing it.

Have a full set of health potions before taking on The Butcher in Diablo 4

An obvious one and something you can’t always guarantee, given The Butcher spawns randomly, but try and have a full set of 5 health potions before starting the fight. Additionally, pick up any health potions that spawn as you’ll need them when he random encounter does happen.

Apart from that, it’s down to sheer, dogged determination and patience. While he won’t be the first boss you come across, you’re no less than fresh meat for this monster. Working towards a stun effect paired with follow-up attacks is great, especially if you’re using a fragile Sorcerer build. The Butcher is no walk in the park, soured further by the fact that if you die, there’s no guarantee where, when, or if he’ll spawn again. Cheers for that, Blizzard. As for rewards, beating The Butcher grants legendary items, a couple rare items, and hefty haul of XP and gold.

Now you know how to beat The Butcher in Diablo 4, learn how to get a mount in Diablo 4 to make travelling between dungeons on the Diablo 4 map easier. Check out our Diablo 4 best Barbarian build, Diablo 4 best Rogue build, and Diablo 4 best Necromancer build guides.