The Butcher is a true legend and regularly provides moments of fright in Diablo 4. The community is now discussing which version of the Butcher was actually the most terrifying – and thus the personal favorite.
This is what the Butcher is about: The Butcher is probably the most well-known boss of the series, making his first appearance in Diablo 1. The Butcher is known for his iconic line: “Ah, fresh meat!” He is particularly deadly because he deals enormous damage, pulls players in with his hook, and is surprisingly quick for his size.
Since then, the legendary foe has repeatedly appeared in various Diablo titles, and even beyond:
- In Diablo 1, the Butcher had his own room, decorated with dismembered corpses and bloodstains. In Diablo 2, he is only mentioned, and there is the axe “Butcher’s Pupil”.
- In Diablo 3, you encounter him as a boss in Act 1, among others. Additionally, he exists as a pet and his weapon as an item.
- In Diablo 4, he randomly appears in dungeons and ambushes unsuspecting players. In one activity, the “Burning Butcher” can surprise you – sometimes even in pairs.
- In Diablo Immortal, the Butcher is a boss, although not in the original version from Diablo 1.
- Additionally, the Butcher appears in the MOBA Heroes of the Storm, has a skin for Roadhog in Overwatch, and was even briefly featured in Call of Duty during a Halloween event.
The Butcher is regularly a topic in the Diablo community. While he still surprises players in Diablo 4 randomly in dungeons, for many veterans, he has become more of a laughingstock. Fans are now discussing which Butcher is the most terrifying of all, and they have a clear favorite.
“It’s like being wiped out by a jumpscare”
Which Butcher is the players’ favorite? In a thread on the Diablo subreddit, fans are discussing which Butcher is their favorite. The top comment comes from Vorheim. He writes: “Diablo 1, and not even close. The creepiest video game moment of my childhood. Absolutely unforgettable.” Around 1,300 users agree with him in the form of upvotes.
The thread creator shows screenshots of the Butchers from Diablo 1, Diablo 3, and Diablo 4:
Many others report under the Reddit post that they nearly wet themselves during their first encounter with the Butcher in Diablo 1. MyNameIsDan_ even writes that he completely stopped playing Diablo 1 after encountering the Butcher.
Karsh14 sums up the phenomenon surrounding the Butcher in Diablo 1 well:
Clearly Diablo 1, by a huge margin. You just have to remember the context in which we first played it. […] You had absolutely no idea what to expect. […] You know the Butcher from the iconic intro scene, but you don’t really know what the Butcher is.
So when you encounter the Butcher for the first time, you are almost guaranteed to be unprepared, poorly equipped, and have absolutely no idea what the hell you are doing, lol. You are green behind the ears. You don’t even know what a real boss is.
You just notice that the room looks different, but you have no idea what happens when you open the door. You think: Okay, this must be the Butcher everyone is talking about, or at least his build.
You think you are prepared […] so you open the door. And then the sound clip comes immediately: “Ah, fresh meat”, and the Butcher rushes right in. No reaction time. He’s on you in an instant. And because you’re under-leveled, he wipes you out in seconds. Game over, man! This really threw off everyone who experienced it for the first time, lol. It felt like being wiped out by a jumpscare.
But the Butcher in Diablo 4 has also made an impression, especially at the beginning. Pheonyxxx696 reports how shocked he was because he didn’t even know that the Butcher appeared there. At level 10, he was quickly taken apart as expected. Also, lolboonesfarm finds: “He is so much more brutal in part 4. He is just extremely fast and ruthless.” Especially for new players, this dangerous boss is still making life difficult.
For Significant_Purple79, the Butcher from Diablo 1 remains an absolute core memory. The Butcher from Season 0 of Diablo 4 ranks second for him. Today, he even enjoys hearing “Ah, fresh meat!” because it means extra loot.
Which Butcher is your favorite?
The legendary Butcher from Diablo 1 has left a lasting impression on many players and gave them quite a scare – not least because many were quite young at the time.
But in Diablo 4, the Butcher seems to be doing a “good job” as well. After all, he can ambush you unexpectedly in dungeons at any time, which can mean a quick and ruthless character death, especially at low levels.
Which Butcher has taught you to fear sustainably? Vote in our survey:
The Butcher is one of the toughest bosses in Diablo history. But the 28-year-old boss is by no means the only opponent who makes players sweat. We have rummaged through old forums, Reddit, and our own memories to introduce you to the 5 toughest bosses in Diablo.
