Butcher Free-Week is here, a time of horror brought upon us by one of the scariest heroes in the Nexus. Today, I will teach you how to defeat the brutish meat-enthusiast by using his theme against him.
The design-idea behind The Butcher is that he should be like a slasher-movie villain. He will hunt you down, isolate you, brutally murder you and then eat your flesh. There is no escape, no hope…
Or is there? Here are 4 quotes that will help you dealing with The Butcher more effectively.
STEP 1: STAY HIDDEN AND STAY TOGETHER
“We gotta play it safe. No matter what happens, we have to stay together” – Curt, Cabin in the Woods
The Butcher is built to kill isolated targets. His first heroic, Lambs to the Slaughter, locks you in place and denies you any escape. Do not split up when the Butcher is missing, as he will find you and put your team at a disadvantage in the next teamfight. Keep in mind that Ruthless Onslaught cannot pass through terrain. As long as you have something to hide behind, you’re fine.
Make sure to hide behind impassable terrain when you get charged
STEP 2: STUN HIM GOOD
“ […] shoot’em in the head. That’s a sure way to kill’em” – Sheriff McClelland, Night of the living Dead
Even though the demon seems pretty burly, he can be bursted down really quickly, especially if he’s stunned. So if you see the enemy Butcher in the middle of your team, stun him and burst him down. To ensure his downfall make sure to back off from the Butcher if you have his Butchers Brand on you to deny him any healing.
If your teammate has a Butchers Brand on him, make sure to get The Butcher away from him
STEP 3: STAY ALERT
“I’m into survival” – Nancy, A nightmare on Elm Street
Above all, stay vigilant. The Butcher is built to punish even small mistakes heavily. Try staying around your support when you’re an assassin or specialist,pick up cleanse as a support if he did pick Lambs to the Slaughter. Special attention goes to players that picked up Furnace Blast. Keep in mind this ability has a 3 Second delay. Try using your escapes shortly before it explodes. Most Butchers activate their Heroic shortly before they charge, which gives you around a solid half-second to roll out after impact. Keep in mind that if you have an invincibility like Phaseshift, Ice Block or Feign Death to use it as you see the Butcher charge in to minimize his damage. After the explosion occurred, wrap around him like a tight blanket and follow step 2.
Keep it up! You’re almost there…
STEP 4: BE RELENTLESS
“My need to engage in homicidal behaviour on a massive scale cannot be corrected but, uh, I have no other way to fulfill my needs.” – Patrick Bateman, American Psycho
The Butcher needs his piece of the action. After you killed him, try keeping him down. Without Meat-Stacks, he loses a lot of his damage and in extent his survivability. Keep him from refilling on stacks by repeatedly ganking him and you will be fine. This also includes knowing your enemy in and out. Make sure to use your dodges vertically to deny him to catch up by simply hitting you with his Hamstring, keep in mind that Ruthless Onslaught has a range that you can escape, small things like that.
In conclusion, play as a team, pay close attention to the map and the butchers abilities and help your teammates out whenever you can. If you keep these quotes in mind you should have no troubles surviving the terror that is Butcher Free Week.
Have you fought the Butcher and lived to tell the tale? Tell us your strategies in the comments below!
Article Written by: Benjamin Bauknecht