Butcher Strategy

[Skye]

The Butcher Tips & Strategy

CleaveThe Butcher encounter is a simple DPS check with little movement, but requires a lot of coordination. The trickiest mechanic is the Cleave/ Gushing Wounds interaction.

Every few seconds, The Butcher will detect the largest clump of players within melee range and cast Cleave on them, applying a stack of Gushing Wounds, a moderate bleed that lasts for fifteen seconds or until refreshed.

The raid must designate teams of several players to soak the Cleave, since if any player reaches 5 stacks of Gushing Wounds they will instantly die (10 on Looking For Raid difficulty, 4 on Mythic difficulty). Because Cleave damage is split amongst all the players in the clump, but the Gushing Wounds effect is a flat amount of damage per player and can get overwhelming with too many targets, three to four players is ideal for triggering the Cleave effect. The best strategy is to assign two groups of at least two players each to stand in melee range - one at the right leg, one at the left - and to have a ranged player step in and trigger a group when it is that group's designated time to soak Cleave. This ensures that the tanks will never be targeted by Cleave, while also moderating the amount of Gushing Wounds damage healers must heal through. The "trigger" player should stand in their melee pile long enough to draw three Cleaves in a row, reaching 3 stacks of Gushing Wounds, and then move out; the other group's "trigger" player should then step in in order to start triggering Cleave on the other group of players. This cycle of 3 Cleaves per group is repeated for the entire encounter. Approximately every minute, The Butcher will knock all players back and then prepare to use Bounding Cleave on the largest remaining clump of players. This attack also leaves a stack of Gushing Wounds. A clump of two or three players is enough to bait the Bounding Cleave without dying to its damage; ranged DPS or healers who are not assigned to triggering Cleave in the melee stacks should be tasked with stacking up in a designated location for Bounding Cleave.

The Tenderizer deals heavy damageTanks must stack together to split Heavy Handed damage with one another, and must manage stacks of The Tenderizer and The Cleaver.

When The Butcher reaches 30% health, he enters a Frenzy. He attacks more frequently - including using Cleave and Bounding Cleave more frequently - and deals increased damage.
This is the most dangerous part of the encounter, and players should use their strongest personal and raid-wide cooldowns (damage, damage reduction, and healing) to survive and shorten this segment of the fight as much as possible. If you are having trouble with the Cleave damage under 30% health, consider switching to 3 groups taking 2 stacks of Gushing Wounds each. While this is slightly more demanding on positioning, it can reduce the burden on healers and the chance of player death.

Tank Responsibilities

-Tanks must stand together to split the Heavy Handed damage
-Tanks should swap at 3 or 4 stacks of The Cleaver/ The Tenderizer
-Use powerful survival cooldowns to survive The Tenderizer when you have several stacks, particularly after The Butcher's Frenzy
-Attempt to minimise The Cleaver stacks by using avoidance abilities
-Position The Butcher quickly after each Bounding Cleave, to avoid Meat Hook, and so that your Cleave-soaking groups can get into place and prevent The Butcher from using Cleave on tanks

Damage-Dealer Responsibilities

Knock-back before Bounding Cleave

-Players assigned to soak: Cleave must stay tightly grouped with their party and monitor their debuffs closely
-Use a damage-reduction cooldown for the third application of Gushing Wounds
-Players assigned to trigger: Cleave must move quickly into their group when the other group reaches 3 stacks of Gushing Wounds, and must move out quickly upon reaching 3 stacks of Gushing Wounds themselves
-Players not assigned to the Cleave groups must quickly stack after the knock-back ability, to bait the Bounding Cleave
-Save Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp for the Frenzy phase when The Butcher reaches 30% health, as this is the most challenging part of the encounter.

Healer Responsibilities

-Tanks take very heavy damage, especially as their stacks of The Cleaver and The Tenderizer build up
-Use tank CDs for The Tenderizer on tanks with 2+ stacks of The Tenderizer debuff during The Butcher's Frenzy phase
-Players soaking Cleave must be topped up between each Cleave attack to prevent deaths
-Once players are no longer soaking Cleave, use HoTs and other passive effects to heal players with Gushing Wounds, and focus on healing up the new Cleave team
-Use healing cooldowns to manage tank and Cleave-soaker damage
-Quickly stack after the knock-back ability to bait the Bounding Cleave

When to Use Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp
Save Bloodlust/ Heroism/ Time Warp for the Frenzy after The Butcher reaches 30% health, as this is the most dangerous part of the fight.