The Butcher - The Incarnation of Hell (Zarya patch) by ZombieBunny

The Butcher - The Incarnation of Hell (Zarya patch)

By: ZombieBunny
Last Updated: Oct 18, 2016
10 Votes
Build Guides Discussion (6) More Guides
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The Butcher

Build: Ranked Sustain

Level 1
Level 4
Level 7
Level 10
Level 13
Level 16
Level 20

Threats to The Butcher with this build

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Threat Hero Notes
1
 Nova If you see her stealthing around, just use Hamstring to reveal her and its a free kill.
1
 Cho Once you get your stacks, one kill, 2 players. If he has Lt. Morales with him you probably need to take her down fast in team fights.
1
 Lt. Morales Not much she can do vs you. Its your job to take her down with Lamb to the Slaughter or a Ruthless Charge. Just try not to get focused down while doing it.
1
 Leoric Not much he can do to be honest. Use Ruthless Charge to cancel Drain Hope. Then heal up with Butcher's Branding. He will Wraith Walk away, repeat until hes dead.
2
 Murky 5 free stacks for each kill. Just farm his lane all day long to deny his pushing. A good Murky player can be hard to deal with. Bait his shield out and then take him out.
2
 Valla Dont let her poke you down in lane and your fine. Keep track of her Vault and punish her when shes on cooldown.
2
 Chromie Just avoid Time Trap and shes a free kill. Dont let her poke you down in lane.
2
 Sylvanas If shes in your lane, you need to play aggressive so she doesnt push the lane. Bait her to use her Haunting Wave, when its on cooldown shes easy to punish.
2
 Zeratul Zeratul cant really win vs The Butcher 1vs1. Just try to reveal him with Hamstring.
2
 Rexxar 5 free stacks from Misha if you kill Rexxar. Its your birthday, have fun.
3
 Li-Ming Just dodge her stuff and wait for her Teleport to be on cooldown. She cant really do much vs Ruthless Charge / Hamstring combo. Once you get Lamb to the Slaughter shes a free kill.
3
 Greymane Greymane cant really do much 1vs1. If he jumps you, just stun punish him with Ruthless Charge and Hamstring. If he doesn't back off, just use Butcher's Branding and heal up and watch him panic.
3
 Sonya When she uses Whirlwind to heal, just cancel it with Ruthless Charge and dish out some damage. 1 vs 1 just take the free healing from Butcher's Branding.
3
 Tyrael Just harass him as much as you can and if he sticks around, heal up with Butcher's Branding. Not much he can do really.
3
 Gul'dan When he uses Drain Life, just cancel it with Ruthless Charge and then heal up with Butcher's Branding. Dont let him poke you down with Fel Flame. Just play aggressively. Horrify can cause situations that will get you killed. But Lamb to the Slaughter gives you a free kill.
3
 Azmodan Just charge him when he overextends. Cancel All Shall Burn with Ruthless Charge or just heal up with Butcher's Brand.
3
 Thrall 1vs1 you shouldnt have much trouble with Thrall. Let him do his thing and then heal up with Butcher's Brand, when he realizes he cant win, use Ruthless Charge to punish him even more.
3
 Rehgar Burst him down with Lamb to the Slaughter before he uses his Ancestral Healing. Watch out for Earthbind Totem when laning, as it could get you killed if he has friends with him.
3
 Stitches Just avoid Hook. Check if he has Gorge and dont get singled out. In solo lane he cant really do much versus you.
4
 Chen If hes in lane with you, just use Ruthless Charge when hes drinking. He can be hard to deal with in team fights and its hard to burst him down.
4
 Illidan He can be hard to deal with early on, but you can easily burst him down later on.
4
 Gazlowe You need to maintain his Rock-It! Turret's or hes very hard to manage. Grav-O-Bomb 3000 can get you killed, but he is easy to burst down otherwise.
4
 Arthas Hes tanky, has a lot of CC and can dish out some damage. But hes not much of an issue later on.
4
 Jaina Her slows can get you in trouble, just wait for the right moment to charge her. Lamb to the Slaughter gives you a free kill after 10.
4
 Diablo Solo hes doable, but in team fights Shadow charge and/or Overpower will get you killed, so play a game of ping pong with him if hes in your lane. Back off and in as he moves towards you. Be aware of Apocalypse. Also hes a pretty shitty boss for act IV.
4
 Sgt. Hammer Just charge her down as soon as shes midlane and repeat until shes dead. If shes pushing your lane with another hero, things will spiral out of control fast.
4
 Kharazim Divine Palm can ruin your kill. Just try to focus him down with Lamb to the Slaughter if hes at full health. Otherwise hes not really a problem.
5
 Raynor Raynors passive can be hard to deal with. Try to keep track of when its on cooldown and he should be easy to kill.
5
 Zagara You need to harass her down so she cant push freely. Look for opportunities to charge her down. If shes overextending a lane, get down there and kill her. Devouring Maw can ruin your day.
5
 Artanis Phase Prism can get you killed. If you lane versus him and you see him charging towards you, expect he has friends coming and is going for a Phase Prism.
5
 Alarak The silence from Discord Strike can get you into trouble in team fights. But otherwise he cant really do much to you.
5
 Tychus Tychus can be pretty hard to lane against, but just do the usual Rutheless Charge / Hamstring / Butchers Brand combo. Preferably just avoid his lane until you get your stacks to a reasonable level.
5
 Abathur He can tilt the game if he manages to get the xp difference for his team. Otherwise hes not really a big issue.
5
 The Lost Vikings Killing them isnt really the problem, its the xp the other team gets that will spiral out of control. But then again, its easy stacks of fresh meat.
6
 Kerrigan Kerrigan can be annoying. Be super careful to not get caught in her combo. Back in and out in lanes when you see her approaching you. Keep an eye on other lanes in case anyone is missing, they are probably heading your way. You should probably try to pick her off with Lamb to the Slaughter in team fights before she pulls off Maelstorm.
6
 Dehaka Just be careful with Drag and you should be fine. Most likely he will be showing up in your lane and gank you. So keep track of the mini-map.
6
 Muradin Early game his stuns can get you killed and hes hard to escape. If your in lane with him, use Hamstring to keep his passive healing in-check. Once you got your 125 stacks hes like ice-cream in Sahara.
6
 Johanna Shes pretty hard to deal with in teamfights. But in solo lane you should be able to harass her down. Just use avoid Condemn and the heal up with Hamstring / Butcher's Branding. Be careful not to get stuck in Blessed Shield in team fights.
6
 The Butcher Obviously this wont happen in ranked. But in quickmatches it all comes down to who has the most stacks of fresh meat. Just make sure its you.
6
 Tyrande Lunar Flare and Hunter's Mark can get you killed pretty fast. But otherwise shes pretty easy to kill. Watch out for Sentinel when low on health when porting home etc.
6
 Nazeebo Zombie Wall can be pretty hard to deal with. You have to keep track of him in team fights to cancel his Ravenous Spirit.
7
 Medivh Medivh's Force of Will is hard to deal with. Poly Bomb will shut you down completely as well. So time your attacks accordingly.
7
 Lunara Lunara is hard to lane versus. Try to keep your distance until you see an opportunity to charge her shes manageable. Shes pretty easy to burst down with Lamb to the Slaughter.
7
 Kael'thas Kael can be really annoying. Gravity Lapse can get you in trouble. You need to take him down with Lamb to the Slaughter in team fights.
7
 E.T.C. If your team can avoid Most Pit, hes not much of an issue. But hey, who hasnt lost a match due to Mosh Pit.
7
 Auriel Detainment Strike can get you killed. Be careful in tight places. Crystal Shield will ruin your day. Its best to try and pick her off first if possible.
8
 Brightwing Brightwings Poly Morph will get you killed. In team fights you need to keep track of when shes on cooldown before rushing in.
8
 Uther Hammer of Justice can mess up your combos and Divine Shield is a pain in the ass. Then again so is the stun from Divine Storm.
8
 Xul Cursed Strikes and Bone Prison will make it hard to lane vs Xul.
8
 Falstad Falstad can be hard to deal with. He can poke you down and escape with Hammerang and Lighting Rod and escape with Barrel Roll. Mighty Gust will ruin team fights and Hinterland Blast is equally annoying. If you manage to get Slaughter to the Lambs on him, hes usually dead.
9
 Li Li Lili can be super annoying with her slows and healing. You can burst her down late game, but early on shes trouble. Jug of 1,000 Cups is hard to deal with in team fights. If you can pick her of with Lamb to the Slaughter your team should be fine though.
9
 Anub'arak Cocoon is pretty much the ultimate counter to The Butcher.
10
 Tracer A good Tracer is hard to deal with. She can harass you all day long. Its hard to charge her or heal up with Butcher's Branding. Unless shes stunned, dont even bother using Lamb to the Slaughter. If being in a lane vs her. Keep track of her Blinks and punish her when shes out of them. Ruthless Charge on Tracer can get you killed, be ready to abort it if you overextend
10
 Malfurion Malfurion and his Entangling Roots will get you killed. If you fail your Lamb to the Slaughter things get even worse. If you find him solo, do your team a favor and kill him before any team fight. Or even better, just get him banned in the lobby.
10
 Zarya Zarya is pretty hard to deal with. Not only can she block your damage with her self shield, she can ruin your Ruthless Charge on others with her shield ally. To be honest I dont even bother picking Butcher if I see her on the other teams picks. On the other hand, if shes on your team, your pretty much set for a win.

About Me Top

Hi, my name is ZombieBunny and ive been playing HotS since closed alpha. I mostly play warriors, but when I get the chance I always play my favorite hero The Butcher. I have over 500 matches with him on the EU server and PTR.

The build im using 90% of the time is the Sustain build, its what gets me to Diamond+ the fastest every season. It works perfectly well in lower ranks. Ill write more detailed explanation on my skill choices and some basic tips on how to use them for your benefit. The Butcher is a hero that excels midgame-lategame and if played correctly you should have no problem performing well. He is decent at farming and can stand against most solo lanes fairly well. He is also one of the better heroes for taking taking camps solo and usually doesn't need a warrior to tank damage from bosses. My Headhunter Match Award is on a steady 50%+, its probably more my mentality of being a Jungler in other mobas. But every camp matters.

The Butcher is unmatched in 1 vs 1 fights and late game with full stacks of Fresh Meat he can dominate in team fights if played carefully. Dying early game is the worst thing you can do, so learn your limitations and pick your fights carefully.

Abilities Top

Combat Trait

Fresh Meat (Passive)
Quest: Nearby Minions drop 1 Fresh Meat and Heroes drop 5 Fresh Meat when they die. You can pick up Fresh Meat to gain 1 Basic Attack damage per Meat. Can hold up to 125 Meat. You drop up to 10 Fresh Meat upon dying.
Reward: After acquiring 125 pieces of Fresh Meat, gain and additional 100 Basic Attack damage and 25% increased Attack Speed. You also no longer lose Fresh Meat on death.

Abilities

Hamstring (Q)
40 Mana Cooldown: 4 seconds
Deal 115 (+4% per level) damage and slow enemies by 50% fading over 2 seconds. Your next Basic Attack will strike immediately.

Butcher's Brand (W)
65 Mana Cooldown: 14 seconds
Deal 39 (+4% per level) damage to an enemy and cause your Basic Attacks against them to heal you for 75% of the damage done. Healing is doubled versus Heroes. Lasts 4 seconds. Your Basic Attacks against a branded Hero increase the duration by 0.5 seconds.

Ruthless Onslaught (E)
55 Mana Cooldown: 15 seconds
Charge at an enemy, becoming Unstoppable and gaining Movement Speed. If you reach the target, they are stunned for 1 second and take 124 (+4% per level) damage.

Heroic Abilities Top

Furnace Blast (R)
75 Mana Cooldown: 80 seconds
After a 3 second delay, fire explodes around you dealing 500 (+4% per level) damage to enemies.
Can be cast while using Ruthless Onslaught.

Lamb to the Slaughter (R)
75 Mana Cooldown: 90 seconds
Throw a hitching post that attaches to the nearest enemy Hero after a 1 second delay. This deals 177.84 (+4% per level) damage and causes the enemy to be chained to the post and Silenced for 3 seconds.

Ranked Top

This is the build I use 90% of the time. It has decent damage, your tanky in 1 vs 1 and you can sustain poke heroes a lot better. Ill explain below a bit better on exactly how to get the most out of the talents. But basically the idea is to use Block to sustain auto attacker pokes when laning and Meat Shield to survive Ruthless Charge on casters. It might be tempting to pick talents that help you increase your damage, but my mentality has always been that the less damage you get, the more damage you can deal out. If your constantly being pushed back to your well or base, you will loose valuable stacks of Fresh Meat and suffer through out the match. This is why Block and Meat Shield are invaluable if used correctly. I prefer this build on larger maps where you sometimes have to solo a lane or maps where you need to hold objectives. Towers of Doom, Braxis Holdout, Dragon Shrine and so on.

Level 1

Block (Passive)
Every 5 seconds, reduce the damage taken from the next Hero Basic Attack by 75%. Stores 2 charges.
Reasoning
This is one of my favorite talents. Not only does it allow you to survive longer at the start of team fights. But it also gives you more sustain in lanes when being harassed. When clearing minions, keep track of when your blocks have worn out and back of for a while. Dont get intimidated when your being harassed by someone like Valla or Raynor. Just wait for them to overextend and then turn on them with Ruthless Onslaught, followed by Hamstring and Butcher's Brand. Usually this takes down most squishy heroes to half HP and forces them back to use their well. Usually I try to make sure the enemy minion wave is at lower health so the other player has to back off if they wish to turn on me or suffer the damage from the minions. Just repeat the cycle whenever you need to heal up.

Level 4

Flail Axe
Increases the length of Hamstring by 40%.
Reasoning
Getting that slow on heroes is important so you dont get poked down and gives you the extra edge to finishing of fleeing players. It also allows you to hit more minions. Usually when in lane I try to hit the minion wave as its coming in a straight line. Its important to get that slow in when other heroes come to help you gank your lane or just bullying someone who overextends. The extra length is also useful defensively to slow down anyone chasing you or helping teammates escape. When backing of I usually try to hit the enemy hero with Hamstring first so they cant poke me as much. If they follow me I turn on them with Ruthless Charge and heal up any damage taken with Butcher's Brand. Dont get bullied, be the bully.

Level 7

Meat Shield
When Ruthless Onslaught impacts an enemy Hero, you take 50% reduced Ability Damage for 2.5 seconds.
Reasoning
This talent is pretty much necessary. The 50% reduction on Ability Damage for 2.5 seconds is massive. With Block and Butcher's Brand it allows you to pretty much tank anyone 1vs1. When im at 50% hp I just wait for the right moment to rush in and heal whatever damage ive taken. Dont get to overconfident in team fights though. In the rare case where the other team lack casters, Insatiable Blade works better and scale very well into late game. Its a matter of choice really, but Meat Shield is the safest option in teamfights.

Level 10

Lamb to the Slaughter
Throw a hitching post that attaches to the nearest enemy Hero after a 1 second delay. This deals 178 (+4% per level) damage and causes the enemy to be chained to the post and Silenced for 3 seconds.
Reasoning
Lamb to the Slaughter pretty much guarantees you a kill on anything you're 1vs1. The 3 second silence completely disables whoever you cast it on. Look for players who are isolated from their team, charge in and have fun watching them struggle with their impending death. Preferably you'll want to have Ruthless Onslaught ready just as the silence wears of so you get an additional 1 second of not taking any damage. This way you can open up with hamstring and have it ready at the end of the combo for maximal damage. Ideal targets are healers or high target dps. In team fights make sure to use Butcher's Brand to sustain the damage received. Just make sure you actually have your team with you or you'll end up looking like a fool as you get focused down.

Level 13

Brutal Strike
After using Hamstring, your next 3 Basic Attacks within 5 seconds deal an additional 15% bonus damage.
Reasoning
The added 15% damage allows you to burst down targets faster, you'll pretty much get all of them in when using Lamb to the Slaughter or a Ruthless Charge / Hamstring combo. It allows you to clear minion waves faster and helps out doing camps. The extra damage also makes your Butcher's Brand healing even more effective. On some maps where minion clearing is more important Cleaver is a good option. Or if you for some reason are behind in getting stacks, this will speed clearing minion waves.

Level 16

Enraged (Passive)
Receiving damage that reduces you below 50% of your maximum Health causes you to become Enraged for 10 seconds. While Enraged, you gain 40% Attack Speed and become Resistant, reducing damage taken by 25%.
Reasoning
To be honest, this might be one of the most broken talents in HotS right now. Combined with Block, Meat Shield and Butcher's Branding you'll literally turn into an unstoppable death machine. You'll be able to take down several heroes by yourself, tank bosses like a god and heal up in seconds. When doing camps its better to let you drop down to 50% health before using Butchers Branding, so you get that added 10 seconds of Enraged and speeds things up. With max stacks you can solo most bosses this way. Although its always risky if the other team has map awareness.

Level 20

Nexus Blades
Basic Attacks deal 20% more damage and slow enemy Movement Speed by 20% for 1 second.
Reasoning
This talent just stacks up amazingly with everything else. Hamstring, Butcher's Brand healing, Enraged and your stacks of Fresh Meat. Nothing will escape you. However Slaughter House is a very good alternative if your team is suffering in team fights and/or lacks any proper CC. Like all talents, you have to adopt to how the match unfolds. But personally I just like to kill stuff as fast as possible and move on to the next target.

Gameplay and Tactics Top

The most important thing to understand is that you need to constantly be getting more Fresh Meat stacks. Always keep farming minions, when a waves is finished try to look for easy kills in nearby lanes to get an additional 5 stacks. You will be struggling early game if you arent constantly gaining stacks, so dying is probably the worst thing that can happen to you. Always be aware of map awareness when someone is missing from their lane. Dont overextend because losing 10 stacks of fresh meat will spiral out of control fast.

At around 75 stacks of Fresh Meat you can take out camps easily whenever you have free time. Try to pick a lane with easy access to a camp, its also a very good way to heal up damage with Butcher's Branding. You can take camps at 50 stacks or less, but it will go slower so you need to pick the right moment. During objectives when you think your team can manage without you and so on.

You should also make sure you don't get bullied in your lane by ranged heroes. Wait for them to move midway in your lane so you can punish them with Ruthless Charge and heal any damage taken with Butcher's Brand. Repeat the combo once your cooldowns are back. If you can force them to use their well early on you can farm your stacks in peace and increase your teams xp.

Once you get your 125 stacks you are set and can play more aggressively, look for loners and take them out with Lamb to the Slaughter. Players who are overextending towers are also good targets when your Lamb to the Slaughter is on cooldown, charge them from behind and use the slow from Hamstring to finish the kill.

Taking camps is a good way to make the enemy team split up, giving you better opportunities to find a easy kill. When your team gets a kill, make the call to do the boss, you don't need a warrior to tank the damage if you have a healer or enough dps with you. With max stacks you can even solo most bosses with the help of Enrage, just allow yourself to drop below 50% health to activate Enrage and then use Butcher's Branding to heal up. It might get tight depending on your level, but its definitely worth keeping in mind if you see the opportunity to do it without the enemy team having map awareness of you.

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