How to get The Butcher’s Cleaver in Diablo 3

The Diablo franchise is all about grinding until you get the best items and sets in the game. However, sometimes you’ll want to pick up some rare items, even if they aren’t super useable. For instance, while The Butcher’s Cleaver isn’t a legendary weapon that will make Diablo himself cower, it’s still something that all fans will want in their stash, just to be able to say they have it. So, how do you find The Butcher’s Cleaver?

Where’s it dropped?

Fittingly, the only boss that drops the cleaver is the Butcher himself. However, there are two different ways to get them. One is the normal Act 1 boss, The Butcher. He has a chance to drop his Cleaver when you fight him. You also can get the item by participating in The Darkening of Tristram event. In this version, the Butcher is a speedy little guy and is hiding in an open room, so players who didn’t experience OG Diablo beware. When you defeat him, he’s likely to drop his Cleaver, which is almost identical to the Diablo 3 version, except it adds the Cleaver to the transmog list.

Most importantly, though, is that you shouldn’t bother looking for The Butcher’s Cleaver with your friends. You can only ever find it in Single Player Mode.

What are the stats?

Despite being a fun and rare item, The Butcher’s Cleaver is only a blue-level weapon with meager stats. It only does 4-24 damage, adds +10 to Strength, and has a Durability of 10. It offers one randomized, unique item damage and alters your durability in a random way. But even if those stats end up fantastic, the item is still pretty weak. The one plus side is that it has no level requirements, so no matter what level you are at when you pick it up, you can use it.

Transmogrification

Unlike The Butcher’s Cleaver from Diablo 3’s Butcher, the one you can get from the Darkening of Tristram Butcher is slightly different. Why? Because it can be transmogrified. This means that it gives you the ability to make any weapon look like The Butcher’s Cleaver. Finishing The Darkening of Tristram event also lets you turn any item into Wirt’s Leg, too. Since The Butcher’s Cleaver is such a lackluster weapon, you can magically transform your high-level sword or staff to look like it. If you’re a fan, it’s a fun homage to the classic Cleaver.