Unique items are a higher tier than legendaries in Diablo 4, and we’ve only seen one drop in the entirety of the Beta so far, and it comes from everyone’s favorite boss, the Butcher! Well, not everyone’s favorite, as hardcore players have been having a very rough time with the red one as he just comes in and they have no real chance of escaping.
The Butcher himself is a boss that randomly appears in any of Diablo 4’s dungeons, chases down the player and leaves either when he kills them or after too much time has passed in the fight. If you do manage to kill him, you might see the probably only unique in the Beta, however: the Butcher’s Cleaver (which is not a guaranteed drop), as spotted by ZERGq!
There will be plenty more uniques, and while this particular one doesn’t seem that powerful (or does it, in PvP?), they’re supposed to be some of the best items out there in the full release.
Here’s a video of a kill (not the one with the unique drop, however):
And a less successful encounter (which is probably more like what happened to most players):
Personally I almost got him the first time he ambushed me, as I was NOT expecting it and got a little confused as he chased me down half the dungeon.
It’s great to see both the iconic weapon and boss make a return, especially in this way that’s very reminiscent of the terror he caused back in Diablo 1, as many players remember him much more clearly then Diablo himself. Hopefully other uniques have as much favor as this one, although they won’t have their own personal specific bosses they drop from.
