Season 12 is introducing a new activity called Slaughterhouses, but Blizzard is keeping most of the details hidden under the excuse that players need to discover that one on their own.
What we do know is that Slaughterhouses let players fully transform into the Butcher for the entire run. Unlike other seasonal mechanics where the transformation only happens temporarily, this activity keeps you in the role of Diablo’s most infamous demon from start to finish.
In this form, you really gain access to the Butcher’s terrifying abilities, including heavy cleaving attacks, charges, and his signature hooks that drag enemies toward him.
Blizzard’s official description keeps things intentionally vague, simply stating that players will step into the activity to “slaughter everything in sight,” before adding that “some parts of the experience are better discovered firsthand.”
Could You Be Hunting Other Players?
Because Blizzard kept it so secret during the livestream, players have already started speculating about what Slaughterhouses might actually involve.
The most interesting theory is that the activity could place players as the Butcher inside other players’ dungeon runs. This would turn them into a boss encounter. In that scenario, you would hunt down players mid-run, either defeating them for rewards or being slain yourself.
This idea would kind of fit well with other Season 12 mechanics, like the Ceremony of Slaughter event in the Fields of Hatred PvP zone and Bloodied Sigils that spawn a relentless Butcher who constantly hunts you through activities.
However, this would also come with a lot of problems. There is a chance that people will run more Slaughterhouses than Nightmare dungeons, so maybe they would end up inside empty dungeons, or one single player would suddenly have ten Butchers running after him. I mean, agreed, this could be fun, but it depends on which side you are on…
It could also affect ping and things like that, if you are suddenly matched with someone from another region or with bad internet. Chances are you will only encounter NPC’s in there.
For now, Blizzard has not confirmed if Slaughterhouses work this way. The full details will likely only become clear once Season 12 goes live and players can experience the activity themselves. All we know so far is that you are definitely hunting something in there. The only question is, what is it exactly?
For more guides and information, check out our latest news!