Improved beholders

[WinNoMatterWhat]

I'm having issues with these improved beholders. It's not only that their beams are obliterating me, but the fact that the beholder encounters seem to rely so much upon luck. It's like I have to buff up to improve my saving throws and hope for the best- I've had success killing them mostly by launching fireballs into where they're grouped up while hoping hardcore that my mages don't get targeted, or launching greater Malison into where I know they are and basiclly being cheesey. It's the first thing in SCS2 that I've had to be kinda cheesey with. I wouldn't mind if there were some spell protections I could put up and kinda battle them intelligently but they launch such a varied array of harming spells that I don't see a way to deal with them other than AOEing. I position my mages intelligently so it's not just hoping they don't get hit, and I know that beholder fights are inherently saving throw based- I'm just complaining because fighting beholders is the first thing I've hit in this run through with scs2 where I didn't feel like I was having fun. Maybe I just haven't constructed a good strategy yet but I'm in the unseeing eye beholder nest and am debating actually walking back to get the shield of bauldarian and coming back here. I probably won't and I'm sure this complaint has been raised before and obviously I could have just not installed improved beholders- but I didn't even install them at their hardest and they are freakin brutal!

[DavidW]

My usual beholder advice is:

 

- hit very hard; other than elder orbs, they have very poor defences, so you can get a lot of mileage with area effect

- get less vulnerable/more expendable people in the party to draw their antimagic fire, so you can keep other people protected

- carry resurrection spells and expect casualties

 

It has been raised before but there's a limited amount I can do while staying true to the source material. (I'm actually not a great fan of beholders in PnP either - very iconic, to be sure, but the save-or-die fighting style leaves a lot to be desired.)

 

Don't feel too bad about going back and getting the Shield of Balduran. Obviously it'll make things a lot easier, but they will make a reasonable attempt to deal with it.

[Ardanis]

1) Korgan has +5 bonus on his saves, making them easy to go into negative values with proper equipment, rendering Korgan immune to beholders' save-or-die rays.

2) If you can get them, Skeleton Warriors are great against beholders.

3) Scouting ahead, trapping the foreground, summoning a few meat-shield creatures, buffing with Haste and Invisibility and protection spells, then launching an AoE to lure them out is usually sufficient to weaken the beholder pack with the initial attack, damage further with traps, and then overwhelm with a surprise ranged assault while they're busy disintegrating summons.

[InKal]

I'm having issues with these improved beholders. It's not only that their beams are obliterating me, but the fact that the beholder encounters seem to rely so much upon luck. It's like I have to buff up to improve my saving throws and hope for the best- I've had success killing them mostly by launching fireballs into where they're grouped up while hoping hardcore that my mages don't get targeted, or launching greater Malison into where I know they are and basiclly being cheesey. It's the first thing in SCS2 that I've had to be kinda cheesey with. I wouldn't mind if there were some spell protections I could put up and kinda battle them intelligently but they launch such a varied array of harming spells that I don't see a way to deal with them other than AOEing. I position my mages intelligently so it's not just hoping they don't get hit, and I know that beholder fights are inherently saving throw based- I'm just complaining because fighting beholders is the first thing I've hit in this run through with scs2 where I didn't feel like I was having fun. Maybe I just haven't constructed a good strategy yet but I'm in the unseeing eye beholder nest and am debating actually walking back to get the shield of bauldarian and coming back here. I probably won't and I'm sure this complaint has been raised before and obviously I could have just not installed improved beholders- but I didn't even install them at their hardest and they are freakin brutal!

 

 

Hmm... using cheese is a problem imo, coz SCS enemy (better calls for help?) will not sit in the cloudkill (even cast offscreen, thats the point, hehe) like a gentelman and take it, it will come at you.

 

You probably need to be protected from every single school of magic to be safe from their spell barrage. Let's see: serious wounds - necromancy; hold, slow, disintegrate - alteration(?); flesh to stone - transmutation(?) or alteration(?) and a couple of others. you'll also need immunity evocation against gaut's lightning bolts and most of all spellshield vs. anti-magic rays. I'm not sure if spellshiled actually blocks anti-magic rays in SCS2?? Probably depends on the installation type. Against beholders, especially elder orbs, combo Spellshield+imm:necromancy+Imm:alteration,evocation+immun:divination+imp.invisibility should help, for a moment at least. Also having two mages in the party really helps. Immy, Sola and Sorc protagonist = beholderburgers...ahh, good ol' days...

 

Scouting the area first, casting webs, greases, greater malison and a tons of cloudkills, fireballs, incendiary clouds, divine spell holy smite works too, summoning 5 skeletons to fight for you and killing the rest mostly with magic missiles and flame arrows (put them in sequencers, having two mages helps) is the best way to deal with beholders, imo.

 

If your party lvl is too low, beholders wil kill you no matter what. They are no fun at all.

[AzureDrag0n1]

I usually just send in one super buffed up dude. Whoever can be made the most resistant to their abilities. I protect him against some form of magic with things like protection from fire, fire shield, ring of fire protection, or whatever. Then I launch a bunch of spells at him while he is surrounded killing the beholders.

 

As for when you have no time to prepare I try and wipe them out right away. Say for example you need to get rid of a beholder immediately then just power word blind him as it is pretty much a death sentence to a beholder.

[n-ghost]

Blind them.

[Kinski]

If your party lvl is too low' date=' beholders wil kill you no matter what.[/quote'].

Try in this way ->

It is enough spell Polymorph Self. Mustard Jelly give 100% magic and piercing resistance. It is concern Elder Orb and Hive Mother.

[Incantatar]

Some more strategies from my noreload runs:

-Mislead/Farsight/Invisibility (No player character needs to actually be in range)

-Summons as backup

-AoE's like Chaos, Confusion, Glitterdust, Fireball, Death Fog, etc. (Chaos + Death Fog is an awesome combo)

-profit