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EE/SCS/no-reload challenges #1: What is a solid way to not die to a Beholder?

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  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059

    Nature's Beauty will blind them all, so if you get that off, then you've won. Actually, talking this over makes me realize that there are more possible strategies than I realized, which is saying something considering that I consider Beholders the toughest non-boss enemies in the game by a mile.

    Does Blind really work reliably on Beholders?
    If so, PW:Blind etc. are finishers against them as well.

    Also, can't an Elder Orb simply cast True Sight (which, I think, removes Blindness in SCS).

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Ardul
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Ygramul said:

    I understand that it doesn't stay up indefinitely as it once did, but shouldn't it at least block ONE anti-magic ray?

    As I understand it, the anti-magic ray consumes the Spell Shield as well as other buffs. Taking into account the fact that you rarely face Beholders on their own, this could mean death.

    I had a successful Beholder encounter with a Dwarven Fighter/Thief this morning. If you can get:
    (1) your undispellable Magic Damage resistance in the 75-100 range, e.g. with Belt of Inertial Barrier and Valygar's armor (which requires UAI),
    (2) your undispellable Electricity resistance as high as possible, using e.g. Boots of Grounding, Dragon Scale shield, Helm of Defense (preferable because of saves bonus) or Dragon Helm for 95 Elctricity resistance, and
    (3) you saves undispellably low, circa -4,
    then your character can tank any amount of Beholders.

    Note the word 'undispellable' is important here (so no potions or spells, but enchanted items).
    GoturalJuliusBorisovEadwyn_G8keeper
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    edited March 2015

    Ygramul said:

    I understand that it doesn't stay up indefinitely as it once did, but shouldn't it at least block ONE anti-magic ray?

    As I understand it, the anti-magic ray consumes the Spell Shield as well as other buffs. Taking into account the fact that you rarely face Beholders on their own, this could mean death.

    I had a successful Beholder encounter with a Dwarven Fighter/Thief this morning.
    ....
    Awesome! Illustrates something I never tried in 15 years of BG play: thieves are useful.

    I wonder if a paladin can be made to tank beholders like that or a dwarven defender (the only two non-caster classes I'd consider ever playing)?
  • OtherguyOtherguy Member Posts: 157
    Hello!

    So basically you need someone with the saves and preferably MR or damage resistance to kill them without summons? A high level decked out Korgan or Keldorn unless the PC can pull it off?

    I hate beholders. Nothing else even comes close. And I hate resorting to what I consider cheese. Always makes me restart. Could never use the big metal unit or the ammo for it, nor would I use mod items (shapeshifting token..), I will use RoV, cloak of mirroring and Vhailors in ToB and Carsomyr right from the start of SoA though. Doesn't feel as bad if it's a vanilla item and not an easter egg.
    Blackraven
  • sluckerssluckers Member Posts: 280
    One of the things I do is use an invisible scout to spot confusion and chaos spells. Then I hunt them down with swords.

    Often times this will leave them scattered, and taking on the ones that save against confusion in singles is easy if you just charge.

    I don't use protections. I always find them stripped, even when using spell protections. Their anti-magic rays seem to destroy absolutely everything. I just try to close the range as fast as possible. They don't whip out their insta-kill rays immediately, from what I've observed. I'm not sure, but I think they cycle through their rays in the same order, over and over, with fear and cause wounds coming first. If you can get them in melee they often, but not always, stop firing and start biting. Their bites are quite weak, despite having such large teeth.

    Otherwise I use the shield of balduran. My first times through the game I didn't even know what that shield was. I think I only found out about it when SCS prompted me to delay 'Diedre' from appearing in Adventure's Mart and I thought 'Who's she?'

    I was pretty pissed when I first laid eyes on that thing.

    All those times trudging through beholder lairs, pulling out my hair...
  • cloudkillbeatsallcloudkillbeatsall Member Posts: 98
    2 mages, Polymorph Self and sequencers. In the Underdark, you probably have only one copy of Spell Sequencer so I would have one mage load up a Greater Malison and 2 Skull Traps and have the other mage put two Glitterdusts in Minor Spell Sequencer. Then polymorph into mustard jellies, slide up to the beholders and throw your sequencers at them. Hopefully these spells will do enough damage and blind enough of them that you can have your hasted, invisible melee characters come in and finish them off without much fuss.

    Of course, there is a Hive Mother in the Underdark and I think 2 Elder Orbs so you might as well throw your shiny copy of BG2EE in the bin.
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