Of all the creatures a foolhardy band of adventurers could stumble across in the 
Underdark - or anywhere, for that matter - Beholders and their kin are some of the most dangerous. That said, we started the game escaping the clutches of Mind Flayers, so an eye tyrant is at best a mild escalation. Fortunately, you won’t encounter a Beholder this early in Baldur’s Gate 3, but rather a lesser variant, the Spectator. Still, calling something a lesser eye tyrant is like saying it’s “only a small dragon”, and for an unprepared, low-level party, the difference may be moot. We can’t help with the low-level part, but we can - and will - provide useful tips and strategies for defeating the Spectator in the Underdark in Baldur’s Gate 3, including a guide on how to turn the tables on the Spectator and ambush it!
You’ll find a Spectator in the Underdark - a lesser relative of the Beholder, but canny enough to ambush adventurers nonetheless.
Where to Find the Spectator in Baldur’s Gate 3¶
The Spectator can be found surprisingly close to where you enter the Underdark… depending on where you enter the Underdark, anyways. If you enter the Underdark via the Shattered Sanctum you’ll find yourself in the Selunite Outpost, which is along the southeastern corner of the Underdark region. The Spectator is just to the west of the Selunite Outpost, and while you’d normally have to go north, west and south through the Underdark Beach to reach the Spectator’s den, there’s a convenient shortcut. Just head north through the Selunite Outpost to reach the statue opposite the gate, then turn left (west) to find a window you can pass through. This window will take you right to the cliffs where the Spectator dwells.
(1 of 2) West of the statue in the center of the Selunite Outpost you’ll find an open window,
West of the statue in the center of the Selunite Outpost you’ll find an open window, (left), beyond which you’ll find the Spectator’s garden. (right)
How to Survive the Spectator’s Ambush in Baldur’s Gate 3¶
If you climb out the window of the Selunite Outpost you’ll need to walk around to some knotted roots, climb down them, then work your way west past a cragged rock, which is where you’d climb up if you took the long route. Crossing near the cragged rock or engaging in any particularly noisy behavior (like spellcasting) atop the ledge the cragged rock leads to, will provoke the Spectator, which is introduced via a cutscene. Under normal circumstances the Spectator will gain a Surprise turn, which can really set the tone for this fight in a negative way.
The Spectator will typically use several attacks each turn:
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Paralyzing Ray: Inflicts paralysis on a target unless they make a Constitution 13 save.
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Wounding Ray: Deals 4d8+3 necrotic damage unless the target makes a Constitution 13 save. Target still takes half damage if they save.
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Fear Ray: Inflicts the frightened debuff if the target fails a Wisdom 13 save, preventing the target from moving and imposing Disadvantage.
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Bite: What it says on the tin, the Spectator will fly at a target and try to chomp them. They’re fairly weak melee combatants, but if they’re attacking a paralyzed foe they can still be dangerous, dealing 2d8-1 damage per hit.
(1 of 3) If you walk into the Spectator’s den you’ll be ambushed, yielding a surprise round.
They can also 
Fly to cover ground, something the Spectator will generally use at the end of its turn to withdraw after its two eye rays and bite onslaught. To make this fight even more complicated the Spectator will use an “Unpetrification Ray” on the various petrified drow, whom the Spectator will instantly charm, giving it allies to assist it. This can prove to be a double-edged sword, as dealing any damage to the charmed drow can free them of the effects of the Spectator’s charm, and the drow are keen to turn on the Spectator once free of its influence. If you end up ambushed, however, the potential of knocking some sense into the Spectator’s controlled drow will prove faint comfort if they get a surprise round to assist the Spectator. Simply put, this is a fight that can go very poorly before it has really even begun, and while you can save scum the RNG to minimize the efficacy of the Spectator’s surprise round, there are other, arguably better options.
(1 of 3) The Spectator will use an “Unpetrification Ray” every turn to free and charm one of its drow victims.
More on that in a bit - once combat has started, and assuming you’ve weathered the surprise round, the Spectator isn’t that devastating of a foe. If Wounding Ray hurts, but the real danger is its Paralyzing Ray, which is what makes its Bite a competent attack. Without the Advantage gained from paralysis, it’s not much of a threat (RNG aside). Other than that, keeping on top of the charmed drow is a must - the Spectator will always start by freeing Dhourn, who will begin combat with 
Darkness before resorting to 
Scorching Ray and other spells. After that, the Spectator will continue expanding its squad of captured drow, unpetrifying one each turn, and these drow aren’t shy about using healing potions on the Spectator and shooting Arrows of Roaring Thunder at you. Sparing some chip damage to free the drow from the Spectator’s control is a good idea, lest things spiral out of control. We had 
Astarion shoot elemental arrows at the charmed drow when they were near the Spectator (the splash damage was sufficient to break the charm) or failing that, we just took offhand hand crossbow shots at the drow or pelted them with a 
Magic Missile (split up so that excess projectiles hit multiple charmed drow or the Spectator). The drow, once freed from the Spectator’s control, should turn on the Spectator, and the Spectator for its part is very keen to Bite Dhourn should its charm lapse.
The Spectator has a paltry 14 Armor Class (15 if one of its captive drow buff it with Mage Armor and 118 Hit Points. It’s durable, but not particularly well protected by Armor Class and it has no resistances or immunities to speak of. If you can catch it, you should have no trouble dealing damage to it, and ideally you won’t tangle with the beast until you’re level five. In that case, spells like 
Haste are tremendous buffs - a hasted level five Warlock will average 30-40 damage a turn with 
Eldritch Blast, and a hasted level five Fighter willing to burn Superiority dice can likely dish out even more damage. Given the nature of this beast, Blind might seem like a good debuff, and it will make it harder for the Spectator to land its Bite attack and makes the orb easier to hit, but its secondary eye rays are unaffected by the spell, making it something of a dubious cast.
(1 of 4) If you want to counter the Spectator’s ambush with one of your own, hide to the west and use Darkness to conceal your party,
How to Ambush the Spectator in Baldur’s Gate 3¶
Surviving the Spectator’s ambush is all well and good, but you know what’s even better? Turning the tables and ambushing the Spectator! This is a tricky process, but generally you want to hide everybody in your party before climbing up/down to reach the ledge to the west of the cragged rock. The Spectator’s ambush trigger is a bit odd, it’s not actively keeping watch on its little garden of petrified drow inasmuch as it doesn’t have a sight cone, so you shouldn’t really need to make any Stealth checks. You do need to refrain from casting spells up here, and generally avoid going around while you’re not hiding. Aside from the Spectator’s wonky ambush trigger, the next biggest threat here are the Torchstalk plants you’ll need to destroy - this is easier done when approaching from the Selunite Outpost; you’ll just have to keep your distance and destroy the Torchstalk with ranged attacks and hope it doesn’t alarm the Spectator.
Once the Torchstalk is removed, gather your party to the west of the cragged rock and cast a Darkness spell on them. Sometimes this was sufficient to provoke the Spectator, sometimes it wasn’t. If not, you can always try bait - there are skeletons on the ledge below the Spectator’s dead you can summon via 
Animate Dead. If the Spectator doesn’t respond to the Darkness spell, send your skeleton east to provoke it, use the skeleton to shoot some more Torchstalk, take potshots at the petrified drow, and switch between your skeleton and your main party to see if that causes the Spectator to trigger. Worst case scenario, send your character with the highest Constitution east to serve as bait, but the Spectator should trigger without resorting to such tactics. Just be sure to ungroup (“G”) your party once they’re gathered to the west so you can more easily control individuals as you fuss about trying to provoke the Spectator and, once it appears, while ambushing it.
Best case scenario, you trigger the Spectator cutscene and your party is surprised… but the Spectator can’t see them in the Darkness. It’ll wander around, your surprise period will end, and you just need to wait until its back is to your party before manually entering turn-based mode (shift + enter) and attacking. If done correctly you should gain a surprise round, and given the Spectator’s terrible Initiative, you may even get to go twice with most or all of your party before it can take a single action. All you have to watch out for is potentially failing your Concentration check to maintain Darkness when you get surprised by the Spectator. The Spectator will still free Dhourn during its otherwise wasted surprise round, but like the Spectator he’ll be helpless and surprised if you carry out your ambush correctly.
(1 of 2) Dhourn, if he survives, will talk to you after the Spectator is defeated, and his long stint as a statue hasn’t tampered his suicidal greed.
Dhourn, if he survives, will talk to you after the Spectator is defeated, and his long stint as a statue hasn’t tampered his suicidal greed. (left), Loot the Spectator to find The Spectator’s Eyes. (right)
If you surprise the Spectator, having Astarion start things out with a sneak attack is a great idea, and in several playtests of this strategy we were able to vanquish the Spectator before it even got a chance to take a turn, just walk out of the Darkness and start chipping away at the beast’s Hit Points. It’s a nice bit of turnabout for a foe who is otherwise only too keen to ambush you. If he survives, Dhourn - or possibly one of his companions - will initiate dialog with you. If it’s Dhourn, you’ll need to deny you know anything about the Adamantine Forge and refrain from prying if you want to avoid a fight (a [Deception 10] check may be necessary), but they’re in no real shape to oppose you should violence become necessary. Be sure to loot the Spectator to obtain The Spectator’s Eyes, an amulet that grants the wearer the ability to cast Wounding Ray and Ray of Fear.
Now that you’ve bested the Spectator, turn your attention to these other tasks in the Underdark:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1 Underdark: Map, Entrances, POIs
- Baldur’s Gate 3 - How to Survive the Bulette Ambush and Defeat the Bulette
- Baldur’s Gate 3 - Where to Find the Sword in the Stone Phalar Aluve in the Underdark
- Baldur’s Gate 3 - Cure The Poisoned Gnome - How to Get the Boots of Speed
- How to Complete Find the Mushroom Picker in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Arcane Tower BG3 Walkthrough: Elevator, Bernard, and Basement Access
- Baldur’s Gate 3 - How to Free True Soul Nere
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