The Spectator is one of the trickiest bosses in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, as it has multiple attacks and can charm nearby drow NPCs into becoming its ally. Luckily, there is a trick to winning this fight that will make it a lot easier.
You must reach The Underdark in Act 1 to track down The Spectator. There are two ways to get there: Shattered Sanctum and the Zhentarim Hideout, which have hidden entrances. There’s a place called the Selune Outpost in the southeastern part of the Underdark map, which the Zhentarim Hideout lift will take you to. The Spectator is found just to the west of the outpost.
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The Spectator’s Stats in BG3
The Spectator should be fought at level 3-5, as it hits like a truck. It has a low Armor Class score, but high hit points, the ability to take multiple actions per turn, can fire powerful rays from across the battlefield, has a powerful bite attack, and can fly, allowing it to bypass a lot of the traps and hazards you can use in other fights, such as the Grease spell.
How To Prepare For The Spectator Battle in BG3
The Spectator can be tricky, especially if your protagonist is a squishy spellcaster. As such, you should make sure you long rest before you attempt this battle. Having access to all of your spell slots and special abilities will make this fight a lot easier, as will being at full health. It also helps to have one of your warriors initiate the encounter, as the Spectator is more likely to go for them, and they have a better chance of surviving its initial onslaught. Once the battle has begun and the surprise round is over, you can use the Misty Step spell (which is found on a lot of scrolls) to spend a Bonus Action to bring your caster into the fight.
How To Easily Beat The Spectator in BG3
The Spectator always gets a surprise round, which means it gets a free round before the party, potentially allowing it to deal a ton of damage. This is where savescumming can come in handy, as The Spectator can batter the party without you having the chance to survive its onslaught, so if you have a bad surprise round, reload your last save.
The Spectator can deal damage with Wounding Ray, it can potentially paralyze characters with its Paralyze Ray, and use its Fear Ray to immobilize characters. In the first round of combat, The Spectator will always unpetrify Dhourn, the drow mage, and charm them immediately. Dhourn will then cast Darkness around the party. In each of the following rounds, The Spectator will unpetrify another drow each round and charm them.
Luckily for the party, you can break the charm spell on the drow. To do this, attack the drow once, and it will break the spell, turning them into allies. If you attack them again, however, they will turn hostile. The secret to winning this battle is let The Spectator unpetrify the drow, hit them once, and they’ll join your side. Soon enough, your action economy will overwhelm The Spectator, and it should go down.
If you free Dhourn immediately, The Spectator will try and kill him (and will most likely succeed). However, you won’t miss much, as Dhourn is a jerk and will likely attack the party afterward. Also, he has some great gear, so don’t feel bad about letting The Spectator kill him and looting his corpse.
What You Get For Killing The Spectator in BG3
If you kill The Spectator, you’ll receive the awesome amulet called The Spectator Eyes. When equipped, this amulet lets you cast Ray of Fear and Wounding Ray once per long rest. This is a good item to give your healer, as it gives them some powerful attack spells to use on turns when they’re not repairing the party.
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You should also loot Dhourn’s body, as he has a Memory Shard used to find the hidden forge in the Underdark. He also has The Blast Pendant, which gives you the Lightning Blast class Action, which can be used to strengthen a lightning-based spell, depending on your number of Lightning Charges.
