i don't get why a lot of people make it sound like beholders are hard. so far i've only fought a couple, but they haven't even put up a fight! they were simple! do they get harder as the game goes on? just wonderin'

Elder Orbs are a lot harder. Beholders are actually (in my opinion) very hard. In a room in the Beholder Cavern against 3 Beholders and 2 Gauths, all spitting Death Ray and Lightning at you, can be very hard... unless you have the Cloak of Mirroring.

<font color="lightblue">The problems come when you fight more than one or two at once; or with Elder Orbs....
Or with the sola mod :D </font>

<font color="lightblue">Or the Shield of Balduron ;) </font>

My perpetual advice: Look at things from a char's perspective.

Dum de dum... Sure is dark down here. And kinda creepy. By Sune, what is that stench.. Wha.. HOLY <expletive deleted>! It's some huge thing with eyeballs sticking out and teeth bigger than my head!
Beholders don't need a ray of fear cause the sight of one is enough to make the average person wet themself.

......good point.

The Beholders fear u when u have the CLoak of Mirrors! All u have to do is stand there and do nothing while merrily seeing them kill themselves, this is useful to those characters which cant use a shield.

where do you get the cloak of mirrors?

SPOILER
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At the underwater city, aka "City of Caverns", after spellhold - chapter 4.
Loot from the body of a Priestess, at the giant shark head.

Beholders are very tough remember you probably have 6 fairly tough characters against one beholder, and even then the beholder might have turned one of your guys to stone, and held another, when you fight them in that cavern in the underdark with like 3 beholders a few gauths it is pretty tough.